Scripture Reading(s)
Isaiah 65:1-9
65:1 I was ready to be sought out by those who did not ask, to be found by those who did not seek me. I said, “Here I am, here I am,” to a nation that did not call on my name.
65:2 I held out my hands all day long to a rebellious people, who walk in a way that is not good, following their own devices;
65:3 a people who provoke me to my face continually, sacrificing in gardens and offering incense on bricks;
65:4 who sit inside tombs, and spend the night in secret places; who eat swine’s flesh, with broth of abominable things in their vessels;
65:5 who say, “Keep to yourself, do not come near me, for I am too holy for you.” These are a smoke in my nostrils, a fire that burns all day long.
65:6 See, it is written before me: I will not keep silent, but I will repay; I will indeed repay into their laps
65:7 their iniquities and their ancestors’ iniquities together, says the LORD; because they offered incense on the mountains and reviled me on the hills, I will measure into their laps full payment for their actions.
65:8 Thus says the LORD: As the wine is found in the cluster, and they say, “Do not destroy it, for there is a blessing in it,” so I will do for my servants’ sake, and not destroy them all.
65:9 I will bring forth descendants from Jacob, and from Judah inheritors of my mountains; my chosen shall inherit it, and my servants shall settle there.
Reflections
We live in a world in which we constantly see evil and rebellion at work against a Holy and Just God. Since God hates sin, His response to those who choose to ultimately reject Him is punishment. This passage speaks to both God’s judgement and salvation.
Sin is what ultimately separates us from God. It creates a gap between us and experiencing His love and grace in our lives. However, all that was erased when Christ came down and died on the cross for us and paid the penalty of sin that we deserved.
This passage does speak clearly on the fact that yes, God does hates sin. However, it does not end there. Ultimately His love for us comes through and trumps our sin and offers us a means to turn away from our old lives and choose to follow after Him.
This passage serves as both a warning and a message of hope. The message of warning entails a message that all those who choose their own path will ultimately be separated from God. The message of hope entails that those who choose to turn from sin and love God over their own desires not only experience His Grace but also spend eternity with Him both now and forever.
“I held out my hands all day long to a rebellious people, who walk in a way that is not good, following their own devices”
God’s chosen people had continually rejected the Lord and as a consequence He removed His protection over them. This message being delivered through Isaiah is pointing out some of the reasons why the Lord needed to discipline His children. Foremost in the accusations is their hypocrisy of acting evil and pretending to be to holy.
(those) who say, “Keep to yourself, do not come near me, for I am too holy for you.” These are a smoke in my nostrils, a fire that burns all day long.”
God has little patience for those who pretend to be holy but are not. This was also what Jesus warned against in Matthew 15,
You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: “ ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.’”
Let us never serve God on the outside but ignore Him on the inside. We must be real and authentic. No amount of pretending to follow the Lord will be able to replace actually following the Lord.