Isaiah 66:3, 19 NIV
But whoever sacrifices a bull
is like one who kills a person,
and whoever offers a lamb
is like one who breaks a dog's neck;
whoever makes a grain offering
is like one who presents pig's blood,
and whoever burns memorial incense
is like one who worships an idol.
They have chosen their own ways,
and they delight in their abominations;
"I will set a sign among them, and I will send some of those who survive to the nations—to Tarshish, to the Libyans and Lydians (famous as archers), to Tubal and Greece, and to the distant islands that have not heard of my fame or seen my glory. They will proclaim my glory among the nations.
Two thoughts stand out in this final chapter of Isaiah. First, worship is not worship unless it is from a pure heart. "But whoever sacrifices a bull is like one who kills a person." This is strong language. How is it possible that one who offers a required sacrifice to God is like a murderer? Sacrifices are unacceptable to God unless they come from a pure heart. Evil is not imposed on us from the outside. It comes from the heart. The beauty of the gospel is the offer of a new heart. The heart of mankind is incredibly deceitful and bent on selfishness and wickedness. Only God can change that. External acts of worship cannot make us acceptable to God because they don't change the heart. Worship must start in the heart. Worship must come from a heart that is pure before God. True worship, then, begins in the humility that recognizes that we have nothing offer God except that which first comes from him.
Worship is not worship unless it is from a pure heart. Second, God will restore his people and they will carry the light of his truth to the world. "They will proclaim my glory among the nations." If the heart of mankind is incredibly deceitful, the grace of God is even more incredible. That God would choose to use those who are so bent on evil is amazing. That God would graciously change the hearts of those who are so unacceptable to him, that he would choose to use them to take the message of his glory and grace to a fallen world is beyond words.
In the mean time God has chosen to use us, the church, a bunch of redeemed sinners to proclaim his grace and glory to our world. As those who have put our faith in Christ as our only hope, may we worship and serve from pure hearts in humble dependence on him. If you have not trusted in Jesus as your savior and only hope of acceptance by God, if you have not put your faith in God to accept you because of Jesus death and resurrection in your place, I encourage you to do so today.
By His grace,
Rick Weinert
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