The first chapter of Isaiah has been
very influential in my thought process of late. I see in it a reflection of the
mainstream church of America... where sacrifices and festivals and offerings
abound but the key concerns of our God remain absent. I will let the Word speak
for itself here in this short segment...
'Hear the word of the Lord, you rulers of Sodom! Give ear to the teaching of our God, you people of Gomorrah! "What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices?" says the Lord; "I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of well-fed beasts; I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs, or of goats. When you come to appear before me, who has required of you this trampling of my courts? Bring no more vain offerings; incense is an abomination to me. New moon and Sabbath and the calling of convocations- I cannot endure iniquity and the solemn assembly. Your new moons and your appointed feasts my sould hates; they have become a burden to me; I am wearing of bearing them. When you spread out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you; even though you make many prayers I will not listen; your hands are full of blood. Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow's cause. Come now, let us reason together," says the Lord: "though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.'
It would seem that, rather than the gathering together and 'trampling of [His] courts' for worship, God is more concerned by what He proposes in verses 16 and 17. Half of it is ceasing from the evil we do. The other half is doing good to those who need us.
The phrase "seek justice" is growing on me, becoming more and more important to me... In studying it, I am finding that it means so much more than I had previously thought. My idea of biblical justice has been simply to make sure that the bad guys get their just deserts, but that's only a small part of it.
Rather than try to put it into words of my own, I will instead direct you to an article that does the job well already. Read and seek to understand the depth of bibilical justice and the implications of scriptures like James 4:17, which says that "Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and does not do it, sins".
'Hear the word of the Lord, you rulers of Sodom! Give ear to the teaching of our God, you people of Gomorrah! "What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices?" says the Lord; "I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of well-fed beasts; I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs, or of goats. When you come to appear before me, who has required of you this trampling of my courts? Bring no more vain offerings; incense is an abomination to me. New moon and Sabbath and the calling of convocations- I cannot endure iniquity and the solemn assembly. Your new moons and your appointed feasts my sould hates; they have become a burden to me; I am wearing of bearing them. When you spread out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you; even though you make many prayers I will not listen; your hands are full of blood. Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow's cause. Come now, let us reason together," says the Lord: "though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.'
It would seem that, rather than the gathering together and 'trampling of [His] courts' for worship, God is more concerned by what He proposes in verses 16 and 17. Half of it is ceasing from the evil we do. The other half is doing good to those who need us.
The phrase "seek justice" is growing on me, becoming more and more important to me... In studying it, I am finding that it means so much more than I had previously thought. My idea of biblical justice has been simply to make sure that the bad guys get their just deserts, but that's only a small part of it.
Rather than try to put it into words of my own, I will instead direct you to an article that does the job well already. Read and seek to understand the depth of bibilical justice and the implications of scriptures like James 4:17, which says that "Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and does not do it, sins".
http://www.relevantmagazine.com/god/practical-faith/what-biblical-justice
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