Your New Moon feasts and your appointed festivals I hate with all my being. They have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them. (Isaiah 1:14)
I devoted attention to Isaiah 1:14 earlier this month (July 5 “God’s Burden”); I’d like to return to this verse to show that the Bible makes it clear that we are to love the things God loves and we are to hate the things God hates. To be sure, there are many things our God loves, for He is a God of love . . . and we love because He first loved us. But there are also many things our God hates, and we are to keep those things in view as well.
Let’s take a look at some of the things that the Lord hates and be challenged to live in a deeper conformity to the likeness of His beloved Son. God has told us that He hates —
Haughty eyes (a proud look)
A lying tongue
Hands that shed innocent blood
A heart that devises wicked schemes
Feet that are quick to rush into evil
A false witness who pours out lies
A person who stirs up conflict in the community.
That’s a pretty straightforward list from the sixth Proverb. And I think we would all be in agreement that we are to hate these things as God hates these things. But if you go back to Isaiah 1:14, you will find something that God hates even more, and it is often harder to detect than the things on the list from Proverbs 6. Our God particularly hates a sacrifice that comes from the head or the hand but not from the heart. The empty sacrifice is abhorrent to God, and we must guard against offering it at all costs. Think of our Lord’s stern warning to the church at Laodicea in Revelation 3:16 — “Because you are lukewarm — neither hot nor cold — I am about to spit you out of my mouth.” May such a terrifying admonition never be directed at you or me!
Look at it this way. We can offer our sacrifices out of duty, and we know we owe all duty to God. Or we can offer our sacrifices out of devotion. Devotion leads to delight, but duty can descend into drudgery, which can open the door to the heartless sacrifice. What we must continually do is examine the “Why” behind all the “What” we do for our Lord. When the “Why” springs out of a heart that beats with love for our God, we can be sure that our sacrifice is not a burden to our God, but a blessing which He will never weary of bearing.
This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!
Grace for the Race 