HONORING GOD (19 OF 52)
Scripture: Isaiah 58:1-14
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Honoring God (19 of 52)
Series: Discipleship
Christopher B. Harbin
Isaiah 58:1-14
Isaiah is the most commonly referenced prophet by Jesus in the gospels. It is significant that while Jesus may well be more often linked to Jeremiah in many ways, it is Isaiah to which he seems to turn most often to validate his ministry. That does not necessarily mean that Jesus made connection to every one of Isaiah's thoughts or expressions, but it would seem that the bulk of Isaiah's themes fit well with the life and ministry of Jesus.
In the passage we look at today, we find Isaiah addressing a major failing of Israel. They were indeed concerned with issues of righteousness and pleasing God, but they were very far from getting to the heart of righteousness.
Isaiah takes issue with several important religious practices of the people, not because the practices were evil, but because they were allowing these same practices to distract them from more pressing concerns, those at the heart of righteous living. As was the case in issues of tradition we looked at in the previous lesson, they were allowing good things to get in the way of the more important things.
The concerns of Isaiah were that the people were honoring God in word and in name, but not in their day to day economic relationships. They were very involved in all the special feasts Yahweh called them to celebrate, but instead of allowing those celebrations to impact their lives, they remained religious festivals that did not touch their day to day relationships. Feasts and sacrifices and celebrations just were not enough to change the hearts and attitudes of the nation.
It is at this point that Yahweh's word to the nation comes in critique. Instead of celebrating Yahweh and Yahweh's purposes in their feasting, they were concerned with pleasing themselves. They were ignoring that Yahweh had given them commands that would impact the way they treated their employees and servants. They were ignoring the unfa ...
Series: Discipleship
Christopher B. Harbin
Isaiah 58:1-14
Isaiah is the most commonly referenced prophet by Jesus in the gospels. It is significant that while Jesus may well be more often linked to Jeremiah in many ways, it is Isaiah to which he seems to turn most often to validate his ministry. That does not necessarily mean that Jesus made connection to every one of Isaiah's thoughts or expressions, but it would seem that the bulk of Isaiah's themes fit well with the life and ministry of Jesus.
In the passage we look at today, we find Isaiah addressing a major failing of Israel. They were indeed concerned with issues of righteousness and pleasing God, but they were very far from getting to the heart of righteousness.
Isaiah takes issue with several important religious practices of the people, not because the practices were evil, but because they were allowing these same practices to distract them from more pressing concerns, those at the heart of righteous living. As was the case in issues of tradition we looked at in the previous lesson, they were allowing good things to get in the way of the more important things.
The concerns of Isaiah were that the people were honoring God in word and in name, but not in their day to day economic relationships. They were very involved in all the special feasts Yahweh called them to celebrate, but instead of allowing those celebrations to impact their lives, they remained religious festivals that did not touch their day to day relationships. Feasts and sacrifices and celebrations just were not enough to change the hearts and attitudes of the nation.
It is at this point that Yahweh's word to the nation comes in critique. Instead of celebrating Yahweh and Yahweh's purposes in their feasting, they were concerned with pleasing themselves. They were ignoring that Yahweh had given them commands that would impact the way they treated their employees and servants. They were ignoring the unfa ...
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