“The multitude of your sacrifices— what are they to me?” says the Lord. “I have more than enough of burnt offerings, of rams and the fat of fattened animals; I have no pleasure in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats. When you come to appear before me, who has asked this of you, this trampling of my courts? Stop bringing meaningless offerings! Your incense is detestable to me. New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations— I cannot bear your evil assemblies. Your New Moon festivals and your appointed feasts my soul hates. They have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them. When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide my eyes from you; even if you offer many prayers, I will not listen.” (Isaiah 1:11–15, NIV 1984).
My Musings – When our worship becomes perfunctory, relegated to special “festivals” (Christmas and/or Easter), our “assemblies” when are sacrificed because we have other things to do, when our “offerings” are leftovers rather than first fruits, it is most likely that our God is wearied by them all. “What are they to Him?”
Yet we still expect when “we spread out [our] hands in prayer” that He will not “hide [His] eyes from [us].” And when He does, we wonder instead why He “will not listen.” How might we feel if this is how we were treated? Insulted? Taken for granted? Used? Or do we think, “God will understand?” Yes, I think He understands perfectly well.
My Advice – What is He to you? God, who gave His only begotten Son to save us, is worthy of our worship on all occasions. This should be of utmost importance, not displaced by other important things. Giving back to Him, with gratitude what in His mercy He has given us. “Therefore, I urge you, brothers [and sisters], in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.” (Romans 12:1, NIV 1984).
The Brew Is A Musing 