Isaiah 1:10-20
Don’t continue bringing me worthless sacrifices! I hate the incense you burn. I can’t stand your New Moons, Sabbaths, and other feast days…
Isaiah 1:13, NCV.

!t is worth stating that God used Sodom and Gomorrah as a figure of speech. The message was to His people. But their lifestyle and the magnitude of their sins is comparable to that of Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis Chapter 19.

God charges His people and tells them their offences. In the passage, we understand that our offerings and sacrifices will amount to nothing if we remain in sin. Efforts to please God with church attendance, celebrations, big offerings, and church services will be futile if our hearts are not right with Him.

God could not hide His feelings when He said, “Don’t continue bringing me worthless sacrifices! I hate the incense
you burn. I can’t stand your New Moons, Sabbaths, and other feast days; I can’t stand the evil you do in your holy
meetings” (Isaiah 1:13, NCV).

Being the merciful One, God gave the people the way out. He said, “Wash and be clean. Come and let us reason together. I am willing to forgive you if you are willing to return and be cleansed”. What else do we need from a loving God? What else do we need from Him as a nation? Friend, I feel pain in my heart as I write this. It is my prayer that we will all cry to the Lord and ask for His mercy and forgiveness. Shalom.

Your Turn

• Cry unto the Lord today. Sin and rejection from the Lord’s presence is a serious matter for any man and nation.

Song: Rock of Ages cleft for me.

Further Reading: Malachi 3:1-18.