True Worship

Introduction

Background of the Text:

-Theological reflection on the exile.

-Isaiah consistently views the people of Israel as unrighteous and lacking care for the needy. It is this way of acting that WILL lead to the exile.

-In some sense, all of Isaiah is a reflection on Moses in Deuteronomy. (). The exile will occur because of the disobedience to God’s commandments.

Main Idea of the Text:

-Now, here’s what Isaiah is specifically getting at in 58 - WORSHIP of Yahweh means obedience to his commandments, that is, caring for his image.

What does it mean for me:

-I cannot replace religious worship practices with actual worship of God through care for others.

Structure/Outline:

Intro -

Background

Explanation of Exile

Explanation of Isaiah themes

Isaiah 58 NLT

“Shout with the voice of a trumpet blast. Shout aloud! Don’t be timid. Tell my people Israel of their sins! Yet they act so pious! They come to the Temple every day and seem delighted to learn all about me. They act like a righteous nation that would never abandon the laws of its God. They ask me to take action on their behalf, pretending they want to be near me. ‘We have fasted before you!’ they say. ‘Why aren’t you impressed? We have been very hard on ourselves, and you don’t even notice it!’ “I will tell you why!” I respond. “It’s because you are fasting to please yourselves. Even while you fast, you keep oppressing your workers. What good is fasting when you keep on fighting and quarreling? This kind of fasting will never get you anywhere with me. You humble yourselves by going through the motions of penance, bowing your heads like reeds bending in the wind. You dress in burlap and cover yourselves with ashes. Is this what you call fasting? Do you really think this will please the Lord? “No, this is the kind of fasting I want: Free those who are wrongly imprisoned; lighten the burden of those who work for you. Let the oppressed go free, and remove the chains that bind people. Share your food with the hungry, and give shelter to the homeless. Give clothes to those who need them, and do not hide from relatives who need your help. “Then your salvation will come like the dawn, and your wounds will quickly heal. Your godliness will lead you forward, and the glory of the Lord will protect you from behind. Then when you call, the Lord will answer. ‘Yes, I am here,’ he will quickly reply. “Remove the heavy yoke of oppression. Stop pointing your finger and spreading vicious rumors! Feed the hungry, and help those in trouble. Then your light will shine out from the darkness, and the darkness around you will be as bright as noon. The Lord will guide you continually, giving you water when you are dry and restoring your strength. You will be like a well-watered garden, like an ever-flowing spring. Some of you will rebuild the deserted ruins of your cities. Then you will be known as a rebuilder of walls and a restorer of homes. “Keep the Sabbath day holy. Don’t pursue your own interests on that day, but enjoy the Sabbath and speak of it with delight as the Lord’s holy day. Honor the Sabbath in everything you do on that day, and don’t follow your own desires or talk idly. Then the Lord will be your delight. I will give you great honor and satisfy you with the inheritance I promised to your ancestor Jacob. I, the Lord, have spoken!”

The question: What kind of worship does God want?

What is fasting?

Read

Main Idea: The kind of worship God wants is worship that takes God seriously in real life by caring for the people God cares about.

The problem: the people of Israel thought they could worship God sometimes, in their religious life. (They go to the temple, they practice personal discipline, they know a lot of stuff about God).

NOTE: Are they sincere? Maybe, maybe not. But it doesn’t matter. It’s wrong either way.

Is it enough to come to church or to Canvas? Is it enough to sing praise songs, or listen to them in your car? Is it enough to read your Bible, even to fast (which most of us don’t do)? Is it enough to learn lots of stuff about God, or even to try to be close to God?

That’s not true worship. True worship includes EVERY area of life.

Fasting is supposed to be a denial of oneself for God, but here they are fasting and simultaneously seeking pleasure. Fasting is supposed to be an act of humility, but they are simultaneously misusing power to put people under them, or to fight with them.

If you truly want to worship God, if you really want to show your love and devotion to him you do it through love and devotion to his creation…other people.

Bible Project Quote:

“In the Heberew scriptures, Israel’s Babylonian Exile became an image of something more universal. It’s that feeling of alienation and longing for something more, no matter where you live…In the Bible, exile is the human condition. We all keep repeating this pattern of human corruption leading to a Babylon we can’t escape.”