The main thing that the prophets dealt with was Israel’s unfaithfulness to God. They were calling the people back to God, and reminding them of the promises of blessing and cursing. Israel’s unfaithfulness was shown by their idolatrous worship of false gods, and it is likened to a marriage where the wife is unfaithful and adulterous. But what is the heart of the issue? Why does Israel keep going after other gods while still worshiping Yahweh?
There is a dichotomy within some of the prophets’ writings that I believe shows the issue at hand. If it is not the heart of the issue, then it is at least one of the chambers of the heart, so to speak. That dichotomy is false worship verses true worship. However, it is not just any form of false worship, but a rather specific form of false worship that I will call “checkbox worship.” Checkbox worship happens when a person believes that all they have to do is follow a prescribed list; such as bringing a bull to sacrifice for certain sins, or going to church every week for an hour or so. The thought process being “I can sin and live how I want, as long as I do X, Y and Z.”
We see this happening in Israel when Yahweh says, “What are all your sacrifices to Me? I have had enough of burnt offerings and rams and the fat of well-fed cattle; I have no desire for the blood of bulls, lambs, or male goats” (Isaiah 1:11). We know that God set up the sacrificial system for the removal of sins, ultimately to point to the only sacrifice that can actually take away sins, the sacrifice of Jesus. But here, God is saying that He is tired of it. Even if they worship in expensive ways, such as “frankincense from Sheba or sweet cane from a distant land,” it still does not please God (Jeremiah 6:20). What is truly interesting is that God says, “they have paid no attention to [His] word” and “they have rejected [His] instruction” (Jeremiah 6:19). Could this be why the Pharisees were so keen on knowing and living the letter of the law? Even so, they still made the same mistakes, though to a lesser degree in that they were not worshiping other gods. In the prophets, this form of worship has gotten so bad that God “will not hear their cry of despair” and “will not accept them” even “if they fast” and “offer burnt offering and grain offering.” Quite the opposite, He “will finish them off by sword, famine, and plague” (Jeremiah 14:12). (See also Hosea 8:13, Amos 5:22 and Malachi 1:8)
It almost seems like God is punishing them for doing what He asked them to do. But a closer look at the context shows otherwise. For He says, “When you come to appear before Me, who requires this from you—this trampling of My courts? Stop bringing useless offerings” (Isaiah 1:12-13a). Their worship is a mockery (trampling) of His courts, and is useless. Why is it useless? Because it is nothing more than checkbox worship. They are going through the motions, saying the right things; however, “their hearts are far from [God], and their worship consists of man-made rules learned by rote” (Isaiah 29:13).
What form of worship would be acceptable then? How about “loyalty” and “the knowledge of God” (Hosea 6:6)? Or showing impartiality as opposed to “partiality in matters of the law” (Malachi 2:9). He wants evil deeds to be removed from His sight, and for His people to “learn to do what is good. Seek justice. Correct the oppressor. Defend the rights of the fatherless. Plead the widow’s cause” (Isaiah 1:16-17). God has this to say about Jehoiakim, “He took up the case for the poor and needy, then it went well. Is this not what it means to know Me?” (Jeremiah 22:16).
Spiritual cleanliness is important to true worship. We need to “wash the evil from [our] heart…so that [we] will be delivered” (Jeremiah 4:14). This is not something we do on our own though. God is involved in the process. He promised this to Israel, “I will also sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your impurities and all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. I will place My Spirit within you and cause you to follow My statutes and carefully observe My ordinances” (Ezekiel 36:25-27). That seems like a major overhaul, along with some reprogramming.
There is mention of a fountain opening up to cleanse the people (Zechariah 13:1) and that they will be refined like gold and silver are refined (Malachi 3:3). The Hebrew word used here for fountain could also be a spring, and the idea of continuously flowing water is pictured. Jesus was baptized in flowing water, and the Didache states that being baptized in flowing water is the preferred method. Whether or not the fountain refers to baptism, a cleansing does occur. As for the refinement of gold and silver, well the only way to do that is with a rather hot flame. About 1,750F for silver and 1,950F for gold. I wonder how hot the coal that touch Isaiah’s lips was (Isaiah 6:7). For me, this brings about the idea that it will not be pleasant, and anyone who has made some major changes to their life after coming to Christ would probably say the same thing.
This spiritual cleansing should also have an outward affect. Guilt is metaphorically equated with filthy clothing, which is to be removed and replaced “with splendid robes” (Zechariah 3:4). After all, you would not put on your best suit, and then cover it with overalls. Obviously, learning what not to do from the Scribes and Pharisees in the Gospels, we would not want to flaunt our “splendid robes.” But there should still be something that makes people ask “for a reason for the hope that is in” us (1 Peter 3:16), much like someone would ask what the occasion was for wearing your best suit.
Some of things that we could do to gain this inquiry, without flaunting the righteousness which is not really ours but given to us by God, would be “to act justly, to love faithfulness, and to walk humbly with [our] God” (Micah 6:8). There are far too many people in this world who will do whatever is best for them and their family, even if it means trampling someone else. If you have to decide between someone who has the power to help you and someone who does not have any way to repay you; then side with the person who is in the right, even if it is the latter. If you make a promise, keep it; even if that promise ends up costing you something. Treat anyone that you are in charge of like an equal, even if your boss does not treat you that way. (See also Zechariah 7:9-10 and 8:16-17)
I picked this theme because it is something that I am seeing here in twentieth century America. The checkboxes are different now than they were 2,500 plus years ago. Some will have a list that includes going to church on Sundays, and may or may not include reading the Bible on a regular basis. Others have one big checkbox labeled “love” and a small checkbox on reading the Bible, but they skip over passages about righteousness. I find myself checking a box labeled “study to show yourself approved,” and while love and fellowship are there, they do not get checked as often as they should. From the study above, we can see that true worship is what God desires. And true worship comes from being relational to both God and others. The two greatest commandments of love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself (Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18 as seen in Matthew 22:37-40, Mark 12:29-31, and Luke 10:25-37), are seen within these passages.
