Busted!
(Israel asked the Lord), “Why have we fasted and You do not see? Why have we humbled ourselves and You do not notice?”(The Lord answered), Behold, on the day of your fast you find your desire, and drive hard all your workers [Isaiah 58:3].
I recall back in the day when I was a young tyke, barely knee-high to a grasshopper. I had a not so unusual way of obeying my dad. When he told me to clean my room, I did…sort of. Everything on the floor I swept under my bed. Everything on the chair and bed and dresser I tossed into the closet, abruptly closing the door behind the mess.
“Ah, I cleaned my room in short shrift,” I applauded myself. “Dad will certainly be pleased with my diligence in obeying his directions.” After all, when I looked around the room it appeared clean. I saw nothing out of place and in need of redirection. If possession is 90% of the law, appearance ought to be 90% of clean. Right?
Too bad for me I wasn’t the law. Dad was! And he didn’t buy what I was selling. He didn’t settle for poking his head through the door to have a look-see and settle on appearances. He had the audacity to actually enter my bedroom, open the closet door for a peek, and raise the bed skirt to see what was under the bed.
Busted! Dad knew my propensities better than I did. When I “cleaned” my room, I acted without thinking. Dad, contrariwise, recognized my puerile predilection for appearance over essence and cut to the chase. It didn’t take many of those inspections to learn that going through the motions in my obedience to Dad didn’t cut it. I learned to clean my room for real at a very early age.
In Isaiah’s day the Lord’s kids, the Israelites, behaved in much the same way to Father God’s instructions. They were very religious, you see. They tithed mint and cumin, dotted their “i’s” and crossed their “t’s”, and fasted at every conceivable opportunity. And then they parked their carcasses on all the street corners and every other high profile place, and prayed out loud to God, “See how good we are, God? No need to thank us. It’s our pleasure.”
Yes, indeed. These guys were holy rollers and Father God just had to be proud of them! Or were they? And was He? According to the Biblical text quoted at the start of this study, God wasn’t buying what they were selling. He actually had the audacity to enter their room, open the closet door for a closer look, and peer behind the bed skirt to discover the truth. Who’s He think He is anyway? The nerve of some people!
The Biblical text records Israel’s hurt feelings by the words “fasted” and “humbled ourselves”, while the Lord didn’t acknowledge the holiness of their behaviors. Despite the Israelites’ protest, it would seem the Lord had a good reason. His indictment of their religious activity was this: On the day of your fast you find your desire, and drive hard all your workers.
This means that, while the Israelites were going through the motions of fasting, they were cavorting in their own pleasures. They were also oppressing their fellow Israelites who worked for them. The whole point of fasting is to temporarily set aside our indulging of the flesh, in order to strengthen the spirit. In this manner we attempt to draw closer to the Lord in our personal relationship with Him.
The Israelites, you see, outwardly performed religious functions, but inwardly they were still living to please the flesh, to please themselves. Father God gave them quite specific instructions about obeying His Word, but only from the heart, only out of love for Him. They preferred to sweep the mess under the bed and hide it in the closet for appearances’ sake. In this way they had more time to please themselves. Alas for them, but Father God took a closer look into their hearts. Busted!
So how about you and me. Are we busted too? Or do we truly love the Lord and obey His Word as the outworking of our love for Him? It wouldn’t do to be busted at the Bema of Christ and lose our eternal rewards.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Joshua: Volume 6 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B...
I recall back in the day when I was a young tyke, barely knee-high to a grasshopper. I had a not so unusual way of obeying my dad. When he told me to clean my room, I did…sort of. Everything on the floor I swept under my bed. Everything on the chair and bed and dresser I tossed into the closet, abruptly closing the door behind the mess.
“Ah, I cleaned my room in short shrift,” I applauded myself. “Dad will certainly be pleased with my diligence in obeying his directions.” After all, when I looked around the room it appeared clean. I saw nothing out of place and in need of redirection. If possession is 90% of the law, appearance ought to be 90% of clean. Right?
Too bad for me I wasn’t the law. Dad was! And he didn’t buy what I was selling. He didn’t settle for poking his head through the door to have a look-see and settle on appearances. He had the audacity to actually enter my bedroom, open the closet door for a peek, and raise the bed skirt to see what was under the bed.
Busted! Dad knew my propensities better than I did. When I “cleaned” my room, I acted without thinking. Dad, contrariwise, recognized my puerile predilection for appearance over essence and cut to the chase. It didn’t take many of those inspections to learn that going through the motions in my obedience to Dad didn’t cut it. I learned to clean my room for real at a very early age.
In Isaiah’s day the Lord’s kids, the Israelites, behaved in much the same way to Father God’s instructions. They were very religious, you see. They tithed mint and cumin, dotted their “i’s” and crossed their “t’s”, and fasted at every conceivable opportunity. And then they parked their carcasses on all the street corners and every other high profile place, and prayed out loud to God, “See how good we are, God? No need to thank us. It’s our pleasure.”
Yes, indeed. These guys were holy rollers and Father God just had to be proud of them! Or were they? And was He? According to the Biblical text quoted at the start of this study, God wasn’t buying what they were selling. He actually had the audacity to enter their room, open the closet door for a closer look, and peer behind the bed skirt to discover the truth. Who’s He think He is anyway? The nerve of some people!
The Biblical text records Israel’s hurt feelings by the words “fasted” and “humbled ourselves”, while the Lord didn’t acknowledge the holiness of their behaviors. Despite the Israelites’ protest, it would seem the Lord had a good reason. His indictment of their religious activity was this: On the day of your fast you find your desire, and drive hard all your workers.
This means that, while the Israelites were going through the motions of fasting, they were cavorting in their own pleasures. They were also oppressing their fellow Israelites who worked for them. The whole point of fasting is to temporarily set aside our indulging of the flesh, in order to strengthen the spirit. In this manner we attempt to draw closer to the Lord in our personal relationship with Him.
The Israelites, you see, outwardly performed religious functions, but inwardly they were still living to please the flesh, to please themselves. Father God gave them quite specific instructions about obeying His Word, but only from the heart, only out of love for Him. They preferred to sweep the mess under the bed and hide it in the closet for appearances’ sake. In this way they had more time to please themselves. Alas for them, but Father God took a closer look into their hearts. Busted!
So how about you and me. Are we busted too? Or do we truly love the Lord and obey His Word as the outworking of our love for Him? It wouldn’t do to be busted at the Bema of Christ and lose our eternal rewards.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Joshua: Volume 6 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B...
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