Is Our Religion Real or Routine?

O. T. #1606  "Is Our Religion Real or Routine"
Jan. 14, 2020
Isaiah 29
Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honor Me, but have removed their heart far from Me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men. (verse 13)

LET IT GLOW

Again, Isaiah is pronouncing 6 woes (doom) upon Israel, Jerusalem, Judah, compromisers, and invaders.
The first woe, found in chapter 28, was spoken to Ephraim (Israel). God's judgment would come upon them using Assyria to take them captive.

Today, in chapter 29, we read of two woes, doom upon Jerusalem, called Ariel.
Ariel (ar-ee-ale')means lion of God or strong lion.
How is the lion compared to Jerusalem?

• The lion is king among the beasts; Jerusalem was the king among the cities, Judah's capital. The lion of the tribe of Judah was the ensign of a lion. 
• The lion is bold in attacking other animals of prey. David attacked other nations and dominated them as their king, and Jerusalem was his head quarters.
• Jesus is referred to as the Lamb of God and the Lion of Judah.
• In Jacob called Judah a young lion who crouches down like a lion to pounce on its prey. The scepter will not depart from Judah or the staff from between his feet until Jesus comes and the obedience of the peoples belongs to Him. Jesus will reign as king over the world when He comes again to reign for 1,000 years.

God chose Judah to be the ancestor of Israel's line of kings. Judah's line would produce the promised Messiah, Jesus. (Life Application Study Bible)
We know King David was an ancestor of Jesus, according to Matthew.

LET IT GROW

We have an advantage of being to read in the Bible, that Jerusalem was conquered. First it was destroyed by Babylon in 586 B.C. and then in 70 A.D. by Herod of Rome. Those events happened because Judah would not submit to God in obedience.

Read our key verses. God was telling Jews their problem-they honored the Lord with their mouth and lips, but not with their heart (leb) which referred to their mind, emotions, and will. Their reverence for God was only outward and intellectual. Worship and religion became a routine, not real.
Jesus condemned the hypocrisy of the Pharisees, for they added hundreds of rules onto the laws of God (Matthew 15 and Mark 7).

We must guard our heart from the hypocrisy of routine patterns of worship and neglect to give our love and devotion to our God. We must be obedient and worship Him honestly and sincerely if we want to be called God's people.

How are we living today? Do we love God and His Word? Are we loving our neighbors? Or do we act one way on Sunday and another on Monday? Is our religion real or routine?

LET IT GO

Jesus, help me forgive people in the same way You forgive me.
Help me love others in the way You love me.
As I praise You with my lips, may my life honor You, too.