Are your prayers, praises and worships delightful or obnoxious to the Creator?
• Pro 15:8 -> “The sacrifice of the wicked is a hateful thing to Jehovah, but the prayer of the upright is His delight.”.
Many people think that what is important is worship and praise the Creator. Nevertheless, see what He says:
• Isa 1:12-17 -> “When you come to appear before Me, who has required this at your hand, to trample My courts? Bring no more vain sacrifice; incense is an abomination to Me; the new moon and sabbath, the going to meeting; I cannot endure evil and the assembly! Your new moons and your appointed feasts My soul hates; they are a trouble to Me; I am weary to bear them. And when you spread out your hands, I will hide My eyes from you; yea, when you make many prayers, I will not hear; your hands are full of blood. *Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes; cease to do evil; learn to do good; seek judgment, reprove the oppressor. Judge the orphan, plead for the widow”*.
• Mic 6:6-8 -> “With what shall I come before Jehovah, to bow myself before God the Most High? Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old? Will Jehovah be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my first-born for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? *He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does Jehovah require of you but to do justice and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God?*”.
• Amo 5:21-23 -> “I hate, I despise your feast days, and I will not delight in your solemn assemblies. Though you offer Me burnt offerings and your food offerings, I will not be pleased. Nor will I regard the peace offerings of your fat animals. Take the noise of your songs away from Me; for I will not hear the melody of your stringed instruments. *But let judgment roll down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream*.”.
• Mal 1:10 -> “Who is even among you who will shut the doors, and you not kindle fire on My altar in vain! *I have no pleasure in you, says Jehovah of Hosts. I will not be pleased with an offering from you*.”.
• Isa 66:3 -> “He who kills an ox is is as if he killed a man; he who sacrifices a lamb is as if he broke a dog's neck; he who offers an offering is as if he offered swine's blood; he who burns incense is as if he blessed an idol. *Yea, they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delights in their abominations*.”
• Jer 6:20 -> “Why does frankincense come to Me from Sheba, and the sweet cane from a far country? Your burnt offerings are not pleasing, nor your sacrifices sweet to Me.”.
• Jer 7:21-24 -> “So says Jehovah of Hosts, the God of Israel: Put your burnt offerings to your sacrifices, and eat flesh. For I did not speak to your fathers, nor command them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings or sacrifices. *But I commanded them this thing, saying, Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be My people; and walk in all the ways that I have commanded you, so that it may be well with you*. But they did not listen, nor bow their ear, but walked in their own plans, in the stubbornness of their evil heart, and went backward and not forward.”.
• Psa 50:16 -> “But to the wicked, God says, What is it to you, to declare My Precepts, and to take up My covenant in your mouth”.
Based in all of this, we can see that mere religious formalism is of no value:
• Pro 28:9 -> “He who turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is a hateful thing.”.
To praise and worship Jesus with an impure heart only stir up the Creator’s wrath:
• Pro 21:27 -> “The sacrifice of the wicked is hateful to God; how much more when he brings it with a wicked mind?”.
Hereby we can see why the Creator many times keep off some “believers”: as they are behaving like wicked, if He approach Himself of them, they will be annihilated:
• Pro 15:29 -> “Jehovah is far from the wicked, but He hears the prayer of the righteous.”.
• Exo 33:3 -> “to a land flowing with milk and honey. For I will not go up in the midst of you, for you are a stiff-necked people, lest I consume you in the way.”.
So, have a good day evoking Jesus with a pure heart (2Tim 2:22). After all, worship is not carnal (or physical, if you prefer), but spiritual:
• Joh 4:24 -> “God is a spirit, and they who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth.”.
• Pro 15:8 -> “The sacrifice of the wicked is a hateful thing to Jehovah, but the prayer of the upright is His delight.”.
Many people think that what is important is worship and praise the Creator. Nevertheless, see what He says:
• Isa 1:12-17 -> “When you come to appear before Me, who has required this at your hand, to trample My courts? Bring no more vain sacrifice; incense is an abomination to Me; the new moon and sabbath, the going to meeting; I cannot endure evil and the assembly! Your new moons and your appointed feasts My soul hates; they are a trouble to Me; I am weary to bear them. And when you spread out your hands, I will hide My eyes from you; yea, when you make many prayers, I will not hear; your hands are full of blood. *Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes; cease to do evil; learn to do good; seek judgment, reprove the oppressor. Judge the orphan, plead for the widow”*.
• Mic 6:6-8 -> “With what shall I come before Jehovah, to bow myself before God the Most High? Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old? Will Jehovah be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my first-born for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? *He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does Jehovah require of you but to do justice and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God?*”.
• Amo 5:21-23 -> “I hate, I despise your feast days, and I will not delight in your solemn assemblies. Though you offer Me burnt offerings and your food offerings, I will not be pleased. Nor will I regard the peace offerings of your fat animals. Take the noise of your songs away from Me; for I will not hear the melody of your stringed instruments. *But let judgment roll down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream*.”.
• Mal 1:10 -> “Who is even among you who will shut the doors, and you not kindle fire on My altar in vain! *I have no pleasure in you, says Jehovah of Hosts. I will not be pleased with an offering from you*.”.
• Isa 66:3 -> “He who kills an ox is is as if he killed a man; he who sacrifices a lamb is as if he broke a dog's neck; he who offers an offering is as if he offered swine's blood; he who burns incense is as if he blessed an idol. *Yea, they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delights in their abominations*.”
• Jer 6:20 -> “Why does frankincense come to Me from Sheba, and the sweet cane from a far country? Your burnt offerings are not pleasing, nor your sacrifices sweet to Me.”.
• Jer 7:21-24 -> “So says Jehovah of Hosts, the God of Israel: Put your burnt offerings to your sacrifices, and eat flesh. For I did not speak to your fathers, nor command them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings or sacrifices. *But I commanded them this thing, saying, Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be My people; and walk in all the ways that I have commanded you, so that it may be well with you*. But they did not listen, nor bow their ear, but walked in their own plans, in the stubbornness of their evil heart, and went backward and not forward.”.
• Psa 50:16 -> “But to the wicked, God says, What is it to you, to declare My Precepts, and to take up My covenant in your mouth”.
Based in all of this, we can see that mere religious formalism is of no value:
• Pro 28:9 -> “He who turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is a hateful thing.”.
To praise and worship Jesus with an impure heart only stir up the Creator’s wrath:
• Pro 21:27 -> “The sacrifice of the wicked is hateful to God; how much more when he brings it with a wicked mind?”.
Hereby we can see why the Creator many times keep off some “believers”: as they are behaving like wicked, if He approach Himself of them, they will be annihilated:
• Pro 15:29 -> “Jehovah is far from the wicked, but He hears the prayer of the righteous.”.
• Exo 33:3 -> “to a land flowing with milk and honey. For I will not go up in the midst of you, for you are a stiff-necked people, lest I consume you in the way.”.
So, have a good day evoking Jesus with a pure heart (2Tim 2:22). After all, worship is not carnal (or physical, if you prefer), but spiritual:
• Joh 4:24 -> “God is a spirit, and they who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth.”.