May we never make the holy things of God as common things.
Amos 5:18-27 NIV
18 Woe to you who long
for the day of the Lord!
Why do you long for the day of the Lord?
That day will be darkness, not light.
19 It will be as though a man fled from a lion
only to meet a bear,
as though he entered his house
and rested his hand on the wall
only to have a snake bite him.
20 Will not the day of the Lord be darkness, not light—
pitch-dark, without a ray of brightness?
21 “I hate, I despise your religious festivals;
your assemblies are a stench to me.
22 Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings,
I will not accept them.
Though you bring choice fellowship offerings,
I will have no regard for them.
23 Away with the noise of your songs!
I will not listen to the music of your harps.
24 But let justice roll on like a river,
righteousness like a never-failing stream!
25 “Did you bring me sacrifices and offerings
forty years in the wilderness, people of Israel?
26 You have lifted up the shrine of your king,
the pedestal of your idols,
the star of your god
which you made for yourselves.
27 Therefore I will send you into exile beyond Damascus,”
says the Lord, whose name is God Almighty.
The purpose of our work must be separated like fine china is from everyday use. When routine, tradition, or legalism destroys the life-preserving connection of relationship to our holy God, then they become nothing more than means to worship an idol of our own making. That idol may be to mask our hypocrisy, or to protect the status quo, or to achieve a false sense of self-righteousness.
We can learn many truths and lessons of wisdom from studying the Old Testament and how God worked within the Jewish people. The Jewish people had turned their hearts away from God but still practiced the works of their religion. The very things that God set in place to expose sin, bring repentance, and remind them of righteousness, they now had turned the holy things of God for the common use of manmade religion.
1 Samuel 15:22 ESV
And Samuel said, “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams.
God is after the heart. The authentic person. The true love of His children. What is more important? The task? Or the heart behind the task? To obey and listen will always surpass the self-righteous acts of the hypocrite.
Proverbs 15:8-9 NIV
8 The Lord detests the sacrifice of the wicked,
but the prayer of the upright pleases him.
9 The Lord detests the way of the wicked,
but he loves those who pursue righteousness.
We are the wicked if we come to holy ground wearing the sandals made by men (Moses and the burning bush reference). We must come to Him as we are and be open to who He wants and needs us to be.
We learn to detest what He detests and love what He loves. Our love for Him will be acts of love and not acts undermined by selfish ambition.
I feel for the one who has in their heart, I will love so that I may gain something in return. We love because He first loved us. We sacrifice because He gave His life.
Now sure, we gain so much from following Christ. But to seek the increase before the careful attention to the tilling, planting, and watering is futile. God wants a relationship. He could care less about what you do, what you give, or how many hours you're in church if your heart is far from Him.
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Ours is what we did and didn't do for Him.. rewards. We are told many times we will never see the great I am wrath... thank you Father for sending you son..