Relationship in the midst of Rituals  (Got Questions) 

“These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught” (Isaiah 29:13). While the Israelites were saying the right things, their hearts were far from God.

The word heart is a common metaphor. In English, heart often represents someone’s emotions. When we say that someone has a “heart of stone,” we do not mean that his blood-pumping organ has been mineralized; we mean that he is unmoved by emotional appeals. When an ancient Israelite used the word heart metaphorically, he was thinking of the center of someone’s soul, the place where he makes all his decisions and experiences all his emotions. The “heart” was the location of one’s will and intellect. Therefore, when the Bible commands us to love something “with all our hearts,” it means loving with everything we have on the inside.

When God said that “their hearts are far from me,” He meant that they had chosen other loyalties besides God. While they might have sounded religious, they did not love God or obey Him. Their thoughts and their decisions were bent away from God. The NET Bible has a helpful translation here: “These people say they are loyal to me; they say wonderful things about me, but they are not really loyal to me. Their worship consists of nothing but man-made ritual” (Isaiah 29:13). In English, we might say that the Israelites worshiped “but their hearts weren’t in it.”

In the New Testament, Jesus quotes this verse in an important confrontation with the Pharisees (Mark 7:6–7). They, too, had hearts far from God. The Pharisees pretended to care about God’s law by following outward acts like hand washing, but they did not care about God on the inside. When they met God in the person of Jesus, they tried to kill Him! After quoting Isaiah 29:13, Jesus scathingly summarized their heart condition: “You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions” (Mark 7:8). The Pharisees still did religious things but had forgotten the reasons behind their actions. They said the right things, but their hearts were far from God.

As Christians, we face the same temptation as the hypocritical Israelites. Sometimes, it is easy to maintain the outward appearance of religious obedience by following basic rules, yet we lack any real relationship with God in our hearts. We start “going through the motions” without growing in love for God or for others. We might faithfully go to church every Sunday but ignore God the rest of the week. Like the Pharisees and the ancient Israelites, “faking it” is not spiritually healthy, and it will eventually catch up with us.

(Quoted from “Got Questions)

God has exposed our hearts to help us return to true worship in spirit and in truth. And by His Grace God promise in Isaiah 29:14 saying, ¹⁴ Therefore, behold, I will again do a marvellous work Among this people, A marvellous work and a wonder;
For the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, And the understanding of their prudent men shall be hidden.”

God through His Mighty and Abundant Grace and mercy will do a marvellous work among them not only a work but a wonder. (miracle)  For the wisdom of men and the pride of men will perish.  Paul says, “I am what I am by the Grace of God” nothing else.

Isaiah 29:18,19  says “And in that day the deaf shall hear and the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind (spiritually) shall see out of obscurity and out of darkness. The humble also shall increase the joy in the Lord.”

Vs. 24 - “This is the work of My hands and the Lord will bring those who erred in the spirit will come to understand the things of God and those who murmured will learn doctrine.”   So let us worship Him with a true heart and understanding and let His joy be our strength and repent for all our religious behaviour and going through the motions only.   Let us be Christ-conscious than men-conscious.

Prayer:  GOD HELP US TO KNOW YOU WITH UNDERSTANDING AND WISDOM.  WE HUMBLE OURSELVES TO HONOR YOU WITH OUR HEARTS FIRST AND WITH OUR LIPS.  MAY WE BRING GLORY TO YOUR NAME. HELP US TO LEARN DOCTRINE FROM THE SPIRIT OF GOD.  IN JESUS NAME. AMEN.