Quick Question

[Religious Crisis]

In Isaiah 1, 13; It says:

"Bring no more futile sacrifices; Incence is an abomination to me. The new moons, the Sabbaths, and the calling of assemblies-- I cannot endure iniquality and the sacred meeting"

I do not undersatnd what this verse is saying, any interpretations would help. Thanks a lot.

 

 

[Patmosman_sga]

"Futile" is the key word. The Israelites at the time were just going through the motions, doing the outward ritual while they were inwardly corrupt. They had the form of godliness but denied its power. In other words, they were hypocrites.

 

[Religious Crisis]

So it was just saying that God would rather that they did nothing then just do it because they thought they had to and put no thought into it?

 

[Patmosman_sga]

Basically, yes. This prefigures the New Covenant, in which the ritual sacrifices would be done away with completely by Christ's sacrifice on the cross. The sacrifice we offer to God under the New Covenant is worship in spirit and in truth, an offering of our whole being to God, coming from a pure heart.

 

[Religious Crisis]

Thanks for the info.

 

[ThrdJohn13]

Well, it's more difficult than calling the Jews hypocrites, and saying Yahweh's charge to stop sacrificing prefigures Christ. That's actually a pretty crass way of putting it unless you have a bit of a grip on the dating of Isaiah, the books intended audience, and the historical context of the post-exilic and pre-exilic periods, and 1st century Palestinian Judaism. I would recommend doing some reading on that first. In order to set your bearings right, NT Wright's book "The CHallenge of Jesus" may be a good place to start.

Anyway, I'd rather not write out a huge explanation and defense as to how I read this first chapter of Isaiah, but those are some thoughts.
-J