Isaiah 29 Devotional

Honor That Stops at the Lips

“Therefore the Lord said: “These people draw near to Me with their mouths and honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. Their worship of Me is but rules taught by men.”Isaiah 29:13 (BSB)

Jerusalem, called Ariel here, keeps its festivals year after year, yet God announces he will lay siege to it himself (29:1-3). Then, suddenly, the nations attacking it vanish like a dream that leaves a hungry man still hungry when he wakes (29:5-8). God both humbles the city and rescues it.

The heart of the problem is named in 29:13. The people's words of worship are right, but their hearts are somewhere else, and their reverence is only a set of human rules. Jesus applies this verse to religious leaders who set aside God's word for the sake of their tradition (Matthew 15:6-9). They even try to hide their plans from God, as if clay could lecture the potter (29:15-16). The deaf and blind receive hearing and sight, the humble rejoice, and the God who redeemed Abraham will take away Jacob's shame (29:18-23). Even the wayward will come to understanding (29:24). God does not settle for lip service, and he is able to turn habit into honest love.

To think about: Where has your worship become words without your heart, and what would it look like to ask God to change that?