God has no delight in any religious prescribed elements of worship used as mere cover-ups for hypocrisy, deception, and spiritual adultery:
Consider the following references:
- (Zechariah 8:17) …And let none of you imagine evil in your hearts against his neighbour; and love no false oath: for all these are things that I hate, saith the LORD.
- (Isaiah 1:13-15) Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting. Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them. And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood.
- (Deuteronomy 16:21-22) Thou shalt not plant thee a grove of any trees near unto the altar of the LORD thy God, which thou shalt make thee. Neither shalt thou set thee up any image; which the LORD thy God hateth.
- (Proverbs 6:16-19) These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.
These things (and much more) the Lord hates AND are placed in the same category with all idols and every other expression of sin.
The Breakdown—
In Zechariah 8:17—Religion consists in the conformity to God’s nature, that we should love what He loves and hate what He hates. He loves good and excellence but hates evil and wretchedness … we should follow the same mindset.
In Isaiah 1:13-15—God commands the people to be in a better state of mind; purity of heart; respect and honor. He hates hollow, false, deceitful, and hypocritical offerings. He is burdened with vain religious donations and evil conduct.
When the self-righteous pray and beg for mercy, God regards none of their supplications. The sentiment is, because ‘church goers’ (i.e., the ungodly, sinners, and enemies of the cross of Christ in the congregation of the righteous) indulge in sin, it denotes the crime and guilt of an high order of murder in the assembly; their hands drip in blood, and the stain proves their guilt.
In Deuteronomy 16:21-22—God commanded His people not to plant for themselves any tree as an idol which is either a resemblance or a representation of Him. The wooden idol in question was the stem of a tree, stripped of its boughs, set upright in the ground, and rudely carved with emblems and decorations.
God hates “…any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth…”
—Exodus 20:4
In Proverbs 6:16-19—There are six things generally found in the men of Belial (wicked) the Lord hates:
- A proud look … pride of heart, which commonly discovers itself by a man’s looks and gestures.
- A lying tongue … lying and deceit in their common conversation.
- A heart deviseth wicked imaginations … those who practice it also design and contrive wickedness.
- Feet swift to run to mischief … such as greedily and readily execute their wicked designs without any restraint or delay.
- A false witness speaketh lies … namely, in judgment—whereby this differs from the lying tongue.
- Soweth discord among brethren … that is, dear relations or friends. Discord causes relatives or friends to be suspicious of each other.
Want to please the Lord during the holidays and every other day of the year? “…Speak ye every man the truth to his neighbour; execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates…”
—Zechariah 8:16
If you LOVE the precepts of God … you will HATE everything He hates!
In Christ We Do Remain
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