Questions: Have you ever endured a gathering where the spirit that was supposed to be there was absent? Have you ever felt like you were supposed to come away feeling filled but you departed feeling empty, as if you’d just gone through the motions?Probably, many people have shared this experience.

There is a danger associated with this, too, however–namely, that we can go chasing adrenaline experiences that are intellectually insipid and spiritually vapid. Many folks are caught up in that pattern. They doomscroll for entertainment to stave off having to engage with serious thought or reflection. Many people cannot endure silence. To be stuck alone with oneself is torture because they might not like what they see. It might drive them to self-reflection and accountability. So, the response is to turn away, to engage in more distraction, to deflect, to be entertained.

Scripture Speaks to This: When the prophet Isaiah wrote in the 700s-600s B.C. he addressed the culture of his day with these same hard sayings. He spoke the truth. And the people didn’t like it. Prophecy is not for the morally weak. Engage in a prophet’s work and you might get the prophet’s reward–stoning, shunning, beheading, exile, or murder. But if you’re God’s man, all will be made right. But there’s a lot of pain involved.

When Isaiah opened the book that bears his name in the Old Testament, he rebukes Judah (the southern kingdom) straight out of the gate: “Why will you still be struck down?” (Is 1:5). It’s a rhetorical question that is a clear rebuke. And Isaiah rebukes empty ritualism–this going through the motions–that characterized so much of religiosity:

“What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices?
    says the Lord;
I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams
    and the fat of well-fed beasts;
I do not delight in the blood of bulls,
    or of lambs, or of goats.

¹² “When you come to appear before me,
    who has required of you
    this trampling of my courts?
¹³ Bring no more vain offerings;
    incense is an abomination to me.
New moon and Sabbath and the calling of convocations—
    I cannot endure iniquity and solemn assembly.
¹⁴ Your new moons and your appointed feasts
    my soul hates;
they have become a burden to me;
    I am weary of bearing them.
¹⁵ When you spread out your hands,
    I will hide my eyes from you;
even though you make many prayers,
    I will not listen;
    your hands are full of blood.
¹⁶ Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean;
    remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes;
cease to do evil,
¹⁷     learn to do good;
seek justice,
    correct oppression;
bring justice to the fatherless,
    plead the widow’s cause. (Is 1:11-17)

Empty Ritualism: Like many others, my wife and I enjoy live music. Over the many years, we have seen some great shows–B.B. King, John Mayer, Selah. I remember seeing Pink Floyd (yes, I’m that old); Bob Dylan, Bob Seger, Billy Joel, the Eagles, Kansas, Willie Nelson, and many, many more. And what set some of those shows apart was that there was a sincere love and communication going on between the musicians and us (the hearers). We knew their words; we knew their tunes; their songs played a big part in shaping us as individuals. Our memories played their tunes in the soundtrack of our lives. And the best of these individuals and/or groups got it. They understood that music is more than just sound; something spiritual is going on.

Segue: How much more important, therefore, should be our relationship with God? Is it not the most important issue? “Who do you say that I am?” is a life-altering question. That’s what Jesus posed to Peter, you’ll remember (Mt 16:15-17, e.g.).

Takeaway: God spoke through Isaiah. God’s message was that he hates “vain offerings” (v. 13) and that’s he is “weary” of all the ritualism (v. 14b). What God calls for is pure worship from hearts and minds purified by the refining fire of gospel truth. That’s not ritualism. That is full worship. In Hebrews 12:28-29, the writer says, “Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverance and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.”

The kingdom of God is received; it’s not something we sinners manufacture or gin up. But if we have been born again by the Spirit of God, our worship will be theocentric and full–not of entertainment and filler, but of depth and a reverence for the holiness of God. Empty ritualism is a sign that Ichabod is writ large upon the door. But where God’s Spirit is at work among his people, we will bless the Lord at all times, with all that is within us (Ps 34:1).