Proverbs 15:8-9, Ritual Versus Reality

September 14, Proverbs 15:8-9

Matt. 15:1-9; Heb. 11:4-6; Jude 11 “Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines” (Songs 2:15).

Ritual Versus Reality

Our two proverbs today are closely related. Here we find that the sacrifice of the wicked and the way of the wicked both are abomination to the Lord. The prayer of the upright parallels him that followeth hard after righteousness, both of whom God delights in and loves. “The pair of sayings show how intensely our regular behaviour matters to God” (Kidner). God is not a robot. He is a Being with a heart big enough to enfold us all.

1. The Wondrous Sensibilities of God: What precious truth is here! The God of the Bible is no “remote, spectator-God, dwelling alone with the stars.” He is not only the all-seeing God, but also the all-feeling God, who not only beholds the evil and the good, but also shows His revulsion or His rapture when we worship. Is it not truly wonderful that puny man can so affect “the Heart of the Eternal God”? Both of these proverbs deal with aspects of worship, what is acceptable to a Holy God and what is not. God does express His righteous indignation in His “loving displeasure with sin”! Yet, how God can feel is beyond our ability to fathom, but the Bible speaks of His being grieved and rejoicing, of His love and hate. We cannot offer either the sacrifice of falsehood, or, what Scripture has denounced as the sacrifice of fools, and think it is acceptable to a Holy God. Their abomination is contained in one brief phrase, for they consider not that they do evil (Eccl. 5:1). Does not this judgment apply to all such heedless and heartless worship, for “what we worship, determines what we become” (Ammerman).

2. The Wooden Sacrifices of Man: Yes, the wicked are religious! Human history is abundant proof of this. Why is the sacrifice of the wicked an abomination to the Lord? Their sacrifices were mere rituals, empty traditions. There are many Scripture passages dealing with the abominable hypocrisy of wicked men who seek to cover their sins by offering their vain oblations to God (Isa. 1:13). When that happens, true religion, based on God’s righteous demands, goes up in holy smoke (incense)! All merely formal religion is false religion. This is why ecumenical worship is an abomination! The reason behind the present union of ecumenism and charismatism is to give the impression that “God is alive and well” within the liberal camp! Today all the emphasis is on feeling-religion, such as the signs and wonders of Vineyardism. A feeling-religion, divorced from a sound Scriptural base, is a false religion. It is an acted-lie! The way of Cain is the way of human inventions in worship. It is the sinful intrusion of self-effort. That is man’s way, and it is wrong! Cain did not come in faith, but in unbelief. He offered to God, not what God prescribed, but what he thought should be acceptable to God. It was offered in the energy of the flesh. Is not this the way of much evangelical worship today? Forget about the Scriptures; they only turn people off! Give them what they want! Keep them coming at any cost! That was also the approach that Isaiah had to contend with in his day (Is. 1:13-15).

Thought: “Man’s worship neither touches the mind nor affects the heart.”

Prayer: To worship the Father in Spirit and in Truth