In this series of BLOGS on hating God we have moved from the fact that there are only two kinds of people. There are those that hate God and those that love God. There are many differing degrees within the two camps, yet the Bible knows of no other distinction. There are many that hate God that are very religious and outwardly pious, yet their very religious activities are acts of hatred against God. As we think through the history of Israel, what we see is that the religious actions of the Israelites were hated by God and were in fact nothing more than outward signs of submission to Him, but in reality were nothing more than an effort to get away with sinful activities. This is simply to say that the Israelites were given over to sin (acts of hatred toward God) and then they tried to use religion to cover over their sin or perhaps get away with it. Their religion, therefore, were acts of hatred toward God. Listen to the words of Isaiah the prophet to Judah.
Isaiah 1:10 – “Hear the word of the LORD, You rulers of Sodom; Give ear to the instruction of our God, You people of Gomorrah. 11 “What are your multiplied sacrifices to Me?” Says the LORD. “I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams And the fat of fed cattle; And I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls, lambs or goats. 12 “When you come to appear before Me, Who requires of you this trampling of my courts? 13 “Bring your worthless offerings no longer, Incense is an abomination to Me. New moon and sabbath, the calling of assemblies– I cannot endure iniquity and the solemn assembly. 14 “I hate your new moon festivals and your appointed feasts, They have become a burden to Me; I am weary of bearing them. 15 “So when you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide My eyes from you; Yes, even though you multiply prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are covered with blood.
God Himself spoke to the people of Judah and referred to them and their religious acts as comparable to the sins of the rulers of Sodom and the people of Gomorrah. This is a devastating passage of Holy Scripture. The professing Church of today needs to be very careful of how it condemns homosexuality because of its own sins. When Jesus taught us to “judge not” (Mat 7:1ff), the reason that He gives is because we will be judged in some degree as to how we have judged others. So if God looks upon a religious people and thinks of them as He did Sodom and Gomorrah, we need to be careful to judge by Scripture and nothing else. This is not to say that homosexuality is not sin and that it should not be condemned, but simply to say that the sin of a people that take up the name of religion without a real heart toward God is a sin of spiritual adultery and harlotry against God. It is also against nature since it is against the God of nature. We need to beware of self-righteousness in this as in all things.
What were the sacrifices of the Jewish people to God? Did He need them? Did they do Him any good at all? Why did they do them? Well, let us ask ourselves about our own religious “sacrifices.” Does God need them? Do they do Him any good at all? Why do we do them? Could it be that the downward slide of the nation and the professing Church is a sign that God is saying to us that He has had enough of our so-called sacrifices? Has God had enough of our moral fights and instead desires us to stand forth for the truth of the Gospel? Could it be that God is looking upon the professing Church in our day and thinking of it as He did of Sodom and Gomorrah and of Judah? The text is speaking of God’s attitude toward Judah and her religious services and duties. It certainly appears that they kept the outward actions going, but God says very clearly in the text that He hated them and that they had become a burden to Him.
Let us look at the other side of this passage. What kinds of hearts were involved in a so-called worship like the ones described in Isaiah? These people brought the animals that were required to be sacrificed. They brought the rams and the cattle, but God was not pleased at all. He even calls them “worthless offerings” in the text. Their incense was more than just not acceptable, it was an abomination. God could not endure their Sabbaths and even calling of solemn assemblies. He even hated their appointed feasts. But notice that all of these things were commanded by God. The hearts that were involved in these things had no true love for God. The hearts that went through the commanded things were hearts that hated God in reality and only did what they did in order to obtain something from God. It might even be that their deceitful hearts had twisted things so that they thought they were serving the true God, but the words that God gives us inform us that the hearts that went to all of the trouble and expense of these rituals actually hated Him. What if God hated our sacrifices? What if God thought our prayers were abominations? What if His eyes were hidden from our prayers? What if all the professing Church did was really out of hatred for God? What would our nation look like? Perhaps pretty much like it looks now.
God Loves... Himself 
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