Worship And Justice

Judah, the Hebrews’ southern kingdom, was big on denial. By 740 BC, when Isaiah began to preach, the brutal and ambitious kingdom of Assyria had amply demonstrated their intentions and abilities. They were bent on conquering Egypt, the prize of the Mediterranean, and had to conquer everything else along the way in order to do it. Assyria was located about where Iraq is now, and between them and their ultimate goal lay a number of small city-states and the kingdoms of Syria, Israel, Moab, Edom, and Judah itself. Bit by bit they moved south, conquering, enslaving, and destroying as they came. For one brief moment it looked as though the combined might of Syria and Israel might stop them, but by 740 BC, about 160 years after they had begun, the Assyrian armies were firmly entrenched on Israel’s northern borders. All that was left of Syria when Isaiah started preaching was their capital city, Damascus.

Stop and consider that for just a moment. The capital city of Syria has been Damascus for over 3000 years. Our capital has only been in existence for 200. That ought to give us a different perspective on the current unrest in the Middle East, don’t you think?

At any rate, Israel was looking nervously at the Assyrian armies poised on their northern borders. Amos and Hosea preached passionately to Israel about the need to change their ways and return not only to right worship of YHWH God but also to obeying him in matters of justice, fair trading and the protection of the poor. But instead of choosing to return to God, and to trust in him for deliverance, they decided to rely instead on military might and alliance with their former enemies, the pagan Syrians. The Israelites didn’t listen to the prophets' warnings. According to the Biblical viewpoint - and ours - this stubborn refusal to take bad news seriously resulted in their eventual defeat by the Assyrian king Tiglath-Pileser.

For the first 20 years of Isaiah’s mission, Assyria was steadily conquering more and more territory north of Judah. Both kingdoms vacillated between paying tribute to Assyria and making futile alliances with Egypt. Town by town, the countryside around Samaria was chewed up by the Assyrian juggernaut. Refugees spilled over Judah’s borders. Archeological records show that the population of Jerusalem nearly tripled during that time. And still the Assyrians came on.

But when Isaiah stood on the steps of the temple and called the people of Judah to account, alternately pleading and threatening them with disaster, they didn’t listen any more than Israel had. After all, didn’t they have the temple? How could God pull his protection out from under them when he lived there?

Isaiah had pretty much the same message for Judah that Amos had had for the northern kingdom. Amos started with condemnation of the way Israel handled its business and treated its poor, and ended up with a scathing indictment of their religious practices.

I hate, I despise your festivals,” said the Lord, “and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies. Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them; and the offerings of well-being of your fatted animals I will not look upon. Take away from me the noise of your songs; I will not listen to the melody of your harps." [Amos 5:21-23]

Isaiah, on the other hand, starts with God’s opinion of Judah’s religion: "Hear the word of the LORD, you rulers of Sodom! Listen to the teaching of our God, you people of Gomorrah! 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 fed beasts; I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs, or of goats. When you come to appear before me, who asked this from your hand? Trample my courts no more; bringing offerings is futile; incense is an abomination to me. New moon and sabbath and calling of convocation-- I cannot endure solemn assemblies with iniquity. Your new moons and your appointed festivals my soul hates; they have become a burden to me, I am weary of bearing them. When you stretch 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.” [v. 10-15]

Both Isaiah and Amos condemn false religion; both Amos and Isaiah condemn exploitation and oppression. I have some questions.

My first question is, “Which comes first? False religion or social injustice?” Does failing to love and care for one’s neighbor cause one to worship God incorrectly? Or does false worship, whether it’s worship of a false god or flawed worship of the true God, cause oppression and exploitation?