Wash
Yourselves;
Make
Yourselves Clean
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 the 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. Wash yourselves; make yourselves
clean; remove the evil of your doings from before my eyes; cease to do evil,
learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead
for the widow.
Come
now, let us argue it out, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be like snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become
like wool.
There
are many who can tell you what is wrong, but very few can tell you the right
things to do. God can, if you listen. He tells us how to do all things, through
the Spirit, and through the Bible. All we have to do is read, and listen.
Problems
are hard to fix, when we fixate on what is wrong. God revealed to Israel’s
prophets not only what was wrong but also what was right. He told us to stop
doing evil. He told us to learn how to do good. He told us to seek justice and
to rebuke the oppressor.
Instead of focusing on what is wrong,
obey the One who knows what is right.
Like a compass,
the Bible always points you in the right direction.
Our Daily Bread –
October 21, 2007