Worship That Matters: Isaiah 29:9-16

“Then the LORD said, ‘Because this people draw near with their words And honor Me with their lip service, But they remove their hearts far from Me, And their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote’” (Isaiah 29:13, NASB).

There are different styles of worship services in America’s churches. Some churches style their worship as traditional. Other churches style their worship as contemporary. Some churches have at least two worship services on Sunday morning. There is the contemporary service followed by the traditional services. Some churches combine traditional with contemporary in one service. The difference between contemporary services and traditional services usually centers around different genre of music, emphasis on dress, translation of the bible preferred, and life issues that guide the sermons, and age of those attending the service. Does this matter? In this article I want to answer the question: What is the worship that matters?

The question, what is the worship that matters is really two questions. The first question is: Does the worship matter to me? Does the worship have meaning to me? The second question is does the worship matter to God? Is it possible that the worship services have great meaning to me, but have no meaning to God? Does God care about worship style? Does God prefer one genre of music over another? Exactly, what is the reason that I prefer one style of worship over another? Do I want to be entertained and made to feel good, or do I want the services to impact my life so that I grow closer to God? Let me say here and now that worship does not matter unless worship matters to God.

In Isaiah 29:9-16 the prophet warns Judah that their worship is done in vain. The prophet sounds a warning because of the manner in which they worship the Lord. What is taking place in this text? Hezekiah is king in Judah. The scripture says this about Hezekiah: “Hezekiah became king when he was twenty-five years old; and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem” (2 Chronicles 29:1, NASB). Secondly, “He did what was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father (ancestor) David had done” (v. 2). The good works of Hezekiah are his efforts to eliminate idolatry in Judah and to restore worship of the Lord are written about in chapters 29-31. However, a larger problem is headed Hezekiah’s way. “After these acts of faithfulness Sennacherib king of Assyria came and invaded Judah and besieged the fortified cities, and thought to break into them himself” (2 Chronicles 32:1, NASB). Hezekiah’s advisors suggested that he turn to Egypt for assistance. God responds to this advice, saying that Judah was not acting in faith in God.

Hezekiah’s advisors advised him to turn to Egypt for assistance against Sennacherib. What’s wrong with seeking an ally when you are in trouble? Judah already had an ally that they ignored. Instead of looking to Egypt they should have turned to the Lord. Egypt did not have the strength to save them. On the other hand, if they turned to the Lord with sincere hearts they would not need an ally. The Lord had a history of fighting His people’s battle. Their turning to Egypt was in effect an act of idolatry. The problem was that idolatry was a way of life in Judah. Yes, Hezekiah had removed the idols from public view but he had not removed the idols from their heart. The people worshiped the Lord publicly, but their worship of the Lord was not in their hearts.

The people did everything that they should do in order to have good worship. They sang the right songs and the people rejoiced when they sang. The priest offered the appropriate sacrifices according to the law, but they were not repentant of their sins. They said “Amen” to the teaching of the priest and scribes, but they did not know in their hearts what the priest were saying. They really did not understand the law. When they stated what the law said it was not knowledge that they knew. Rather, each person repeated what they heard others say. In public the people had great worship services, but the Lord rejected their worship.

Worship that matters to God is a matter of the heart. Our worship matters to the Lord if we have done our best to obey Him. We must know His words for ourselves. It is not good enough that we respond to the coaching of others. We have to know what God requires of us ourselves. The word of God must become flesh in our lives. Otherwise, we are just following the crowd. We are responding to the opinions of others. Worship that matters to God is when we obey His word.

Worship that matters to God is when we trust Him. The people of Judah were performing correct actions of worship. They did not trust the Lord. The words of promise of protection did not resonate with them. Yes, worship God, but do not trust Him to keep His promise. We should seek help ourselves. Let us turn to Egypt because we do not know that the Lord will protect us.

Worship that matters to God is preceded by our dependence on Him. Since we trust Him we can depend on Him. God is faithful. He will be there for us anytime that we need Him. The Lord will be where we need Him to be. No place is off limits to God. The earth is the Lord’s. The Lord is everywhere. David wrote: “Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence” (Psalm 139:7, NASB)? Whether we are in heaven, Sheol, or the remotest part of the sea “Even there Your hand will lead me, And Your right hand will lay hold of me” (119:10). We can depend on God because He is omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent. He knows our every need. He is always with us. He has power to execute protection for us and judgment to our enemies.

How can we have worship that matters? In verses 17-24 the Lord speaks of a day when Judah will return to Him. The Lord will bless them after He has disciplined them. Jesus talked with a woman of Samaria at Jacob’s well. The woman thought that worship was about where one worshiped. She thought that worship was about public display. She said to Jesus: “Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship” (John 4:20, NASB). The place does not matter Jesus tells her (v. 21). Jesus tells her that worship is a matter of the heart. “‘But the hour is coming, and now is, when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers’” (John 4:19, NASB). Jesus further stated, “‘God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth’” (v. 24). This is the only worship that matters.