When Our Hearts are Far From God (Isaiah 29:13-14)

Children's Lesson (click here)

I. How is It Evident on the Outside

What does it look like when a person's heart is far from God? Can you see it in their choices? Can you hear it in their words? Can you discern it from the company they keep or the priorities they maintain? When a person's heart is far from God, how is this evident on the outside? In our passage this morning, a passage from Our Bible Reading Plan last week, we read about people who are described in precisely those words, “their hearts are far from me”. Let's look at how the rest of that passage helps us understand how that was evident on the outside. Turn, if you would, to Isaiah chapter 29, and let's look together at verses 13 and 14.

II. The Passage: “This People Draw Near with Their Mouth” (29:13-14)

As we heard in our previous passage from Isaiah 22, in this chapter we are once again reading about judgment coming upon Judah, specifically Jerusalem (addressed in verses 1, 2, and 7 as “Ariel”, that is lion—or maybe hearth/altar—of God). But as we also touched on last time, those whom God is using to bring this judgment will themselves be judged, AND, Jerusalem will ultimately be delivered. Why is God bringing this judgment? Why will He, in the end, deliver his people? Look at what Yahweh reveals to Isaiah about those questions in verses 13 and 14...

And the Lord said: “Because this people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men, [14] therefore, behold, I will again do wonderful things with this people, with wonder upon wonder; and the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the discernment of their discerning men shall be hidden.” (Isaiah 29:13–14)

Did you notice that right away, we get some sense of that earlier question, “What does a heart that is far from God look like on the outside?” The answer given here is not one that we might expect. Though the hearts of these people are far from God, they are drawing near to him with their mouths. What does that mean? It means their words are full of God, even if their hearts are not. They are honoring him “with their lips”, but that honor is not heartfelt.

Now, if we had started this study in the first chapter of the book, we would read about an indict-ment that lines up perfectly with this one. The scene described in chapter 1, verses 11-15 is one of regular Temple devotion, of abundant sacrifices, of regular celebrations, regular attendance at God's holy assemblies. In short, like the mouths and lips mentioned in 29:13, these people were religious. But listen to how God speaks to their religiosity in 1:11–15...

“What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices? says the LORD... When you come to appear before me, who has required of you this trampling of my [Temple] courts? [13] Bring no more vain offerings; incense [burned by the priests] is an abomination to me. New moon and Sabbath and the calling of convocations—I cannot endure iniquity and solemn assembly. [14] Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hates; they have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them. [15] When you spread out your hands [in prayer], I will hide my eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not listen... [Why is this? The final phrase of verse 15 answers that... because...] your hands are full of blood.”

And if we continued, we would read about oppression of the fatherless and the widow. We would read about bribes. We would read about materialism, and fortune-tellers, and chariots, and idols. And that's only the first two chapters of the book.

If we, instead of going back 29 chapters, went forward 29 chapters, we would find a similar indictment in Isaiah 58. This is 58, verses 2 through 4...

Yet they seek me daily and delight to know my ways, as if they were a nation that did righteous-ness and did not forsake the judgment [or justice] of their God; they ask of me righteous judg-ments; they delight to draw near to God. [3] [they ask] ‘Why have we fasted, and you see it not? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you take no knowledge of it?’ Behold, in the day of your fast you seek your own pleasure, and oppress all your workers. [4] Behold, you fast only to quarrel and to fight and to hit with a wicked fist. Fasting like yours this day will not make your voice to be heard on high.

Do you see? They were drawing near with their mouths, but their hearts were far from God. Isn't that stunning. For many of us, our first instinct when we think about the lifestyle of a person whose heart is far (not slightly off, but far!) from God... our first instinct may be to imagine a worldly person; a fleshly or carnal person; a crude, a depraved, an immoral, an offensive... an irreligious person. But God's word is reminding us this morning that the heart described here, this far-off, spiritually distant heart, can manifest itself just as easily in religious behavior as in reprobate behavior. Through the prophet, God is speaking here about the religiously faithful person, about the theologically correct person, about the tithe-giver, and the hymn-singer, and the man or woman whose public morality checks all the right boxes. And yet, his or her heart is “far from [God]”. And because of such people, there is divine judgment coming upon Zion.

Like Isaiah, Jesus ministered to people just like this (though by his day and age—700 years later—they had greatly refined their outward religiosity). They too talked all about God. They too did many, many religious things... and were respected for it. But they too were plagued with this same heart condition. That's why in Matthew 15, Jesus quoted Isaiah 29:13 to the Pharisees and scribes. As our Lord declared in Matthew 15:7, “You hypocrites [literally in Greek, 'You actors']! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you...”. And as the Gospel of Matthew would go on to confirm (cf. 23:37-38), they too inspired a decree of judgment; a judgment upon Jerusalem itself.

III. With Confidence Draw Near

But brothers and sisters, please think with me about why God's words in Isaiah 29, and Jesus' words in Matthew 15, are so important for us. These passages are such important reminders that religious words and religious actions cannot provide us with real assurance when it comes to the true condition of our hearts; hearts that God can see clearly; hearts that God knows.

Like God's people then, God's people today, upon hearing these words, should immediately ask themselves, “Where is my heart in relation to God?” Please ask yourself that question this morning. Is it near? Or is it far? We cannot and should not gauge that distance by looking for certain words or behaviors. Spiritual words and godly behaviors can and absolutely should flow from a heart that is near to God. But spiritually-correct terminology and religiously-recognized practices are not certain, sure indicators of genuine spiritual health. Didn't Jesus address this very issue when he spoke earlier in Matthew about the religious words and behaviors of so-called disciples who would one day expect his validation? This is Matthew 7:21–23...

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven [you see, they “draw near with their mouth”], but [Who will enter?] the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. [22] On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not [and here come the religious behaviors... did we not] prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ [23] And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you [i.e., your heart was far from me]; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

But think with me about for whom this is important. First, it's important for those who have adopted the right words, the right morality, the right doctrine, the right practices... but have done so for the wrong reasons. Maybe it was for a girl. Maybe you were raised in a Christian home, or maybe such things simply align with your values or political positions; or maybe you draw comfort from being connected to a great intellectual tradition or to a deeply-rooted religious tradition. What- ever the motivation, if your heart (that is, your truest self and your deepest commitments and your highest love) is not seeking and drawing near and leaning into the person of God himself, then God is lovingly speaking to you this morning about the dangers of such a deception.

Second, believer, I think that if you're like me, there are times when our hearts feel far from God, right? Times when we say the right thing, but we know deep-down there's a hollowness to it; there's an incongruity; a discrepancy. There are times, in the life of every follower of Jesus, when he or she feels like they are just going through the motions. Can you relate to that? I can. But when our hearts feel far from God, to what are they near? I think the answer is ultimately human wisdom. For Isaiah's listeners, it meant listening to so-called wise men who made predictions and plans in light of what was and was not possible. But look again at the good news given to us in Isaiah 29:14. Because of His people's heart condition, we read these grace-filled words...

...behold, I will again do wonderful things with this people, with wonder upon wonder; and the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the discernment of their discerning men shall be hidden.”

Mercifully, God was promising his spiritually-distant people a wondrous, a miraculous deliver-ance, one that would confound human wisdom. Is it any wonder then that the Apostle Paul quoted this verse when he told the Corinthians, “For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.” (I Cor. 1:18-19)

Brothers and sisters, “wonder upon wonder” is available to us in the word of the cross! “Wonder upon wonder” is available to us in the person of Jesus Christ! Jesus died for both the religious and irreligious; the unrighteous and the self-righteous. And because of him, God's word to both religious unbeliever and struggling believer is the same: “draw near”. James writes, “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.” (James 4:8a) Hebrews 4:16 says we can now do that “with confidence”. For according to Hebrews 7:19, “a better hope is introduced, through which we draw near to God.” Be reassured that (Heb. 7:25) “he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through [Jesus]”. So today, whether you're faking it like a Pharisees or feeling like a failure, hear the call of Hebrews 10:22... “let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with [because of the cross] our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience”.

That's good news for our hearts, isn't it? So let him change you from the inside out, that your mouth full of praise would flow from a heart full nearness to God. Feel like you're just going through the motions? Draw near, in faith, knowing you can confess that very struggle, knowing that God cares. You don't have to 'fake it until you make it'. The One who drew near to us, Jesus Christ, has already brought you to God. This morning, embrace that beautiful truth (again or for the first time) and believe that he still does “wonder upon wonder” in the hearts of his people.