365 Reflections

What does useless religion look like? Jesus made clear in His time that the religious structure of Israel had become empty and purposeless. He quotes from Isaiah 29 (which you will see) to level His accusations. The truth is that Israel often regressed into hollow forms of faith and were repeatedly called out on it by God's prophets and eventually God's Son. In the second half of this chapter we see what empty religion looks like.  First: There is no vision from the Lord as to what the people are to do.  Isaiah 29:11–12 (ESV) And the vision of all this has become to you like the words of a book that is sealed. When men give it to one who can read, saying, “Read this,” he says, “I cannot, for it is sealed.” 12 And when they give the book to one who cannot read, saying, “Read this,” he says, “I cannot read.” I know when we think of "vision" we are thinking of plans for our future. But "vision" in the prophets refers to God's revelation of His purpose and p...

Esther 2:1–4 (ESV) After these things, when the anger of King Ahasuerus had abated, he remembered Vashti and what she had done and what had been decreed against her. 2 Then the king’s young men who attended him said, “Let beautiful young virgins be sought out for the king. 3 And let the king appoint officers in all the provinces of his kingdom to gather all the beautiful young virgins to the harem in Susa the citadel, under custody of Hegai, the king’s eunuch, who is in charge of the women. Let their cosmetics be given them. 4 And let the young woman who pleases the king be queen instead of Vashti.” This pleased the king, and he did so. So far, in the book of Esther, for all the pomp, power, glory and authority that Xerxes has going for him, he still largely plays victim to the events of his life and the opinions of those around him. It was his wife that refused him and sent him into a rage, it was his advisors that told him to cast her out and now in chapter 2 it is once again his you...