142 God Hates Hypocrisy

In this final chapter of the book of Isaiah the Lord God summarizes the teaching He has given Isaiah throughout this book. God begins by saying that the Temple and the offerings are not necessary for His sake. He Himself has no need for our service. Rather, it is the nation Israel and the whole world that benefits, when we express our desire to serve Him and come close to Him. God's intention is twofold: to reward those that humble themselves before Him, and to punish the nations that sin against Him. Here he rebuts the misconception that lulled people into a false sense of security. They imagined that God would ignore even egregious sins as long as they brought their offerings in the Temple without true repentance. Contrary to the warnings of the prophets, they were sure that He would never permit His services in the Temple to be disrupted. To this, God responds that He is not confined to a specific building, nor does He require the animals that are brought as offerings. Rather, He takes pleasure that Israel and all mankind humbly submit to His Will. This Temple and the people's practices He condemns concludes with the Tribulation Temple.