They Didn’t Know Their Hearts Were Far From God

There is something very sobering about what God said through Isaiah:

“These people say they are mine. They honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. And their worship of me is nothing but man-made rules learned by rote.”
— Isaiah 29:13 NLT

Think about what God was saying.

These were not people who had openly rejected Him. They had God’s revelation. They worshiped. They prayed. They followed their religious traditions. They knew what they were supposed to say and do.

Yet God said:

“Their hearts are far from Me.”

But here is the part that really gets me.

They didn’t know it!

They apparently believed they were honoring God. Their religious activity probably gave them every reason to believe they were right with Him. Outwardly, the things of God were still very much a part of their lives.

But inwardly, something had changed.

Then Jesus Said It Again

Hundreds of years later, Jesus quoted this same passage when confronting the religious leaders of His day:

“These people draw near to Me with their mouth,
And honor Me with their lips,
But their heart is far from Me.”
— Matthew 15:8 NKJV

Imagine having the Lord Himself say that to you!

These were men who studied the Scriptures. They taught the Scriptures. They defended their understanding of God. They were looking for the Messiah.

Then the Messiah stood right in front of them, and many of them could not recognize Him.

They had God’s revelation, yet they had become spiritually blind to what God was doing right in front of them.

Even more sobering, they thought they were right.

They thought they were honoring God.

They thought they were defending God.

They thought they were doing what God wanted.

They didn’t know their hearts had moved away from Him.

That’s What Makes This Personal

It would be easy to read these passages and think about ancient Israel or the Pharisees. But I don’t think that is where we should stop.

This is a warning for all of us.

It is possible to go to church, worship, pray, read the Bible, know the right doctrine, serve in ministry and talk about Jesus, while allowing our hearts to slowly move away from Him.

And perhaps the greatest danger is that we may not realize it is happening.

We can become so familiar with the things of God that we mistake familiarity with the things of God for closeness to God Himself.

Church attendance cannot take the place of knowing Him.

Bible knowledge cannot take the place of knowing Him.

Ministry cannot take the place of knowing Him.

Even good traditions cannot take the place of knowing Him.

All of those things have value, but they were never intended to replace a heart that stays close to God.

It Is a Mirror

That is why David’s prayer means so much:

“Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Try me, and know my anxieties;
And see if there is any wicked way in me,
And lead me in the way everlasting.”
— Psalm 139:23–24 NKJV

Isaiah 29:13 isn’t just a Scripture to use when examining somebody else’s relationship with God.

It is a mirror.

Maybe one of the healthiest things we can do from time to time is simply ask:

Lord, is my heart as close to You as I think it is?

Search me.

Show me anything I don’t see.

Don’t let me become so familiar with church, ministry, doctrine, worship or even Your Word that I fail to stay close to You.

Because the most sobering part of this whole passage isn’t simply that their hearts were far from God.

They didn’t know it.