Hear the word of the LORD, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah.
The call is directed to the rulers and people of Judah, named as rulers of Sodom and people of Gomorrah. The same naming is also applied to apostate Judah in particular, exposing grave unfaithfulness by that title. It is also described as addressed to the rulers and people of Israel, with Israel's rulers called Sodom and its people called Gomorrah.
The names Sodom and Gomorrah expose grave unfaithfulness, deep rebellion, corruption and apostasy. By conduct the people had become like those condemned cities, resembling them while still claiming to belong to God and continuing outward worship. Their religious claims and ceremonies did not excuse transgression of the law.
The command is to hear the word of the Lord and give ear to the law of God. Outward worship could not make them doers of the word they taught, and profession of religion with performance of ceremonies was joined to refusal of the obedience required. Though they claimed to belong to God and kept outward forms, their conduct made them like Sodom and Gomorrah and brought them under rebuke for evil.
What follows shows God rejecting their worship because lives were corrupt, wickedness unrepented, and hands stained with blood. Their multitude of sacrifices and offerings are to no purpose, and their coming to appear before Him and tread His courts is unrequired. Their worship days, new moons and appointed feasts and assemblies His soul hates as a wearying trouble, a trouble He is weary to bear. When they spread forth their hands and make many prayers He will hide His eyes and will not hear.
Multiplying animal sacrifices cannot replace humble repentance, obedience, turning from evil and doing what is right. The call is to stop evil, practice justice, and care for the oppressed and vulnerable. The appeal to wash and become clean offers forgiveness, while blessing is tied to willingness and obedience.
The rebuke falls on sinners in Zion who claimed to lean upon the Lord and boasted that no evil could come upon them while building up Zion with blood and Jerusalem with iniquity. Judah's weakness among the nations is connected to wickedness among its rulers, whose words and actions were opposed to the Lord. The warning applies to commandment keepers who claim God's favor while failing to show Christlike care for people in need. People who rebel against God are addressed in the same way, so that disobedient youth taught to despise God's commandments are described as Sodomitish children, with parents and religious teachers bearing responsibility for that upbringing in disobedience.
The call is directed to the rulers and people of Judah, named as rulers of Sodom and people of Gomorrah. The same naming is also applied to apostate Judah in particular, exposing grave unfaithfulness by that title. It is also described as addressed to the rulers and people of Israel, with Israel's rulers called Sodom and its people called Gomorrah.
The names Sodom and Gomorrah expose grave unfaithfulness, deep rebellion, corruption and apostasy. By conduct the people had become like those condemned cities, resembling them while still claiming to belong to God and continuing outward worship. Their religious claims and ceremonies did not excuse transgression of the law.
The command is to hear the word of the Lord and give ear to the law of God. Outward worship could not make them doers of the word they taught, and profession of religion with performance of ceremonies was joined to refusal of the obedience required. Though they claimed to belong to God and kept outward forms, their conduct made them like Sodom and Gomorrah and brought them under rebuke for evil.
What follows shows God rejecting their worship because lives were corrupt, wickedness unrepented, and hands stained with blood. Their multitude of sacrifices and offerings are to no purpose, and their coming to appear before Him and tread His courts is unrequired. Their worship days, new moons and appointed feasts and assemblies His soul hates as a wearying trouble, a trouble He is weary to bear. When they spread forth their hands and make many prayers He will hide His eyes and will not hear.
Multiplying animal sacrifices cannot replace humble repentance, obedience, turning from evil and doing what is right. The call is to stop evil, practice justice, and care for the oppressed and vulnerable. The appeal to wash and become clean offers forgiveness, while blessing is tied to willingness and obedience.
The rebuke falls on sinners in Zion who claimed to lean upon the Lord and boasted that no evil could come upon them while building up Zion with blood and Jerusalem with iniquity. Judah's weakness among the nations is connected to wickedness among its rulers, whose words and actions were opposed to the Lord. The warning applies to commandment keepers who claim God's favor while failing to show Christlike care for people in need. People who rebel against God are addressed in the same way, so that disobedient youth taught to despise God's commandments are described as Sodomitish children, with parents and religious teachers bearing responsibility for that upbringing in disobedience.