The Saturday after the Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity Sunday
Posted on October 3, 2026 by under
Scripture: Isaiah 1:10-17 (NKJV)
1:10 Hear the word of the Lord, you rulers of Sodom; Give ear to the law of our God, you people of Gomorrah:
11 “To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices to Me?” Says the Lord. “I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fed cattle. I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs or goats.
12 “When you come to appear before Me, who has required this from your hand, to trample My courts?
13 “Bring no more futile sacrifices; Incense is an abomination to Me. The New Moons, the Sabbaths, and the calling of assemblies—I cannot endure iniquity and the sacred meeting.
14 “Your New Moons and your appointed feasts My soul hates; They are a trouble to Me, I am weary of bearing them.
15 “When you spread out your hands, I will hide My eyes from you; Even though you make many prayers, I will not hear. Your hands are full of blood.
16 “Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes. Cease to do evil,
17 “learn to do good; Seek justice, rebuke the oppressor; Defend the fatherless, plead for the widow.”
Devotion
God loved His chosen people. He desired for them to be a glorious people, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that they should be holy and without blemish (see Eph. 5:27). But in their unfaithful rebellion they became wicked like Sodom and Gomorrah. Yet they kept on insisting that they were faithful.
They worshiped, they gave sacrifices, they offered prayers; but they did these things on their own terms, not in faithful obedience to their Lord. Therefore He has the right to say: “Your New Moons and your appointed feasts My soul hates; they are a trouble to Me, I am weary of bearing them. When you spread out your hands, I will hide My eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not hear. Your hands are full of blood.” (Is. 1:14-15). He also says, “Wash yourselves” and “Learn to do good”. He still loved them, but He hated their pride and unfaithfulness. He gave them many lessons and warnings by His Word. He made it clear to His people that He was the one who helps them and blesses them.
No one can make himself clean or good in God’s eyes. He washes us and sanctifies us through faith in Jesus Christ and by the power of His Holy Spirit! Then, in Christ, we are truly His beloved people. By that faith our worship will be a delight to Him, and we will truly be able to do good to our neighbors, as He desires.
Collect: Lord, we beseech Thee, grant Thy people grace to withstand the temptations of the devil, and with pure hearts and minds to follow Thee, the only God; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
