This chapter speaks of a siege against Jerusalem. The siege is not only physical from neighboring nations, but also spiritual because the people have forsaken God.
“And the Lord said: ‘Because this people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men, therefore, behold, I will again do wonderful things with this people, with wonder upon wonder; and the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the discernment of their discerning men shall be hidden.’ ” (v13-14)
This kind of shallow allegiance to someone (mainly God, but this also applies to other relationships) where the mouth says one thing but the heart says something else, is very dangerous. Both parties are being deceived (unless one party is God, who cannot be deceived) and prone to (further) heartbreak.
The person on the receiving end who has the illusion of mutual trust is likely to be wounded deeply when the truth comes out. The person attempting the deception, whose heart and speech are incongruent, likely lacks integrity in multiple areas of their life. They are both deceiving, and being deceived (unfortunately, Satan is very cunning).
To lack internal integrity is to be divided against oneself. If we cannot agree with our innermost being, how can we fully align with anyone else (including God)? Note: this is not the same thing as doubt (that’s a lack of confidence in a belief, not a lack of consistency). I’m encouraging us to analyze our hearts, with the Holy Spirit’s help, and see if our integrity has broken down anywhere, allowing us to believe one thing while saying / doing another. Don’t worry, God is the Great Physician, and He longs to reconcile us to ourselves, Himself, and our neighbors – we just need to accept His offer of help.
Father God, our Sovereign Lord and Gentle Healer, we praise Your holy name. Your desire is for us to have integrity as You have integrity, being unified in our beliefs, actions and words. May we seek to not only have internal integrity, but also to align ourselves with Your heart. May we seek holistic reconciliation at every level, especially with our neighbors, for it is so easy to accidentally offend. May our words and actions bring You glory, and exhibit the love of Jesus, forever and ever, amen.
~ Conqueror in Training