The widows and orphans of today are the poor and disenfranchised. They are the people we see every day and try not to look at. They are the people on the streets of a very unforgiving world. They are the uneducated, the unemployed, the marginalized, the homeless. They are the people who are not partaking in the prosperity of this age. God cares for them and expects His people to care about them as well.
So here was the Prophet Amos in our key verses speaking against the religiosity we still see so prevalent today. The show and pretense are actually hated by God. Why wouldn't they be? They are a lie by definition. God does not need fancy shows of religion but rather, sincere shows of faith and obedience. The first King of Israel learned this the hard way. King Saul had been ordered by God to destroy the Amalekites and wipe them out completely. Instead, he chose the best of the spoils of war to keep for himself; the best cattle, sheep, etc. When confronted by the Prophet Samuel, Saul tries to shift the blame and claimed that they were kept to sacrifice to God. Samuel's response is a sober reminder to us today as well:
But Samuel replied: "Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, he has rejected you as king." 1Samuel 15: 22-23
To obey is better than sacrifice. The pomp and circumstance is not important to God but the relationship we have with Him is. To do otherwise is hypocrisy to God. The key verses say so. God is speaking against the religious festivals and solemn assemblies not because they are inappropriate but rather because of the condition of the heart of those attending. God is more concerned about His relationship with us than with how we act in public. Jesus made this exact point about the Pharisees:
"Everything they do is done for men to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long; they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; they love to be greeted in the marketplaces and to have men call them 'Rabbi.' Matthew 23: 5-7
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. Therefore you will receive greater condemnation. Matthew 23:14 (NKJV)
What is our motivation when we are in our solemn assemblies or religious festivals? Is it to draw near to God or to be seen by man? Are we seeking a higher calling because it is what God has directed us to do or to be seen by man? Note here Jesus uses the same word, hypocrite, to describe the Pharisees. Because their religion became more important to them than their relationship to God. Keep in mind that the Pharisees were the religious experts of their day. They knew the Word. Yet they were still oblivious to what they were doing. They still managed to justify themselves in their own minds. That should be frightening to us as believers and something we need to be very wary of. When speaking of the end days judgment Jesus said:
"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!' Matthew 7: 21-23
These verses should give us all pause. There will be many on the last day who will have spent their life in service to God, without ever knowing Him. That means we can literally fool ourselves into believing what we do is for God when we actually have no relationship with Him at all. Once again, it comes down to sincerity versus hypocrisy. Is our motive to seek the glorification of God or to further our own ambitions?
