Isaiah (29:13) speaks of a people that draw near to God with their lips, but not with their hearts, and whose knowledge of God is through the words of men — a people who have never known God for themselves by divine revelation…
In this our 20th century church, to contrast divine revelation with men’s teaching, seems almost blasphemy… but revelation was the way that Moses, Samuel, and Paul learned of God.
Matthew quotes this prophecy, and then gives God’s summing up of this situation in the next verse (Mt. 15:9), “In vain do they worship Me.” Ezekiel (33:31) puts it in a slightly different light, “With their mouth they show much love, but their heart goeth after covetousness:” In other words with their mouths they are GIVING with their hearts they are intent on GETTING. [cf. Wisdom of Sirach 4:31]
Isn’t so much of our Christianity preoccupied with our getting rather than giving? Even our giving in “praise and worship” is contaminated with the expectation of getting feelings of peace, joy etc. We have set ourselves up for deception. We want for ourselves whatever it is that God is giving out! This is what we have been taught. The important thing seems to be not our relationship with God, but our ability to plunge headlong into the “move,” to “surf the wave,” and then repeat the process over and over.
We have leaned too much on man’s teaching, exhortation and “encouragement” and sought too little for the Presence of God behind the words. Paul (2 Cor 13:5) exhorts “examine yourselves… prove your own selves… “ The faith which is the product of man’s instigation will soon fade when real shaking comes, but the faith built on God alone will endure and bring forth the fruit of life.