What does Isaiah 29:13 mean when it says “their hearts are far from me”?

Response

In Isaiah 29, the prophet Isaiah is delivering a prophecy against Jerusalem and, by extension, the rest of Judah (verse 8). He foretells judgment on the kingdom because of their sins—judgment that will be carried out by invading armies (Isaiah 29:3-4). However, the prophet also declares that God is exceedingly merciful and will restore Judah after dealing justly with their enemies (Isaiah 29:5,18-24). In the midst of Isaiah’s prophecy, he identifies Judah’s issue of hypocrisy, which is leading to their judgment: “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught” «Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men: », (Isaiah 29:13). Although the Israelites were speaking the right words, their hearts were distant from God.

The term “heart” is a common metaphor. In English, “heart” often symbolizes someone’s emotions. When we say that someone has a “heart of stone,” we are not referring to their physical organ being mineralized; rather, we mean that they are unaffected by emotional appeals. When an ancient Israelite used the term “heart” metaphorically, they were referring to the core of a person’s soul, the place where decisions are made and emotions are felt. The “heart” was considered the center of one’s will and intellect. Therefore, when the Bible instructs us to love something “with all our hearts,” it means to love with all our inner being.

When God stated that “their hearts are far from me,” He was not just talking about a physical distance. He was highlighting the spiritual disconnect between the Israelites and Himself.

“They had chosen other loyalties besides God,” He meant. While they might have sounded religious, they did not love God or obey Him. Their thoughts and decisions were bent away from God. The NET Bible provides a helpful translation here: “These people claim loyalty to me; they speak wonderful things about me, but their loyalty is not genuine. Their worship is merely a man-made ritual” «Therefore 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’», (Isaiah 29:13). In English, we might say that the Israelites worshiped “but their hearts weren’t in it.”

In the New Testament, Jesus quotes this verse in a significant confrontation with the Pharisees (Mark 7:6-7). They, too, had hearts far from God. The Pharisees pretended to care about God’s law by performing outward acts like handwashing, but they did not care about God internally. When they encountered God in the person of Jesus, they attempted to kill Him! After quoting Isaiah 29:13, Jesus scathingly summarized their heart condition: “You have disregarded the commandments of God and are holding fast to human traditions” «You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men», (Mark 7:8). The Pharisees continued to perform religious acts but had forgotten the underlying reasons for their actions. They spoke the right words, but their hearts were distant from God.

As Christians, we encounter the same temptation as the hypocritical Israelites. At times, it is easy to maintain the outward appearance of religious obedience by adhering to basic rules, yet we lack a genuine relationship wWith God in our hearts, we may begin to merely “go through the motions” without deepening our love for God or for others. It is possible to faithfully attend church every Sunday while neglecting God throughout the rest of the week. Similar to the Pharisees and the ancient Israelites, pretending is not spiritually beneficial, and it will eventually have consequences.

Isaiah 29:13 serves as a clear reminder that following rules and rituals alone cannot bring pleasure to God. God desires genuine righteousness. God desires for you to love Him with “all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength” «and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. », (Mark 12:30). “For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings” «For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings. », (Hosea 6:6).