Isaiah 57:6
“Among the smooth stones of the stream is thy portion; they, they are thy lot: even to them hast thou poured a drink offering, thou hast offered a meat offering. Should I receive comfort in these?”
King James Version (KJV)
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Read Full Chapter →God highlights the emptiness of Israel's idolatrous offerings, asking whether He should find consolation in sacrifices made to dead stone.
Context
The 'smooth stones of the stream' refer to river rocks used in idol worship. God asks, with piercing irony, whether He can accept these offerings.
What Does Isaiah 57:6 Mean?
The river stones are smooth because water has worn them for centuries. They are lifeless, inanimate. To them Israel has poured drink offerings and meat offerings, the same sacrifices that should have gone to the living God. The irony in God's question is devastating: 'Should I receive comfort in these?' A comfort offering was meant to be intimate, personal, a gift of honor and affection. But these are poured out to stones. God is not moved by elaborate ritual that is divorced from truth. The stones cannot receive comfort. They cannot respond. They are dead things worshiped by a people who have chosen deafness over hearing.
Many of us understand the emptiness of ritual without relationship. We go through the motions of faith or duty without presence, attention, or love. We offer our time or our money or our obedience to pursuits that are essentially lifeless: status, appearance, comfort. And we hope this counts as devotion. God's question cuts through: what comfort is there in pouring out life to things that cannot respond? The comfort God offers is reciprocal. He receives our offering and gives back. The stones, and all the false gods behind them, only take.
Application
We should examine our devotions: to what are we truly pouring out our affection, time, and substance? Does it respond? Does it give back? Or are we offering to smooth stones, hoping for comfort from the dead?