In the last post, we looked at what Jesus quoted from Hosea 6:6 — “I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.”

Other passages in the Old Testament seem to have that “anti-sacrifice” attitude, like this one from Jeremiah 7:

“Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: “Add your burnt offerings to your sacrifices, and eat the flesh. For in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, I did not speak to your fathers or command them concerning burnt offerings and sacrifices.” (Jer 7:21-22)

Wait a minute. Wasn’t it God who ordered the people to sacrifice? Why did He change His mind? I don’t think He did. I just think His people misunderstood Him. They wanted to live their lives according to their own wishes, even worshiping other gods, then come and “get right with Yahweh” by offering the prescribed sacrifices.

I think that Psalm 51 offers a good bit of insight into this: “For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. Do good to Zion in your good pleasure; build up the walls of Jerusalem; then will you delight in right sacrifices, in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings; then bulls will be offered on your altar.” (Psa 51:16-19) If you just read verses 16 and 17, you can still get that idea that all God wanted were spiritual sacrifices. But if you read on down to verse 19, you see that, once the spiritual part was taken care of (and Jerusalem taken care of), God would again be pleased with sacrifices.

Psalm 50 is also important when talking about sacrifices: “Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you; your burnt offerings are continually before me. I will not accept a bull from your house or goats from your folds. For every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills. I know all the birds of the hills, and all that moves in the field is mine. “If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world and its fullness are mine. Do I eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of goats? Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and perform your vows to the Most High, and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.” (Psa 50:8-15) God didn’t rebuke them for their sacrifices, but for the attitude in which they were offered. And He wanted them to offer thank offerings, those spontaneous offerings, rather than merely fulfilling the prescribed sacrifices. God wanted their worship to come from the heart, not merely be a time of rule following.

There are lots of other passages to look at, but the point is this: God didn’t want “rule following” if the heart wasn’t in it. Yet He did seek certain physical types of worship. It wasn’t all a matter of right attitudes; right actions were also sought, in worship and in daily life.

So how does all of this apply to us today?