God Has No Desire For Empty Rituals

Jeremiah 7:22-23

"For I spake not unto your fathers, nor commanded them in the day that I

 brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings or

 sacrifices: But this thing commanded I them, saying, Obey my

 voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people:

 and walk ye in all the ways that I have  commanded

 you, that it may be well unto you."

     The goal of serving God is to become a better person. The priest had totally missed the point.

There is a warning in this message. The warning is about serving God! It's about all of the sacrifices that could be brought to God and the closeness that man could achieve with God.
    In the reading we discover that the whole system had become corrupted. The sacrifices themselves had become the focus, instead of service to God. In essence, God says to the people, keep your sacrifices: Go ahead, add your burnt offerings to your other sacrifices and eat the meat yourselves! God has no desire for empty rituals. So what does God want? He wants us! "Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Put your burnt offerings unto your sacrifices, and eat flesh," (Jer. 7:21). 

    While God did, in fact, give the Israelites commandments regarding sacrifices, the sacrifices alone weren’t what He truly desired. The goal of the sacrifices was to bring the people closer to God. But the people in Jeremiah’s time had missed the whole point. While there is no longer sacrifices brought to God in the Temple, we can still learn from the transgressions of others and avoid the spiritual pitfalls that have claimed the spiritual lives of many. 

    We must not ever lose sight of our goal to truly serve God! We cannot just go through the motions. This means that when we pray, our prayers have to be sincere and heartfelt. God has no need for lip service. When we study the Bible, the words need to be taken to heart.  As importantly, when leading a God-centered life, we have to be careful not to shove anyone else aside or step on others in order to "serve God."

Amen!

Reading: (Jer. 7:1-28)

Ref: (HG SB)

May God Bless You 

And Your Family

Minister Robert A. Lail Sr.

The Cross Life Ministry