Bible Questions Answered:
“I see a glaring error in bible
teaching. Moses call for gifts and offerings, such as listed in
Leviticus, versus the book of Psalm 51 where David says God did not
want them! ”
Penelope/ Palm Beach Gardens (U.S.A.)
Bible Answer:
Bible Texts:
Psalm 51:16 KJV
For thou desirest not sacrifice;
else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering.
And how about....
Jeremiah 7:21,22 NLT
21 This is what The Lord Of Heaven’s
Armies, The God Of Israel, says: “Take your burnt offerings and
your other sacrifices and eat them yourselves!
22 When I led your ancestors out of
Egypt, it was not burnt offerings and sacrifices I wanted from them.
My, sure looks like
a Bible error here, that is unless we use the whole context of the
verses!
God, first wanted
the hearts of His People!
We cannot “buy,”
God, by our sacrifices or offerings, no matter how great they may be!
“OK, Pastor let's
hear that again! OK.”
We cannot “buy,”
God, by our sacrifices or offerings, no matter how great they may be!
We cannot “buy,”
God by our grandiose ceremonies no matter how great they may be!
Ephesians 2:8,9 KJV
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is The Gift Of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is The Gift Of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Homily:
Let's walk with Jesus down to Nazareth 1st Assembly of
Holy Angels church.
Want to be like Jesus? Jesus was always in church on the Sabbath.
Luke 4:16 KJV
And He came to
Nazareth, where He had been brought up: and, as His custom was, He
went into the synagogue on the sabbath day..."
What granite majesty reaching the heavens, decked with beautiful
stained glass windows, of every size and color.
Who can resist the beautiful sounds of the grand pipe organ, and
magnificent choir, chanting, Lord, Lord, wafting their music
heavenward.
And yet Jesus had a word or two to say to them.
Matthew 7:21-23
KJV
21 Not every
one that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord,
shall enter
into the kingdom of heaven;
but he
that doeth the will of My Father which is in heaven.
(The Lord, does not desire, rote ceremonial lip service, but living
obedience to God!)
Isaiah 29:13 NLT
And so The Lord
says, “These people say they are Mine. They honor Me with their
lips, but their hearts are far from Me. And their worship of Me is
nothing but man-made rules learned by rote.
Mark
7:5-8 NLT
5 So the
Pharisees and teachers of religious law asked Him, “Why don’t
your disciples follow our age-old tradition? They eat without first
performing the hand-washing ceremony.”
6 Jesus
replied, “You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about
you, for he wrote,
‘These people
honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me.
7 Their worship
is a farce, for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.’
8 For you
ignore God’s law and substitute your own tradition.”
22 Many will
say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in
thy name?
(Foretelling as
well as Forth-telling such as speaking The Word, or liturgy of mans
tradition.)
and in thy name
have cast out devils?
(Ritual
exercise performed by clerics.)
and in thy name
done many wonderful works?
(Religious
works, donation of funds, building great architectural buildings,
etc. etc.)
23 And then
will I profess unto them,
I never knew you: depart from
Me, ye that work iniquity.
(Lost.)
Does The Lord want our sacrifices and offerings?
Yes!
But not
unless they are from someone who's first gift is their heart, mind,
soul and body, dedicated to The Lord!
Matthew 22:35-40
KJV
35 Then one of
them, which was a lawyer, asked Him a question, tempting Him, and
saying,
36 Master,
which is the great commandment in the law?
37 Jesus said
unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and
with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
38 This is the
first and great commandment.
39 And the
second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.
40 On these two
commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
(Think this little homily went to far? Read Revelation 2:1-29-3:1-22.
Our resurrected Lord addressed 7 churches of the 1st
Century.)
The Gift Our
Lord Longs For:
I Samuel 15:22,23 KJV (Samuel to King Saul.)
22 And Samuel
said, Hath The Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and
sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of The Lord? Behold, to obey is
better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.
23 For
rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as
iniquity and idolatry.
Psalm 21:3 KJV
The Lord is
more pleased when we do what is right and just than when we offer Him
sacrifices.
Psalm 40:6 KJV
Sacrifice and
offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou opened: burnt
offering and sin offering hast thou not required.
Psalm
51:15-17 KJV (The whole story.)
15 O Lord, open
thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise.
16 For thou
desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in
burnt offering.
17 The
sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart,
O God, thou wilt not despise.
Ecclesiastes 5:1
NLT
As you enter
The House Of God, keep your ears open and your mouth shut. It is evil
to make mindless offerings to God.
Isaiah
1:11-13;18-20 NLT
11 “What
makes you think I want all your sacrifices?” says The Lord. “I am
sick of your burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fattened cattle.
I get no pleasure from the blood of bulls and lambs and goats.
12 When you
come to worship Me, who asked you to parade through My courts with
all your ceremony?
13 Stop
bringing Me your meaningless gifts; the incense of your offerings
disgusts Me! As for your celebrations of the new moon and the Sabbath
and your special days for fasting—they are all sinful and false. I
want no more of your pious meetings.
18 “Come now,
let’s settle this,” says The Lord. “Though your sins are like
scarlet, I will make them as white as snow. Though they are red like
crimson, I will make them as white as wool.
19 If you will
only obey Me, you will have plenty to eat.
20 But if you
turn away and refuse to listen, you will be devoured by the sword of
your enemies. I, The Lord, have spoken!”
Jeremiah 7:21-23
NLT
21 This is what
The Lord Of Heaven’s Armies, The God Of Israel, says: “Take your
burnt offerings and your other sacrifices and eat them yourselves!
22 When I led
your ancestors out of Egypt, it was not burnt offerings and
sacrifices I wanted from them.
23 This is what
I told them: ‘Obey Me, and I will be your God, and you will be My
people. Do everything as I say, and all will be well!’
Ezekiel 33:30-33
NLT
30 “Son of
man, your people talk about you in their houses and whisper about you
at the doors. They say to each other, ‘Come on, let’s go hear the
prophet tell us what The Lord is saying!’
31 So My people
come pretending to be sincere and sit before you. They listen to your
words, but they have no intention of doing what you say. Their mouths
are full of lustful words, and their hearts seek only after money.
32 You are very
entertaining to them, like someone who sings love songs with a
beautiful voice or plays fine music on an instrument. They hear what
you say, but they don’t act on it!
Hosea 6:6 NLT
I want you to
show love, not offer sacrifices. I want you to know Me more than I
want burnt offerings.
Micah 6:6-8 NLT
6 What can we
bring to The Lord? Should we bring Him burnt offerings? Should we bow
before God Most High with offerings of yearling calves?
7 Should we
offer Him thousands of rams and ten thousand rivers of olive oil?
Should we sacrifice our firstborn children to pay for our sins?
8 No, O people,
the Lord has told you what is good, and this is what He requires of
you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your
God.
Zechariah 7:4-7
NLT
4 The Lord Of
Heaven’s Armies sent me this message in reply:
5 “Say to all
your people and your priests, ‘During these seventy years of exile,
when you fasted and mourned in the summer and in early autumn, was it
really for Me that you were fasting?
6 And even now
in your holy festivals, aren’t you eating and drinking just to
please yourselves?
7 Isn’t this
the same message The Lord proclaimed through the prophets in years
past when Jerusalem and the towns of Judah were bustling with people,
and the Negev and the foothills of Judah were well populated?’”
Malachi 2:11-16 NLT (Unacceptable sacrifices and offerings.)
11 Judah has
been unfaithful, and a detestable thing has been done in Israel and
in Jerusalem. The men of Judah have defiled The Lord’s beloved
sanctuary by marrying women who worship idols.
12 May The Lord
cut off from the nation of Israel every last man who has done this
and yet brings an offering to The Lord Of Heaven’s Armies.
13 Here is
another thing you do. You cover The Lord’s altar with tears,
weeping and groaning because He pays no attention to your offerings
and doesn’t accept them with pleasure.
14 You cry out,
“Why doesn’t The Lord accept my worship?” I’ll tell you why!
Because The Lord witnessed the vows you and your wife made when you
were young. But you have been unfaithful to her, though she remained
your faithful partner, the wife of your marriage vows.
15 Didn’t The
Lord make you one with your wife? In body and spirit you are His. And
what does He want? Godly children from your union. So guard your
heart; remain loyal to the wife of your youth.
16 “For I
hate divorce!” says The Lord, The God Of Israel. “To divorce your
wife is to overwhelm her with cruelty,” says The Lord Of Heaven’s
Armies. “So guard your heart; do not be unfaithful to your wife.”
Matthew 9:12.13
NLT
12 When Jesus
heard this, He said, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick
people do.”
13 Then He
added, “Now go and learn the meaning of this Scripture: ‘I want
you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices.’ For I have come to call
not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are
sinners.”
John 14:21 KJV
He that hath My
commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me: and he that
loveth Me shall be loved of My Father, and I will love him, and will
manifest Myself to him.
Romans 14:17 KJV
For the kingdom
of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy
in The Holy Ghost.
Hebrews 9:9-12 NLT (The Perfect Sacrifice-Christ.)
9 This is an
illustration pointing to the present time. For the gifts and
sacrifices that the priests offer are not able to cleanse the
consciences of the people who bring them.
10 For that old
system deals only with food and drink and various cleansing
ceremonies—physical regulations that were in effect only until a
better system could be established.
11 So Christ
has now become The High Priest over all the good things that have
come. He has entered that greater, more perfect Tabernacle in heaven,
which was not made by human hands and is not part of this created
world.
12 With His own
blood—not the blood of goats and calves—He entered the Most Holy
Place once for all time and secured our redemption forever.
Hebrews 10:4-10
NLT
4 For it is not
possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
5 That is why,
when Christ came into the world, He said to God, “You did not want
animal sacrifices or sin offerings. But you have given Me a body to
offer.
6 You were not
pleased with burnt offerings or other offerings for sin.
7 Then I said,
‘Look, I have come to do your will, O God— as is written about Me
in the Scriptures.’”
8 First, Christ
said, “You did not want animal sacrifices or sin offerings or burnt
offerings or other offerings for sin, nor were you pleased with them”
(though they are required by the law of Moses).
9 Then He said,
“Look, I have come to do your will.” He cancels the first
covenant in order to put the second into effect.
10 For God’s
will was for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus
Christ, once for all time.
What We Are Called To Do:
Deuteronomy 5:29
NLT
Oh, that they
would always have hearts like this, that they might fear Me and obey
all My commands! If they did, they and their descendants would
prosper forever.
Proverbs 4:23
KJV
Keep thy heart
with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.
Jeremiah 24:7
KJV
Oh, that they
would always have hearts like this, that they might fear Me and obey
all My commands! If they did, they and their descendants would
prosper forever.
Ezekiel 11:19,20
KJV
19 And I will
give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I
will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an
heart of flesh:
20 That they
may walk in My statutes, and keep Mine ordinances, and do them: and
they shall be My people, and I will be their God.
Ezekiel 36:26-28
KJV
26 A new heart
also will I give you, and a new Spirit will I put within you: and I
will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you
an heart of flesh.
27 And I will
put My Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes, and
ye shall keep My judgments, and do them.
28 And ye shall
dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be My
people, and I will be your God.
Luke 8:11,15 KJV
11 Now the
parable is this: The seed is The Word Of God.
15 But that on
the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having
heard The Word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.
