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So I was reading Hebrews 10:5-8
Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said:
"Sacrifice and offering you did not desire,
but a body you prepared for me;
6with burnt offerings and sin offerings
you were not pleased.
7Then I said, 'Here I am—it is written about me in the scroll—
I have come to do your will, O God.' "[a] 8First he said, "Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them" (although the law required them to be made).
It made me think. God didn't want our sacrifices, so why did He tell us we had to make them? They weren't for God's benefit, they were for our own. People ask me all the time, what kind of God would ask you to kill an animal for YOUR sins. God didn't want us to have to sacrifice, he wanted us to obey. When we didn't, we were punished by having to give up our best crops, our best animals. God didn't want them, the sacrifice was for US to see that we had done wrong, and to know we were forgiven. It's still hard for me to think that God could forgive me for my sins. Knowing that Jesus died on the cross for me keeps me from feeling guilty all the time, because I know that I am forgiven. But before Jesus, how did the Jews know? Their sacrifices were tangible, physical reminders that they would be forgiven. They were for our chastisement and comfort, not for God's pleasure. God didn't need a bull to be offered to forgive His children, but they needed to offer that bull to feel like they were forgiven.
I may be reading into this all wrong, but when I read that, that's what came into my heart. Jesus died for us, not for God's pleasure, not for Himself, for us. We are so dense, and so stubborn that it took God making Himself a man to live among us and dying a horrible, painful death for us to finally realize WE ARE FORGIVEN!
God doesn't want your sacrifices, He wants your love, your obedience, your attention. He wants YOU, not what you can give Him. Man, what if we could apply that to all our relationships? What if we loved and forgave people simply for being themselves instead of for what they could give us?
Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said:
"Sacrifice and offering you did not desire,
but a body you prepared for me;
6with burnt offerings and sin offerings
you were not pleased.
7Then I said, 'Here I am—it is written about me in the scroll—
I have come to do your will, O God.' "[a] 8First he said, "Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them" (although the law required them to be made).
It made me think. God didn't want our sacrifices, so why did He tell us we had to make them? They weren't for God's benefit, they were for our own. People ask me all the time, what kind of God would ask you to kill an animal for YOUR sins. God didn't want us to have to sacrifice, he wanted us to obey. When we didn't, we were punished by having to give up our best crops, our best animals. God didn't want them, the sacrifice was for US to see that we had done wrong, and to know we were forgiven. It's still hard for me to think that God could forgive me for my sins. Knowing that Jesus died on the cross for me keeps me from feeling guilty all the time, because I know that I am forgiven. But before Jesus, how did the Jews know? Their sacrifices were tangible, physical reminders that they would be forgiven. They were for our chastisement and comfort, not for God's pleasure. God didn't need a bull to be offered to forgive His children, but they needed to offer that bull to feel like they were forgiven.
I may be reading into this all wrong, but when I read that, that's what came into my heart. Jesus died for us, not for God's pleasure, not for Himself, for us. We are so dense, and so stubborn that it took God making Himself a man to live among us and dying a horrible, painful death for us to finally realize WE ARE FORGIVEN!
God doesn't want your sacrifices, He wants your love, your obedience, your attention. He wants YOU, not what you can give Him. Man, what if we could apply that to all our relationships? What if we loved and forgave people simply for being themselves instead of for what they could give us?
