THE SACRIFICIAL LIE-by Femi Aribisala. Jeremiah’s den of robbers Basic kingdom dynamics teaches that what is of men cannot be of God (Matthew 16:23; 21:25). Since most pagan religions traditionally approach their deities through sacrifices; sacrifices cannot be of God. God rejects the sacrificial system repeatedly. He asks: “Do I eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of goats?” (Psalm 50:13). David also belittles sacrifices (Psalm 40:6; Psalm 51:16-17). Isaiah denounces them (Isaiah 1:11-13). Micah derides them (Micah 6:6-8). Hosea degrades them (Hosea 6:6). Solomon counsels against them (Proverbs 21:3). But most important of all, Jesus disapproves of them (Matthew 7:13; Matthew 12:7). Jesus’ attack on the sacrificial implements in the temple; when he overturns the tables of the money-changers and drives out those selling doves, speaks eloquently about God’s disdain for sacrifices. He declares: “It is written, ‘my house shall be called a house of prayer, but you have made it a ‘den of thieves’” (Matthew 21:13). By quoting Jeremiah 7:11, Jesus validates the prophet’s position that the sacrificial system is not of God. Jeremiah writes: “Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘Add your burnt offerings to your sacrifices and eat meat. For I did not speak to your fathers, or command them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings or sacrifices’” (Jeremiah 7:21-22).
Posted on: Fri, 18 Oct 2013 13:10:32 +0000
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