To what purpose
is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the LORD: I am full of the
burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the
blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats [Isa. 1:11].
God specifies His charges against His people. He has put His hand upon a
definite thing, and He is going to prove that particular point in which they are
wrong. He puts His finger on the best thing in Judah, not the worst. He shows
them what is exceedingly wrong. Israel has a God–given religion and a
God–appointed ritual in a God–constructed temple, but they are wrong in that
which represented the best. They are bringing sacrifices and going through the
ritual according to the letter of the Law, but their hearts are in rebellion
against God. Their religion is not affecting their conduct. Frankly, that is a
problem among believers today. A great many of us have reached the place where
we have a form of godliness, but we deny the power thereof.
McGee, J. V. (1991). Vol. 22: Thru the Bible commentary: The Prophets (Isaiah
1-35) (electronic ed.) (24–25). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
For I desired
mercy, and not
sacrifice; and
the knowledge of
God more than
burnt offerings
[Hos. 6:6].
The people were
merely going
through a form.
My friend, you
can go to church
on Sunday and be
as fundamental
as you can be.
You may
criticize the
preacher,
criticize the
choir, criticize
everybody—maybe
they deserve it,
I don’t know—but
God’s desire is
that you put His
Word into shoe
leather, that
you allow it to
get down where
the rubber meets
the road, and
that there be an
evidence of
mercy in your
own heart and
life. Don’t
think that going
to a church
banquet is
somehow a
substitute for
truly eating the
Bread of Life or
of enjoying a
big porterhouse
steak from the
Word of God. No
church function
is a substitute
for really
studying the
Word of God.
McGee, J. V.
(1991). Vol. 27:
Thru the Bible
commentary: The
Prophets
(Hosea/Joel)
(electronic ed.)
(75). Nashville:
Thomas Nelson.
But go ye and
learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come
to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance [Matt. 9:13].
"Matthew is at it again, quoting Hosea 6:6 from the Old Testament.
When Jesus said,“For I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to
repentance,” He could have included the Pharisees because they were sinners. In
fact, all of us are included—“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory
of God” (Rom. 3:23, italics mine)."
McGee, J. V. (1991). Vol. 34: Thru the Bible commentary: The Gospels (Matthew
1-13) (electronic ed.) (130). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.