To do justice and Judgment is better than sacrifice.
Proverbs 21:3
When Cain brought his sacrifice, God was not pleased.
God didn’t want herbs and spices.
He specifically laid down the requirement.
Abel respected God’s wishes. Cain did not.
Each time we offer something to the Lord,
if He is desiring something else, we are not respecting Him.
God was angry with Moses.
Moses was told by God to speak to the rock and the water would gush out.
God told Moses to speak to the rock.
Moses, for whatever reason, chose to hit the rock, and twice.
Remember, Moses did not like to speak in front of people,
he argued with God and God gave him Aaron to be his mouthpiece.
All the wonderful acts they did in the name of the Lord,
including parting the Red Sea, were not enough.
Because they believed Him not, to honor Him as Holy before His people,
neither of them were allowed to enter the Promised Land.
By being concerned with what the people thought, Moses dishonored God.
Obedience is key with God.
Samuel said that God requires obedience rather than sacrifice.
1 Samuel 15:22: 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.
We can do our wonderful efforts before the Lord,
shining in our own strength.
God requires obedience.
Our efforts are filthy rags.
Our righteousness is without merit.
But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice,
ye would not have condemned the guiltless. Matthew 12:7
What does all this mean?
It means if we do all the wonderful things we are supposed to do,
go to church, pray, read our bibles, help people, et cetera,
those acts are not a guarantee we are pleasing God.
We must show mercy and be His hands and feet, be at His beck and call,
be willing to obey even if it is not our way, the way that seems right to us.
Two examples I am thinking of right now:
Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar,
and there remember that your brother has something against you,
Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way;
first be reconciled to thy brother,
and then come and offer thy gift. Matthew 5:23-24
God calls us to walk in love and forgiveness and mercy.
If we have a problem with someone,
don’t come before Him like nothing has happened, like your hands are clean.
Take care of your mess and then come and worship Him,
seek Him, and then say your prayers.
The second example is this:
Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge,
giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel,
and as being heirs together of the grace of life;
that your prayers be not hindered. 1 Peter 3:7
The part to focus on is that your prayers can be hindered.
This is not just to husbands, prayers can be hindered for any reason whatsoever if we are not walking in mercy and truth.
Be open to that, what the Lord may show you in that regard.
We not only may not have our prayers answered
by participating in attitudes and actions that are not pleasing to God,
but we also may be doing that at the expense of our relationship with God.
It causes a separation with God.
Romans 8:2 says:
For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus
hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
Two laws to consider:
Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus
Law of Sin and Death.
This means that if we, for any reason,
are not operating under the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus,
we risk being under the Law of Sin and Death.
That might mean whatever Jesus shows you you are doing in that circumstance.
Listen.
Hear what He is teaching you, where you may be off.
It is part of our walk with Him,
carrying our cross and putting to death our flesh.
As a Christian, whenever we disregard or disobey Christ’s commandments,
we are not under His covering in that area.
A strong example of that would be unforgiveness.
But if ye forgive not men their trespasses,
neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. Matthew 6:15
We can’t choose what pleases God.
Scriptural References:
And in process of time it came to pass,
that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord.
And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof.
And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering:
But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect.
And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.
Genesis 4:3-5
Take the rod, and gather thou the assembly together,
thou, and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes;
and it shall give forth his water,
and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock:
so thou shalt give the congregation and their beasts drink.
Numbers 20:8
And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice:
and the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank,
and their beasts also.
And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron,
Because ye believed me not, to sanctify Me
in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not
bring this congregation into the land which I have given them.
Numbers 20:11-12
See Matthew Poole’s Commentary for further explanation.
But we are all as an unclean thing,
and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags;
and we all do fade as a leaf;
and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. Isaiah 64:6