1 Samuel 15:22-23
Psalm 50:1-6
Isaiah 1:11-12, 21
2 Corinthians 4:3-6
Murderers offer animal sacrifices because they think they can appease
God, or a false god, with the blood of innocent animals.
Furthermore they fool themselves into believing that their god wants them to
do this because they will still be accepted, even though they continue in
their worldly ways.
The only one who wants such blood-thirsty things is the devil.
No one who is truly a peacemaking child of God could ever kill another
living being and believe that this is what our heavenly Father or Jesus
desires.
Psalm 50:1-6 shows us that these false ways may even work their way into
Bible passages, or how they can be misinterpreted.
1. The Mighty One, God, the LORD, has spoken,
And summoned the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting.
2. Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty,
God has shone forth.
Even though God may shine forth from a place to give us hope, it is no
indication that the people of that place are either Godly or righteous.
We could still see murderers offer animal sacrifices in such a place, just
as we should be able to see all sorts of evil in the world around us.
3. May our God come and not keep silence;
Fire devours before Him,
And it is very tempestuous around Him.
The fire that comes from God has several meanings:
It could be the fires of moral conviction so that we would repent of our
evil ways and return whole-heartedly to God and His heavenly will.
It also could be the presence of the Holy Spirit coming to assist us in
living in the heavenly will of God.
Or, it could be a consuming fire to remove unrighteousness from His presence
in that place, as we see in the next verse.
4. He summons the heavens above,
And the earth, to judge His people:
Then we come to the problem verse…
5. "Gather My godly ones to Me,
Those who have made a covenant with Me by sacrifice."
Surely this psalmist knows what God said to Saul when He removed him from
being king of Israel.
Note what we are told in 1 Samuel 15:22-23…
22. And Samuel said [to Saul],
"Has the LORD as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices
As in obeying the voice of the LORD?
Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,
And to heed than the fat of rams.
23. "For rebellion is as the sin of divination,
And insubordination is as iniquity and idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the LORD,
He has also rejected you from being king."
NASB
Does this mean that the psalm’s use of the word “sacrifice” refers to
something other than a blood sacrifice, or that we, today, are to understand
that the only type of sacrifice that God desires is not one requiring
killing or bloodshed?
With this in mind, let’s take a look at Isaiah 1:11-12…
11. "What are your multiplied sacrifices to Me?"
Says the LORD.
"I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams,
And the fat of fed cattle.
And I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls, lambs, or goats.
12. "When you come to appear before Me,
Who requires of you this trampling of My courts?
It is very clear to us that God does not want animal sacrifices, and He even goes on to tell us that those people who offer these blood sacrifices are murderers, as we are told in Isaiah 1:21…
21. How the faithful city has become a harlot,
She who was full of justice!
Righteousness once lodged in her,
But now murderers.
NASB
Isaiah and the Lord call these people murderers, because they planned ahead
to kill the animals, which makes their actions pre-meditated murder, which
is really the same thing that people who raise animals for food do.
Thus, people who eat the products of their killing become co-conspirators in
the murder of the animals.
In a way, the animals are being sacrificed to the devil.
Murderers offer animal sacrifices, but the children of God do not.
Therefore, we are to understand that the only sacrifice that God desires is
for us to have the faith to truly repent and offer up to God our old worldly
way of life and ask God to forgive us and help us change into the
peacemaking children He desires us to be.
God is always faithful to grant such a request when we truly mean it.
And when this happens, we will understand the true meaning of both the
previous verse and the following verse of our psalm lesson for today.
6. And the heavens declare His righteousness,
For God Himself is judge.
Selah.
NASB
Murderers offer animal sacrifices, but righteous people offer their changed
lives in Jesus Christ in service to the Lord.
Murderers offer animal sacrifices, but they do their best to veil themselves
and the horrible suffering of animals from the general public, not unlike
the veiling of the Gospel spoken about in 2 Corinthians 4:1-6.
1. Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we received mercy, we do not lose heart,
These are some of the same things we hear from animal advocates and truly compassionate Christians who try to end the suffering of animals; for even though their heart aches from the pain, suffering, and death they see, they do not lose heart, for they know that if they don’t speak out, the downtrodden of the world may not hear the truth.
2. but we have renounced the things hidden because of shame, not walking in craftiness or adulterating the word of God, but by the manifestation of truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.
Many people speak about the Gospel and encourage others to repent and be
saved, and even add a false teaching: that no matter what worldly things
they do, they will still be saved.
When we are saved the Holy Spirit is supposed to enter into us and change us
into the peacemaking children of God, who turn away from the evil ways of
this world, and live in the heavenly will of God, where there is no more
pain, suffering, or death; that is, if we allow the Holy Spirit to enter
into us and change us.
Unfortunately, relatively few people do this and the majority of people,
even in the churches, continue to corrupt creation, and we continue to see
murderers offer animal sacrifices to the devil, even while thanking “god”
for the death that is on their plates.
And the true gospel remains veiled.
3. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing,
The murderers and their co-conspirators who we’ve been talking about are
those who are perishing, because they believe, or pretend to believe, the
lie instead of the truth.
Our ministry has been trying to tear down this veil and expose the truth for
the past three decades.
4. in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
This is why we continue to see murderers offer animal sacrifices, because
they are being protected by those who try to blind the public from the
truth.
Unfortunately, these workers of the devil include many clergy and
politicians who continue to veil the truth and protect the evil people who
cause so much pain, suffering, bloodshed, and death.
If this were not so, they would remove the laws that protect factory farms
and slaughterhouses from undercover and investigative reporters who try to
expose the horrible truth and immense suffering to the public.
5. For we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants for Jesus' sake.
When Jesus commanded us to be perfect as our Father in heaven is perfect
(Matthew 5:48), He was also showing us the heavenly will of God for our
lives which is part and parcel to preaching the gospel.
This means that if there is no pain, suffering, or death in heaven, that in
addition to our faith in God, we should be doing everything in our power to
end as much pain, suffering, and death as we possibly can here on earth,
which naturally means to return to the plant food diet God originally
commanded us to eat (Genesis 1:29-30).
And, if we do this, we will see no more murderers offer animal sacrifices
either to the devil or for their own gluttonous appetites.
6. For God, who said, "Light shall shine out of darkness," is the One who
has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of
God in the face of Christ.
NASB
All of the animal exploitation industries are a giant dark cloud that blocks
out the light of God and veils the truth from the people.
But we can end this.
We can continue to speak the whole truth about the gospel of Jesus Christ
which includes living in the heavenly will of God.
And if we do this, we will see no more murderers offer animal sacrifices.
We can remove the dark clouds and veil, and show the light of God to the
world.
We can do it.
Amen.
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