God Doesn’t Want Animal Sacrifice
An all-creatures Bible Message

God Doesn’t Want Animal Sacrifice
 
A Sermon Delivered to
The Compassion Internet Church
 
18 November 2018
 
Frank L. Hoffman, Pastor

Scripture References

Genesis 15:6
1 Samuel 1:1-28
1 Samuel 2:1-10  
Hebrews 10:8-18

God doesn’t want animal sacrifice, because it’s a human way of trying to transfer our own guilt and sins to an innocent animal, and then kill that animal as an offering to God, which to us must be an abomination to God, for He lovingly created that animal just as He did us.
 
And, we cannot scapegoat an animal to be a substitute for our own sins, for they are ours and not anyone else’s.
 
All God has ever wanted is our obedience, and our trust and faith in Him.
 
If we are truly sorry for the sins we commit against God, which includes anything we may have done against any part of His creation, including all humans, all animals, and the world we all live in, and we are truly sorry for what we have done God is faithful to forgive us.
 
Think about what we are told in the Bible, way back in the days of Abraham, as it is written in Genesis 15:6…

6. Then he [Abraham] believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.
NASB

Abraham wasn’t righteous all the time, for he did things that were not in God’s heavenly will just as we all do, but because of his faith and repentant spirit, God considered him to be righteous.
 
God doesn’t want animal sacrifice…all He wants is our obedience.
 
In 1 Samuel 1:1-2:10, we will see more about animal sacrifice, but keep in mind that these events happened many years after what we just read about God considering Abraham’s faithfulness as being equal to righteousness; God’s heavenly will doesn’t change…

1. Now there was a certain man from Ramathaim-zophim from the hill country of Ephraim, and his name was Elkanah the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite.

This is a little bit of the background information leading up to the story being told.

2. And he had two wives: the name of one was Hannah and the name of the other Peninnah; and Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.

The very fact that Elkanah had two wives is telling us that he was not living in the heavenly will of God, which was bound to cause even more problems.

3. Now this man would go up from his city yearly to worship and to sacrifice to the LORD of hosts in Shiloh. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas were priests to the LORD there.

Remember also that the Lord wants obedience and not sacrifice, and Elkanah was not being either obedient to Him, and his sacrifice was not going to take away his sins.

4. And when the day came that Elkanah sacrificed, he would give portions to Peninnah his wife and to all her sons and her daughters;
 
5. but to Hannah he would give a double portion, for he loved Hannah, but the LORD had closed her womb.
 
6. Her rival, however, would provoke her bitterly to irritate her, because the LORD had closed her womb.

Think about all the problems that this family is having, because Elkanah was following the human traditions instead of living in the heavenly will of God.

7. And it happened year after year, as often as she went up to the house of the LORD, she would provoke her, so she wept and would not eat.
 
8. Then Elkanah her husband said to her, "Hannah, why do you weep and why do you not eat and why is your heart sad? Am I not better to you than ten sons?"
 
9. Then Hannah rose after eating and drinking in Shiloh. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat by the doorpost of the temple of the LORD.
 
10. And she, greatly distressed, prayed to the LORD and wept bitterly.

Despite everything that seems to be going wrong in Hannah’s life, she still truly believes in God.

11. And she made a vow and said, "O LORD of hosts, if Thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of Thy maidservant and remember me, and not forget Thy maidservant, but wilt give Thy maidservant a son, then I will give him to the LORD all the days of his life, and a razor shall never come on his head."

Jesus said that we are to make our yes be yes and our no be no, which means that we don’t have to make any vows to God or bargain with Him, but Hanna is caught up in the worldly traditions that said that every woman was to have children, which God never said.

12. Now it came about, as she continued praying before the LORD, that Eli was watching her mouth.
 
13. As for Hannah, she was speaking in her heart, only her lips were moving, but her voice was not heard. So Eli thought she was drunk.

Like everything else, Eli was thinking in worldly terms and not heavenly terms, as he should have been, for if he was thinking like God, he would have understood that Hannah was very troubled, and not drunk.

14. Then Eli said to her, "How long will you make yourself drunk? Put away your wine from you."
 
15. But Hannah answered and said, "No, my lord, I am a woman oppressed in spirit; I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have poured out my soul before the LORD.

As chief priest, Eli should have known this, but he didn’t; he just thought the worst in worldly terms.

16. Do not consider your maidservant as a worthless woman; for I have spoken until now out of my great concern and provocation."
 
17. Then Eli answered and said, "Go in peace; and may the God of Israel grant your petition that you have asked of Him."

Eli should have understood this from the beginning, instead of having to wait for Hannah to explain it to him; and this is a very similar problem to why the priests wanted people to continue to have animal sacrifices, for it made money for them.

18. And she said, "Let your maidservant find favor in your sight." So the woman went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad.

We are not told what Hannah ate, but we always wonder if she ate of the flesh of an animal who was sacrificed, and in this way participated in the sacrifice and other worldly traditions of the time.

19. Then they arose early in the morning and worshiped before the LORD, and returned again to their house in Ramah. And Elkanah had relations with Hannah his wife, and the LORD remembered her.

We also strongly believe that the Lord always knew who Hannah was.

20. And it came about in due time, after Hannah had conceived, that she gave birth to a son; and she named him Samuel, saying, "Because I have asked him of the LORD."
 
21. Then the man Elkanah went up with all his household to offer to the LORD the yearly sacrifice and pay his vow.

Again we see that Elkanah is following the worldly and priestly traditions, and not the heavenly will of the Lord, because God doesn’t want animal sacrifice.

22. But Hannah did not go up, for she said to her husband, "I will not go up until the child is weaned; then I will bring him, that he may appear before the LORD and stay there forever."

We often wonder if this is what the Lord really wanted, and we have serious doubts that it was, even though He used him in a mighty way.
 
In any event, this is an extremely hard and heart wrenching decision for any Mother to make.

23. And Elkanah her husband said to her, "Do what seems best to you. Remain until you have weaned him; only may the LORD confirm His word." So the woman remained and nursed her son until she weaned him.

This is a wise decision for Elkanah to make, and his advice still rings true for us today; for before we act upon any decision as serious as this one, we need to wait for the Lord to confirm that this is really what God wants us to do.

24. Now when she had weaned him, she took him up with her, with a three-year-old bull and one ephah of flour and a jug of wine, and brought him to the house of the LORD in Shiloh, although the child was young.

This verse expressed the problem with this story, for even though Hannah truly believed in the Lord, she still felt it necessary to follow the worldly tradition of leading a young bull to his death to be sacrificed, which is definitely not in the heavenly will of God.

25. Then they slaughtered the bull, and brought the boy to Eli.
 
26. And she said, "Oh, my lord! As your soul lives, my lord, I am the woman who stood here beside you, praying to the LORD.
 
27. For this boy I prayed, and the LORD has given me my petition which I asked of Him.
 
28. So I have also dedicated him to the LORD; as long as he lives he is dedicated to the LORD." And he worshiped the LORD there.

Granted that Samuel was special, but just leaving someone at the place of worship does not guarantee that they will truly follow God and His heavenly will, for both of Eli’s sons were brought up in that environment, for they both follow the corrupt ways of the world, even though they were priests.
 
1 Samuel 2:1-10 is often referred to as “Hannah’s Song” because in it she pours her heart and soul out to God; think about what she says in comparison to what the people who believe in animal sacrifice say, for they don’t have the empathy to understand that God doesn’t want animal sacrifice, and this also includes Hannah, for like a lot of people, she seems to be double-minded.

1 Then Hannah prayed and said,
"My heart exults in the LORD;
My horn is exalted in the LORD,  
My mouth speaks boldly against my enemies,
Because I rejoice in Thy salvation.
 
2. "There is no one holy like the LORD,
Indeed, there is no one besides Thee,
Nor is there any rock like our God.

Hannah truly seems to know the Lord, but for some reason she cannot seem to let go of the worldly tradition of animal sacrifice, which we believe is very similar to all the people who continue to eat other living beings, even after they have been slaughtered.

3. "Boast no more so very proudly,
Do not let arrogance come out of your mouth;
For the LORD is a God of knowledge,
And with Him actions are weighed.

Unfortunately, even though Hannah seems to know this, she also follows some of the worldly people’s traditions, just like many people do today.

4. "The bows of the mighty are shattered,
But the feeble gird on strength.

This most likely only happens when a society, or many of the people in a society turn to the Lord for their guidance, and not the people around them, for as we all know this is definitely not happening today.

5. "Those who were full hire themselves out for bread,
But those who were hungry cease to hunger.
Even the barren gives birth to seven,
But she who has many children languishes.
 
6. "The LORD kills and makes alive;
He brings down to Sheol and raises up.

I’m doubtful that the Lord actually kills anyone directly, but He does allow the corrupt ways of this world to consume millions of humans and billions of animals every year.
 
Human beings are the main killing force at work in the world today.

7. "The LORD makes poor and rich;
He brings low, He also exalts.

This is definitely not what is happening in the world today when we look at the overall situation; though it is probably happening with a few people.

8. "He raises the poor from the dust,
He lifts the needy from the ash heap
To make them sit with nobles,
And inherit a seat of honor;
For the pillars of the earth are the Lord's,
And He set the world on them.
 
9. "He keeps the feet of His godly ones,
But the wicked ones are silenced in darkness;
For not by might shall a man prevail.

Again, many wicked people are prevailing, and some of them are in positions of authority.

10. "Those who contend with the LORD will be shattered;
Against them He will thunder in the heavens,
The LORD will judge the ends of the earth;
And He will give strength to His king,
And will exalt the horn of His anointed."
NASB

This is all true, but we just don’t believe that it will come to pass, until we as a society return to God.
 
If we have any doubts about what we just talked about, listen to what we are told in Hebrews 10:8-18…
 
8. After saying above, "Sacrifices and offerings and whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin Thou hast not desired, nor hast Thou taken pleasure in them" (which are offered according to the Law),
 
9. then He said, "Behold, I have come to do Thy will." He takes away the first in order to establish the second.
 
In other words, Jesus is replacing the old Law, with the Law of Love in which we have direct access to the Lord our God.
 
This includes doing away with not only the sacrificial system, but all other worldly practices that further corrupt God’s creation.

10. By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

There is now no reason to raise and kill billions of animals every year as a sacrifice to human pride and gluttony; it is a time to return to eating only the plant foods that God created for us to eat in Eden.

11. And every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins; Note carefully what this is saying: animal sacrifice NEVER took away any person’s sin.
 
12. but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God,
 
13. waiting from that time onward until His enemies be made a footstool for His feet.

This is talking about the killing of Jesus and His resurrection.
 
We need to truly believe in Him and become the peacemaking children of God that He called us to be, and as such we are to live in His heavenly will, and do everything in our power to free creation from its present corruption.

14. For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.
 
15. And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying,
 
16. "This is the covenant that I will make with them
After those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws upon their heart,
And upon their mind I will write them,"
 
He then says,
 
17. "And their sins and their lawless deeds
I will remember no more."
 
18. Now where there is forgiveness of these things, there is no longer any offering for sin.
NASB

God does not want animal sacrifice.
 
Amen.

Return to: Sermons Archive