Covenant By Sacrifice
From The HeartPublish date: 02/15/2009
The Mighty One, God, the Lord, speaks and calls the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting. 2 Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines forth. 3 Our God comes and does not keep silence; a fire devours before Him, and round about Him a mighty tempest rages. 4 He calls to the heavens above and to the earth, that He may judge His people: 5 Gather together to Me My saints [those who have found grace in My sight], those who have made a covenant with Me by sacrifice. 6 And the heavens declare His righteousness (rightness and justice), for God, He is judge. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]! 7 Hear, O My people, and I will speak; O Israel, I will testify to you and against you: I am God, your God. 8 I do not reprove you for your sacrifices; your burnt offerings are continually before Me. 9 I will accept no bull from your house nor he-goat out of your folds. 10 For every beast of the forest is Mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills or upon the mountains where thousands are. 11 I know and am acquainted with all the birds of the mountains, and the wild animals of the field are Mine and are with Me, in My mind. 12 If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world and its fullness are Mine. 13 Shall I eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of goats? 14 Offer to God the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and pay your vows to the Most High, 15 And call on Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall honor and glorify Me. Psalms 50:1-15 AMPAlmighty God is the Creator and Law-giver of heaven and earth. He is our one and only Judge and the only One we should fear (reverential fear). Only He has the right to judge and His judgments are sure and true and final. At the same time, He is also a merciful judge who willingly accepts an appropriate offering given with a right heart and pure motive. He is very slow to anger and very quick to forgive! In verse 5 He says, "Gather together to Me My saints - those who have found grace in My sight - those who have made a covenant with Me by sacrifice." The covenant we have with the Father is wholly based on the sacrifice made by Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Because of Jesus, God's grace is freely poured out on His children.
God is not blood-thirsty, but it takes blood to wash away sin (verse 13). Jesus' blood paid the price once and for all. He did what we cannot do. If we truly have a revelation of the price paid by the Father and the Son, we would never, ever take Him or His grace for granted.
The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination, hateful and exceedingly offensive to the Lord, but the prayer of the upright is His delight! 9 The way of the wicked is an abomination, extremely disgusting and shamefully vile to the Lord, but He loves him who pursues righteousness (moral and spiritual rectitude in every area and relation). Proverbs 15:8-9 AMP
To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices to Me [unless they are the offering of the heart]? says the Lord. I have had enough of the burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fed beasts [without obedience]; and I do not delight in the blood of bulls or of lambs or of he-goats [without righteousness].
Isaiah 1:11 AMP
Has the Lord as great a 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. 23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as idolatry and teraphim (household good luck images).
1 Samuel 15:22-23a AMP
All the sacrifices in the world cannot make up for a wayward heart. The sacrifices of wicked, rebellious, disobedient people are unacceptable to the Lord. Proverbs 21:3 AMP says, "To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice." The sacrifices God expects from His children are the sacrifices of obedience and thanksgiving that spring from a righteous heart.
Hebrews 10:5-7 (AMP) quotes Psalms 40:5-8 here: "Hence, when He [Christ] entered into the world, He said, Sacrifices and offerings You have not desired, but instead You have made ready a body for Me [to offer]; 6 In burnt offerings and sin offerings You have taken no delight. 7 Then I said, Behold, here I am, coming to do Your will, O God — [to fulfill] what is written of Me in the volume of the Book." Psalms 40:6 AMP says, "You have given me the capacity to hear and obey Your law."
These are the words spoken by Jesus, concerning God's plan and purpose for His life. The success of Jesus' mission was in His absolute obedience to the will of the Father. Jesus is God, but He still humbled Himself to obey the Father – even unto death. Jesus was submitted to the Father and He was also submitted to His Word. We are not better than Jesus! So many Christians do not respect the Word of God. You know they don't because they don't obey it! They just do what they want to do. They might ask God to forgive them if they want something from Him that they can't get any other way, or if they find themselves in a mess they can't rescue themselves out of, but otherwise they just follow the lusts of their eye and the lusts of their flesh.
It's time to remember and keep our covenant with our Father God. God is not there for your convenience, at your beck and call, to jump when you say, "jump"! God is not your servant, He is your Master! You owe Him everything. Your eternal outcome is in His hands. Selfishness, disobedience and rebellion are disrespectful to the Lord. It's time to honor Him with our respect and obedience!