“For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings” (Hosea 6:6, ESV). There’s a similar thing from 1 Samuel 15:22, “And Samuel said, ‘Has 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 listen than the fat of rams’” (ESV).
God didn’t desire the sacrifice and the burnt offerings. What were they? When the Israelites were sacrificing animals and burning them, it was to have their sins forgiven. It was so that God’s holy presence could remain with them. God didn’t want them to have to sacrifice animals in order for them to be forgiven. He had no desire to see animals killed in His name. He’d prefer they’d obey, walk uprightly and in perfect communion with Him, and not need a sacrifice for forgiveness, to satisfy the demands of justice.
Jesus became the perfect sacrifice, but still today, it’s better to walk in obedience and communion with God than to need Jesus to intercede for us to stay God’s wrath because of our sin. That’s not what God wants. God wants us in fellowship with Him, not sinning and separating ourselves from Him. He’s not after our religious acts. He’s after our hearts.
In our verse, that steadfast love in the Hebrew is hesed. It’s translated steadfast love, loving kindness, mercy, grace, loving devotion, and such things. He wants to be in relationship with us. He doesn’t want that broken and needing restored again and again through daily sacrifices. He wants to walk in communion with us. He wants us to receive His love and to walk in His love, and freely let His love flow out of us back to Him and to others. He wants us to be lovingly devoted to Him, as He is to us. That’s that ABIDING: knowing His closeness, and fellowshipping with Him throughout the day in the joy of His presence, keeping your eyes on Him because He’s your desire and He delights in you.
In Matthew 9:13, we read Jesus telling the Pharisees, “Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners” (ESV). Here the word is mercy or compassion. He is desiring to show mercy and compassion on “sinners,” rather than desire the self-righteous sacrifice of the Pharisees. Of course, these sinners were getting a new identity. They were now followers of Jesus. They were seeking Him and seeking God. The Pharisees were denying Him.
How can we apply this? We can show mercy and compassion to sinners. Instead of thinking our sacrifice of money to the church is sufficient for helping those in need, what if we showed compassion to the poor and showed up with that love of God, and showed them the mercy and love of God? If you keep your eyes on Jesus, I bet He’ll lead you to love others, to love sinners who need God’s love.