Sacrifice

 "He who slaughters an ox is like one who kills a man; he who sacrifices a lamb, like one who breaks a dog's neck; he who presents a grain offering, like one who offers pig's blood; he who makes a memorial offering of frankincense, like one who blesses an idol. These have chosen their own ways, and their soul delights in their abominations;
Isaiah 66:3 ESV
https://bible.com/bible/59/isa.66.3.ESV

The old testament drips with the blood of animal sacrifices. So this verse might seem like a surprise. It's an echo of the new testament, which tells us that the blood of animals can't wash away our sins.

Animal sacrifice was only a precursor to the sacrifice of the Son of God on our behalf. Now that He has sacrificed Himself, there's no need for any more animal sacrifices. If we think we can do whatever sins we want however, we'd be fooling ourselves.

A thread throughout the Bible is that to obey is better than sacrifice. If we perfectly obeyed, there'd be no need for sacrifice. Because God has sacrificed His Son for us, we don't need to offer sacrifices, we just need to obey the call to repent and trust in Jesus.

If we trust in Jesus we will offer ourselves as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God. When temptation rears its ugly head, we will flee to Christ. We will resist the devil, and he will flee from us.

'Heavenly Father, how we praise You for sacrificing Your Son on our behalf, so we don't have to offer sacrifices other than our very selves. Please help us to trust and obey You, in Christ's name, amen'

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