"But we've kept the sacrifices!"

Today, we are looking back at Psalm 50 and rejoining the trial which is already in progress.

7“Listen, my people, and I will speak;

I will testify against you, Israel:

I am God, your God.

8I bring no charges against you concerning your sacrifices

or concerning your burnt offerings, which are ever before me.

9I have no need of a bull from your stall

or of goats from your pens,

10for every animal of the forest is mine,

and the cattle on a thousand hills.

11I know every bird in the mountains,

and the insects in the fields are mine.

12If I were hungry I would not tell you,

for the world is mine, and all that is in it.

13Do I eat the flesh of bulls

or drink the blood of goats?

14“Sacrifice thank offerings to God,

fulfill your vows to the Most High,

15and call on me in the day of trouble;

I will deliver you, and you will honor me.” (Psalm 50:7-15)

Religion or relationship? Ritual or reverence?

Let's check this out . . . . . 

God speaks first to the people who had been diligent in keeping the prescribed sacrifices. They had been carefully selecting the correct animals and ensuring that they were blemish-free; they'd been careful to distribute what remained according to the Law. God told them He had no complaint with their outward compliance. On the outside, they were "doing everything right."

But.

Their hearts were not right before Him. They did not express thanks to God. They did not acknowledge His blessings. And they didn't make the connection between their rituals and their daily lives: when they were in trouble, they didn't call out to God in faith. Maybe they thought that God would deliver them because of their sacrifices -- so when He rescued them, they didn't say "thank you" but patted themselves on the back for keeping the rituals!

We humans have a tendency to fall into ritualism rather than maintain a close relationship with God. If our consciences bother us, we tell ourselves, "I did the ritual this week." (I expect that is what the accused in this trial said, too, "We kept the sacrifices!")  Other faiths often point the finger at the Roman Catholic churchgoers who attend Mass and Confession and "do penance," but don't live the rest of the week in a close walk with God. 

But don't all of us fall into our own forms of ritualism? We feel that things are ok between us and God because we've attended church regularly. Or last Sunday, we participated in communion. We may even feel especially spiritual because we were faithful to have our quiet time each day this week, or because we put our tithe plus more in the offering. We may serve on a committee at church or teach Sunday School . . . . things MUST be right between us and God, right? 

But wait.

At the same time, we are tolerating all sorts of sin in our thoughts. Or in our words. Or even in our deeds. So we must fight against our own tendency to fall into ritualism and leave behind our close relationship with God. God may be invisible to us as mortals, but He can be the most trusted, the most reliable, and the most loving reality in our lives!

But from there you will seek the LORD your God, and you will find Him if you search for Him with all your heart and all your soul. (Deuteronomy 4:29)