I Desire Mercy, Not Sacrifice Explained

When I pondered the saying, I desire mercy, not sacrifice, this popped into my mind: the people of Israel in the wilderness.

Do you know that God did not command them to give Him burnt offerings or animal sacrifices? But they did that a lot!

Did I say that? Hold on! I am sure I just stirred up someone. But do not worry, I will touch on that in a bit as we examine the statement, I desire mercy and not sacrifice in the scriptures.

Meanwhile, have you seen the message, I Have Kept The Faith Explained? You should give it a good read!

I Desire Mercy And Not Sacrifice Bible Verse

There are three main Bible verses where the saying, I Desire Mercy, Not Sacrifice, is used. The first place was in Hosea 6:6, then Matthew 9:13 and 12:7, as shown below.

Hosea 6:6 WEB, “For I desire mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.”

Matthew 9:13 WEB, “But you go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ for I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

Matthew 12:7 WEB, “But if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless.”

The above citations are in a sequence. In the first, prophet Hosea made the statement as the word of the Lord. In the second, Jesus told the people to go and learn what it means, and in the third event, He tells them that if they knew what it meant, they would not have condemned the innocent.

Assuming we were in the position of the Jews Jesus spoke with, we could have been concerned about knowing what the saying meant, right? Perhaps knowing that would help us reconsider how we do certain things in the name of God.

What Does I Desire Mercy, Not Sacrifice Mean?

The word Desire is both a noun and a verb word. As a noun, desire is a word for interest, wish, longing, preference, or delight (e.g., my desire). As a verb, desire represents an interest in something, a wish, a longing, a show of preference, or delight in something (e.g., I desire).

In this case, the desire is in the verb form (I desire), and the object is mercy to sacrifice. In other words, the one whose word it is said He is interested in, delights in, and prefers mercy to sacrifice.

The word mercy is also translated as loving-kindness, and the word sacrifice as an offering; that is, burnt offering and other offerings, especially slaughtered animals (and sadly, human beings).

Looking at the word of the Lord, according to prophet Hosea, God spoke to the people of Israel, specifically to Ephraim and Judah, about their love.

“‘Ephraim, what shall I do to you? Judah, what shall I do to you? For your love is like a morning cloud, and like the dew that disappears early.

Therefore I have cut them to pieces with the prophets; I killed them with the words of my mouth. Your judgments are like a flash of lightning.

For I desire mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.

But they, like Adam, have broken the covenant. They were unfaithful to me, there.

Gilead is a city of those who work iniquity; it is stained with blood.

As gangs of robbers wait to ambush a man, so the company of priests murder on the path toward Shechem, committing shameful crimes.

In the house of Israel I have seen a horrible thing. There is prostitution in Ephraim. Israel is defiled.’” Hosea 6:4–10 WEB.

The love of the people was like a morning cloud that goes away all of a sudden. By implication, they were unfaithful to the Lord and went about doing all sorts of evil, and afterward, came with sacrifices to God.

Through the prophets, the Lord condemned their actions, pointing out that He was not interested in the sacrifice they offered but in their show of love for one another. (I know there could be a question as to whether God desired mercy for or from them.) (I believe both, but the latter seems to apply in context.)

The prophet compared their unfaithfulness to Adam, who disobeyed from the beginning, but the magnitude of their iniquity was much, stained with human blood. It got to the point where a group of priests (supposed holy men) deliberately took lives on the road to Shechem, and other terrible things happened.

Those were the kind of people who, after doing evil, would go and make sacrifices to God. Some would say that the horrible things they did were even a service to God.

But the statement, I desire mercy, not sacrifice points to God’s delight in doing good, showing compassion, and forgiving one another instead of giving offerings (sacrifice). In fact, a show of love is an offering that God delights in.

Sadly, the people did not care about the other people because they did not acknowledge God. It seemed like on their minds: God wanted sacrifices, so they would sacrifice animals (and human beings when they deem it necessary) while they went on doing whatever they desired to do. Did God command them to do so? No!

The Knowledge Of God, More Than Burnt Offerings

I saw a rebellious generation that created their own ways for God instead of following the way of the Lord. A nation of people who offered sacrifices to a God they never cared to learn of.

The word of the Lord by Prophet Jeremiah said these about them:

“Thus says Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel: Add your burnt offerings to your sacrifices, and eat meat.

For I didn’t speak to your fathers, nor command them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings or sacrifices:

but this thing I commanded them, saying, ‘Listen to my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people; and walk in all the way that I command you, that it may be well with you.’

But they didn’t listen nor turn their ear, but walked in their own counsels and in the stubbornness of their evil heart, and went backward, and not forward.

Since the day that your fathers came out of the land of Egypt to this day, I have sent to you all my servants the prophets, daily rising up early and sending them:

yet they didn’t listen to me, nor inclined their ear, but made their neck stiff: they did worse than their fathers.

You shall speak all these words to them; but they will not listen to you: you shall also call to them; but they will not answer you.

You shall tell them, ‘This is the nation that has not listened to the voice of Yahweh their God, nor received instruction. Truth has perished, and is cut off from their mouth.’” Jeremiah 7:21–28 WEB.

From here, we see what God wanted from the people of Israel was for them to know Him and follow His ways, but they refused in their hearts and actions toward others.

Before Hosea proclaimed, I desire mercy and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God not burnt offerings, the prophet instructed the people to return and acknowledge God. He said:

“Let us acknowledge Yahweh. Let us press on to know Yahweh. As surely as the sun rises, Yahweh will appear. He will come to us like the rain, like the spring rain that waters the earth.” Hosea 6:3 WEB.

Jesus came in the Gospels to reveal God to the people, and on two occasions, He referred them to that statement. It was evident they did not understand what it meant because, on those occasions, they confronted Jesus Christ for being compassionate towards the people who were in need.

On the first occasion, Jesus met Matthew at the tax collection office and asked him to follow Him, and he did. They were at Matthew’s house taking supper when other tax collectors described as sinners came to join them.

“When the Pharisees saw it, they said to his disciples, ‘Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?’

When Jesus heard it, he said to them, ‘Those who are healthy have no need for a physician, but those who are sick do.

But you go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ for I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.’” Matthew 9:11–13 WEB.

On the second occasion, Jesus walked with his disciples through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and plugged the fruits and ate.

“But the Pharisees, when they saw it, said to him, ‘Behold, your disciples do what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath.’

But he said to them, ‘Haven’t you read what David did, when he was hungry, and those who were with him;

how he entered into God’s house, and ate the show bread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for those who were with him, but only for the priests?

Or have you not read in the law, that on the Sabbath day, the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are guiltless?

But I tell you that one greater than the temple is here.

But if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless.

For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.’” Matthew 12:2–8 WEB.

On both occasions, we see:

1. Jesus Christ identifying with sinners (a show of Mercy and compassion aimed at saving them from their sins).
2. Jesus spoke in defense of the ones He called guiltless after being found guilty because they ate on the Sabbath.

Both events revealed Jesus’ show of compassion for the people, but the Pharisees were against them. Could it be that they were lacking in the knowledge of God? Most likely. Another thing is that they were sinners!

Think about this for a moment: they were ignorant of the truth about God and did not understand His ways but were the board when it had to do with offering sacrifices to God.

Jesus amplified the Psalms, “The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and plenteous in mercy and loving-kindness.” Psalms 103:8 AMP.

Since God is merciful and gracious, He delights in seeing those He has shown mercy do likewise to others. We can learn from Christ Jesus what He accomplished out of love for us and how to treat people with love.

Remember, the love of The Believers Today for God is expressed in how we relate with other people.