01 Jul '07 04:38>1 edit
Originally posted by josephwI agree completely as to Jeremiah's point—and I deliberately omitted 7:23, which states that point clearly (as do the passages you cited).
Ok. I've got your answer. But it will be better if you see it for yourself.
First read 1Samuel 15:22. And then go back to Jeremiah and read 7: 23. And then go to Exodus and read from 14:30 to 15:26.
And your question will be answered.
I will be waiting for your reply.
But Jeremiah did not say something like, “It is not the offerings and sacrifices that are important, but to obey my voice and walk in the way I command you.” He said that God never commanded Israel’s ancestors concerning offerings and sacrifices when he brought them out of Egypt. Yet, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy are thick with detailed commandments about those things.
Here are the possibilities that I see:
(1) Jeremiah did not know about those commandments (which I find doubtful).
(2) Jeremiah thought that the commandments given in those books were never really given by God (though the texts are clear on that)—i.e., he was taking issue with the contents of the texts.
(3) He was indulging in extreme hyperbole—denouncing offerings and sacrifices in the sharpest way (even though they had been commanded by God)—in order to set his point in bold relief.
Even with the latter interpretation—which I find to be a stretch, but possible—he is still strongly denouncing the offerings and sacrifices, not merely saying they are not the point.
I go with (2).