Amos 5:21–27

“I hate, I despise your feast days,
And I do not savor your sacred assemblies.
Though you offer Me burnt offerings and your grain offerings,
I will not accept them,
Nor will I regard your fattened peace offerings.
Take away from Me the noise of your songs,
For I will not hear the melody of your stringed instruments.
But let justice run down like water,
And righteousness like a mighty stream.

“Did you offer Me sacrifices and offerings
In the wilderness forty years, O house of Israel?
You also carried Sikkuth your king
And Chiun, your idols,
The star of your gods,
Which you made for yourselves.
Therefore I will send you into captivity beyond Damascus,”
Says the LORD, whose name is the God of hosts.

Israel commits all the wicked things listed previously, but they think that their sacrifices, offerings, and feasts still atone for them.

They don’t. God is offended by the hypocrisy of all this and says so here. “I hate, I despise your feast days. … Though you offer Me burnt offerings and your grain offerings, I will not accept them.” This is reminiscent of God rejecting Cain’s sacrifice.

Except that it isn’t. The problem with Cain’s sacrifice was the sacrifice. It wasn’t the best, as Abel’s was.

And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the LORD. Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the LORD respected Abel and his offering, but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell. — Genesis 4:3–5

That’s not the problem here. These sacrifices are okay. It’s the heart behind them that’s lacking.

I will not accept them, nor will I regard your fattened peace offerings.

Just as Israel’s sacrifice is negated by their actions, a Christian confession can be insincere and worthless.

Confessing Jesus as Lord is just announcing an inner reality. Only servants truly have Jesus as their Lord.

These Monday—Friday DEEPs are written by Mike Slay. The Weekend DEEPs are written by Matt Richardson. To subscribe to all the DEEPs click here:

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The weekly study guides, which include the Monday–Friday devotionals plus related questions for discussion or meditation, are available for download here:

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. ESV stands for the English Standard Version. © Copyright 2001 by Crossway. Used by permission. All rights reserved. NIV stands for The Holy Bible, New International Version®. © Copyright 1973 by International Bible Society. Used by permission. All rights reserved. KJV stands for the King James Version.