For I delight in loyalty rather than sacrifice, and in the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.

                                                                                                                     Hosea 6:6 

Some might believe that what God wants most from us is to sacrifice for Him. But today’s passage speaks of something much greater than merely sacrificing for God. It is the true delight of God. It is that we become loyal to Him and live in the true knowledge of whom He is and what He desires to accomplish through us.

In the midst of reeling over his adultery and murder, David knew that sacrifices were not what God desired. Listen to his words to God:

For You do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it; You are not pleased with burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.

                                                                                                                   Psalm 51:16-17 

David knew that what God really wanted was his heart. God wanted David’s loyalty. God desired for David to walk in the knowledge that he had acquired over a lifetime of knowing Him. A broken spirit and a contrite heart was what God wanted to see from this former shepherd boy turned king. It isn’t that God wants us to live life feeling low and “bummed out.” Quite the contrary. He desires for us to live an abundant life but that all begins when we correctly assess our spiritual need and then turn to Him in humble contrition.

This idea of God desiring our loyalty is also seen in the words of Jesus. Consider the following:

“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”

                                                                                                               Matthew 22:36-40 

If we want to sum up the entire Old Testament (Law & Prophets), it can be done in these two commandments: love God and love others. What we often spend time trying to complicate, Jesus untangles with these words. When we love God with our whole heart, our whole soul, and our whole mind, we are fulfilling the desire of God. Then, in turn, we begin to consider others above ourselves and share that same affection and caring towards them as well. This is the idea of being loyal to God and it is in what He delights!

But God also delights in our knowing Him and living in the truth about Him. Consider Paul’s description of those he was closest to, his fellow Jewish brothers and sisters:

Brethren, my heart’s desire and my prayer to God for them is for their salvation. For I testify about them that they have a zeal for God, but not in accordance with knowledge. For not knowing about God’s righteousness and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.

                                                                                                                     Romans 10:1-4 

He understood their desire to please God and the zeal in which they attempted to serve Him. But the problem was that their zeal was “not in accordance with knowledge.” They were not saved because they had not come to the place of understanding that salvation and pleasing God comes through our faith in Jesus rather than our works. These zealous, religious people did not “know about God’s righteousness and sought to establish their own.”

Many people still make this egregious error today. They believe that it is their performance and religious motion that puts them in good spiritual position. But relying on works actually has the opposite effect (Galatians 5:2-4). Jesus is the culmination of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. In other words, those who place their faith in Jesus are received and accepted by Him through their faith and not by their works. The Law is no longer the means by which we are saved rather it is the finished work of the cross. God desires for us to experience the spiritual freedom that comes from understanding this truth and He desires this for everyone. Consider the words of Paul:

… (God) who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 

                                                                                                1 Timothy 2:4 

God is delighted when we live a life that is centered on Him. When we desire Him above all else, He takes delight. And when we live according to the truth of scripture, He delights in our walking in that knowledge. Give Him your all and watch Him take delight in you!

Delight yourself in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart. 

                                                                                                               Psalm 37:4