The land of Israel; their Jewishness; the possession of the Scriptures; and the Temple were all to be used for Yahweh's purposes, but instead they used all of it for their own gain and it became an idol to the Sanhedrin. These things were to point to God but instead they made them point to them. They made their possession of a building, the land, their Jewishness, and the scriptures their place of refuge. The following scriptures speak to this:
"Therefore, what I did to Shiloh I will now do to the house that bears my Name, the temple you trust in, the place I gave to you and your fathers. I will thrust you from my presence..." Jeremiah 7:14,15
"You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me." John 5:39
The Pharisees defiled the Temple by making something that was supposed to be Holy into a place that enriched themselves:
"The people of Judah have done evil in my eyes, declares the LORD. They have set up their detestable idols in the house that bears my Name have defiled it." Jeremiah 7:30
Yeshua drives out the money-changers in the Temple:
"In the temple courts he found men selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. So he made a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. To those who sold doves he said, 'Take these things away; stop making My Father's house a place of merchandise.' And his disciples remembered that it is written, 'The zeal of thy house did eat me up;'"John 2:14-16
Yahweh hates hypocrisy: sacrifices being made by men who treat others wickedly, and perform the sacrifices with evil intent and without their solemn holy meaning of bringing people closer to God. They are intended to be pinnacle of righteousness before God; therefore, he would rather that they not be conducted at all. The following scriptures speak to this:
"'The multitude of your sacrifices--what are they to me?' says the Lord. 'I have more than enough of burnt offerings, of rams and the fat of fattened animals; I have no pleasure in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats. When you come to appear before me, who has asked this of you, this trampling of my courts? Bring no more vain offerings; incense is an abomination to me. New moon and Sabbath and the calling of convocations- I cannot endure your iniquity and solemn assemblies. Your New Moon festivals and your appointed feasts my soul hates. They have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them. When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide my eyes from you; even if you offer many prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are full of blood; learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow." Isaiah 1:11-18
"The Lord detests the sacrifice of the wicked, but the prayer of the upright pleases him." Proverbs 15:8
"Ask all the people of the land and the priests, 'When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months for the past seventy years, was it really for me that you fasted?" Zechariah 7:5
"Oh, that one of you would shut the temple doors, so that you would not light useless fires on my altar! I am not pleased with you," says the Yahweh, 'and I will accept no offering from your hands.'" Malachi 1:10
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