There are five great prophets from the Old Testament who expressed opposition to animal sacrifice or showed sympathy for animals, and their stance was later picked up by Jesus:
1. Isaiah – In Isaiah 1:11, the prophet questions the value of animal sacrifices, emphasizing righteousness and justice over ritual offerings: "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."
2. Jeremiah – Jeremiah 7:22-23 reveals that God did not command sacrifices when He brought Israel out of Egypt, but rather obedience: "For when I brought your ancestors out of Egypt and spoke to them, I did not just give them commands about burnt offerings and sacrifices, but I gave them this command: ‘Obey me, and I will be your God.'"
3. Hosea – Hosea 6:6 stresses that God desires mercy, not sacrifice: "For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings."
4. Amos – Amos 5:21-22 reflects a rejection of hollow religious rituals, including sacrifices, in favor of justice and righteousness: "Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them."
5. Micah – Micah 6:6-8 highlights that God is not pleased with thousands of rams or rivers of oil, but with justice, mercy, and humility: "He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God."
These prophets emphasized ethical living and inner devotion over ritual animal sacrifice, often highlighting God's preference for justice, mercy, and compassion.
Animal sacrifice is closely linked up with animal flesh eating. That’s why Clement of Alexandria said, “sacrifices were invented by men to be a pretext for eating flesh” (Clement, The Stromata, Book VII, Ch. 6). In Leviticus 1, 3, 4, 17, God allegedly gave detailed instructions for offering animal sacrifices. These verses are apparently interpolations added by “the lying pen of the scribes” (Jeremiah 8:8 NIV).
The five compassionate prophets above were succeeded by Jesus, who proclaimed, “I desire COMPASSION, rather than sacrifice!” (1 Matthew 9:13, 12:7 NASB), quoting Hosea 6:6.
After the Fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD, animal sacrifice per se was largely abolished in Judaism and totally done away with in Christianity. However, Paul the Apostate condoned animal flesh eating, which literally sacrifices innocent creatures, by asserting, “Eat anything sold in the meat market without raising questions of conscience” (1 Corinthians 10 25 NIV); “those who are strong in faith may eat anything; whose those who are weak eat only herbs” (Romans 14:2); "For meat destroy not the work of God. All things indeed are pure" (Romans 14:20 KJV). Meat here includes but is not limited to animal flesh sacrificed to idols, that is to say, Paul renounces not only the Kosher law but also Christian veganism itself (Akers 2020:149).
In a word, as emphasized by Hosea, Amos, Jeremiah, Isaiah, Micah as well as Jesus, animal sacrifice is detested by God. And eating animal flesh means sacrificing innocent animals' lives, a sacrifice to the idol god of the belly (Philippians 3:19), and a sacrifice to gluttony (Proverbs 23:20-21) (cf. Hicks 2018). Thus, go VEGAN!
Article link: https://www.vegantheology.net/post/five-prophets-oppose-animal-sacrifice-by-dr-chapman-chen
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