Doing right is weighed against the sacrificial system in the Law the Lord gave Israel through Moses. Similarly, in Hosea 6:6 mercy and sacrifice are weighed against burnt offerings. Jesus quoted this to the religious self-righteous while dining for the first time in Matthew’s house with other tax collectors and sinners – both social outcasts and bullied people groups. (Matthew 9:10-13) He also quoted this to other legalistic religious leaders when his disciples were picking some heads of grain and eating them on the Sabbath. (Matthew 12:1-7)
I see that if and when I have to choose between doing right to others and following a law in the Bible I should choose what is right and just. The Lord wants me to be honorable and fair in my dealings and actions. I am to interact with others based on facts and sound reasoning. Love is interconnected with being just.
The Lord told his people through the prophet Micah, “With what shall I come before the LORD and bow down before the exalted God? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He has shown you, O man, 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.” (Micah 6:6-8) I gain nothing if I offer sacrifices, and then interact with others with malice and hate. (27, 15:8)
