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64 Bible Verses about Bad Offering
When you choose to live without God, it's easy to lose that awareness of Him and start making choices that aren't aligned with His ways. Maybe you haven't truly encountered Him yet. Our hearts can be so deceitful, always looking for ways to satisfy our own twisted desires, driven by that inner restlessness.
The only way to live a righteous life is to keep God's word close to your heart and follow His will. That's how genuine goodness grows from deep within.
God isn't pleased when offerings are misused. They should be used to grow His work and spread the Gospel to everyone, fulfilling the command He gave us. Prayer is key to making sure your offerings are used the right way and that you're following God's leading.
And you say, ‘If people swear by the altar when they make a promise, that means nothing. But if they swear by the gift on the altar, they must keep that promise.’You are blind! Which is greater: the gift or the altar that makes the gift holy?
I am forcing out ahead of you the people who live there. Because they did all these sins, I have hated them. Do not live the way those people lived.“ ‘I have told you that you will get their land, which I will give to you as your very own; it is a fertile land. I am the Lord your God, and I have set you apart from other people and made you my own.So you must treat clean animals and birds differently from unclean animals and birds. Do not make yourselves unclean by any of these unclean birds or animals or things that crawl on the ground, which I have made unclean for you.
If an ox or sheep has something wrong with it, do not offer it as a sacrifice to the Lord your God. He would hate that.
Each of you should give as you have decided in your heart to give. You should not be sad when you give, and you should not give because you feel forced to give. God loves the person who gives happily.
“Should a person rob God? But you are robbing me. “You ask, ‘How have we robbed you?’ “You have robbed me in your offerings and the tenth of your crops.
“So when you offer your gift to God at the altar, and you remember that your brother or sister has something against you,leave your gift there at the altar. Go and make peace with that person, and then come and offer your gift.
They gave only what they did not need. This woman is very poor, but she gave all she had to live on.”
Abel brought the best parts from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord accepted Abel and his gift,but he did not accept Cain and his gift. So Cain became very angry and felt rejected.
The Lord All-Powerful says, “A son honors his father, and a servant honors his master.” I am a father, so why don’t you honor me? I am a master, so why don’t you respect me? You priests do not respect me. “But you ask, ‘How have we shown you disrespect?’“You have shown it by bringing unclean food to my altar. “But you ask, ‘What makes it unclean?’ “It is unclean because you don’t respect the altar of the Lord.When you bring blind animals as sacrifices, that is wrong. When you bring crippled and sick animals, that is wrong. Try giving them to your governor. Would he be pleased with you? He wouldn’t accept you,” says the Lord All-Powerful.
If he does, he must bring a male animal that has nothing wrong with it—a bull, a sheep, or a goat—so it might be accepted for him.“Tell Aaron and his sons: ‘The people of Israel will give offerings to me. These offerings are holy, and they are mine, so you must respect them to show that you respect my holy name. I am the Lord.’He must not bring an animal that has something wrong with it, or it will not be accepted for him.
Later, Cain brought some food from the ground as a gift to God.Abel brought the best parts from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord accepted Abel and his gift,but he did not accept Cain and his gift. So Cain became very angry and felt rejected.
If an animal is crippled or blind or has something else wrong, do not sacrifice it to the Lord your God.
He must not bring an animal that has something wrong with it, or it will not be accepted for him.“ ‘If someone brings a fellowship offering to the Lord, either as payment for a special promise the person has made or as a special gift the person wants to give the Lord, it might be from the herd or from the flock. But it must be healthy, with nothing wrong with it, so that it will be accepted.You must not offer to the Lord any animal that is blind, that has broken bones or is crippled, that has running sores or any sort of skin disease. You must not offer any animals like these on the altar as an offering by fire to the Lord.
When you bring blind animals as sacrifices, that is wrong. When you bring crippled and sick animals, that is wrong. Try giving them to your governor. Would he be pleased with you? He wouldn’t accept you,” says the Lord All-Powerful.
“You have shown it by bringing unclean food to my altar. “But you ask, ‘What makes it unclean?’ “It is unclean because you don’t respect the altar of the Lord.
“ ‘When you sacrifice a fellowship offering to the Lord, offer it in such a way that will be accepted.
You say, ‘We are tired of doing this,’ and you sniff at it in disgust,” says the Lord All-Powerful. “And you bring hurt, crippled, and sick animals as gifts. You bring them as gifts, but I won’t accept them from you,” says the Lord.“The person who cheats will be cursed. He has a male animal in his flock and promises to offer it, but then he offers to the Lord an animal that has something wrong with it. I am a great king,” says the Lord All-Powerful, “and I am feared by all the nations.
But Samuel answered, “What pleases the Lord more: burnt offerings and sacrifices or obedience to his voice? It is better to obey than to sacrifice. It is better to listen to God than to offer the fat of sheep.
The Lord hates sacrifices brought by evil people, particularly when they offer them for the wrong reasons.
The lamb must be a one-year-old male that has nothing wrong with it. This animal can be either a young sheep or a young goat.
Bring these offerings and their drink offerings in addition to the daily burnt offering and its grain offering. The animals must have nothing wrong with them.
The Lord says, “I do not want all these sacrifices. I have had enough of your burnt sacrifices of male sheep and fat from fine animals. I am not pleased by the blood of bulls, lambs, and goats.You come to meet with me, but who asked you to do all this running in and out of my Temple’s rooms?Don’t continue bringing me worthless sacrifices! I hate the incense you burn. I can’t stand your New Moons, Sabbaths, and other feast days; I can’t stand the evil you do in your holy meetings.
As Jesus looked up, he saw some rich people putting their gifts into the Temple money box.Then he said to them, “Nations will fight against other nations, and kingdoms against other kingdoms.In various places there will be great earthquakes, sicknesses, and a lack of food. Fearful events and great signs will come from heaven.“But before all these things happen, people will arrest you and treat you cruelly. They will judge you in their synagogues and put you in jail and force you to stand before kings and governors, because you follow me.But this will give you an opportunity to tell about me.Make up your minds not to worry ahead of time about what you will say.I will give you the wisdom to say things that none of your enemies will be able to stand against or prove wrong.Even your parents, brothers, relatives, and friends will turn against you, and they will kill some of you.All people will hate you because you follow me.But none of these things can really harm you.By continuing to have faith you will save your lives.Then he saw a poor widow putting two small copper coins into the box.“When you see armies all around Jerusalem, you will know it will soon be destroyed.At that time, the people in Judea should run away to the mountains. The people in Jerusalem must get out, and those who are near the city should not go in.These are the days of punishment to bring about all that is written in the Scriptures.How terrible it will be for women who are pregnant or have nursing babies! Great trouble will come upon this land, and God will be angry with these people.They will be killed by the sword and taken as prisoners to all nations. Jerusalem will be crushed by non-Jewish people until their time is over.“There will be signs in the sun, moon, and stars. On earth, nations will be afraid and confused because of the roar and fury of the sea.People will be so afraid they will faint, wondering what is happening to the world, because the powers of the heavens will be shaken.Then people will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.When these things begin to happen, look up and hold your heads high, because the time when God will free you is near!”Then Jesus told this story: “Look at the fig tree and all the other trees.He said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow gave more than all those rich people.When their leaves appear, you know that summer is near.In the same way, when you see these things happening, you will know that God’s kingdom is near.“I tell you the truth, all these things will happen while the people of this time are still living.Earth and sky will be destroyed, but the words I have spoken will never be destroyed.“Be careful not to spend your time feasting, drinking, or worrying about worldly things. If you do, that day might come on you suddenly,like a trap on all people on earth.So be ready all the time. Pray that you will be strong enough to escape all these things that will happen and that you will be able to stand before the Son of Man.”During the day, Jesus taught the people in the Temple, and at night he went out of the city and stayed on the Mount of Olives.Every morning all the people got up early to go to the Temple to listen to him.They gave only what they did not need. This woman is very poor, but she gave all she had to live on.”
The Lord says: “These people worship me with their mouths, and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship is based on nothing but human rules.
Why do you bring me offerings of incense from the land of Sheba? Why do you bring me sweet-smelling cane from a faraway land? Your burnt offerings will not be accepted; your sacrifices do not please me.”
‘These people show honor to me with words, but their hearts are far from me.Their worship of me is worthless. The things they teach are nothing but human rules.’ ”
Do not forget to do good to others, and share with them, because such sacrifices please God.
The Lord says, “I hate and reject your feasts; I cannot stand your religious meetings.If you offer me burnt offerings and grain offerings, I won’t accept them. You bring your best fellowship offerings of fattened cattle, but I will ignore them.Take the noise of your songs away from me! I won’t listen to the music of your harps.
The Lord hates the sacrifice that the wicked offer, but he likes the prayers of honest people.
You say, “What can I bring with me when I come before the Lord, when I bow before God on high? Should I come before him with burnt offerings, with year-old calves?Will the Lord be pleased with a thousand male sheep? Will he be pleased with ten thousand rivers of oil? Should I give my first child for the evil I have done? Should I give my very own child for my sin?”The Lord has told you, human, what is good; he has told you what he wants from you: to do what is right to other people, love being kind to others, and live humbly, obeying your God.
“Be careful! When you do good things, don’t do them in front of people to be seen by them. If you do that, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.May your kingdom come and what you want be done, here on earth as it is in heaven.Give us the food we need for each day.Forgive us for our sins, just as we have forgiven those who sinned against us.And do not cause us to be tempted, but save us from the Evil One.’ [The kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours forever. Amen.]Yes, if you forgive others for their sins, your Father in heaven will also forgive you for your sins.But if you don’t forgive others, your Father in heaven will not forgive your sins.“When you fast, don’t put on a sad face like the hypocrites. They make their faces look sad to show people they are fasting. I tell you the truth, those hypocrites already have their full reward.So when you fast, comb your hair and wash your face.Then people will not know that you are fasting, but your Father, whom you cannot see, will see you. Your Father sees what is done in secret, and he will reward you.“Don’t store treasures for yourselves here on earth where moths and rust will destroy them and thieves can break in and steal them.“When you give to the poor, don’t be like the hypocrites. They blow trumpets in the synagogues and on the streets so that people will see them and honor them. I tell you the truth, those hypocrites already have their full reward.But store your treasures in heaven where they cannot be destroyed by moths or rust and where thieves cannot break in and steal them.Your heart will be where your treasure is.“The eye is a light for the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light.But if your eyes are evil, your whole body will be full of darkness. And if the only light you have is really darkness, then you have the worst darkness.“No one can serve two masters. The person will hate one master and love the other, or will follow one master and refuse to follow the other. You cannot serve both God and worldly riches.“So I tell you, don’t worry about the food or drink you need to live, or about the clothes you need for your body. Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothes.Look at the birds in the air. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, but your heavenly Father feeds them. And you know that you are worth much more than the birds.You cannot add any time to your life by worrying about it.“And why do you worry about clothes? Look at how the lilies in the field grow. They don’t work or make clothes for themselves.But I tell you that even Solomon with his riches was not dressed as beautifully as one of these flowers.So when you give to the poor, don’t let anyone know what you are doing.God clothes the grass in the field, which is alive today but tomorrow is thrown into the fire. So you can be even more sure that God will clothe you. Don’t have so little faith!Don’t worry and say, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’The people who don’t know God keep trying to get these things, and your Father in heaven knows you need them.Seek first God’s kingdom and what God wants. Then all your other needs will be met as well.So don’t worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will have its own worries. Each day has enough trouble of its own.Your giving should be done in secret. Your Father can see what is done in secret, and he will reward you.
You are not pleased by sacrifices, or I would give them. You don’t want burnt offerings.The sacrifice God wants is a broken spirit. God, you will not reject a heart that is broken and sorry for sin.
“How terrible for you, teachers of the law and Pharisees! You are hypocrites! You give to God one-tenth of everything you earn—even your mint, dill, and cumin. But you don’t obey the really important teachings of the law—justice, mercy, and being loyal. These are the things you should do, as well as those other things.
From what you have, take an offering for the Lord. Let everyone who is willing bring this offering to the Lord: gold, silver, bronze,
Jesus sat near the Temple money box and watched the people put in their money. Many rich people gave large sums of money.Then a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which were only worth a few cents.Calling his followers to him, Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow gave more than all those rich people.They gave only what they did not need. This woman is very poor, but she gave all she had; she gave all she had to live on.”
Such doubters are thinking two different things at the same time, and they cannot decide about anything they do. They should not think they will receive anything from the Lord.
You also are like living stones, so let yourselves be used to build a spiritual temple—to be holy priests who offer spiritual sacrifices to God. He will accept those sacrifices through Jesus Christ.
Lord, defend me because I have lived an innocent life. I have trusted the Lord and never doubted.Evil is in their hands, and they do wrong for money.But I have lived an innocent life, so save me and have mercy on me.I stand in a safe place. Lord, I praise you in the great meeting.Lord, try me and test me; look closely into my heart and mind.
I may give away everything I have, and I may even give my body as an offering to be burned. But I gain nothing if I do not have love.
So brothers and sisters, since God has shown us great mercy, I beg you to offer your lives as a living sacrifice to him. Your offering must be only for God and pleasing to him, which is the spiritual way for you to worship.
“The person who cheats will be cursed. He has a male animal in his flock and promises to offer it, but then he offers to the Lord an animal that has something wrong with it. I am a great king,” says the Lord All-Powerful, “and I am feared by all the nations.
Do not be fooled: You cannot cheat God. People harvest only what they plant.If they plant to satisfy their sinful selves, their sinful selves will bring them ruin. But if they plant to please the Spirit, they will receive eternal life from the Spirit.
Or when you ask, you do not receive because the reason you ask is wrong. You want things so you can use them for your own pleasures.
The love of money causes all kinds of evil. Some people have left the faith, because they wanted to get more money, but they have caused themselves much sorrow.
Our sinful selves want what is against the Spirit, and the Spirit wants what is against our sinful selves. The two are against each other, so you cannot do just what you please.
Be careful when you go to worship at the Temple. It is better to listen than to offer foolish sacrifices without even knowing you are doing wrong.Whoever loves money will never have enough money; Whoever loves wealth will not be satisfied with it. This is also useless.The more wealth people have, the more friends they have to help spend it. So what do people really gain? They gain nothing except to look at their riches.Those who work hard sleep in peace; it is not important if they eat little or much. But rich people worry about their wealth and cannot sleep.I have seen real misery here on earth: Money saved is a curse to its owners.They lose it all in a bad deal and have nothing to give to their children.People come into this world with nothing, and when they die they leave with nothing. In spite of all their hard work, they leave just as they came.This, too, is real misery: They leave just as they came. So what do they gain from chasing the wind?All they get are days full of sadness and sorrow, and they end up sick, defeated, and angry.I have seen what is best for people here on earth. They should eat and drink and enjoy their work, because the life God has given them on earth is short.God gives some people the ability to enjoy the wealth and property he gives them, as well as the ability to accept their state in life and enjoy their work.Think before you speak, and be careful about what you say to God. God is in heaven, and you are on the earth, so say only a few words to God.
Who may go up on the mountain of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy Temple?Only those with clean hands and pure hearts, who have not worshiped idols, who have not made promises in the name of a false god.
Whoever has the gift of encouraging others should encourage. Whoever has the gift of giving to others should give freely. Anyone who has the gift of being a leader should try hard when he leads. Whoever has the gift of showing mercy to others should do so with joy.
If you want to give, your gift will be accepted. It will be judged by what you have, not by what you do not have.We do not want you to have troubles while other people are at ease, but we want everything to be equal.At this time you have plenty. What you have can help others who are in need. Then later, when they have plenty, they can help you when you are in need, and all will be equal.As it is written in the Scriptures, “The person who gathered more did not have too much, nor did the person who gathered less have too little.”
But a man named Ananias and his wife Sapphira sold some land.At that moment Sapphira fell down by his feet and died. When the young men came in and saw that she was dead, they carried her out and buried her beside her husband.The whole church and all the others who heard about these things were filled with fear.The apostles did many signs and miracles among the people. And they would all meet together on Solomon’s Porch.None of the others dared to join them, but all the people respected them.More and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to the group of believers.The people placed their sick on beds and mats in the streets, hoping that when Peter passed by at least his shadow might fall on them.Crowds came from all the towns around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those who were bothered by evil spirits, and all of them were healed.The high priest and all his friends (a group called the Sadducees) became very jealous.They took the apostles and put them in jail.But during the night, an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail and led the apostles outside. The angel said,He kept back part of the money for himself; his wife knew about this and agreed to it. But he brought the rest of the money and gave it to the apostles.“Go stand in the Temple and tell the people everything about this new life.”When the apostles heard this, they obeyed and went into the Temple early in the morning and continued teaching. When the high priest and his friends arrived, they called a meeting of the leaders and all the important elders. They sent some men to the jail to bring the apostles to them.But, upon arriving, the officers could not find the apostles. So they went back and reported to the leaders.They said, “The jail was closed and locked, and the guards were standing at the doors. But when we opened the doors, the jail was empty!”Hearing this, the captain of the Temple guards and the leading priests were confused and wondered what was happening.Then someone came and told them, “Listen! The men you put in jail are standing in the Temple teaching the people.”Then the captain and his men went out and brought the apostles back. But the soldiers did not use force, because they were afraid the people would stone them to death.The soldiers brought the apostles to the meeting and made them stand before the leaders. The high priest questioned them,saying, “We gave you strict orders not to continue teaching in that name. But look, you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are trying to make us responsible for this man’s death.”Peter and the other apostles answered, “We must obey God, not human authority!Peter said, “Ananias, why did you let Satan rule your thoughts to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep for yourself part of the money you received for the land?You killed Jesus by hanging him on a cross. But God, the God of our ancestors, raised Jesus up from the dead!Jesus is the One whom God raised to be on his right side, as Leader and Savior. Through him, all people could change their hearts and lives and have their sins forgiven.We saw all these things happen. The Holy Spirit, whom God has given to all who obey him, also proves these things are true.”When the leaders heard this, they became angry and wanted to kill them.But a Pharisee named Gamaliel stood up in the meeting. He was a teacher of the law, and all the people respected him. He ordered the apostles to leave the meeting for a little while.Then he said, “People of Israel, be careful what you are planning to do to these men.Remember when Theudas appeared? He said he was a great man, and about four hundred men joined him. But he was killed, and all his followers were scattered; they were able to do nothing.Later, a man named Judas came from Galilee at the time of the registration. He also led a group of followers and was killed, and all his followers were scattered.And so now I tell you: Stay away from these men, and leave them alone. If their plan comes from human authority, it will fail.But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop them. You might even be fighting against God himself!” The leaders agreed with what Gamaliel said.Before you sold the land, it belonged to you. And even after you sold it, you could have used the money any way you wanted. Why did you think of doing this? You lied to God, not to us!”
“Not all those who say ‘You are our Lord’ will enter the kingdom of heaven. The only people who will enter the kingdom of heaven are those who do what my Father in heaven wants.
Then Jesus said to them, “Be careful and guard against all kinds of greed. Life is not measured by how much one owns.”
It was by faith that Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. God said he was pleased with the gifts Abel offered and called Abel a good man because of his faith. Abel died, but through his faith he is still speaking.
On the first day of every week, each one of you should put aside money as you have been blessed. Save it up so you will not have to collect money after I come.
But those who depend on following the law to make them right are under a curse, because the Scriptures say, “Anyone will be cursed who does not always obey what is written in the Book of the Law.”
Make me want to keep your rules instead of wishing for riches.Keep me from looking at worthless things. Let me live by your word.
Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, then go and sell your possessions and give the money to the poor. If you do this, you will have treasure in heaven. Then come and follow me.”
Command those who are rich with things of this world not to be proud. Tell them to hope in God, not in their uncertain riches. God richly gives us everything to enjoy.Tell the rich people to do good, to be rich in doing good deeds, to be generous and ready to share.By doing that, they will be saving a treasure for themselves as a strong foundation for the future. Then they will be able to have the life that is true life.