Jeremiah 7:1-8:3; Jeremiah 11:1-17; Jeremiah 15:10-21; Jeremiah 22:18-23; Jeremiah 35:1-19

[Jeremiah speaks for the Lord, saying,] "'Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury, burn incense to Baal and follow other gods you have not known, and then come and stand before me in this house, which bears my Name, and say, "We are safe"—safe to do all these detestable things? Has this house, which bears my Name, become a den of robbers to you? But I have been watching!' declares the Lord." (Jeremiah 7:9-11)

Jesus echoes Jeremiah's theme, as reported in the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 21, verse 13: "It is written," he said to them, "'My house will be called a house of prayer,' but you are making it 'a den of robbers.'"

I sense another theme through the scriptures. It is the theme of conflict between the leaders and the people following an elaborate set of worship rituals on the one hand and their failure to follow a simple set of ethical commands on the other hand. God's preference for righteousness and justice over ritual and sacrifice is repeated many times in the scriptures.

So what does the Lord require nowadays?