Muslim “apologists” such as Sheikh Uthman and The Muslim Metaphysician will appeal to Hebrews 9:22, where it is stated that without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins. They will appeal to another text such as Psalm 40:9 and other texts that will state that sacrifices are not required.
Sam Shamoun in an older blog post answers the objection from Muslims on unimportant nature of Sacrifices, which also answers this apparent “Bible Contradiction”;
Muslims oftentimes appeal to certain biblical passages which, on the surface level, seem to deny the importance of blood sacrifices. For example, appeal is often made to Hosea 6:6, which the Lord Jesus also quoted in Matthew 9:13 and 12:7:
“For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God, rather than burnt offerings.”
There are many other passages that basically say the same thing and which Muslims feel prove that the Quran’s position regarding the blood being unnecessary is actually correct.
Yet a careful reading of any of these passages will show that the biblical writers were in no way denying the importance of blood sacrifices, but were condemning the rather cavalier attitude of the Israelites in offering them with sinful hearts and minds. For instance, if we take Hosea 6 in context, we will discover that the people were offering sacrifices with an unrepentant and wicked heart:
“But at Adam they transgressed the covenant; there they dealt faithlessly with me. Gilead is a city of evildoers, tracked with blood. As robbers lie in wait for a man, so the priests are banded together; they murder on the way to Shechem, yea, they commit villainy. In the house of Israel I have seen a horrible thing; E’phraim’s harlotry is there, Israel is defiled. For you also, O Judah, a harvest is appointed. When I would restore the fortunes of my people,” Hosea 6:7-11
It must be stated that the sacrifices were only efficacious (made effective) for people who offered them in sincere faith and repentance. Otherwise, God would not accept them on behalf of the person making them. Earlier we mentioned the offerings made by Cain and Abel and how God accepted the one offering but not the other. Hebrews tells us why:
“By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he received approval as righteous, God bearing witness by accepting his gifts; he died, but through his faith he is still speaking.” Hebrews 11:4
Note that Abel’s faith made his offering efficacious and acceptable to God. This means that Cain’s offering was rejected because he had no faith, a fact supported by the context of Genesis itself (cf. 4:6-7).
This shows the importance and necessity of faith on the part of the offerer, otherwise his sacrifices will be nothing more than vain ritualism, which does nothing to commend him to an infinitely holy and just God.
But if a Muslim wants to insist that these passages make void all of those passages of the Torah which specifically highlight the necessity of the sacrificial system, then he/she will also have to reject the necessity and importance of prayers and other rituals:
“Hear the word of the LORD, you rulers of Sodom! Give ear to the teaching of our God, you people of Gomor’rah! ‘What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices? says the LORD; I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fed beasts; I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs, or of he-goats. When you come to appear before me, who requires 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 assemblies – I cannot endure iniquity and solemn assembly. Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hates; they have become a burden to me, I am weary of bearing them. When you spread forth your hands, I will hide my eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not listen; your hands are full of blood. Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your doings from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; defend the fatherless, plead for the widow.” Isaiah 1:10-17
Using the logic of the Muslim to understand Isaiah, we must conclude that the Israelites didn’t need to pray or observe the Sabbaths or any of the other holy days prescribed in the Torah, which is obviously quite nonsensical. The point of Isaiah, as well as the other prophets, is that prayers, sacrifices, Sabbath observances etc. mean nothing to God when done with unrepentant and unbelieving hearts.
King David puts this all together; after sinning against God by committing adultery, David (by inspiration) cried out to God in repentance through the following Psalm:
“Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of thy deliverance. O Lord, open thou my lips, and my mouth shall show forth thy praise. For thou hast no delight in sacrifice; were I to give a burnt offering, thou wouldst not be pleased. The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. Do good to Zion in thy good pleasure; rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, THEN wilt thou delight in RIGHT sacrifices, in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings; then bulls will be offered on thy altar.” Psalm 51:14-19
In the words of the Lord Jesus:
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law, justice and mercy and faith; these you ought to have done, WITHOUT NEGLECTING THE OTHERS.” Matthew 23:23
In conclusion, the apparent contradiction between Hebrews 9:22 demanding the shedding of blood for the forgiveness of sins in contrast with other passages that reject the necessities of sacrifices further shows the deeper theological implications behind the sacrifices. That God demands faithfulness, not just a mere outward ritual. There is no substance to these sacrifices and rituals if ones heart is not projected to God in faithfulness.
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