Emphasis Preaching Journal

Which is easier to do, to make a sacrifice or to show mercy? Which is more "like the morning mist, like the early dew that disappears?" Is there more love in sacrifice or in mercy?

Sacrifice is often showy. Though sacrifice can be selfless, often it is confused with ostentation. The thing sacrificed becomes more important than the God to whom it is offered. Or, the showy sacrifice is given to the wrong God; the new moon in the case of Israel, Ephraim, and Judah recorded by Hosea.