"Did you bring to me sacrifices and offerings in the wilderness forty years, house of Israel?
God is not interested in the outward observation, or the outward observances. God is interested in a heart that is repentant towards Him. Notice that in the offerings that they were offering God, they did... He didn't make any mention of sin offerings. Still offering the burnt offerings and the peace offerings, and the meal offerings, but no mention of sin offering. That's the thing that God was interested in, that they be repentant for their sins; that they turn from their iniquity. "Can two walk together unless they be agreed?" Can a man really have fellowship with God while he's still walking in sin? The answer has to be, no! So all of the rest of the religious trappings are just so much wasted effort if your heart isn't truly repentant towards God.There are too many people who are going through the motions of religion. As Jesus said to the church of Ephesus, "I know thy works and thy labor, and thy patience, and how thou hast borne, and how you've been able to discover those that said they were prophets, and were not. You've put them out, and your labor," again He mentions it, but He said, "I have this against you, because you've left your first love." They had all the motions but they had lost the emotion. God was more interested in the emotional aspects than He was just the pure motion aspects of religion. Many people today are going through the motions of religion, but there is no real heartfelt emotion towards God. God is looking for that heart that is filled with love, love towards Him, love towards good, love towards the people of God. He wants that emotional aspect. He doesn't want just religious trappings, and religious surroundings, and religious works, and religious forms, but He wants a heart that's on fire for Him. So God says, "I won't listen to your music. I won't smell your offerings. I won't accept your offerings."