Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin you would not, neither had pleasure therein; which are offered by the law;
“Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings
These terms encompass the various types of sacrifices prescribed in the Mosaic Law, found in Leviticus and Numbers. Sacrifices and offerings were central to the Old Covenant, serving as a means for the Israelites to atone for sin and maintain a relationship with God. Burnt offerings were entirely consumed by fire, symbolizing total dedication to God, while sin offerings were specifically for atonement. This phrase highlights the comprehensive nature of the sacrificial system.
You did not desire, nor did You delight in them”
This statement underscores a key theological point: God’s ultimate desire is not in the ritualistic observance of the law but in obedience and a heart aligned with His will. This echoes the sentiments found in 1 Samuel 15:22 and Isaiah 1:11, where God expresses that obedience is better than sacrifice. It points to the insufficiency of the Old Covenant sacrifices to fully reconcile humanity to God, paving the way for the necessity of Christ's perfect sacrifice.
(although they are offered according to the law).
This parenthetical note acknowledges that the sacrifices were indeed part of the divinely instituted law given to Moses. It affirms the legitimacy and divine origin of the law while simultaneously pointing out its limitations. The law served as a tutor leading to Christ (Galatians 3:24), highlighting the need for a new covenant established through Jesus, who fulfills and transcends the law.
• Hebrews 10:8 opens by repeating God’s words from Psalm 40:6: “Sacrifices and offerings You did not desire.”
• The Law prescribed grain offerings, fellowship offerings, and other gifts (Leviticus 2; Numbers 15:1-12). These were good and commanded, yet they were never meant to be ends in themselves.
• 1 Samuel 15:22 reminds us, “Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obedience?”—highlighting that the heart behind the act matters more than the ritual itself.
• A burnt offering (Leviticus 1) was entirely consumed on the altar, symbolizing total surrender.
• Still, Isaiah 1:11 records God saying, “I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams,” when the people’s lives did not match their worship.
• The repetition of these sacrifices pointed to their insufficiency; they anticipated the one perfect offering of Christ (Hebrews 10:12-14).
• Sin offerings (Leviticus 4–5) dealt with unintentional sins, underscoring that sin separates from God and that blood is required for atonement (Hebrews 9:22).
• Yet these sacrifices could not cleanse the conscience permanently (Hebrews 9:9). Their ongoing nature pointed Israel forward to a better sacrifice (John 1:29).
• “Did not desire” speaks of God’s ultimate purpose: He never found satisfaction in the ritual itself but in the obedience and faith that the ritual was meant to express (Psalm 51:16-17).
• Micah 6:6-8 captures this heart orientation—God desires justice, mercy, and humble walking with Him.
• The phrase intensifies the point: God never took pleasure in sacrifices apart from genuine devotion (Jeremiah 7:22-23).
• Mere outward compliance cannot please Him; He looks for transformed hearts (Romans 12:1-2).
• The Law itself required these offerings (Exodus 24:3-8). Obeying the Law was right, yet the Law was provisional, a shadow until Christ came (Colossians 2:17).
• Hebrews 10:9-10 concludes that Jesus says, “Here I am, I have come to do Your will,” and “By this will, we have been sanctified through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”
• The contrast shows the Law’s sacrifices were temporary pictures; Christ’s obedience and single offering fulfill God’s will perfectly (2 Corinthians 5:21).
Hebrews 10:8 teaches that God’s ultimate concern has never been the mere performance of sacrificial rituals, even though He Himself commanded them. Those offerings pointed forward to Christ, the obedient Son whose once-for-all sacrifice accomplishes what countless animal offerings never could: full forgiveness, a cleansed conscience, and a people empowered to live in joyful obedience.
(8) Above when he said.--Better, Whereas he saith above; or, as we might express it, "Saying at the outset," "Setting out with saying." In the following words the best MSS. have the plural, "Sacrifices and offerings and whole burnt offerings and (sacrifices) for sin." The change from singular to plural is in harmony with the thought of Hebrews 10:1-4, the repetition of sacrifices.Which are offered by the law.--Rather, such as are offered according to law. The change from "the law" to "law" seems intentional, as if the writer had in thought the contrast between any external law of ritual and a principle of inward obedience.
Verses 8-10. - Saying above that Sacrifices and offerings and whole burnt offerings and offerings for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein (such as are offered according to the Law); then hath he said, Lo, I come to do thy will; i.e. he has made this second assertion while making the first also. The purpose of thus putting it is to show the connection between the two assertions; that fulfillment of God's will is spoken of as a substitute for sacrifices, whose inutility in themselves had been declared. Yes; he taketh away the first, that he may establish the second. In the which will (the Divine will, willing our redemption through Christ, and perfectly fulfilled by him) we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. For the sense to be attached to the verb ἁγιάζω see under Hebrews 2:11. It is not our progressive sanctification by the Holy Ghost that is intended, but the hallowing effected for us once for all, as denoted by the perfect participle ἡγιασμένοι. The remainder of this concluding summary (vers. 11-19) serves to weave together the various threads of the foregoing argument and emphasize the result.