In the Old Testament, to atone for the people’s sins, the Lord required His people to make a sacrifice. An animal without blemish would be offered up to the Lord as a sin offering.
3 If the anointed priest sins, bringing guilt on the people, then he shall offer to the Lord a young bull without blemish as a sin offering for the sin he has committed (Leviticus 4:3 AMP).
Even though the Lord required a sacrifice for sin, obedience was always greater and it was what truly mattered to the Lord.
6 With what shall I come before the Lord [to honor Him] and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings, with yearling calves? 7 Will the Lord be delighted with thousands of rams, or with ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I present my firstborn for my acts of rebellion, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? 8 He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you except to be just, and to love [and to diligently practice] kindness (compassion), and to walk humbly with your God [setting aside any overblown sense of importance or self righteousness]? (Micah 6:6-8 AMP)
11 “What are your multiplied sacrifices to Me [without your repentance]?” Says the Lord. “I have had enough of [your] burnt offerings of rams and the fat of well-fed cattle [without your obedience]; and I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls or lambs or goats [offered without repentance]. (Isaiah 1:11 AMP)
2 “For all these things My hand has made, so all these things came into being [by and for Me],” declares the Lord. “But to this one I will look [graciously], to him who is humble and contrite in spirit, and who [reverently] trembles at My word and honors My commands. (Isaiah 66:2 AMP)
6 For I desire and delight in [steadfast] loyalty [faithfulness in the covenant relationship], rather than sacrifice, and in the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings. (Hosea 6:6 AMP)
21 “ I hate, I despise and reject your [sacred] feasts, and I do not take delight in your solemn assemblies. 22 Even though you offer Me your burnt offerings and your grain offerings, I will not accept them; and I will not even look at the peace offerings of your fattened animals.” (Amos 5: 21-22 AMP)
22 Samuel said, “Has the Lord as great a delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obedience to the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed [is better] than the fat of rams. (1 Samuel 15:22 AMP)
Jesus Chirst came into the world to do away with the first covenant of animal sacrifice, to establish a new covenant of obedience.
5 Therefore, when Christ enters into the world, He says, “Sacrifice and offering You have not desired, but [instead] You have prepared a body for Me [to offer]; 6 in burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You have taken no delight. (Hebrews 10:5-6 AMP).
9 Then He said, “Behold I have come to do Your will.” [And so] He does away with the first [covenant as a means of atoning for sin based on animal sacrifices] so that He may inaugurate and establish the second[covenant by the means of obedience]. (Hebrews 10:9 AMP)
From the beginning all that the Lord has required from us is total and absolute obedience.Each time that you are walking in obedience to the Lord [keeping His commands, crucifying your flesh, and walking humbly], you are presenting yourself as a living sacrifice. So let’s not complicate our relationship with the Father, but instead do everything He tells us to do with joy and gladness.