How They Perverted the Sanctuary Service

After their return from Babylon, all over the country the Jews built synagogues where priests and scribes expounded the law. Schools claimed to teach the principles of righteousness. But during the captivity, many of the people had received heathen ideas, and they brought these ideas into their religious service.HH 12.1

Christ Himself had instituted the ritual service. It was a symbol of Him, full of vitality and spiritual beauty. But the Jews lost the spiritual life from their ceremonies and trusted the sacrifices and ordinances themselves instead of Him to whom they pointed. To replace what they had lost, the priests and rabbis made many requirements of their own. The more rigid they grew, the less they showed the love of God.HH 12.2

Those who tried to observe the exacting and burdensome requirements of the rabbis could find no rest from a troubled conscience. In this way, Satan worked to discourage the people, to lower their ideas of God’s character, and to bring the faith of Israel into contempt. He hoped to establish his claim that no one could obey God’s requirements. Even Israel, he declared, did not keep the law.HH 12.3