Commentaries:
God commanded Israel, "Obey My voice." If we take that extremely literally, His voice would include only the Ten Commandments because He literally spoke only them in the hearing of all Israel. Nevertheless, "My voice" undoubtedly includes what He spoke privately to Moses, and thus what is contained within the terms given between Exodus 20 and 23.
John W. Ritenbaugh
The Covenants, Grace and Law (Part 18)
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Jeremiah says that God never commanded offerings and sacrifices when the Old Covenant was made! He is talking about the generation to whom God gave His law and with whom He made the Old Covenant. It is easily understood why no other sacrifices are given in the Old Covenant except for the Passover (see Exodus 23:18). God does not mention them because He did not require them under the terms of the Old Covenant. All He wanted Israel to do was to keep the Ten Commandments, the statutes, and the judgments that He had already given to them with one exception—the Passover, the only sacrifice that He required!
This is one reason why the New Covenant did not perpetuate the other sacrifices, even though the Old Covenant became obsolete: The sacrifices were never a part of it in the first place. In terms of Passover, the symbols changed to bread and wine, but we still keep it.
There are three reasons why true Christians keep Passover even though it is also part of the Old Covenant. First, like the Ten Commandments, they preceded the making of the Old Covenant. Passover was commanded in Exodus 12, enforced, and practiced before Israel ever got to Mt. Sinai. Second, it is commanded in the New Testament and shown by the example of Christ and the apostles. Third, Passover is included within the statutes of God as a corollary of the fourth commandment. It is a festival and therefore to be kept.
John W. Ritenbaugh
The Covenants, Grace and Law (Part 17)
Other commentary entries containing this verse:
Galatians 3:19
Hebrews 9:8-10
Hebrews 10:1-3
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