In the seventeenth chapter of Leviticus, the Lord speaks to Moses and tells him the type of sacrifices that are forbidden (Leviticus 17:1-9). While there are specifics, the "forbidden" sacrifices revolve around three major themes...
1. A sacrifice offered in the wrong place. God appointed a place, the entrance of the tent of meeting and in the presence of the priest, for sacrifices to be offered. The Israelites, maybe to save time or maybe because it was more convenient, were slaughtering their animals outside the camp, in open country, away from God's designated place and presence (in the form of the Mercy Seat).
2. A sacrifice offered in the wrong way. The Israelites, again for various reasons, were slaughtering the animals themselves. God appointed the priests to carry out the sacrifice of live animals, not receive the dead carcass. They were to have received the living sacrifice, acceptable without blemish. Then the priest would carry out the act, sprinkle the blood on the Lord's altar and burn the fat as a pleasing aroma.
3. A sacrifice offered to the wrong god. When the Israelites were offering sacrifices in the open places, away from the tent of meeting, they were also falling into the temptation of offering their sacrifice to other gods besides the One True God. The Bible says they prostituted themselves to goat-demons and turning their backs on the God who had recently delivered them from slavery in Egypt.
It is probably not the same, but I see myself (usually in self-pity) as making "sacrifices" for God. I 'sacrifice' my time with my family to carry out the ministry that I see so vital. I 'sacrifice' my health because I'm often too busy to slow down, eat properly, exercise and get the rest I need. I 'sacrifice' my relationship with others because I am moving so fast from meeting to meeting, task to task, to actually stop and be present with people along the way. However, when I step back and look at these 'sacrifices' for God, I wonder...
Are the things I consider as my 'sacrifice' as misguided as the Israelites being admonished in Leviticus 17? Am I sacrificing in the wrong way, in the wrong place, to the wrong god? I'm sure the Israelites who sacrificed in the open places started out with good intentions: to sacrifice to their God, Yaweh. However, somewhere along the way, they lost sight of what was a good and acceptable sacrifice.
I wonder if sometimes we lose sight of the good and acceptable sacrifice. While I consider countless hours at the job, thousands of emails per week, working, speaking, feverishly panting to cover all the bases, am I missing the mark on what God requires as a true and acceptable sacrifice?
The Apostle Paul says, "Therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing and perfect will of God." (Romans 12:1-2)
I pray to be a living sacrifice daily, holy and pleasing to God. May I forsake the forbidden...
1. A sacrifice offered in the wrong place. God appointed a place, the entrance of the tent of meeting and in the presence of the priest, for sacrifices to be offered. The Israelites, maybe to save time or maybe because it was more convenient, were slaughtering their animals outside the camp, in open country, away from God's designated place and presence (in the form of the Mercy Seat).
2. A sacrifice offered in the wrong way. The Israelites, again for various reasons, were slaughtering the animals themselves. God appointed the priests to carry out the sacrifice of live animals, not receive the dead carcass. They were to have received the living sacrifice, acceptable without blemish. Then the priest would carry out the act, sprinkle the blood on the Lord's altar and burn the fat as a pleasing aroma.
3. A sacrifice offered to the wrong god. When the Israelites were offering sacrifices in the open places, away from the tent of meeting, they were also falling into the temptation of offering their sacrifice to other gods besides the One True God. The Bible says they prostituted themselves to goat-demons and turning their backs on the God who had recently delivered them from slavery in Egypt.
It is probably not the same, but I see myself (usually in self-pity) as making "sacrifices" for God. I 'sacrifice' my time with my family to carry out the ministry that I see so vital. I 'sacrifice' my health because I'm often too busy to slow down, eat properly, exercise and get the rest I need. I 'sacrifice' my relationship with others because I am moving so fast from meeting to meeting, task to task, to actually stop and be present with people along the way. However, when I step back and look at these 'sacrifices' for God, I wonder...
Are the things I consider as my 'sacrifice' as misguided as the Israelites being admonished in Leviticus 17? Am I sacrificing in the wrong way, in the wrong place, to the wrong god? I'm sure the Israelites who sacrificed in the open places started out with good intentions: to sacrifice to their God, Yaweh. However, somewhere along the way, they lost sight of what was a good and acceptable sacrifice.
I wonder if sometimes we lose sight of the good and acceptable sacrifice. While I consider countless hours at the job, thousands of emails per week, working, speaking, feverishly panting to cover all the bases, am I missing the mark on what God requires as a true and acceptable sacrifice?
The Apostle Paul says, "Therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing and perfect will of God." (Romans 12:1-2)
I pray to be a living sacrifice daily, holy and pleasing to God. May I forsake the forbidden...
No comments:
Post a Comment