Offering

Readings for today: Leviticus 1-4

Cattle. Sheep. Goats. Grain. The fundamental building blocks of an agrarian society. I have seen this firsthand in some of the places I go around the world. Places where there is little to no modern infrastructure. Places where the people are still very nomadic, following the rains. Places where survival depends on a good harvest and your herds producing offspring on a regular basis. Places where drought, famine, disease, and plague are not just inconveniences but life-threatening to entire populations of people.

Imagine you are an ancient Israelite. You were just delivered from back-breaking slavery. You find yourself experiencing freedom for the first time in centuries. You now have hope for a future. You are on your way to a land full of milk and honey and promise. You are excited about the potential opportunities that await you. But first you stop at Mt. Sinai. You receive laws from the same God who delivered you. These laws are intended to shape and form you into a nation. A particular people with a particular culture. One of the first laws has to do with worship. It has to do with sacrifice. It has to do with what is acceptable before the Lord.

Without blemish. Firstfruits. Fresh grain. Fine flour. The best of what you have to offer. This is what you are commanded to bring before God. Before you take care of yourself and your family and your clan and your tribe, you honor God for all He has done for you. You honor God for creating the conditions under which your flocks and herds and fields can thrive. You honor God for providing the rain in due season. For protecting you from plague and disease. For preserving you through periods of famine and drought. You honor God with your best because He has blessed you beyond measure. You offer back to God a portion of what you have in recognition of all He has given you. The regularity of these sacrifices are intended to keep God always before you. To remind you of all He has done for you. This is why we are commanded to give. Not out of obligation. Not out of guilt. Not because we have to “pay God off” like some kind of mafia boss. We give because He has first given to us. We give out of gratitude of all He has done for us. We give to honor Him for His grace and love and mercy in our lives.

The same principles hold true for us today. Do we offer to God our best? Do we offer to God our firstfruits? Do we offer Him the best of our wealth and time and energy? Do we give Him the firstfuits of our day or give out of the firstfruits of what we earn? Do we offer Him an unblemished sacrifice? Do we give from a pure heart? A desire to honor Him and bring Him glory? Do we give from a posture of gratitude for all He has done for us?

Readings for tomorrow: Leviticus 5-7

Offering

Readings for today: Leviticus 1-4

One of the greatest gifts my parents ever gave me was to take me to church every Sunday. At their side, I learned to sing all the great hymns of our faith. I learned to recite the Apostle’s Creed by heart. I memorized the Lord’s Prayer and the liturgy of the Lord’s Supper. It’s funny the things you remember as a child. I remember fighting with my brothers over who got to sign in on the Fellowship Pad. (For those who don’t know, the “Fellowship Pad” was a form used by a lot of churches at the time to take attendance.) I remember the tastelessness of the communion wafer and how I always wanted “seconds” when it came to the grape juice. Perhaps most of all, I remember my mom giving each of us a quarter so we could participate in the “offering” when the plate came down the pew. As a child, I have to admit I found the practice a bit confusing. Was God short of cash? Did He really need our money? Why did some people put in more and some less? Why did some not give at all? What happened to all the money? Where did it go? What did the church use it for? Why did we give when it seemed we didn’t have enough for ourselves? (My family went through some very challenging economic times when I was young and yet mom always made sure to give.) Perhaps you’ve asked some of these same questions yourself? 

Today we come to everyone’s favorite book of the Bible...Leviticus. This is usually where well-intentioned Bible reading plans go to die. I often feel like I should post the warning sign Dante inscribed over the entrance to hell in his Divine Comedy, “Abandon all hope ye who enter here!” Indeed, it seems so many get lost in this book. The laws seem archaic at best. They deal with issues we have little connection with as 21st century Christians living in the wealthiest nation the world has ever seen. The cultural distance is extreme and difficult to overcome. The minutiae wears down even the most faithful reader. And yet, Leviticus is as much God’s Word as the Gospels or the Pauline Epistles. The laws contained in this book are as divinely inspired as the red letters of the words of Jesus. Reading them devotionally helps shape our hearts as much as the language of the Psalms.  

There are two keys principles to getting the most out of this book. First, keep in mind there are three different kinds of laws listed here. There are the ceremonial laws that governed worship. Sacrifices. Personal hygiene. Disease. Particularly focused on ritual purity, these laws were designed to create the conditions where holiness could flourish so the people could come before their Holy God without fear. Second, there are the civil laws that governed the nation of Israel. Tithing. Inheritance. Sentencing guidelines. These laws were necessary to maintain order in society, create revenue for the national government, and promote social welfare. Third, there is the moral law governing behavior. Exemplified by the Ten Commandments, these laws were designed to teach us righteousness and many of the laws governing violence, sexuality, lying, honoring parents, and Sabbath regulations were created to embed this moral law in everyday life. Taken together, the Levitical laws shaped a particular way of life for Israel that, in turn, shaped them into a particular, even peculiar, people.

For example, consider all the different “offerings” listed in the opening chapters. As you read through them, you might find yourself asking similar questions to the ones I mentioned above. Why does God need all these sacrifices? What kind of God would require such things? Is God hungry? Does He need something to eat? Is that why we offer our food back to Him? Is God vain or egotistical to demand such things? Why does God require us to impoverish ourselves on some level in order to appease Him? What point is God trying to make? The system of offerings set up by God was designed to deliver a singular message. Your life is not your own. All that you have is not yours to own or to do with as you will. You are not an owner, you are a steward. Yes, God has entrusted you with a certain amount of talent, a certain amount of treasure, a certain amount of time, and a certain amount of responsibility. But to whom much is given, much is expected. And so He commands His people to appear before Him on a regular basis to offer back to God a portion of what He’s entrusted to them so they never forget the One from whom all blessings flow.

Now fast forward a few thousand years. I am no longer a child but an adult and every week I am reminded in worship when we take an offering that my life is no longer my own. My gifts and talents are not my own. My wealth is not my own. My time is not my own. Nothing I have is mine to own. I am merely a steward and because God has given me much, He expects much. So I do my best to take what I have and offer it back to the Lord. My wife and I give significantly and sacrificially of our treasure. My wife and I give significantly and sacrificially of our time. My wife and I give significantly and sacrificially of our talent and God takes our meager offerings and multiplies them many times over for His purposes in the world. 

Readings for tomorrow: 5-7