This week we begin the Book of Leviticus. We read about all the different sacrifices and in today’s society we are so far removed from this form of worship it confuses us. All the protocols of what animal to sacrifice, how and why to sacrifice it. Who has to make the sacrifice and where to sprinkle or pour the blood. We live in a society without a Temple to go too. We no longer need a physical Temple to make sacrifices too because of the finished work Jesus did on the cross. However there is a lot we can learn from the protocols and sacrifices we can apply to our everyday life.
The Hebrew word for burnt offering would be better translated as LIFTED UP. The root word means closeness. When we make sacrifices to God we are lifting something up to Him in order to get closer to Him. The whole purpose of sacrifice is to bring a closeness that can not be achieved any other way. When you break down all the sacrifices they fall into 3 categories, Burnt Offerings, Peace Offering, Sin Offerings.
The Burnt Offering is the Holiest of all offerings because 100% of the offering belongs to God.
The Peace Offerings are shared with God, the Priests and the person who brings the offering. This is a free will offering to bring the community as a whole closer to God. Everyone comes together and benefits from the givers' sacrifice.
The Sin Offering is given to God and the Priests. This offering is given to bring someone back in right standing with God. Only God and the Priests can have any of it. The Priest stands in the Gap for the one who brings the gift.
Now when you give your tithes and offerings look to see which category your gift fits in. Are you giving something that is Holy and only belongs to the Lord? Are you bringing something that everyone will benefit from? The Sin Offering is probably the one we miss out on the most in this day and age. A practical way we can do this is by giving a gift to someone we have wronged. When you give something to some you have wronged you don’t get anything at the moment it is given. However when you give something up to someone who will benefit God also gets the gift because He desires more than anything that we grow closer to Him and see everyone the way He does. He says in His word we are perfectly, and wonderfully made. When we make things right He is bless by our actions and He is pleased with us.
