** Writer’s Note: I am leaving tonight from Dulles International in Washington DC for a two and a half week trip that will take me to Bahrain, Crete, Sicily, Italy, Germany and Spain. Before you start to envy me too much, trust me when I say it is all business and little pleasure. I will still be writing and posting while on the road. My posting times may be a little skewed because I will be as much as 8 hours ahead of EST. I’ll do my best to be timely and ask for your patience and prayers as I travel. God bless all of you and may the joy of the Lord be your strength…now and forever. In Christ, Mark
Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark
"The Lord said to Moses, "Speak to the Israelites and say to them: 'After you enter the land I am giving you as a home and you present to the Lord offerings made by fire, from the herd or the flock, as an aroma pleasing to the Lord -whether burnt offerings or sacrifices, for special vows or freewill offerings or festival offerings- then the one who brings his offering shall present to the Lord a grain offering of a tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with a quarter of a hin of oil. With each lamb for the burnt offering or the sacrifice, prepare a quarter of a hin of wine as a drink offering. " 'With a ram prepare a grain offering of two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with a third of a hin of oil, and a third of a hin of wine as a drink offering. Offer it as an aroma pleasing to the Lord. " 'When you prepare a young bull as a burnt offering or sacrifice, for a special vow or a fellowship offering to the Lord, bring with the bull a grain offering of three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with half a hin of oil. Also bring half a hin of wine as a drink offering. It will be an offering made by fire, an aroma pleasing to the Lord. Each bull or ram, each lamb or young goat, is to be prepared in this manner. Do this for each one, for as many as you prepare."
" 'Everyone who is native-born must do these things in this way when he brings an offering made by fire as an aroma pleasing to the Lord. For the generations to come, whenever an alien or anyone else living among you presents an offering made by fire as an aroma pleasing to the Lord, he must do exactly as you do. The community is to have the same rules for you and for the alien living among you; this is a lasting ordinance for the generations to come. You and the alien shall be the same before the Lord: The same laws and regulations will apply both to you and to the alien living among you.' " The Lord said to Moses, "Speak to the Israelites and say to them: 'When you enter the land to which I am taking you and you eat the food of the land, present a portion as an offering to the Lord. Present a cake from the first of your ground meal and present it as an offering from the threshing floor. Throughout the generations to come you are to give this offering to the Lord from the first of your ground meal." Numbers 15:1-21
The Lord had just passed a terrible judgment on Israel because of their persistent, stubborn disobedience. The current generation of Israelites would not see the Promised Land but God would still keep His covenant promise and allow the next generation to inherit the land their ancestors could have had before they blew their chance. God’s word in Chapter 15 provides specific guidance regarding offerings and how He expected them to be done to those who will gain entry into Canaan.
Of note as God gives instruction to His people via Moses is that there is a new requirement presented in Chapter 15. We have heard the Lord speak prior about His expectations for the burnt (see Leviticus 1)and fellowship offerings (see Leviticus 3) but now He adds a wine or drink offering. The people of Israel were not only inheriting a land flowing with milk and honey but also flowing with fruit…fruit that would allow the Israelites to produce wine. With this, the Lord would require an offering of drink as well as grain and animal.
After telling Israel that He expected the community to have the same rules, whether native or alien, "for the generations to come, God gave this guidance:
"When you enter the land to which I am taking you and you eat the food of the land, present a portion as an offering to the Lord. Present a cake from the first of your ground meal and present it as an offering from the threshing floor. Throughout the generations to come you are to give this offering to the Lord from the first of your ground meal."
Of special note here is that Israel was expected to give from their first fruits, in this case their ground meal. This wasn’t the first time the Lord broached the subject of first fruits. He has mentioned this expectation since Exodus (review chapters 23 and 34). In both instances and even up to today, the basic principle of God’s request is the same: God expects not only our best but our first best.
Question: Do you give the Lord your best at all times? Or does the Lord get your leftovers?
I think too often, we let the world and its pull on us to trump the One who has blessed us with the very life we enjoy. I know that there have been more than a few times when I have went through a full day chocked full of busyness and then come home to sit down and give the rest of what’s left to the Lord. By the time I do sit down, God is certainly not getting my best.
So I have tried to re-prioritize my life…to open my day with time unto the Lord. Before anyone else gets a piece of me on any one given day, God gets me first. And in doing this, I have found me entering every day even more energized than before…because my time with the Lord at the start of the day fuels me with the Holy Spirit, jump starting me to handle anything and everything that is yet to come my way through the course of the day’s events.
I pray that we all maybe step back and see if we are giving God our best, making necessary corrections to ensure He does get it. For He certainly gave us His best in sacrificing His Son Jesus so that we wouldn’t perish but instead have the opportunity to experience eternal life. And there will never be any greater sacrifice of first fruits than that. Thanks be to God for His gift of Jesus.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
http://www.faithhopeandlove.info/
Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com
No comments:
Post a Comment