What role do offerings play in deepening our relationship with God? Setting the Scene with 1 Chronicles 23:31 “and whenever burnt offerings were presented to the LORD on the Sabbaths, New Moons, and appointed feasts. They were to serve before the LORD regularly in the number prescribed for them.” God-Designed Rhythm of Relationship • Daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly offerings built a steady cadence of meeting with God. • The prescribed schedule shows that fellowship with Him is never sporadic; it is woven into life’s calendar. • Exodus 29:38-42 echoes this pattern, calling the continual burnt offering “a pleasing aroma to the LORD.” Offerings as Tangible Worship • Worship involves the whole person—heart, mind, and possessions. • Psalm 96:8 urges, “Bring an offering and enter His courts.” Offerings give visible form to invisible devotion. • They declare God’s worth above every other claim on our resources. Expressions of Trust and Gratitude • Proverbs 3:9: “Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your harvest.” Giving first, not last, shows confident trust in God’s ongoing provision. • Malachi 3:10 links cheerful giving with experiencing God’s promised blessing, underscoring the relational, not transactional, nature of offerings. Training in Obedience and Holiness • Each sacrifice followed divinely revealed instructions (Leviticus 1–7). Obedience in specifics trains the heart to obey in everything. • Deuteronomy 12:11 highlights that offerings were to be brought to the place God chose, preventing self-styled worship. Covenant Remembrance • Every offering recalled God’s past salvation acts—Passover, the Day of Atonement, harvest festivals. • By reenacting redemption history, Israel kept God’s faithfulness fresh in collective memory (Joshua 4:6-7). Pointers to the Ultimate Offering • Hebrews 10:1-10 explains that Old Testament sacrifices were “a shadow of the good things to come.” • Jesus, “who loved us and gave Himself for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God” (Ephesians 5:2), fulfills what every lamb and grain measure anticipated. • Accepting His once-for-all sacrifice cements the deepest possible relationship with God (Hebrews 9:11-14). Our New-Covenant Response • Romans 12:1: “Present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your spiritual worship.” • 1 Peter 2:5: believers are “a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” • Material giving remains vital (2 Corinthians 9:6-8), yet every act of obedience, praise, service, and witness is now an offering, sweet to the Father because of Christ. Practical Takeaways • Set regular moments—weekly worship, daily devotion—to “serve before the LORD” as the Levites did. • Give firstfruits of income, time, and talents to reinforce trust and gratitude. • Let each act of generosity or service consciously echo Christ’s self-giving love. • Guard against routine becoming rote; recall that every offering, then and now, meets a living God who delights in wholehearted worship. |
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