What does Leviticus 19:7 teach about offering sacrifices in a holy manner? Verse at a Glance Leviticus 19:7: “If any of it is eaten on the third day, it is tainted and will not be accepted.” Key Observations - God sets a strict time limit—day one or two only (v. 6). - Anything eaten on day three is called “tainted” (ḥip̱gār, defiled, decayed). - A tainted offering “will not be accepted,” stressing divine rejection. - The issue is not merely health or taste but holiness (v. 8: “has profaned what is holy to the LORD”). Holiness and Time Sensitivity - Holiness includes the when as well as the what. - Exodus 16:19–20 shows a similar principle: manna kept past its appointed time bred worms. - Delayed obedience equals disobedience; procrastination turns worship into profanity. Acceptable Worship Requires Obedience - 1 Samuel 15:22: “To obey is better than sacrifice.” - Isaiah 1:11–17 highlights that rituals without obedience are nauseating to God. - Leviticus 19:7 underscores that even a correct sacrifice, offered outside God’s parameters, loses all value. Impurity Spoils Devotion - “Tainted” points to moral as well as physical corruption (cf. Haggai 2:12–14). - Hebrews 10:22 calls believers to draw near “with a sincere heart… having our bodies washed with pure water.” - Any trace of willful impurity infects the whole act of worship. A Foreshadowing of Christ - Christ fulfilled every requirement “once for all” (Hebrews 10:10). - His body “saw no decay” (Acts 13:37), unlike flesh left to a third day. - The verse hints that only a perfect, undefiled offering—fulfilled in Jesus—truly satisfies God. Personal Application Today - Romans 12:1: present your bodies “a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God.” - Offer obedience promptly; delay dulls devotion. - Guard against spiritual “decay” by daily repentance (1 John 1:9). - Let every act of service be marked by reverence, purity, and immediacy, for God still rejects worship offered on our terms rather than His. |
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