What does "sacrifice to the LORD our God" reveal about worship priorities?

◄ What does sacrifice reveal about worship? ►

Key Passage

“Then Moses said, ‘We must take with us sacrifices and burnt offerings to sacrifice to the LORD our God.’ ” (Exodus 10:25)

Immediate Context

• Pharaoh offers to let Israel go worship—without their herds (Exodus 10:24).

• Moses insists the livestock must go, because worship requires sacrifices.

• Worship is therefore non-negotiable, complete, and God-defined—not Pharaoh-defined.

Observations on the Phrase “sacrifice to the LORD our God”

• “Sacrifice” signals cost: worship that does not cost is foreign to biblical faith (2 Samuel 24:24).

• “To the LORD” affirms exclusivity. Worship must be directed to Yahweh alone (Deuteronomy 6:13).

• “Our God” is covenant language—He belongs to them and they to Him (Exodus 6:7).

• The verb is active and deliberate; worship is an intentional act, not a passive feeling.

Worship Priorities Revealed

1. Obedience First

– Israel cannot negotiate or redefine God’s commands (Exodus 8:27).

– Worship begins with doing exactly what God says, how He says.

2. Total Surrender

– All livestock must go; nothing held back (Exodus 10:26).

– Romans 12:1 echoes this: “present your bodies as a living sacrifice.”

3. Holiness and Separation

– A three-day journey into the wilderness (Exodus 8:27) underscores leaving Egypt’s influences.

– True worship often calls for distancing from worldliness (James 4:4).

4. Costly Devotion

– Sacrifices were valuable assets. Giving them up declared that God outranks possessions (Proverbs 3:9).

5. Community Participation

– “We” will sacrifice. Worship is corporate as well as personal (Hebrews 10:24-25).

6. God-Centered, Not Need-Centered

– The focus is on what pleases the LORD, not what benefits worshipers (Psalm 96:8).

Connection to New Testament Fulfillment

• Jesus embodies the perfect sacrifice; all Old Testament offerings point to Him (Hebrews 10:12).

• Believers become “a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 2:5).

• Verbal praise and good deeds now function as ongoing sacrifices (Hebrews 13:15-16).

Personal Application Today

• Guard exclusivity: refuse divided loyalties in career, relationships, or leisure.

• Offer God your best time, talent, and treasure—nothing withheld.

• Let worship shape life decisions; schedule and budget around it, not vice versa.

• Engage in gathered worship; isolation dilutes devotion.

• Remember that every act of obedience, though costly, declares, “The LORD is my God, and He alone deserves my sacrifice.”