Peace Offerings
Levticus 3:1, “Now if his offering is a sacrifice of peace offerings, if he is going to offer out of the herd, whether male or female, he shall offer it without defect before the LORD. 2 ‘He shall lay his hand on the head of his offering and slay it at the doorway of the tent of meeting, and Aaron’s sons the priests shall sprinkle the blood around on the altar. 3 ‘From the sacrifice of the peace offerings he shall present an offering by fire to the LORD, the fat that covers the entrails and all the fat that is on the entrails, 4 and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them, which is on the loins, and the lobe of the liver, which he shall remove with the kidneys. 5 ‘Then Aaron’s sons shall offer it up in smoke on the altar on the burnt offering, which is on the wood that is on the fire ; it is an offering by fire of a soothing aroma to the LORD. 6 ‘But if his offering for a sacrifice of peace offerings to the LORD is from the flock, he shall offer it, male or female, without defect. 7 ‘If he is going to offer a lamb for his offering, then he shall offer it before the LORD, 8 and he shall lay his hand on the head of his offering and slay it before the tent of meeting, and Aaron’s sons shall sprinkle its blood around on the altar. 9 ‘From the sacrifice of peace offerings he shall bring as an offering by fire to the LORD, its fat, the entire fat tail which he shall remove close to the backbone, and the fat that covers the entrails and all the fat that is on the entrails, 10 and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them, which is on the loins, and the lobe of the liver, which he shall remove with the kidneys. 11 ‘Then the priest shall offer it up in smoke on the altar as food, an offering by fire to the LORD. 12 ‘Moreover, if his offering is a goat, then he shall offer it before the LORD, 13 and he shall lay his hand on its head and slay it before the tent of meeting, and the sons of Aaron shall sprinkle its blood around on the altar. 14 ‘From it he shall present his offering as an offering by fire to the LORD, the fat that covers the entrails and all the fat that is on the entrails, 15 and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them, which is on the loins, and the lobe of the liver, which he shall remove with the kidneys. 16 ‘The priest shall offer them up in smoke on the altar as food, an offering by fire for a soothing aroma ; all fat is the LORD’S. 17 ‘It is a perpetual statute throughout your generations in all your dwellings : you shall not eat any fat or any blood.’ “
As I was preparing for this devotional, and reading this chapter the Lord spoke to me about the brutality and gruesomeness of His Sacrificial system. God demands blood! He requires a life for a life!! A lot of times we sugarcoat things, but God is not a “Snuggly” that is only there for our benefit.
In the long run God does not care about your personal comfort! He demands to be respected as a Holy, Almighty God that He is. For a couple of reasons I believe a lot of Christians shy away from the Old Testament.
The first reason is I believe that the OT puts in our face the reality of God’s sacrificial system. We understand, perhaps too plain, what kind of cruel and horrific things Jesus went through for us.
Secondly, I believe that the OT makes it clear. Too clear for a lot of people that you and I share some responsibility after we become Christians. Don’t misread me! I am not saying that we can do anything to gain salvation. Salvation is a free gift that God gives to undeserving, weak human beings(1 Corinthians 1:26-29); however, after we are saved we are called to live the same sacrificial lifestyle of Christ(Romans 12:1-2)
As Christians we have been called to make a sacrifice which can get messy and dirty, but the sacrifices we make can never compare to what Jesus did for us.
I want to end with one of my favorite quotes. In the late 19th Century Dr. David Livingstone was near death after serving as a missionary in Africa. He had been asked to speak to students at his alma mater. At the end of his speech one student asked him if his sacrifice had been worth it. Since his body was weak, and he had lost use of one arm due to a lion attack. Dr. Livingstone answered the man, “Sacrifice, away with the word in such a thought. One can hardly consider it a sacrifice that which is simply repaying a small portion of a debt that never can be repaid.”
God has given us everything we have. Our every movement, breath and day is a gift from Him. Offering myself to Him is the least that I can do!
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Father, I thank You for everything that You have given me, and I ask that You help me to realize that nothing I offer You can be considered a sacrifice. In Jesus’ Name, Amen
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Yes, You Can Ministry 