Leviticus 22:20
“Whatever has a defect, you shall not offer, for it shall not be acceptable on your behalf.”
I once heard of a farmer whose cow had given birth to twin calves. In his excitement, he decided to dedicate one to the Lord. As the days passed, his wife reminded him of his promise, she inquired if he had decided which calf was the Lord’s. Sadly, one of the calves became ill and the farmer did all he could to nurse the animal back to health. Late into the evening, he returned from the barn, and slumped into a chair. His wife, asked what was the matter, to which he replied, “The Lord’s calf died.” Too often, this is typical of our offering to the Lord. Whatever we have left, do not want, need, or use any longer, is offered to the Lord.
God instructed His people, when they give, they should offer the best. Anything defective might still have a use, but it was not worthy of being presented to the Lord. A lamb with a broken leg, would still make a wonderful meal, but was not the lamb to offer to God. When it comes to giving, we should always seek to give our best. If we are giving of our time to teach a Sunday School class, we should do all we can to be well prepared; that is our offering, and God deserves our best. If we are involved in a men’s or women’s group, we should give ample time to prayer, and to completing the lessons, so we have something of value to bring to the discussion; that is our offering, and God deserves our best. If we are involved in worship, we should practice the songs, pray for the church services, and the people of God; that is our offering, and God deserves our best.
The principle is simple. When we give to God, we want to give our best. Imagine if you were having an important guest over for a meal. Would you serve up the leftovers from the past few meals; stuff the kids picked at, but didn’t finish? Would you toss it down on paper plates? Or would you go out of your way to discover their favorite foods, and do your best to serve them in a manner worthy of their office? Certainly, God deserves more from us than we would give to one another.
Pastor Jim
There seems to be some striking differences between the Church in the book of Acts and the church today. The impact they were having on their world was tremendous; we read of the sick being healed, the dead being raised, and most importantly, multitudes of people believing in the resurrected Lord, and their lives being transformed. How is it that they, with so little, were able to do so much? We know they did not have the completed Bible, much money, or the technological resources we have today, yet they were turning their world upside down. The secret to their success was the filling of the Holy Spirit. It is clear, what they did not have was overshadowed by what they did have; that is, power from on High!
Jesus tells the story of a rich man who believed true life was found in great possessions. He worked hard and was very successful. His success caused him to evaluate his life. His conclusion, he needed to work harder so he might acquire more, and be able to retire in comfort. He began to increase his efforts, acquire more, build larger storehouses for all his possessions. All the while, hoping for that time when he would be able to live at ease and enjoy it all. Sadly and expectedly, he died and all of his riches were of no use to him as he stepped into eternity.”
Israel needed to learn a very important lesson if they were going to be successful in walking with the Lord. That lesson: the Word of God is counter-cultural in every culture. They were being called to live by a different, and higher standard than the nation they came out of, and the one they were entering into. The same is true of the Christian today. It should not be shocking to us that the world has a different view of what is holy, acceptable, right or wrong, than we do. Instead of looking to the culture around us, we need to look into the Word of God to learn what is holy and what is sinful.
Sadly, the world has no shortage of those who are in need of Christ. Our population has reached the seven billion mark. Seven billion souls walking this planet, many of whom do not yet know Christ. We recognize certain places in the world as being unreached. Places where many, or even most, of the citizens are yet to hear the good news of salvation, through faith in Christ. We need to pray, send, and provide for those who go to the uttermost parts of the earth with the Good News of Christ. However, we cannot neglect to remember the many unreached souls in our own backyard. Here, in Luke 10, as Jesus sends the seventy, we have some practical instruction on how to reach the lost.
One of the primary purposes of the book of Leviticus is to teach us that God is holy, and requires holiness from His people. The opening verse of Chapter 19 declares, “‘You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.” Holiness carries the idea of being set apart. Something that is holy, is something set apart for the Lord’s use. In the same way, someone who is holy has set themselves apart from anything that would defile them, so they might be fit for use by the Lord. As Moses explains the details of how to live a holy life, he speaks to the people regarding their fields and their garments.
When the Lord calls us to serve Him, there seems to be a universal response. Our hearts cry out, “I can’t.” This was the same response of Moses, Saul and Gideon. We feel this way because the Lord always seems to call us to do what is beyond our capacities. A young woman with small children senses a call to teach in children’s church, or a retired couple hears the call to the mission field, or a young man has a burning in his heart to become a pastor, and the voice in our head cries out “I can’t.” I think there is something encouraging here as Jesus calls the twelve. He is sending them out to serve Him. They will encounter many with needs beyond their capabilities to handle. They will cross paths with the sick, who will look to them for the answer, the demoniacs, who are held under by the powers of the devil, and some will will oppose the work of God. For their journey they are told to take nothing; no money, no provisions, no extra stuff. These things will not equip them for the ministry. Jesus wants them to understand that those are not the things that enable them, nor will a lack of those things restrict them. Instead, Jesus provides everything that is necessary. We read, “He gave them power and authority” All of their objections, and ours, should be silenced by these six words. Whatever reasons they had for objecting to the call, whatever lack they may have felt, must be silenced when Jesus declares, “I have given you power and authority.” Just as their objections are silenced by His promise, so must ours be silenced. Whatever objections you have to the call of God on your life, understand what He calls us to, He equips us for. As He said to Gideon, He says to you “Mighty man of valor… Go in this might of yours”(Judges 6:14). Will you go?
I recently received a phone call from someone claiming to be a representative from the Internal Revenue Service, who explained that I was delinquent on payments, and in danger of facing jail time. Instead of panicking, I asked for a phone number to call them back, then researched to see if that was a valid IRS number. I discovered it was a fraudulent number, and this was a scam. The perpetrators were attempting to get financial records and steal my money. Sadly, this is not the only case where someone lies about who they are in order to deceive someone else.
Once a year, on the Day of Atonement, the High Priest was allowed to enter into the Holiest chamber of the Tabernacle. His responsibility was to provide sin offerings for himself and the people. The activities of this day provided atonement for the sins of the nation. Every aspect of the day was filled with symbolism that pointed to the work of Christ upon the cross. It was on this day, the High priest would select a lamb as a scapegoat, lay his hands upon its head, confess the sins of the nation, and set it free in the wilderness. The Hebrew word translated “scapegoat” is a compound word made up of two words: goat and go. I like to refer to this animal as the “go-goat.” Bearing the sins of the people, it was set free, never to be seen, or heard from, again.
I love a good mystery; as a child I had a book titled “2 Minute Mysteries.” It was a book of short stories, in which a crime would be described and the reader was left to guess who the guilty party was. The trick was, the answer was hidden. There was always something tucked away that was hard to find, almost like a secret, that revealed the answer. I would try so hard to guess correctly, but most often, when I flipped to the back of the book for the answer I found my guess was wrong. When Jesus speaks of the “Mysteries of the Kingdom,” He is not speaking of a secret truth that only a few can understand by reading their Bibles with a special code. Jesus is telling His disciples that everything we need to know about the Kingdom of God can be found by those who are part of it.
Jim Gallagher 