O F F E R I N G S A N D

S A C R I F I C E S O F T H E

O L D T E S TA M E N T

An Examination of the Old Testament Offerings and

Sacrifices and what they Teach us about God and our

Relationship with Him

F. Wayne Mac Leod

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CONTENTS
Title Page
Copyright
Preface
Chapter 1 - The Burnt Offering
Chapter 2 - The Grain Offering
Chapter 3 - The Drink Offering
Chapter 4 - The Peace Offering
Chapter 5 - The Sin Offering
Chapter 6 - The Guilt Offering
Chapter 7 - The Wave Offering
Chapter 8 - The Tithe
Chapter 9 - The Freewill Offering
Chapter 10 - The Grain Offering of Jealousy
Chapter 11 - Atonement for an Unsolved Murder
About The Author

PREFACE

The Old Testament can be confusing for the new believer. I would venture

to say that even the more mature struggle to understand the rituals,

sacrifices, and festivals of this time. This study is about the offerings and

sacrifices ordained by God in the Law of Moses. Admittedly, this might not

be very appealing to the reader, but the reality of the matter is that these

sacrifices and offerings have much to teach us about God and the kind of

relationship He wants with us.

God gave His law to the Jewish nation, not just to show them how they

were to live but also to reveal His nature to them. Through these sacrifices

and offerings, the Lord showed His people what was important to Him. He

also taught them the seriousness of sin and its implications in their lives. I

would venture to say that in these New Testament days, we have often lost

sight of what these offerings and sacrifices teach us about God and our

responsibility toward Him. As a result, we have become complacent about

sin in our lives, our church, and our society.

I trust that as the reader takes the time to examine the teaching in this study,

he or she will come to a deeper sense of the holiness of God and His desire

for us to walk in that holiness as well. I also trust that it will also give us a

greater appreciation of the work the Lord Jesus Christ did on the cross to

make forgiveness possible.

May the Lord God be pleased to use this work to elevate His name and

bless His people.

F. Wayne Mac Leod

CHAPTER 1 - THE BURNT

OFFERING

The book of Leviticus is the primary source of information about the

offerings and sacrifices God expected from His people. Leviticus 1 begins

with the law for the burnt offering. Isreal brought this as a tribute to God

and recognition of His worth.

From Exodus 29:38-42, we learn that every morning and evening, the priest

sacrificed a one-year-old lamb to God.

[38] “Now this is what you shall offer on the altar: two lambs a

year old day by day regularly. [39] One lamb you shall offer in the

morning, and the other lamb you shall offer at twilight. [40] And

with the first lamb a tenth measure of fine flour mingled with a

fourth of a hin of beaten oil, and a fourth of a hin of wine for a drink

offering. [41] The other lamb you shall offer at twilight, and shall

offer with it a grain offering and its drink offering, as in the

morning, for a pleasing aroma, a food offering to the LORD. [42] It

shall be a regular burnt offering throughout your generations at the

entrance of the tent of meeting before the LORD, where I will meet

with you, to speak to you there. (Exodus 29)

On the Sabbath, in addition to the regular morning and evening burnt

offerings, the Israelites sacrificed another two one-year-old male lambs to

the Lord God as burnt offerings.

[9] “On the Sabbath day, two male lambs a year old without

blemish, and two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour for a grain

offering, mixed with oil, and its drink offering: [10] this is the burnt

offering of every Sabbath, besides the regular burnt offering and its

drink offering. (Numbers 28)

At the beginning of every month, during the new moon, God required two

bulls, one ram and seven more lambs for the burnt offering:

[11] At the beginnings of your months, you shall offer a burnt

offering to the LORD: two bulls from the herd, one ram, seven male

lambs a year old without blemish; [12] also three-tenths of an

ephah of fine flour for a grain offering, mixed with oil, for each bull,

and two-tenths of fine flour for a grain offering, mixed with oil, for

the one ram; [13] and a tenth of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain

offering for every lamb; for a burnt offering with a pleasing aroma,

a food offering to the LORD. [14] Their drink offerings shall be half

a hin of wine for a bull, a third of a hin for a ram, and a quarter of a

hin for a lamb. This is the burnt offering of each month throughout

the months of the year. (Numbers 28)

The fourteenth day of the first month was the beginning of Passover. At that

time, in addition to the regular morning and evening offerings, God

expected a burnt offering of seven lambs, two bulls and one ram each day

for the seven days of the celebration.

[16] “On the fourteenth day of the first month is the LORD’s

Passover, [17] and on the fifteenth day of this month is a feast.

Seven days shall unleavened bread be eaten. [18] On the first day

there shall be a holy convocation. You shall not do any ordinary

work, [19] but offer a food offering, a burnt offering to the LORD:

two bulls from the herd, one ram, and seven male lambs a year old;

see that they are without blemish; … [23] You shall offer these

besides the burnt offering of the morning, which is for a regular

burnt offering. [24] In the same way you shall offer daily, for seven

days, the food of a food offering, with a pleasing aroma to the

LORD. It shall be offered besides the regular burnt offering and its

drink offering. [25] And on the seventh day you shall have a holy

convocation. You shall not do any ordinary work. (Numbers 28)

Later, during the celebration of the Feast of Weeks, the priests sacrificed

another two bulls, one ram and seven one-year-old lambs:

[26] “On the day of the firstfruits, when you offer a grain offering

of new grain to the LORD at your Feast of Weeks, you shall have a

holy convocation. You shall not do any ordinary work, [27] but offer

a burnt offering, with a pleasing aroma to the LORD: two bulls from

the herd, one ram, seven male lambs a year old (Numbers 28)

The first day of the seventh month was the celebration of the Feast of

Trumpets. Like the other celebrations, this again called for a burnt offering

of one bull, one ram and seven one-year-old lambs.

[29:1] “On the first day of the seventh month you shall have a holy

convocation. You shall not do any ordinary work. It is a day for you

to blow the trumpets, [2] and you shall offer a burnt offering, for a

pleasing aroma to the LORD: one bull from the herd, one ram,

seven male lambs a year old without blemish (Numbers 29)

Ten days after the Feast of Trumpets was the Day of Atonement. Similar to

the Feast of Trumpets, Israel again offered one bull, one ram and seven

lambs as a burnt offering to the Lord.

[7] “On the tenth day of this seventh month you shall have a holy

convocation and afflict yourselves. You shall do no work, [8] but

you shall offer a burnt offering to the LORD, a pleasing aroma: one

bull from the herd, one ram, seven male lambs a year old: see that

they are without blemish. (Numbers 29)

The Feast of Booths on the fifteenth day of the seventh month began with

the sacrifice of thirteen bulls, two rams and fourteen lambs. Every day for

seven days, the priests sacrificed two rams and fourteen lambs, but the

number of bulls required each day decreased by one per day. In total, Israel

sacrificed seventy bulls at the Feast of Booths over seven days. On the

eighth day, Israel concluded the celebration with the sacrifice of another

bull, ram and seven lambs.

God also required burnt offerings at special events in the lives of His

children. When a mother purified herself after the birth of a child, she

offered a burnt offering to the Lord God. This offering was either a lamb, a

turtle dove or a pigeon, depending on what she could afford:

[6] “And when the days of her purifying are completed, whether for

a son or for a daughter, she shall bring to the priest at the entrance

of the tent of meeting a lamb a year old for a burnt offering, and a

pigeon or a turtledove for a sin offering, [7] and he shall offer it

before the LORD and make atonement for her. Then she shall be

clean from the flow of her blood. This is the law for her who bears a

child, either male or female. [8] And if she cannot afford a lamb,

then she shall take two turtledoves or two pigeons, one for a burnt

offering and the other for a sin offering. And the priest shall make

atonement for her, and she shall be clean.” (Leviticus 12)

God also expected a burnt offering after a person was cleansed from a

bodily discharge that defiled him or her. When the individual was cleansed,

he or she offered a turtledove or a pigeon to the Lord:

[13] “And when the one with a discharge is cleansed of his

discharge, then he shall count for himself seven days for his

cleansing, and wash his clothes. And he shall bathe his body in fresh

water and shall be clean. [14] And on the eighth day he shall take

two turtledoves or two pigeons and come before the LORD to the

entrance of the tent of meeting and give them to the priest. [15] And

the priest shall use them, one for a sin offering and the other for a

burnt offering. And the priest shall make atonement for him before

the LORD for his discharge. (Leviticus 15)

If an individual made a special vow to the Lord, upon completion of that

vow, he or she offered a male lamb as a burnt offering to the Lord:

[13] “And this is the law for the Nazirite, when the time of his

separation has been completed: he shall be brought to the entrance

of the tent of meeting, [14] and he shall bring his gift to the LORD,

one male lamb a year old without blemish for a burnt offering, and

one ewe lamb a year old without blemish as a sin offering, and one

ram without blemish as a peace offering, (Numbers 6)

What we see here is that God’s people brought burnt offerings every day

and during their religious feasts and celebrations. They also brought this

offering after they were cleansed from defilement or upon completion of a

vow. Along with the burnt offering, the people of Israel generally offered a

food offering, drink offering and a sin offering. This fact shows us that the

burnt offering was not for cleansing or forgiveness. God also required

offerings for forgiveness to be sacrificed alongside the burnt offering. This

offering appears to be a tribute paid to God in recognition of His worth and

Lordship in the lives of His people.

Leviticus 1 describes the procedure for a burnt offering. Israel brought the

offering to the entrance of the tabernacle (Leviticus 1:3). The individuals

laid their hands on the head of the animal to remind themselves that it was

sacrificed on their behalf (Leviticus 1:4). God expected that the animal

offered as a burnt offering be a male without blemish (Leviticus 1:3, 10).

After the sacrifice, the priest threw its blood on the sides of the altar

(Leviticus 1:5, 11).

If the offering brought was a bull, goat or sheep, the priest would cut it up

(Leviticus 1:6, 12) and wash its organs and legs in water (Leviticus 1:9, 13).

He would then lay its head and fat on the altar and burn it before the Lord

(Leviticus 1:8-9, 13). If the offering was a turtledove or pigeon, the priest

would wring off its head (Leviticus 1:14), and drain the blood on the side of

the altar (Leviticus 1:15). He would then remove the crop and contents and

throw it to the east side of the altar. When that was complete, he tore the

bird open by its wings and burnt it on the altar (Leviticus 1:17).

What was unique about the burnt offering is that it was burned in its entirety

before the Lord. The whole animal, head, intestines and all were consumed

in the fire for the Lord.

What Does The Offering Teach Us About God

And Our Relationship With Him?

The question that is important for us in the context of this study is what this

sacrifice teaches us about God and our relationship with Him. There are

several points I would like to make here about the burnt offering.

Regular Tribute To God

God’s people brought the burnt offering twice a day. They also brought

additional burnt offerings every month and to each feast or festival in the

Old Testament. The burnt offering was a continual reminder to Israel of her

indebtedness to the Lord God. When she rose in the morning, she offered

her best lambs to her Creator. As the sun went down and she prepared to

sleep, she remembered the Lord her God with her unblemished lambs. In

every celebration of her nation, she offered her sacrifices to Her Sustainer

and Provider.

The burnt offering communicates something significant to us. What place

does the remembrance of God have in our daily routine? When we rise in

the morning, do we take the time to recognize that He is deserving of our

tribute and sacrifice? Do we offer our time, effort and resources to Him as

we awake to face the day? Do we end the day with a token of our gratitude

to Him for His many blessings?

The burnt offering regularly placed Israel before her God and caused her to

remember Him as worthy of all praise and thanksgiving. It forced her to

remember that she owed Him much. How easy it is to go through our day

without having time for God. How many days have I lived without any

recognition of His favour and blessing?

The burnt offering calls us to stop for a moment every day and remember

the worthiness and provision of our Creator. As I open my eyes in the

morning, I offer myself to Him for His service during the day. As I lay my

head down at night, I take a moment to recognize my indebtedness to Him

for the blessings of that day. As I lift my spoon to my mouth to nourish my

body, I confess God as the source of each benefit I have received. As

believers today, we must seek to incorporate times and activities into our

lives that keep us in tune with the reality of our need and dependence on the

Lord our God. It is easy for us to live our lives without a deep awareness of

the source of every blessing.

Recognition Of God’s Grace In Times Of

Impurity

God’s people offered the burnt offering after being cleansed from impurity.

When they recovered from these impurities, they brought a burnt offering to

the Lord God.

Consider this for a moment. This impurity caused a separation between

God’s people and Himself. The holiness of God was such that any

defilement, natural or through illness, was an offence to Him. Many things

make us unclean before the Lord God. Our thoughts and attitudes can be

offensive to Him. Sometimes we don’t even intend to think the way we do

or say the things we say, but those words and thoughts arise from the flesh

within and are an offence to a holy God.

The burnt offering was a reminder to the Israelites that their God was a God

of grace. After their cleansing, they offered the Lord a token of their

gratitude for His mercy and forgiveness.

There is not a day that goes by that we are not guilty before God of some

impurity of thought, action or word. Consider the great patience of God

toward us in forgiving and cleansing us of these impurities. As the day

comes to a close, recognize that God has been gracious toward you. He has

not consumed you in His anger or turned His back on you for your sin. He

is deserving of an offering of thanksgiving and praise.

The burnt offering was a symbol of the grace of God in forgiving impurity.

It reminded the one who offered his or her sacrifice that God was a patient

God who bore with an imperfect and sinful people. It was also a reminder

of the seriousness of their impurity. An animal died because of their offence

to God. As Israel watched the blood drain from the sacrifice and its body

grow limp, they saw just how serious God took their impurity. Their sin and

diseases offended God’s holiness, but He continued to love them. Our

fleshly nature, like a running sore, oozes out its vile attitudes, but God is

patient. Just as Israel offered her burnt offering after her cleansing, so we

too must take a moment every day to recognize the cleansing work of Christ

and offer Him thanksgiving for His wonderful grace and mercy toward us.

Complete Surrender

There is one more detail I want to touch in this chapter. With other

offerings, God only required certain parts of the animal to be burnt. The

burnt offering, however, was burned completely. The entire animal was

consumed on the altar.

There is a lesson for us here. First, we must recognize that this burnt

offering points us to the Lord Jesus, who offered Himself entirely for our

forgiveness. He held nothing back. He left the glories of heaven. He

suffered for His creation and willingly laid down His life for those who

rejected Him. He was sacrificed for our forgiveness.

Just as Jesus held nothing back for us, we too must offer ourselves wholly

to Him. We must be burnt offerings for Him through the surrender of

everything we have. The burnt offering is a symbol of what God requires of

us –absolute surrender of all we have and are. As the sun rises in the

morning, we lay our lives down before Him as a burnt offering. As the sun

sets in the evening, we lay ourselves down to sleep and offer ourselves

afresh to Him as a burnt offering, keeping nothing to ourselves. We offer

ourselves unconditionally to our Saviour. We do not say, “I am yours as

long as it is convenient for me, or I give myself as long as it doesn’t cost too

much.” There were no conditions attached to the burnt offering. God

demanded everything.

For Prayer:

Father, the burnt offering reminds us of how much we owe you. You are

worthy of our praise and sacrifice. You deserve the daily tribute of our lips

and lives. As we rise in the morning, we offer ourselves as a living sacrifice

to You. As we lay our heads down at night, we remember your grace and

patience with us and offer our token of thanksgiving and praise. Thank you,

Lord Jesus, that you gave Yourself entirely, and without reservation, for our

forgiveness. Give us that same attitude. Teach us to take the time each day

to recognize what You have done for us. Help us not to become so busy that

we fail to confess our indebtedness to You.

CHAPTER 2 - THE GRAIN

OFFERING

The next Old Testament offering I want to consider is the grain offering.

Leviticus 2 describes the requirements for this offering. The grain offering

was a mixture of fine flour, oil and frankincense:

[2:1] “When anyone brings a grain offering as an offering to the

LORD, his offering shall be of fine flour. He shall pour oil on it and

put frankincense on it (Leviticus 2)

While God was clear about the ingredients in the grain offering, the

presentation of the offering could differ. An individual could bring the flour

mixed with oil and frankincense just as it was. In this case, the priest would

take a handful of the mixture and burn it on the altar. This portion given to

the Lord was called a memorial portion (Leviticus 2:2). The remainder of

the grain offering belonged to the priest and his sons for their personal use

(Leviticus 2:3).

The grain offering could also be baked in an oven and made into loaves or

wafers. The person bringing the offering was to spread oil on the top of

these loaves and presented them to the Lord as a baked grain offering

(Leviticus 2:4).

Not everyone would have had access to an oven in those days, so the Lord

permitted the worshipper to cook the mixture of flour and oil on a grill. The

resulting product was broken into pieces with oil poured over it before

bringing it to the priest (Leviticus 2:5-6).

Finally, the worshipper could also cook the grain offering in a pan

(Leviticus 2:7). While there was room for a variety of presentations, the

essential ingredients were to remain –flour, oil and frankincense. The Lord

also permitted the use of salt for these offerings (Leviticus 2:13), but

nothing else was to be added or taken away. God prohibited adding yeast or

honey to any grain offering.

[11] “No grain offering that you bring to the LORD shall be made

with leaven, for you shall burn no leaven nor any honey as a food

offering to the LORD.

Leviticus 2:14-16 also permitted the offering of the first fruits of the harvest

as a grain offering to the Lord. In this case, the crushed new grain was

roasted with fire, sprinkled with oil, and frankincense was laid on top. This

crushed, roasted grain would then be brought to the priest. As with the other

grain offerings, a memorial portion was burned on the altar, and the

remainder belonged to the priest.

One notable exception to the rule was when a priest offered a grain offering

on his own behalf. It this case, he was not permitted to keep any of the grain

for himself. The entire grain offering was burned on the altar as an offering

to the Lord (see Leviticus 6:19-23).

God also required a grain offering alongside the burnt offering. The amount

of grain and oil required depended on the animal offered for a burnt

offering. Let me provide this chart to simplify God’s requirements:

This first chart shows the flour requirements that accompanied a burnt

offering with their equivalent in modern measurements. An ephah of flour

is estimated to be approximately 17.6 litres or half a bushel.

Animal Ephah Litre UK Gallon US Gallons

Bull 3/10th 5.28 1.16 1.39

Ram 2/10th 3.52 0.77 0.92

Lamb 1/10th 1.76 0.38 0.45

The oil required for each grain offering was measured in hin. The hin was

the equivalent of 3.8 litres. This next chart details and amount of oil that

was to accompany the flour per animal.

Animal Hin Litre UK Gallon US Gallon

Bull 1/2 1.9 0.42 0.50

Ram 1/3 1.26 0.28 0.34

Lamb ¼ 0.95 0.21 0.25

According to Leviticus 14, a person cleansed of leprosy was to bring a grain

offering to the Lord:

[8] And he who is to be cleansed shall wash his clothes and shave

off all his hair and bathe himself in water, and he shall be clean.

And after that he may come into the camp, but live outside his tent

seven days. [9] And on the seventh day he shall shave off all his hair

from his head, his beard, and his eyebrows. He shall shave off all

his hair, and then he shall wash his clothes and bathe his body in

water, and he shall be clean. [10] “And on the eighth day he shall

take two male lambs without blemish, and one ewe lamb a year old

without blemish, and a grain offering of three tenths of an ephah of

fine flour mixed with oil, and one log of oil. (Leviticus 14)

Also, upon completion of a Nazirite vow, God required another grain

offering.

[13] “And this is the law for the Nazirite, when the time of his

separation has been completed: he shall be brought to the entrance

of the tent of meeting, [14] and he shall bring his gift to the LORD,

one male lamb a year old without blemish for a burnt offering, and

one ewe lamb a year old without blemish as a sin offering, and one

ram without blemish as a peace offering, [15] and a basket of

unleavened bread, loaves of fine flour mixed with oil, and

unleavened wafers smeared with oil, and their grain offering and

their drink offerings. (Numbers 6)

The grain offering was offered alongside the burnt offering as a token of

thanksgiving and gratitude to God. It was also brought upon completion of

a vow or after healing from an infection. It reminded people of the grace of

God and called them to be thankful for His benefits. Because a large portion

of the grain offering went to the priest, it was also a way to support the

priests and provide for their basic needs.

Let’s now take a moment to consider what this offering teaches us about

God and His expectations of us as His children.

Variety Of Presentation

First, notice that the grain offering was presented to the Lord in a variety of

ways. It was brought as it was, cooked in an oven as loaves, cooked on a

grill or in a pot. There was room for variety in the offering. The principle is

the same today.

Not everybody’s offering of praise to God will look the same. As we come

to the Lord God with our offering of thanksgiving and praise, my offering

will not look the same as my neighbour’s. I have a unique personality and

express myself to God in a specific way. As we look at believers around us

today, we find all kinds of expressions of praise to God. Some churches are

lively in their worship. Others are more sedate. Imagine two people coming

to the priest with their grain offerings. One offering is baked in an oven

while the other was cooked on a grill. What would you think if those two

people began to look down on each other because their offering was not

prepared in the same way? The grain offerings did not look the same but

delighted the Lord. How careful we need to be that we do not criticize our

brother or sister because their expression of worship does not look like ours.

No Compromise On The Essential

While there was room for different presentations of the grain offering, there

were some essential elements that could never be compromised. God had

precise requirements for what went into the grain offering and what was

forbidden. Every offering required flour, oil and frankincense. We could

speculate as to why these three elements were needed, but that is not our

purpose here. What is important is that we understand that all of these

ingredients were to be in the grain offering.

God also had a specific recipe for the grain offering. If it was to accompany

the burnt offering, then a particular quantity of flour and oil had to be

offered. There could be no compromise in these details. An individual could

not bring less than what was required, not could they add more.

We learn from this that some things in the worship of God can never be

compromised. The challenge for us as the church today is to distinguish

between the different presentations of worship and the principles that

cannot be compromised. All too often, problems arise in the church because

we are not able to make these distinctions.

Believers divide over the style of worship or the type of music used in

praise of God. I have met people who have become so focused on the

church building that it is more important than God Himself. I have been in

churches that focus on particular spiritual gifts and believe that if we are not

using these gifts, we are not honouring God. The grain offering teaches us

that we need to find a balance between allowing for a variety of

presentations in worship without compromising the requirements of God.

No Honey Or Yeast

It may be helpful for us to note that the Lord forbade the use of honey or

yeast in the grain offerings. Throughout the Scripture, yeast is a symbol of

sin. Consider what the apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians:

[8] Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven,

the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of

sincerity and truth. (1 Corinthians 5)

Notice how Paul speaks of the leaven of malice and evil. God forbade the

use of leaven in the grain offering. We must understand that all our

offerings need to be free of sinful attitudes and thoughts. On one occasion,

Jesus stood by the offering box in the temple. He watched the rich people

come in with their large gifts. He also saw a poor widow bring in the last

coins she had. To all outward appearances, the rich gave more, but Jesus

saw behind the outward act to the heart of these individuals. He saw the

leaven of pride in the hearts of the rich. He saw how they wanted people to

see them. The leaven of sin in their hearts made their offerings unacceptable

to God. On the other hand, Jesus saw the sacrificial spirit in the poor

widow. Her gift touched Him, and it delighted Him more than the large gifts

of the rich, given with a self-seeking attitude.

Whatever we do, we must do with a pure heart before God. My offering

may not look like the offering of my brother or sister, but if it comes from a

genuine and sincere heart, that does not compromise the standard of God, it

is acceptable before God.

God also prohibited the use of honey in any grain offering. The sweetness

of honey makes our food more attractive. There are many things we can do

in an attempt to make our offering or worship of God more appealing.

No doubt, you have heard of churches that do not want to speak about sin

because it might offend the newcomer or visitor. In doing so, we water

down the gospel. Seminars and courses are offered that teach us how to

attract new people and keep them in the church. We do this, however, at the

expense of ignoring the Spirit of God and His leading. We become so

focused on creating an environment that pleases people that we close our

ears to the voice of the Spirit.

Are we not putting honey in our offering to God? Do we believe that the

gospel of Jesus and the ministry of the Holy Spirit is enough? Do we feel

that we need to make the message more attractive? Do we add to what God

has required. The message of the gospel must be kept pure and undefiled by

our attempts to make it more appealing. We dare not add honey to the

message lest it compromises the truth or water down the message we

present.

The offerings we bring may differ one from another, but they must be pure.

We must examine every offering we bring to be sure that it is undefiled by

the yeast of sin and evil intentions or attitudes. We must also be sure that

the honey of compromise is not present in any gift we present to God. We

must neither add to nor take away from the requirements of God. Within

these parameters, there is the freedom to bring our unique gifts.

Support For God’s Workers

There is one final detail we need to understand from the grain offerings.

The Lord God required that a large portion of the grain offering go to the

priests for their support. The flour, loaves and wafers brought to the temple

were a means of providing for the basic needs of the servants of God. These

gifts were not financial but very practical. The grain offering provided the

priests with bread to eat.

The law of God required that His people provide the practical needs of His

priests so that they could devote themselves to full-time service. It is easy

for us to assume that the only offerings God accepts today are financial

offerings. This, however, is not the case. God’s people brought bread and

wafers to the temple as an offering. I am part of a church where the women

bake or cook a meal and bring it to families in need. This offering is not put

in an offering plate at church, but it is a food offering given in the name of

the Lord Jesus to His servants. Does not Jesus say:

[42] And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold

water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no

means lose his reward.” (Matthew 10)

The grain offering shows us that in sharing our food and possessions, we

give to the Lord.

For Prayer:

Father, thank you for the lessons we learn from the grain offering of the Old

Testament. Thank you that You receive our simple gifts. Teach us to use

what You have given us for Your glory. Give us eyes to see the needs

around us and hearts that are willing to bless each other. Keep us from

judging one another in regard to our worship. Show us what you require,

and may we be uncompromisingly faithful. Cause us to examine our lives to

be sure that there is no leaven of sin. Keep us from the honey of

compromise to make the gospel more appealing.

CHAPTER 3 - THE DRINK

OFFERING

In the last chapter, we saw how Israel brought grain offerings (cooked or

uncooked) to the priest as a contribution to the Lord. We move now to what

was known as the drink offering. The drink offering was an offering of

wine. Numbers 28:7 calls this an “offering of strong drink.”

[7] Its drink offering shall be a quarter of a hin for each lamb. In

the Holy Place you shall pour out a drink offering of strong drink to

the LORD. (Numbers 28)

Other Bible versions translate the phrase as “strong wine” (KJV), or

“fermented drink” (NIV and NLT). The Hebrew word used here is the word

רָכֵׁש šēḵār with is defined as follows in

7941.

רָכֵׁש

šē

ḵ

ār: A masculine noun referring to strong drink; beer.

It refers to an intoxicating drink and is usually understood as some

kind of beer. Priests were not to drink it when serving at the

Tabernacle or Temple (Lev 10:9). (Baker, Warren D.R.E., Carpenter,

Eugene Ph.D. “7941

רָכֵׁש

šē

ḵ

ār,” AMG Word Study Dictionary Old

Testament LARIDIAN: Cedar Rapids, Iowa, 2003)

It would appear from this that the wine used was fermented. Note that

according to Numbers 10:9, the priests were not permitted to drink this kind

of wine when they were on duty:

[8] And the LORD spoke to Aaron, saying, [9] “Drink no wine or

strong drink, you or your sons with you, when you go into the tent of

meeting, lest you die. It shall be a statute forever throughout your

generations. (Leviticus 10)

Unlike the grain offering, where the priest offered a memorial portion to the

Lord and kept the rest for himself, the drink offering was poured out

entirely before the Lord. The priest was not given any of the fermented

drink for himself.

Israel’s dring offering usually accompanied other offerings. The amount of

wine required for the offering depended on the animal sacrificed at the time.

Numbers 15:4-10 details the requirements of God.

Animal Hin Litre Gallon (UK) Gallon (US)

Bull ½ 1.9 0.42 0.50

Ram 1/3 1.26 0.28 0.34

Lamb ¼ 0.95 0.21 0.25

Numbers 15:4 tells us that the drink offering was a “pleasing aroma to the

LORD:”

[7] And for the drink offering you shall offer a third of a hin of wine,

a pleasing aroma to the LORD. (Numbers 15)

The drink offering was brought to the Lord after the completion of a

Nazirite vow. At that time, the individual completing his vow brought this

along with his burnt offering.

[13] “And this is the law for the Nazirite, when the time of his

separation has been completed: he shall be brought to the entrance

of the tent of meeting, [14] and he shall bring his gift to the LORD,

one male lamb a year old without blemish for a burnt offering, and

one ewe lamb a year old without blemish as a sin offering, and one

ram without blemish as a peace offering, [15] and a basket of

unleavened bread, loaves of fine flour mixed with oil, and

unleavened wafers smeared with oil, and their grain offering and

their drink offerings. [16] And the priest shall bring them before the

LORD and offer his sin offering and his burnt offering, [17] and he

shall offer the ram as a sacrifice of peace offering to the LORD,

with the basket of unleavened bread. The priest shall offer also its

grain offering and its drink offering. (Numbers 6)

Genesis 35:9-15 describes how God met Jacob in the region of Paddan-

Aram. On that occasion, the Lord blessed Jacob and changed his name to

Israel, promising to make his descendants a great nation. When the Lord

left, Jacob set up a pillar and poured out a drink offering on it:

[14] And Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he had spoken

with him, a pillar of stone. He poured out a drink offering on it and

poured oil on it. [15] So Jacob called the name of the place where

God had spoken with him Bethel. (Genesis 35)

In this instance, we have no record of an associated animal sacrifice. Jacob

poured out his drink offering and, according to Genesis 35:14, added some

oil to it. He gave this offering to the Lord in response to His wonderful

promises to make his descendants into a great nation. It was a token of

thanksgiving and gratitude to God.

On two separate occasions, the apostle Paul used the illustration of the drink

offering to speak of his own life and ministry. In Philippians 2, the apostle

wrote to the Philippians about his hard work on their behalf:

[16] holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I

may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. [17] Even if

I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial

offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all.

(Philippians 2)

Paul uses the words “run,” “labour,” and “sacrificial offering” to describe

the effort he had made for the believers in Philippi. He challenged the

believers to hold fast to the word of life he had taught them so that these

labours would not be in vain. Paul told the Philippians that if he were

poured out as a drink offering, it would be upon the faith of the Philippians.

This phrase merits some consideration.

The drink offering was often poured out on an accompanying offering. The

offering Paul speaks about here is the faith of the Philippians. Through the

apostle's ministry, many Philippians had come to faith in Jesus Christ. Paul

was pleased to offer these converts to the Lord as the fruit of his hard

labours. This was a gift in which God was well-pleased for nothing delights

Him more than that the lost come to know His Son.

Paul told the Philippians that if he had to die for this work, his death would

be like a drink offering poured out on their faith. He poured out his life as a

drink offering on the new-found faith of the Philippians. Just as God would

be pleased with the faith of the Philippians, so He would be pleased with

the efforts of Paul, poured out on them.

In Timothy 4, as the apostle comes to the end of his life, he said to Timothy:

[6] For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the

time of my departure has come. [7] I have fought the good fight, I

have finished the race, I have kept the faith. [8] Henceforth there is

laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the

righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me

but also to all who have loved His appearing. (2 Timothy 4)

Paul compared his life to a drink offering poured out entirely for the Lord

God. He had fought a good fight. He had finished the race. He had kept the

faith. He knew that he had given his all for the cause of the Lord.

What should we learn from the drink offering? There are two points I want

to make here.

Poured Out Completely

The apostle Paul saw his life as a drink offering poured out entirely for the

Lord. This is how Paul looked at his life. His attitude is in direct contrast to

the teaching that all believers should prosper materially in this world.

Material blessings were not the focus of Paul’s life, nor were they the focus

of Jesus. Listen to the Lord’s words in Matthew 8:

[20] And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air

have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”

(Matthew 8)

Jesus devoted His life to the will of the Father. He did not have a home or

even a bed to lay on at night. His entire life was given to accomplish the

purpose of the Father. He held nothing back but gave Himself for our

salvation. He sets an example for us to follow.

What does it mean for you to follow the Lord Jesus today? Do you follow

Him like the people of His day –for what you can get out of Him? Or are

you willing to pour out your life like a drink offering? We certainly are to

delight in the good things God gives. The Christian life is a life of receiving

from God, for we cannot give unless we receive from Him. We are not to

grow fat on those blessings, however, but share them with those around us.

We are to use what He gives and pour out his resources on those God sends

our way.

Paul willingly suffered for the Lord and His cause. He was mocked, beaten

and stoned for the gospel he represented. He was imprisoned for

relentlessly preaching the good news of Jesus.

Is your life a drink offering to the Lord? Are you a channel of refreshing

through which the Spirit of God can flow, or is that stream blocked? Will

you submit yourself to the Spirit of God today for Him to use as He sees fit.

Will you pour out your strength and efforts for the cause of the Father?

Pleasing Aroma To God

The drink offering is described as a pleasing aroma to God. That wine

poured out on the sacrificed animal, pleased the Lord and delighted His

heart. Consider the fact that we have all fallen short of the standard of God.

Consider the attitudes of our heart and the weakness of our efforts. How

could our efforts ever please the Lord God?

Some years ago, I was refinishing the stairs in my house. My grandson was

living with us at the time. He watched me work, scraping and sanding the

wood on the steps. On one occasion, he climbed up the steps and stood with

me. Picking up a scraper, he began to imitate what he had seen me do. He

was not strong enough to apply the pressure required to scrap off the old

paint and varnish, and I had to put my work aside to keep him from falling

down the stairs. I remember this occasion fondly, however. His imitation of

my efforts was a delight to my heart. The fact that he wanted to help me

was a tremendous blessing.

Somehow, as feeble as I am in my efforts for God, He is still pleased. My

sincere efforts to obey and walk in obedience to Him, delight His heart. As I

offer myself, all these efforts rise up to Him as a pleasing aroma. This is my

act of worship.

Listen to the words of Paul to the Romans:

[12:1] I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to

present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to

God, which is your spiritual worship. (Romans 12)

Notice that Paul told the Romans that they were to present their bodies as a

living sacrifice. This offering was a holy and acceptable offering to God.

God delighted in their sacrifice. It rose to Him as a sweet-smelling

fragrance. How do we please God? We do so by pouring out our lives as a

drink offering to the Lord entirely and without reserve. This kind of

sacrifice is a blessing to His heart and a sweet aroma in His nostrils.

For Prayer:

Father, I ask that my life would be poured out to you, just like the Old

Testament drink offering. I pray that I would hold nothing back but devote

myself entirely to you. Forgive me for making my life about all that I can

receive and teach me what you mean when you say that it was more blessed

to give than to receive. I pray that I would live my life so that when I come

to stand before you, I would have the confidence to say, I have fought a

good fight, I have run a good race, I have kept the faith. My life has been a

drink offering and a pleasing aroma to you.

CHAPTER 4 - THE PEACE

OFFERING

Leviticus 3 explains the requirements of God for the peace offering. The

animal offered was an unblemished male or female either from a herd or

flock. Individuals bringing their gift would lay their hands on the head of

the animal and kill it at the front of the tabernacle. The priest would take the

blood and throw it against the altar. The fat, the kidneys and the long lobe

of the liver were removed and burned as an offering to the Lord on the altar

(see Leviticus 3:3-5; 7-11; 12-16).

Leviticus 7:11-18 tells us that an individual could bring a peace offering out

of thankfulness to God (verses 11-15) or as part of a vow he or she had

made (verses 16-18). An offering of unleavened loaves or wafers made with

fine flour and oil accompanied the peace offering (Leviticus 7:12).

One of the loaves brought with the peace offering belonged to the priest

who performed the sacrifice (Leviticus 7:15). Leviticus 7:32 tells us that the

right thigh (Leviticus 7:32-33) and the breast (Leviticus 7:34) also belonged

to the priest as a contribution from the worshipper. The remainder of the

animal was returned to the individual who brought it. The worshipper

would eat the meat with “rejoicing before the Lord.” Eating this meat and

rejoicing before the Lord was an essential part of the offering.

[17] You may not eat within your towns the tithe of your grain or of

your wine or of your oil, or the firstborn of your herd or of your

flock, or any of your vow offerings that you vow, or your freewill

offerings or the contribution that you present, [18] but you shall eat

them before the LORD your God in the place that the LORD your

God will choose, you and your son and your daughter, your male

servant and your female servant, and the Levite who is within your

towns. And you shall rejoice before the LORD your God in all that

you undertake. [19] Take care that you do not neglect the Levite as

long as you live in your land. (Deuteronomy 12)

The meat of the peace offering was eaten on the day of the offering –

nothing was to be left over until the morning.

[15] And the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offerings for

thanksgiving shall be eaten on the day of his offering. He shall not

leave any of it until the morning. (Leviticus 7)

The only exception to this rule was if the peace offering was given as a

result of a vow. In this case, the individual could eat the meat the day after

the sacrifice. Anything left over on the third day, however, was to be

burned:

[16] But if the sacrifice of his offering is a vow offering or a freewill

offering, it shall be eaten on the day that he offers his sacrifice, and

on the next day what remains of it shall be eaten. [17] But what

remains of the flesh of the sacrifice on the third day shall be burned

up with fire. (Leviticus 7)

To eat the meat of the peace offering after the second day would invalidate

the sacrifice and make the individual guilty of sin:

[18] If any of the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offering is eaten

on the third day, he who offers it shall not be accepted, neither shall

it be credited to him. It is tainted, and he who eats of it shall bear

his iniquity. (Leviticus 7)

Israel brought peace offerings to the Lord on a variety of occasions. It was

part of the celebration of the Feast of Weeks (Leviticus 23:15-19). Upon

completion of a Nazirite vow, the Israelite would offer a peace offering to

the Lord (Numbers 6:16-20). A peace offering was also one of the sacrifices

required for the consecration of a priest to his position (Exodus 29:19-28).

One of the largest peace offerings recorded in Scripture took place at the

dedication of Solomon’s temple. At that time, King Solomon offered 22,000

oxen and 120,000 sheep:

[62] Then the king, and all Israel with him, offered sacrifice before

the LORD. [63] Solomon offered as peace offerings to the LORD

22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep. So the king and all the people of

Israel dedicated the house of the LORD. (1 Kings 8)

1 Samuel 11 describes the trouble Israel had with the Ammonites. Led by

the Lord, Saul took up arms and defeated them at Bezek. After the battle, 1

Samuel 11:12-15 tells us that Samuel led them in the sacrifice of a peace

offering in gratitude to God for the victory.

2 Chronicles 29:31-36 describes a time of renewal when the temple was

purified of its impurities. Part of the consecration of the people in those

days involved a peace offering.

While there were certain times of the year when God required a peace

offering, it was also offered voluntarily on special occasions as an act of

worship and thanksgiving to God.

A Sacrifice Of Gratitude

There are several details about the peace offering we need to examine more

closely. Notice first that while God required a peace offering on certain

occasions, it was also a voluntary sacrifice brought out of gratitude.

Consider this for a moment. When God gave Israel victory over her

oppressors in 1 Samuel 11, the people expressed their appreciation by

bringing a peace offering. When the temple was cleansed after years of

abandonment, the people of God repented and brought their voluntary peace

offering. This peace offering went further than a simple “thank you” to

God. In response to His goodness, the people sacrificed a lamb from the

flock to celebrate God’s goodness. They shared that lamb with the priest

and their family as they ate together in gratitude.

What is our response when we know the victory of the Lord after a long

battle? What is our reaction when we experience forgiveness from our sin

and rebellion? Somehow a simple “thanks” does not seem to be enough.

The deliverance of the Lord demands a sacrifice of our lives, resources and

energies. The peace offering was not just a sacrifice, however, it was also a

celebration and sharing the goodness of God with others. A portion of the

sacrifice blessed the priest. The family ate the meat of this sacrifice in

celebration of the goodness and deliverance of God. God’s people

remembered His kindness and shared their blessing with others. When God

brings deliverance and victory, this is a cause for celebration. May God give

us the grace to know how to express our gratitude in deeper ways.

Honouring God In Our Sacrifices

Another significant point we need to see in the law of the peace offering is

that while the sacrifice was voluntary and God allowed for freedom in what

His people could bring, it still had to be without blemish. God deserved the

very best they had. They could not give Him what they did not want

themselves and expect that He would be pleased.

When God stopped the plague on the nation because of the sin of David, the

king chose to offer a peace offering to Him. He asked a man by the name of

Araunah to sell him a piece of property on which he could offer his

sacrifice. Araunah offered to give the property to David without cost. Listen

to the response of David to this offer in 2 Samuel 24:

[24] But the king said to Araunah, “No, but I will buy it from you

for a price. I will not offer burnt offerings to the LORD my God that

cost me nothing.” So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen

for fifty shekels of silver. [25] And David built there an altar to the

LORD and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the

LORD responded to the plea for the land, and the plague was

averted from Israel. (2 Samuel 24)

After all that God had done for him, David refused to offer a sacrifice that

cost him nothing. David wanted His act of worship to involve personal

sacrifice. He gave the best he had. Are we giving God what cost us

nothing? Are we giving what we do not want or need ourselves? Or are we

giving the best we have? What do our offerings tell us about what we feel

about God? What sacrifices are you willing to make for God as a result of

His blessings in your life?

Notice that nothing of the peace offering was left over until the morning.

The greatest offering of all time was the Lord Jesus as the Lamb of God. He

hung on a cross to pay the legal penalty for our sin. This penalty gives us

peace with God. Consider what took place when the Lord Jesus died as

recorded in Mark 15:

[42] And when evening had come, since it was the day of

Preparation, that is, the day before the Sabbath, [43] Joseph of

Arimathea, a respected member of the council, who was also himself

looking for the kingdom of God, took courage and went to Pilate

and asked for the body of Jesus. [44] Pilate was surprised to hear

that he should have already died. And summoning the centurion, he

asked him whether he was already dead. [45] And when he learned

from the centurion that he was dead, he granted the corpse to

Joseph. (Mark 15)

It was the evening of the death of Jesus that His body was taken down from

the cross and buried. It was not left hanging there until the next day. While

there were health reasons why the meat of the peace offering could not be

left over until the next day, there is also a symbolism found in this

requirement as well. It points us to the most excellent peace offering ever

made and how the Lamb of God was not left on the cross until the next day.

Notice something else about the peace offering. The meat remaining after

the Lord and the priest had received their portion was eaten with the family.

Israel did this in remembrance of the goodness of God. Consider the words

of the Lord Jesus in Matthew 26 when He instituted the Lord’s Supper:

[26] Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it

broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my

body.” [27] And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he

gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, [28] for this is my

blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the

forgiveness of sins. [29] I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit

of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s

kingdom.” (Matthew 26)

Jesus asked His disciples to share a meal in remembrance of the sacrifice

He would make on the cross. They took bread and drank wine to symbolize

the broken body and blood spilled for them. As a family of believers, they

shared a meal to celebrate their victory. This is what took place with the

peace offering.

God’s people brought a peace offering in response to the goodness of God.

They shared the meat of the animal sacrificed with the priest, and the

members of their family. They ate together, celebrating the goodness of

God. Certainly as believers, we have cause for rejoicing. Eating the peace

offering together provided God’s people with the opportunity to remember

and share the goodness of their God.

For Prayer:

Father, we recognize that you have blessed us abundantly in this life. As we

look over our lives, we are aware of the tremendous victories you have

given us time and time again. Somehow a simple “thank you” does not

seem sufficient for these blessings. We pray that you would teach us to give

our sacrifices to you in return. We offer our lives, our efforts, our resources

to you, realizing that these cannot compare to what you have done for us.

Teach us to bring the best we have to you. Forgive us for offering sacrifices

that cost us nothing. We thank you also for the greatest peace offering of all

time—the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus on the cross of Calvary. Teach us to be

thankful for His life and death. Give us the grace to become living

sacrifices for Him. Father, teach us not to keep our blessing to ourselves.

Help us to share the goodness of God. May we be a celebrating people who

declare to our family and those around us the goodness of God.

CHAPTER 5 - THE SIN

OFFERING

The next offering recorded in the book of Leviticus is the sin offering.

Notice the words of introduction in Leviticus 4:2:

[2] “Speak to the people of Israel, saying, If anyone sins

unintentionally in any of the LORD’s commandments about things

not to be done, and does any one of them,

This verse shows us the purpose of the sin offering – “if anyone sins

unintentionally in any of the Lord’s commandments.” Jamieson, Fausset

and Brown, in their commentary on this verse, say the following:

“The sins, however, referred to in this law were unintentional

violations of the ceremonial laws,—breaches made through haste,

or inadvertency of some negative precepts, which, if done knowingly

and wilfully, would have involved a capital punishment.” (Jamieson,

Robert; Fausset, A.R.; Brown, David: Commentary Critical and

Explanatory on the Whole Bible, “Leviticus 4:2” LARIDIAN, 1871)

The sin offering involved an animal sacrifice for sins done unintentionally.

This offering was not for those who willfully sinned against the Lord.

Consider what the Lord Jesus said about those who crucified Him in Luke

23:

[34] And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what

they do.” And they cast lots to divide his garments. (Luke 23)

Notice that Jesus prayed for the forgiveness of those who did not know

what they did. These individuals acted in ignorance because they did not

truly understand the truth about Jesus. There is hope for those who have not

come to the knowledge of the truth.

Writing to Timothy, the apostle Paul said

[12] I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord,

because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, [13]

though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent

opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in

unbelief, [14] and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the

faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. (1 Timothy 1)

At one point in the apostle’s life, he was a great enemy to the church of

Jesus Christ. He actively persecuted believers and rejected the Lord Jesus as

the Son of God. Paul told Timothy, however, that through he was a

blasphemer, persecutor and insolent opponent to the gospel, he received

mercy because he “acted ignorantly in unbelief.” At this time, the apostle

had not come to an understanding of the truth of Jesus. He persecuted the

church because he had never met the Lord. Everything changed the day he

came to know Him.

While there is forgiveness for sins done in unbelief and ignorance, the

writer to the Hebrews warns us that deliberate and willful sin is a different

matter:

[26] For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the

knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,

[27] but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that

will consume the adversaries. (Hebrews 10)

There is no sacrifice for those who deliberately turn their back on the Lord

Jesus after coming to know the truth about Him. The writer to the Hebrews

tells us that the only hope for those who willfully reject the truth is a

“fearful expectation of judgment and a fury of fire.” The sin offering was

not intended for those who deliberately sinned but those who sinned

through ignorance or weakness.

The animal sacrificed for the sin offering depended on the social status of

the individual bringing the offering. The following chart explains the

requirements of God for each social status in the community:

Individual Offering Passage

Priest Young bull Leviticus 4:3

Congregation Young bull Leviticus 4:13-14

Leader Male goat Leviticus 4:22-23

Common People Female goat or lamb Leviticus 4:27-32

Poor person 2 turtledoves or pigeons

OR 1/10th ephah of flour

Leviticus 5:7

Leviticus 5:11

God required the following for a priest who unintentionally sinned against

Him:

1) The guilty priest brought his offering to the entrance of the

tabernacle (Lev. 4:4)

2) He laid his hand on the animal to identify with its demise

3) They killed the animal at the entrance (Leviticus 4:4)

4) The officiating priest took the blood into the tabernacle and

sprinkled it seven times in front of the curtain before the Holy of

Holies (Leviticus 4:5)

5) The officiating priest put blood on the horns of the altar and

poured the remainder at the base of the altar (Leviticus 4:7)

6) The officiating priest removed the fat, the two kidneys and the

long lobe of the liver from the animal and burned them on the altar

as an offering to the Lord (Leviticus 4:8-10)

7) The remainder of the animal was carried outside the camp and

burned (Leviticus 4:11-12)

The priests followed the same procedure when the whole community was

guilty. If the offering was for a leader or ordinary person, the priest did not

sprinkle blood in front of the curtain in the tabernacle. All other steps,

however, were the same.

When a poor person brought a bird as an offering for sin, the priest would

follow this procedure:

1) The guilty party brought his or her offering of two pigeons or

turtledoves to the priest (Leviticus 5:8)

2) The priest wrung the neck of the bird to kill it (Leviticus 5:8)

3) The priest sprinkled blood on the side of the altar and the

remainder at the base (Leviticus 5:9)

4) The priest burned the second bird on the altar (Leviticus 5:10)

If the poor person could not afford two pigeons or turtledoves, he or she

would bring 1/10th of an ephah of fine flour. There was to be no oil or

frankincense in the flour. The priest took a handful of this flour and burned

it on the altar as a sin offering. The promise of God for those who brought

these offerings was that they would be forgiven:

[13] Thus the priest shall make atonement for him for the sin which

he has committed in any one of these things, and he shall be

forgiven. (Leviticus 5)

God required that Israel offer Him a sin-offering during their yearly

festivals and celebrations:

Celebration Passage

New Moon Numbers 28:15

Passover Numbers 28:22

Feast of Weeks Numbers 28:30

Feast of Trumpets Numbers 29:5

Day of Atonement Numbers 29:11

Feast of Booths Numbers 29: 16,19,22,25,28,31,34,38

Besides these regular celebrations, God required a sin offering as part of the

purification rite after recovering from childbirth, infection or disease (see

Leviticus 12:6-8; Leviticus 14:19; 15:13-15). It was also required when a

Nazirite vow had to be broken for unforeseen reasons (see Numbers 6:1-

11).

Leviticus 5 gives us further examples of occasions when a sin offering was

required.

1) When a witness to a crime or offence did not speak up about what

he or she saw (Leviticus 5:1)

2) When a person touched a dead body, an unclean animal, insect, or

human impurity (Leviticus 5:2,3)

3) When a person uttered a careless or thoughtless oath (Leviticus

5:4)

The sin offering was not just for obvious sins but also for sins of omission –

when an individual did not do what he or she was supposed to do. It

covered careless words spoken by the people of God, as well as things they

saw and touched that defiled them.

The sin offering was vital in the life of Israel. It offered forgiveness for sin.

For this reason, the meat of the sin offering was considered holy.

[25] “Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, This is the law of the sin

offering. In the place where the burnt offering is killed shall the sin

offering be killed before the LORD; it is most holy. (Leviticus 6)

Because this offering was holy, there were special restrictions placed on it.

Leviticus 6 tells us that only the priest who offered it to the Lord could eat

it, but only in the tabernacle. It was not eaten anywhere else:

[26] The priest who offers it for sin shall eat it. In a holy place it

shall be eaten, in the court of the tent of meeting. (Leviticus 6)

This sacrifice was so holy that if it touched anything, the object it touched

become holy – “Whatever touches its flesh shall be holy” (Leviticus 6:27).

If the blood of this sacrifice splashed on a garment, it was only to be

washed off in a holy place. (Leviticus 6:27).

If the priest cooked the meat offered for a sin offering in an earthenware

vessel, the vessel was broken and discarded. It was never used to cook

anything else (Leviticus 6:28). If the container used for preparing the holy

meat was bronze, it was thoroughly cleaned with water before being used

again (Leviticus 6:28). The sin offering was treated with the utmost respect.

What do we learn from the sin offering about God and our relationship with

Him? Let me offer several suggestions.

The Seriousness Of Deliberate Sin

Consider first that the sin offering was for unintentional sins. There was no

offering for deliberate and intentional sin. The judgement of God fell on all

who, knowing the truth, refuse it and reject God’s purpose for their lives.

Hell and eternal punishment is the only reward left for those who

deliberately turn from the truth they know. As the apostle Peter says:

[20] For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world

through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are

again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become

worse for them than the first. [21] For it would have been better for

them never to have known the way of righteousness than after

knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to

them. (2 Peter 2)

God Recognizes Our Imperfections

God expects that those who belonged to Him serve Him with all their heart.

He understands, however, that we are not perfect. We all have our

weaknesses. The Lord knows that not one of us will live a perfect life. We

will fall short of His standard, l fall into temptation and sin against him. We

will sin because of human weakness.

All sin needs forgiveness. It is easy to excuse our actions. None of those

excuses are valid. Yes, we are weak. Yes, it was only natural for us to

respond as we do. But we still fall short of God’s standard, and God holds

us responsible for our actions.

God knows our imperfections, but we tend to use them as an excuse to

justify our sin instead of seeking His forgiveness. God has provided a

means for cleansing due to human weakness and failure. The fact that the

sin offering was established for sins committed through weakness and

failures shows us that none of our excuses are legitimate. Our inability to

keep God’s standard through human weakness requires forgiveness. God

provided Israel with a means of forgiveness for these unintentional sins in

the sin offering.

God’s Forgiveness Is For Everyone

Notice that the sin offering was for everyone in society. If a poor person

could not afford a lamb, they could bring a turtledove or pigeon. If they did

not have the money to purchase these birds, they could bring flour. This

provision of God shows us just how important it was for people of all status

in society to experience the forgiveness of God.

God wanted to forgive the wealthy and influential, but He was also

concerned for those who were at the bottom of the social ladder. There was

forgiveness for everyone, regardless of social standing. Jesus demonstrated

this in His ministry on earth. Those whom the religious leaders rejected

found hope and forgiveness in the Lord Jesus. The tax collectors and

sinners knew His pardon as did those in positions of respect and honour.

The sin offering was for all.

Responsibility Of Those In Authority

While the sin offering was for all. Notice that the Lord required a bull as a

sin offering from the priest, a ram from a community leader, a lamb from

the ordinary person and flour from the poorest and most uneducated. This

difference should not go unnoticed. Consider the words of Jesus in Luke 12:

[48] But the one who did not know, and did what deserved a

beating, will receive a light beating. Everyone to whom much was

given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they

entrusted much, they will demand the more. (Luke 12)

God has a higher expectation of those who have been given greater

responsibility. If you are a pastor and leader of His people, you have a

greater responsibility to be an example for the flock. Your sin will have a

more significant impact on the testimony of the church. Listen to the words

of James

[3:1] Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you

know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.

(James 3)

Positions of authority come with their obligations and responsibilities. God

requires more of those to whom He has given these greater obligations and

responsibilities.

Take All Sin Seriously

Another important lesson from the sin offering comes from Leviticus 6.

This passage tells us that God required a sin offering for things Israel did

not do as well as those things she did. If a person witnessed a crime and

said nothing about it, he or she was guilty before God and needed to offer a

sin offering for what they did not say.

If a person spoke something without thinking, they were also guilty. For

example, if he or she said they would do something but never got around to

it, they needed to confess this to God. If, in the anger of the moment, they

spoke harshly and thoughtlessly to a brother or sister, they needed to

acknowledge this and make things right again.

If an individual touched something impure without knowing it, when it was

revealed to them, they were to confess this and come to God for

forgiveness. How many times do we use the excuse, “I didn’t know?”

Ignorance is not an excuse for sin. You don’t have to know you have sinned

to be guilty. You don’t have to intentionally sin to be accountable for your

actions. When you are made aware of your failure, however, you need to

confess this to God without seeking to excuse yourself.

Impurities come in many different forms. In the Old Testament, a person

might touch the corpse of an unclean insect during their daily routine. This

would not have been intentional, but it still made them impure. Consider the

impurities that defile our minds through the things we unintentionally see

and hear in a day. Like the people of the Old Testament, these impurities fill

our minds and hearts with impure thoughts and attitudes. These things

defile our hearts and mind. God has made provision for us to come to Him

for the cleansing of these impurities. We must not let them remain but seek

Him for deliverance. This will often require going to God for help and

victory.

The Holiness Of The Offering

Let me conclude with a final thought about the holiness of the sin offering.

The law of God required that the sin offering be treated with the utmost

respect and dignity. It was eaten in a holy place. Anything this offering

touched would become holy. There is a reason for this. The sin offering

brought forgiveness and restored the relationship between God and His

people.

Sin separated God from His people. Without the forgiveness of sin, there

could be no hope for the people of God. Hell and eternal separation is the

reality for those who refuse this offer of God. The sin offering was a picture

of the Lord Jesus who laid down His life so that we could be pardoned and

restored to a right relationship with God.

The work of Jesus for us on the cross is one we must take very seriously. It

is our hope and confidence. Apart from His work, there is no hope of

forgiveness. The Lord Jesus, as a sin offering, must never be despised or

treated with contempt. He must be lifted high and honoured with all that we

have for apart from Him, we would be eternally lost.

For Prayer:

Lord God, I want to thank you for the provision you made for sin. Thank

you that the Lord Jesus came to be a sin offering for us so that we could be

pardoned and restored to a relationship with you. Father, forgive us for

excusing our sin. Teach us to bring all our shortcomings and failures to you

for forgiveness. Cleanse us from sins we are not currently aware of. Cleanse

our hearts and minds of the defilements of this world, its lusts and

temptations. Help us to always honour the work of the Lord Jesus for our

forgiveness. Thank you that while we often fall short of your standard, You

have, in your mercy, made a provision for the cleansing of all our

weaknesses and shortcomings through Jesus, Your Son.

CHAPTER 6 - THE GUILT

OFFERING

In Leviticus 5:14-6:7 the Lord explains the reason and requirements for the

guilt offering. Israel brought a guilt offering when their actions caused a

brother or sister to suffer loss. The guilt offering differed from the sin

offering in that the individual who brought the offering also need make

restitution to the individual he or she had offended. Israel brought this type

of offering for breaches of faith toward God or a fellow citizen.

Consider first a breach of faith toward God. Leviticus 5:15 tells us that God

required a guilt offering from anyone who sinned unintentionally “in any of

the holy things of the Lord:

[15] “If anyone commits a breach of faith and sins unintentionally

in any of the holy things of the LORD, he shall bring to the LORD

as his compensation, a ram without blemish out of the flock, valued

in silver shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, for a guilt

offering. (Leviticus 5)

We have an example of this in Leviticus 22:

[14] And if anyone eats of a holy thing unintentionally, he shall add

the fifth of its value to it and give the holy thing to the priest.

(Leviticus 22)

It might be possible for someone to eat meat, not knowing that it was

dedicated to the Lord. When this happened, the law of God required that the

person who had sinned in this manner make restitution for what he had

eaten, add one fifth to it and give it to the priest. He was also to sacrifice a

ram as a guilt offering for his offence:

[16] He shall also make restitution for what he has done amiss in

the holy thing and shall add a fifth to it and give it to the priest. And

the priest shall make atonement for him with the ram of the guilt

offering, and he shall be forgiven. (Leviticus 5)

Another example of a breach of faith before God was in the case of a

Nazirite vow. Isreal placed themselves under such a vow for various

reasons. The individual engaged in such a commitment refused to drink

wine or strong drink, cut their hair or touch a dead body until their oath was

fulfilled (Numbers 6:1-8).

Numbers 6:9 describes a situation where a man died suddenly beside an

individual taking a Nazirite vow. The body of this dead man touched the

individual under the vow, breaking His commitment to God:

[9] “And if any man dies very suddenly beside him and he defiles

his consecrated head, then he shall shave his head on the day of his

cleansing; on the seventh day he shall shave it. (Numbers 6)

Because he touched the body of a dead person, he unintentionally broke his

commitment to God, through no fault of his own. This required that the

individual making the vow go into isolation for seven days. On the eighth

day, he was to bring a guilt offering (Numbers 6:12) to the Lord before

recommencing the time of his vow.

What was true of offences toward God was also true of offences toward a

fellow citizen. God required a guilt offering anytime there was a breach of

faith between two parties. Leviticus 6 gives us some examples.

1) If an individual deceived his neighbour regarding something held

in security (6:2)

2) If an individual robbed another (6:2)

3) If an individual oppressed his or her neighbour in some way (6:2)

4) If an individual found something that belonged to another and lied

about it (6:3)

When the deception was discovered, the guilty party was to restore what he

or she had taken and added one-fifth of the value to it. He also brought a

ram to the priest as a guilt offering (Leviticus 6:6). Only then would his or

her sin be forgiven.

Leviticus 19:20-22 describes another situation where a guilt offering was

required:

[20] “If a man lies sexually with a woman who is a slave, assigned

to another man and not yet ransomed or given her freedom, a

distinction shall be made. They shall not be put to death, because

she was not free; [21] but he shall bring his compensation to the

LORD, to the entrance of the tent of meeting, a ram for a guilt

offering. [22] And the priest shall make atonement for him with the

ram of the guilt offering before the LORD for his sin that he has

committed, and he shall be forgiven for the sin that he has

committed. (Leviticus 19)

In this case, the slave girl belonged to another person. The man who slept

with her violated what belonged to her master.

Leviticus 7 details the procedure for offering a guilt offering:

1) The guilty party brought his or her offering to the tabernacle (vs.

2) The sacrifice was killed at the tabernacle (vs. 2)

3) The priest took the blood of the offering and throw it against the

sides of the altar (vs. 2)

4) The fat, the two kidneys and the lobe of the liver were removed

and burned on the altar (vs. 3)

5) The skin and the meat belonged to the priest for his use (vs. 6-8)

A vital component of the guilt offering was the restitution of what an

individual lost. While this restitution was generally made to the offended

party, in some cases, that individual was no longer alive. The death of the

offended party did not excuse the guilty person. Restitution was made in

this case to the next of kin.

[6] “Speak to the people of Israel, When a man or woman commits

any of the sins that people commit by breaking faith with the LORD,

and that person realizes his guilt, [7] he shall confess his sin that

he has committed. And he shall make full restitution for his wrong,

adding a fifth to it and giving it to him to whom he did the wrong.

[8] But if the man has no next of kin to whom restitution may be

made for the wrong, the restitution for wrong shall go to the LORD

for the priest, in addition to the ram of atonement with which

atonement is made for him. (Numbers 5)

The guilty party was not relieved of his accountability at the death of the

offended person. Sin still had to be atoned for, and the family recompensed

for what had been taken from them.

When a leper recovered from his leprosy, he or she was also required to

bring a guilt offering. This may have been because their sickness required a

period of isolation, during which time they were unable to meet their

obligations to their employer, their family and their God. This was no fault

of their own, but during this time, they were unable to meet their

obligations or carry out their responsibilities. The guilt offering brought

forgiveness for this shortcoming.

There are many lessons we need to learn from the guilt offering. Let me

offer three suggestions here in this chapter.

Responsible For Our Actions

The first great lesson we need to learn from the guilt offering has to do with

responsibility for our actions and words. The Old Testament required that

the believer be so responsible for his or her actions that they would restore

with interest whatever loss another individual incurred as a result of their

behaviour. They saw themselves as guilty before God for any injury their

actions brought to another human being. They took their word seriously,

and if in any situation, they were unable to be true to that word, they would

personally pay for any loss with interest.

The law of the Old Testament required absolute dependability and integrity.

Each person took responsibility for their actions or words. It did not matter

to these individuals if the loss incurred was accidental and unintentional;

they still took responsibility and paid back whatever was lost and more.

We have an example of this in Luke 19:

[8] And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the

half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone

of anything, I restore it fourfold.” (Luke 19)

Zacchaeus was a tax collector who defrauded individuals of their hard-

earned cash. When he came to know the Lord, he recognized his guilt and

offered to pay back not one-fifth but four times what he took dishonestly

from anyone. He took responsibility for His actions. God expects no less of

us today.

Are you a person of absolute integrity? Do you give your employer a full

day’s work for a full day’s pay? Do you treat your customers with respect?

Do you say things and never get around to doing what you say? Have you

been responsible for the loss of another person? The guilt offering of the

Old Testament brought these deeds into the open. The Old Testament

believer was required to confess these shortcomings before God as sin.

“The Least Of These”

Consider the words of the Lord Jesus in Matthew 25:

[41] “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you

cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.

[42] For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and

you gave me no drink, [43] I was a stranger and you did not

welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison

and you did not visit me.’ [44] Then they also will answer, saying,

‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked

or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ [45] Then he will

answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one

of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ (Matthew 25)

In this passage, the Lord speaks to individuals who had refused to minister

to those who were afflicted and in prison. Jesus accused these individuals of

not visiting Him or ministering to Him. He told His listeners that whatever

they did not do to others they did not do to Him.

There is a close connection between what we do for others and what we do

for the Lord. When we hurt one of the least of His children, we hurt Him.

As the writer of Proverbs says:

[31] Whoever oppresses a poor man insults his Maker, but he who is

generous to the needy honours him. (Proverbs 14)

When a person broke faith with another human being, they sinned against

the Lord. When someone suffered loss or harm as a result of their actions,

they offended their Creator. Not only was the individual compensated for

their loss, but they also brought an offering to God for their sin of offending

His child.

How important it is that we see this connection between God and His

people. If we fail in our duty at work or in the family, we fail in our

obligations toward God. We are to do everything for His glory and honour.

To fail in obligation toward the least of His children, we fail in our

responsibility toward their Creator. God will hold us accountable for this.

No Excuses

Let me suggest one more lesson we can learn from the guilt offering. There

were to be no excuses for not making things right. Ignorance was not an

excuse. No one can say, “I didn’t do it on purpose,” or “I didn’t know.”

Whether we know we offended someone or not, if there is an offence, we

are to make things right.

History is not an excuse. We cannot say that the offence was a long time

ago and at a different time in our lives. Zacchaeus didn’t know the Lord

when he overcharged his customers, but he chose to make restitution for

sins done years before when he came to know Him. The law of the guilt

offering stated that even after the offended individual had died, the guilt

offering and restitution were still made.

The guilt offering calls us to search our hearts to see if there is any evil way

in us. What a different world it would be if those who discovered an offence

toward another would go to that brother or sister and make restitution

without excuse. How many offences linger in the hallways of our lives? The

challenge for us here is to deal with these matters one by one as the Lord

reveals them to us. May God give us the grace to make these things right.

For Prayer:

Father, I recognize that I have often sought to excuse my offences. Teach

me to take all my shortcomings seriously. I ask that if I have been an

offence to anyone, I would have the grace to make things right. I ask for

forgiveness for times that I have not taken my responsibilities seriously. I

pray that you would teach me to be faithful to my words and obligations.

Help me to speak to others as if I were talking to you. Teach me to respect

others as I respect you. Give me the grace to walk humbly before my

brothers and sisters. May I be a faithful witness to Yu in my words and

deeds. May you be honoured in how I live my life and walk with those

around me.

CHAPTER 7 - THE WAVE

OFFERING

Scattered throughout the Law of Moses are references to what is known as

the wave offering. Consider, for example, the instructions of God in Exodus

29:22-24:

22 “You shall also take the fat from the ram and the fat tail and the

fat that covers the entrails, and the long lobe of the liver and the two

kidneys with the fat that is on them, and the right thigh (for it is a

ram of ordination), 23 and one loaf of bread and one cake of bread

made with oil, and one wafer out of the basket of unleavened bread

that is before the LORD. 24 You shall put all these on the palms of

Aaron and on the palms of his sons, and wave them for a wave

offering before the LORD. (Exodus 29:22-24)

The context of Exodus 29 is the ordination of a priest. Notice what the Lord

told Moses to do in these verses. After sacrificing a ram, he removed the

fat, the long lobe of the liver, the two kidneys, and the right thigh. Moses

placed these in the hands of Aaron and added a loaf of bread, a cake and a

wafer. Aaron and his sons then waved the articles before the Lord as a wave

offering.

The word “wave” in the Hebrew language means to move back and forth.

While it is unclear what the exact movement used was, the idea is that they

made a gesture that symbolized presenting these offerings to the Lord.

Exodus 29:26 instructed the priests to wave the breast of a ram offered for

the ordination of a priest before the Lord:

26 “You shall take the breast of the ram of Aaron’s ordination and

wave it for a wave offering before the LORD, and it shall be your

portion. (Exodus 29)

In Leviticus 9, Aaron brought a peace offering to the Lord. He burned the

fat, the long lobe of the liver and the two kidneys on the altar as required by

the Lord (Leviticus 9:18-20). Leviticus 9:21 goes on to say:

21 but the breasts and the right thigh Aaron waved for a wave

offering before the LORD, as Moses commanded. (Leviticus 9)

Both the breast and the right thigh were offered as a wave offering before

the Lord.

These animal parts, however, were not the only objects waved before the

Lord. According to Leviticus 14, the Lord required that the priest wave 1

log of oil (2/3 pint or 0.3 litres) with the lamb offered as a guilt offering:

24 And the priest shall take the lamb of the guilt offering and the log

of oil, and the priest shall wave them for a wave offering before the

LORD. (Leviticus 14)

At harvest time, Israel brought the first sheaves of grain to the priest who

waved them before the Lord:

10 “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When you come

into the land that I give you and reap its harvest, you shall bring the

sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest, 11 and he shall

wave the sheaf before the LORD, so that you may be accepted. On

the day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it. 12 And on the day

when you wave the sheaf, you shall offer a male lamb a year old

without blemish as a burnt offering to the LORD. (Leviticus 23)

Consider also the words of Numbers 8:10-11:

10 When you bring the Levites before the LORD, the people of

Israel shall lay their hands on the Levites, 11 and Aaron shall offer

the Levites before the LORD as a wave offering from the people of

Israel, that they may do the service of the LORD. (Numbers 8)

The Levitical priests were offered as a wave offering to the Lord. They

were symbolically given to Him but remained to serve the people as His

representatives.

Let’s consider now what happened to the wave offering after it was waved

before the Lord. Leviticus 7:29-34 tells us:

29 “Speak to the people of Israel, saying, Whoever offers the

sacrifice of his peace offerings to the LORD shall bring his offering

to the LORD from the sacrifice of his peace offerings. 30 His own

hands shall bring the LORD’s food offerings. He shall bring the fat

with the breast, that the breast may be waved as a wave offering

before the LORD. 31 The priest shall burn the fat on the altar, but

the breast shall be for Aaron and his sons. 32 And the right thigh

you shall give to the priest as a contribution from the sacrifice of

your peace offerings. 33 Whoever among the sons of Aaron offers

the blood of the peace offerings and the fat shall have the right thigh

for a portion. 34 For the breast that is waved and the thigh that is

contributed I have taken from the people of Israel, out of the

sacrifices of their peace offerings, and have given them to Aaron the

priest and to his sons, as a perpetual due from the people of Israel.

(Leviticus 7)

The breast and the thigh, after being waved before the Lord, were then

given to the priest for food. It was a means of supporting the priests as

God’s representatives.

The wave offering was not always kept. We read in Exodus 29 that the

wave offering brought to God for the ordination of the priests was burned

on the altar.

22 “You shall also take the fat from the ram and the fat tail and the

fat that covers the entrails, and the long lobe of the liver and the two

kidneys with the fat that is on them, and the right thigh (for it is a

ram of ordination), 23 and one loaf of bread and one cake of bread

made with oil, and one wafer out of the basket of unleavened bread

that is before the LORD. 24 You shall put all these on the palms of

Aaron and on the palms of his sons, and wave them for a wave

offering before the LORD. 25 Then you shall take them from their

hands and burn them on the altar on top of the burnt offering, as a

pleasing aroma before the LORD. It is a food offering to the LORD.

(Exodus 29)

In reality, the Lord told the priests that they were to give everything to Him.

They were to keep nothing back.

What does this offering teach us about God and our relationship with Him?

One of the things about the wave offering was that by waving it, before

God, the people were saying: “God, this offering is yours? It belongs to

You. You gave it to me, and I offer it back to You and Your service.”

The other detail about the wave offering is that while the sacrifice was

offered to God in the gesture of waving it before Him, it was often taken

back and given to the priest. This taught the people that by giving to God’s

servants, they were giving to Him. It reminded them of their spiritual

responsibility to care for those who represented the Lord and served Him on

their behalf. By giving to the priests, they were giving to God.

Some people feel that the only way they can give to the Lord is by putting

money in an offering plate at church. A gift given to a brother or sister in

need is also given to the Lord. Listen to the words of the writer of Proverbs:

17 Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will

repay him for his deed. (Proverbs 19)

By giving to the poor, we also give to the Lord.

There is another principle we need to see in the wave offering. The law of

God stipulated that the breast and right thigh belonged to the priest as his

portion. It also required that the priest wave this before the Lord,

recognizing that it belonged to Him. He only kept these portions because of

the grace of God in providing it for him.

The wave offering showed that everything belongs to God and that it is only

because of His grace that we can participate in any blessing. What do we

have that has not already come from the Lord? Can we claim any good gift

to be truly ours? Can we who know Him claim to be our own? Does not

everything belong to Him? Would it not be appropriate as we arise in the

morning to lift our hands and say, “Lord, this day and all its blessing

belongs to you. You are the rightful owner of every breath I take and every

good gift I receive. I offer all I have to you and recognize you as the source

of every good I receive this day.”

In the course of my ministry, I have had people come to me and express

their appreciation for the work I have done. This may be teaching I shared

at church, a book I have written, or something I said or did for them. I have

always found it difficult to accept praise from people as I realize that were it

not for the Lord, I would have nothing of lasting benefit to offer. How do

you handle these compliments or expressions of gratitude? I have found this

principle of the wave offering to be helpful. When someone praises me for a

job well done, I thank them and then find a quiet place where I can literally

lift my hands and offer all that praise back to God. “Lord,” I say, “all this

praise belongs to you. I recognize you as the source of every good I have

ever been able to do. I worship you, and thank you that I have had the

privilege of being an instrument in your hands for the blessing of your

people.” I receive the praise and thanks offered but bring it as a wave

offering back to God.

The wave offering was a way of recognizing the real source of every

blessing and good. It was a physical gesture that reminded the priests and

worshippers that all things belonged to God and that they only participated

in these blessings because of His good grace and mercy.

For Prayer:

Father, I thank you for the lesson of the wave offering. I recognize that all I

am and have belongs to you. Teach me to offer my life, my time and my

resources to you as a wave offering. Help me to understand that by giving

to others, I am also giving to You. Help me to recognize you as the source

of every blessing and good. I ask Lord that I would learn not to credit

myself for the successes of ministry and life. Help me to regularly

recognize you as the source of every good I have done. May I not keep for

myself anything that I have not first entirely offered to You.

CHAPTER 8 - THE TITHE

The tithe is probably one of the best known of all the offerings of the Old

Testament as it is often practiced in the church today. In this chapter, I

would like to take a moment to consider the law of God concerning the Old

Testament tithe. The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia states the

following:

The custom of giving a 10th part of the products of the land and of

the spoils of wars to priests and kings was a very ancient one among

most nations. (Orr, James (ed.); Nielsen, John L. (ed.); Mullins,

Edgar, Y. (ed.); Evans, Morris O. (ed.). “Tithe,” The International

Standard Bible Encyclopedia, electronic edition, Laridian, Marion,

Iowa)

What this tells us is that the practice of giving a tithe was not unique to

Israel but practiced among many ancient nations.

The first reference to the tithe in the Old Testament is in the book of

Genesis.

17 After his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings

who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the

Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley). 18 And Melchizedek

king of Salem brought out bread and wine. (He was priest of God

Most High.) 19 And he blessed him and said, “Blessed be Abram by

God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; 20 and blessed be

God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!”

And Abram gave him a tenth of everything. (Genesis 14)

What is important for our purposes here is to see that Abraham gave a tenth

of the spoils of war to Melchizedek, the king of Salem. Remember here that

this incident took place before God revealed His purpose in the law given

through Moses.

After deceiving his father and taking his brother’s blessing, Jacob fled to

Haran to save his life. Tired from the journey, he laid down to sleep at

Bethel. As he slept, the Lord God promised to give him that land as his

possession. Notice what happened when Jacob woke from his sleep:

20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will

keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and

clothing to wear, 21 so that I come again to my father’s house in

peace, then the LORD shall be my God, 22 and this stone, which I

have set up for a pillar, shall be God’s house. And of all that you

give me I will give a full tenth to you.” (Genesis 28)

In light of the promise of God to give him the land, Jacob made a vow to

give God a “full tenth” of all God gave him. It appears then that the practice

of giving a tenth was established in Israel before the law of Moses.

The first use of the actual word “tithe” occurs in Leviticus 27:

30 “Every tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the

fruit of the trees, is the LORD’s; it is holy to the LORD. (Leviticus

27)

Here in the law of Moses, the Lord claimed a tenth of every seed and fruit

of the land. The passage goes on to say that every tenth animal of the flocks

also belonged to the Lord:

32 And every tithe of herds and flocks, every tenth animal of all that

pass under the herdsman’s staff, shall be holy to the LORD.

(Leviticus 27)

In Numbers 18, we discover what the people of God were to do with their

tithe.

21 “To the Levites I have given every tithe in Israel for an

inheritance, in return for their service that they do, their service in

the tent of meeting, … 24 For the tithe of the people of Israel, which

they present as a contribution to the LORD, I have given to the

Levites for an inheritance. Therefore I have said of them that they

shall have no inheritance among the people of Israel.” (Numbers

18)

The people of God were to bring a tithe of their animals, fruit and seed to

the tabernacle and give it to the priests in return for their spiritual service.

Notice the requirement of God for the Levites who received this tithe:

26 “Moreover, you shall speak and say to the Levites, ‘When you

take from the people of Israel the tithe that I have given you from

them for your inheritance, then you shall present a contribution

from it to the LORD, a tithe of the tithe. (Numbers 18)

The Levites who received a tithe were in return to offer a tithe of this

contribution to the Lord God.

The Law of God required that the tithe be from the best they had:

28 So you shall also present a contribution to the LORD from all

your tithes, which you receive from the people of Israel. And from it

you shall give the LORD’s contribution to Aaron the priest. 29 Out

of all the gifts to you, you shall present every contribution due to the

LORD; from each its best part is to be dedicated.’ (Numbers 18)

It would be easy for the people of God to give what they did not want

themselves. This, however, would be an offence to the Lord God.

The prophet Malachi rebuked the priests of his day because they were

offering defective animals as their tithe to God. Listen to the words of God

to the priests of the day:

6 “A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If then I am a

father, where is my honor? And if I am a master, where is my fear?

says the LORD of hosts to you, O priests, who despise my name. But

you say, ‘How have we despised your name?’ 7 By offering polluted

food upon my altar. But you say, ‘How have we polluted you?’ By

saying that the LORD’s table may be despised. 8 When you offer

blind animals in sacrifice, is that not evil? And when you offer those

that are lame or sick, is that not evil? Present that to your governor;

will he accept you or show you favor? says the LORD of hosts.

(Malachi 1)

Note also that the person who did not give a tithe was guilty of robbing

God. Consider Malachi’s rebuke in Malachi 3:

8 Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, ‘How

have we robbed you?’ In your tithes and contributions. 9 You are

cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of

you. (Malachi 3)

The words of Malachi 3 are strong. The Lord God cursed anyone who held

back his or her tithe.

When Nehemiah arrived in Jerusalem after returning from exile, he

surveyed the spiritual conditions of the land. Notice in Nehemiah 13 one of

the problems he needed to address among those who had returned from

Babylon:

10 I also found out that the portions of the Levites had not been

given to them, so that the Levites and the singers, who did the work,

had fled each to his field. 11 So I confronted the officials and said,

“Why is the house of God forsaken?” And I gathered them together

and set them in their stations. 12 Then all Judah brought the tithe of

the grain, wine, and oil into the storehouses. 13 And I appointed as

treasurers over the storehouses Shelemiah the priest, Zadok the

scribe, and Pedaiah of the Levites, and as their assistant Hanan the

son of Zaccur, son of Mattaniah, for they were considered reliable,

and their duty was to distribute to their brothers. (Nehemiah 13)

The temple of God and His service suffered because the returned exiles

were not bringing their tithe. Nehemiah confronted the officials of the land

and challenged them to get right with God in this matter. The result was that

“Judah brought the tithe of the grain, wine and oil into the storehouses”

(Nehemiah 13:12).

The law of God permitted an individual to redeem the tithe. The idea was

that while one-tenth belonged to God if, for some reason, an individual

needed that tenth for his family, he could buy it from the Lord. In that case,

he was to add one-fifth of the value to the object and bring this instead to

the priest as his contribution.

31 If a man wishes to redeem some of his tithe, he shall add a fifth

to it. (Leviticus 27)

While tithes were generally given to support the Levites and their ministry,

every third year the Lord commanded His people to give a tithe to help the

sojourner, the fatherless and the widow:

28 “At the end of every three years you shall bring out all the tithe

of your produce in the same year and lay it up within your towns. 29

And the Levite, because he has no portion or inheritance with you,

and the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, who are within

your towns, shall come and eat and be filled, that the LORD your

God may bless you in all the work of your hands that you do.

(Deuteronomy 14)

Four New Testament passages speak about the tithe. The first passage is

from Hebrews 7:5-10 and recounts the story of how Abraham paid a tithe to

Melchizidek.

The next two passages are parallel passages from Matthew 23:23 and Luke

11:42. In these passages, the Lord rebuked the Pharisees and scribes for so

diligently tithing everything they had but neglecting matters of justice,

mercy and faithfulness.

23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe

mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters

of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to

have done, without neglecting the others. (Matthew 23)

The final New Testament passage is the story of Jesus about the two men

who went to the temple to pray. The first was a Pharisee who prayed:

11 ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners,

unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a

week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ (Luke 18)

The other man who went to the temple to pray was a tax-collector. He made

no mention of tithing or fasting but prayed: ‘God, be merciful to me, a

sinner!’ (Luke 18:13). Jesus concluded His story with the following lesson:

14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than

the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the

one who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Luke 18)

Jesus teaches two lessons about the tithe in these passages. First, the

practice of the tithe is a legitimate practice (“these you ought to have done”

– Matthew 23:23), but there are “weightier” matters that must never be

neglected. These weightier matters are related to justice, mercy and

faithfulness.

Second, it is quite possible to give a tenth of all we have to the Lord and

still not be right with Him. More important than giving a tithe is the matter

of having a right relationship with God. God accepted the tax-collector who

did not give a tithe but rejected the Pharisee who boasted of what He gave.

What principles does the practice of the tithe teach us in our present-day?

Let me conclude with a few suggestions.

First, the tithe shows us that not everything we possess belongs to us. In the

Old Testament, God claimed one-tenth of the crops and herds. If an

individual refused to surrender this to the Lord, they were robbing God

(Malachi 3:8). The only way the tithe could be claimed was by buying it

back from God and adding one-fifth more to its value.

Consider the words of the apostle Paul to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians

19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit

within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for

you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. (1

Corinthians 6)

The apostle tells us that as believers in Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit has

come to live in us. He claims not just ten percent of our body but the whole

thing. The body in which we live says Paul, is not our own. The Lord Jesus

bought us at the cost of His life. Everything we have is His. The tithe

introduced us to this concept.

What is true of our bodies is also true of what we do with our bodies.

Speaking about a master who owned a servant Jesus said in Luke 17:

9 Does he thank the servant because he did what was commanded?

10 So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded,

say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our

duty.’” (Luke 17)

We cannot congratulate ourselves for doing what God has told us to do. As

servants, we owe this to the Lord to whom our bodies belong. Everything

we have we have received from God. What can we claim as ours that we

have not received first from God? Our bodies and all we have belong to

God.

The second principle the tithe teaches us is that as servants of God, we have

an obligation to give the resources God has given us so that His servants

and the work of His kingdom will not suffer. The tithe was used principally

to support the work of God in the tabernacle. It was the responsibility of

God’s people to provide all that was necessary so that this work would

prosper.

In the book of Haggai, the Lord rebuked His people because they used their

resources to panel their houses while the temple was in ruins. The result

was that the curse of God fell on them as a nation:

3 Then the word of the LORD came by the hand of Haggai the

prophet, 4 “Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your panelled

houses, while this house lies in ruins? 5 Now, therefore, thus says

the LORD of hosts: Consider your ways. 6 You have sown much,

and harvested little. You eat, but you never have enough; you drink,

but you never have your fill. You clothe yourselves, but no one is

warm. And he who earns wages does so to put them into a bag with

holes. (Haggai 1)

Their refusal to support the work of God brought God’s anger on Israel.

There could be no blessing if they refused to stand behind the work of God.

The tithe reminds us that we are responsible for using our resources to

advance the Kingdom of God.

The third vital principle we learn from the tithe is that the Lord deserves the

best we have. When the people of God brought a tenth of what they had to

the Lord, they had to bring the best of what they had (Malachi 1:6-8;

Numbers 18:28-29). To bring a tenth of what they did not want themselves

did not honour the Lord. God’s people demonstrated what they felt toward

God by what they give.

How important is the work of God to you? Do you surrender the best you

have for the work of the Kingdom, or is what you give from what is left

over after you have used what you want for yourself?

Finally, the teaching of Jesus about the tithe shows us that the attitude of the

heart is of utmost importance. Jesus rebuked the Pharisees and scribes

because, although they regularly give of their tithe, their hearts were not

right with Him. God is more concerned about the heart than He is for the

tithe. We dare not measure our spirituality by whether we give a tithe or not.

You may give generously to the work of the kingdom of God but not be in a

right relationship with the Saviour.

The apostle Paul challenged the Corinthians to give with a cheerful heart:

7 Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly

or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is

able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency

in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. (2

Corinthians 9)

While giving a tithe was an obligation for all Old Testament believers, God

expected that His people give with a cheerful and worshipful heart—

demonstrating their love and devotion to Him.

For Prayer:

Father God, we recognize that all we have belongs to you. Thank you for

the principles that the tithe teaches us. Help us to take seriously our

obligation to supply the resources necessary for the work of the Kingdom. I

pray that we would give the best we have with a cheerful and joyous heart. I

ask that we demonstrate the value we place on making your name known by

how we give of ourselves and our resources. Teach us what you would have

us to give. Show us how we can better equip your servants to minister

effectively for the glory of Your holy name.

CHAPTER 9 - THE FREEWILL

OFFERING

In the last chapter, we examined the tithe. The individual who refused to

give this tithe was robbing God of what was rightfully His. The tithe was a

required offering. We come now, however, to the freewill offering. Unlike

the tithe, this offering was given freely to the Lord as an act of praise or

thanksgiving. Israel could bring a variety of objects for a freewill offering.

In Exodus 35, Moses asked the people to bring contributions for the

construction of the tabernacle. Listen to the response of the people as

recorded in Exodus 35:21-29:

21 And they came, everyone whose heart stirred him, and everyone

whose spirit moved him, and brought the LORD’s contribution to be

used for the tent of meeting, and for all its service, and for the holy

garments. 22 So they came, both men and women. All who were of a

willing heart brought brooches and earrings and signet rings and

armlets, all sorts of gold objects, every man dedicating an offering

of gold to the LORD. 23 And every one who possessed blue or

purple or scarlet yarns or fine linen or goats’ hair or tanned rams’

skins or goatskins brought them. 24 Everyone who could make a

contribution of silver or bronze brought it as the LORD’s

contribution. And every one who possessed acacia wood of any use

in the work brought it. 25 And every skillful woman spun with her

hands, and they all brought what they had spun in blue and purple

and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen. 26 All the women whose

hearts stirred them to use their skill spun the goats’ hair. 27 And the

leaders brought onyx stones and stones to be set, for the ephod and

for the breastpiece, 28 and spices and oil for the light, and for the

anointing oil, and for the fragrant incense. 29 All the men and

women, the people of Israel, whose heart moved them to bring

anything for the work that the LORD had commanded by Moses to

be done brought it as a freewill offering to the LORD. (Exodus 35)

Notice that the kind of offerings the people brought to the Lord in this

passage:

1) Jewellery (verse 22)

2) Yarn (verse 23)

3) Goatskins (verse 23)

4) Silver and bronze (verse 24)

5) Time and effort (verses 25,26)

6) Precious stones (verse 27)

7) Spices, oil and incense (verse 28)

Notice, also in Exodus 35 the attitude of those who gave these gifts:

1) “everyone whose heart stirred him” (verse 21)

2) “everyone whose spirit moved him” (verse 21)

3) “all who were of a willing heart” (verse 22)

4) “the women whose hearts stirred them” (verse 26)

5) “all the men and women, the people of Israel, whose heart moved

them” (verse 29)

The hearts and spirits of those who brought an offering were moved to do

so. They gave freely and with a thankful and willing heart. The people

brought so many gifts in those days that Moses had to ask them to stop:

6 So Moses gave command, and word was proclaimed throughout

the camp, “Let no man or woman do anything more for the

contribution for the sanctuary.” So the people were restrained from

bringing, 7 for the material they had was sufficient to do all the

work, and more. (Exodus 36)

The hearts of the craftsmen who built the tabernacle and its holy articles

were also stirred, and they gave their time and skill:

2 And Moses called Bezalel and Oholiab and every craftsman in

whose mind the LORD had put skill, everyone whose heart stirred

him up to come to do the work. 3 And they received from Moses all

the contribution that the people of Israel had brought for doing the

work on the sanctuary. They still kept bringing him freewill

offerings every morning, (Exodus 36)

King David had a burden to construct a temple for the Lord. He contributed

large resources from his wealth for this project. 1 Chronicles 29 tells us that

among other things, David contributed 3,000 talents (225,000 lbs or

102,000 kg.) of gold and 7,000 talents (525,000 lbs. or 238,000 kg.) of

silver.

3 Moreover, in addition to all that I have provided for the holy

house, I have a treasure of my own of gold and silver, and because

of my devotion to the house of my God I give it to the house of my

God: 4 3,000 talents of gold, of the gold of Ophir, and 7,000

talents of refined silver, for overlaying the walls of the house (1

Chronicles 29)

After setting an example for the people, David then asked for a contribution

from the people of Israel:

5 and for all the work to be done by craftsmen, gold for the things of

gold and silver for the things of silver. Who then will offer willingly,

consecrating himself today to the LORD?” (1 Chronicles 29)

Notice the words of David here – “Who then will offer willingly,

consecrating himself today to the LORD?” He expected that these offerings

be given from a glad and willing heart to the Lord. The result of this plea

was another overwhelming flood of gifts dedicated to the construction of a

temple in Jerusalem.

Regulations For The Freewill Offering

While the freewill offering was voluntary, Isreal needed to follow some

guidelines. The first requirement for a freewill offering is in Leviticus

22:18-20:

18 “Speak to Aaron and his sons and all the people of Israel and

say to them, When any one of the house of Israel or of the

sojourners in Israel presents a burnt offering as his offering, for any

of their vows or freewill offerings that they offer to the LORD, 19 if

it is to be accepted for you it shall be a male without blemish, of the

bulls or the sheep or the goats. 20 You shall not offer anything that

has a blemish, for it will not be acceptable for you. (Leviticus 22)

When Israel offered an animal as a freewill offering, God required a male

bull, sheep or goat without blemish. If the offering had a blemish, God

would not accept it. There was an exception to this rule, however:

23 You may present a bull or a lamb that has a part too long or too

short for a freewill offering, but for a vow offering it cannot be

accepted. (Leviticus 22)

A bull or a lamb that had a leg longer than another was allowed if it was a

freewill offering. While the freewill offering offered more flexibility, the

giver needed to provide the best he or she had to the Lord.

The second requirement for the freewill offering was that it be brought to

the tabernacle:

5 But you shall seek the place that the LORD your God will choose

out of all your tribes to put his name and make his habitation there.

There you shall go, 6 and there you shall bring your burnt offerings

and your sacrifices, your tithes and the contribution that you

present, your vow offerings, your freewill offerings, and the

firstborn of your herd and of your flock. (Deuteronomy 12)

The priests received these gifts and offered by them to the Lord. They

would assure that everything was done as God intended.

The freewill offerings were handed over to the gatekeepers for safekeeping

until they could be used as God directed.

14 And Kore the son of Imnah the Levite, keeper of the east gate,

was over the freewill offerings to God, to apportion the contribution

reserved for the LORD and the most holy offerings. (2Ch 31:14)

Another important requirement for the freewill offering can be found in the

words of Amos when he rebuked the people of his day:

5 offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving of that which is leavened, and

proclaim freewill offerings, publish them; for so you love to do, O

people of Israel!” declares the Lord GOD. (Amos 4)

Notice what the people of Amos’ day were doing. They were offering

leavened bread to the Lord and publishing their freewill offerings. The Lord

commanded that any bread used in worship was to be free of leaven. God’s

people were ignoring this.

Notice also that Amos rebuked his people for publishing their freewill

offerings. In other words, they were letting everyone know what they were

giving. Listen to the words of Jesus in Matthew 6:

2 “Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you,

as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they

may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received

their reward. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left

hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may

be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

(Matthew 6)

Jesus challenged His listeners to give with no desire to be noticed. It

appears that there were religious people of His day who were giving so that

people would praise them for their generosity and spirituality. Jesus told

those who gave in this way that people would praise them but the heavenly

Father would not receive their gift. Both Amos and the Lord Jesus teach

that we are to give our freewill offerings without a desire for personal praise

or recognition.

Because the freewill offering was voluntary, individuals could give as they

were able. In the case of the tithe, God required ten percent. There was no

such requirement for the freewill offering. In the book of Ezra, Israel

contributed“ according to their ability” for the reconstruction of the city and

temple.

68 Some of the heads of families, when they came to the house of the

LORD that is in Jerusalem, made freewill offerings for the house of

God, to erect it on its site. 69 According to their ability they gave to

the treasury of the work 61,000 darics of gold, 5,000 minas of silver,

and 100 priests’ garments. (Ezra 2)

The tithe was used principally for the support of the priests, the poor and

needy. The freewill offering, on the other hand, covered a variety of

expenses. It supported the construction of the tabernacle and the temple of

David’s day. It helped rebuild the city and walls of Jerusalem. In Ezra 7, the

freewill offering supplied rams, bulls, lambs, and other supplies for

sacrifices used to purify the land and restore the worship of God in

Jerusalem:

16 with all the silver and gold that you shall find in the whole

province of Babylonia, and with the freewill offerings of the people

and the priests, vowed willingly for the house of their God that is in

Jerusalem. 17 With this money, then, you shall with all diligence buy

bulls, rams, and lambs, with their grain offerings and their drink

offerings, and you shall offer them on the altar of the house of your

God that is in Jerusalem. 18 Whatever seems good to you and your

brothers to do with the rest of the silver and gold, you may do,

according to the will of your God. (Ezra 7)

David tells us that he gave his freewill offering to thank the Lord for His

goodness in delivering him from his enemies:

6 With a freewill offering I will sacrifice to you; I will give thanks to

your name, O LORD, for it is good. 7 For he has delivered me from

every trouble, and my eye has looked in triumph on my enemies.

(Psalm 54)

What does the freewill offering teach us about God and our relationship

with Him? Let me make the following suggestions.

The freewill offering opened the door for the people of God to give a

variety of gifts to the Lord. Many of the other offerings were regulated.

Only specific animals were acceptable for sacrifices. The Lord determined

the quantity of oil, wine and flour brought for these offerings. The freewill

offering was quite different. An individual could offer jewellery to be

melted down for the work of the temple, or they could provide yarn to be

woven into material for the priest’s garments. They could also give their

time as a gift to the Lord. The Lord accepted all of these offerings as a

token of love from His people. God allowed for creativity in the freewill

offering. The offerings could be a personal expression of faith and

gratitude.

Freewill offerings were spontaneous gifts offered from the heart. The

freewill gift was the response of the heart toward God. The giving of the

freewill offering was an act of worship on the part of the giver. Israel gave

of themselves, their time and resources as a means of demonstrating their

gratitude to a loving God and His goodness toward them.

What is crucial for us to remember is that it is not the amount we give but

the attitude of the heart that is important. In the passages we have

examined, we see the repetition of the phrases, “those whose heart was

willing,” or “everyone whose spirit was moved.” The key here was the

attitude of the heart. You can give with many different motivations. Only

those who give with a heart that is moved by God or a willing spirit can

offer their gifts as an act of worship to God. The apostle Paul encouraged

the Corinthians to give without reluctance or compulsion but from a

cheerful heart:

7 Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly

or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. (2 Corinthians

The final lesson we need to see from the freewill offering comes in the

words of Amos to his people. In the passage we quoted from Amos 4:5, we

discover how the prophet rebuked his people for “proclaiming” freewill

offerings and “publishing” them. In other words, people gave to be noticed.

They wanted everyone to see what they were giving. When we offer our

gifts to be seen by other human beings or to receive praise from them, we

take the glory that is due to God for ourselves. We cannot expect to please

the Lord if we take the recognition He alone deserves for ourselves. We

must learn to give in such a way that God receives the glory.

For Prayer:

Heavenly Father, thank you for the gift of your Son Jesus Christ, who

offered Himself freely for us. I ask that you would teach us how to give

freely in return. Open our hearts to the needs and opportunities around us.

Teach us to give with unselfish motives. May we desire that You receive all

the glory for the gifts we offer. May our hearts rejoice in giving. May our

gifts be an expression of the depth of gratitude we have toward You for all

You have done. We offer ourselves freely with joyful hearts. Use us and all

we have as you will for your glory and praise.

CHAPTER 10 - THE GRAIN

OFFERING OF JEALOUSY

In the final two chapters, I want to examine two situations that required a

unique offering. The first of these circumstances is described in Numbers

5:12-14:

12 “Speak to the people of Israel, If any man’s wife goes astray and

breaks faith with him, 13 if a man lies with her sexually, and it is

hidden from the eyes of her husband, and she is undetected though

she has defiled herself, and there is no witness against her, since she

was not taken in the act 14 and if the spirit of jealousy comes over

him and he is jealous of his wife who has defiled herself, or if the

spirit of jealousy comes over him and he is jealous of his wife,

though she has not defiled herself (Numbers 5)

There are two scenarios presented here in these verses. First, we have the

case of a wife who has been unfaithful to her husband by having a sexual

relationship with another man. The second is the case of a man who

suspects his wife of being unfaithful, but this is not the case.

In this situation, the sin of unfaithfulness is hidden, and there is no proof of

inappropriate behaviour. The partners involved refuse to admit guilt. The

husband, however, has his suspicions, and the relationship between him and

his wife is suffering as a result.

The husband’s suspicions were enough to require action. If not addressed,

these suspicions could lead to further sin. In this case, the law of God

required that the suspicious husband bring his wife to the priest. At that

time, the husband also brought an offering of barley flour to the Lord.

15 then the man shall bring his wife to the priest and bring the

offering required of her, a tenth of an ephah of barley flour. He shall

pour no oil on it and put no frankincense on it, for it is a grain

offering of jealousy, a grain offering of remembrance, bringing

iniquity to remembrance.

Notice that the Lord called this a “grain offering of jealousy.”

The priest called the woman to approach him. He put holy water in a clay

vessel along with some dust from the temple floor. He placed the grain

offering of jealousy in her hands. As the woman held the grain offering of

jealousy, the priest brought the mixture of holy water and dust from the

temple floor. Leviticus 5:18 calls this the “water of bitterness that brings a

curse.” The priest then placed the woman under threat of a curse with the

following words:

19 … ‘If no man has lain with you, and if you have not turned aside

to uncleanness while you were under your husband’s authority, be

free from this water of bitterness that brings the curse. 20 But if you

have gone astray, though you are under your husband’s authority,

and if you have defiled yourself, and some man other than your

husband has lain with you, 21 then’ (let the priest make the woman

take the oath of the curse, and say to the woman) ‘the LORD make

you a curse and an oath among your people, when the LORD makes

your thigh fall away and your body swell. 22 May this water that

brings the curse pass into your bowels and make your womb swell

and your thigh fall away.’ And the woman shall say, ‘Amen, Amen.’

After reciting these words, the priest wrote the terms of the curse in a book

and washed the ink off into the water (verse 23). He then took the grain

offering of jealousy out of the woman’s hands and waved it before the Lord

burning a memorial portion on the offering. After the offering, the curse

was official before the Lord. The woman would then drink the water. If she

was guilty, the water would cause her great pain. If she was innocent, the

water would not affect her. The husband and wife would accept the result of

the test, and the matter was considered resolved.

This grain offering of jealousy was a unique offering for a particular

situation. It teaches us two important principles.

The first principle the grain offering of jealousy teaches us is the

importance of the family unit in the mind of God. We see here the

significance of the relationship between husband and wife. Faithfulness in

marriage was essential if the family was to function under the blessing of

God. Adultery was punishable by death because it was such a grave offence

against God and the family unit. When the family began to break down, it

affected society as a whole. When one partner was unfaithful to another, it

severed the marriage relationship and damaged the guilty party’s

relationship with God. God provided a means whereby even the suspicion

of unfaithfulness was addressed before it destroyed the family and

negatively impacted the community in which they lived.

The grain offering of jealousy teaches the importance of addressing

suspicions and hindrances in marriages. In this case, the husband found

himself becoming suspicious of his wife’s unfaithfulness. The couple

needed to resolve this matter if the relationship was to grow and be healthy.

God provided a way for a husband and wife to deal with their suspicions. It

was not the will of God that the husband live in suspicion and mistrust of

his wife. Nor was it the purpose of God that the wife hide her sin from her

husband. Sin needed to be exposed and addressed if the blessing of God

was to remain on the couple.

What are the hindrances in your marriage? What kind of things keep you

from experiencing the fullness of God’s blessing in your life? Are there sins

in word or deed that need to be exposed and over which you need victory?

Do you need to confess hidden sins so that the blessing of God can be

restored? Is the Spirit of God speaking to you about wrong attitudes? All

these things will negatively impact your marriage and family. God wants a

healthy marriage for you and your spouse. He wants your relationship to be

free from obstacles that hinder you from being one. In the Old Testament,

God provided a particular offering to deal with one such barrier to the

growth of the couple. If we want to experience the fullness of God’s

blessing in our families, we must come to Him seeking victory over

anything that would keep us apart as a couple.

For Prayer:

Father God, thank you for how you provided a means whereby the husband

and wife of the Old Testament could resolve this matter of suspicion. I ask

that you would help us today to be willing to see the seriousness of distrust

and other hindrances in our relationship as a couple. I ask Lord that we

would not ignore these issues but be prepared to address them for the good

of our marriages. I ask that we would not allow anything to come between

us as husband and wife. I pray that we would have healthy marriages where

every obstacle is addressed and where we experience the victory of the

Lord over every suspicion. May our relationships as husbands and wives

impact the lives of our children and our society as a whole. May our

marriages reflect the presence of God and testify to His grace and healing.

CHAPTER 11 - ATONEMENT

FOR AN UNSOLVED MURDER

In Deuteronomy 21:1-8, we read about the sacrifice required by God for an

unsolved murder. The passage gives us an example of the situation that

required such a sacrifice:

1 "If in the land that the LORD your God is giving you to possess

someone is found slain, lying in the open country, and it is not

known who killed him,

We have, in this instance, the case of an unsolved murder. Notice that the

death described in this verse is not from natural causes. The phrase "it is not

known who killed him," makes it clear that we are dealing with an

individual who has died at the hands of someone else. The passage does not

indicate whether the death was the result of an accident or a deliberate act.

In either case, the individual who caused the death was hiding and refusing

to admit his or her guilt.

When the remains of the victim were discovered, the elders and judges

measured the distance to the surrounding cities. When they determined

which city was closest to the corpse, the elders of that city sacrificed a

heifer to remove guilt from the land. The assumption is that the guilty party

may have hidden in that city. In doing so, the guilty person brought guilt

upon the city.

The heifer offered for the sacrifice was to be one that had never worked or

pulled a yoke. God required that the priest make this sacrifice in a valley

with running water. The valley had to be one that had never been ploughed

or sown with seed (see Deuteronomy 21:4). Commenting on this, John Gill

has this to say about the location chosen for the sacrifice:

"which is neither cared nor sown;" that is, neither ploughed nor

sown, but quite an uncultivated place; and this the Jews understand

not of what it had been, or then was, but what it should be hereafter;

that from henceforward it should never be manured, but lie barren

and useless (Gill, John: John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible,

Laridian: Cedar Rapids, Iowa, 2013)

According to John Gill, the valley in which this sacrifice occurred would

never again be sown or ploughed. It would remain a barren place. In reality,

the valley was also to be sacrificed as well. It would be known as a barren

wasteland from that point forward in remembrance of the murder that had

taken place. This sacrificed valley underscored the seriousness of the crime

that had taken place in the land.

In that valley, the priests broke the heifer's neck. The elders of the nearest

city approached the dead heifer and washed their hands over it. As they did,

they made the following declaration:

7… 'Our hands did not shed this blood, nor did our eyes see it shed.

8 Accept atonement, O LORD, for your people Israel, whom you

have redeemed, and do not set the guilt of innocent blood in the

midst of your people Israel, so that their blood guilt be atoned for.'

(Deuteronomy 21)

What is important to note here in these words is that the guilt of innocent

blood was "in the midst of" the people. In other words, the land had been

defiled and bore the curse of sin. The sacrifice of the heifer covered this

guilt and shame. While the identity of the individual was unknown, their

crime had stained the land and offended their God.

Consider this for a moment. When this murderer took the life of a brother or

sister, he brought sin not only on himself or herself but also on the land. Sin

is not just a problem for human beings; it also curses our land. In the book

of Genesis, we see that the curse of God fell not only on Adam, Eve, but

their descendants, and the world in which they lived. The ground no longer

freely produced its crops. Weeds competed with vegetables. Adam tilled the

land by the sweat of his brow. Eve gave birth to children in great pain. The

curse of sin brought sickness and disease to this earth.

The stench of murder polluted the land and rose as a foul odour to God. He

would not pour out the fullness of His blessing on this polluted land. The

sin that filled that land removed His favour. A sacrifice was required to

remove the guilt and restore blessing. What does this sacrifice teach us

about God and His purpose? Let me offer these suggestions:

First, the offering for an unsolved murder shows us that sin does not just

affect the individuals who are involved but also that land in which they live.

Their sin stains our land. What happens to a society that legalizes killing

children in the womb for the sake of convenience? What is the impact on

our nation when immorality is without restraint? Consider what God did to

Sodom and Gomorrah. God did not just destroy the people who practiced

such abominations, but the whole city in which they lived. What happened

in the days of Noah when the inhabitants of the earth turned their backs on

God? Did God not destroy the earth along with its inhabitants? Scripture

tells us that God will destroy this planet on which we live by fire. The stain

of sin cannot be removed so that the entire earth will be destroyed. Our sin

brings the curse of God not only on ourselves but also on our land.

Consider for a moment how God must see our nations and cities with all

their sin. The evil that takes place in the land is an abomination to Him.

How incredible is the grace of God that does not lash out in vengeance and

fearful anger against the foul odour that rises every day from our cities?

Does this not show us how important it is, however, for us to deal with sin

in our midst?

The second lesson we need to learn from this sacrifice is that we cannot

afford to close our eyes to the sins around us. The body of that victim of

human crime lay on the ground in Israel and stained the land. How easy it

would be to say, "It wasn't me that did it, so I don't have to be concerned."

Sin like this rotting corpse affects everything around it. I cannot afford to

ignore sin. The people who offered the sacrifice for an unsolved murder

were not the guilty ones, yet they needed to confess the sin in their land.

The rotten apple in the basket needed to be removed before the whole

basket was affected.

There is no excuse. We dare not excuse our sinful attitudes or actions but

saying, "it wasn't my fault; anyone would have done the same in my

situation." Why I fell into sin is not the issue. The issue is that there is sin in

my life. You don't say, "I didn't purposefully choose to get cancer, so I don't

have to worry about it." The fact that you have cancer is what is important.

If you don't address it, you will lose your life. This is how it is with sin.

How it got there is not a critical issue. What is important is that it be

addressed, confessed and forgiven.

Sin is the most significant problem we have as human beings. It separates

us from God, corrupts our land and removes His blessing. The seriousness

of sin is demonstrated by the sacrifice required for an unsolved murder.

How much sin stains our land? How much ungodliness do we tolerate in

our families? What do we excuse in our personal lives? God is calling us to

address these matters. There is forgiveness and cleansing in the person of

the Lord Jesus. Like the priests of the nearest city to the murder, however,

we must cry out to God for cleansing and forgiveness.

For Prayer:

Father God, we confess you to be a holy God who is free from all sin and

evil. We recognize that we are sinful creatures who have turned our backs

on you. As we look around us in our land, we see the effects of sin. We

recognize that our nation has been corrupted by evil and rebellion against

Your Holy Word. We understand that sin separates us from You and Your

blessing. We take a moment now to confess the offences of our land. We

acknowledge the wickedness around us. We confess the sins of our

churches. We admit the sins of our own hearts. We pray Father that you

would purge this evil from our midst. Thank you that the ultimate sacrifice

has been made for sin in the work of the Lord Jesus. We come now before

this sacrifice and confess that it was for our sin that He died. We wash now

in the blood of this sacrifice and receive by faith the cleansing that it offers.

Heal us, heal our churches, heal our land through the power of Jesus' blood.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Light To My Path Book Distrituion

Light To My Path Book Distribution (LTMP) is a

book writing and distribution ministry reaching

out to needy Christian workers in Asia, Latin

America, and Africa. Many Christian workers in

developing countries do not have the resources

necessary to obtain Bible training or purchase

Bible study materials for their ministries and

personal encouragement.

F. Wayne Mac Leod is a member of Action

International Ministries and has been writing

these books with a goal to distribute them freely to needy pastors and

Christian workers around the world. These books are being used in

preaching, teaching, evangelism and encouragement of local believers in

over sixty countries. Books have now been translated into several

languages. The goal is to make them available to as many believers as

possible.

The ministry of LTMP is a faith-based ministry, and we trust the Lord for

the resources necessary to distribute the books for the encouragement and

strengthening of believers around the world. Would you pray that the Lord

would open doors for the translation and further distribution of these books?

For more information about Light To My Path Book Distribution visit our

website at www.lighttomypath.ca