Leviticus holds many of the regulations concerning the offerings. We will just touch on a few.
Leviticus 7:2 & 7, "The guilt offering is to be slaughtered in the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered, and its blood is to be splashed against the sides of the altar. The same law applies to both the sin offering and the guilt offering: They belong to the priest who makes atonement with them." Should an Israelite, a child of God, bring a guilt or a sin offering they had no right to the meat of the offering or to the bread or grain offered. It belonged to the priests. However, the priests could eat it that day and the day to follow, but only at the tabernacle or temple. On the third day any left over had to be disposed of. The pattern was consistent with all the offerings brought to the Lord, all except the thanksgiving offering.
Leviticus 22:29-30, “When you sacrifice a thank offering to the LORD, sacrifice it in such a way that it will be accepted on your behalf. It must be eaten that same day; leave none of it till morning. I am the LORD." Here we read that the offering was to be eaten on the same day. No leftovers. Be it a sheep, goat, calf or bull it had to be eaten on the day it was offered. It was not reserved for the priests. There were particular parts that were to be offered by the priest but the remaining meat was to go to the one making the thanksgiving offering. The only exception was in Leviticus 7:16, "If, however, their offering is the result of a vow or is a freewill offering, the sacrifice shall be eaten on the day they offer it, but anything left over may be eaten on the next day." If the Thanksgiving offering was tied to a vow or an offering previously promised to the Lord than there was an extra day to eat it. Same was true of peace offerings. The meat was good to eat until the third day. Why the restriction for just the Thanksgiving offering? Why must it be eaten on the same day it is offered?
Thanksgiving offerings were unique in that they were not regularly scheduled or there out of compulsion. The offerings tied to specific feasts and festivals were to be given at that prescribed time. Sin and guilt offerings were required to care for those particular situations. Thanksgiving offerings were given when one wanted to express thanksgiving to the Lord in a special way. Perhaps due to a special healing, answer to prayer, provision or some deliverance that highlighted God's goodness to the one coming to express their gratitude. The child of God, who simply wanted to express thanksgiving, could do so at any time. Now comes the question, "Why must it all be eaten on the day it was offered? Why the shortened time frame? To me, that just seemed sort of random and a bit of a challenge to consume that much meat in one day. A question I asked myself with no satisfying answer and my commentaries gave little help. Enter a thought from First Fruits of Zion. The thought there was that this compelled the one making the offering to gather friends and family for a feast in order to share the meat. This way the Lord's goodness could be shared with all who came. What a cool thought! My mind took off running with lots of tangent thoughts and ideas.
I have asked for prayer from time to time. Even now I am going through the annoying process of waiting for my insurance to approve a needed hernia surgery. In the mean time I cannot pick up anything much heavier than a pair of socks. As one who thrives on going to the gym, cutting wood, working in the yard, and doing renovations on a home that needs new floors and walls, I am pretty much beyond frustrated. Either the projects have to wait or I need to find sheets of plywood that weigh less than ten pounds. However, in time, this will be resolved. The surgery will happen and I will recover. God will answer in His time. When He does I will be thankful. Maybe this is not enough. Maybe I should have a party and have a bunch of friend and family over for dinner and a time to share and proclaim God's goodness to me.
What would happen to the relationships we have in the assemblies we fellowship in if we did this on a sort of random basis? You asked for prayer because of a battle with cancer and your spouse is healed. Why not have a few friends over for dinner and celebrate God's answer? Maybe you have been praying for a job situation and that has been resolved, so you have three or four families over for cake and coffee, just to let them know how grateful you are to the Lord and for their prayers. Imagine, scattered through out our church families random times of fellowship being enjoyed just to bring and to share a thanksgiving offering to the God who heals and provides. It may well be time to follow Nehemiah's direction to "Eat the fat and drink the sweet" every now and then and share in some praise and thanksgiving to our God and Savior. Nehemiah 8:10, "Then he said to them, “Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the LORD is your strength." Maybe the body of believers you belong to would be strengthened as you share in the joy of the Lord and celebrate some times of a Thanksgiving dinner in April or July or any time. If you are an American, why wait until November for a thanksgiving celebration? Isn't any time God reveals His grace, mercy, compassion, and lovingkindness worth a little thanksgiving celebration?
Maybe as we call upon friends and prayer partners to bring our concerns and burdens to God's throne of grace we should give a little thought to a thanksgiving gathering when the answer comes. What would it do for all of us to come together in random, rather intimate, gatherings in our homes or backyards for a time to honor God. It would not be a bad thing to lift up praise to His holy name for the good things He has done. Perhaps our attitudes would change and we would be a more grateful and joyful people, Maybe we would be strengthened and encouraged to pray for one another. Perhaps our focus would rest more on praise and the wonder of the God who so desperately cares for us instead of what we perceive to be our problems. It could be that our lives become more of a sacrifice of praise than we have ever known.
Do not be surprised when my invitation comes for you to join me after the Lord brings the needed surgery and healing to pass in my life. Maybe you too will have a reason for a thanksgiving gathering as God pours out His lovingkindness upon your life as well. Just remember, invite enough folks so there are no leftovers.
Leviticus 7:2 & 7, "The guilt offering is to be slaughtered in the place where the burnt offering is slaughtered, and its blood is to be splashed against the sides of the altar. The same law applies to both the sin offering and the guilt offering: They belong to the priest who makes atonement with them." Should an Israelite, a child of God, bring a guilt or a sin offering they had no right to the meat of the offering or to the bread or grain offered. It belonged to the priests. However, the priests could eat it that day and the day to follow, but only at the tabernacle or temple. On the third day any left over had to be disposed of. The pattern was consistent with all the offerings brought to the Lord, all except the thanksgiving offering.
Leviticus 22:29-30, “When you sacrifice a thank offering to the LORD, sacrifice it in such a way that it will be accepted on your behalf. It must be eaten that same day; leave none of it till morning. I am the LORD." Here we read that the offering was to be eaten on the same day. No leftovers. Be it a sheep, goat, calf or bull it had to be eaten on the day it was offered. It was not reserved for the priests. There were particular parts that were to be offered by the priest but the remaining meat was to go to the one making the thanksgiving offering. The only exception was in Leviticus 7:16, "If, however, their offering is the result of a vow or is a freewill offering, the sacrifice shall be eaten on the day they offer it, but anything left over may be eaten on the next day." If the Thanksgiving offering was tied to a vow or an offering previously promised to the Lord than there was an extra day to eat it. Same was true of peace offerings. The meat was good to eat until the third day. Why the restriction for just the Thanksgiving offering? Why must it be eaten on the same day it is offered?
Thanksgiving offerings were unique in that they were not regularly scheduled or there out of compulsion. The offerings tied to specific feasts and festivals were to be given at that prescribed time. Sin and guilt offerings were required to care for those particular situations. Thanksgiving offerings were given when one wanted to express thanksgiving to the Lord in a special way. Perhaps due to a special healing, answer to prayer, provision or some deliverance that highlighted God's goodness to the one coming to express their gratitude. The child of God, who simply wanted to express thanksgiving, could do so at any time. Now comes the question, "Why must it all be eaten on the day it was offered? Why the shortened time frame? To me, that just seemed sort of random and a bit of a challenge to consume that much meat in one day. A question I asked myself with no satisfying answer and my commentaries gave little help. Enter a thought from First Fruits of Zion. The thought there was that this compelled the one making the offering to gather friends and family for a feast in order to share the meat. This way the Lord's goodness could be shared with all who came. What a cool thought! My mind took off running with lots of tangent thoughts and ideas.
I have asked for prayer from time to time. Even now I am going through the annoying process of waiting for my insurance to approve a needed hernia surgery. In the mean time I cannot pick up anything much heavier than a pair of socks. As one who thrives on going to the gym, cutting wood, working in the yard, and doing renovations on a home that needs new floors and walls, I am pretty much beyond frustrated. Either the projects have to wait or I need to find sheets of plywood that weigh less than ten pounds. However, in time, this will be resolved. The surgery will happen and I will recover. God will answer in His time. When He does I will be thankful. Maybe this is not enough. Maybe I should have a party and have a bunch of friend and family over for dinner and a time to share and proclaim God's goodness to me.
What would happen to the relationships we have in the assemblies we fellowship in if we did this on a sort of random basis? You asked for prayer because of a battle with cancer and your spouse is healed. Why not have a few friends over for dinner and celebrate God's answer? Maybe you have been praying for a job situation and that has been resolved, so you have three or four families over for cake and coffee, just to let them know how grateful you are to the Lord and for their prayers. Imagine, scattered through out our church families random times of fellowship being enjoyed just to bring and to share a thanksgiving offering to the God who heals and provides. It may well be time to follow Nehemiah's direction to "Eat the fat and drink the sweet" every now and then and share in some praise and thanksgiving to our God and Savior. Nehemiah 8:10, "Then he said to them, “Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the LORD is your strength." Maybe the body of believers you belong to would be strengthened as you share in the joy of the Lord and celebrate some times of a Thanksgiving dinner in April or July or any time. If you are an American, why wait until November for a thanksgiving celebration? Isn't any time God reveals His grace, mercy, compassion, and lovingkindness worth a little thanksgiving celebration?
Maybe as we call upon friends and prayer partners to bring our concerns and burdens to God's throne of grace we should give a little thought to a thanksgiving gathering when the answer comes. What would it do for all of us to come together in random, rather intimate, gatherings in our homes or backyards for a time to honor God. It would not be a bad thing to lift up praise to His holy name for the good things He has done. Perhaps our attitudes would change and we would be a more grateful and joyful people, Maybe we would be strengthened and encouraged to pray for one another. Perhaps our focus would rest more on praise and the wonder of the God who so desperately cares for us instead of what we perceive to be our problems. It could be that our lives become more of a sacrifice of praise than we have ever known.
Do not be surprised when my invitation comes for you to join me after the Lord brings the needed surgery and healing to pass in my life. Maybe you too will have a reason for a thanksgiving gathering as God pours out His lovingkindness upon your life as well. Just remember, invite enough folks so there are no leftovers.
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