Today’s Reading: Judges 11; Judges 12; Psalm 50; 2 Corinthians 1
Scripture: Psalm 50:8-15, 23
8 “I do not rebuke you for your sacrifices or your burnt offerings, which are ever before me.
9 I have no need of a bull from your stall or of goats from your pens,
10 for every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills.
11 I know every bird in the mountains, and the creatures of the field are mine.
12 If I were hungry I would not tell you, for the world is mine, and all that is in it.
13 Do I eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of goats?
14 Sacrifice thank offerings to God, fulfill your vows to the Most High,
15 and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me…
23 He who sacrifices thank offerings honors me, and he prepares the way so that I may show him the salvation of God.”
Observation: The Lord speaks to His people. These verses deal with how God thinks about sacrifices. First, He assures the Israelites that whatever correction of them He brings, it is not about their sacrifices. He tells them that He doesn’t really need farm animals for His food or drink. He is not hungry or thirsty. And yet He makes the point twice, in verses 14-15 and in verse 23 to instruct them that it is important for them to sacrifice. So what gives? Is this a contradiction? No, God is simply pointing out that the sacrifices do nothing for Him. Sacrifices are for us. Sacrifice involves us in taking the stuff of our lives and investing it in Him. When we do this, we activate His activity on our behalf. The promises are clear: if and when we sacrifice, He says, “I will deliver you,” and that we are preparing the way for “the salvation of God” in our lives.
Application: By making sacrifices to God, I am paving the way for His blessing on my life. Sacrifices are not bribes to get God to be nice to me. They are not protection money to keep God from smiting me. Sacrifice takes some of my stuff and transfer it into the spiritual realm. Thus it activates heaven’s intervention in my life. Plus, it demonstrates that I really believe what I say I believe. At least I believe it enough to put my money where my mouth is. This gets God’s attention in a way that mere words cannot. So give in a way that honors God and pave the way for Him to show Himself mighty in your circumstance.
Prayer: Thank You Lord that You give us the privilege of participating in the invisible realm with the stuff of this visible realm. You are the source of everything we have for even our very next breath is a gift from You. And even though it all comes from You, You give us the option of giving or not giving, and You release blessing to us when we give. Help us to give more and more that we may grow in faith and dependency upon You. Thank You for the beautiful way You draw us to Yourself. May we come willingly with nothing held back.
This I pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.
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