LEVITICUS MOMENT
LEVITICUS MOMENT – The priests and their families were the
only ones allowed to eat the sacred food of the Lord. If the priests had
daughters, they were allowed to eat the sacred food as well, just as long as they
were married to a priest. If the priests’ daughters married someone who was not
a priest, they could no longer partake of the sacred food unless they became a
widow or divorced with no children and had returned to their father’s home to
live. God took special care of not only the priests, but their daughters. He
did not leave the women out to fend for themselves, nor did God forget about
the poor and needy. In today’s times, we have the feminist movement who feels
as if they do not need a male other than to breed. Yet, God never neglected to
care for His daughters all throughout the Bible for He was their Heavenly Father.
He saw to it that they were especially provided for when they were unmarried
and had no children of their own. Although we live in a world where women and
men are encouraged to be independent of each other, according to secular
standards, we should never stray away from God’s original design. God desires
that we care for each other regardless of gender. The world says that
independence is best, but Jesus says that we are a community of believers
making one body. Something to ponder…
QUESTION OF THE DAY – The Lord instructed Moses to tell the
Children of Israel that there were certain types of offerings, sacrifices, and
special Sabbaths and feast days that they were to observe. One of these types
of offerings was the giving of First Fruits. When the Children of Israel
entered the land of Canaan, they were to give the Lord the first of their
harvest. This was a special offering for bringing them out of Egypt into the
land of promise where they would produce a harvest. In today’s times, many
televangelists and pastors encourage their congregations to give a day’s,
week’s, and even month’s salary to commemorate First Fruit giving as the
Children of Israel did. They believe, or at least they encourage their members
and followers, to believe that they will be blessed it they practice this type
of giving. Some have gone as far as to say that if one does not give first
fruits, they will be cursed by God. BE CAREFUL of this type of ideology. God
indeed loves a cheerful giver and He always blesses those who give freely to
Him and to others. Nevertheless, we must be mindful that we are no longer under
the Mosaic laws and are therefore, to give freely under the freedom of grace and
not under compulsion. Does God want us to give? Absolutely! Will He bless those who give to His cause?
Absolutely! Does God want you to give out of guilt or fear? No, He does not. As
New Testament Christians, we are no longer under the Mosaic laws, but under the
blanket of grace. Something to ponder…
LEVITICUS MOMENT – God did not want any defected or sickly
animals being given to Him as a sacrifice. He wanted the Israelite’s absolute
best to come before Him and would accept nothing less. He had done so much for
them that He wanted them to show their appreciation with their giving. God was
setting the standard because their sacrifices represented the Ultimate
Sacrifice that He was going to send to earth who was without defect or blemish.
They were giving to Him a temporary gift, but He had a permanent solution. We
are sometimes guilty of taking God for granted and just giving anything to Him.
We give Him the last of our day, the last of our thoughts, the last of our
time, the last of our talents and the last of our treasure. Sometimes, what we
do give, we act as if we are doing Him a favor by including Him in the mix. We
are always first on God’s mind, but we sometimes make Him last on ours, and not
in a positive way. Therefore, let us be sure to always give of our absolute
best to the Lord, so that He will know that we prioritize Him as the Holy and
Righteous God of our lives. Something to ponder…
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