- Say to them, ‘If any one of all your offspring throughout your generations approaches the holy things that the people of Israel dedicate to the Lord, while he has an uncleanness, that person shall be cut off from my presence: I am the Lord. Leviticus 22:3 – From our studies we’ve learn that not all Israelites were allowed to touch the holy things like that altar or go into the holy places like the Tent of Meeting. Only the select in the priestly line of Aaron in the tribe of Levi were able to do such things. Yet even them we see in our verse weren’t always allowed to partake in the holy things. Yes, these men were consecrated for this priestly role, but even these priests would occasionally find themselves ceremonially unclean and sometimes due to things they couldn’t control. In that state of uncleanliness the priest wouldn’t be allowed to eat of the holy food, go into the holy places, nor do any of the holy work that he was called to do. The holy things the Lord had commissioned him to do would become unclean because of the uncleanliness within his life. We too have many holy things the Lord has called us to do as followers of Him. Going to church, serving those around us, sharing the Gospel; all such things are holy tasks the Lord has given His followers. Yet when we are actively allowing sin to remain in our life, even such holy things as these are tainted by our sin and are not pleasing to the Lord. When we attend church with bitterness in our heart towards our brother or when we serve with the goal to receive the glory, these holy practices are stripped of their holiness and are mingled with the sin we’ve introduced to them. Like the priests in our passage, however you have uncleanliness within your life, make it right with the Lord so your future worship is holy and pleasing in His sight. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 3224
- Leviticus 22 Daily DEVO Animals blind or disabled or mutilated or having a discharge or an itch or scabs you shall not offer to the Lord or give them to the Lord as a food offering on the altar. Leviticus 22:22 – When what we choose to offer the Lord isn’t even something we want around, why would we consider that’s something that is acceptable in God’s eyes? For the early readers it would have been the animals with illnesses and broken bodies. For us it could just be spare time or spare change, things we don’t really care about but just if we think about it we’ll give to God. Things that if given to Him really doesn’t change our schedule or way of life. God though wants our offerings to Him to be of our best. So yes we may have to give up something special to us to spend time with Him or give up on buying that thing for us so we can give to Him. Do your offerings challenge you or is it just your extra you don’t really care about? I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 904
- And when you sacrifice a sacrifice of thanksgiving to the Lord, you shall sacrifice it so that you may be accepted. Leviticus 22:29 – From my understanding, a sacrifice of thanksgiving had some freedoms attached to it. They could offer a bull, goat, flour, or any of the other acceptable thing God said they could sacrifice with other offerings. They also had freedom to bring it to the priests at any time they felt lead to give thanks in this way. In this sort of offering there was freedoms, but even with the freedoms there was a way to give it in an acceptable, holy way. All the requirements given for other sacrifices about the state of the offering’s health and looks still mattered. The state of the giver’s cleanliness still mattered. Meaning there was freedom but in that freedom they still had to move God’s way. Today God gives us a great amount of freedom in how we give and serve Him. We can serve at our local church in the nursery, to the non-profit that helps the homeless, to serving overseas in the mission field. We can give our time, our money, our efforts. Yet as in our passage, there is a way to give it in a way that’s acceptable to God. We can give so much away out of a feeling of we are reconciling what we have with God with those offerings. We can give because there is a weight of “have to” attached to it. Those sort of offerings aren’t pleasing to God. The ones that please Him are the offerings given from a heart that is gladly giving out of gratitude for what He’s already done and gratitude for the promises of what He has in store for us. Today, in how you give and the state of your heart in your giving, would that be an acceptable offering to God? I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1945
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