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Sunday School
Acceptable Offerings Are Perfect (Leviticus 22:17–25, 31–33)
totally consumed on the altar (Leviticus 1:3-17). Fellow- ship offerings primarily sym- bolized the connection between priests and all the rest of God’s people since both groups partook of them (7:11-21, 31-34).
But the most significant thing about the offerings is that they were to be perfect. Four times in our text the word defect is used (ESV has “blemish”). This word ap- pears 91 times in the Old Tes- tament and is usually translated “without blemish, perfect, upright, complete, or whole.” Whether the offering was from the flock or the herd and whether it was to fulfill a vow or just a freewill offering, it was to be without defect. This teaches some- thing about the character of God—that he is perfect. This also teaches something about approaching God—that he cannot be approached flip- pantly. We must come before him with a pure heart.
God went out of his way to draw a distinction between his people and “the nations.”
While Israel was united with the nations by virtue of sin, they were different from the nations by virtue of their call- ing (Leviticus 20:24, 26). The instructions about blem- ished offerings continue in this part of our text. The peo- ple were not to offer the blind, the injured or maimed, or anything with warts or festering or run- ning sores. Neither were they to offer an animal whose tes- ticles are bruised, crushed, torn or cut. Leviticus 17:22-25
Blemished offerings were sometimes offered by the na- tions that did not know the Lord. God’s laws for Israel make better sense when they are contrasted with the laws and ways of other nations. For instance the Lord said not to cook a goat in its mother’s milk (Exodus 23:19). That law seems so strange to us. But when we realize that the Canaanites did that regularly, we see why God did not want his people doing the same thing, lest his people be assimilated
by nations that surrounded them. God’s people were to be different, so their offer- ings had to be different as well.
More important than the art of the offering is the heart of the offering (or the one making the offering). God’s name, his character, and his saving work matter more than the animal used or the contrast to the nations around. Because of God’s saving work (brought you out of Egypt) the people are to keep God’s commands and follow them. God at- taches his identity (I am the Lord) to Israel’s obedience. God attaches his holiness to Israel’s acceptable offerings.
The nations would watch Israel offer their sacrifices and conclude something about Israel’s God. God’s people are the only Bible some will ever read. Accept- able offerings in the Old or New Testament point people to God. Let us be careful what our behavior broad- casts to others about our Sav- ior (Romans 2:24).
Someone rightly said, “Ex- odus is about getting God’s people out of Egypt while Leviticus is about getting the Egypt out of God’s people.
We find ourselves just days away from the celebra- tion of Christmas. For many the observance of this special day involves the giving of gifts. Some gifts are just right and some, not so much. Our text marks out what gifts are acceptable to God and what gifts are unacceptable to him. Yes, we can learn even from the negative examples.
While Moses was on Mount Sinai receiving the Ten Commandments, he also received many other instruc- tions from the Lord (for ex-
ample, instructions about building the tabernacle and the laws concerning offer- ings). Many of these are con- tained in Leviticus. In fact, the first seven chapters of Leviticus are almost exclu- sively about various kinds of offerings that God’s people were to give to him. Leviti- cus 22:17-21
The message about accept- able offerings was intended for those serving the commu- nity of faith as priests (Aaron’s family) but also for all the Israelites and the for- eigners as well. The offerings could be one of two types: Burnt offerings primarily symbolized complete devo- tion to God since they were
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