Scripture Nugget 6.12.2017
Scripture Read Leviticus 1-3
Nugget Leviticus 1:1-4, 10, 13b-d -14, 17b-d, 2:1, 13, 3:1,5, 16b-17
“The LORD summoned Moses and spoke to him from the tent of meeting, saying: When any of you bring a offering of livestock to the LORD, you shall bring your offering from the herd or from the flock. If the offering is a burnt offering from the herd, you shall offer a make without blemish; you shall bring it to the entrance of the tent of meeting, for acceptance in your behalf before the LORD. You shall lay your hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it shall be acceptable in your behalf as atonement for you. ...If your gift for a burnt offering is from the flock, from the sheep or goats, your offering shall be a male without blemish. ... Then the priest shall offer the whole and turn it into smoke on the altar; it is a burnt offering, an offering by fire of pleasing odor to the LORD. If your offering to the LORD is a burnt offering of birds, you shall choose your offering from turtledoves or pigeons. ... Then the priest shall turn it into smoke on the altar, on the wood that is on the fire; it is a burnt offering, an offering by fire pleasing odor to the LORD. ...When anyone presents a grain offering to the LORD, the offering shall be of choice flour; the worshiper shall pour oil on it, and put frankincense on it, ... If the offering is a sacrifice of well-being, if you offer an animal of the heard, whether male or female, you shall offer one without blemish before the LORD. ... Then Aaron’s sons shall turn these into smoke on the altar, with the burnt offering that is on the wood on the fire, as an offering by fire of pleasing odor to the LORD. All fat is the LORD’s. It shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations, in all your settlements: you must not eat any fat or any blood.”
Devotional Thought: Offerings to God are not to be given lightly. They are prized possessions, the best of the herd, the best from the field; they cost us something and we are involved in the process. It gets messy when one sacrifices your best bull. In this day and age where we can wirelessly give, no mess involved, we should stop and think, is this my first, my best, does it matter? Am I giving the entirety of my offering or are their strings attached? “By practicing sacrificial giving, we discover the truth that we are created to be givers. Sacrificial giving fits who God intends us to be. If we want to be fully human, we will make sacrificial giving an integral part of our lives.” (Wesley Study Bible, pg 122)