“The priest will burn these parts on the altar as a gift of food. The smell of them while they are burning will give pleasure to the Lord. All the fat from these offerings belongs to the Lord.”
Leviticus 3:16 EASY
I was very much drawn to the whole idea of a “sacrifice of praise.” This wasn’t your traditional
sacrifice for atonement however, it was still considered a sacrifice because it required the death of an animal. Today because of what Jesus did we do not have to sacrifice animals. I’m sure many of us can think of a time when praising God (in the midst of a storm) felt like a true sacrifice. I even loved how in Hebrews it talked about today’s sacrifice of praise being with our lips, and yet it connected it to Jesus, and the sacrifice Jesus made.
“So let’s go outside, where Jesus is, where the action is—not trying to be privileged insiders, but taking our share in the abuse of Jesus. This “insider world” is not our home. We have our eyes peeled for the City about to come. Let’s take our place outside with Jesus, no longer pouring out the sacrificial blood of animals but pouring out sacrificial praises from our lips to God in Jesus’ name.”
Hebrews 13:13-15 MSG
“My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness, And my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips.”
Psalms 63:5 NKJV
I also love how it correlated this sacrifice and the parts of the animal that were sacrificed had to do with the fattest parts. I wasn’t quite sure why considering I don’t usually eat the fat on my steak however it is where the most flavor comes from…. In the Bible, eating the fat of animals was considered significant because it was seen as symbolically offering the "best part" of the animal to God, and therefore, consuming the fat was often forbidden, representing the idea that the richest portion should be reserved for God as a sign of devotion and respect; eating it could be interpreted as taking something that belonged to God.
And such a reminder that Jesus wants our best praise even in the hardest of times.
AND then you know how much I love learning from others' shares:
What stands out to me was that the sacrifice brought a sweet fragrance for the Lord which he was pleased with. It makes me think of the fact that in order to sacrifice, something has to die. Today, I’d like to die to self and all worldly desires and I want my life to be a sweet smelling sacrifice/fragrance to the Lord. That’s my hearts desire.
Sometimes I believe the best parts of reading them Bible to be sharing what God is showing me and then of course learning from others. Join me in reading! Here or via our Facebook group, Women @The Well.
Comments