Theological Commentary: Click Here
In the blog
post to which I reference above, I end with a tally of the amount of sacrifices
that this chapter would require. I find
it a rather neat total. It isn’t neat in
that the numbers are of any great significance.
It’s neat in the sheer volume of sacrifice that is required on a yearly
basis.
That being
said, let me take a step back and acknowledge something. I am not saying that the sacrificing is neat
because all of these animals had to die.
I am not a fan of the slaughter of innocent animals, nor do I promote
any kind of senseless killing. I’m not
celebrating the death of these animals in any way other than they are killed at
the command of God.
Having said
that, let’s talk about why I find this neat.
If we do the math, we find that the Hebrew people are being asked to
sacrifice well over a thousand animals, well over a ton of grain, and over a
thousand containers of oil and wine. Why
is this neat? It is neat because in
order for the people to accomplish this, they must have had it in the first
place!
In other
words, it guides us to a necessary aspect of God’s character. God only asks us to give back to Him out of what
He has already given to us. He doesn’t
even require us to give it all back. God
only asks us to give back a portion of His provision. God is a very understanding God.
Furthermore,
we learn about His provision. If God is
going to ask for a significant sacrifice, He’s going to give an even more
significant provision! That is an
important thought to have. We cannot out-give
God’s provision in our life. When we
read chapters like this, we should be reminded about the provision of God that
allows chapters like this to even be possible in the first place.
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