Daily Scripture Reading Leviticus 7:28 - 8:13
Robert is a wealthy businessman who donates huge sums of money to his church and a local food bank. The church uses Robert’s money to support several missionaries around the world and keep the church building in an excellent state of repair. The food bank’s shelves are always well-stocked because they have a consistent revenue stream they know they can count on.
Meanwhile, Robert spends his time working, playing golf, traveling, and socializing with other wealthy people. He has neither met nor communicated with the missionaries or food bank patrons who benefit from his money.
Money is certainly a necessary component of doing missions and operating charities. However, today’s passage warns us that sometimes donating money is not enough. God may also care how we spend our time.
The seventh chapter of Leviticus gives additional directions about how to offer the various sacrifices.
Lev. 7:28 ¶ Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
Lev. 7:29 “Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘He who brings the sacrifice of his peace offerings near to Yahweh shall bring his offering to Yahweh from the sacrifice of his peace offerings.
At first glance, this verse appears to be stating the obvious. It says he who brings a sacrifice must bring it from his sacrifice. Of course he will bring it from his sacrifice. I think the meaning of this verse is illuminated by the next verse.
Lev. 7:30 His own hands are to bring offerings by fire to Yahweh. He shall bring the fat with the breast, that the breast may be waved as a wave offering before Yahweh.
Look at the words “His own hands”. When a man offered a sacrifice, he was not permitted to send it via a servant, a son, or anyone else. The man had to go himself to the tabernacle and offer the sacrifice. The emphasis in verse 29 was that a man bringing a sacrifice had to be bringing his own sacrifice, not someone else’s sacrifice.
The reason a man may have been tempted to have someone else take his sacrifice to the tabernacle was that time is a finite resource. A wealthy man has excess money, but he does not have more time than any other person. If a rich man was able to have another person take his sacrifice to the tabernacle, he could get the credit for making a sacrifice without using up any of his valuable time. In other words, he would be getting the credit for making a sacrifice without having to actually sacrifice anything.
Jesus taught a similar concept. When He and His disciples were in the temple, they saw rich people putting large gifts into the treasury. Then they saw a poor widow contribute a small amount. Jesus said the widow made a larger contribution because she donated all her money, while the rich only contributed from their excess (see Luke 21).
One of the realities of 21st-century Western Christianity is that we have more money than time. Every person has 24 hours in a day. Meanwhile, today’s middle class has vastly more wealth than most people in all of human history. It is very tempting to spend very little time reading the Bible and praying, but then donate some of our excess wealth to the church or missions and think we are serving Christ. Donating money to God is not much of a sacrifice because we donate from our excess. Carving out two hours or so per day to pray and read the Bible is a sacrifice because time is a very limited resource.
Lev. 7:31 And the priest shall offer up the fat in smoke on the altar, but the breast shall belong to Aaron and his sons.
Notice the words “the breast shall belong to Aaron”. Parts of the sacrifice were given to Aaron and his sons as their income from serving in the tabernacle.
Lev. 7:32 And you shall give the right thigh to the priest as a contribution from the sacrifices of your peace offerings.
Lev. 7:33 The one among the sons of Aaron who brings near the blood of the peace offerings and the fat, the right thigh shall be his as his portion.
Lev. 7:34 For I have taken the breast of the wave offering and the thigh of the contribution from the sons of Israel from the sacrifices of their peace offerings, and I have given them to Aaron the priest and to his sons as a perpetual statute taken from the sons of Israel.
Lev. 7:35 ¶ ‘This is the share for Aaron and the share for his sons from the offerings by fire to Yahweh, in that day when he brought them near to minister as priests to Yahweh.
Take note of the word “share” which appears twice. This repeats the statute that parts of the sacrifices belonged to Aaron and his sons and served as their income.
Lev. 7:36 These Yahweh had commanded to be given them from the sons of Israel in the day that He anointed them. It is a perpetual statute throughout their generations.’”
Lev. 7:37 ¶ This is the law of the burnt offering, the grain offering and the sin offering and the guilt offering and the ordination offering and the sacrifice of peace offerings,
Lev. 7:38 which Yahweh commanded Moses at Mount Sinai in the day that He commanded the sons of Israel to bring their offerings near to Yahweh in the wilderness of Sinai.
Lev. 8:1 ¶ Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
Lev. 8:2 “Take Aaron and his sons with him, and the garments and the anointing oil and the bull of the sin offering and the two rams and the basket of unleavened bread,
Lev. 8:3 and assemble all the congregation at the doorway of the tent of meeting.”
Don’t miss the fact that the entire congregation was assembled.
Lev. 8:4 So Moses did just as Yahweh commanded him. Then the congregation was assembled at the doorway of the tent of meeting,
Lev. 8:5 and Moses said to the congregation, “This is the thing which Yahweh has commanded to do.”
Lev. 8:6 ¶ Then Moses had Aaron and his sons come near and washed them with water.
Lev. 8:7 And he put the tunic on him and girded him with the sash and clothed him with the robe and put the ephod on him; and he girded him with the skillfully woven band of the ephod, with which he tied it to him.
Lev. 8:8 He then placed the breastpiece on him, and in the breastpiece he put the Urim and the Thummim.
Lev. 8:9 He also placed the turban on his head, and on the turban, at its front, he placed the golden plate, the holy crown, just as Yahweh had commanded Moses.
When Moses dressed Aaron in the priestly clothing, he did it in front of the entire congregation so that Aaron was officially and publicly installed as the high priest.
Lev. 8:10 ¶ Moses then took the anointing oil and anointed the tabernacle and all that was in it and set them apart as holy.
Lev. 8:11 And he sprinkled some of it on the altar seven times and anointed the altar and all its utensils and the laver and its stand, to set them apart as holy.
Lev. 8:12 Then he poured some of the anointing oil on Aaron’s head and anointed him, to set him apart as holy.
Lev. 8:13 Next Moses brought Aaron’s sons near and clothed them with tunics and girded them with sashes and bound caps on them, just as Yahweh had commanded Moses.
21st-century Western Christians have more money than time. Therefore, we are tempted to be checkbook Christians. We gladly donate money to support churches and charities, but sometimes we hesitate to volunteer our time because time is a scarce commodity.
The Israelites gathered at Mount Sinai were told that they had to personally take their sacrifices to the tabernacle. They could not send them via anyone else. They had to sacrifice time as well as money.
When we donate excess money, we are not actually making a sacrifice. On the other hand, when we use our precious time to serve God, then we are truly giving up something in order to serve Him.
Do you ever make a true sacrifice?
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“Scripture quotations taken from the (LSB®) Legacy Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2021 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org and 316publishing.com.”