“Give this command to the Israelites and say to them: ‘see that you present to me at the appointed time the food for my offerings made by fire, as an aroma pleasing to me.”
~ Numbers 28:2
Hi James and Ellen,
Has God ever given you a really special gift? Can you think of one gift that God has given you? Who has given you the life gift? Who is giving you the opportunity to receive the hope gift? Who has given you your dad and ma? Do you think that God wants to receive gifts from you? Do you have a gift or gifts that are you willing to give to God? Do you think that God deserves a gift or gifts from you? Do you think that you deserve gifts from God? God today wants to receive a special sacrificial gift from His specially elected guys, gals and kids. If you have already made a decision of faith by believing that God selected you before He created planet Earth to be His specially elected and adopted kids, what do you think would be a sacrificial gift that you could give to God today? Do you think that receiving money offerings is the kind of gift that God likes to get from kids like you? Do you think that receiving time offerings is the kind of gift that God likes to get from kids like you? Do you think that receiving a life offering is the kind of gift that God expects to get from kids like you?
God expected His specially chosen guys and gals – the Israelite people group’s guys and gals, to give Him sacrificial offerings that He – through Moses, had mandated for them to give to Him. What do you think that God told His specially chosen guys and gals to give to Him as sacrificial offerings? Why do you think that God’s specially chosen guys and gals would want to give God sacrificial offerings? What do you think happened when God’s specially chosen guys and gals stopped sacrificing each day two – two year old completely healthy lambs on an altar as burnt offerings to God? One of the two year old lambs was to be sacrificed as a burnt offering to God on an alter each morning of each day and the other two year old lamb was to be sacrificed as a burnt offering to God on an alter right at twilight each evening of each day. When God’s specially chosen guys and gals made these two daily lamb burnt offerings to God, they were to also offer to Him a tenth of an ephah (two quarts) of fine flour that was mixed with a quarter of hin (one quart) of pressed olive oil. God specially chosen guys and gals were to also pour out a hin (four quarts) of fermented drink – which probably was wine, in the sanctuary before God as they were offering each of the two lambs as a burnt offering to Him. How would you like to every day – each morning and each evening, have to kill a lamb, mix together some flour and some olive oil that would be offered with each of the completely healthy two year old lambs as they were being sacrificed to God and then to have to pour some wine on a church floor to let God know how really thankful that you are for all the gifts that God has given you? Your grandpaa is really glad today that he does not have to make the kinds of life sacrifices to God that God expected His specially chosen guys and gals – the Israelite people group’s guys and gals, to make to Him beginning 3450 years or so ago.
Another thing that God expected His specially chosen guys and gals – the Israelite people group’s guys and gals, to do was to double each of the daily two year old lamb and mixed fine flour and olive oil sacrifices that were made on every seventh day – or on each Sabbath day. Whenever there was a new moon – which was the first of every month for the Israelite people group’s guys and gals 3450 or so years ago, God expected His specially chosen guys and gals to make burnt offering sacrifices to Him of two completely healthy young bulls, a completely healthy ram and seven – one year old, completely healthy male lambs. Each time that a burnt offering sacrifice was made to God, fine flour that was mixed with olive oil was to be offered to God at the same time. Also – on the very first day of each month, God expected His specially chosen guys and gals to give a goat to Him. Giving a goat to God was asking God to take away the sin that always festers among guys and gals everywhere – beginning from the time that Adam sinned. God also expected His specially chosen guys and gals to spend one week celebrating what He did for them in Egypt. God expected His specially chosen guys and gals to remember how He had His death angel pass over their houses in Egypt by celebrating a Passover feast that was to begin on the fourteenth day of the first month of each year. None of God’s specially chosen guys and gals during these seven days was to eat any bread that had leaven in it. This time became known as the Feast of the Unleavened Bread. On the fifteenth day of the first month of the year – beginning at the time of this weeklong Passover celebration, God expected His specially chosen guys and gals to make the same burnt offering sacrifices that they were to make at the beginning of each new month. On the fiftieth day after the Passover celebration week, God expected His specially chosen guys and gals to have still another weeklong celebration called the Feast of Weeks. God expected His specially chosen guys and gals at this time to give the same animal and mixed flour and olive sacrifices that they were to make at the beginning of each month and during the Passover celebration feast. Numbers 28 has the instructions for all the feasts and offerings that God expected His specially chosen guys and gals to make to Him. Do you know what these offerings meant to God? Verse 2 says, “‘Give this command to the Israelites and say to them: ‘see that you present to me at the appointed time the food for my offerings made by fire, as an aroma pleasing to me.”” Giving your money and time to God does please Him; it is your life though that God wants and expects you to give Him as a gift. All you need to do to have your life become a pleasing aroma to God is to offer your life to God for Him to use for His kingdom’s sake.
Numbers 28 (392)