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This Week\’s Sunday School Lesson, \”God Demands Worship With Offerings\”, 2/13/2016

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GOD DEMANDS WORSHIP WITH OFFERINGS

 

Leviticus 23:15-22

 

 

The Israelites were born and grew up in a pagan environment. They were forced to be obedient to a pagan kings and to worship idol gods. God released them from captivity and gave them His commands for righteous living and His commands for worship. In order for us to move from our slave mentality we must learn to honor and worship the Lord.

 

In every house there are rules to live by. In God\’s house there are rules. God gave us His rules, recorded in His Word.  Immediately after delivering His people out of Egypt. God gave them rules. The measure of success we have in this life depends upon the measure of obedience we have for God\’s rules.

 

WAVE SHEAF OFFERING

V: 15-16.  15\”You must count for yourselves seven weeks from the day after the Sabbath, from the day you bring the wave offering sheaf; they must be complete weeks. 16 You must count fifty days – until the day after the seventh Sabbath – and then you must present a new grain offering to the Lord\”

 

  1. One of the things we notice in this text is the number of offerings God required of the Israelites after entering the promise land.
  2. Also, you notice the promise to Abraham being fulfill.
  3. The Israelites were delivered to the Promised Land filled with milk and honey.
  4. This is evident by the fact that the land was productive for crops and for live stock.

 

  1. Whatever God requires of us, He has made resources available.
  2. The Israelites at this point were still in desert, but God was giving the instructions for worship in the promise land. Lev 23:10
  3. All the activities in our lives work to the completion of the plan God has for us.

 

  1. The Wave Sheaf Offering may represent the first coming of Christ.
  2. The Wave Sheaf Offering was presented by the Priest without leaven. Verse 10
  3. Christ was without sin and the first fruits of new life from the Father.

 

WAVE OFFERING, THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE CHURCH

  1. After the first harvest in the promise land, a half gallon of wheat or barley was to be presented to priest to be waved before the Lord in remembrance of the Pass over in Egypt.
  2. This was the death of the first born males of all Egyptians.
  3. This was the last plague that forced their release from captivity.
  4. This was the First Fruits of their freedom.
  5. Jesus is the First Born of the dead for us.
  6. We should mindful, thankful and grateful for death of our Lord and Savior on the cross.

NEW GRAIN (MEAT) OFFERING, THE POWER OF THE CHURCH, THE HOLY SPIRIT

  1. Fifty days after the Wave Offering, the Israelites were required to bring to the Lord a New Meat offering.
  2. The Fifty days was seven Sabbaths days plus 1 day.
  3. The Israelites were ordered to cook two loaves of bread baked with leaven.
    1. Each loaf was to consist of one half gallon of wheat,
    2. One tenth of the two loaves were to be offered to the Lord as the first fruits.
  4. This symbolized two events in the Gospel of Christ.
    1. One of the events is the death and resurrection of Jesus.
    2. Fifty days, or the Pentecost, was the time after the Resurrection of Christ when the Holy Spirit was given to the Church.
    3. The Holy Spirit is the power behind the growth and development of the Church.

 

TITHES AND OFFERING

V: 17.  17\”From the places where you live you must bring two loaves of bread for a wave offering; they must be made from two tenths of an ephah of fine wheat flour, baked with yeast, as first fruits to the Lord.\”

 

  1. A double portion of the baked bread was to be offered to the Lord as the first fruits of their produce.
  2. This could symbolize the tithe and offering we are commanded to give to the Lord. Mal 3:8-10
  3. The Lord want us to trust Him with our finances.

 

  1. Those who trust and obey the Lord\’s command, put Him first in everything.
  2. Those who labor in the Gospel will get a double portion from the Lord.

 

  1. The leaven or yeast in the bread represents the sin that is still in the Church
  2. We were born in sin and shaped in iniquity.
  3. As long as we are in the flesh, sin will always be present.

 

THE BURNT OFFERING, TOTAL SURRENDER

 V: 18. 18\”Along with the loaves of bread, you must also present seven flawless yearling lambs, one young bull, and two rams. They are to be a burnt offering to the Lord along with their grain offering and drink offerings, a gift of a soothing aroma to the Lord.\”

 

  1. The Priest burned the sacrificial animals completely on the altar.
  2. The animals were to be completely consumed with fire.
  3. The Burnt Offering represents the complete surrender of our lives to Jesus.
  4. God requires all believers to completely surrender themselves to Him.
  5. Jesus completely surrendered Himself on the cross for our sins.
  6. Our salvation is completely in the hands of Jesus.

 

  1. God does not tell us what the significant of the number of animals represent.
  2. What I do know is that every word in the Bible has meaning.
  3. Let me suggest that seven is the number of completion.
  4. There are six creation days.
  5. There is one day when the Lord rested.
  6. Let me suggest that the other three animals may represent the Holy Trinity.
  7. We are totally dependent on the Lord for everything in Life.
  8. We should give God praise and honor with our lives.
  9. We honor the Lord with out substance; that which we labored to obtain.

 

SIN OFFERING

 V: 19-20 19\” You must also offer one male goat for a sin offering and two yearling lambs for a peace offering sacrifice, 20 and the priest is to wave them – the two lambs – along with the bread of the first fruits, as a wave offering before the Lord; they will be holy to the Lord for the priest.\”

 

  1. The sin offering is a profession of our sins and a plea for forgiveness.
  2. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
  3. Jesus is the only one who has the power to forgive sin.
  4. We are urged to offer ourselves as living sacrifice holy and acceptable to God.

 

PEACE OFFERING

  1. The peace offering represents the fellowship with Father established through our faith in Jesus.
  2. God\’s nearness and mercy is maintained by our obedience to His commands.
  3. The peace offering is a show of our gratefulness to God the Father.
  4. We only have peace with the Father through the atoning blood of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

 

REGULAR WORSHIP SERVICE

V: 21. 21\”On this very day you must proclaim an assembly; it is to be a holy assembly for you. You must not do any regular work. This is a perpetual statute in all the places where you live throughout your generations.\”

 

  1. Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy.
  2. God designed the Sabbath to be a day of rest and reflection.
  3. When God rested on the seventh day, He reflected on His creative work and said \”It is very good\”.
  4. God is good all the time.
  5. We must give God thanks for all He has done, all He is doing and all He will do for us.
  6. We must show our love for God by keeping His commands.

 

 

  1. We are to have both private and public worship.
  2. Our private worship includes our prayers and our daily devotions to God.
  3. In public we should be living testimonies for the world to see.
  4. We should proclaim the Word of God in public places.
    1. We are the Church that world should see daily.
    2. When others se that we follow God\’s commands they know our love for God.

 

GIVING TO THE POOR

V: 22. 22\” When you gather in the harvest of your land, you must not completely harvest the corner of your field, and you must not gather up the gleanings of your harvest. You must leave them for the poor and the foreigner. I am the Lord your God.\”

 

  1. We are commanded to love our neighbors as we love ourselves.
  2. Jesus said the poor will always be with us.
  3. We have a duty and obligation to be generous to those in need.
    1. We really have to plan to provide for those in need.
    2. Generosity to others is an aspect of Christian behavior.

 

  1. God created this world so that there would be those in need.
  2. All of us at some point in time will be in need of something.
  3. We are commanded to leave the poor an opportunity to gain from our success.
  4. All of God\’s people have something to offer others.
    1. We have the Word of God.
    2. We have our time.
    3. We have our resources.
    4. The poor gives us an opportunity to be generous.
    5. The poor gives us an opportunity to show compassion.
    6. The poor gives us an opportunity to bless God with our service.
    7. We have God\’s promises that He will bless our giving.

 

WORSHIP THE LORD IN SPIRIT AND TRUTH AND WITH OUR OFFERING

 

Rev M. Mitchell

 

Asst Pastor of Greater Macedonia Baptist Church

5510 West Sam Houston Parkway

Houston, Texas

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