Shabbat Shalom Friends!
Many of us gathered together this past week for Yom Teruah, and are looking forward to both Yom Kippur and Sukkot.
Have you ever stopped to consider that many of the feasts or set apart days include offerings made by fire? With no temple, and no priesthood currently fulfilling this, how can we approach this part of the holy day observances?
“Speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall have a Sabbath-rest, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation. You shall do no customary work on it; and you shall offer an offering made by fire to Yahweh.‘ ” (Lev 23:24-25)
The phrase “you shall offer” in Hebrew has many meanings. It can be defined as to: approach, join, present, produce, make ready, stand. Clearly to approach Yah, to join Him, to make ourselves ready for Him, and to stand with Him, means much more that our usual notion of an offering. And likewise, the phrase “an offering” is a sacrifice – which holds much more meaning than the idea of a simple gift.
Paul says: “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.” (Rom 12:1)
As we wait and rehearse these set apart days, could this be the offering that we should be bringing?
What would it mean to offer ourselves to the Maker in this way?
Giving yourself to God, or to offer an offering of ourselves to Yah, means to literally sacrifice what is in the way of joining ourselves with Him, to sacrifice what is preventing us from standing with Him, and to sacrifice what stops us from approaching Him. Things that prevent us from truly offering ourselves to Yah in the way that these verses in Romans and Leviticus together really mean.
Look at Luke 9:59-62 versus Matthew 4:18-20. Much like today, people have their stuff, their relationships, and their lives. Maybe Andrew and Peter were not aware of it at the moment, but they had sacrificed their self-focused lives and everything that kept them separate from God at that moment. If Yeshua were to come back right now, would you be like Andrew and Peter? Or would you be like the first examples, and answer the call of the world first?
The book of Jeremiah equates us to clay in the hands The Master Potter, and we are in the kiln, being made by fire. As John (the Baptizer) said in Matthew 3, we must burn with fire the unproductive parts of us, the pieces which are keeping us apart from God. The figurative fire should completely destroy — or remove our iniquity. And although it may hurt to sacrifice of ourselves, we are to do it with JOY (1Pet 4:12-13).
Yahweh is a radical God, who requires us to be constantly pruning to bear good fruit in order to be accepted as a living sacrifice to Him. Consider this:
“If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed, rather than having two hands, to go to hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched— where ‘THEIR WORM DOES NOT DIE AND THE FIRE IS NOT QUENCHED.’ And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame, rather than having two feet, to be cast into hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched— where ‘THEIR WORM DOES NOT DIE AND THE FIRE IS NOT QUENCHED.’ And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire— where ‘THEIR WORM DOES NOT DIE AND THE FIRE IS NOT QUENCHED.’ “For everyone will be seasoned with fire, and every sacrifice will be seasoned with salt.” (Mark 9:43-49)
The term “worm” could be referencing Isaiah 66:24, and it symbolizes the corruption within someone. Eye, hand, foot — these are the same as relationships, money, positions, jobs, habits, entertainment; anything that separates us from Yah.
Yes- we want to be “seasoned with fire”, our living selves as a burnt offering to God.
There are many types of offerings: burnt, peace, sin, trespass, etc. Each of these offerings are for different purposes, given at various times, of various animals, in various ways. But there is one thing that they all have in common: the offering was to be without blemish, set aside for this specific purpose.
“‘And in the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall have a holy convocation. You shall do no customary work. For you it is a day of blowing the trumpets. You shall offer a burnt offering as a sweet aroma to Yahweh: one young bull, one ram, and seven lambs in their first year, without blemish.“ (Num 29:1-2)
To offer something without blemish, as the word is defined in Hebrew, means to give an offering that is full of integrity and truth, that is complete, full, perfect, sound, without spot, undefiled, upright, and given with sincerity. Now apply those labels to yourself! We are to be a sacrifice given to Yah without blemish, undefiled, full of integrity, and given in sincerity.
We cannot do this unless we cast from us the things that prevent us from approaching and walking with Yah: “be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blemish” (2Pet 3:14)
The people who told Yeshua that they would follow Him but had different priorities – were they really willing to “give themselves to God”? Fully? Completely? Definitely not.
What would Yah had said if Abraham had agreed to sacrifice his son, but only to cut off his pinky toe? What would have happened if our Messiah agreed to be sacrificed for us but only to be nailed to the cross for 15 minutes and then let down?
An unblemished, blameless, spotless sacrifice made by fire is one that is dedicated fully and specifically for the Creator. There are no other attachments. There is nothing holding it back from its purpose. Are we this type of sacrifice?
And if we truly come before him in full, as an offering made in fire, unblemished: here is our Father’s response:
“For on My holy mountain, on the mountain height of Israel,” says the Lord Yahweh, “there all the house of Israel, all of them in the land, shall serve Me; there I will accept them, and there I will require your offerings and the firstfruits of your sacrifices, together with all your holy things. I will accept you as a sweet aroma when I bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries where you have been scattered; and I will be hallowed in you before the Gentiles.” (Ezek 20:40-41)
“You shall offer a burnt offering as a sweet aroma to Yahweh“ (Num 29:2)
Yahweh says that our fire offerings are a sweet aroma. That’s a beautiful scene: as happy Father, breathing in the pleasure and joy of His children presenting themselves before him.
I want that for my relationship with Him. And I know you all do too.
So this holy day “season” and all the ones to come – don’t forget to bring your burnt offerings: yourself.
See you all soon- shalom and blessings to all of your households.
Josh
