Psalms 50, 51
Scripture
Psalms 50:9 – 15
I have no need of a bull from your stall
or of goats from your pens,
For every animal of the forest is mine,
and the cattle on a thousand hills.
I know every bird in the mountains,
and the creatures of the field are mine.
If I were hungry I would not tell you,
for the world is mine, and all that is in it.
Do I eat the flesh of bulls
or drink the blood of goats?
“Sacrifice thank offerings to God,
fulfill your vows to the Most High,
And call on me in the day of trouble;
I will deliver you, and you will honour me.”
Psalms 51:16 – 17
You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;
You do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit;
A broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.
Observation
While God does not denounce the giving of sacrifices to Him, He reminds us of the kind of sacrifice that He desires. God does not merely yearn for physical and material sacrifices from us, but rather He wants us to examine our state of heart when we are giving. God does not need material sacrifices from us because He gave us everything in the first place. Therefore, presenting Him with material things without the spirit of giving accomplishes nothing.
The key sacrifice that God longs for is a spirit of brokenness and humility. God wants to hear those who yearn for more of Him cry out in desperation and repentance. God desires to be close to those who hunger for more of His word, who thirst for His grace and love. He is pleased with those who offer a heart of contrition and dependence unto Him.
Daniel, who cried out to the Lord in desperation during his time in exile and fasted in His presence, received an assurance from God and came face to face with “one like a son of man” (Dan 10:7). The Lord gave an answer to Solomon in his prayer of dedication of the newly built temple of the Lord, “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” (2 Ch 7:14) It is clearly seen here that the Lord’s desired sacrifice is for people to turn away from their wicked ways in a heart of repentance and to seek the Lord with a spirit of brokenness and remorse. Another instance is where the Lord speaks to the Jews in exile, after going through 70 years of hardship in captivity, the Lord promises that they will pray to Him and He will listen (Jer 29:12). In a power example of God desiring a heart of humility, Jesus declared that the tax collector who came before God with a remorseful and humble heart “went home justified before God” (Lk 18:14).
Whereas massive offerings without the spirit of giving is meaningless and detestable (Isa 1:13) unto the Lord, a simple offering presented with faith and love can throw open the floodgates of heaven and fill our store houses until they overflow with blessings (Mal 3:10).
The kind of sacrifice that God desires is also one that honours Him, praising Him and delighting in Him. In Isa 43:23 – 24, the Lord charged the Jews for not honouring Him with their sacrifices, but instead burdened Him with their sins and transgressions. While they continued to offer sacrifices to the Lord, they did not do it in the right spirit – to honour the Lord. While they claimed to be sacrificing to the Lord, the Jews at the same time worshipped all forms of idols and all kinds of foreign gods. Hence, their sacrifices were detestable to the Lord.
While the rich poured out heaps of money into the temple coffers, a poor widow could only offer up a few copper coins (Mk 12:41 – 44). Yet, Jesus declared that the widow’s heartfelt sacrifice was greater compared to those of the rich, for she had “put in everything”. The widow not only gave material possessions, if that were so, then her sacrifice would be no different compared to those of the rich. She gave more than that. She supplemented her giving with the spirit of giving. Despite being physically poor, she desired to honour the Lord with her giving and hence, she was commended for it.
Application
We sometimes think that offering big sacrifices to God is what He truly desires. As such, we strive hard to fashion successes in order to bring glory to God. While this in itself is not wrong, we sometimes forget that the true kind of sacrifice that God desires is for us to come before Him with a spirit of brokenness and dependence on Him. In our busyness to achieve more for God, in our ministry, in our service to the church and the community, we sometimes forget that what God truly wants is not the things that we do for Him, but it is for us to just be with Him. Therefore, we often times get burned out trying to take on more than we can handle, trying to serve God in more ways than we are capable of. What he truly yearns for is for us to present ourselves in the spirit of humility in His presence and allow Him to fill us with His grace and love. Hence, it is important that we set apart and consecrate a specific amount of time just to dwell in His presence, to allow Him to renew and refresh our contrite and repentant hearts.
Secondly, we sometimes try to craft an image of success for ourselves under the pretence of glorifying God. We push on for success under the impression of wanting to advance His Kingdom, whereas in reality, what we are really doing is to seek our own personal gain. For instance, I could compete with others to get the top position in class under the pretence of wanting to bring glory to God, but the truth is, I just want the fame and influence that comes with it. This kind of sacrifice, says the Lord, is meaningless and detestable. Therefore, it is imperative that we examine our hearts before we offer up any kind of sacrifice to the Lord, to ensure that it is presented in the right spirit, for just as faith without deeds is dead, works without faith is also worthless.
Thirdly, we sometimes feel lazy to act upon our callings to serve the Lord. We think, “The Lord does not desire material sacrifices, so we can just relax, keep holding onto our faith and just wait till He comes back.” But James warns that faith without works is dead. The way we demonstrate our faith, our desire to honour God and the display our spirit of humility is by serving others within the community. Our failure and unwillingness to respond to our calling to serve one another in the body of Christ is really a sign of stubbornness and arrogance, wanting to have things our way. Jesus warns against this, calling us to turn away from our indifference to God’s will for us, so that we will not be called “the wicked and lazy servant” and be “thrown into the outer darkness”.
In conclusion, the kind of sacrifice that God desires is for us to have a spirit of humility and the desire to honour Him through serving others and learning to lay down our lives for one another, not laziness or apathy to the plight of others, yet at the same time to have a spirit of brokenness and dependence on Him, not self-reliance or arrogant pride.
Prayer
Dear Heavenly Father, I thank you that you have wonderfully and fearfully made me in your image. I thank you that you have sustained me through your love and your grace that I may continue to live out all your goodness, purposes and promises in my life. Lord, I just want to show my gratitude to you by presenting myself as a living sacrifice to you. Lord, I know that you do not desire material offerings or physical sacrifices but you desire a heart that longs after you, a spirit of contrition and humility, a desire and longing to honour you and bring glory to your name. So, Lord, I pray that you continue to put in my heart these things, so that I may continue to dwell in your presence in brokenness and dependence on you. And I pray, Lord, that you will accept my sacrifice, no matter how small and insignificant it is, for I know that you will not reject an offering made out of love and adoration of you. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment