Its Sacrifice Time
A Devotional
© 2001 Steve Lattier and Men's Help Ministries

If you are thinking that I want to rush off and kill the fatted calf, then in a manner of speaking you are right! Not, of course, that I own any cattle but metaphorically I will, just hang on. The Old Testament is steeped in symbolism. There are allusions and foreshadows of Christ, there are correlations to all sorts of areas in our lives today. Heck if it were not for the rich symbolism found in the Bible, it would be hard to reach people with God's word. One of the beautiful things is that the Bible can speak to you no matter where you are in your life. Through the power of the Holy Spirit it is a living breathing, ever changing message. You can read a verse at one point in your life, then at another, years later it means something totally different to you. Even in those ever-living messages there are several common themes. I want to teach you about one of them today. I am not going to go into the symbolism of the Jewish sacrifice, that is a whole message by itself though. I want to teach you a larger message that God has placed in the Bible. Lets start in the very beginning.

The Word:
Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. [2] Now the earth was* formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. [3] And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. [4] God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. [5] God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." And there was evening, and there was morning--the first day. [6] And God said, "Let there be an expanse between the waters to separate water from water." [7] So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above it. And it was so. [8] God called the expanse "sky." And there was evening, and there was morning--the second day. [9] And God said, "Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear." And it was so. [10] God called the dry ground "land," and the gathered waters he called "seas." And God saw that it was good.

Did you see? When God created the earth is was a formless blob. It was not until verses three through ten that He gave us structure, we call it “Physics.” God set the parameters for how light works, how gravity works even the very air that we breathe. God set the very structure that sets our physical world, scientists still marvel at the complexity of physics. The space agencies strain to understand physics more so that we can do more! God doesn't operate inside that structure, we do, for our own comfort! Did God have to? No. He did it because He loves us. Then He gave us more.

The Word:
Genesis 2:7 the LORD God formed the man* from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.

From the start God set the pace for His relationship with us. Our God is a giving God, He gave us life! He didn't have to, no one forced Him to do it. Out of love for us He gave! Not only did He breathe life into us with His very breath, oh yes, there was more to it than that! Imagine if you will dirt, just a handful of good ol' dirt. Not even rich earth, full of nutrients but dust, dirt that has been ravaged by the wind and rain so long that nothing will grow in it! That is what God had in His hand that day and He breathed life into it and we became flesh! WOW! God of course, didn't even slow down with that, that was how he started with us and He always has kept up the pace.

The Word:
Genesis 6:7 So the LORD said, "I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth--men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air--for I am grieved that I have made them." [8] But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.[/i]

There near the beginning we were given Grace. You all know the rest of the story Noah built a boat and God floated the boat, while everyone else on the planet died. God was so ticked at the way man slid after Adam's sin that He was ready to end it all, He even said so. But one righteous man touched His heart and again He gave! If Noah had not been righteous and God had not been a giving God we would not exist today! God kept on with this theme for our relationship with Him and He gave again.

The Word:
Exodus 31:18 When the LORD finished speaking to Moses on Mount Sinai, he gave him the two tablets of the Testimony, the tablets of stone inscribed by the finger of God.

The Lord gave us boundries, humankind was just so incapable of getting it right God had to set some guidelines as to what had to be done to keep from inciting His wrath. Those two stone tablets also carried the weight of God's covenant with Israel as His chosen people. God handed Israel more laws, six hundred thirteen to be exact! Now while we are free from having to keep those as “laws”, sin is still sin! Can you imagine, up until this point there were no real rules!! God still wasn't done giving.

The Word:
Joshua 6:2 Then the LORD said to Joshua, "See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men. [3] March around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days. [4] Have seven priests carry trumpets of rams' horns in front of the ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing the trumpets. [5] When you hear them sound a long blast on the trumpets, have all the people give a loud shout; then the wall of the city will collapse and the people will go up, every man straight in."

God gave us victory in obedience. The story is a simple one Joshua was preparing to fight for the promised land and this would be his first battle. God gave him some very clear and precise directions, when Joshua followed them he won. God could have done it differently and just had the people of Jericho lose, but He did not. God wanted the Israelites and us to learn that our victory comes not from our might, or our righteousness but from our obedience to God! Then God gave us a second chance!

The Word:
Matthew 27:50 And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. [51] At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split. [52] The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. [53] They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus' resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many people. [54] When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, "Surely he was the Son* of God!"

God didn't have to send His son to die for our sin! That has always been the spirit of His relationship with us. He didn't have to do it but He did anyway, even to the point that He let His son get bloodied with a whip and then die on a cross, just for us. God has led by example, we are to follow His lead. God isn't going to ask you to sacrifice your children or anything but He wants you to live a giving life! Even to the point where sometimes people will take some advantage of you. What do you do about those people who try to take advantage of your giving? That is what the “turn the other cheek” message is about. When you are giving from your heart you are free. It is kind of like giving money to a teenager with no job, that is no loan it is a gift and you should not expect it back! IF your giving is a real GIFT then you cannot be taken advantage of! That is real sacrifice! If you put expectations around getting a return for your gift then you have not sacrificed. Some people give money and expect to get it back, some people volunteer to get praise and recognition. Those types of people always get hurt or burned don't they? What can you give? Why everything. You have one or more of these money, time or talent. Jesus told us to love one another as he loved us. That was sacrificial love. We should touch each others lives like that! It is sacrifice time.


Pray with me: Father I love you, I am just learning of how you have given to us through the ages. Teach me how to have that type of love for my fellows. Lord perhaps I have been embittered and don't want to give anymore, soften my heart and help me to reach out once more. Help me Father to give and not attach any strings to my gifts. Show me Lord, what I have that others need. Set me free with sacrificial giving, I ask this humbly in Jesus name. Amen!


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