That I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving, and tell of all thy wondrous works. Psalms 26:7 KJV
If we are going to live in the presence of God, some things will have to change. Before we can bring our "firstfruits" to God we must be holy as well, and God has given us a Way. When we take Jesus Christ as our Saviour, God sees us through the blood of Jesus Christ, He sees no sin, it has all been removed by The Precious Blood of His Son. When we take Jesus as our Saviour, the sweet Holy Spirit of God indwells within us. I can now spend sweet time with God, knowing I am a child of God and an heir to the kingdom being prepared for the saved right now. I can offer my "firstfruits" and know that God considers them a sweet savor. Jesus, our high priest, intercedes for us constantly. But you must be saved. Oh, the day I accepted Jesus as my Saviour, the day I repented and asked Him to save me, made all this possible for me personally. How about you? Are you saved? Do you KNOW that God hears your prayers and has accepted your "firstfruits"? The first gift you give to God can be you. You can know, I would love to tell you how. Straight from the Word of God! Make your first gift to God your soul. You will NEVER regret it.
Leviticus 23:9-11 ~ 9 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 10 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest unto the priest: 11 And he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, to be accepted for you: on the morrow after the sabbath the priest shall wave it.
When is the last time you read anything out of the book of Leviticus? When is the last time you heard a sermon preached from this book of the Bible? What does the book of Leviticus have to do with "Grace Giving?" I'll start our devotion today with a little history on the book of Leviticus. It is the third book of the Pentateuch, (which is the first five books of the Hebrew Bible (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy).
Leviticus, takes its name from Levi, one of the twelve sons of Jacob. The Levi family was chosen by God to act as priests and assistants in the Tabernacle. The only way they could do that was to be HOLY. The first part of the book of Leviticus deals with offerings and the one that was offered and the last part of the book deals with feasts, that is where grace giving comes in. The book covers the laws given by God for sacrifices, Offerings, prescriptions for various types of uncleanness, Lawful and prohibited food to eat, prohibited sexual relationships. The last ten chapters are God’s guidelines for practical holiness. Multiple feasts were instituted in the Jewish people like the Year of Jubilee where all debts were forgiven (as we learned yesterday), and all land passed back to the original owners or their heirs. Leviticus basically outlines the things that the Lord gave to Moses on Mount Sinai.
However, the primary theme of Leviticus is holiness. God’s demand for holiness in His people is based on His own holy nature. Holiness must be maintained before God, and holiness can only be attained through a proper atonement. “Holy” means “set apart”—but it’s a lot more involved than just being special. God is holy: far greater in love, goodness, power, and justice than humans. We can never be holy enough to look at God face to face, that is why we needed a Saviour - our intercessor before God.
Lord, help us to be wise, studied up, aware, and faithful to You. Amen.
With love and prayers,
LKMilam
May we be faithful to be your Philippians 2:16 Missionaries.
Philippians 2:16 Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain.
Tom and Linda Milam
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