Exodus 34:25-26 God’s people must serve with gratitude and with holy hands asking for nothing in return
Exodus 34:25-26 God’s people must serve with gratitude and with holy hands asking for nothing in return
“You shall not offer the blood of My sacrifice with leavened bread, nor is the sacrifice of the Feast of the Passover to be left over until morning.
“You shall bring the very first of the first fruits of your soil into the house of the LORD your God.
Background
The first command pertains to the purity of the believer’s life. The second command pertains to the attitude in which the believer offer his service to God. Indeed, every believer must maintain the purity of heart, worthy of the blood of the Lamb. So that he may serve God with a heart of gratitude while asking for nothing in return. Today’s devotion teaches us: God’s people must serve with gratitude and with holy hands asking for nothing in return.
Observation and truth
“You shall not offer the blood of My sacrifice with leavened bread, nor is the sacrifice of the Feast of the Passover to be left over until morning.
Leaven symbolises impurity and sin. The command to offer the blood of the sacrifice only with unleavened bread addresses the attitude of the offerer in the way he lives his life. To offer the sacrifice with unleavened bread is to imitate Christ’s manner of living. When we enter the church and into God’s presence, we are offering our lives as bread alongside with Christ, the Lamb of God. But many came to God week after week offering leavened bread with the blood of the Lamb. Such have not repented of their sins and are intending to use the blood to sanctify their unrepentant body of sin. The blood of Christ is only intended to cleanse our body only once in our lifetime, not every time when we approach God. The washing of their feet is to anoint them to walk the narrow path. That is why Jesus refused to accede to Peter’s request to wash his hands and head, but only to wash his feet. Jesus said to Peter,
“He who has bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you.” For He knew the one who was betraying Him; for this reason He said, “Not all of you are clean.” – John 13:10-11
Peter has a pure heart that is regenerated by the blood; an unleavened bread worthy of the blood of the Lamb. But many are like Judas, whose intention is to use Jesus’s blood for their selfish gain. They continue to sin while depending on the blood to cleanse them. Such are liken to leavened bread, utterly unfit to be placed alongside with the blood of Christ. They will not experience God’s blessings for He has rejected their offerings and their songs has become noise. This command reminds us to maintain a life that is pure and worthy of the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul prayed for the believers at Colossae…
so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God… – Colossians 1:10
“You shall bring the very first of the first fruits of your soil into the house of the LORD your God.
The Feast of the First Fruits actually takes place during the week-long Passover celebration. During this feast, the Israelites offer the very first sheaf of the harvest as thanksgiving for God’s faithfulness. And they are not allowed to consume the crop until they offer this first portion to the Lord. This requires faith on their part as they will be giving the first portion at a time when not much is ready to be harvested. Thus, they have to trust God to provide the full harvest that have yet to come forth.
When the offerer bring the first fruits to the temple, he shall declare to the priest,
“I declare this day to the Lord, God, that I have come to the land which the Lord swore to our forefathers to give us.”
The priest shall take the basket from his hand, laying it before the altar of the Lord, God.
Then the offerer shall call out and say before the Lord, God:
“An Aramean sought to destroy my forefather, and he went down to Egypt and sojourned there with a small number of people, and there he became a great, mighty and numerous nation. The Egyptians treated us cruelly and afflicted us, and they imposed hard labor upon us. So we cried out to the Lord, God of our fathers, and the Lord heard our voice and saw our affliction, our toil and our oppression. The Lord brought us out from Egypt with a strong hand and with an outstretched arm, with great awe, and with signs and wonders. And He brought us to this place, and He gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. So now, behold, I have brought the first of the fruit of the ground which You, O Lord, have given to me.”
Then, the offerer shall lay it before the Lord, God, and prostrate himself before the Lord, God. Then he shall rejoice with all the good that the Lord, God, has granted him and his household — he, the Levite, and the stranger who is among him.
God’s people must serve with gratitude and with holy hands asking for nothing in return.
The spirit of the Feast of the First fruit is giving from a heart of thanksgiving and contentment. Indeed, a blessed people give and serve with gratitude asking God for nothing in return. Because they are assured that God has promised to bless them with the best of the best, they need not ask Him for anything in return. However, the people in the days of Malachi have stopped giving their offerings and turned away from God. Because of their selfishness and ingratitude, a national disaster awaits. God sends Malachi to rebuke them,
“Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you say, ‘How have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings. You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing Me, the whole nation of you!…” – Malachi 3:8-9
However, God, in His mercies has made this special concession by allowing them to test Him in the area of giving,
“Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this,” says the LORD of hosts, “if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows. Then I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of the ground; nor will your vine in the field cast its grapes,” says the LORD of hosts. “All the nations will call you blessed, for you shall be a delightful land,” says the LORD of hosts….” – Malachi 3:10-12
By allowing the people to test Him, He permits them to give with an expectation to receive. God, because of mercy has lowered the bar towards a rebellious and faithless generation! Many in the churches today have stopped giving while turning away from His commandments. Their ministers have been citing Malachi 3:10 while encouraging them to give out of an expectation to receive. It is sad and regrettable that many churches in the age of grace have resorted to testing God. And many continue to withhold the full measure of their tithes and offerings. God’s people must repent before He disciplines the church! We must serve with gratitude and with holy hands asking for nothing in return.
Application
Do you focus more on acquiring God’s forgiveness or His attributes? Make oneness with God your goal and be intentional in imitating Christ in all that you say and do.
Do you sometimes feel a sense of reluctance when it is time to tithe or give to the needy? Recount the blessings that God has brought and be grateful. Trust in God and His promises, and He will bless you in all your endeavours. Do not depend on money but on God. Hebrews says,
Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, “I WILL NEVER DESERT YOU, NOR WILL I EVER FORSAKE YOU,” so that we confidently say,
“THE LORD IS MY HELPER, I WILL NOT BE AFRAID.
WHAT WILL MAN DO TO ME?” – Hebrews 13:5-6
Dear Lord, I thank you for sacrificing yourself to remove the records of my sins. I will imitate you in all that you say and do. And I will serve you with all the resources you have given me. Use me to fulfil your kingdom’s work. In Jesus’s name I pray. Amen.