Sacrifice of Thanks
Just one more. I promise.
I've been so enthralled with Psalm 116 this week. I've written about talking to your soul and calling on Him but I have just one more today.
Then I'll go somewhere besides Psalm 116. I promise. But don't tune me out yet; this might be the most precious part.
Check out this verse:
"I will sacrifice a thank offering to you and call on the name of the Lord," (Psalm 116:17).
The idea of a 'thank offering' is not new to the Psalms. It's also mentioned in Leviticus, 2 Chronicles, Jeremiah, Amos. It's just what it sounds like: an offering brought when you're thankful for something.
And though I should have known what was meant in the offering, it didn't hit me until I saw how, in this verse, that the word sacrifice was used with thank offering, meaning something had to be killed when you gave a thank offering.
The definition of the Hebrew word for sacrifice is this: to offer a sacrifice; to slaughter, butcher. And everywhere I look as a reference, I find that this word means, in no uncertain terms, animal sacrifice.
So, something died when a follower of God was thankful? Yep.
Worship to the Hebrews was not really like going to church today. Most of the time they went to the temple, something was going to die. Did you sin? Are you healed? Baby born? All causes for animal sacrifice.
Why something so brutal? So graphic?
Because worship cost something. They either had to take the animal from their flock or buy it from someone else. It was a perfect animal, which would have made the best meat or sold for the most money. And not only did it cost them the goat they would have eaten or the money required to buy it, but they were reminded that nothing was free. Someone paid the cost.
They saw the blood and the carcass. They watched the pain. They heard the death. They smelled the burnt offerings.
[Like I said, not like church today!]
So what does sacrifice have to do with thanksgiving?
We are really thankful at Thanksgiving. And we try to live thankfully, aware of all the blessings God has given us. We're thankful for our friends, parents, and home. We're thankful for a good teacher and an extended deadline. We're thankful for cars make it where we're going (most of the time) and food and pets. No sacrifice needed.
So maybe we're not doing it right. Or maybe we're not thankful for enough. Because it doesn't cost us anything to be thankful for the good stuff.
Consider this passage from Philippians 4: "Don't worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God," (verse 6).
Did you catch that?
We should be thankful for the things that make us worry. That we are taking to God as prayer requests.
We should be thankful for the bad. The hard. The stressful. The dreaded.
THAT'S where the sacrifice happens. Because we thank God for those things as we pray for them, knowing they are in His hands.
And we kill our attitude. Our plan. Our anger. Our regret. Our "I know how to do it, God." Our desire to take charge. Our right to be upset.
Because He is God. He's in charge. And we are calling upon the name of the LORD.
(Remember? Psalm 116:17 says, "I will sacrifice a thank offering to you and call on the name of the LORD.")
Sacrificing a thank offering and calling on the name of the Lord go hand-in-hand.
When He's your Lord (master, ultimate ruler), you believe He is truly sovereign. All-knowing. Completely powerful. Totally in control.
So you thank Him for that horrible roommate, that terrible boss, and that sulky sister. You are thankful for the road trip that didn't happen, the friendship that died, and the failed class. You're thankful for acne and greasy hair and the cafeteria closing 2 minutes before you got there.
Not because you like those things. But because He is God. And you're learning to kill your own desires and acknowledge His are best. Maybe they don't seem best right now, but they are best for eternity.
He knows best.
You don't.
And it's okay to kill your plans. Jesus said: "If anyone wants to come with Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me," (Luke 9:23).
The cross was a method of death. Jesus was explaining that you'd have to die to be His. YOU are the thing that dies when you thank God like you should.
Die to yourself--and live for Him--as you sacrifice your thank offering.
I LOVE YOU.
@leslienotebook
myleslienotebook@gmail.com
And hey--thanks for the sweet texts, comments, and emails. PLEASE share these blogs in any way you want!
I've been so enthralled with Psalm 116 this week. I've written about talking to your soul and calling on Him but I have just one more today.
Then I'll go somewhere besides Psalm 116. I promise. But don't tune me out yet; this might be the most precious part.
Check out this verse:
"I will sacrifice a thank offering to you and call on the name of the Lord," (Psalm 116:17).
The idea of a 'thank offering' is not new to the Psalms. It's also mentioned in Leviticus, 2 Chronicles, Jeremiah, Amos. It's just what it sounds like: an offering brought when you're thankful for something.
And though I should have known what was meant in the offering, it didn't hit me until I saw how, in this verse, that the word sacrifice was used with thank offering, meaning something had to be killed when you gave a thank offering.
The definition of the Hebrew word for sacrifice is this: to offer a sacrifice; to slaughter, butcher. And everywhere I look as a reference, I find that this word means, in no uncertain terms, animal sacrifice.
So, something died when a follower of God was thankful? Yep.
Worship to the Hebrews was not really like going to church today. Most of the time they went to the temple, something was going to die. Did you sin? Are you healed? Baby born? All causes for animal sacrifice.
Why something so brutal? So graphic?
Because worship cost something. They either had to take the animal from their flock or buy it from someone else. It was a perfect animal, which would have made the best meat or sold for the most money. And not only did it cost them the goat they would have eaten or the money required to buy it, but they were reminded that nothing was free. Someone paid the cost.
They saw the blood and the carcass. They watched the pain. They heard the death. They smelled the burnt offerings.
[Like I said, not like church today!]
So what does sacrifice have to do with thanksgiving?
We are really thankful at Thanksgiving. And we try to live thankfully, aware of all the blessings God has given us. We're thankful for our friends, parents, and home. We're thankful for a good teacher and an extended deadline. We're thankful for cars make it where we're going (most of the time) and food and pets. No sacrifice needed.
So maybe we're not doing it right. Or maybe we're not thankful for enough. Because it doesn't cost us anything to be thankful for the good stuff.
Consider this passage from Philippians 4: "Don't worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God," (verse 6).
Did you catch that?
We should be thankful for the things that make us worry. That we are taking to God as prayer requests.
We should be thankful for the bad. The hard. The stressful. The dreaded.
THAT'S where the sacrifice happens. Because we thank God for those things as we pray for them, knowing they are in His hands.
And we kill our attitude. Our plan. Our anger. Our regret. Our "I know how to do it, God." Our desire to take charge. Our right to be upset.
Because He is God. He's in charge. And we are calling upon the name of the LORD.
(Remember? Psalm 116:17 says, "I will sacrifice a thank offering to you and call on the name of the LORD.")
Sacrificing a thank offering and calling on the name of the Lord go hand-in-hand.
When He's your Lord (master, ultimate ruler), you believe He is truly sovereign. All-knowing. Completely powerful. Totally in control.
So you thank Him for that horrible roommate, that terrible boss, and that sulky sister. You are thankful for the road trip that didn't happen, the friendship that died, and the failed class. You're thankful for acne and greasy hair and the cafeteria closing 2 minutes before you got there.
Not because you like those things. But because He is God. And you're learning to kill your own desires and acknowledge His are best. Maybe they don't seem best right now, but they are best for eternity.
He knows best.
You don't.
And it's okay to kill your plans. Jesus said: "If anyone wants to come with Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me," (Luke 9:23).
The cross was a method of death. Jesus was explaining that you'd have to die to be His. YOU are the thing that dies when you thank God like you should.
Die to yourself--and live for Him--as you sacrifice your thank offering.
I LOVE YOU.
@leslienotebook
myleslienotebook@gmail.com
And hey--thanks for the sweet texts, comments, and emails. PLEASE share these blogs in any way you want!
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