THE BURNT OFFERING

(Seven Principles On Giving To God)

 

 

Lev.   1:1-17 (Read vs. 1-4)

 

Prayer

 

The Burnt Offering may be the oldest offering known to man.

Before Cain. killed Abel, both men made offerings to God.

 

 

We cannot say for sure,

But Abel's offering was probably a burnt offering.

 

 

We do know that Noah made a burnt offering when he came off the Ark just

after the flood (Gen. 8:20).

We also know that Abraham almost made Isaac a burnt offering (Gen. 22).

 

 

So the burnt offering is a very old offering.

And like all of the other offerings, it points to Jesus.

 

 

But one of the most important points about the burnt offering is what it tells  

us about giving to God.

The people were sinners.

 

 

Some felt guilty.

Some wanted to do something for God.

 

 

Moses told them what to do.

Today, I will eight points about what he said.

 

 

 

1^st---The people were not required to give an offering.

The key word is “required.”

 

 

Verse 2 reads, “IF any man of you bring an offering.”

“If” they wanted to bring an offering they could.

 

 

But “if” they didn't want to bring an offering, they didn't have to.

If we want to give to God, we can.

 

 

But if we don't want to give to God, we don't have to.

God won’t pound His fist.

 

 

And demand that we give.

He wants us to give.

 

 

He promises to bless us, if we give.

But He won’t compel us to give.

 

 

Paul was talking about giving when he said, “He that soweth sparingly shall   

reap also sparingly;”

“And he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.”

 

 

“Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give;”

Does this say ten percent?

 

 

Does this say we are compelled to give?

“Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give;”

 

 

“Not grudgingly, or of necessity:”

“For God loveth a cheerful giver” (II Cor. 9:6, 7).

“Not grudgingly” means if we are going to grumble about it, God doesn't      

want it.

“Not of necessity” means we shouldn't think we have to give.

 

 

We shouldn't think we have to give because someone is watching.

Or because everyone else is giving,

 

 

Or because we are an officer in the Church,

Or for any other reason.

 

 

The only gift that God wants is the gift that we want to give.

I remind you of that famous verse in the “Love Chapter” (I Cor. 13:3).

 

 

“Though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body         

to be burned, (that’s a burnt offering) and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.”

A grudging gift is a wasted gift.

 

 

We should give because we love God.

2^nd---Anyone could give, if they gave the right thing in the right way.

 

 

Verse 2 reads, “If any man of you bring an offering.”

“Any man” means God is no respecter of persons (Acts 10:34).

 

 

We don't have to be a Jew;

A preacher or missionary;

 

 

Rich or poor.

Anyone can give to God.

 

 

His only requirement is that we give the right thing in the right way.

Cain is an example of a person who gave the wrong thing.

 

 

He offered the fruit of the ground when God wanted the firstling of his flock.

God wouldn't accept it (Gen. 4).

 

 

Ananias and Sapphira are an example of people who gave in the wrong way  

(Acts 5).

They sold some property;

 

 

Gave part of the money to the Church;

But they tried to deceive the Church into thinking they were giving all of it.

 

 

They were not giving to honor God.

They were giving to buy honor for themselves.

 

 

God wouldn't accept it.

Anyone can give to God.

 

 

But if we want God to accept it, we have to give the right thing in the right     

way.

3^rd---Everyone knew what God wanted.

 

 

Verse 2 reads, “Ye shall bring your offering of the cattle, even of the herd,     

and of the flock . . . .”

God told the Jews what He wanted.

 

 

There's a reason for that.

He wanted gifts that honor Jesus.

 

 

If our gifts don't honor Jesus, God doesn't want them.

We can put the money in the offering plate.

 

 

The usher will take it.

The Church will spend it.

 

 

But God doesn't want it.

4^th---Our gifts must be voluntary.

 

 

Verse 3 reads, “he shall offer it of his own voluntary will.”

Some Jews thought they HAD to give.

 

 

But they didn't want to part with their best bull.

So they offered one of their sick bulls.

 

 

Others didn't want to part with their best sheep.

So they offered one of their blind sheep.

 

 

That kind of giving didn't honor God.

He didn't want sick bulls and blind sheep.

 

 

We give money.

Some of us don't have much.

 

 

We can't give much.

We don't give much.

 

 

But what we give still honors God because we gave in spite of our short       

supply.

Some of us have a lot.

We can give fifty or a hundred dollars.

And not miss it.

 

 

But we only give twenty dollars.

That's our "sick cow" and "blind sheep" offering.

 

 

It doesn't honor God.

We are wasting gifts that don't honor God.

 

 

It's not worship, if we begrudge what we give.

It's an indication of sin in our heart.

 

 

5^th---Our gifts should cost us something.

Verse 3 reads, “offer a male without blemish.”

 

 

When the Jews gave their best animal, it cost them something.

Giving up the best we have makes it a sacrifice.

 

 

It honors God.

I want to show you something.

 

 

God asked the Jews to sacrifice a lamb on Passover.

Three days before they sacrificed it, they took it into their home and made a  

pet out of it.

 

 

That sounds strange;

Make a pet out of it.

 

 

Then, kill it.

Did you ever try to kill a pet?

It's very hard to do.

It costs us something.

 

 

So when God told the Jews to make a pet out of that lamb and to kill it three

days later, that made their gift an even greater gift.

It was even harder to give up.

 

 

And this tells us something about what God went through when He offered up        

Jesus.

Letting His only Son die was very difficult.

 

 

Letting His only Son die made the cost higher.

6^th---We should give according to our ability to give.

 

 

God told the people what to give.

But He gave them some choices.

 

 

They could choose a bullock (vs. 5),

Or a lamb or goat (vs. 10),

 

 

Or a pair of birds (vs. 14).

These choices had to do with their ability to give.

 

 

The person who could afford a bullock gave a bullock.

If someone couldn't afford to give a bullock, they could give a lamb or a goat.

 

 

If they couldn't afford to give a lamb or a goat, they could give two birds.

God only asked them to give what they could afford to give.

 

 

 

The poor person who offered two birds pleased God just as much as the rich        

person who  offered his best bull.

The poor person who gives fifty cents pleases God just as much as the rich  

person who gives a thousand dollars.

 

The poor widow who gives her last two pennies pleases God more than the  

rich person who gives a thousand dollars out of his millions.

It's not the size of the gift that counts with God.

 

 

It's the intent of the heart.

Joseph and Mary were very poor when Jesus was born.

 

 

They could have said, “we are too poor to give to God.”

But they offered two turtledoves.

 

 

That's what God wants.

He wants us to give according to our ability to give.

 

 

I don't preach tithing.

But I do preach that tithing is a good guideline.

 

 

Some can't afford a tithe.

Some can afford more than a tithe.

 

 

Ten percent of a four thousand pay check every month is not as big a sacrifice       

as ten percent of a four hundred dollar Social Security check.

7^th---The person who offered a burnt offering put his hands upon the head of         

the offering.

 

 

Verse 4 reads, “He shall put his hand upon the head of the burnt offering.”

That symbolized the transfer of their sins to the animal.

 

God was teaching them that their sins could be placed upon a substitute.

It prefigured the time when Jesus would be our Substitute.

 

 

He would bear our sins in His own body.

8^th---When the person went forward to put his hands upon the head of the    

animal that person was standing before the priest and the congregation          

at the tabernacle.

 

 

That person was publicly confessing that he was a sinner;

Seeking forgiveness for his sins;

 

 

Seeking an atonement for his sins.

We will take Communion.

 

 

Doing so is a public confession that we are sinners;

That we need forgiveness;

 

 

That we are seeking an atonement.