Exodus chapters 29-30

Sanctify the priests

God’s message to me: God is righteous, holy and just. He cannot abide in the presence of sin. Everything placed before him in the temple had to be consecrated to Him. Cleansed and atoned for then anointed to His service.

Promises: No sin is too great for God to forgive. He has prepared an atonement for our sin and a path to sanctify us to His service.

Commands: That which is meant for God is meant for Him alone. It is not intended for general use by anyone else. Using those things meant for His service and glory in a manner that does not serve and glorify Him is wrong.

Timeless principles: There is an idea I come across pretty regularly. People think that their tithes and offerings can be delayed when they need to use them elsewhere. The idea is that they can always pay it back later. These passages make it clear that these things are meant for God and putting them to other use is wrong. It is difficult to live up to this when the bills are due and the gas prices skyrocket and the kids need new things for school but, Serving God first and foremost will allow God to help you through all the rest.

more to learn for in-depth study: It’s difficult, for us, to understand all the sacrifices and atonement rituals of the Old Testament. God provided rules of atonement and blood sacrifice to atone for the sins of those people. When Christ died on the cross he became the ultimate sacrifice. A sinless man was executed in brutal fashion to make up for all our sins, past, present and future. Because of Jesus Christ, we no longer need all these rituals and devices.

There are some basic principles that still exist today. The Tithes and Offerings we bring to God at our churches are to be used for the maintenance of our church and to provide for our ministers. In later portions of the Old Testament we will see that the temple is neglected as the priests tend their fields and businesses to provide for their families and them selves. This was a result of the failure of the people to bring their offerings to God and thereby support their ministers.

It is true that some churches are small and don’t have the budget to provide for the ministers needs. In this case it is incumbent upon believers, not only to find more ways to support their ministers but, also, to grow the church so that it can better support them. God didn’t call them to a life of poverty and the constant need to find other ways of supporting themselves. He called them to serve Him, teach His word, Lead His people and build His church. God calls the church body to provide for the needs of it’s ministers so that they can concentrate on their jobs.

Your pastors teach the word, manage the church and it’s finances, pray with and tend to the sick, perform your weddings and funerals, lead the prayer ministries, oversee the efforts of the other teachers and workers in the church, and continually go to God in prayer and study to better serve you by serving Him. Is it to much to ask that they have a nice home for their family, good clothes to wear when they are representing God and your church family, Food on their table and provision for the ministries they oversee?

Does your church provide food or supplies to the needy? Does it have outside ministries in the hospitals and prisons? Do they provide Sunday school and other teaching programs? Do they have fellowship meals and socials for the fellowship of the saints? How do you expect these common ministries to be fulfilled if your pastor has to do all that and hold down a full time job to feed his family? How can the church prosper if the pastor is working 40 hours a week to provide for his family and another 40 to keep up the church? When is your minister supposed to spend time with his children?

The most important message here is that we are to support the church and the ministers so that the body of believers can be properly served.