Leviticus chapter 7-9

God’s message to me: Giving to the Lord is not just an obligation but can also be a celebration.

Promises: God will reveal himself and show us His Great pleasure when we do all He commands.

Commands: Never do something halfway for God. If your doing it for His service be careful to complete every detail. In the New Testament we are told we should always work as if we were working for God. This work ethic, if applied, results in a thoroughness and dedication to our jobs that not only pleases God but brings Him glory by letting Him shine through us. People should see Christians as a cut above the rest and willing to go the extra mile. They should prefer Christians employees because Christians do a better job.

WARNING: I can say from personal experience this leads to being a workaholic. Work should never outrank your service to God and obedience to Him. You still need church. You still need your day of rest.
Working as to God never means ignoring His command.

Timeless principles: The price of sin is quite high.

How can I apply what I’ve learned: Tithing is our duty. Some give offerings out of a sense of obligation. Giving out of our abundance and in celebration is pleasing to the Lord as well.

more to learn for in-depth study: “Unclean” is a biblical concept that ranges from simple laws to protect against disease to the need to avoid sin by avoiding those who, unrepentantly wallow in it. The main definition was applied to things which were not Kosher and things which were ritually unclean. Kosher laws were primarily to protect against illness. They made a great deal of sense and still do. By the time God presented the Apostle Peter with non-Kosher foods and told him it was alright to eat them, the practices of farming, food preparation and food preservation had become much more modernized. The Romans invented canning and made great strides in anti-microbial preparations. Ritually unclean things are a matter of Israel’s law. It is wise to take caution with these things but not necessary to avoid them. Some are unavoidable anyway. Someone has to tend to the dead, for example. Someone has to clean up after the livestock too. None of us would think it wise to do either without taking precautions against disease.

Fun Facts: The animal hides(for leather goods)belonged to the priest who offered the sacrifice. The only time leaven was offered with the sacrifices was in a thanksgiving sacrifice which was a celebration. When part of an offering was to be eaten it had to be finished the day of the offering. Leftovers were to be burned up. The one exception was if the sacrifice was voluntary(not part of some defined offering) or part of a vow. In that case it could be eaten on the next day as well but nothing remained for 3 days or it was burned.

Tomorrows assignment: Leviticus chapter 10-12