Pentecost Sunday is two days away. I simply cannot contain my excitement. I am indeed grateful that the Lord promised us and provided a Counselor for us. Fifty days after Christ's resurrection, the Holy Spirit of the living God came to rest upon individual believers in the early church.
What a memorable day that must have been!
On this forty-eighth morning of my 50 days of waiting for Pentecost Sunday (June 8), allow me to continue looking at verse 19 from David's famous psalm. I began pondering this verse two days ago, reading,
"Then You will delight
in the sacrifices of the righteous,
in burnt offerings offered whole;
then bulls will be offered on Your altar."
Ps 51:19, NIV
My mind and heart are invited to focus on the last segment of this penitential psalm's final verse, "then bulls will be offered on Your altar." Why bulls? What is so special, so significant, so climactic about bulls that they would constitute the final offering to God mentioned by the psalmist?
As with every other topic, we go to Genesis. Bearing in ming that animal sacrifices were primarily used as burnt offerings for sin, it behooves us to remember that the first time sin -- that is, going against God's will -- was ever mentioned, God vividly portrayed it as something serious, lethal, and deadly (Gen 2:17).
Once sin entered the world, God introduced the concept of blood sacrifices to cleanse, cover, and sanctify His people (Gen 3:21).
Later, when Israel became a nation, God established a sacrificial system aimed at teaching people that sin must not be ignored and that some pure entity must remove the offense through its blood, thus enabling all who heed God's voice to gain a better understanding of His holiness and his gracious gift of redemption (Ex 20:24; 29:11-21).
In that sacrificial system, God instructed that each person should offer their utmost best, according to their means. For example:
- a very poor person could present the tenth of an ephah of fine flour (Lev 5:11)
- a poor individual could offer two doves or two young pigeons (Lev 5:7-10)
- a regular community member with average means could sacrifice a female lamb or goat from the flock (Lev 5:1-6)
- a leader could offer a male goat (Lev 4:22-26)
- the high priest or the whole community could offer a young bull without defect, seen as the highest level of sacrifice for this station in life (Lev 4:1-21)
In each case, cleansing or atonement or forgiveness was promised and granted as mandatory confession and specific sacrifice -- the utmost best of that entity -- were offered to God Most High.
With that said, you and I can understand David's final prayerful words in their proper context. His wealth and position required at least one bull. As he teaches other transgressors in his city and country (Ps 51:13), yet another bull is required for the cleansing of the entire community. Thus, offering multiple bulls to the Lord signifies a generous and lavish act of voluntary worship on the part of David -- reflecting a heart that expresses devotion, a renewed commitment to holiness and total obedience, a hunger for thorough cleansing, and an abundance of joyful gratitude.
Similarly, the Father calls you and me to offer 'young bulls without defect' to Him, to present to Him our highest level of sacrifice. Obviously, most of us do not live in an agrarian society and have no bulls to offer. Most of us are not the wealthiest individuals roaming the face of the earth. However, regardless of the size of bank accounts or the height of positions of influence, each one of us has something that is most precious to the Lord -- our heart, our soul, our all.
God wants our utmost best -- our unedited self, complete with the good and the bad -- surrendered to Him on His altar.
God offers His utmost best -- Jesus Christ crucified, the young bull without defect in the eyes of the Father, the precious Lamb that was slain -- surrendered to Himself on the cross.
In the economy of His grace, you and I can offer the Father our utmost best only when we acknowledge and receive His utmost best -- the Son of God, the Son of Man, the Word who became flesh and dwelt among us.
What mercy!
What unfailing love!
What great compassion!
God has completely turned around a situation that was meant for evil. It has served to rebuild God's people -- both back then and now.
Once sin entered the world, God introduced the concept of blood sacrifices to cleanse, cover, and sanctify His people (Gen 3:21).
Later, when Israel became a nation, God established a sacrificial system aimed at teaching people that sin must not be ignored and that some pure entity must remove the offense through its blood, thus enabling all who heed God's voice to gain a better understanding of His holiness and his gracious gift of redemption (Ex 20:24; 29:11-21).
In that sacrificial system, God instructed that each person should offer their utmost best, according to their means. For example:
- a very poor person could present the tenth of an ephah of fine flour (Lev 5:11)
- a poor individual could offer two doves or two young pigeons (Lev 5:7-10)
- a regular community member with average means could sacrifice a female lamb or goat from the flock (Lev 5:1-6)
- a leader could offer a male goat (Lev 4:22-26)
- the high priest or the whole community could offer a young bull without defect, seen as the highest level of sacrifice for this station in life (Lev 4:1-21)
In each case, cleansing or atonement or forgiveness was promised and granted as mandatory confession and specific sacrifice -- the utmost best of that entity -- were offered to God Most High.
With that said, you and I can understand David's final prayerful words in their proper context. His wealth and position required at least one bull. As he teaches other transgressors in his city and country (Ps 51:13), yet another bull is required for the cleansing of the entire community. Thus, offering multiple bulls to the Lord signifies a generous and lavish act of voluntary worship on the part of David -- reflecting a heart that expresses devotion, a renewed commitment to holiness and total obedience, a hunger for thorough cleansing, and an abundance of joyful gratitude.
Similarly, the Father calls you and me to offer 'young bulls without defect' to Him, to present to Him our highest level of sacrifice. Obviously, most of us do not live in an agrarian society and have no bulls to offer. Most of us are not the wealthiest individuals roaming the face of the earth. However, regardless of the size of bank accounts or the height of positions of influence, each one of us has something that is most precious to the Lord -- our heart, our soul, our all.
God wants our utmost best -- our unedited self, complete with the good and the bad -- surrendered to Him on His altar.
God offers His utmost best -- Jesus Christ crucified, the young bull without defect in the eyes of the Father, the precious Lamb that was slain -- surrendered to Himself on the cross.
In the economy of His grace, you and I can offer the Father our utmost best only when we acknowledge and receive His utmost best -- the Son of God, the Son of Man, the Word who became flesh and dwelt among us.
What mercy!
What unfailing love!
What great compassion!
God has completely turned around a situation that was meant for evil. It has served to rebuild God's people -- both back then and now.
May we too seek the Lord's gracious face
and offer Him our very best thank offerings!
May we offer passionate hearts that will far eclipse
our often dull and sterile disposition!
May we see Jesus today and forever!
Make it so, O gracious Lord!
Amen.
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