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THE SACRIFICE OF PRAISE!
This past week, during our Spring Break, Linda
and I took a few days off and went to Disneyland. As you probably
know Disneyland is celebrating its 50th anniversary with the advertisement that
it is "The Happiest Homecoming on Earth." While its slogan is a bit
much we had to admit that it was a happier time than when we paid our
initial visit to Disneyland in 1974 on the 9th of August - the very day Richard
M. Nixon resigned as our 37th President.
With no high-level resignations on our mind we
spent two full days enjoying being kids again, without the kids. We held
on for dear life as we rode the Thunder Mountain roll-a-coaster, wisely passed
on the high-speed coaster of California Screamin', decided not to do the Matterhorn
Bobsleds a second time, rode untamed mustangs on the merry-go-round, enjoyed Sorrin'
over California so much that we got right back in line and did it a second time,
thoroughly enjoyed the street musicians, and yes we made circles around everyone
as we rode the teacups - twice!
Then, much to our surprise, we discovered that
the Crystal Cathedral was just two blocks west of our hotel. Surrounded
by grassy knolls and a well-maintained hedge the spires of the Cathedral are
what first grabs your attention. Then when you actually enter you find
immaculate landscaping and a half-dozen bronze sculptures of biblical figures
and stories. For example, you have Moses holding up the Ten Commandments
alongside the burning bush which is still burning to this day. You also
have a scene portraying Jesus bringing home the lost sheep.
The bronze sculptures are undoubtedly designed
to prompt all who pass by to stop and rejoice in all that God has done on our
behalf. He gave us the Ten Commandments so that we might live and not die
in our trespasses. Then when we were lost in the wilderness of our own
poor judgment He left the ninety-and-nine to find us and bring us into the fold. But
if the sculptures don't prompt you to pause and think, surely the following sign
will stop you in your tracks. It reads:
IN-CAR
WORSHIP
CENTER
In-Car Worship Center? Yes, there is a designated
area for people who simply wish to park, sit in the comfort of their car, and
worship. My gut reaction to this was - "You got to be kidding!" On
second thought I considered that maybe this was the best someone could do for
a variety of reasons. Perhaps their health was such that they just found
it very difficult to walk for any distance. Or maybe they had been so hurt
by some church experience in the past that this was the only step they were ready
to take toward once-again attending church. Or maybe they were so steeped
in shame that this was the best they could do at this point in their pilgrimage.
So I walked away thinking that having an area
for In-Car Worship was okay. Nevertheless, there is a sadness to it that
cannot be ignored. For while there is a personal side to worship there
is also a corporate side where the joy of knowing God is fully expressed in the
praises of His people. Yes, I can do my part whether I am by myself or
with others, but praise is always incomplete until God's body comes together
to celebrate the grace of God. Jesus understood this when, in Luke 15:4
- 5, he said:
"If you had one hundred sheep, and one of
them strayed away and was lost in the wilderness, wouldn't you leave the ninety-nine
others to go and search for the lost one until you found it? 5 And then
you would joyfully carry it home on your shoulders. 6 When you arrived,
you would call together your friends and neighbors to rejoice with you because
your lost sheep was found. In the same way, heaven . . ."
Then too the father of the prodigal son understood
that the sacrifice of praise was incomplete until it was shared with others. For
in Luke 15:22 - 24 he responded to the yearned-for return of his youngest son
by saying:
"But his father said to the servants, 'Quick!
Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for his finger,
and sandals for his feet. 23 And kill the calf we have been fattening
in the pen. We must celebrate with a feast, 24 for this son of mine was
dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.' So the
party began. Meanwhile, the older son . . ."
You see, it is in one of the many corners of God's
Kingdom that we find the happiest place on earth. And our happiness, our
joy, is best expressed, that is, it brings the most glory to God when we gather
with others, or gather others around us, in an atmosphere of corporate
worship. We see a nice example of this invitation to praise God in
Psalm 66 where we read:
Shout joyful praises to God, all the earth!
2 Sing about the glory
of his name!
Tell
the world how glorious he is.
3 Say to God, "How awesome are your deeds!
Your
enemies cringe before your mighty power.
4 Everything on earth will worship you;
they
will sing your praises,
shouting
your name in glorious songs."
Selah
5 Come and see what our God has done,
what
awesome miracles he does for his people!
6 He made a dry path through the Red Sea,
and
his people went across on foot.
Come,
let us rejoice in who he is.
7 For by his great power he rules forever.
He watches
every movement of the nations;
let
no rebel rise in defiance.
Selah
8 Let the whole world bless our God
and
sing aloud his praises.
9 Our lives are in his hands,
and
he keeps our feet from stumbling.
10 You have tested us, O God;
you
have purified us like silver melted in a crucible.
11 You captured us in your net
and
laid the burden of slavery on our backs.
12 You sent troops to ride across our broken bodies.
We went
through fire and flood.
But
you brought us to a place of great abundance.
13 Now I come to your Temple with burnt offerings
to fulfill
the vows I made to you-
14 yes, the sacred vows you heard me make
when
I was in deep trouble.
15 That is why I am sacrificing burnt offerings to you-
the
best of my rams as a pleasing aroma.
And
I will sacrifice bulls and goats.
Selah
16 Come and listen, all you who fear God,
and
I will tell you what he did for me.
17 For I cried out to him for help,
praising
him as I spoke.
18 If I had not confessed the sin in my heart,
my Lord
would not have listened.
19 But God did listen!
He paid
attention to my prayer.
20 Praise God, who did not ignore my prayer
and
did not withdraw his unfailing love from me.
This, as you can readily ascertain, is a thanksgiving
psalm. The focus begins with an invitation to corporate praise in which
Israel is encouraged to tell the whole world about the greatness of God. But
before too long the corporate praise gives way to the thanks of one individual. He
(or she) brings an offering and summons the faithful, in v. 16, to listen to
his (her) story as (s)he tells of our God whose care is not simply world- and
nation-wide but is ultimately personal. For the worshiper vows to tell
others in the public arena what God has done for him (her).
This brings us to the peace offering, sometimes
called the fellowship offering, in Leviticus 7 where in vv. 11 - 21 we
read:
"These are the instructions regarding the
different kinds of peace offerings that may be presented to the LORD. 12
If you present your peace offering as a thanksgiving offering, the usual animal
sacrifice must be accompanied by various kinds of bread-loaves, wafers, and cakes-all
made without yeast and soaked with olive oil. 13 This peace offering of
thanksgiving must also be accompanied by loaves of yeast bread. 14 One
of each kind of bread must be presented as a gift to the LORD. This bread will
then belong to the priest who sprinkles the altar with blood from the sacrificed
animal. 15 The animal's meat must be eaten on the same day it is offered.
None of it may be saved for the next morning.
"However, if you bring an offering to fulfill
a vow or as a freewill offering, the meat may be eaten on that same day, and
whatever is left over may be eaten on the second day. 17 But anything left
over until the third day must be completely burned up. 18 If any of the
meat from this peace offering is eaten on the third day, it will not be accepted
by the LORD. It will have no value as a sacrifice, and you will receive no credit
for bringing it as an offering. By then, the meat will be contaminated; if you
eat it, you will have to answer for your sin.
"Meat that touches anything ceremonially
unclean may not be eaten; it must be completely burned up. And as for meat that
may be eaten, it may only be eaten by people who are ceremonially clean. 20
Anyone who is ceremonially unclean but eats meat from a peace offering that was
presented to the LORD must be cut off from the community. 21 If anyone
touches anything that is unclean, whether it is human defilement or an unclean
animal, and then eats meat from the LORD's sacrifices, that person must be cut
off from the community."
You will note that this final section of the rituals
is written more from the perspective of what the worshipers did than what the
priest did. This is because the peace offering, unlike the purification
offering and reparation offering, solely originated with the worshiper.
The priest did play a role in that he made sure
the sacrifice was carried out in a proper manner and that the blood was sprinkled
on the altar. He also monitored this festive occasion so that purity
and generosity characterized this sacrifice of praise. But the priest were
also there as joyful participants in this time of celebration.
Then in vv. 11 - 14 we see that this was normally
a "thanksgiving" offering. Since it was listed first this was
probably the most frequent reason for this sacrifice of praise. But
it was more than a "thanksgiving offering" for while "thanksgiving" is
a workable translation of the Hebrew word Toda it is somewhat inadequate.
It is better seen it as a "praise" offering. For
biblical praise, which certainly includes a healthy doze of thanksgiving, has
at least three aspects to it. First, it was given in a public forum to
edify other people. Second, it was given in such a manner as to draw attention
away from self to God. And third, it was accompanied by an animal sacrifice
that became a shared meal for this was the one sacrifice that could be eaten
by everyone. They all ate and they all knew why they were enjoying this
time of fellowship for they had heard the praises of the one who had brought
the offering.
Though you may not see it as you read your way
through Leviticus, most of chapter 7 has to do with how to throw a party the
old fashion way. You brought the fattened calf to the Tabernacle, you laid
your hands on it, you sacrificed it, the blood was sprinkled on all four sides
of the altar, the best portion was given to God, and the rest was shared with
all those you had been invited to the party, including the priest.1
However, it was always possible that there were
a few in attendance who could put a damper on the festivities. These
were those that for one reason or another were unclean. Defilement of any
kind - major or minor, accidental or intentional always spoiled the party
and needed to be dealt with by "cutting off" the one who was unclean. This
could be a simple matter of excommunication by those in charge or the person
could be "cut off" by an act of God; i. e. he could be killed. As
you can see, there was to be no hypocrisy in attendance at this offering!2
1 Fat represents the best, and so one theological idea
here concerns the quality of what was given to God - it was to be the best. Blood
is life, and so the blood belonged to God because life belongs to him. The
sanctity of life was protected by the priest in that they saw to it that the
blood was given to God and was never consumed by the worshiper. To eat
the fat and the blood was to plunder what was holy.
2 For examples of what could cause someone to be unclean
see: Leviticus 22:4 - 9.
LEVITICUS - GOD'S GUIDEBOOK
TO WORSHIP 3/19/06 1
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