When God gave Moses directions for building the tabernacle in the wilderness, He specified the very best materials. For instance, the ark of the testimony was to be made from acacia wood overlaid with pure gold. The value of gold we know, but acacia wood is less familiar. Apparently it was a close-grained hardwood that insects would not touch, making it perfect for furniture and other articles that would withstand time and the elements in that arid land.
Of this ark with its covering called the mercy seat, God said to Moses in Exodus 25:22, “And there I will meet with you, and I will speak with you from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are on the ark of the Testimony, about everything which I will give you in commandment to the children of Israel.”
All through the Bible, God stresses the importance of offering the very best. In the Old Testament sacrificial system, the lamb must be without blemish. This lamb represented the ultimate sacrifice that was to come, the sinless Lord Jesus Christ. The ark and its covering also point to the atonement for sin provided by the Son of God, the place and the way that we can meet with God. Hebrews 4 says Jesus opened the way and verse 16 says we can “come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).
Our salvation was obtained through the blood of an innocent and spotless Lamb who had no sin of His own requiring atonement. This is God’s reason for stressing the use of the very best, the sacrifice of the very best. It points to Jesus, and if Jesus was not the very best, there would be no value in His sacrifice.
What about the sacrifices that I offer God, not for salvation but in service to my Savior? Do they pass the test? Romans 12:1 says, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.”
God wants me to first present myself to Him. This is reasonable; He gave Himself for me that I might live. In this verse He specifies that my offering be a living sacrifice. Most people would assume this about being an ordinary alive person, but the rest of the New Testament says that my old nature is dead and separated from God. While it still acts as if it is alive at times, that is false. Romans 6 and other passages say that my sinful nature died with Christ and should no longer rule over me. What God wants offered to Him is that new life that He gave me in Christ, actually, the very life of Christ lived out in my body. This is the only thing in my life that is “holy, acceptable to God” and is the very best that I can offer Him.
How is this practical? I’ve heard from missionaries how ‘boxes from home’ arrive filled with donated items that are often castoffs and leftovers, almost entirely useless for their needs. Why offer junk? It is disrespectful to those who give their lives to serve the Lord in faraway places, but it is also disrespectful to God. He gave His best, why keep our best for ourselves?
I’ve been in churches where donations for the poor are new items, but also in churches where donations are old, used, and basically junk that is no longer wanted. These offerings are easy to give and cost the donating person almost nothing. Instead of being like Jesus, they miss the opportunity of showing someone God’s love and care for them.
Mercy, which is giving that which is not deserved, is missed too. The recipients of my donations may or may not be what I would consider ‘deserving’ but I know without a doubt that I have not earned or deserved any of God’s blessings. If I’m going to show His grace and mercy to others, then when I make a donation, I must also offer the very best that I can.
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