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Dear Heavenly Father, Praise As I read through the lists of offerings that were required each year, I was reminded that fellowship with you comes at a high price, for sacrifice and shed blood are necessary to bring me into your presence. Knowing that I could not pay the price, you graciously gave your only Son to be my sacrifice. You are indeed worthy of all glory, honor and praise! Hallelujah! Today in Your Word Another step in preparing to enter Canaan involved documenting all the sacrifices you required the priests to offer for the nation during the year. Each year the priests would sacrifice 113 bulls, 32 rams, 31 goats and 1,086 lambs. They also offered more than a ton of flour and a thousand bottles of oil and wine. Clearly Israel was destined to be a prosperous agricultural community! The daily burnt offerings represented daily fellowship between you and the people, while the weekly and monthly offerings provided times of richer fellowship. Your purpose in requiring these sacrifices was to remind the people that the key to the successful conquest of Canaan and prosperous living within the promised land was continual fellowship with you. This teaches me that worship and prayer and Bible reading need to be my top priorities, for they facilitate my daily fellowship with you. You also gave Israel laws concerning vows. A vow was a solemn promise to you in which a person committed themselves to perform some action in the future. You took vows seriously, and once made, they could not be undone without consequence. Only unmarried daughters and married women could have their vows annulled by their fathers or husbands. This teaches me that promises to you are not to be made lightly, and that I should be careful to keep my word. Jesus later rebuked the Jews for breaking their word and then excusing themselves because of the wording of their vow (Matt 5:33–37). The final verdict: “Let your ‘yes’ be yes and your ‘no’ be no” (James 5:12). Reflection You initiate communion with man, and you also set the terms for it. So many people today want communion without commitment and relationship without responsibility. Request Father, impress on me the importance of speaking the truth and keeping my word. Help me to honor my commitments, even when it’s personally inconvenient or costly (Ps 15:4). Thanksgiving Thank you for providing a way for me to have daily communion with you! Through the precious blood of Christ, I can come boldly into the Most Holy Place and worship you. In Jesus’ name, Amen. Suggested Hymn: “Friendship with Jesus” by Joseph C. Ludgate. Meditation Verse: Numbers 30:2. |