Hello
We bring the sacrifice of Praise into the House of the Lord … And we offer up to God our sacrifices of Thanksgiving, yes we offer up to God, our sacrifices of Joy!’ An appropriate harvest time tune. Is it harvest time as yet?
Here’s today’s Holy Nougat
Throughout the generations to come, you are to present a sacred offering to the Lord each year from the first of your ground flour. Numbers 15:21 NLT
What would it look like to give to God the First of our ground flour each year? Many of us dismiss this, because we are no longer agrarian. But aren’t we operating with principles and systems rather than literalisms here? In that case, let’s consider the principle for a moment.
This ‘special’ offering from the first fruits is also referred to as a ‘heave’ offering (thank God for KJV & extra literature!!!) and was offered to the priests for their consumption as they were not otherwise employed. The Heave differed from the Wave offering in terms of motion (up-down rather than side to side) and was also offered by the priests from their portion.
The Heave or ‘teruma’ could thus signify one’s recognition of the True Source of all blessings and was presented in a manner which indicated that the Recipient was represented by the priests. If that is so, then in these non-agrarian times, gifting God with an annual heave offering would construe making a special sacrifice from our ‘first fruits’ each year (perhaps our harvest time offering).
Considering that the law was established on their way out of the wilderness, my brain sees the traditional year and the Jewish year as the potential starting points from which the first fruit is determined. However, if one has endured a very barren season, one’s first fruit and Heave ought to begin at that point as an act of thanksgiving to God in consideration of the priests. But that’s my theory; it’s not a divine ordinance. What is important is our intentional setting aside of a special offering for the spiritual leader of one’s community as a sacrifice of Praise.
Have we been offering up our sacrifice of praise?
In Christ’s love and grace . . .
