Day 7: Blemished sacrifices
When you offer blind animals for sacrifice, is that not wrong? When you sacrifice lame or diseased animals, is that not wrong? Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you?” says the Lord Almighty (Malachi 8:1).
Heavenly Father, You are God Almighty—the One who said of Yourself, I am the Lord, the Maker of all things, who stretches out the heavens, who spreads out the earth by Myself (Isaiah 44:24).
The psalmist put it in perspective when he prayed, When I consider your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have set in place, what is mankind that You are mindful of them, human beings that You care for them?
You have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor. You made them rulers over the works of Your hands; You put everything under their feet: all flocks and herds, and the animals of the wild, the birds in the sky, and the fish in the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas (Psalm 8:3-8).
Every good and perfect gift come from You—unchanging Father of the heavenly lights (James 1:17). Yet often we are careless, and ungrateful, and do not offer You the praise, honor and gratitude that are Your due.
We are often like Your ancient people to whom You issued a rebuke, If I am a father, where is the honor due Me? If I am a master, where is the respect due Me?” (Malachi 1:6). You delivered them from slavery, led them through the desert, and guarded them until they came to the land of promise.
You gave them Your command "You shall have no foreign god among you; you shall not worship any god other than Me" (Psalm 81:9). You gave them Your instructions for approaching and worshipping You. Yet they dishonored You and showed contempt for Your name by offering blemished sacrifices—defiled food on Your altar. (Malachi 1:6-7).
Father, You do not require a sacrificial system of us. You redeemed us with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect (1 Peter 1:19). He was offered as the sacrifice for our sins once and for all (Hebrews 9:28).
We owe You a debt of gratitude we can never repay. But the apostle Paul encourages us, Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship (Romans 12:1).
Yet often, like Your ancient people, we offer You blemished sacrifices—leftover offerings of our time, our gifts, our resources. Like them, we honor demands and commitments to governments, and human establishments. We lavishly allocate to jobs, institutions, causes, and pursuits. But we stint on sacrifices to the God of mercy.
Forgive us, Father. Help us to place You first, and bring You sacrifices of praise, prayer, honor, worship, humble service, time, and resources—offering back what You have given us—in ways holy and pleasing to You.
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