In Deuteronomy 12:17-19, Moses detailed what people cannot eat because of what must be set apart. This measure is holy and it belongs to the Lord. Instead, they must be brought to the Lord as an offering — a sign of the Israelite’s devotion to the Lord.

17 Here are the things you must not eat in your own towns. You must not eat the tenth part of your grain, olive oil and fresh wine. It belongs to the Lord. You must not eat the male animals among your livestock that were born first to their mothers. Don’t eat anything you have promised to give. Don’t eat any offerings you have chosen to give. And you must not eat any of your special gifts. 18 Instead, you must eat all those things in the sight of the Lord your God. Do it at the place he will choose. You, your children, your male and female servants and the Levites from your towns can eat them. Be filled with joy in the sight of the Lord your God. Be joyful in everything you do. 19 Don’t forget to take care of the Levites as long as you live in your land. (Deuteronomy 12:17-19)

It’s important to analyze this passage. It was declared during a time when the people could eat their offering as an activity in fellowship. However, they could not eat all of it. In verse 18, Moses said, the offering can be eaten in the sight of the Lord. The verse also said that as a result of bringing the offering and consuming part of it, that they were to be filled with joy in the sight of the Lord. The Lord desires people’s obedience, but He also wants them to be filled with joy.

Even when the people consumed what they offered, there was a portion that they could not touch because it is holy, and the Lord assigned the consumption of this portion to the priest. In this passage, there is an important reminder for the people. The Lord is saying, “Don’t forget to take care of the Levite as long as you live in the land” (Deut. 12:19). The Levite is the priest. In this context, it is a heave offering. The priests symbolically lift up what is offered, as if to say, “I acknowledge that this is yours.” A portion of these offerings are assigned to them. The attending priest receives the offering as his food. The priest and his family have the divine right to consume the offering for personal nourishment.

When God blesses us, it is usually for one of two reasons, to provide a seed that we must sow, or to provide food for nourishment. When the people offer up from what God provided, they are sowing a seed. They are making their entire wealth holy. However, for the priest, the portion allotted to them is for personal consumption. The Lord directly says that they are to eat the portion that is appointed for them.

 

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Are you with a seed for sowing or for nourishment?

What is the purpose of the tabernacle that the people are building? Why are there priests who are collecting for this work. Every detail of the tabernacle has been given in order for a masterpiece to be created. The provision for the priests is just a small slice that contributes to what God wants to accomplish. We should not lose sight of the big picture.

43 There I will also meet with the people of Israel. My glory will make the place holy.

44 “So I will set apart the tent of meeting and the altar. And I will set apart Aaron and his sons to serve me as priests. 45 Then I will live among the people of Israel. And I will be their God. 46 They will know that I am the Lord their God. They will know that I brought them out of Egypt so I could live among them. I am the Lord their God. (Exodus 29:43-46)

Ultimately, the Lord wanted to have His signature on the community that builds Him a temple. God explained what He is trying to do with the tabernacle, which is to make His glory dwell among the people. It was so He can meet with His prophet and His people. He was establishing a point of contact so He can speak to them. God wanted to open channels of communication. He wanted a relationship. God said that when everything was holy, then:

45 …I will live among the people of Israel. And I will be their God. 46 They will know that I am the Lord their God. They will know that I brought them out of Egypt so I could live among them. I am the Lord their God. (Exo 29:45-46)

 

God took so much trouble in making sure the tabernacle was sanctified, and everything in it was set apart for His purposes. When the provision comes from God and not from secular work, the ones receiving the provision are also made holy. He did it to consecrate a place for the presence of His glory. He did it to live with his people and be their God. He did it so that they would understand the meaning of their salvation.

 

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What is the big picture you are seeing for your church and how is it connected to your life purpose?

From last week, we come to the account of how Moses waved the offering to the Lord, and then he ate it.

From this instance on, the privilege of eating from the sacrifice would belong to Aaron and his sons, because they would make all the sacrifices. God even clarified it, as evidenced by the following verses:

27 “Here are the parts of the second ram that belong to Aaron and his sons. You must set apart the breast that was waved and the thigh that was offered. 28 It will be the regular share from the Israelites for Aaron and his sons. The people must give it to the Lord from their friendship offerings. (Exodus 29:27-28)

Such offerings became God’s permanent provision for the priesthood. The people brought their offerings to God, and in turn God gave the priests their portion. The priests ate their share. In other words, these offerings were intended to be consumed by the priests.

What is the bigger picture? God does not expect His people to serve Him in full-time ministry for nothing. He does not expect pastors to leave their professions to do pastoral work without having no provision to feed himself or his family. God is not like that. God provides for His church. What more for His priests? He promises to provide for everyone’s needs, and this includes those who are in full- time ministry.

In the Old Testament, God provides for His priest by giving them a portion of the sacrifice. It is the similar context in the 21st century church. A portion of the tithes and offerings are given to the minister to provide for him and his family.

18 Scripture says, “Do not stop an ox from eating while it helps separate the grain from the straw.” (Deuteronomy 25:4) Scripture also says, “Workers are worthy of their pay.” (Luke 10:7) (1 Timothy 5:18)

Even when Scripture defends what God rightfully assigns to the minister, many Christians do not feel they have a part in the big picture. They understand God provides for His priests, but they feel that it is God’s responsibility, not theirs. They do not feel that they have a part in providing for their ministers and other Christian workers.

 

 

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What is your part to play in the big picture?

Tzedakah, as with every other giving that the Lord calls us to do, is a spiritual exercise. We seem to forget that the Lord God does not need our money. Nevertheless, we are commanded to give in order to foster empathy, compassion, and generosity. We are being molded to be more like Jesus. It is through giving of ourselves that we actually become more. Giving a part of what we hold dear leads to a more meaningful life.

A rabbi once asked, “What is better? Giving 1,000 gold pieces to one person or giving one gold piece to 1,000 people? According to him, the latter is better. Why? It is because each act of generosity is separate. If you performed a generous act 1000 times, it means you chose to give 1,000 times. It’s like the number of repetitions you do in the gym. The more repetitions you do, the more you grow stronger. The essence of tzedakah isn’t a financial transaction; it is spiritual. It grows you spiritually — and as God promised when you seek Him first, it can also grow you financially (Mt. 6:33).

 

 

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How do you think is Tzedakah spiritual, rather than financial transaction?

 

Usually in our lives, before God reveals the big picture, He provides the details. Although we must not fuss about the details, we should study them, because they are a part of what God has revealed for our benefit and for His purpose, for that specific season. He may not reveal the big picture all at once, but He is the one who unveils things for us. Even the ordination of the priests was a step-by-step process. People were clueless of what to do, but God was there instructing them every step of the way.

There were three kinds of sacrifices that the people made specifically for the priests. The last of them is called the “ram of filling.” The term filling comes from an ancient custom, which means when someone is appointed as king or priest, an official would come forward to “fill his hand.” Filling was the term used for an ordination or an installation.

Scholars presented different symbolisms for this according to their culture. One meaning is that the symbol of office was placed into the individual’s hand. In other cases, the hand of the new official was filled with some form of tribute. What did this mean? As long as the priest was in office, he had the right to receive revenue; the people “filled his hand.” Given what the Bible says about the ordination of priests, the latter explanation seems more accurate. This is what God said to Moses:

22 “Here is what you must take from this second ram. Take the fat, the fat tail and the fat around the inside parts. Take the long part of the liver. Also take both kidneys with the fat on them, and the right thigh. It is the ram you must use when you prepare the priests to serve the Lord. 23 Get one round loaf of bread and one thick loaf of bread with olive oil mixed in. Also get one thin loaf of bread. Take them from the basket of bread made without yeast. It is the one in front of the Lord. 24 Put all these things in the hands of Aaron and his sons. Tell them to lift them up and wave them in front of the Lord as a wave offering. 25 Then take all these things from their hands. Burn them on the altar along with the burnt offering. Its smell pleases the Lord. It is a food offering presented to the Lord. (Exodus 29:22-25)

Let’s break down the passage. Different, important things happen in these verses. First, the fat and innards are offered to the Lord with fire. These parts are considered the best portions in an animal. They are given back to the Lord. The priests would give what they considered as the fattest and juiciest parts of their sacrifice as an offering to the Lord.

thigh. It is the ram you must use when you prepare the priests to serve the Lord.

23 Get one round loaf of bread and one thick loaf of bread with olive oil mixed in. Also get one thin loaf of bread. Take them from the basket of bread made without yeast. It is the one in front of the Lord. 24 Put all these things in the hands of Aaron and his sons. Tell them to lift them up and wave them in front of the Lord as a wave offering. 25 Then take all these things from their hands. Burn them on the altar along with the burnt offering. Its smell pleases the Lord. It is a food offering presented to the Lord. (Exodus 29:22-25)

 

Let’s break down the passage. Different, important things happen in these verses. First, the fat and innards are offered to the Lord with fire. These parts are considered the best portions in an animal. They are given back to the Lord. The priests would give what they considered as the fattest and juiciest parts of their sacrifice as an offering to the Lord.

The priest would also make various offerings of bread. Together with the inner parts of the animal sacrifice, these offerings would be waved before the Lord before they were burned on the altar. The priests used the offering to wave at the Lord as a symbolic way of calling God’s attention. The priests waved the offerings back and forth. Heave offerings were lifted up to the Lord as an act of worship, elevating them to declare that these offerings belong to Him. As the priests waved to the Lord, they were never empty-handed. Their hands were always filled with good things to offer back to God. Even Moses had something in his hand. He had a The priest would also make various offerings of bread. Together with the inner parts of the animal sacrifice, these offerings would be waved before the Lord before they were burned on the altar. The priests used the offering to wave at the Lord as a symbolic way of calling God’s attention. The priests waved the offerings back and forth. Heave offerings were lifted up to the Lord as an act of worship, elevating them to declare that these offerings belong to Him. As the priests waved to the Lord, they were never empty-handed. Their hands were always filled with good things to offer back to God. Even Moses had something in his hand. He had a breast of ram in his hand. The Lord also said that this piece of offering would be Moses’ portion. Examine the passage below.

26 And thou shalt take the breast of the ram of Aaron’s consecration, and wave it for a wave offering before the Lord: and it shall be thy part. (Exodus 29:26 KJV)

Through the ordination sacrifices, Moses served as Aaron’s priest. As the priest, he had the right to receive a portion of the sacrifice for his food, which was why the ram’s breast was apportioned to Moses. Moses waved the offering to the Lord, and then he ate it.

 

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What do you think happens when the priest is left empty-handed?