Numbers 28 is all about the offerings God expects from the Israelites. God wants bulls, lambs, goats and rams. In the final verse of the chapter God says "Be sure the animals are without defect."
Animals without defect are prized possessions. There was a fair close to where I grew up, it was in Armada, Michigan. Every year people would bring their best pigs, chickens and other farm animals to be judged, with one animal being the winner. They were looking for perfect animals. (This is an assumption, I never competed. But my sister was runner-up Ms. Armada Fair... yes, they even judged the girls.)
The animal without defect is the one the one that is worth the most, the one that everybody wants...it is not the runt of the litter, it is not the left over.
We don't give animals today, but we pass the plate and give God money. God is not interested in brand new dollar bills without defect, the kind that are crisp and smell really good. God is not intertested in what's left over either. If you are going to give to God, God wants what everyone else wants. God wants the best chicken at the fair... God wants you to sacrifice something important.
For a long time I gave what was left over after I made my budget every month. Maybe I had $20 or $30 extra after I spent $50 on dinner and a movie. Giving to God is bigger than that. It means the budget starts with God and everything is filled in after that. God comes first. It took me a long time to get to that point in my life.
What has God done to earn it?
God sacrificed something important. His one and only son.
His one and only unblemished lamb.
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