"But cursed be the swindler who has a male in his flock
and vows it, but sacrifices a blemished animal to the Lord
Insights: Last week we looked at the self-centered
gall of the people of Israel. They were
coming to God and offering defiled worship to Him, but then had the audacity to
ask Him to bless them and show favor to them.
Today’s verse goes even further to portray the vile attitude of the
people of Israel. At this point in the
passage the people are going to God and saying to Him, “God if You will answer
my prayers and give me [fill in the blank], then I will give You this fine
sacrifice.” Then God graciously answers
the request, but on the day the sacrifice is to be given, the individual brings
a blemished animal for his sacrifice.
God takes this kind of treachery very seriously. He states a person like this is cursed. The reality of the matter is we ought not
make such “bargains” with God. God is
not One with which to be trifled. It is
for this reason James tells us concerning vows to let our yes be yes and our no
be no (James 5:12). We need to be
certain we are offering God our best and not some paltry, insignificant
offering that brings God no glory and honor.
Last week we also looked at our need to fear or respect the Father. This individual in today’s verse has no fear
of God. Beloved we need to have proper
fear of the holy and righteous God.
Proper praise flows out of the full love, honor and fear of God. Think about Isaiah for a moment. Until he saw the Lord his worship had not
been full. It was out of his fear he
recognized his sinfulness and from that repentant heart he was restored to the
Lord. In this restored state, and only
from this restored state, was Isaiah able to respond to the Lord’s commission
to go and preach for Him. Isaiah could
not properly worship until he had his “woe is me” moment. Worship is a joyful experience, but it is
also a fearful experience because we are entering into the presence of the
glorious One. Take your worship
seriously.
Questions:
- Do you renege on your offerings to the Lord?
- Do you not fear the consequence of broken worship with
the Lord?
Prayer: Father, please,
I beg, forgive me of the times I say I am going to do something for You and
then fail to do it. Give me the courage
and boldness to follow through with the tasks I sense You have assigned me to
accomplish. Let me have proper fear of
disrespecting You. Amen.
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