There were three great pilgrimage feasts when all the males of Israel were to appear in Jerusalem before God

Deu 16:16  Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the LORD thy God in the place which he shall choose; in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles: and they shall not appear before the LORD empty.

There were three great pilgrimage feasts when all the males of Israel were to appear in Jerusalem before God – the feast of Passover, feast of Pentecost (also called Feast of Weeks) and feast of Tabernacles. During those feasts, tens of thousands of pilgrims would flock to Jerusalem to worship the God of Israel. And as they came, God asked them not to appear empty-handed but to come into His presence with gifts which would honour God: they shall not appear before the LORD empty.

Would you go to a birthday party or to a wedding empty handed? You won’t, right? Well in the same way, we don’t want to come before God without a gift to offer Him. We don’t want to come before God empty-handed!

Unfortunately, we live in an entertainment culture where we go to church service to “get,” to be entertained, and to feel good. We should come to church with the attitude that we are there to give, not get.

What should we bring to the place of worship? I submit to you that first, we must bring our hearts: “This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me” (Matthew 15:8). Sadly, some do not bring their hearts when they come on Sundays: “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit (that is, with the heart) and in truth” (John 4:24, parenthesis mine). Our hearts must not be empty but filled with praises of joy to sing to God (Hebrews 13:15).

Secondly, we must bring our ears; ears that are ready to hear the word of God. Yes, there are some who don’t want to hear. And, one reason they don’t want to hear is because they dislike the kind of preaching the preacher is preaching; it hurts them. So, they shut their ears: “For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them” (Matthew 13:15). They do not want to be healed because they love their sins.

Lastly, we must bring our hands. Our hands must not be empty. They are to be filled with these two things:

(1) Offerings of thanksgiving: “Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms” (Psalm 95:2).

(2) Hands ready to serve God.  “Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve” (Matthew 4:10).

A story was told of a young man who was about to die. He’d only been a Christian for a month, and was sad because he’d had so little time to serve the Lord. He said, “I am not afraid to die…But must I go empty handed?” When Charles Luther heard those words, it prompted him to write this hymn, Must I Go, and Empty Handed, a part of which says:

“Must I go, and empty handed,”

Thus my dear Redeemer meet?

Not one day of service give Him,

Lay no trophy at His feet?”

That young man, though only being a Christian for a very short time, was grieved that he had so little time to serve the Lord and that he had to go and meet His Lord empty handed. Yet, many of us (myself included) who have been Christians for years, have wasted many hours, days, and years for which we will have to give an account.

That young man has a good excuse when he appears before his Lord empty handed. What about us? What excuse do we have if we come to the Lord empty handed?

Jimmy Lau

Psa 119:97  Oh how love I thy law! It is my meditation all the day.

Malachi 1:8

Deu 17:1  Thou shalt not sacrifice unto the LORD thy God any bullock, or sheep, wherein is blemish, or any evilfavouredness: for that is an abomination unto the LORD thy God. 

                                                                                                                                       

Here is a law regarding offering a sacrifice to God: no creature that had any blemish should be offered in sacrifice to God; it is an abomination to Him. God must not have that offered to Him which man would not offer for himself or to another person.

God said through the prophet Malachi: “And if ye offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? and if ye offer the lame and sick, is it not evil? offer it now unto thy governor; will he be pleased with thee, or accept thy person? saith the LORD of hosts” (Malachi 1:8).

God said: “Offer it now unto thy governor.” They won’t but they would offer them to God. Unbelievable! When we read Malachi 1:8, we condemn those folks and say: “How could they do this to God; I won’t do it. I will give God the best.”

But, do you? Do you really give God the best? How do you worship God? Do you come with your best attitude to worship God in spirit and in truth? (John 4:24). Do you sing with gladness in your heart to the Lord? (Colossians 3:16). Are your ears open to the preaching of the word? (Romans 10:17). Is your mind on the words when a brother is leading the prayer? (1 Corinthians 14:15). Is your mind on the cross of Jesus when you are partaking the Lord’s Supper? (1 Corinthians 11:24-25).

Worship is one area we offer our sacrifices to God: “By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name” (Hebrews 13:15). The Jews approached God by the blood of an animal sacrifice; we approach God by the sacrifice of our lips in praises to Him. Hence, “Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer” (Psalm 19:14).

Moreover, in opposition to those dead sacrifices offered by the Jews under the Old Covenant, Christians are to offer up themselves as living sacrifices to God. Paul wrote: “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service” (Romans 12:1).

The sacrifice which every Christian gives is himself. The kind of sacrifice that God accepts is one which is living and holy. “Living” implies it is alive and active. It is a life consecrated to His service. It is the kind of sacrifice which our Lord says: “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me” (Luke 9:23).

“Holy” means it is free from sin. Paul explains it in the next verse: “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God” (Romans 12:2). It is a life that has been transformed, changed, to the image of Christ Jesus.

What kind of sacrifice are we bringing to God? Are we alive in Jesus and holy? Paul’s life was transformed when he became a Christian, He changed from a great persecutor of Christians to a great preacher of the gospel. At the end of his life, he could confidently declared: “For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand” (1 Timothy 4:6).

Paul was ready to be offered. His sacrifice was complete, alive, and without blemish. That was the sacrifice he was presenting to God when he meets his Creator. What about us? What kind of sacrifice will we be bringing to God?

Jimmy Lau

Psa 119:97  Oh how love I thy law! It is my meditation all the day.

The Levites had a very special inheritance from God:

Deu 18:2  Therefore shall they have no inheritance among their brethren: the LORD is their inheritance, as he hath said unto them. 

In Deuteronomy 18:1–2, we read that the Levites had a very special inheritance from God: “The LORD is their inheritance.” But, what does it mean when Moses told the children of Israel regarding the tribe of Levi that the LORD was their inheritance?

What is an inheritance? It is something one acquires - wealth, property, or a title - handed down after a person dies. In the Old Testament context between God and Israel, nobody died. The children of Israel inherited a land from God. The Land of Canaan didn’t belong to them; the Canaanites had been living there for centuries. But God drove out the Canaanite and gave the land to Israel. Israel inherited the land from God; each tribe was given a portion of the land to call their homes.

Well, not quite all the tribes had a piece of the land. The tribe of Levi did not inherit any land. God said He was the Levites’ inheritance. What does it mean?

The Levites’ inheritance was God Himself in the sense that they were the ones set apart by God to minister to the worship of the entire nation of Israel. They were to devote their entire lives to serve God. The Levites were responsible for the tabernacle daily sacrifices and offerings of the people. It was no small task. It means they were daily busy in the worship of God. It means they had no time to plough the land and raised cattle and other livestock. Then, how were they to support themselves and their families?

The very wise God made provisions for them. He made sure His priests were well provided for. He designated certain portions of the incoming sacrifices to be given to their family members. In addition, the priests got to keep all of the tithes that the people were required to give to Jehovah God. Hence, the priests received a tenth of all the people’s harvests, produce, and animals. It was God’s way to ensure that His priests and their families were very well provided for, and this was God’s generous way of rewarding them for all the work they did for Him (read verse 3-8). It allowed the Levites to focus on their singular call to serve the One True God and His people and not get entangled with the worries of the world.

The Levites lived by faith in God’s promised blessing to be their share and their portion. It is a lesson for Christians in the New Testament. God has commanded Christians to support those who preach the gospel: “In the same way, the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel” (1 Corinthians 9:14, ESV).

Congregations who do not have full time preachers have members who are ignorant of the word of God and a dwindling membership. They lack behind in evangelism and edification and as a result, few conversions and members who are lacking in faith. All because they have preachers who are part time in the ministry but full time in their secular activities. They can preach and teach a lesson or two but they can’t minister o the needs of the saints.

God wanted the Levites to focus on their singular call to serve Him and not worry about their daily necessities. When Christ says, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you”, He expects those who are working in this world to take care of those who work in the kingdom of God (Matthew 6:33; 1 Corinthians 9:13-14). God is not going to miraculously put food and money to pay the mortgages and expenses on the preacher’s table each morning; He expects the congregations to ensure the needs of their preachers and their families are taken care of.

Let us thank God for those who feed us spiritual food. Let us in return, feed them with carnal food: “If we have sown unto you spiritual things, is it a great thing if we shall reap your carnal things?” (1Corinthians 9:11).

Jimmy Lau

Psa 119:97  Oh how love I thy law! It is my meditation all the day.