"Thou shalt not sacrifice unto the LORD thy God any bullock, or sheep,
wherein is blemish, or any evilfavoredness: for that is an abomination
unto the LORD thy God." Deuteronomy 17:1
In modern context, what can be regarded as a blemished sacrifice? A blemished sacrifice is one that is not consistent with the requirements of God. To the Jews it was not difficult to know what such a sacrifice was; by physical examination, this could be verified by simply looking at the animal presented. For us who are in a monetized world it gets a little uncertain what a blemished sacrifice is. To help us out of this difficulty, the apostle Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 8 that only what is given from willing heart will be accepted; whatever we give with a grudging heart will not be accepted by God since He loves a cheerful giver.
Above, we showed what may be described as the motivation for giving, but it is important that we also note that God is equally interested in what is given. But how do we determine the right thing to give? Apostle Paul again wrote regarding giving, and said, that our giving should be as a matter of generosity. So, we are to give out of a willing mind, but also generously. In other words, whatever we give that does not meet these two criteria can be described as a blemished sacrifice.
If this is true, one wonders how many blemished sacrifices are weekly offered to God by His people, and why it seems as though God does not respond to our giving. Whatever is blemished is a corrupt seed, and every seed will bring a harvest according to its character. A corrupt seed will generate a corrupt harvest, and a good seed will generate a good harvest. Don't be deceived, for God cannot be mocked, whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.
Toni
In modern context, what can be regarded as a blemished sacrifice? A blemished sacrifice is one that is not consistent with the requirements of God. To the Jews it was not difficult to know what such a sacrifice was; by physical examination, this could be verified by simply looking at the animal presented. For us who are in a monetized world it gets a little uncertain what a blemished sacrifice is. To help us out of this difficulty, the apostle Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 8 that only what is given from willing heart will be accepted; whatever we give with a grudging heart will not be accepted by God since He loves a cheerful giver.
Above, we showed what may be described as the motivation for giving, but it is important that we also note that God is equally interested in what is given. But how do we determine the right thing to give? Apostle Paul again wrote regarding giving, and said, that our giving should be as a matter of generosity. So, we are to give out of a willing mind, but also generously. In other words, whatever we give that does not meet these two criteria can be described as a blemished sacrifice.
If this is true, one wonders how many blemished sacrifices are weekly offered to God by His people, and why it seems as though God does not respond to our giving. Whatever is blemished is a corrupt seed, and every seed will bring a harvest according to its character. A corrupt seed will generate a corrupt harvest, and a good seed will generate a good harvest. Don't be deceived, for God cannot be mocked, whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.
Toni
