After reading Romans, you may get the idea that 'sacrifices' are something to avoid. An 'outdated' Old Testament word, you may say. But that's not quite true. Take a look at today's Hebrew verses, and we understand that the 'new-fangled' sacrifices are anything but antiquated. In fact, they are downright fashionable. Try some on for size. Instead of a belt of obligation, it has a sash of joy!
Faithfulness & Devotion
5 Then he said to me, “Son of man, look toward the north.” So I looked, and in the entrance north of the gate of the altar I saw this idol of jealousy.
6 And he said to me, “Son of man, do you see what they are doing—the utterly detestable things the Israelites are doing here, things that will drive me far from my sanctuary? But you will see things that are even more detestable.”
7 Then he brought me to the entrance to the court. I looked, and I saw a hole in the wall. 8 He said to me, “Son of man, now dig into the wall.” So I dug into the wall and saw a doorway there.
9 And he said to me, “Go in and see the wicked and detestable things they are doing here.” 10 So I went in and looked, and I saw portrayed all over the walls all kinds of crawling things and unclean animals and all the idols of Israel. 11 In front of them stood seventy elders of Israel, and Jaazaniah son of Shaphan was standing among them. Each had a censer in his hand, and a fragrant cloud of incense was rising.
12 He said to me, “Son of man, have you seen what the elders of Israel are doing in the darkness, each at the shrine of his own idol? They say, ‘The LORD does not see us; the LORD has forsaken the land.’” 13 Again, he said, “You will see them doing things that are even more detestable.”
14 Then he brought me to the entrance of the north gate of the house of the LORD, and I saw women sitting there, mourning the god Tammuz. 15 He said to me, “Do you see this, son of man? You will see things that are even more detestable than this.” ~Ezekiel 8:5-15
Yes, Ezekiel was sent with a not-so-nice job at a not-so-nice time in the history of Israel. God was angry at Israel, and Ezekiel was the one to tell them about it. But, we can learn something from the Israelites' false steps. The Lord's anger over and over again comes out at the adoration of idols and false gods. No wonder this angered the Lord. They had broken the very first commandment! So what sacrifice does God desire? Our faithfulness and devotion to Him only.
Of course this seems simple enough, but is it? Unfortunately I think we sometimes it's easy for us to shrug off the idea of 'idols'. But there may be "idols" that we don't term "idols" in our lives. I once heard a graduate student jokingly mention that she was going to "church" when she was going to the gym. That made me so upset, because the fact is that some of us certainly do make time for going to the gym, going to the movies, watching our favorite tv shows, studying or doing homework, more than the time we make for the Lord... when it should be exactly the opposite. That doesn't mean giving up everything else, because the Lord who loves us gives us wonderful gifts. But it does mean giving time to focus on the Lord, to be devoted to Him above all things.
Praise & Service
15 Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name. 16 And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased. ~ Hebrews 13:15-16
And here it is, at the end of Hebrews, the mention of 'sacrifice' in a New Testament context. In fact, it makes a lot of sense to find our new 'sacrifice' here, since this book was written to Jews. Paul (or perhaps another writer closely associated with Paul) taking a familiar Jewish concept and revamping it. He was describing that God doesn't want the obligations of sacrifices that required blood offerings... since they soon lost their meaning and were done without any thought. (Much, I think, like the reason some go to church on Sunday.) Instead, the heart of sacrifice is critical. Sacrifice is about praising the Lord, doing good, and sharing with others in His name.
One critical difference I see here is that our sacrifices should not be for our glory. It's easy to want to be a popular 'philanthropist' with all of our good deeds out there in the open for many to look proudly upon us. But that's not what we're called to do. Instead, we are called to do this for the Lord. In high school, I volunteered with Christmas ministries in which we anonymously gave toys and gifts to individuals, and I was often glad to do this. Tuesday night at Bible Study, we discussed making Operation Christmas Child boxes. Katie C mentioned that kids like to have pictures of the one who sent it in the box, and I jokingly said, "We should put a picture of Jesus, then!" (Of course, 'what kind' of a picture of Jesus is another issue.) Though I said this in jest, it's not that far from the mark. The good we do should be just as much for the Lord as the praise that we offer to our Maker.
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