Leviticus 3:16

Leviticus 3:16 “The priest shall burn them on the altar as a food offering, a pleasing aroma.  All the fat is  the Lord’s.

          As I am reviewing the book of Leviticus I am struck by the idea that certain things are required of the lord.  I am asked to pay attention to a way of life that is no longer relevant to my culture.  All of us have studied the ancient cultures and wondered at the kind of mental attitude it takes to take an animal from  your own herd, kill it with our own hands, drain the blood and burn it on an altar in an act of worship.  It all sounds a bit barbaric  at best and horrific if we  truly dwell on it.  In this season of fall harvest and Halloween, it might even seem well, “un Godly”. 

          Of course the Old Testament reflects God’s character in a way we sometimes don’t understand.  Upon closer examination this book of  “laws” is not only a review of the ten commandments(Lev chapter 19), a description of how we are to care for the land, our  body and food (chapters 11-18), training for the priests on how to do sacrifices( chapters 21- 22)  , as well as all the feasts and festivals that God wanted to use to train the people how to recognize him in the atonement he was providing.  The end result was how he wanted to bless them and the result if they didn’t obey. (chapter 20).  He wanted to be known, loved and revealed in the acts of worship and obedience.

          When I think of these sacrifices I think of the smell of burnt meat.  Like after a BBQ and you go back to clean the grill….Yuck!  It smells terrible! In Romans 12 Paul urges us to be a sacrifice.  Whole body, burnt up, totally, given completely, sacrifices.  He even describes this as our “reasonable” act of worship. He even connects the mind and body by saying”renew your mind with these thoughts.”  In 2 Corinthians 2:15 he describes our “whole sacrifices” as a pleasing aroma to God, and that it’s wonderful smell spreads the knowledge of Jesus everywhere we go.  Well, that’s some perfume. 

          These verses remind me of what I hold back from the Lord.  It’s one thing to offer myself as a whole sacrifice and be killed in an act of martyrdom.  Death is final.  But living sacrifices as Paul is describing, tend to do one thing…….get off the altar.  The act of worship becomes useless if we keep taking back our sacrifice to the barn! So ask yourself, what am I holding back? What keeps making me jump off the altar?  After you pray, go to your favorite bottle of perfume on the dresser, and put some on the inside of your wrist. Use it as a tool, to remind yourself of how your sacrifice is supposed to be the sweet smelling savor of a life fully given over to the altar.  Smell your wrist and think twice before you jump off the altar next time.