When anyone brings from the herd or flock a fellowship offering to the LORD to fulfill a special vow or as a freewill offering, it must be without defect or blemish to be acceptable.
Leviticus 22:21 NIV
Most people who read Leviticus likely find it a bit bewildering. In particular, the rules for offering sacrifices can seem very strange. The kinds of animals that can be offered along with the condition of those animals are specified. The details on offering the animal and what should be burnt, eaten, and otherwise disposed of are long and confusing. When reading through these passages, the temptation is to do a quick skim and call it good.
Offer God Only the Best
But there is something very valuable that we can glean from all of this. And I believe this verse highlights it as well as any other. The gifts that Israel brought to God were to be the best they had. Offering anything less than your best was unacceptable. I can surely understand the temptation to bring an animal that was in poor health or defective in some way. After all, it was just going to be killed and eaten. And it would allow me to keep my flocks at their best.
But God wanted only their best. And that is just as true today. We no longer make animal sacrifices to God. But we are to offer him ourselves. To give to him the best that we have (Rom. 12:1-2). The best of my time, talents, and possessions. Not the leftovers after I have done everything else I want to. Or after all of my other obligations have been met. Give to God the best that you have. And he, in return, will bless you far above what you have given to him (Mal. 3:10-12).
