Title: Fragrant Worship (Numbers 28:1-8)
Contents
Title: Fragrant Worship
Text: Numbers 28:1-8
“Then the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Command the children of Israel, and say to them, My offering, my food offering, and my fragrant things, you shall take care to offer to me at the appointed time. Two rams without blemish shall be offered as a regular burnt offering every day, one lamb in the morning and the other at sunset; A fragrant fire offering to the LORD as a sweet offering, and its drink offering shall be a quarter of a lamb, and a drink offering of strong drink will be poured out to the LORD in the holy place; and at sunset he shall offer its grain offering and drink offering as in the morning to the LORD as a fragrant fire offering” (Numbers 28:1-8).
All religions have an act of worship. Although the subject is different, there are religions that worship and worship nature, there are religions that worship carved or molded idols, and there are religions that worship people by deifying people.
But Christianity serves and worships the living God. Because the object is the living God, worship must also be a living, breathing worship.
In the Old Testament, all sacrifices were worship. In particular, in the case of sacrificing animals, two things had to be observed when choosing an offering. One had to be alive and the other had to be spotless.
Animals were slaughtered and offered, but dead things could not be sacrificed. It must have been a living beast. And since you had to use a knife to slaughter an animal, you could get wounds here and there, but the sacrifice itself could not be a sacrifice.
In the case of the New Testament, there was no need to sacrifice animals. This is because, as Hebrews 9:12 says, “not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Holy of Holies once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.”
And Hebrews 9:14 says, "The blood of Christ, who offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanses us from dead works."
A more important passage is Hebrews 10:18. "Now that these have been forgiven, there is no more offering for sins..."
Because Jesus died on the cross for our sins, we do not need to sacrifice animals as in the Old Testament times. And because Jesus is without blemish, His blood purifies us.
In Romans 12:1, the apostle Paul said, “Present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God.”
The meaning of these words is that the sacrifices we are to offer are living sacrifices of our bodies and minds.
The living sacrifice Paul was talking about means living worship. A lifeless example, just as it was not possible to offer a dead sacrifice or a sacrifice with blemishes.
You shouldn't have a hungry, exhausted worship service.
The text presents the method of offering burnt offerings to God.
For the burnt offering, the animals are slaughtered and the meat is cut into pieces and burned, and the internal organs are washed and burned. Then smoke and smell rise into the sky. The blood is placed in a bowl and sprinkled on the altar of burnt offering. It was called Holoskaio, meaning to be completely burned, because it was a sacrifice to burn everything.
In verses 2,6,8,13,24 and 29:6,8, the smell of burning meat and internal organs is said to be fragrant. In other words, burnt offerings are fragrant worship offerings to God.
Let's take a closer look at the text.
1. Everything belongs to God.
Verse 2 says, "My gift, my food, my fragrant thing."
Psalm 50:10-12 says, "The beasts of the forest, the livestock of the heavenly mountains, the birds of the mountains, the beasts of the field, the world and all that is in it is mine."
David, who was the king of faith, said in 1 Chronicles 29:11-14, "The power, the glory, the victory, the majesty, and all that is in heaven and earth is the Lord's."
The apostle Paul said in Romans 14:8, “Whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.”
"You are mine. The world and all things are yours." Isaiah, David, and Paul answered, "Yes, it is all yours."
Why is everything yours?
Genesis 1:1 says, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." It belongs to God because God created it, kept it, and provided it.
The world and all things are so, why am I yours? It is because the Lord has saved me from my sins. That's why Paul said, "Whether we live or die, we are the Lord's."
In 1 Chronicles 29:14, King David said, "All things come from you, and what we received from your hand we gave to you." God gave us life, material things, time, and talent.
In Job 1:21 it says, "The LORD gave and the LORD took away." We must know, believe, and confess this fact.
2. You must have a set worship service.
In verse 2, it says, "Be careful to give to me at the appointed time." In verse 3, it says, "Offer daily." In verse 4, it says, "Give it in the morning and at sunset."
The time of offering sacrifices, that is, the time of worship, is not set by me, but by God. We must worship on the appointed day and at the appointed time.
The timing and method of all worship (sacrifices) offered in the Old Testament were established by God and given to the people as ordinances.
So, worship is not something I do as I please. It doesn't mean that you can give when you have time and don't give it when you're busy. You cannot do anything other than worship. If you have time, you can worship, and if you don't have time, you shouldn't miss worship. Worship is not something that I decide and abolish. God has set a time, a time, and a method. The reason is that God is the one who receives worship.
The word worship has several meanings, but among them, it was used to mean “to bow down, to bow down, to bow down, to kiss” when a slave or servant served their master.
There is no way to make a plan or schedule for a paper master. The master schedules the servant, sets and supervises the work to be done.
The subject of worship is God. In other words, God is the subject of worship. That's why I can't change and adjust worship at will.
3. We must offer fragrant worship.
In verses 2,6,8,13,24,27 and 29:2,6,8 in the main text, the word “fragrant” is repeated. He was told to offer fragrant sacrifices nine times.
In the case of the text, the smell of the burnt offering was expressed as fragrant.
The question is, how can the smell of burning an offering be fragrant?
To say that the smell of burning the sacrifice is fragrant is to say that the sacrifice is fragrant. What fragrance could be stronger than sacrifice?
In Exodus 30:22-38, he showed us how to make incense.
First, you need to use the finest fragrances. According to Exodus 30:23-24, the top spices were taken.
They said to make perfume oil from 500 shekels of myrrh, 250 shekels of fragrant cinnamon, 250 shekels of calamus, 500 shekels of cinnamon, and a hin of olive oil.
Second, he told them to make holy anointing oil. The anointing oil is the perfume used for sanctification by applying it to the temple utensils or the body of the priest. It is not an edible oil or a cosmetic perfume. It is to make a perfume used for holy distinction.
Third, I told him to make it according to the law. Exodus 30:35 says, “Make incense, but make it according to the incense recipe.” Verse 37 says, “Do not make it for yourselves.” Verse 38 says, “Such a person will be cut off from among the people.”
With the implementation of the five-day workweek system, voices worrying about the crisis in worship are growing. A five-day work week system is a desirable thing from the point of view of workers. You can have enough time for yourself, relieve fatigue from work, and spend time with your family.
But from a manufacturer's or company's point of view, it's usually not a big deal. It's not just one or two problems. Regardless of the pros and cons, the important thing from our point of view is that because of the five-day work week, we must not distance ourselves from the church, neglect worship, and destroy our faith.
As mentioned above, we need to pay attention to the part where the burnt offering is described as fragrant.
You have to burn yourself and sacrifice yourself for a fragrant worship. It is difficult to become a fragrant worship when you do all your work, go to where you want to go, and worship with the leftovers after you have used up all you need.
Worship in which you give your time, material, effort, and talents is a fragrant worship.
4. Temple worship must be held.
Verse 7 says, “Offer in a holy place.” The holy place referred to in the text refers to the altar where sacrifices are made. In the Old Testament times, sacrifices were offered in the tent of meeting before the temple was built, and sacrifices were made in the temple after the temple was built. And today we go to church to worship. The place God has ordained is the temple.
When it comes to Christmas, we often talk about the Magi. It would have been meaningless if they had sent gold, frankincense, and myrrh by courier, by courier, or by private person, when they found out that Jesus was born in the village of Bethlehem in the east while studying a strange star.
But the three wise men saw the star and came to worship the baby Jesus.
According to legend, the 4th Dr. was lost and found Jesus only when Jesus was crucified and died. If that is the case, then the 4th Dr. has been searching for Jesus for 30 years and has come to the conclusion that he has met him.
You can worship while watching TV at home. You can also visit the church next to your house to worship.
However, members of the faithful church must come here to worship, whether they are far or near. This is because worship must be held in a place that God has ordained. And because I have to worship at the church I serve.
Worship is called “Aboda” in Hebrew and “Latreia” in Greek. It refers to the posture of the servant who serves the master, kneeling, kneeling, and working.
In English, worship is called a worship service. Serving God is worship.
It is said that the average lifespan of kings during the Joseon Dynasty was 47 years. There are many reasons, but it is said that the main cause was overwork and drunkenness. Another unavoidable cause is lack of exercise. Meals are also brought by the court ladies and they taste the food first. I didn't have a chance to exercise because the court ladies did the washing.
The king's life was only to be served, but he had no chance to serve others by making fun of himself. It may have seemed comfortable and good, but it was a cause of short-lived life.
Worship is a service. To neglect worship is to give up service. And it is ignoring God. Such people try to avoid worship by using excuses such as having too many worship services or having a long worship service.
However, worship is not just a formality or formality. It is to serve God.
If a person who believes in God hates or tries to avoid serving God, will faith be established?
In order to grow in faith and be spiritually healthy, we must do a lot of service. Worship is an encounter with God, fellowship, and service. To neglect worship is to neglect all of this.
Don't miss out on worship.
Let's make worship a priority.
Let's do our best in worship.
Let's worship with sincerity.
Let's keep the worship time.
Such worship becomes a fragrant worship.