Title: Sacrifice and Worship
Contents
sacrifice and worship
Deuteronomy 6:20-24
*This is the original text of the Sunday morning sermon on February 18th.
It's a snowy morning.
It is said that 40 million people travel to and fro to meet this morning.
What was the most important thing to us in the hometown we visited?
That's right.
It is a ritual called ‘turn’.
Israel also had the most important sacrifice.
It was the day I came out of Egypt to Canaan. The so-called “exodus” was celebrated by the Israelites as the most important day. The Israelites held a sacrifice to commemorate that day. At that time, it is correct to say that it was a 'sacrificial sacrifice' rather than a 'worship'. The word 'sacrificial' is closer to the word 'worship' than 'worship' to slaughter a sheep, apply the blood to the doorposts first, then paint every corner of the house and then share the meat.
So, what was the significance of the sacrifices of the Israelites?
It wasn't just bowing down. It was to recreate and give thanks for an event of the level of departure. Then gradually they developed that slaughtering and sacrificing sheep was sacrificing on their behalf because of their sins. Applying blood to doorposts was a symbolic act of warding off demons, as our ancestors did similarly. Blood here meant ‘to be reborn’.
On this day, the Israelites remembered the hardships they faced while living in the wilderness, could not eat, had trouble sleeping, and lived with cold rice and no side dishes, so they ate bread without any seasoning and unleavened bread, pitched tents, and went out into the fields. I reported sleeping. And he made such a sacrificial ceremony to be held at least once a year in a grand way. For these people, <jesa> is settled by making the past present.
The purpose of ancestral rites is to make things and people of the past present and experience them. It is to revive all the sorrows and sorrows of people who are sad and hated. As is the case with the text we read today, 26:5-9, Jos 24:2-13, and Psalm 136 are the contents that the priest responds to when he reads the story of what they suffered during the sacrifice. Take Psalm 136 as an example.
Verse 10 - (Priest) He struck the firstborn of the Egyptians = (Congregation) His love endures forever.
(Priest) He rescued Israel from it = (Congregation) His love endures forever
(Priest) A strong hand swung his arm = (Congregation) His love endures forever
(Priest) He split the Red Sea in two = (Congregation) His love endures forever
In response, they tell their history. This is to replay it and regenerate it into memory. At the end of this psalm,
He has delivered us from the hand of the enemy = His love endures forever.
He gives food to all that have a mouth = His love endures forever
Sing a song of thanks to God in heaven
This is how you respond. And to offer wealth is ultimately to sacrifice a sheep or a dove in your place of sacrifice in memory of all those who died during the Exodus from Egypt and offer it to the altar. In other words, ancestral rites are what we hoped for by replaying <that day> again and re-entering our lives today and reviving it. This is the sacrifice that the Israelites of the Old Testament performed.
Sacrifice is the remembrance and confirmation of all that has been forgotten, what made us who we are today. The text we read today is also, when your grandchildren ask, tell them this story. We lived like this and came this far. So, let the battalion hold this. So who made it possible, we are not. It was to allow the present descendants to experience that God did it.
So what is worship?
The suffering and resurrection of Christ on the cross are gathered together at this time today to make it present again. Worship, therefore, goes beyond the meaning of simple worship, and involves the whole rebirth and participation in the process of Christ's suffering, death, and resurrection.
However, just as the history of the integrated and totality that dwells in the rite has disappeared and only the 'temple' remains, worship is to recreate and experience the birth, suffering, death, and resurrection of Christ, and it is omitted and 'worship', 'praise' and 'supplication' ' is the only thing left.
The sacrifices of the Israelites are the history of exodus. spirit. Life. To actively participate in that history. It is meant to be passed on from generation to generation.
Our worship is the history of Christ's birth, suffering, crucifixion, and resurrection. To participate in that event. to experience that grace. And it's going to be passed on from generation to generation. This is ultimately meeting Jesus with your whole body. The surest, clearest, exemplary way to meet Jesus is through worship.
Today is New Year's Day.
If Seol is the day we meet and enter into the history and people of the past, we must relive the work of Jesus on the cross through daily worship and participate in his life, sufferings, resurrection and victory. So, as the people of Israel entered into the events of the exodus level, the grace of the level of exodus came more and more, so we must enter into the work and events of Christ on the cross. There is no such thing as a perfect blessing. So we worship Christ.