The Meaning Of Life

https://biblehub.com/nkjv/exodus/13.htm

What does the word “sacrifice” mean? When we read the Bible, we automatically think of when you take a bull, or lamb, or bird, and you kill it and burn it on an altar to the Lord. The first sacrifice, I believe, is when God had to kill and animal to get skins to cover their nakedness after they sinned.

I believe that when Adam and Eve were first created, they were righteous, and they were surrounded by the Glory of God, but after they sinned, the Glory of God left them, naked. So for their sins, God had to sacrifice an animal to get the skins needed to cover them.

So in regards to the Bible, we were originally required to sacrifice an animal for our sins. Usually it was either a bull, which had monetary value, and which helped the individual reproduce livestock for their livelihood, or it may have been an innocent little lamb, and who would want to see an innocent little lamb die, these sacrifices were meant to be a deterrent to sin, just like monetary punishments today when we break man’s law.

But what does “sacrifice” mean if you’re not reading the Bible? We often say things like, “I sure do sacrificed my weekend at home doing honey-do’s for the wife”, or “I have to sacrifice a lot of personal time for my job”, or “He really sacrificed his body for that football play.” Anytime in the real world that we talk about “sacrifice”, it is talking about sacrificing for something in this world. Have we ever talked about sacrificing something for God?

Yes, some of us tithe, but tithe wasn’t meant to be a sacrifice to God, but a way paying the Levites who were the priests and who were not allotted an inheritance in the land of Canaan.

So what do we sacrifice for God? How many of us observe the Sabbath, and although I observe a 7th Day Saturday Sabbath, even if you observe your Sabbath on Sunday, do you keep in Holy? The fourth commandment, and by the way it is the only commandment that starts with the word “Remember”, so it must have been pretty important to God, the fourth commandment says “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.” How many people “rest” on the Sabbath Day? How many people keep it Holy? Does anyone go to the casino on Sunday after church? Is that Holy? How many people watch a game on Sunday? Is it Holy to sit around watching TV? And what does Holy mean? Both Moses and Joshua were instructed to take their shoes off because the ground they were standing on was Holly? So if God doesn’t want us to even wear shoes on Holy ground, why would he want us to sit around eating snacks and watching a football, baseball, or basketball game? If we were to give up these things, it would be a sacrifice, wouldn’t it, a sacrifice to God.

So, after the Exodus, the Lord started giving instructions for sacrificing…if the people were not going to do it themselves, he was going to outline how they should do it.

And while there are laws, like the 10 Commandments that are still valid to this day, so important that the tablets containing the commandments, written by the finger of God Himself, were preserved in the Ark of the Covenant, there were ceremonial laws that are no longer valid. For example, we no longer have to sacrifice a bull or lamb for our sin, but God sacrificed His own Son for that purpose, because our hearts were hardened.

Regarding the Exodus, God lead the children of Israel Himself, in day by a cloud, and by night a pillar of fire. And God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, which by the way I think was the approximate size and location of Palestine today, because apparently there was a war going on and God was afraid that when the children of Israel saw war,, they would turn and go back to Egypt.

The point of the passage is, that God led them. And God leads our life today if we let Him. Are we letting God lead our lives? Are we still sacrificing of ourselves for God?

Lord, we have yet to study the entire Book of Exodus, but when we do we will find the children of Israel had a very tough time, tough only because they refused to let You lead them, not just geographically in their escape from Egypt, but in their lives. If we follow God in our lives, our lives will be so much more Blessed in more ways than we can imaging. Thank you unburdening the children of Israel from the yoke of Egypt, and unburden us today from the hoke of Satan. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.