Barbecue

Barbecue
Words of Faith 2-17-2023
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2023
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
www.faithfellowshipweb.com
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Exodus 29
[22] "Take from this ram the fat, the fat tail, the fat around the inner parts, the covering of the liver, both kidneys with the fat on them, and the right thigh. (This is the ram for the ordination.) [23] From the basket of bread made without yeast, which is before the LORD, take a loaf, and a cake made with oil, and a wafer. [24] Put all these in the hands of Aaron and his sons and wave them before the LORD as a wave offering. [25] Then take them from their hands and burn them on the altar along with the burnt offering for a pleasing aroma to the LORD, an offering made to the LORD by fire. [26] After you take the breast of the ram for Aaron's ordination, wave it before the LORD as a wave offering, and it will be your share. [27] "Consecrate those parts of the ordination ram that belong to Aaron and his sons: the breast that was waved and the thigh that was presented. [28] This is always to be the regular share from the Israelites for Aaron and his sons. It is the contribution the Israelites are to make to the LORD from their fellowship offerings. [29] "Aaron's sacred garments will belong to his descendants so that they can be anointed and ordained in them. [30] The son who succeeds him as priest and comes to the Tent of Meeting to minister in the Holy Place is to wear them seven days. [31] "Take the ram for the ordination and cook the meat in a sacred place. [32] At the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, Aaron and his sons are to eat the meat of the ram and the bread that is in the basket. [33] They are to eat these offerings by which atonement was made for their ordination and consecration. But no one else may eat them, because they are sacred. [34] And if any of the meat of the ordination ram or any bread is left over till morning, burn it up. It must not be eaten, because it is sacred.

Once again, we have detailed instructions about preparing the "ordination Lamb" to be part of a meal. The bread was made without yeast, and a cake was made with oil and a wafer. All of this was presented by the hands of Aaron and his sons before the Lord as a "wave offering."
The wave offering is a strange term to us. This was not a side-to-side movement but a waving toward the altar and back. This action way of offering signified that the sacrifice was given to God and then received back by the priest for his use. The waving motion signified that the burnt offering was a pleasing aroma to the Lord.
Everything except for the "breast of the ram and the thigh" was then burned on the altar. The breast of the ram and the thigh were waved and then presented to the priests as a fellowship offering. We would call this barbecue.
Now, I am well aware that the definitions of good barbecue vary from region to region. That is not what this is about. But the Fellowship nature of this consecration is something that we do not want to miss. A fellowship is created within the circle of those who serve, and a fellowship is established with God. This would become a regular part of worship as the priests consumed portions of the offerings.
Sometimes people will ask: "Why is it that church folks eat so much?" It does seem that every time we gather, there is often food involved. The truth is that breaking bread and sharing a meal establishes a type of family fellowship that is not found anywhere else.
Some of my earliest memories of church life involve long tables of food in a fellowship hall or out-of-doors. As a little boy growing up in church, I was pretty sure that this was a glimpse of heaven to come!
The truth is that it takes some measure of sacrifice to plan, prepare, and bring food to such gatherings. Church barbecues are the same way. We have a group of men who will stay up all night long to smoke the barbecue and prepare it for a special event. While we do not wave these sacrifices around, the aroma is apparent all around the church. (And I think it must be pleasing to God.)
The body of Christ also makes such sacrifices in times of loss and mourning. It is sometimes called "love by casserole." There are times when there are no words, so we simply bring food. Usually, too much food, but it is an expression of the heart.
It is easy these days to set aside or skip over the Fellowship times and think that we are simply supposed to focus on Bible study or music. We live busy lives. Preparing food is a sacrifice. But a central part of what it means to serve God is engagement with others in the breaking of bread and sharing around tables.

Father God, thank you for the gift of sacrifice. Thank you for the opportunity to serve. Thank you for the gatherings of faith that bring us around tables and into places of communion. Help me enjoy the things you have planned for us to enjoy. In Jesus' Name.

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2023
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail, excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2023 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.