Odd Details

Odd Details
Words of Faith 1-20-2023
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2023
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
www.faithfellowshipweb.com
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Exodus 23
[18] "Do not offer the blood of a sacrifice to me along with anything containing yeast.
"The fat of my festival offerings must not be kept until morning.
[19] "Bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the Lord your God.
"Do not cook a young goat in its mother's milk.

Here is a list of odd details regarding the worship of the Lord in the Tabernacle and later the Temple. It is not likely that the ushers at your church will check to see if there is yeast mixed with your offering or if part of it was left out overnight! Of course, these guides seem unusual because we do not live in an agricultural society anymore and do not offer blood sacrifices. But there are some principles here.
Yeast or leaven was a powerful symbol of sin and corruption in Judaism. While yeast itself is certainly not evil, it has the quality of corrupting things. A little bit of yeast quickly works through the whole batch. Sacrificial blood was the very life of the animal, so the idea of mixing yeast with it was clearly an image of corruption. Likewise, the fatty portions of the animal sacrifice were reserved for God and contained the "essence of life." These were not to be left overnight to spoil.
The prohibition against cooking a young goat (perhaps symbolic of all young animals) in its mother's milk may have been a reaction against Canaanite or other foreign religious practices. The normal birth of goats near the Feast of Ingathering and their inclusion in celebratory meals may be the basis of this law. It may also be based on an injunction to treat animals humanely, since an animal still nursing may have its mother's milk in its stomach. Some have suggested that mother's milk contains blood and would corrupt the meals. Some have suggested that milk, which is intended for life, should not be used or mixed with the death of an animal.
The offering of first fruits is also significant. The first produce of the harvest, associated with the Feast of Harvest, was to be brought to God as a sacrifice. This represented an act of thanksgiving and a symbolic portion of what was to come in the autumn harvest. To offer the first harvest was an act of faith trusting that the rest of the harvest would come in. How difficult it must have been to plant and work and then release the very first of the harvest! Yet, it was with great joy that the first fruits were faithfully returned to the Lord.
Can we gather any principles from these ancient directives?
The point of yeast was a reminder of how easily life is corrupted. As Disciples of Jesus, we struggle to be a witness in the world without becoming of the world. We must often bring the light of Jesus into dark places without allowing the darkness to enter us. We must take care not to mix the leaven of sin with the Life of Jesus. It only takes a little bit of yeast to deeply corrupt the batch.
We are well cautioned to avoid foreign religious practices. Mixing paganism with faith in the One true living God is not something He will tolerate. We live in a world that loves mixing and matching religious ideas to create our own unique version of truth. This is not the way of God.
The offering of the first fruit is one thing we deal with regularly. In our life of budgets and expenses, we must determine how God would have us make offerings to Him. Do we give the "first fruit," a portion of our financial harvest, prayerfully considered before the Lord? Or do we give "last fruit," something we have left over after the many demands and bills have been paid? This is a fundamental decision that every household must prayerfully consider. The Lord consistently calls His children to trust Him with the first fruit so that we may see the last fruit is plentiful for our needs.
How is your daily and weekly walk? Let us walk in purity, undefiled by the world and the false religions around us. Let us walk in thanksgiving for all that the Lord has provided offering Him the first and best of our energy, time, talent and finances-- in faith that He will surely bring in the whole harvest.

Lord God, teach me how to walk in purity and in faith. Show me the things that might corrupt my life and family. Reveal to me the ways that I can honor You in all that I do and say. 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.