The Offering of Fellowship

The Offering of Fellowship

Way back when, they came with goats, bulls, and pigeons.

Now, we come with our song, contribution, and service.

But has it ever been about the object of sacrifice, really?

Or is it about obedience? Wills aligned with God’s?

Isn’t it really about our hearts? Hearts that commune with His.

We come to worship—to bless our God—out of love and gratitude.

We come to Him—anytime, anywhere—to fellowship with our Lord and Maker.

And yet, aren’t we the ones that seem to be blessed for it?

The newly redeemed Hebrew nation was instructed in the way of worship. And the Levitical Law specified the means of a fellowship offering.

A fellowship offering was offered To . The . Lord .

But do you know who got to enjoy it?

The priests making the sacrifice!

Doesn’t sound like much of a sacrifice, now does it?


“When you sacrifice a fellowship offering to the LORD,
sacrifice it in such a way that it will be accepted on your behalf.
It shall be eaten on the day you sacrifice it or on the next day;”
[Lv 19:5-6a {see also Lv 3:1ff}]


The fellowship offering was given in worship by those at peace with God. By those in a right relationship with God (because of His mercy and grace in making a way to right that relationship). The offering was made to God for that fellowship. The priests were then able to enjoy the offering in communion with God.

God shared the meal offered to Him with the worshiper.

Isn’t that indicative of our generous God?

When He asks that we bring an offering of worship, so often we are the ones truly blessed. And when we offer a sacrifice to Him, we are the ones rewarded (hardly qualifying as a sacrifice at all).

Jesus may have changed the practice of the fellowship offering, but don’t we still have cause to celebrate the peace and fellowship with God that He came to fulfill?

And didn’t He proclaim the practice of a shared “meal” in communion with Him and fellowship with one another because of the mercy and grace of God in making a way for our peace?

The offering for the Christian today is to bring our hearts in worship to the One that secured our peace with God, Jesus Christ. We come celebrating our abiding fellowship with Him—in love, thanksgiving, and praise. And we share that offering—as did God—in fellowship with His people.

Now and then, the mechanics may have changed—but doesn’t the heart of the matter remain ever the same?

Prayer:
We come, Lord, offering our hearts, exalting You in the absolute splendor of Your infinite holiness.

Hannah's Prayer of Thanksgiving

In her joy at the birth of her son, Hannah sang a song of thanksgiving which was a prayer to God. [1 Samuel 2.1-10] A millennium later Mary sang a similar song of thanksgiving that has great parallel significance. [Luke 1.46-55]

Looking at the two songs we see that they run with a similar theme until the last few verses. Hannah finishes with a prophecy about God's purpose, including for the first time in the Old Testament, the fact that the anointed Messiah would be a king. Of course, Israel did not have a king other than God at that time. Mary's song finishes with a declaration that God will keep all his promises to Abraham. No doubt she was aware that Jesus was the fulfillment of Hannah's prophecy also.

An outline of the two songs covers the following points:

Rejoice in the salvation of the Lord

Those of low estate rejoice in His favour

God is mighty and Holy is His Name

The proud are to be scattered

God extends mercy to those that fear Him

God puts down rulers and exalts the humble

The final verses of the two songs are quoted so that the differences can be seen:

‘…the pillars of the earth are the LORD's, and he hath set the world upon them. He will keep the feet of his saints, and the wicked shall be silent in darkness; for by strength shall no man prevail. The adversaries of the LORD shall be broken to pieces; out of heaven shall he thunder upon them: the LORD shall judge the ends of the earth; and he shall give strength unto his king, and exalt the horn of his anointed.’ [1Samuel 2.8-10]

Hannah is making a prophecy about the Messiah. Mary follows the same initial six points but then closes with the words:

‘He hath holpen his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy; As he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever.’ [Luke 1.54,55]

Mary is invoking the promises to Israel spoken by God to Abraham. This was a divine covenant to be established through a descendant of Abraham, through whom all nations of the earth would be blessed. The promised seed was Jesus Christ, Israel’s Messiah and the future king of the whole world.

The record about Hannah and her prayer of thanksgiving forms only a small portion of Scripture, but she was one of those women of faith whose lives were pivotal in the purpose of God. The lesson for us is that God requires faith to be exhibited in our lives too, as we read in the letter to the Hebrews:

‘But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he (or she) that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.’ [Hebrews 11.6]

Children of Promise

 

We are not told much of Hannah and her family after Samuel was born, though we do know that she had three more sons and two daughters (See 1 Samuel 2.21). Mary, the mother of Jesus, also had further children. James, Joses, Simon and Judas are mentioned (See Matthew 13.55). Both Hannah and Mary recognised that their children of promise had a special role in God's purpose. Mary found Jesus in the temple at the age of 12 when he said ‘…wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business?’ [Luke 2.49] We do not know at what age Samuel was considered weaned and was taken to live at the tabernacle in Shiloh, but we do know that Hannah kept in touch with him and made him a special garment every year. [1Samuel 2.19]

This reminds us of the special ‘coat of many colours’ made for Rachel's child of promise, Joseph. [Genesis 37.3] That coat may have been a priestly garment as he was Rachel's eldest child. Of course he was not the firstborn of his father Jacob, but he was the first child of the wife Jacob loved most. He was chosen of God and was a type of Christ and he had the double portion of the firstborn through his sons Ephraim and Manasseh. He became the ruler of all Egypt, second only to Pharaoh.

Samuel just like Joseph was the firstborn of his father's beloved wife. Samuel was not permitted under the Law of Moses to be a priest as he was not in the Aaronic line. He was a Levite in the line of Kohath. But Samuel was chosen of God and was a type of Christ. He became the High Priest as well as a Prophet and a Judge over Israel for forty years. We see in these chosen sons that God can overrule the details of the law for His own purpose, just as He overruled the condemnation of Christ when he was hung on a tree.

Jesus also had a special garment like Joseph and Samuel. This robe was made in one piece [John 19.23] and could possibly have been made by Mary. We can only wonder at the similarities of these three men; each had a special garment and each were children of promise. We can rest assured that Rachel, Hannah and Mary were aware that the only covering acceptable to God is a garment of righteousness, but perhaps the garments they made were a reminder to their sons of their special privilege and responsibility.

A Woman of Faith

 

Consider how strong was the faith of Hannah. She prayed earnestly for a child. Her faith made her realise that God controlled her life and it was up to her to accept God's will and to learn the lessons. When her long awaited hope was realised she not only dedicated her son to be a Nazarite but she gave him to the High Priest for the temple. She trusted God completely. As God had given her the promised son, then God would also protect and guide him in the difficulties of his temple service. This display of faith and trust in God is exactly like Abraham who received the long awaited child of promise but was willing to give him back to God as a sacrifice.

This attitude of complete trust in God is really faith in God's ultimate purpose, or a faith in the resurrection, for it makes God's ultimate purpose more important than the transient things of this life. Like Abraham, the father of the faithful, to whom the promises were made, Hannah demonstrated her complete trust in God. No doubt her faith will also be accounted to her for righteousness. Hannah is not included in the list of the faithful recorded in Hebrews chapter 11 but her famous son Samuel who followed her example of service to God is included:

‘And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gideon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets.’ [Hebrews 11.32]

Women of faith in general, are however included in this list of the faithful (See Hebrews 11.35). There are many examples of such women, who bore many sorrows in their role of bringing forth the children of God. There was Rachel who was barren for a long time in contrast to her sister Leah. Eventually, in a parallel with Hannah, she gave birth to Joseph who, like Samuel, was also a type of Christ.

In New Testament times there was Elisabeth who was barren until ‘well stricken in years’ [Luke 1.7] before she produced John the Baptist. Then of course there was Mary the mother of Jesus who was Elisabeth's cousin. Both of their wonderful children of promise died at an early age in service to God. Mary was sustained in these trials of her faith by strong belief in the resurrection, as the prophet Simeon said to her:

‘(Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.’ [Luke 2.35]

The thoughts and trials of some of these faithful women will be considered in later articles. When we think of the faith exhibited by women like Hannah, we realise that they indeed held their treasure of truth, in weak earthen vessels that gave glory to God, as Paul reminded the Corinthians:

‘…we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.’ [2 Corinthians 4.7]

They were indeed the weak of this world who were strong in faith.

Hannah's Barreness

 

 

Hannah was barren. As such she considered herself as a failure and this was exacerbated by the fact that her husband Elkanah had another wife Peninnah who had children. The family was God-fearing and faithful and went annually to the tabernacle that was at Shiloh to present their sacrifices. Like many servants of God, Hannah approached God in prayer. She vowed to dedicate her firstborn son to the Lord and the High Priest Eli, promised her that God had heard her prayers. So Hannah received her child of promise and called him Samuel, which means ‘asked of God.’

As a Levite, Samuel would have been eligible to serve in the temple and to be redeemed as a firstborn child by gifts to the temple in the normal way. However, Hannah had promised to bring him up as a Nazarite and to dedicate him completely as soon as he was weaned. This wonderful act of self-sacrifice was eventually rewarded by Samuel becoming not only a Nazarite but also a Judge over Israel, a Prophet and although not in the line of Aaron, the High Priest of Israel.

Hannah - A woman of God

This month we will be focusing on Hannah. She was a woman of faith and did an extraordinary thing of faith when she gave her son Samuel to be dedicated to the Lord. Today is the introduction. Her story is found in I Samuel.

It is evident that in the Bible men and women play different roles. This is in sharp contrast to the present world in which the equality of the sexes is presented as a worthwhile ideal. God has created men and women, their similarities and their differences, in order to teach us about His purpose. In His wisdom, He established male and female and their relationship, to teach us about the relationship between Christ and his bride, the saints. [Ephesians 5.23] Similarly, God arranged for us to have families so that we can learn about Him as our Father in Heaven. Viewed in this light the breakdown of family relationships in the world today is an indication of how far the world is straying from God's way.

In this new series of articles entitled Women of Faith, we will try and see how the examples of women in Bible times powerfully demonstrate the wisdom of God.

Bearers of the Seed

In the beginning, when the most basic fundamentals were established, Eve was created out of Adam as a suitable companion for him. They were therefore of the same substance and nature. We see at once the important relationship between Christ and the saints in so far that they were also of the same nature. When Adam and Eve sinned they came under a similar curse. Adam was to till the ground, to plant seeds and to obtain food to sustain life through toil ‘in the sweat of thy face.’ [Genesis 3.19] From this he learnt that life was a precious gift from God and salvation from death required some considerable effort. Eve was told that she too would have to struggle and that she would bare children from Adam’s seed through ‘sorrow.’ But the life she would produce would eventually provide salvation from death. [Genesis 3.15]

We understand that the seed of the woman that would overcome sin was Jesus Christ although we do not know how much of the future Adam and Eve understood at the time. It is not surprising that great importance was given to the production of children in which the hope of the promises of God's salvation lay. The fact that in the Bible the purpose of God often involved barren women like Sarah, Rachel and Hannah, was not coincidental but is to demonstrate that God's purpose will prevail and to Him alone is the glory due.

The Gift of Age

What does your age really represent? Days and nights spent living your life, coming through a myriad of experiences that sometimes seem mind-numbingly monotonous, only to be interrupted by life-altering surprises and unforeseen tragedies. Your age reflects years of (hopefully) collected wisdom.

Your age also represents mounds of memories. You’ve exchanged some of the energy of youth for them, but the higher the number on your birthday card, the more wealth you have in your little treasure trove of reminiscences.

In our culture, our age is viewed as some kind of disease that, if we just keep treating it, might be defeated or go away altogether. Like we can somehow push back the edges of mortality. The only thing we’re pushing back is the edges of our acceptance of the gifts of time and the physical limitations that make the interior gifts more precious.

So you’ve got a year or two on your friends. So you’ve got a wrinkle or two. So your hair is changing color and your body is giving you fits. No matter. Age is a gift from the hand of God. Any measure of health to enjoy your age is a gift from God. The memories you’ve made along the way are precious and priceless. Thank God for every year he’s given you.

As we end this year and approach a new year let us give thanks for the wrinkles. Yes, I said give thanks for those wrinkles. With each comes a lesson, a love story and perhaps even a blessing. We have earned them. We should not shun them or hide our face from Him. He made us the way we are...and we are beautiful in His sight.

Lord, I thank you for all your gifts and blessings. You are so good to us! Even in our worst times you are there for us. Help us not to look down on our age but to be able to step up and share our wisdom and give you all the glory. Help us to teach the younger women to know that You are our God!

Even to your old age and gray hairs I am He, I am He who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you. —Isaiah 46:4 _NIV