LEARNING FROM THE TURTLEDOVE

Transcription

1 Learning from Leviticus: Reinke, p. 1 Part 2: Tony S. Reinke Sunday morning, Oct. 9, 2005 UNO, Fall Retreat LEARNING FROM THE TURTLEDOVE Leviticus 1:14 ESV Leviticus 1:14 If his offering to the LORD is a burnt offering of birds, then he shall bring his offering of turtledoves or pigeons. 15 And the priest shall bring it to the altar and wring off its head and burn it on the altar. Its blood shall be drained out on the side of the altar. 16 He shall remove its crop with its contents and cast it beside the altar on the east side, in the place for ashes. 17 He shall tear it open by its wings, but shall not sever it completely. And the priest shall burn it on the altar, on the wood that is on the fire. It is a burnt offering, a food offering with a pleasing aroma to the LORD. 1. The Vulnerability of the Poor a. Vulnerable to sexual and economic exploitation. Historically the two worst jobs slaves and prostitutes were a result of economic poverty. Some would say that wars exploit the poor. b. Vulnerable to scorn and mistreatment. The poor are naturally treated in many respects as dogs and often worse than dogs. Purpose of beginning of chapter 2 of James. Don t show favoritism in the church towards the poor! It s the wealthy that torment you. Even within the church the poor are susceptible to mistreatment because they are not viewed as important.

2 Learning from Leviticus: Reinke, p. 2 c. Vulnerable to religious misuse. More people are exploited and abused in the cause of religion than in any other way. Sex, money, and power all take a back seat to religion as the source of [this] evil. 1 i. Rome. The poor are herded to shrines and miraculous places by religions who exploit the poor. The poor are taken towards the miraculous phenomena towards trees and water stains and bushes which look like a silhouette of Mary. At the same time these poor people are taken further away from the Cross. Many of the poor in this world must wonder if it is really Mary who died on the Cross. ii. Hollywood. Television evangelist tell the poor that if they give a certain amount of money they will be healed or wealthy as if the widows two small coins would have been more properly spent to refuel the preachers jet than the local church fund (Mark 12:41-44). 1. The book of Amos was written to remind Israel that they could not take advantage of the poor for their own wealth. 2. Amos 2:6-8: 6 Thus says the LORD: For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because they sell the righteous for silver, and the needy for a pair of sandals 7 those who trample the head of the poor into the dust of the earth and turn aside the way of the afflicted; a man and his father go in to the same girl, so that my holy name is profaned; 8 they lay themselves down beside every altar on garments taken in pledge, and in the house of their God they drink the wine of those who have been fined. d. As long as sin remains in this world it will be a sad place to live for the poor. There will remain exploiters on all sides trying to sell their bodies for profit or confuse their souls for money. People who are willing to sell a poor person into slavery for a pair of shoes or a little silver will have no remorse in trampling the face of the poor into the dust. e. Sinfulness of sin revealed. Nothing shows the perversion of the sinful heart greater than when it manipulates the poor for its own financial gain. Yet, the book of Ecclesiastes reminds us that exploitation of the poor is nothing uncommon (5:8). f. Only one cause to this The only reason the poor are oppressed on all fronts is because the poor are seen as being less-than-human. g. Transition. This morning we are going to be talking about the poor, but hold that thought because first we are talking about Leviticus. 1 Eugene H. Peterson, The Message, 1647.

3 2. Burnt Offerings a. Most common of the sacrifices in Israel. Learning from Leviticus: Reinke, p. 3 b. Purpose of the burnt offering: Communion with God. Private sacrifices would be offered in order to express thanksgiving, the desire for renewed fellowship with God and a deepening of the prayer life, or to indicate the need for the forgiveness of sin. 2 c. Voluntary in nature. You brought this sacrifice when you wanted. No true sacrifice can come from mere obligation or deadline (See 1 Sam. 7:9, Ps. 20:3). d. Deeply moving experience. 3 We go to church on Sunday mornings to listen to a sermon and sing songs. We come with clean hands and, provided others have clean hands, we leave with clean hands, too. You brought your animal and did not leave until the animal lay dead and in pieces and your hands were dirty. e. Financial options in the sacrifice. God knows there are different financial situations for the various worshippers. i. Herd Male bull. ($$$$) ii. Flock Male sheep or goat. ($$$) iii. Bird Two turtledoves. ($) f. No one excluded. Herein lays the beauty of God s plan: No one is excluded because they are too poor, or too weak, or too common, or not cultured enough, or not having enough to bring to God. No! g. Turtledove sacrifices. i. Character of turtledove. It was considered to be clean, gentle and inoffensive. 4 Even if attacked the turtledove will not retaliate. The phrase harmless as doves shows how Jesus saw these peaceful creatures (Matt. 10:16). The dove is the international symbol of peace. ii. Availability of turtledoves. They are said to be easy to catch and if you couldn t catch one, it could be purchased inexpensively. 5 They are in the same family as the pigeon and could be substituted. Even today, pigeons can be purchased for a couple of dollars. iii. The burnt offering of turtledoves. 6 ESV Leviticus 1:14 If his offering to the LORD is a burnt offering of birds, then he shall bring his offering of turtledoves or pigeons. 15 And the priest shall bring it to the altar and wring off its head and burn it on the altar. Its blood 2 Harrison, Wenham, Harrison, 48. See also Bonar, These abounded in the Holy Land, so that the poorest could get them easily, Bonar, For a detailed study see Bonar,

4 Learning from Leviticus: Reinke, p. 4 shall be drained out on the side of the altar. 16 He shall remove its crop with its contents and cast it beside the altar on the east side, in the place for ashes. 17 He shall tear it open by its wings, but shall not sever it completely. And the priest shall burn it on the altar, on the wood that is on the fire. It is a burnt offering, a food offering with a pleasing aroma to the LORD. 1. Neck wrung off. We shrink back from the terrible harshness of the act, whether it be plunging the knife into the neck of the innocent lamb, or wringing off the head of the tender dove. But, on this very account, the circumstances are the better figure of the death of Jesus Blood streams down altar. 3. Burnt. iv. It has a pleasing aroma (v. 17). It is no mere tolerance of God to include the poor and their little, worthless birds! v. God uses class distinctions. When considering the distinctions between the wealthy, the middle class, and the poor one must wonder how God could bridge the distinctions. Andrew Bonar (1846): He [God] does not despise the poor. Nay, by attending to different classes of men, He finds out opportunities of some new exhibition of His wisdom and grace Christ s Love for the Poor and Needy a. Big point. God loves the poor, the needy, the one who can offer nothing, that brings nothing, that in this world is worth nothing. b. Matthew 12:20. a bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not quench i. Isaiah reference Messiah is king. But Christ is not coming this time to wipe everyone and everything out. He will come as a lion later, now he is the lamb. He has come with deep compassion and care to the weak. ii. God cares for the useless. People bend over to pick up pennies. But not for a bruised reed or a smoldering wick. 1. Bruised reed. Reeds grow tall and it doesn t take much of a wind to break it over. The reed is too weak to be a walking stick, cannot be used as a guitar string, not good for any other 7 Bonar,

5 Learning from Leviticus: Reinke, p. 5 thing. Those who are seemingly worthless are susceptible to oppression by men and yet are loved by God. 2. Smoldering wick. The end of its life. It once was burning brightly but now emits no light just a dull smoke. It cannot be used anymore as a luminary and so is tossed aside. a. You are important. What is your Christian life like? Just barely smoldering? Your ministry? How great is it? Do you vacuum? Change diapers? Is it small? b. God loves all his children. Your faith may be as small as a mustard seed, but that faith is saving (Matt. 17:20). 9 That mustard seed is the tie that binds you to the finished work of Jesus Christ, forgiveness of sin and all the eternal blessings to come! c. God loves a child with only mustard-seed-sized faith because He loves the poor! c. Matthew 11: Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples 3 and said to him, Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another? 4 And Jesus answered them, Go and tell John what you hear and see: 5 the blind receive their sight [miracle!!] and the lame walk [miracle!!], lepers are cleansed [miracle!!] and the deaf hear [miracle!!], and the dead are raised up [grandest miracle!! what could top that?], and the poor have good news preached to them [miracle!!]. i. This is a miracle! ii. God loves poor: has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom? (Jam. 2:5). iii. Without money and without price. Isaiah 55:1 Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. 4. The Turtledove Challenge a. My struggle. My struggle in the ministry is that I believe I am only profitable for Christ if my ministry is bold, pervasive, and magnificently fruitful. For some time I have been convicted of the wrongness of this thought. I have thought this to be a pride issue that my glory is the sin stepping in the way. But I no longer believe this to be the problem. My problem is that I am trying to buy a bull when I should be buying two turtledoves. Our tendency is to reach further than we are gifted, like a child going to great lengths to please an insatiable father. And we are not content to be spiritually poor. 9 For more on this incredible thought see Octavius Winslow, The Precious Things of God,

6 Learning from Leviticus: Reinke, p. 6 b. Be content with the birds but not with your laziness. Never does the Bible commend laziness. I am not saying be happy with doing little, I am saying that if your gifts are small be content to offer turtledoves.