7"Hear, O my people, and I will speak,
O Israel, I will testify against you.
I am God, your God.
8Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you;
your burnt offerings are continually before me.
9I will not accept a bull from your house,
or goats from your folds.
10For every wild animal of the forest is mine,
the cattle on a thousand hills.
11I know all the birds of the air,
and all that moves in the field is mine.
12"If I were hungry, I would not tell you,
for the world and all that is in it is mine.
13Do I eat the flesh of bulls,
or drink the blood of goats?
14Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving,
and pay your vows to the Most High.
Observation: God makes a point that's fascinatingly obvious, yet easy to forget. Our "trading" relationship with God is completely one-sided. People can not "feed" God with offerings or "give" God anything that doesn't already belong to God. What God wants instead is our thanks.
Application: I still remember a time in middle school when my best friend Jason paid for something for both of us--I can't remember if it was a movie, or lunch, or what--and I said, "Ok, I owe you X dollars", and Jason said, "Don't worry about it. I know you'll get something for us later, there's no need to keep track." I remember feeling hugely honored that our friendship had reached the point where we stop keeping track, where we just do for each other when we can, because we know eventually others will do for us. I don't know that even some families necessarily get to that point, and if they do, it's not easy to stay there.
That's the kind of relationship, I think, that God wants with us.
In ancient times, the temple sacrifice system worked under the implied idea that we could "get paid up" with God. That the right animals, sacrificed at the right time for the right reasons, could remove any outstanding debts and get us "even" again.
To this, God's response (which becomes a double entendre in English) is, "No Bull." No more deluding ourselves. No more bribes or payoffs or protection money. God is not our landlord. God is our Loving Parent, who just by speaking us into being has done more for us than we can ever pay back.
What God asks for is gratitude. Gratitude is not a repayment. It's not a check, cash or IOU. It's the acknowledgement that God has done something for us that we can't repay, and the best we can do is say that out loud, and live like we've been blessed.
Prayer: God, thank you, thank you, thank you. Help me to cut the "bull", and just live in thankfulness.
O Israel, I will testify against you.
I am God, your God.
8Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you;
your burnt offerings are continually before me.
9I will not accept a bull from your house,
or goats from your folds.
10For every wild animal of the forest is mine,
the cattle on a thousand hills.
11I know all the birds of the air,
and all that moves in the field is mine.
12"If I were hungry, I would not tell you,
for the world and all that is in it is mine.
13Do I eat the flesh of bulls,
or drink the blood of goats?
14Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving,
and pay your vows to the Most High.
Observation: God makes a point that's fascinatingly obvious, yet easy to forget. Our "trading" relationship with God is completely one-sided. People can not "feed" God with offerings or "give" God anything that doesn't already belong to God. What God wants instead is our thanks.
Application: I still remember a time in middle school when my best friend Jason paid for something for both of us--I can't remember if it was a movie, or lunch, or what--and I said, "Ok, I owe you X dollars", and Jason said, "Don't worry about it. I know you'll get something for us later, there's no need to keep track." I remember feeling hugely honored that our friendship had reached the point where we stop keeping track, where we just do for each other when we can, because we know eventually others will do for us. I don't know that even some families necessarily get to that point, and if they do, it's not easy to stay there.
That's the kind of relationship, I think, that God wants with us.
In ancient times, the temple sacrifice system worked under the implied idea that we could "get paid up" with God. That the right animals, sacrificed at the right time for the right reasons, could remove any outstanding debts and get us "even" again.
To this, God's response (which becomes a double entendre in English) is, "No Bull." No more deluding ourselves. No more bribes or payoffs or protection money. God is not our landlord. God is our Loving Parent, who just by speaking us into being has done more for us than we can ever pay back.
What God asks for is gratitude. Gratitude is not a repayment. It's not a check, cash or IOU. It's the acknowledgement that God has done something for us that we can't repay, and the best we can do is say that out loud, and live like we've been blessed.
Prayer: God, thank you, thank you, thank you. Help me to cut the "bull", and just live in thankfulness.
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