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A Sacrifice of Thanksgiving
“Do I eat the flesh of the mighty? Do I drink the blood of goats? Sacrifice to God thanksgiving and make peace with the Most High with your vows. Call to me in the day of trouble and I will deliver you and you shall honor me.”
(Psalm 50:13-15)
And thus, the desire of God has more to do with the heart behind the sacrifice, not the ritual itself. Yet, we should ask, what is a “sacrifice of thanksgiving”? That might sound like an odd question, but given that it is handled in so many ways in Christ’s church today, perhaps it would be wise for us to see how the Bible defines such a thing.
Typically, in levitical law, sacrifices of thanksgivings were understood as grain offerings or bread offerings (see Leviticus 7:12). Yet, as we move through Jewish history, by the time of David there is an emphasis on singing thanksgiving in the worship of God (see 1 Chronicles 16:7 and 2 Chronicles 5:13). In fact, in the latter verse, the idea of praise and thanksgiving are wed together. Likewise, in the reestablishment of the Temple, Nehemiah establishes a body of Levites in charge of songs of thanksgiving (Nehemiah 12:8).
In fact, while the old food offerings are not totally forgotten in the latter parts of the Old Testament, for instance, we still see Amos joining the food offering with praises (Amos 4:5), the singing of praise becomes the dominant way in which God’s people express their thanksgiving. Psalm 26:7 speaks of telling of the wondrous deeds of God as thanksgiving, Psalm 69:30 speaks of magnifying God’s name with thanksgiving, Psalm 95:2 equates songs of praise with thanksgiving as does Psalm 100:4. Psalms 107:22 and 116:17 speak of a “sacrifice of thanksgiving” in the context of singing praises and Psalm 147 speaks of singing to the Lord with thanksgiving accompanied to the sound of the lyre.
Probably the most profound statement, though, on this matter, comes from the prophet Jonah. Being supernaturally preserved in the depths of the sea, held in the belly of the great fish, Jonah cries out to God in repentance and states: “with a voice of thanksgiving I will sacrifice to you.” There is no other way to interpret this passage but that of a song of praise. His very context precludes anything but a song (or most likely a psalm) of praise.
When we combine this Old Testament context with the language of the New Testament, the idea is only reinforced. The author of Hebrews writes that the fruit of our lips is a sacrifice of praise. What a contrast that is to the mouth of the wicked, which breathes out lies and venom (Romans 3:13). Indeed, how naturally this language fits with what we are commanded by Paul in Colossians 3:16 that we are to come together with singing and thankfulness in our hearts.
Vows too, play an important role in the worship of God’s people and are often mentioned. Note that Jonah, in the passage above, also promises to fulfill the vows that he made and Hosea speaks about returning to the Lord not only with sacrifice but with a commitment to fulfilling the vows of our lips (Hosea 14:2). If we look at the language of the thanksgiving in the Old Testament psalms, you will notice that vows are repeatedly incorporated into them — vows to obedience and vows to tell others of the goodness of God. Shall we not do the same.
And, when we cry out to God in our time of distress, should we expect anything else but to honor him as our response to his deliverance? How often, professing Christians have a view of God as a celestial power that exists to meet their personal needs. The Bible, in contrast, presents mankind as persons designed to submit to the Almighty God and to worship him. A God that exists to serve us is not worthy of worship and thanksgiving, but a God who is sovereign and demands our praise and thanksgiving is a God that can also demand our obedience. You are either submitting to the whole of God’s revealed will or you are bowing down to an idol of your own making; we cannot have it both ways.
Sacrifices Acceptable to God
“It is not over your sacrifices that I reprove you; your offerings are before me continually. I will not take a bull from your house or from the folds of your goats. For all of the animals of the forest belong to me along with the beasts on a thousand mountains. I know all of the birds of the mountains and the things that move in the fields are mine. Were I hungry, would I not say that to you? The world and its fullness is mine.”
(Psalm 50:8-12)
Oftentimes people will ask, “Why does God command blood sacrifices if in places like this (as well as in the prophets) God turns around and reproves the people for their sacrifices. Cannot God make up his mind? Of course, God’s mind is made up and it was made up before the eternities shifted into creation and began to be measured by time. What we find is a contrast between the way the offerings were being made and the way our God expects them to be made.
You see, the people were clearly obeying the letter of the law with regard to sacrifices, but their hearts were far from him. God is not interested in obedience unless that obedience is given with a heart of thanksgiving and praise. Indeed, there is sacrifice needed to come before God, for their is no forgiveness of sin without the shedding of blood (Hebrews 9:22). Yet, those sacrifices were not meant to simply be a matter of mechanical obedience; the obedience must stem from a desire to show gratitude to God for his deliverance and mercy to us.
And so God reminds us of one additional great truth. Those things that we give to God, whether it was the sacrifices of the Old Testament era or it is the tithes and offerings we bring into the church today, God already owns it all. Thus, it is truly not our “gift” to God, but only a sign of our gratitude for permitting us to have and enjoy some of His good things. I heard a preacher once say, “It is not what percentage of your wealth that you give God that is most important, it is what percentage of God’s wealth that you keep for yourself that indicates where your heart happens to be. There is great truth in this statement and the Psalmist will develop that idea further.
For us, it is important to grapple with our own service to the church. Often service can be confused with piety and people assume that because they are involved with event “x” or activity “y” that they are a “good Christian.” That is not true at all. Our works avail us nothing when it comes to satisfying God’s eternal demands. Works should flow out of a heart of gratitude, but they don’t always do so. In turn, we must be wary of our own motives to serve. Service acceptable to God is only that service which flows from a gratitude and submission to God’s Law through faith in Christ Jesus. We cannot generate that in ourselves; that must be generated in us by the work of the Holy Spirit. Will you pray for that sort of heart so that your offering of thanksgiving may truly be an offering of thanksgiving that is acceptable to God.
The Festal Horns (Psalm 118:26-27)
“Blessed is the one who comes in the name of Yahweh!
We bless you from the house of Yahweh.
Yahweh is God and he has given us light—bind up the festival in thickets!
As far as the horns of the altar!”
(Psalm 118:26-27)
While it may seem that these two verses are rather disparate at first glance, they are actually linked together by a common theme upon closer inspection. Verse 26 begins with a wonderfully Messianic statement: “Blessed is the one who comes in the name of Yahweh!” This statement, of course, will later be used by the crowds as they come to greet Jesus at his triumphal entry into Jerusalem just prior to his crucifixion. It is a statement that has a clear hope toward the Messiah, and in the context of the “hosannas” that precede it, it is looking toward the Messiah’s kingly office and saving work. Notice, though, the singular use of the Hebrew participle: “blessed is the one…” This should not be seen as an error or as a generalization, but should be recognized as a very individualistic statement. Blessed is the one, the person, the individual, who comes in Yahweh’s name, representing him to the people of Israel. All hail the king who comes—all hail Yahweh’s anointed one!
As we move on in the psalm, though, there is a shift in verse 26 to the plural that continues through verse 27. The psalmist, being a good southerner (southern Israel, that is…) says, “We bless y’all from the house of Yahweh.” Sometimes in English, we miss the plural use of the second-person verb, but here we have the transition. The rest of this passage is not so much focused on the “one” coming in, but all of the believers—all of the faithful—coming in to God’s house to worship—all faithfully hoping and praying for the coming Messiah. How these festivals looked toward the fulfillment of this ancient promise; how sad it is that when the one who fulfilled that promise came, the Jewish leaders rejected him and put him to death. How narrow-sighted we can become when we are more concerned with our own agenda and tradition than with the truth.
So how does verse 27 tie into this picture. The first thing we must note is the very general principle that the festivals of ancient Israel all revolved around various sacrifices for sin and guilt. In and of themselves, the sacrifices had no power; it is the sacrifice of Christ, once and for all times, that gave efficacy to the older animal sacrifices. The sacrifices of the animals served two important functions: first, they were meant to show the horrific nature of sin that would require such a bloody sacrifice and second, they were designed to point toward Christ’s sacrifice to come. And because there is surety in the promises of God, these sacrifices could be performed earlier with effectiveness because of the absolute certainty that Christ was coming to fulfill what the earlier sacrifices only symbolized—a substitutionary and propitiatory atonement for sins through the blood of Jesus. Thus, the people looked forward to and celebrated these times as they represented forgiveness from sin, which separated them from a holy and righteous God.
Secondly, notice the language of this verse as we have translated it: “Bind up the festival in thickets!” Usually, this is translated in terms of binding up the festival sacrifice in cords, but that is not what the text says precisely. First of all, the term gx; (chag) refers to the festival as a whole, not the specific sacrifice on the altar. One could make the assertion that the heart of the festival as a whole is the sacrifice, making the language idiomatic (using language that reflects the whole to speak of the central sacrifice). I think that this misses what the psalmist is seeking to emphasize. The language that speaks of the whole being used in the context of the central sacrifice can also be used to make the point that all that is done in the festival is sacrifice. Given that this is a Hallel Psalm, it seems quite reasonable to see this whole psalm as a sacrifice of praise to our God—that indeed, all that is done, from the streaming down of the people into Jerusalem, to the sacrifices on the altar, to the rejoicing on the trip home—all of that was connected to this festival was a sacrifice of praise to our God.
We need to park here for a few minutes and remind ourselves of the evangelistic nature of so many of these Hallel Psalms. One thing that most believers forget is that they are being watched by an unbelieving world. One of the methods by which we witness the gospel is the way by which we live our daily life. Sure, we may witness to them by sharing our testimony, gospel tracts, and offering short Bible studies, but what impact will that witness have if they see us dragging our feet Sunday mornings on the way to church? If they see you grumbling all of the time, what will attract them to the kind of life you are living? Beloved, do not forget that part of your witness is the joy and peace that the watching world observes as you live out your faith day to day, and imagine the power of your witness if your unbelieving neighbors see you excited about going to church on Sunday mornings!
What then about the language of the “thicket”? The word that is used (and is often translated as “cords”) is the term tAb[‘ (avoth). Literally, this term refers to branches of trees or bushes, like a thicket in the woods. The idea of the sacrifice being bound in a thicket had significant theological connotations for the Jewish people, for Abraham, when taking his son up on the mountain for sacrifice, found a ram caught in the thicket to be sacrificed instead of his son (see Genesis 22). The idea of a sacrificial animal caught in a thicket, then is connected to the idea of God’s providing of a sacrifice (certainly and ultimately fulfilled in the sacrifice of his Son, Jesus Christ, the Messiah). In the context of the festivals, indeed the provision of sacrifice was a provision that was seen as divine mercy and providence, not one of human works. Thus, the sacrifice of praise, from beginning to end, was taken to the horns of the altar, from entry to sacrifice to exit—a sacrifice to the Lord.
One final note about the language of the “horns of the altar.” While we don’t know the origin of the tradition, it seems that in Ancient Israel, people held the belief that clinging to the horns of the altar would provide them sanctuary and refuge from their oppressors. In 1 Kings 1:49-53, we find Adonijah, in fear of Solomon, running and clinging to the horns of the altar for protection. Soon afterward, as recorded in 1 Kings 2:28-35), we also find Joab doing the same. It seems that Solomon puts an end to this tradition, for while he pardons Adonijah, he has Joab slain while still clinging to the altar’s horns. In a similar vein, though this is a negative example, when God speaks through the prophet Amos, commanding him to speak of the judgment that is coming upon the people, one thing he states is that he will “cut off” the horns of the altar at the time of said judgment, implying that the presence of the horns on the altar was at least symbolic of God’s protection for his people—that in this judgment that is coming, there will be no place of refuge for the people to go (see Amos 3:14). True refuge is in the arms of the redeemer.
Lastly, we would be remiss if we did not make mention of the language of God having given his people light. This, of course, carries with it a double reference. First, it looks back to the creation account where on the very first day of creation, God said, “Be light!” and it was. Indeed, even before the sun or the stars were brought into being, God revealed the light of his glory, shining forth upon creation. In addition, light is a major Biblical theme that is connected with truth. From what other place do God’s people gain truth? It is found in God’s word and in God’s word alone. Yes, we may glean some things from the natural world around us, but unless they are interpreted through the light of God’s word, what is learned is shadowy and incomplete light indeed. It is God alone who dispenses truth and wisdom, and God has revealed that within his wonderful and glorious Word—indeed, the Word, the Bible, which points to the one who is the Word made flesh, Jesus Christ, the revelation of the glory of God. Beloved, let every moment of our worship reflect the joy we have in Jesus Christ in such a way that when the unbelieving world sees us, they see something in us that they don’t have, but want—and are drawn to Christ as a result. Rejoice, loved ones, rejoice in your Savior, that others may want to do so as well!
We praise thee, O God! For thy Spirit of light,
Who has shown us our Savior and scattered our night.
Hallelujah! Thine the glory,
Hallelujah! We sing;
Hallelujah! Thine the glory,
Our praise now we bring.
-William Mackay
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