“He spoke to Moses, saying, “Command the people of Israel and say to them, ‘My offering, my food for my food offerings; my pleasing aroma you shall be careful to offer me at its appointed time.’ And you shall say to them, ‘This is the food offering that you shall offer to the Lord: two male lambs a year old without blemish, day by day as a regular offering.”
– Numbers 28:1–3
What a great picture, in Numbers 28:1–3, of a day-by-day, regular offering before God. Here in the Old Testament and then when we think about our lives in the new covenant. Obviously, we don’t give offerings in the same way, or give sacrifices in the same way. But the principles, the heart, the truths, the realities expressed here, absolutely. And I would say even more so, transfer over into the New Testament in the sense that … Well, think Romans 12, 1 and 2. In view of God’s mercy, we offer ourselves as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God.
May we view today as an offering before our King. May He be glorified in our lives each day.
We Should Live Our Lives as a Sacrifice to God
So we’re not offering an animal or food in this way, like we offer our lives, regularly, day by day. Picture your life this way. When you wake up in the morning, you are a daily offering before God. You should live your life, all day long, for God, as a sacrifice, holy and acceptable to him all day long.
Numbers 28:1–3: Aiming to Please God
You go to bed at night and the prayer on our lips is, “God, I pray that you’re pleased with my offering today.” And you rest and you wake up the next morning, and you say, “God, I give you my life as an offering today.” And the next day you do the same and the next day you do the same, day by day.
Asking God to Help Us Live in a Way That is Pleasing to Him
God, help us to view our lives this way. Help us to view today this way or in my life right now as an offering before you today. Please be honored in me, please be glorified in me, please lead me, please guide me, please exalt yourself through me today in every word I say and everything I do, and be honored, be pleased, be worshiped, I pray. I pray this not for myself, I pray this for those who are listening right now.
And God, may it be so in our lives, may our lives be a continual day-by-day offering before you, and may we please you, may we glorify you. Make us holy and acceptable before you all day long. May this thought never be far from our minds, that our lives our an offering before you. May we please you with this offering, we pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
David Platt serves as a pastor in metro Washington, D.C. He is the founder of Radical.
David received his Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is the author of Don’t Hold Back, Radical, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Before You Vote, as well as the multiple volumes of the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series.
Along with his wife and children, he lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
