God had stipulated that they must come before Him annually for three times. They were expected to leave everything and come before the Lord three times a year. Perhaps three times a year was just an arbitrary figure. What God wanted to tell them was that they ought to leave everything frequently and come before Him repeatedly and continually. In stating the number of times, God was helping to cultivate the discipline and habit in His people to come to Him continually. Human tends to be bored with repetitions, yet God knows that it is with repetition and continuity that we grow to enjoy Him. When we appreciate and love God deeply, we will want to come to Him repeatedly and frequently.
Secondly, the Lord told them that their blood sacrifice must be offered without unleavened bread. In the Bible, yeast is always a symbol of sin. To offer sacrifice with yeast-free bread was by way of saying that God demands we come before Him righteously. Psalm 15:1-2 assert that we must approach God with integrity, with clean hands and pure hearts. The exact words are: “O Lord, who may abide in Your tent? Who may dwell on Your holy hill? He who walks with integrity, and works righteousness, and speaks the truth in his heart.” God wants us to come before Him but when we do so, we must come to Him undefiled by sin. We must come with an attitude and consecration where sin has been set aside.
What about the fat that must not be left overnight? It is God’s way of saying that they must give themselves to Him wholeheartedly. Until today, fat was considered the choicest part of the animal, especially in those days. People would be tempted to leave some on the altar and come back for it the next day. So, God knows the human heart. He wants our offering to be wholehearted. We must give to Hm even the choicest part of our life. Isn’t this true for us too many times? We want to make an offering to God but at the same time, we also want to hold back something for ourselves. How often would people come to God motivated by what they could get from God than what they could give to God? People are willing to serve God but they also want to keep something for themselves. It is great to come to God and worship Him on Sunday, but what about the rest of the week? Would we also offer the same commitment and love, and live our life to honour Him? God wants not only our Sundays but each and every day of our life. This is the third way we must come before God.
Fourthly, we must give God our best. Verse 19 says we must “…bring the choice first fruits of your soil into the house of the Lord your God.” God deserves the best. We must never give God our leftovers but our best. That’s the reason coming to Him first thing in the day before our life becomes a burden with all the activities of life, makes perfect sense. He deserves the best part of the day when our minds are fresh and our thoughts are clear. Let us give our best to the Master!
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