Day 34 or February the 3rd. Support those in
ministry. Our thoughts today are rooted in Leviticus
chapter 7 verse 35. This was the portion of the
food offerings presented to the Lord that was
allotted to Aaron and his sons on the day they
were presented to serve the Lord as priests.
Now the big picture surrounding this verse. Details
were given to God's people of how the priests
were to offer the five sacrifices that are described
in the early chapters of Leviticus. In a society
where offering sacrifices to gods was a regular
event, it was vital that offerings to the living
God must be distinctive and done correctly and
with reverence. As the priests were fully employed
with their tasks at the tabernacle, they were
allowed to consume part of each sacrifice that
was offered. In this way, they were able to concentrate
on their primary call from God, and didn't need
to raise money to meet their daily living expenses.
This revealed a God who thinks of everything.
To make sure that the priests were supported,
God built it into the whole structure of sacrificing.
And finally our action step for today. I remember
gently correcting a lady who thought that church
ministers stayed behind every Sunday evening
to share out the collections from the services.
She thought it was on the basis of a pound for
you and a pound for me when more than one minister
was involved, otherwise a lone minister would
get it all. It's staggering what some people
think, and she was a local businesswoman, so
it surprised me that she didn't know better.
We're reminded here that it was everyone's responsibility
to financially support the priests, who were
duly given a percentage of the offering. Sadly,
There are still folk who believe that, in quotes,
full -time Christian workers should be paid a
pittance to confirm their call. I know a church
that determined its members' incomes by secret
ballot and then paid its ministers the average.
Does this reflect poorly with the way you pay
yours? Is it time to think about change?