Offerings From the Heart
by Clifford Denton, D. PHH.
In Genesis 4 we read about the offerings of Cain and Abel: "In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord. But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstbornof his flock. The Lord looked with favour on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favour. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast."
It is often said that God favoured Abel’s offering because it was from among the flocks, a foreshadowing of Yeshua (Jesus), the Lamb who was slain for us. There must be a good deal of truth in this. Add this to all the other types and shadows of Torah and we see an image of Yeshua (Jesus) forming before us, the only acceptable sacrifice for our sins. Yes, Abel’s sacrifice was a foreshadowing of all this. But is that really all there is to it? Was Abel’s sacrifice only acceptable because it was from among the flocks, while Cain’s was unacceptable being from the produce of the earth and so, less costly? Look at Leviticus 2 for the answer:
"When someone brings a grain offering to the Lord, his offering is to be of fine flour. He is to pour oil on it, put incense on it and take it to Aaron’s sons the priests. The priest shall take a handful of the fine flour and oil, together with all the incense, and burn this as a memorial portion on the altar, an offering made by fire, an aroma pleasing to the Lord. The rest of the grain offering belongs to Aaron and his sons; it is a most holy part of the offerings made to the Lord by fire."
There is a perfectly acceptable offering to the Lord from the produce of the soil, so it is not the offering alone that counts. I particularly like the picture of the priest taking a handful of the grain offering and burning it before the Lord. Apart from this handful, the grain offering was for the consumption of the priests. Imagine yourself in the position of the priest. Here is your food handed to you. If you put a big handful on the altar fire, then there is less left over to eat. Is it not a waste to burn such good food? Surely the Lord doesn’t want wastage. He only wants a small handful as a symbol. Perhaps one grain will do. Surely He wants my hunger to be satisfied. But picture the open-hearted response of taking a large, almost careless handful and throwing it on the fire with abandon, enjoying the moment, risking a small dinner for the joy of giving freely, in the prescribed way, to the Lord. This reminds us of what Paul said: "Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver." (2 Corinthians 9:7)
Dr. Clifford Denton is the founder of Tishrei, a society that produces publications which study the Jewish roots of Christian faith and their implications for issues in contemporary society. He is also director of Cambrian Christian College, an affiliate of the Timothy Programme, which specialises in studies from a Torah foundation. He also teaches extensively on Christianity's Biblical foundations. Clifford, his wife Christine, and their children live in Gillingham, Suffolk, England.