January 2 - New Grain

January 2 – New Grain

Leviticus 2:14, “If you bring a grain offering of first fruits to the Lord, you shall bring as the grain offering of your first fruits coarse new grain from fresh ears, parched with fire.”

Leviticus 23:16, “You shall count until the day after the seventh Sabbath, fifty days; then you shall present an offering of new grain to the Lord.”

Leviticus 26:10, “You shall eat old grain long stored, and you shall have to clear out the old to make way for the new.”

What was the appropriate offering to the Lord? New grain. 

What was to be done with the old grain long stored?  They were to eat it.

Things have really changed since the days of the Israelites.  No longer do we offer our first-fruits to the Lord.  We offer those things we tire of, those things that are no longer useful to us.  We offer those things that we have in excess.  If there is money at the end of the year, we might choose to bequeath some of that to the church rather than setting aside the money to be used for God’s work at the start of the year.

God never offers us second-hand creation.  His gifts to us are created by Him and offered to us freely. 

Western Civilization has transformed the world from a faith / religious based culture to one where reason and individualism predominate.  Our first reaction is to care for ourselves, our families and our things.  Several thousand years ago, the self was set aside in order to care for the community and raise the prominence of God. 

Rather than lament what has changed and what we will never be able to change back, we must find ways to commit ourselves to offering our very best to the God of Creation, the Lord who gave us life.