From last week, we come to the account of how Moses waved the offering to the Lord, and then he ate it.

From this instance on, the privilege of eating from the sacrifice would belong to Aaron and his sons, because they would make all the sacrifices. God even clarified it, as evidenced by the following verses:

27 “Here are the parts of the second ram that belong to Aaron and his sons. You must set apart the breast that was waved and the thigh that was offered. 28 It will be the regular share from the Israelites for Aaron and his sons. The people must give it to the Lord from their friendship offerings. (Exodus 29:27-28)

Such offerings became God’s permanent provision for the priesthood. The people brought their offerings to God, and in turn God gave the priests their portion. The priests ate their share. In other words, these offerings were intended to be consumed by the priests.

What is the bigger picture? God does not expect His people to serve Him in full-time ministry for nothing. He does not expect pastors to leave their professions to do pastoral work without having no provision to feed himself or his family. God is not like that. God provides for His church. What more for His priests? He promises to provide for everyone’s needs, and this includes those who are in full- time ministry.

In the Old Testament, God provides for His priest by giving them a portion of the sacrifice. It is the similar context in the 21st century church. A portion of the tithes and offerings are given to the minister to provide for him and his family.

18 Scripture says, “Do not stop an ox from eating while it helps separate the grain from the straw.” (Deuteronomy 25:4) Scripture also says, “Workers are worthy of their pay.” (Luke 10:7) (1 Timothy 5:18)

Even when Scripture defends what God rightfully assigns to the minister, many Christians do not feel they have a part in the big picture. They understand God provides for His priests, but they feel that it is God’s responsibility, not theirs. They do not feel that they have a part in providing for their ministers and other Christian workers.

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What is your part to play in the big picture?

Tzedakah, as with every other giving that the Lord calls us to do, is a spiritual exercise. We seem to forget that the Lord God does not need our money. Nevertheless, we are commanded to give in order to foster empathy, compassion, and generosity. We are being molded to be more like Jesus. It is through giving of ourselves that we actually become more. Giving a part of what we hold dear leads to a more meaningful life.

A rabbi once asked, “What is better? Giving 1,000 gold pieces to one person or giving one gold piece to 1,000 people? According to him, the latter is better. Why? It is because each act of generosity is separate. If you performed a generous act 1000 times, it means you chose to give 1,000 times. It’s like the number of repetitions you do in the gym. The more repetitions you do, the more you grow stronger. The essence of tzedakah isn’t a financial transaction; it is spiritual. It grows you spiritually — and as God promised when you seek Him first, it can also grow you financially (Mt. 6:33).

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How do you think is Tzedakah spiritual, rather than financial transaction?

Usually in our lives, before God reveals the big picture, He provides the details. Although we must not fuss about the details, we should study them, because they are a part of what God has revealed for our benefit and for His purpose, for that specific season. He may not reveal the big picture all at once, but He is the one who unveils things for us. Even the ordination of the priests was a step-by-step process. People were clueless of what to do, but God was there instructing them every step of the way.

There were three kinds of sacrifices that the people made specifically for the priests. The last of them is called the “ram of filling.” The term filling comes from an ancient custom, which means when someone is appointed as king or priest, an official would come forward to “fill his hand.” Filling was the term used for an ordination or an installation.

Scholars presented different symbolisms for this according to their culture. One meaning is that the symbol of office was placed into the individual’s hand. In other cases, the hand of the new official was filled with some form of tribute. What did this mean? As long as the priest was in office, he had the right to receive revenue; the people “filled his hand.” Given what the Bible says about the ordination of priests, the latter explanation seems more accurate. This is what God said to Moses:

22 “Here is what you must take from this second ram. Take the fat, the fat tail and the fat around the inside parts. Take the long part of the liver. Also take both kidneys with the fat on them, and the right thigh. It is the ram you must use when you prepare the priests to serve the Lord. 23 Get one round loaf of bread and one thick loaf of bread with olive oil mixed in. Also get one thin loaf of bread. Take them from the basket of bread made without yeast. It is the one in front of the Lord. 24 Put all these things in the hands of Aaron and his sons. Tell them to lift them up and wave them in front of the Lord as a wave offering. 25 Then take all these things from their hands. Burn them on the altar along with the burnt offering. Its smell pleases the Lord. It is a food offering presented to the Lord. (Exodus 29:22-25)

Let’s break down the passage. Different, important things happen in these verses. First, the fat and innards are offered to the Lord with fire. These parts are considered the best portions in an animal. They are given back to the Lord. The priests would give what they considered as the fattest and juiciest parts of their sacrifice as an offering to the Lord.

thigh. It is the ram you must use when you prepare the priests to serve the Lord.

23 Get one round loaf of bread and one thick loaf of bread with olive oil mixed in. Also get one thin loaf of bread. Take them from the basket of bread made without yeast. It is the one in front of the Lord. 24 Put all these things in the hands of Aaron and his sons. Tell them to lift them up and wave them in front of the Lord as a wave offering. 25 Then take all these things from their hands. Burn them on the altar along with the burnt offering. Its smell pleases the Lord. It is a food offering presented to the Lord. (Exodus 29:22-25)

 

Let’s break down the passage. Different, important things happen in these verses. First, the fat and innards are offered to the Lord with fire. These parts are considered the best portions in an animal. They are given back to the Lord. The priests would give what they considered as the fattest and juiciest parts of their sacrifice as an offering to the Lord.

The priest would also make various offerings of bread. Together with the inner parts of the animal sacrifice, these offerings would be waved before the Lord before they were burned on the altar. The priests used the offering to wave at the Lord as a symbolic way of calling God’s attention. The priests waved the offerings back and forth. Heave offerings were lifted up to the Lord as an act of worship, elevating them to declare that these offerings belong to Him. As the priests waved to the Lord, they were never empty-handed. Their hands were always filled with good things to offer back to God. Even Moses had something in his hand. He had a The priest would also make various offerings of bread. Together with the inner parts of the animal sacrifice, these offerings would be waved before the Lord before they were burned on the altar. The priests used the offering to wave at the Lord as a symbolic way of calling God’s attention. The priests waved the offerings back and forth. Heave offerings were lifted up to the Lord as an act of worship, elevating them to declare that these offerings belong to Him. As the priests waved to the Lord, they were never empty-handed. Their hands were always filled with good things to offer back to God. Even Moses had something in his hand. He had a breast of ram in his hand. The Lord also said that this piece of offering would be Moses’ portion. Examine the passage below.

26 And thou shalt take the breast of the ram of Aaron’s consecration, and wave it for a wave offering before the Lord: and it shall be thy part. (Exodus 29:26 KJV)

Through the ordination sacrifices, Moses served as Aaron’s priest. As the priest, he had the right to receive a portion of the sacrifice for his food, which was why the ram’s breast was apportioned to Moses. Moses waved the offering to the Lord, and then he ate it.

Experience the Power of Prophecy as a gift to open your mind to receive the Mind of Christ.

What do you think happens when the priest is left empty-handed?

The Bible has repeatedly stressed the obligation of the believer to aid those who are in need. The reason the Lord provides for us is for personal sustenance and to help others who need it. When we only use our income for personal gain, then we are moving in social injustice. We are not doing our part to contribute to society. Even when the Bible stressed this obligation to help the less fortunate, there is no specific term for it.

Tzedakah is something the Rabbis adopted to apply to charity in the context of social justice. Tzedakah’s literal meaning is “righteousness” or “justice,” as in the famous biblical phrase, “tzedek, tzedek, tirdof” (“Justice, justice, shall you pursue”; Deut. 16:20). Charity is not merely a generous or magnanimous act.

In the church service, the appropriate way is to submit to the person in-charge. Even if you feel you can still prophesy more, but the lead pastor said it was time for prayer already, then you submit to his authority. Always be humble. Moreover, be teachable. If the lead prophet pulls you aside to tell you that you can do better, listen to Godly counsel.

When we prophesy, we say, “thus saith the Lord.” There is no part in this statement that says we are to judge. Even if we see a prophetic picture of the sins of a person, we must not judge them, because we are well-aware that no one is righteous, and no one can save himself. We are all dependent on the glory of Jesus. The prophetic word we are giving is to help this person live in the freedom that Jesus won for them. We are just the messenger.

For the Israelites, giving is the performance of a religiously mandated duty to provide something to which the needy have a right. By providing the chance to carry out an important mitzvah, the poor man gives the giver more in accepting the alms than the giver does for the poor man in giving him charity. How come? The poor man allows the giver to be blessed a hundredfold.

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Have you ever allowed someone to bless you so that they can prosper?

There is safety in numbers. When authentically focused on Jesus, there is so much love in a prophetic group. There should not be a misconception that a prophetic group—similar to that of the School of Prophets—will create a verbal beating from a prophetic people. This group is intended to be a blessing to people.

God wanted prophets in the ancient times and today to belong to prophetic communities so that within this group, they can experience protection, encouragement, impartation, and growth. Together, a prophetic people can empower believers to fulfill God’s purposes for their individual lives, and as one Body of Christ.

In theory, people are relational beings. Another theory is that prophets are the least relational in the church. There is a stigma that prophets can offend them, and people don’t want their “dirty laundry” out for all to see. They tend to distance themselves from prophets. However, being a prophetic people as a church changes the perspective for the prophetic gift.

In a group, the prophets can weigh their words, as well as the words of others. They can help each other and safeguard each other. There is safety in numbers in the prophetic ministry, because prophets can come together to weigh one another’s word. Paul suggested for two to three prophets to speak, and for the others [other prophets] to evaluate what is said (1 Cor. 14:32). This practice is not to prove that one prophet is better than another or to be contradictory. The practice is intended to make sure the prophetic word is pure. Of course, this goal can only be done out of love.

When false words are given, they can do no further harm, because others can test and discern them, and they can be thrown out. The use of the gift of discernment encourages the prophetic ministry to take more risks as a group. We know that if we do miss a word, then the word is unlikely to do any damage as they can deal with it immediately in a loving and constructive manner.

Character building is a significant area that is developed within a prophetic community. When the group gathers, there is sharpening of iron (Prov. 27:17). If a person in a group is undergoing some challenges in his personal or ministry life and someone else in the group has already been there, then counseling and mentoring comes in. The wisdom that comes through others really helps us recognize what the Lord is looking for in our lives and what He is doing in the seasons we are in. It’s a blessing to walk with more mature prophets who have experienced what younger prophets are experiencing in their current season. Being in a prophetic group can allow prophets to keep each other sharp. You can read about prophecy and understand your gift. However, you receive the gift of prophecy in a group. It’s about receiving impartation. You need the anointing of the Holy Spirit. Being around prophetic people simply positions you to receive prophetic anointing, in the way being around the school of prophets enabled Saul and his men to prophesy in 1 Samuel.

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How has your character been developed in the local church community? Or, if you are already part of a prophetic community, how has this community developed your character?