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Barbecue for the Lord: Tasty Meat, Seasonings, and Sacrifice
By Marc | January 23, 2009
Before I was a Christian, I saw Abel’s sacrifice of livestock more pleasing to God than Cain’s grain as God taking favoritism on Abel. It wasn’t until much later that I realized that it was shown to me that it was only because Abel gave his choicest animal (showing real sacrifice) rather than Cain’s offering of just some of his grain lying around (trying to get by on the bare minimum of effort).
In the Old Testament, there are many different things to offer as sacrifices: grain, meat, incense, etc. And a lot of times in the first books, the animal sacrifices produced an aroma “pleasing to the Lord”. If it wasn’t about the items, but about the attitude, why did God have such a hankering for protein-based edible life forms?
Then it hit me: It was still about the heart behind the action. Perhaps God wasn’t counting his carbs and jonesing for Famous Dave’s. Livestock has always been a better commodity than grain.
Animals such as cattle, goats, and sheep can be used not only for eating, but also for their byproducts: leather, milk, wool, workload, etc. So, if you had livestock, your life is much easier, your status is raised, you have more commodities for an income, your family is healthier, and you can grow more crops with the help of your animals (fertilizer, help with tilling, consuming the waste).
Plus, when the people were nomadic, grain was hard to come by. And when they were settled, grain was too easy to come by and pretty inexpensive. A constant commodity, no matter their situation, was a domesticated farm animal.
If a person was willing to offer something of that much value, especially the best of what they had, that showed their heart was toward God, not their own selfishness. If a person could sell their healthy prize cow for twice as much as a head out of their general herd, but instead chose to give it to the Lord, that showed they wanted to please him.
It wasn’t just about sacrifice, but about obedience. Look at Abraham and Isaac. God didn’t have a craving for long pig. He wanted to see if Abraham was seriously willing to give up what was most precious to him. Abe proved his devotion, so God stopped him and gave him a ram to offer in Isaac’s place.
Then, much later, like in Jesus’ time, sacrificing to God was just going along with the motions. People would offer what was required, not what was a real sacrifice. A sacrifice means willing to give up something precious, not just what the conversion charts say is acceptable.
Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny.
Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything-all she had to live on.” – Mark 12:41-44
In most places when Jesus talks about money or possessions, he usually makes a point about being willing to giving up what is worldly, even if it means being a little uncomfortable.
A true sacrifice, where you want to give up your best, not just a company barbecue where you bring some hot dogs (past the expiration date) you got on sale.
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