Psalm 56:12

Psalm 56:12

Presenting thank offerings

We have commented before on the role of Thank Offerings in the religious life of the Israelites. The Thank Offering was similar to the Fellowship Offering and involved taking a young lamb or a fatted calf to the temple to be sacrificed to the Lord. This was an additional offering to the regulation ones, and it could be made as a means of fulfilling vows. It was a public demonstration of gratitude to the Lord for His deliverance and for His keeping His promises; it was a joyful offering and the offeror often took some of the meat home to be eaten at a feast with friends and family that evening.

I suspect that David had made vows and promises to the Lord that hinged on his being kept safe and eventually returning to Jerusalem and to his home. In fact, Psalm 66:13-14 supports this view, the fugitive had indeed promised to return to the Temple with burnt offerings and to fulfil the vows made when in trouble. 

This practice seems to be a bit out of place in modern Christianity, doesn’t it? Whoever heard of someone making vows when in trouble and then making a public sacrifice before the Lord and feasting with family and friends when deliverance comes? Maybe we see the whole process as a bit of a bargaining tool, “If you give to me Lord, I will give back to you.” A kind of spiritual tit for tat! Amazingly, the Lord didn’t seem to mind, because the one who made the vow was delivered, with help from above, and therefore they were prompted to act sacrificially out of hearts full of gratitude.  And the Lord was honoured and blessed. Maybe, we ought to have a modern-day equivalent? Wouldn’t it be great if, at least once or twice a year we all had a feast with family and friends, specifically to celebrate what the Lord had done for us and to give thanks to Him?

 

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