As we read through the listings of all the different kinds of offerings that can be offered – burnt offerings, grain offerings, and peace or well-being offerings (these last are called “shalom” offerings in the Hebrew text) – all of these have particular requirements that have to be followed in specific detail: but especially the offering itself must be unblemished (Leviticus 1:3, 1:10, 3:1). Depending on the situation, what you bring for your sacrifice might be a bull, or a sheep or goat, or a bird or some grain: but whatever it is, it has to be the best.

The temptation is always to give God the leftovers, the ones we didn’t really want all that much anyway: the lame or sick animal, perhaps, or the money that remains, if any, after all the bills are paid and all the things we want to do are accomplished. It must have been hard for the Israelite farmers, looking at their animals and always seeing that this one isn’t quite strong, and that one is a little slow, and the other one always seems to be a little sick – and then recognizing that those are the animals we’ll have to keep, while the prize animal would be the one that would need to be offered as a sacrifice.

Wouldn’t it be all right to sacrifice one of the beasts that just isn’t going to thrive? Wouldn’t it be better to keep the very best animals for breeding, and cull out the weaker ones? Wouldn’t it be sufficient to sacrifice one of the animals that will probably die anyway, rather than always having to search out the one that is perfect, unblemished in any way? The answer to all those questions – the answer to all those temptations – is No.

The theme of Leviticus is holiness: and as we work our way through it we will see that it addresses us in every aspect of human life. Here at the beginning of the book, then, we see that a major aspect of holiness is developing the heart-attitude that says “I want to give God my very best.”

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Teach us, Lord, to present ourselves to you in devotion and holiness, offering up the very best that we have. Let us not be satisfied with giving you the leftovers, the so-so products of our labors: set in us a yearning to present to you hearts and attitudes and lives that are unblemished: the best of the best.