Sacrifice with Joy

"Also that day they offered great sacrifices, and rejoiced, for God had made them rejoice with great joy; the women and the children also rejoiced, so that the joy of Jerusalem was heard afar off."

Nehemiah 12:43

When God directs people to sacrifice unto Him, His focus is not primarily upon the gift.  God does not need material wealth, the blood of animals, grain, wine, or oil because all things are already His.  God's desire is that every sacrifice we make for His glory be accompanied with great joy.  He cares more about our attitudes and the condition of our hearts than the amount of money or time involved in our sacrifice.  After Nehemiah read a portion of the Law to the people, he commanded them to rejoice.  Nehemiah 8:10 reads, "Then he said to them, "Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our LORD. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the LORD is your strength."  It is good for a man to sorrow for sin unto repentance.  But even he who has sinned much need not languish in despair, for the joy of the LORD is his strength.

Few people associate sacrifice with great joy.  All sacrifice unto the LORD is simply returning a portion of the whole which God has freely granted us by grace.  When the people offered great sacrifices in Nehemiah's day, all the people of Jerusalem rejoiced.  So loud were they in praising God that the "joy of Jerusalem was heard afar off."  What a testimony this is of the power of God, who makes His people to rejoice with great joy.  Sacrifice should not be seen as a sorrowful drudgery, but a companion of the greatest joy.  How wonderful it is when the church sacrifices with joy!  It is sometimes easier for us to sacrifice for God than to sacrifice and give for the benefit of others.  We grit our teeth to drive an extra half-hour to pick someone up.  We stew in frustration when others neglect their responsibilities and we must pick up the slack.  How easily we forget the principle of doing all things, especially when it involves sacrifice, as unto the LORD with joy!  Jesus relates this truth in Matthew 25:40:  "And the King will answer and say to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.'"

Sacrifice involves giving.  The two cannot be separated.  But joy is the three-fold cord in sacrificial giving which honours and glorifies God.  2 Corinthians 9:7 states, "So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver."  Whether it is sacrifice of time, sweat, money, effort, or service, we ought to give joyfully.  It is a moot point to debate whether the beneficiary of our sacrifice is worthy of our time and effort when we do all things as unto the LORD.  God is the worthy one.  As it is written in James 1:17, "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning."  Everything we possess and everything we give are first free gifts from God we have received.  When we rejoice in the Giver, we will also rejoice in all sacrifice unto Him.

The Law required that no burnt offering be sacrificed without salt, and in the same way we must not offer an sacrifice without great joy.  Let our joy also be an acceptable sacrifice in the eyes of God!  Psalm 27:1, 6 says, "The LORD is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid?...⁶ And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me; Therefore I will offer sacrifices of joy in His tabernacle; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the LORD."