I am under vows to you, my God; I will present my thank offerings to you. Psalm 56:12
Being under the new covenant means we’re free from the animal and food offering we see outlined in the early books of the Bible. However, they provide us with an understanding of how God wants to be approached in worship.
The various offerings for sin show that God wants us to come to him with a clean heart, free from sin, which is now possible through Christ’s death on the cross. There were also other offerings, such as the thank-offerings which were apart of the fellowship offerings and show a desire to be in fellowship with God.
Today, while it’s not necessary to make the various food offerings to be in fellowship with God, it shows us the importance God places on having a thankful heart. When we have a thankful heart we have a better perspective of our inadequacies and God’s sufficiency. True thankfulness comes from humility since we’re thankful for those things which we cannot provide ourselves and we recognise God’s goodness in his provision.
When we read the book of Psalms we often find the phrase, “sacrifice thank offerings” which tells us thanksgiving wasn’t an emotional response. Making these offerings was a sacrifice that was costly in time as well as money. It required preparation and commitment.
In the above verse, we see David’s commitment to fulfilling his vows and present thank offering to God. It wasn’t dependant on whether he felt like it but on a decision he had made.
This is quite a challenge. While we don’t have to make food preparations, we still have to prepare our hearts and make a commitment to be thankful whether we feel like it or not.
