May He remember all your offerings, and accept your burnt sacrifice. Selah. May He grant you according to your heart’s desire, and fulfill all your purpose. (Psalm 20:3-4)
In Judaism it is believed that, in the days of the Sanctuary, when Israel was poised to go to war, special offerings were presented for the purpose of seeking Divine mercy during the battle. This is actually hinted at in the book of Numbers: “When you go to war in your land against the enemy who oppresses you, then you shall sound an alarm with the trumpets, and you will be remembered before the Lord your God, and you will be saved from your enemies” (Numbers 10:9).
In the very next verse, Israel is instructed to sound the silver trumpets “over your burnt offerings and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings; and they shall be a memorial for you before your God” (Numbers 10:10). That the same trumpets are sounded over the burnt offerings and sacrifices, as well as being sounded before a battle, seems to substantiate the notion that offerings were brought to God as an entreaty to be remembered in battle. Actually, the Hebrew words translated as remember (v. 9) and memorial (v.10) are derived from the same Hebrew root word — זכר zachar (this is also the word David used in verse 3).
This root word can be translated various ways but is, most literally, understood to mean “to act on behalf of someone.” In reality, when David prayed, “May He remember all your offerings,” he was petitioning God to act on our behalf in the day of trouble (v. 1). However, it seems important to point out that if there were no offerings presented to Him, there would be none to remember and thus no reason to expect that He would act on our behalf.
Obviously, we no longer bring burnt offerings and sacrifices to a Temple — we are the Temple of the Holy Spirit. Nevertheless, we are still expected to offer prayers to God and to bring “sacrifices of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips” (Hebrews 13:15). And yes, we should bring tangible offerings into the House of God, as well as giving alms to those less fortunate than we and here’s why — the principle we’ve discussed here is still in force. As the angel told Cornelius, “Your prayers and your alms have come up for a memorial before God” (Acts 10:4) which meant that God was about to act on his behalf.
God remembered his offerings and accepted his sacrifices; consequently, God brought Cornelius and his family into the family of faith. And so, when we practice righteousness according to the pattern in the Word, that is with our sacrifices and offerings, God remembers us. According to our obedience, He goes before us to war on our behalf to bring about His purpose for our life.
Blessings and Shalom,
Bill
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