“And when ye will offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving unto the LORD, offer it at your own will.” - Leviticus 22:29
In the Old Testament the thanksgiving offering was a specific type of sacrifice. It was established to provide a way to express thanks for what God had done. Thanksgiving is a theme that runs throughout the Bible, Old Testament and New. It is often associated with sacrifice.
Why is thanksgiving a sacrifice? Thanksgiving forces us to get our minds off ourselves and our ability to meet our needs. Thanksgiving is humbling because it acknowledges that someone else has met our needs instead of us.
The thanksgiving sacrifice was to be offered of one’s own free will. True thanksgiving cannot be forced. We can make our children that “thank you,” but that does not make them thankful. We can say thank you, but that doesn’t really make us thankful.
A “gratitude attitude” is what is needed. True thanksgiving will always result in praise as noted by the writer of Hebrews – “By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.”
When we really consider all that God has done for us, it is amazing that we even need to be reminded to give thanks.
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