Deut 17:1, "You shall not sacrifice to the Lord your God an ox or a sheep which has a blemish or any defect, for that is a detestable thing to the Lord your God. 
	This morning, we find, once again, the instructions to the Children of Israel concerning their sacrifices and the fact that the animals needed to be without blemish. We have spent time with this in the past as we have read through both Leviticus and Numbers which contained this mandate from the Lord. However, there must be some precise reason that the Lord had to stress this over and over and over again with His people. And that fact is something that still needs to be stressed again and again and again, even in this day in which we live.
	One of the predominant reasons that God had to make such a stand for the purity of the sacrifices to be offered was that they were to represent, in a most basic and less than fulfilling manner, the type of the sacrifice that was necessary for man to come into the relationship with God that would stand for all of eternity. The animal sacrifices were only marginally effective for short periods of time to cover the sins of the people. They had to be offered over and over and over again. They showed, as did the Law itself, that something far greater was needed to put to death the old nature of humanity and establish a brand new nature within those so covered. That, of course, is the blood of Christ which was willingly shed on the cross of Calvary for anyone who will call upon Him for salvation. 
	As that is the case of what these animal sacrifices were to indicate, it meant that they had to be without blemish or any defect. This was because they were the representation of that perfect sacrifice which was to come. They were a continual offering in line with the truth that the faultless sacrifice, the Only Begotten Son of God, would be pure and sinless and spotless and fully effective to eternally wash away all the sins of each person covered by His blood. Accordingly, nothing but the best and the finest and the unblemished and the most ideal of the flock or of the herd would do to so honor the Holiness of the Most Righteous Lord God Almighty.
	God knew the heart of mankind. There would be that propensity to try to get away with only the minimal and borderline sacrifices of the flock and of the herd. There would be those who would not offer their best, only the meagerly acceptable, if even that. We will read about this attitude of utter disregard for God in a few minutes when the Lord did call His people to task for their lack of honoring Him with the finest of the sacrifices that were to be offered. 
As result of knowing this heart of man, God knew that He had to stress this mandate over and over again so that mankind would know and realize just how serious and vital this was to God. The Lord would take care of and bless the multiplying of the flocks and of the herds if only man would trust and love Him sufficiently to follow through with that which would be honoring and right before the Lord God Jehovah! He would make Himself fully known as Jehovah Jirah in full accordance with His provision of those perfect and flawless sacrifices. This is fully in line with the truth that He was the One Who so graciously gave His Only Begotten Son as the final and ultimate sacrifice. This was for you and for me and for all those who will accept His so freely offered gift of eternal life and salvation and adoption into the very family of God.
The Lord was very direct in His mandate concerning the animals to be sacrificed unto Him. He did not leave any leeway or room for misinterpretation or the human capacity to create some ambiguity about what was really required of mankind. That is one of the main grounds for why the Lord had to stress this over and over and over and over again. No misunderstanding! No wiggle room! There was no way for men to say they did not know what the Lord required!
Consider one of the first times that this mandate of the Lord was pronounced unto the people in Lev 22:20-25. Please open to it so we can read it together for the full emphasis required of the people as unto the Lord. 
Lev 22:20-25, 'Whatever has a defect, you shall not offer, for it will not be accepted for you. 'And when a man offers a sacrifice of peace offerings to the Lord to fulfill a special vow, or for a freewill offering, of the herd or of the flock, it must be perfect to be accepted; there shall be no defect in it. 'Those that are blind or fractured or maimed or having a running sore or eczema or scabs, you shall not offer to the Lord, nor make of them an offering by fire on the altar to the Lord. 'In respect to an ox or a lamb which has an overgrown or stunted member, you may present it for a freewill offering, but for a vow it shall not be accepted. 'Also anything with its testicles bruised or crushed or torn or cut, you shall not offer to the Lord, or sacrifice in your land, nor shall you accept any such from the hand of a foreigner for offering as the food of your God; for their corruption is in them, they have a defect, they shall not be accepted for you.'" 
	It is obvious from this passage that God was very, very serious about what He would accept in the sacrificial animals and what would not be accepted by Him. In truth, if man offered a sacrifice that God had already stated plainly that He would not accept, what was the point?
Yet, man did offer those animals that were unacceptable, apparently thinking that God did not really mean what He stated so succinctly and repeatedly. This was ignoring that which God so clearly stated about these sacrifices over and over again, as in Deut 15:21. Deut 15:21, But if it has any defect, such as lameness or blindness, or any serious defect, you shall not sacrifice it to the Lord your God. 
	What we want to take to heart is the fact that we, as humans, have the tendency to express our attitude toward the Lord in ways that are not at all pleasing to Him. Even as His elect and adopted children, we are prone to manifest outlooks and feelings which express less than a heart of utmost love to the Lord God Almighty Who has saved us unto Himself. 
This attitude was evident as His Chosen Nation completely turned their back on Him with distain while still trying to fulfill the sacrificial requirements. They did so with the most despicable heart that willingly and purposefully sacrificed the lame and the sick and the unwanted of the flock and the herd. It was with the idea that at least they were doing what they had been taught was the minimal offering of their time and of their herd and flocks to some nebulous deity of their heritage.
	That was the attitude that caused the Lord to make such a vigorous refutation against His people through the Prophet Malachi at the end of the Old Testament days. It marked the end of the Lord speaking to the nation of Israel for over 400 years. He withdrew His counsel as the nation was distainfully uninterested in doing those things which would bring God honor and praise and worship and adoration. He would not again visit His people with His expressed immediate presence until the advent of the birth of His Only Begotten Son on this earth. 
	The final book of the Old Testament testifies against the nation of Israel in Mal 1:8. Mal 1:8, "But when you present the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? And when you present the lame and sick, is it not evil? Why not offer it to your governor? Would he be pleased with you? Or would he receive you kindly?" says the Lord of hosts. 
	The people would dare never offer the lame and the sick and the blind animals to their human leaders because they would not be received at all with gratuitousness and kindness. The leaders would take it as an affront and would deal severely with those miscreants with severity meting out their extreme harshness and malice. 
	Yet these were the sacrifices that were being regularly given to the Lord God Creator of Heaven and Earth. The people had no more regard for Him than as an obligation of custom and religious duty. That, which was to be solemn and honoring and recalling the power and the majesty and the awesomeness of God and the need to repent before Him, became merely a social activity to appease the family members and religious leaders. 
If the sacrifices were not made at the appropriate times of the year, then the community would look on that offending person with disdain and with judgment. Better to offer something, no matter how defiled and useless, than to be seen as not doing at least the minimal requirements of the religiosity of the day. 
There was no regard for God! No regard for what He had done for them throughout their history! He was relegated to nothing more than religious stories told to the children to keep them in line. God no longer mattered in the hearts of His people!
	Again hear the Lord’s absolute rebuke through the Prophet in verses 13+14 of this first chapter. Mal 1:13+14, "You also say, 'My, how tiresome it is!' And you disdainfully sniff at it," says the Lord of hosts, "and you bring what was taken by robbery, and what is lame or sick; so you bring the offering! Should I receive that from your hand?" says the Lord. "But cursed be the swindler who has a male in his flock, and vows it, but sacrifices a blemished animal to the Lord, for I am a great King," says the Lord of hosts, "and My name is feared among the nations." 
    	We can hear the lament of the Lord as He tells His people that they were so dishonoring Him as to bring not only the lame and the sick, but that which is not even their own. They were bringing the sacrifices that they had stolen in order to not reduce their own flocks and herds. This was the vile profanation of that which was to show honor and praise and worship unto the Lord. It was extremely apparent that these people had no regard, and even utter distain for the majesty and the power and the glory and the honor of God. 
	They brought before Him that which they would never bring to their own leaders. They considered these sacrifices as merely the ritual custom of their heritage with absolutely no thought of how it was actually offensive to God. The Lord was so indignant that He had to tell them forcefully that He is the Lord God Almighty, the King of kings and Lord of lords and that He should be regarded with even greater honor and dignity and consideration than any earthly ruler!
	This is another restatement of that which the people had already been told earlier in scripture as in Prov 15:8+9. Prov 15:8+9, The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord, But the prayer of the upright is His delight. The way of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord, But He loves him who pursues righteousness. 
In bringing stolen sacrifices and in putting before the Lord those offerings that were clearly unacceptable, the wickedness of the heart of man was on obvious and malicious display. Here is the plainly apparent attitude that God does not matter. None of the sacrifices brought before Him mattered as to whether He accepted them or not. They did not care!
	Before we voice our indignation toward the vileness of this nation in its utter disregard for the Lord, please take to heart what our sacrifices of praise indicate about our regard for the Lord. How do we come before Him as His Chosen people in Jesus Christ? Are we offering praiseworthy worship as His people? With what attitudes do we bring our tithe or any freewill offerings which show that all that we have belongs to Him? Do our prayers honor Him or do they serve to try to build up our stance in the midst of His people? There is so very much that we need to investigate in our hearts and minds unto the Lord before we condemn the practices of the people for whom these warnings and requirements were published.
	You see, we need to take to heart these very warnings as our own. While we no longer bring unto the Lord actual sacrifices as our offerings unto Him, we do need to consider the final sacrifice that He made for all of us. Are we honoring Jesus, the Only Begotten as we gather in His name? Are we making known to Our Heavenly Father the full gratitude that we have for His so freely offered gift of salvation? Are we pleasing the Holy Spirit in our absolute obedience as He makes the Word of God alive in our beings? These are just a few of the questions that should be working in our spirits and hearts as we dwell on these passages of that which is and is not honoring to the Lord God Almighty.
	We must ever keep at the forefront of our conscious walk on this earth the truth of Who God is and all that He has done for and in us by the death and resurrection of His Only Begotten Son! That must never become something that we take for granted and that we push into the recesses of our memories!
	Let us continuously and constantly cherish the work of Christ’s perfect sacrifice as we bring those unblemished offerings of worship and joy-filled praise unto Him. Our tithes and our offerings above that which is required should show the reality that all that we have is God’s to use as He deems best. 
Hold in our hearts the admonition of the Writer to the Hebrews in Heb 9:13+14. Heb 9:13+14, For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled, sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? 
	This must cause us to treasure and to appreciate the sacrifice of God on our behalf! He personally paid the price for our cleansing and therefore He deserves the entire focus of our offerings and sacrifices of honor. 
    	The Apostle Peter closes this morning for us. It is with his encouragement to us of the tremendous working mercy and grace and love of the Lord God Almighty on our behalf. We find this recorded in 1 Peter 1:17-19. 
1 Peter 1:17-19, And if you address as Father the One who impartially judges according to each man's work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay upon earth; knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ. So be it!
	"You shall not sacrifice to the Lord your God an ox or a sheep which has a blemish or any defect, for that is a detestable thing to the Lord your God. Amen.

	
This morning’s benediction is John 16:33. "These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world." Amen.