Throughout the bible the sacrifice of praise is often called a thanksgiving offering. The writer of Hebrews exhorted us to, "Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased." (Heb. 13:15) In the gospel of Luke we read the account of Jesus healing ten lepers, "Now it happened as He went to Jerusalem that He passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. Then as He entered a certain village, there met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off. And they lifted up their voices and said, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!" So when He saw them, He said to them, "Go, show yourselves to the priests." And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed. Now one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at his feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan. So Jesus answered and said, "Were not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?" And He said to him, "Arise, go your way, your faith has made you well." We see in this account in Luke that one man saw the value of God's grace in hearing his prayer and healing him. One Greek scholar in commenting on this passage had this insight to share, "This incident does not necessarily imply that the other nine lacked faith; The point is rather that their faith was incomplete because it did not issue in gratitude." Is your faith manifested with an "Attitude of gratitude"? Are you thankful for the grace of God in your life? "Thank You!". Such a small sentence to convey a great feeling of gratitude. How often do we grope for the words to express our appreciation! Have you ever felt at a loss for words? Where "Thank you" just didn't seem to adequately convey your feelings? Thank You! It is the way we communicate the value of what we have received. Jesus asked, "Where are the others? Were there not ten of you?". It is a sorry condition of so many today, both in the church and in the world, that there is so much ingratitude. Paul tells us in 2Tim.3:2 that a manifestation of the last days is that men will be "...Unthankful...". A great many people have chosen to act in total disregard of the sacrifices and labor's of others! The history of the Thanksgiving Holiday is a story replete with faith and thanksgiving for the grace of God. Those first Pilgrims though they had suffered such loss still offered thanksgiving to God, even in the face of the most dire and trying circumstances. The First Thanksgiving was a true "Sacrifice of praise"! In 1621 Gov. William Bradford of Mass. when proclaiming the dedication of a Thanksgiving day of feasting declared, "We have noted these things so that you may see their worth, and not negligently lose what your fathers have obtained with so much hardship." What was Governor Bradford referring to? What things did he want to take note of? The Story of Squanto
The Pilgrims had a long hard trip from England, many died on the journey to the new world itself. When the Pilgrims stepped ashore in 1620, they were met by an Indian, named Squanto, who spoke perfect English. He was a member of the Pawtuxet tribe of Cape Cod. In 1605 Squanto had been kidnapped and taken to England. However, he was treated well and lived in London until 1614 when he was to return to America. Unfortunately, he was taken captive again and taken to Spain. There he was sold as a slave to Christian friars. Nevertheless, he was treated kindly, and under their influence he was baptized upon his profession of faith in Jesus Christ. During a war in 1619, Squanto escaped and made his way to England where a ship captain agreed to take him back to America. The following year after his return, the Pilgrims landed.
The winter of 1620 left 50 of the 100 Pilgrims dead, Gov. Bradford's wife was among those who died. In the Spring of 1621, Squanto taught the Pilgrims how to plant corn and native squash. He showed them how to hunt and fish. Had it not been for the English speaking Squanto, the Pilgrims might have all died. William Bradford in his personal journal wrote of Squanto that he was, "...a special instrument sent from God for our good beyond expectation." It was Squanto who was sent to invite Chief Massasoit and his tribe to the thanksgiving feast in November 1621. Gov. Bradford though he had lost half of his company along with his wife chose to offer a sacrifice of praise and of thanksgiving to God. He was able to see beyond the immediate circumstances and trials to the greater vision and purpose of God and "In everything give thanks for this is the will of God." (1Thess. 5:18)
Though he had lost his wife and half of the company of people that were with him, William Bradford decided it was better to give thanksgiving to God rather then to accuse God of malfeasance! That first Thanksgiving was a true "Sacrifice of Thanksgiving" because Gov. Bradford knew that the scripture instructed us: "And when you offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving (Heb. Todah) to the Lord, offer it of your own free will." (Lev.22:29)
Thanksgiving is a form of worship! Psalm 50:23 declares; "Whoever offers praise glorifies Me..."
The word for praise here in the Hebrew is TODAH. TODAH means "a praise of thanksgiving". Very often it is a sacrifice of praise. For example, look at Leviticus 7:11, "This is the law of the sacrifice of peace offerings...if he offers it for a thanksgiving...", (The word here for thanksgiving is TODAH). Jeremiah 33:11 was the basis for a very popular praise chorus, "[We] bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the Lord..."; again, the word here for praise is TODAH.
Thanksgiving is a conscience choice to worship God. The Pilgrims made a conscience choice to praise and thank God, even in the midst of their suffering and sorrow. They had felt tremendous pain and hardship and yet they still trusted that God was indeed good! The very fact that the bible uses the term "sacrifice" in relation to praise & thanksgiving indicates there are times when it will be difficult. A sacrifice is something that will cost us something. A surrender of our own emotions at times, and surrender of our own feelings at times. A surrender of our own questions at times! A sacrifice of thanksgiving will put us in a place where, when we can't understand what His hand is doing then we'll learn to trust His heart! The sacrifice of thanksgiving helps us to remember and to recognize that even though we do indeed live in a fallen world filled with both good times and bad times, filled with both happy times and sorrowful times, nevertheless, we ought always look up and see that God is good no matter what and that we can trust Him because He knows and He sees the bigger picture. Therefore, thanksgiving glorifies God, "Whoever offers thanksgiving glorifies me..." (Lit. translation of Ps. 50:23).
Back to the Lepers... "Now one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks...So Jesus answered and said, "Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? "Were there not any found to give glory to God...?" (Lk.17:15-18). This Thanksgiving holiday season no matter what our circumstances may be, let us be a people who will be thankful! Thankful for the grace and mercy of God poured out upon our lives! Let us be a people who bring glory to the Living God from whom all blessings flow! "And when you offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving to the Lord, offer it of your own free will." (Lev.22:29) Blessings to ya! Andy
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