I've been reading the *Pentateuch and finding precious nuggets that I've never noticed before. Let me preface this entry by saying that I tend to inundate my own thoughts with accusations of "not good enough... not good enough... not good enough".
I'm reminded again of the grain offerings that the Israelites were to bring to God. What struck me is that the women would have been the ones to prepare the bread for the grain offerings.
I picture a family living in a tent full of very rambunctious children. The desert sands stretch for as far as the eye can see... and water does not. Washing up is not a frequent occurrence here.
The eight year old has just come in from playing with his friends and feels queasy. Mommy feels his head and confirms that he's becoming ill. She strokes his face, wipes his tears and tucks him in. She has no idea that her hands are now laden with a virus.
The baby's awake and screaming now. Anxious to allow her older boy to rest, she runs to pick up the infant and cuddle her until she's settled. Her nose shows the moist, telltale signs of teething. Mommy gently takes a corner of her skirt and wipes away the little one's discomfort.
She remembers that her husband would like to bring a grain offering to the Lord. It's time for her six-year-old daughter to begin learning this precious skill; making bread for the presence of a holy God. She dusts the sand off of her little girl's hands and leads her to the cooking area.
God had strict specifications for how the animal sacrifices were prepared. There weren't nearly as many for the bread offerings; they were just to bring it. If there was ever any specification, it was that it was to be unleavened. Those virus laden, mucous wiping, sand dusting hands would likely have received a water wash, but our science tells us that her hands were by no means bacteria free. God said make bread. She set out to make bread.
Together, Mommy and young girl knead, shape and bake the bread; bread that has been not only touched by common hands, but prepared by them. I'm going to venture a guess that God wasn't so concerned about the little nose that would be wiped again and again during the baking. His first thought was not that the little girl had a penchant for raw bread and snitched a taste now and then, licked her fingers, then went back to helping Mommy. He asked that the women prepare the bread. That's it. Just prepare the bread and bring it to the LORD.
I don't see any record of the Lord tolerating whimpering and whining because these women didn't get the same notoriety as Aaron or Moses. (Miriam tried; that didn't go so well for her.) They didn't rise up and demand their rights. God gave these women a part in worship and they fulfilled it. We will never know whose sticky, dusty, maybe even slimy hands prepared the bread for the grain offerings. We do know the God that requested those offerings. He's the same God who really doesn't want our sniveling and pouty faces because we're not good enough. He would like us to quit comparing ourselves to the next girl who has perfectly coiffed hair and flawless nails. He doesn't ask us to measure up to the insane schedule of the next gal. He simply asks us to bring to Him what we can.
What can we as women offer? Happy kids that know the name of Jesus? Young disciples who are learning the heart of Christ through their own acts of giving? The sweet spirit of Christ when we greet our spouses? Employment tasks carried out with integrity and cheerfulness, even when no one will know the difference? He asks us to bring what we can. Well, girls, you ready? What is God asking you to bring to Him?
*First five books of the Old Testament
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