Dedicated
Dedicated - Set apart, consecrated, hallowed, sacred place or thing, vow,
anointed
Anointed – to authorize, or set apart, a person for a particular work or service
(Isaiah 61:1-2). The anointed person belonged to God, in a special sense.
Jesus the Messiah is described as “anointed”. All who are Christ’s disciples
are said to be anointed, they are God’s very own, set apart and commissioned
for service (II Corinthians 1:21). Because all believers are anointed, we have
to be very careful not to talk about one another, even if it is true. God said
“touch not My anointed”.
Through out the book of Numbers there were special offerings for the first
born of man or beast, even the donkey had to be redeemed. The first born of
man or beast belonged to God. The firstborn of man was to be redeemed.
In one of the most beautiful passages in the Bible, Hannah presented her
young son Samuel to God, in an act of child dedication (I Samuel 1:9-28).
You see she had prayed and vowed to God, and was willing to fulfill it.
Once a thing is dedicated to God and someone tries to use it, they are
cursed, example: when the Israelites were instructed to take Jericho they
were told not to take of the accursed thing (Joshua 6:18-19). But A’chan, took
of the accursed thing and the anger of the Lord was kindled against the
children of Israel. This caused Israel to lose a battle to a small country Ai.
When Joshua prayed about this the Lord told him someone had taken of the
accused thing (Joshua 7:20-26).
The tithes and offerings are dedicated to God. Some people say that tithing
is in the old testament, however, remember God didn’t do away with the law,
He just changed them from being on tablets of stone, to being written on our
hearts (Psalms 37:31). The tithes didn’t originate with the law, remember
Abraham gave tithes to Melchizedek the king of Salem (Genesis 14:20), which
is a foreshadow of Jesus.
Study by: Harriet Bond
Date: February 28, 2006