This was a voluntary offering that the individual made because he loved his God, Jehovah. The person making the offering, his family, and the priests would eat the meat of the sacrificed animal. But certain parts of the animal sacrifice were offered up exclusively to Jehovah. Which parts? Jehovah viewed the fat as the best part of an animal. He also specified that vital organs, including the kidneys, were of special value. (Lev. 3:6, 12, 14-16) So Jehovah was especially pleased when an Israelite voluntarily offered vital organs and the fat to him. The Israelite who made such an offering demonstrated his deep desire to offer the very best to God. In a similar way, Jesus willingly offered up to Jehovah his very best by serving Him whole-souled out of love for Him. (John 14:31) For Jesus, doing God’s will was a delight. (Ps. 40:8) How pleasing it must have been for Jehovah to see Jesus serve him so willingly! w19.11 22-23 ¶9-10

God’s Word states that after six “days” of creating, God paused from his works as regards the earth. (Gen. 2:2) Yet, Jehovah loves to work, and in other respects he “has kept working.” (John 5:17) The provision for the weekly Sabbath follows a pattern similar to that of Jehovah’s day of rest described in Genesis. God said that the Sabbath was a sign between him and Israel. (Ex. 31:12-14) The prohibition against work applied to everyone, including children, slaves, and even domestic animals. (Ex. 20:10) It allowed the people to give more attention to spiritual matters. Many religious leaders in Jesus’ time took an extreme, rigid view of the Sabbath day. They claimed that it was unlawful on the Sabbath even to pluck some heads of grain or to heal a person who was ill. (Mark 2:23-27; 3:2-5) Such views did not reflect God’s thinking, and Jesus made that clear to those who would listen. w19.12 3-4 ¶8-9

The more we learn about the qualities that make up Jehovah’s personality, the better we will be able to imitate him. David came to know his heavenly Father well, so he was able to imitate Him when dealing with others. Because David had such a good relationship with Jehovah, he became one of Israel’s most beloved kings and the standard by which Jehovah measured other kings of Israel. (1 Ki. 15:11; 2 Ki. 14:1-3) What is the lesson for us? We need to be “imitators of God.” When we model our personality after his, we prove that we are his children. (Eph. 4:24) We will never stop learning about Jehovah. (Eccl. 3:11) The important thing is, not how much we know about him, but what we do with what we know. If we apply what we learn and try to imitate our loving Father, he will continue to draw close to us. (Jas. 4:8) Through his Word, he assures us that he will never abandon those seeking him. w19.12 20 ¶20; 21 ¶21, 23