… there they shall offer sacrifices of righteousness… – Deuteronomy 33:19, KJV

To offer sacrifices of righteousness to God means to perform good works pleasing to God. The phrase “sacrifices of righteousness” occurs only three times in the King James Version of the Bible, and one of those instances occurs in Deuteronomy 33:19.

In Deuteronomy chapter 33, we find Moses blessing the children of Israel before his death. He gets to Zebulon and Issachar in verses 18 and 19 and says the following:

And of Zebulun he said, Rejoice, Zebulun, in thy going out; and, Issachar, in thy tents. They shall call the people unto the mountain; there they shall offer sacrifices of righteousness: for they shall suck of the abundance of the seas, and of treasures hid in the sand.

The tribe of Zebulun consisted of merchants, and in their dealings they often traveled by sea to trade with foreign countries. The tribe of Issachar, in contrast, thrived as husbandmen; their lot was to dwell in tents and tend the flock. Moses’ first admonition was for each tribe to rejoice in the work in which they were called. As commentator Matthew Henry puts it:

Let Zebulun rejoice in his going out; let him thank God for the gains and make the best of the losses and inconveniences of his merchandise, and not despise the meanness, nor envy the quietness, of Issachar’s tents. Let Issachar rejoice in his tents, let him be well pleased with the retirements and content with the small profits of his country seats, and not grudge that he has not Zebulun’s pleasure of traveling and profit of trading. Every business has both its conveniences and inconveniences, and therefore whatever Providence has made our business we ought to bring our minds to it; and it is really a great happiness, whatever our lot is, to be easy with it. This is the gift of God. (Ecclesiastes 5:19)

The point: we are to rejoice in and take pleasure in the work that God has given us to do. We must not do the business of our calling as a drudgery, but we must rejoice in our labour, take pleasure in the calling wherein God has placed us, and go on in the business of it with cheerfulness. God may at some future time pluck us from our current vocation and place us in another. But, until He does, we ought to rejoice in the vocation we are in now.

Choosing to rejoice in your work is a sacrifice of righteousness, a good work unto The Lord. It is a gift of gratitude that you give back to the God who gave you the work. Rather than irritate God with your complaining, glorify God with your contentment. And, remember, God loves a cheerful giver (2 Corinthians 9:7), so when you thank God for the work He has given you, make sure you mean it!