Back to God

"Everyone whose heart stirred him and everyone whose spirit moved him came and brought the Lord’s contribution for the work of the tent of meeting and for all its service and for the holy garments. Then all whose hearts moved them, both men and women, came and brought brooches and earrings and signet rings and bracelets, all articles of gold; so did every man who presented an offering of gold to the Lord. Every man, who had in his possession blue and purple and scarlet material and fine linen and goats’ hair and rams’ skins dyed red and porpoise skins, brought them. Everyone who could make a contribution of silver and bronze brought the Lord’s contribution; and every man who had in his possession acacia wood for any work of the service brought it." -Exodus 35.21-24

Israel finally has been told about the Tabernacle, and that God will dwell among them there. And so they all begin to make contributions for the construction to begin. Everyone whose heart stirred him to contribute brought a contribution. They brought gold, silver, bronze, linen, and animal skins, and presented it so that the Lord would dwell among them.

The question we have to ask is where did they get all of this? They were slaves after all and would have not had riches. But God had told Moses that when the people were finally freed that they were to ask the Egyptians for gold and silver and clothing (Exodus 3.22, 12.35). All of their wealth was given to them because God put the fear of Israel into the Egyptians, their wealth was a gift from God. And now they are bringing it back and offering it to God.

Men, take a look around you right now, what do you own? Your house? Car? The stuff in your house? Look at your bank account. Take an inventory of your gifts and talents. Know where you got all of them? You might say you worked hard for what you have. You might say that you developed your talents over time with a lot of practice. To a point that could be true, but who allowed your work and practice to be successful? Everything that you and I own, every talent we have, is from God.

So we must ask the question, what will you do with what you have? Will you hoard it and store it for a rainy day? Will you use it to obtain more? Or will you give it back to the service of God? Will you use your house and car for ministry? Maybe you host a small group in your living room and disciple others. Maybe there is a young man who needs a ride to work. Will you use your talents to build the Kingdom? Maybe you can teach, will you teach others about God? Maybe you are a great administrator or good with finances, will you volunteer your time to the church, or those in the church who could benefit from your knowledge?

All that we have is a gift from God. When the people gave for the Tabernacle, God dwelt among them. If we offer what we have to God, He is able to dwell among us. Are you willing to give back to God?

"Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."

To God alone be the Glory!

Strength and Honor

Offering

"Tell the sons of Israel to raise a contribution for Me; from every man whose heart moves him you shall raise My contribution." -Exodus 25.2

God is preparing a dwelling place for Himself among the people. His presence will be there in a place of residence. But in order for this to be accomplished the people need to raise a contribution. When they left Egypt they plundered the Egyptians because God gave them favor in the sight of the Egyptians. The were slaves, who left as freed rich men. And now God is asking for a portion of what they received so that He may dwell among the people.

But God doesn't want them to give it out of obligation; He only wants those who feel moved to give, to give. He wants the offering to be made freely and joyfully, not out of compulsion. God gave them all that they have, and He's asking for those who are willing to give back so that He can bless them even more.

If we look at our lives honestly, we'll see that everything we have is from God. We came into this world with nothing, not even clothes on our back, but as we go through life we acquire things. Some obtain more than others, but all of us get things because God allows it. The question becomes are we willing to give back to Him? Are we willing to take our stuff, that isn't ours and if it lasts longer than our lives will go to someone else, if it doesn't get thrown out somewhere along the way, and invest it for God?

Men, are you willing to make a contribution for God? Is your heart moving you to invest? And it isn't just with money, though that is the context here. Are you willing to invest your time? Each minute is a gift from God that we didn't earn. Are you willing to invest your talents? Those are things we didn't earn either, God blessed us with them so that we could bless others. Are you willing to invest your experience? Some have lived a long time, and had both success and failures, are you willing to pour those things into the life of a young man you know? Are you willing to invest your life? It isn't your's, and its length is unknown. Are you willing to spend it in service to something greater than yourself?

God asks us to give back to Him from what He has given us. If we are willing the results will be more blessing. God will bless us with His presence. He will bless us with provision. The point of giving is not to receive the blessing, and if we do it that way we've missed the point. The point is obedience and love for God. The people gave because their hearts were moved by all that He had done for them.

How is your heart moved?

"Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."

To God alone be the Glory!

Strength and Honor

God First

"You shall not delay the offering from your harvest and your vintage. The firstborn of your sons you shall give to Me. You shall do the same with your oxen and with your sheep. It shall be with its mother seven days; on the eighth day you shall give it to Me." -Exodus 22.29-30

In the various laws that God gives to His people this one commands them to faith. God says that they are not to delay in presenting the offering of the harvest to Him. The first born son is to be dedicated to God, and the first born of the sheep and oxen are to be offered to Him as well. God's portion is to come first, not last and from the leftovers. God is to be given the best that we have to offer, and we trust in Him that what is left will be enough.

Most of us live in a world where we don't grow our own produce, (though I hope one day in the not too distant future to not be counted with that group) or raise our own meat animals. But we all live in a world where we need some kind of income. Men work, they earn money to provide for their families and save for retirement. But we are to write the first check to God.

Men, when do you pay your tithe? (Do you even give one?) Do you give to God first, trusting that what is left will cover the electric bill and pay for groceries? Or do you take care of your needs first, and if there happens to be something leftover, you might think about giving part of it to God?

God desires for, and commands, us to live lives of faith and trust in Him. When we offer the first portion to God we are saying that we trust Him. We are acknowledging His provision of what we have already earned, and declaring that we know God will provide all that we need if what is left is not enough. Men of God live in faith. They trust Him fully, and don't regret giving to God first.

Let us live lives of trust, knowing God will take care of us. Let us give to Him first, and watch as He honors our faithfulness.

"Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."

To God alone be the Glory!

Strength and Honor

Offering Rejected

"Then the Lord said to Cain, 'Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it.'" -Genesis 4.6-7

I've been thinking about this story for the past few days, and I'll be honest, I've started to wonder about it. Why was Cain's offering rejected? I've always heard it explained that Cain knew it was supposed to be an animal offering, but did he? Later in scripture we see that grain offerings are accepted by God. And so why is this one rejected?

Verses 3b-4a tell us that "Cain brought an offering to the LORD of the fruit of the ground. Abel, on his part also brought of the firstlings of his flock and their fat portions." There is the added clarification that Abel's offering was from the first, that it was given to God first, before anything was taken for himself. It doesn't tell us that with Cain, and so it could be that Cain gave God his leftovers, making sure his needs were taken care of first and then given some of what was left to God.

Whatever the reason, God rejected it, and then we wee these words, "If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up?" This implies that Cain did have some knowledge of what was a suitable offering to God, and since his offering is rejected, he clearly didn't bring it. God says "Why are you upset? You know what to do, and yet you aren't doing it."

And then we see this warning, "And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you". Sin is there, encouraging us to do what is not right. It leads us to believe that anything is good enough to give to God, it's the thought that counts after all. It leans us to do what is easy, not what is right. It desires us, and it is never satisfied, so we must master it or we will be consumed. We must master the tendency for ease.

I found a new quote to add to the left side, its fitting for this passage, "Be without fear in the face of your enemies. Speak the truth, always, even if it leads to your death. Safeguard the helpless and do no wrong. That is your oath." (Kingdom of Heaven) Speak the truth, do no wrong, master sin.

Today, let us give our best to God. Let us give Him the first of our time and energy. May we wake up and praise Him before anything else. And as we do this, we will have our countenance lifted, we will master sin, we will be pleasing to God.

"Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."

To God alone be the Glory!

Strength and Honor