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January 11 Why Just Any Offering May Not Do


Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the first fruits of all your crops. Then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine. ~Proverbs 3:9-10

“Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test Me in this,” says the Lord almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.” ~Malachi 3:10

Remember this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever reaps generously will also reap generously. Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. ~1 Corinthians 9:6-7

Do you ever wonder why God places so much importance on our giving of the first part of what we receive as income? Why isn’t it good enough to just give what we think we can afford after all our bills are paid? Why the first portion?

It may be difficult for we who live in a less agrarian society to understand the significance of giving the first of your increase. We are used to receiving a paycheck every week or two, or perhaps once a month. Since we receive it all at once, It’s hard to know exactly what the, “first fruits,” are. Perhaps a couple of examples of what is meant here will help us understand better what is being asked for, or actually commanded.

Let’s suppose you are the proud owner of a ewe. For those of you who are not sheep farmers, that’s a female sheep who has had a lamb. Now, she has just had her first It’s her first lamb, and, according to the Law, it belongs to God. It’s a beautiful little thing, perfect in every way. It could produce a lot of wool for you to sell in its future. Now, you have to decide, you know that you are supposed to give that lamb to God, but what if your ewe gets sick this year and dies and doesn’t produce any more lambs? What if something else happens. The future is so unknown! What is known is that you have this beautiful little lamb. Can you trust God for another to replace it?

Let’s say you bring in the first of your crops. They look pretty good. You know that the rainy season is nipping on the heals of the harvest. Will God really hold off the rain so that you can get it all in before it starts? If you can’t collect all of your harvest, your family might starve. You may not have enough to sell so that you can provide for your family’s needs. Those first stalks of grain and bunches of grapes would bring in a very good price at the market. Can God really be trusted to protect and provide for a whole year until the harvest comes again? Can you afford to give away that first valuable portion?

Do you see how, in both of these cases, God is calling for a demonstration of trust and dependence on Him? That is how you honor Him with what you give. You are telling Him, Lord, I know you’ll take care of me. I want to honor You with the first of what you have provided because You have promised that you’ll take care of me and I know I can trust that promise.

Realize further, that when you brought your offering to God in the temple, the priest was going to take his share, while you may be drooling wishing you could eat it. And then the priest was going to put the rest on the altar where you could watch all your hard-earned income go up in smoke! In one way, if you’re not trusting God, but feeling obligated to fulfill the law, that experience could be quite distressing. But if you are trusting God, you can be a cheerful giver and think of your offering this way, you’re so rich you have money to burn!

What is amazing to me is that, while He calls us to honor Him, if we will, He promises to bless us. David testifies to God’s faithfulness when he says, “I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken, or their children begging bread.” (Psalm 37:25) God is faithful when we honor Him. He has promised to do so, and you can take His promises to the bank.

Prayer: Lord, I really want to give you the best of everything I have You are worthy. And I can completely trust you to take care of me. Let me show you my trust, by the ways I give of my time, my talents, and my treasures, in Jesus' name, amen.

Give of Your Best to the Master

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