Offerings for the Temple

 

 

1Chronicles 29:1-9

 

April 27, 2023

 

Offerings for the Temple

And David the king said to all the assembly, “Solomon my son, whom alone God has chosen, is young and inexperienced, and the work is great, for the palace will not be for man but for the Lord God.  So, I have provided for the house of my God, so far as I was able, the gold for the things of gold, the silver for the things of silver, and the bronze for the things of bronze, the iron for the things of iron, and wood for the things of wood, besides great quantities of onyx and stones for setting, antimony, colored stones, all sorts of precious stones and marble.  Moreover, in addition to all that I have provided for the holy house, I have a treasure of my own of gold and silver, and because of my devotion to the house of my God I give it to the house of my God:  3,000 talents of gold, of the gold of Ophir, and 7,000 talents of refined silver, for overlaying the walls of the house, and for all the work to be done by craftsmen, gold for the things of gold and silver for the things of silver. Who then will offer willingly, consecrating himself today to the Lord?”

Then the leaders of fathers' houses made their freewill offerings, as did also the leaders of the tribes, the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, and the officers over the king's work.  They gave for the service of the house of God 5,000 talents and 10,000 darics of gold, 10,000 talents of silver, 18,000 talents of bronze, and 100,000 talents of iron.  And whoever had precious stones gave them to the treasury of the house of the Lord, in the care of Jehiel the Gershonite.  Then the people rejoiced because they had given willingly, for with a whole heart they had offered freely to the Lord. David the king also rejoiced greatly.

Many people are misinformed about their accomplishments, using their talents, skills, intelligence, and hard work to earn all that they have.    That mindset is of little value to the kingdom of our God.  They need to give thought to where those gifts came from, understanding what is called success often requires you to sit in a quiet room, and give thought to where they came from.

See if it is all yours and you are not just a manager of what God has given you, then you will never give willingly or with a whole heart rejoice for God allowing you to be part of something bigger than yourself.  God is not broken, he does not need your funds, many a church and Christian organizations send out mailers and emails that in so many words say if you do not give, we will go under.  My response is to go under if you believe that, you lost sight of the Master/servant relationship.

 

Many years ago, I got such a letter from Campus Crusade and I set down and wrote a letter to Bill Bright, he did not answer for two months, he had been out of the country.  But he assured me that he had not approved such a letter and that a letter like that would never again be sent.  It has not happened again.

Bill Bright knew the source of the ministry and he was a great example of a man like George Muller who looked to the Master for all their needs.

 

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice