Deuteronomy 26:1-19

Giving is a practice that the Lord wants His people to have.  It is a means of worshiping the Lord for all of His blessings, it is a way to provide for the needs of others and it is a demonstration of our obedience that moves God to bless us even more.  This blessing should stimulate more worship, generosity and obedience which results in more blessing.  It should create a circle of increasing worship and blessing.  Giving is a result of God’s grace that is spurred into action by our faith which is why it is so pleasing to God.

GIVING IS A WAY TO REMEMBER THE RICHES OF THE LORD: The children of Israel were to separate a tithe of all the first fruits that they gathered in the Land and present them before the Lord.  This food was to set aside and separated as an act of worship and a way of remembering the blessings of the Lord.  The fact that they had anything to give over and above what they needed to survive was a demonstration of God’s blessings, faithfulness and grace.  When they gave they were to remember all that the Lord had done in their nation; how God had blessed Abraham, freed them from Egypt and brought them safely into the Promised Land.  It is always important to recognize the blessings of the Lord and the riches that He has lavishly given to us.  When we give, we demonstrate our gratitude for God’s provision but most importantly we honor and worship God.

GIVING IS A WAY TO RESPECT THE REJECTED FOR THE LORD: The land of Israel would always have people who had needs.  These were those who could easily be rejected as “worthless drains on society.”  The Levites who had not land were dependant on the offerings of God’s people.  The foreigners and the poor of society had little or no hope for survival without the provision of God’s people.  These people were not to be rejected or humiliated; they were to be treated with respect and provided for out of the abundant blessings of God.  Those who used the food that was set aside for giving to the poor were, in very real way, stealing from the Lord.  God does not “need” our money.  However, there are many people around us that desperately do and our giving is a way that God meets their needs and stimulates them to worship God because of His provision through us.  It should be an honor to give in this way and we should be grateful for the opportunity to be used in this way.

GIVING IS A WAY TO RECEIVE THE REWARDS FROM THE LORD: The result of giving out of obedience, gratitude and as an act of worship before the Lord is that we receive great rewards from God.  He had promised to provide security and great blessing in response to the faithfulness of the people to give.  We must be careful not to give with the attitude that God owes us something in return.  Our attitude in giving should be one of gladness and not greed.  We also must be careful not to create expectations as to how God will bestow His blessings upon us.  There are times where it is hard for us to identify the blessings of God because they may come in the form of hardships that serve to mold our character.  However, we can rest assured that generous giving motivated by a grateful heart and distributed with a glad heart will be richly rewarded by God.  Some of these rewards may not become evident this side of eternity, but they will be evident for all of eternity.