Deuteronomy 27:7
“Sacrifice fellowship offerings there, eating them and rejoicing in the presence of the Lord your God.”
There were many types of offerings and sacrifices in the Old Testament. These were religious obligations. Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross made them obsolete. However, in addition to other things The Lord was seeking to teach His people to be giving.
Throughout the bible a message of giving and generosity exists. Here is one example in Proverbs 28:27 “Whoever gives to the poor will not want, but he who hides his eyes will get many a curse.”
We have a natural instinct to hoard goods. Almost like a squirrel collecting food for the winter. There is a drive to self preserve. However, The Lord wants us to trust Him for our sustenance. He will provide opportunities for us to give. We are to pray and give.
There are also regular times of giving. Some give weekly, monthly, etcetera. He wants us to approximate a tithe. This is regular and deep. Unbelievers and those unaccustomed to tithing think it’s crazy. They couldn’t imagine giving away that much to church.
Giving challenges a deep desire to preserve. The Rich Young Ruler in scripture is an example of someone wrestling with giving. He loved God, but at the time of meeting Jesus his love of money was greater. He may have changed his mind later, but at the time he walked away sad. It’s a big deal to learn the lesson of giving. We all get it and it’s comes up occasionally. If we don’t, then we have some lessons in submitting to His lordship in the future.
If we don’t become givers, then we are slaves to things. The hoarder is the extreme example. By giving, we are sacrificing our attachment to things. This is freedom. This is part of the reason God wants us to be generous, so we can be free.
Lord, thanks for teaching us to be givers. Help us to loosen our attachment to things.