February 28
Deuteronomy 14-17
God set up a system to provide for the maintenance
of the tabernacle, to provide for the material needs of the Levites, and to
provide for the poor in the community. God instructed the people to bring a
tithe (one tenth) of their harvest each year to the place God chose, which
became Jerusalem. Every three years they were to bring a tithe and store it in
their town to provide for those in that community. God promised that if Israel
would obey Him and trust Him and willingly brought their offerings, God would
bless them and provide for them.
God also set up a means of forgiveness for debt so
that His people did not become a slave to their debt. God cares about our
finances because our finances affect all the other aspects of our lives. God
did not want a few in the community to hoard the resources for their own
benefit while others in the community suffered for lack of resources. God
promised that if they would trust Him with their finances He would bless them
and they would not be in need.
"If
there is a poor man among your brothers in any of the towns of the land that
the Lord your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward
your poor brother. Rather be openhanded and freely lend him whatever he
needs." (Deuteronomy
15:7-8, NIV) God knows that when we open
our hands we also open our hearts. The summary of the Law was to love the Lord
your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength
and love your neighbor as yourself. God is telling the Israelites to love their
neighbors with open hands.
When we close our hands in order to hang on to what
is “ours,” we also close our hands to the gifts God wants to give us. Try to
receive your change from a cashier with a closed hand. When we open our hands
to give, we also have open hands to receive God’s blessings for us. "No man should appear before the Lord
empty-handed: Each of you must bring a gift in proportion to the way the Lord
your God has blessed you." (Deuteronomy 16:16-17, NIV)
Some people get upset and say that all the church
wants is their money. In most instances that is not the case, God instructs us
to give for several reasons. A few of those reasons are; to provide for the
poor, to provide for a place of worship, to keep us from making money our god, to help us keep an open heart, and to
practice our trust in God. In reality God asks us to give not for His benefit
but for ours. Where ever God instructs us to give, He promises a blessing in
return.
Are you ready for a blessing?
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