In the last pastor’s message, we looked specifically at the eighth commandment found in Exodus 20:15 and repeated in Deuteronomy 5:19: “You shall not steal”. In that message we looked at specifics in regard to this command and that through the prophet Malachi, God reprimanded the priests for neglecting the teaching of His laws (Malachi 2:7-9). Meanwhile, He reproved the people for keeping His tithe for themselves. “Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, ‘In what way have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings. You are cursed with a curse, for you have robbed Me, even this whole nation” (Malachi 3:8-9).
In this pastor’s message I want to conclude the thought by covering the topic of offerings. What would be considered “regular offerings” are the donations we make to the church which are in addition to our tithes. “Holy Day offering” are the donations we offer on each one of the seven annual Holy Days.
Hopefully this summary will bring added clarity to this subject plus serve as a reminder of all that we already understand. I will primarily use the New International Version of the Bible (NIV) unless otherwise noted.
Our tithes already belong to God and are holy which I covered in the last pastor’s message. We certainly do not want to profane that which is holy by using them in any other way or for any other purpose than what God has set them aside for.
Our offerings are what we voluntarily give to God. They are our opportunities to go “above and beyond” what is required. However, we must also remember that Malachi 3:8 reminds us that neglecting tithing and totally neglecting to give offerings are both considered robbing God. What would be described as “regular offerings” are those made spontaneously at any time as an act of worship when a person feels moved to do so. These are separate from the commanded yearly offerings which we in the church generally refer to as “holy day offerings”.
In regard specifically to these holy day offerings we find, “Three times (better understood as “three seasons”) a year all your men must appear before the LORD your God at the place he will choose: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks and the Feast of Tabernacles. No man should appear before the LORD empty-handed” (Deuteronomy 16:16). The reason it says “man” is that in that culture, it was assumed that the husband was responsible on behalf of his family for the finances. Each family should bring an offering and today it makes no difference as to which member of the family writes the check.
This says “three times” but our custom in United Church of God is to take up a collection on each of the seven Holy Days. Why is that? The custom is not an effort to get more income for the church. We should think of this in the following way: Each person can determine how much he wants to give in Holy Day offerings for the entire year. Then we are recommending that each person divides that amount into seven parts instead of three parts. Giving an offering on each Holy Day makes each of those days seem special compared to the weekly Sabbaths and keeps with the scripture quoted earlier in Deuteronomy 16.
There is another major factor to understand. In ancient Israel, an “offering” was often an animal like a sheep, goat, or cow. The people made three trips a year to Jerusalem to celebrate the annual feasts, which meant bringing three animals. One pilgrimage was to celebrate the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and that Feast of UB includes two Holy Days. When we give money during that Feast, we can easily divide the money into two parts, one part for each Holy Day. But if you were bringing a live goat, you would not try to divide it into two parts so you could give one half on each Holy Day!
God blesses us according to our gratitude and generosity; continuing in Deuteronomy 16, verse 17 says: “Each of you must bring a gift in proportion to the way the LORD your God has blessed you.” This identifies two specific factors. How much can you afford to give? (We have to keep in mind all of our financial obligations and needs.) And how grateful you are for the blessings God has bestowed on you?
We should be “counting our blessings” and thanking God throughout the year in our daily lives (see 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). Keeping in mind that after God blesses us, He watches to see how much we believe He has blessed us. He observes the kind of appreciation we show plus He watches to see what we do with our resources. Remember back to the pastor’s message last week on the commandment to “not steal”. Imbedded within that commandment as we saw is the principle of generosity towards others, especially those in need.
Are we stingy or generous, especially towards God? Jesus said, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21). It’s a beautiful circle. We tend to put our treasures where our hearts are, and, vice versa, when we give a “treasure” to God’s Work, that reinforces our heartfelt love for God and devotion to furthering God’s Work.
There is a related factor that we all must consider—a law of nature that is also a spiritual law. This law is mentioned several times in Scripture. “A man reaps what he sows” (Galatians 6:7). Paul expands this thought in 2 Corinthians 9:6 “Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.”
If you are a farmer and you do not sow a crop, you will not have a harvest. If you sow a small amount, you will only have a small harvest. If you sow bountifully, or of full measure, you will reap more bountifully. In 1 Corinthians 9:11, Paul wrote: “If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we reap a material harvest from you?” Based on this scripture, we can think of God and His church as blessing us with spiritual harvests, so we should be eager to bless God and His church with our material harvests.
A farmer who sows realizes there are other conditions as well that help determine the size and the quality of the crop he will reap: the quality as well as the quantity and type of seed, the weather, the soil condition and the presence or absence of harmful insects or disease.
God determines the weather, of course, such as how much rain and whether it will be in due season. We see from this principle that we must do the necessary labor such as sowing, watering, weeding, and fertilizing, and then understanding it is God who will give the increase as it pleases Him.
Notice the spiritual applications of this process as explained in 1 Corinthians 3:6-8: “I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to his own labor.”
This section of scripture makes it clear that God deserves the majority of the credit for causing things to grow. But it’s also essential that the farmer exerts “his or her own labor.” Our desire to give offerings (perhaps sizable) should be one of the factors that motivates us to have a good work ethic, to be productive, and to earn a good living.
Scripture also demonstrates that generosity is a matter of the proportion that each person gives, God is highly pleased with those who are generous. And obviously giving a relatively large percentage of a small income is more generous than giving a small percentage of a large income even if the second offering is much larger overall.
This principle is emphasized in the principle of the “widow’s mite.” In Luke 21:1-4, we read: “As Jesus looked up, he saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. ‘Truly I tell you,’ he said, ‘this poor widow has put in more than all the others. All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.’”
Scripture also clearly indicates that our giving should be done willingly and cheerfully. God is much more concerned about our spiritual attitudes than the amount of money. When a person gives to God or to a needy person, he should do it “willingly with his heart” (Exodus 25:2, New King James Version; also Deuteronomy 15:7-8). In part of Romans 12, Paul speaks of spiritual gifts. In verse 8, he wrote: “if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.” This is important to understand as in one sense we can passively steal from God simply by not having a cheerful heart.
Immediately after this Paul said, “Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7). In the New King James Version, this reads: “So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.”
If during the entire year, we have been reflecting on the blessings God has given us, we will more easily “purposed in our hearts”. We will have considered our blessings and prayed about our offerings, then God will inspire us as to how much to give in our regular offerings and how much to give in our Holy Day offerings, and they will be given with cheerfulness.
A concluding scripture about how generously God blesses us! After Paul wrote about being a “cheerful giver” in 2 Corinthians 9:7, he goes on in verses 8 through 14 to describe how God abundantly blesses those who are generously and cheerfully giving!
“And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. As it is written: ‘They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor; their righteousness endures forever.’ Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.
“This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of the Lord's people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, others will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else. And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you.”
As I conclude this pastor’s message, remember any wealth, power, or strength we have originated with God. Any gift or talent we have – the same is true (James 1:17; 1 Corinthians 12:1–11). Even our ability to give generously comes from God (Deuteronomy 8:18; 2 Corinthians 9:10–11). Everything we have, and everything else that exists, is all his. Let’s be vigilant with respect to this commandment as we don’t want to be guilty of stealing in any way.