Malachi 3:8 (KJV) Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.
The Bible tells us about the offering, as a gift that we make to God. It is presented to us in the Old Testament as a sacrifice we make to God, and in the New Testament as an act of love and thanksgiving to our Lord.
The first mention of the word “offering ” in the Bible dates back to the days of Cain and Abel (Genesis 4:3), and these sacrifices were made to honor God and also for the purpose of thanking Him for His favour.
After the construction of the first temple under Solomon (Mikdash Shlomo), worship became concentrated, and abuses were noted because of the introduction of certain pagan practices in the offerings.
Amos 4:4-5 (KJV) Come to Bethel, and transgress; at Gilgal multiply transgression; and bring your sacrifices every morning, and your tithes after three years: And offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving with leaven, and proclaim and publish the free offerings: for this liketh you, O ye children of Israel, saith the Lord God.
But it was only after God made our bodies a temple of His presence (1 Corinthians 3:16) that the offering regained its original value. God’s desire is to receive sincere worship in this act.
Under the old covenant.
There were generally 5 types of offerings which are:
- The firstfruits offering, Deuteronomy 26 v 1-16 ;
- The offering of the tithe, Leviticus 27 v 30-32 ;
- The sacrificial offering, Genesis 22 v 1-19 ;
- The offering for the advancement of the work of God, Exodus 35 v 4-29 ;
- The guilt offering, Leviticus 5 v 1-13.
However, under the Old Testament, the offering mechanism failed. And the system was open to abuse when the requirements of the law attached to it were ignored. Yes, he who practices the law must practice it in full (Galatians 3: 10), unfortunately, the Israelites forgot certain details decreed by God for the service of the offerings.
Isaiah 53 then tells us of the height of Old Testament religion, in which everything of value in that system now centered on one person, the Servant of God (Jesus Christ), who is the expiator of our sins by His sacrifice, and who asks for love and personal obedience as an offering.
Under the new covenant.
The offerings in the Old Testament are no longer necessary for Christians because Christ offered himself as a perfect and final sacrifice to reconcile us to God, as 2 Corinthians 5: 18 declares all this is the work of God, who has reconciled us to himself through Christ and who has entrusted to us the ministry of reconciliation.
If the law required sacrifices on the part of its subjects, grace does not require it, because Christ calls us to freedom, true freedom, the freedom given by love, because God offered His Son without us We asked him. It is then reasonable for us to realize that it is our turn to dedicate our lives to Him without expecting anything in return: Romans 12:1 (KJV) I, therefore, urge you, brother, by the mercies of God, to offer your body as a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which will be reasonable worship on your part.
Here, the apostle Paul invites us to give, not only our money, our time, our skills, our strength… but also our person. There are so many occasions and ways to make an offering to God! But in the end, a gift to the Lord, whatever its form, is always free and altruistic because it is no longer a question of obtaining anything in return. The law required ten percent of the seasonal harvest as a tithing offering, but it will never stand up to the Spirit of grace who moves me to give one hundred percent of my being to God, an act of love because deep down, I love Him.
In conclusion, for you and me, worshipers on the other side of the cross, Christians according to the priesthood of Jesus Christ, there is only one type of offering, as Paul mentions in Romans 1:12, it is, therefore, a matter of offering oneself to God, giving Him what we have most precious, our life. To offer God the perfect sacrifice is to give oneself to Him, so everything we have inevitably becomes God’s property.
2 Corinthians 9:7 ( KJV ) Let each give as he has decided in his heart, without regret or compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
READ MORE:
- 30 important offertory prayers for tithe and offerings with scripture
- 30 Encouraging Offering and Blessings Bible Verses
- Spiritual Benefit Of Tithing
Let us pray:
Lord Jesus, God of peace, God of love, You know my heart and my love for You, I confess with my mouth that all that I have does not belong to me, for I myself do not belong to me, I’m all yours. Receive every beat of my heart as an offering of thanksgiving, for You are the author of my life. Amen.
