Lesson 28

In the Old Testament, three groups of offering were mentioned in the life of the people of Israel, namely

These offerings, like the tithes, belong to God.
They are obligatory on all Israelites and are offered at the Tabernacle with prescribed rituals (Leviticus 23:9-17; Numbers 18:12-19).
These are as follows:

Under the Old Covenant, when these offerings (FIRSTLINGS AND FIRSTFRUITS) are withheld and are not given to God, the people of God were guilty of robbing God (Malachi 3:8).
Under the New Covenant, we are the FIRSTBORN AND FIRSTFRUITS redeemed by Jesus and presented to God (Hebrews 12:23; Revelation 14:4).
Therefore, when we do not offer ourselves and all that we have to God for His use, we are robbing God.

The LORD said to Moses, "Consecrate to me every FIRSTBORN male. The first offspring of every womb among the Israelites belong to me, whether man or animal. 
                                                                                    (Exodus 13:1-2)

But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God.
You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the CHURCH OF THE FIRSTBORN, whose names are written in heaven.         (Hebrews 12:22-23)

Bring the best of the fristfruits of your soil to the house of the LORD your God.                                               (Exodus 23:19)

The LORD said to Moses, "Speak to the Israelites and say to them: 'When you enter the land I am going to give you and you reap its harvest bring to the priest a sheaf of the first grain [firstfruits, KJV] you harvest.
He is to wave it on the day after the Sabbath.
You must mot eat any break, or roasted or new grain, until the very day you bring this offering to your God.'"
                                                                         (Leviticus 23:9-11,14)

They follow the Lamb wherever He goes. They were purchased from among men and offered as FIRSTFRUITS to God and the Lamb.
No lie was found in their mouths; they are blameless.
                                                                              (Revelation 14:4-5)

The ritual offerings, like all other ritual laws prescribed under the law of Moses, all pointed to Christ as our perfect offering before God.
These are voluntary offering, and are not compulsory.
These ritual offerings have been fulfilled by the atoning sacrifice of Christ on the cross. Therefore, their rituals are no longer binding on New Covenant believers.

Besides the compulsory ritual and voluntary ritual offerings, other voluntary offerings were also mentioned in God's law in the Old Testament (Deuteronomy 12:5-6).

These offerings are:

To that place you must go; there bring your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tithes and SPECIAL GIFTS, what you have VOWED TO GIVE and your FREEWILL OFFERINGS, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks.                                                                               (Deuteronomy 12:5-6). 

All these three offerings can be presented to God in two ways:

Either way, their moral obligation is applicable today to New Testament believers.
We are encouraged to give freewill offerings out of our money and possessions to God for His service today.

Thus, we can make special gifts to God on special occasions as we are led to do so by the Spirit.
We must also give to God what we have pledged or vowed.
We can make freewill offerings at any time for God's kingdom work, as we are led by the Spirit of God.

Hannah gave Samuel to God to serve in the Tabernacle at Shiloh.
This is an example of an offering given to fulfill a vow made to God.
This can also be considered a special gift to God (1 Samuel 1:11, 24-28).

And she (Hannah) made a vow, saying. "O LORD Almighty, if you will only look upon your servant's misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head.
                                                                                                            (1 Samuel 1:11).

In the Old Testament. free will offerings were collected for the building of the Tabernacle under Moses (Exodus 25:1-9; 35:4-38:7).

The LORD said to Moses, "Tell the Israelites to bring me an offering.
You are to receive the offering for me from each man whose heart prompts him to give. Then have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them."                                                              (Exodus 25:1-2,8)

Moses said to the whole Israelite community, "This is what the LORD has commanded. Take from what you have, an offering to the LORD. Everyone who is willing is to bring to the LORD an offering of gold, silver or bronze; blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen; goat hair; ram skins dyed red and hides of sea cows; acacia wood; olive oil for the light; spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense; and onyx stones and other gems to be mounted on the ephod and breastpiece.

All the Israelite men and women who were willing brought to the LORD FREEWILL OFFERINGS for all the work of the LORD through Moses who had commanded them to do.                                          (Exodus 35:4-9,29)

When King David was old, he collected freewill offerings from the people of Israel for the building of the Temple in Jerusalem (1 Chronicles 29:1-20).

Then King David said to the whole assembly: "My son Solomon, the one who God has chosen, is young and inexperienced. The task is great, because this palatial structure is not for man but for the LORD God.

With all my resources I have provided for the Temple of my God - gold for the gold work, silver for the silver, bronze for the bronze, iron for the iron and wood for the wood, as well as onyx for the settings, stones of various colors, and all kinds of fine stone and marble - all of these in large quantities.

Besides, in my devotion of the Temple of my God I now give my personal treasures of gold and silver for the Temple of my God, over and above everything I have provided for this holy Temple; three thousand talents of god (gold of Ophir) and seven thousand talents of refined silver, for the overlaying of the walls of the buildings, for the gold work and the silver work, and for all the work to be done by the craftsmen. Now, who is willing to CONSECRATE HIMSELF today to the LORD?"

Then the leaders of families, the officers of the tribes of Israel, the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, and the officials in charge of the king's work gave WILLINGLY. They gave towards the work on the Temple of God five thousand talents and ten thousand darics of gold, ten thousand talents of silver, eighteen thousand talents of bronze and a hundred thousand talents of iron.

Any who had precious stones gave them to the treasure of the Temple of the LORD in the custody of Jahiel the Gershonite. The people rejoiced at the willing response of their leaders, for they had given FREELY and WHOLEHEARTEDLY to the LORD. David the king also rejoiced greatly.                                                                        (1 Chronicles 29:1-9)

The giving of all that she had by a widow at the Temple in the time of our Lord Jesus' earthly ministry in Judea is another example of a freewill offering for the work of God's kingdom (Mark 12:41-44).

Jesus sat down opposite the place where the OFFERINGS were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasure.
Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny.
Calling his disciples to Him, Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put in more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything - all she had to live on.                                                                       (Mark 12:41-44)

In the Old Testament, freewill offerings were used for the service of God, especially for the building and maintenance of the Tabernacle and Temple, the place where God dwelled amongst His people (Ezra 1:4; Nehemiah 7:70-72).

In the New Covenant, the people of God is the Temple of God (1 Corinthians 3:16).
Therefore, offering in the New Testament should be used for all purposes that involves building up the people of God, the spiritual Temple of God.

These freewill offering can be used for:

During this time some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. One of them, named Agabus, stood up ad through the Holy Spirit predicted that a severe famine would spread over the entire Roman world. (This happened during the reign of Claudius.) The disciples, each according to his ability, decided to provide help for the brothers living in Judea, This they did, sending their gift to the elders by Barnabas and Saul.                                                      (Acts 11:27-30)

Now about the collection for God's people: Do what I tell the Galatian churches to do. On the first day of the week, each on of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made. Then, when I arrive, I will give letters of introduction to the men you approve and send them with you gift to Jerusalem. If it seems advisable for me to go also, they will accompany me.                                   (1 Corinthians 16:14)

And now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. For I testify that they gave as much as they were able and even beyond their ability.

Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints. And they did not do as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God's will.

So we urged Titus, since he had earlier made a beginning, to bring also to completion this act of grace on your part. But just as you excel in everything - in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us - see that you also excel in this GRACE OF GIVING. 
                                                                                   (2 Corinthians 8:1-7)

In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the Gospel from the first day until now.
As you Philippians know, in the early days of your acquaintance with the Gospel, when I set out from Macedonia, not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only; for even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me aid again and again when I was in need.                                                 (Philippians 1:4-5; 4:15-16)

Your thought

1. What should tithes be used for?
   What should freewill offerings be used for?
   What are the similarities and difference in their usage?

2. What are the principles of giving that can be learnt from the example seen in the collection of the freewill offering for the building of the Temple at Jerusalem? (1 Chronicles 29:1-19).
   Focus on the following: leadership by example, attitude in giving, record-keeping of our giving by God, source of our wealth, ownership of our wealth, why God wants us to give, how often we are to give, objective of our giving today, etc.

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