Friday, August 29th

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Friday, August 29

Nehemiah 10:28-39

“The rest of the people, the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, the temple servants, and all who have separated themselves from the peoples of the lands to the Law of God, their wives, their sons, their daughters, all who have knowledge and understanding, join with their brothers, their nobles, and enter into a curse and an oath to walk in God's Law that was given by Moses the servant of God, and to observe and do all the commandments of the Lord our Lord and his rules and his statutes. We will not give our daughters to the peoples of the land or take their daughters for our sons. And if the peoples of the land bring in goods or any grain on the Sabbath day to sell, we will not buy from them on the Sabbath or on a holy day. And we will forego the crops of the seventh year and the exaction of every debt.

“We also take on ourselves the obligation to give yearly a third part of a shekel for the service of the house of our God: for the showbread, the regular grain offering, the regular burnt offering, the Sabbaths, the new moons, the appointed feasts, the holy things, and the sin offerings to make atonement for Israel, and for all the work of the house of our God. We, the priests, the Levites, and the people, have likewise cast lots for the wood offering, to bring it into the house of our God, according to our fathers' houses, at times appointed, year by year, to burn on the altar of the Lord our God, as it is written in the Law. We obligate ourselves to bring the firstfruits of our ground and the firstfruits of all fruit of every tree, year by year, to the house of the Lord; also to bring to the house of our God, to the priests who minister in the house of our God, the firstborn of our sons and of our cattle, as it is written in the Law, and the firstborn of our herds and of our flocks; and to bring the first of our dough, and our contributions, the fruit of every tree, the wine and the oil, to the priests, to the chambers of the house of our God; and to bring to the Levites the tithes from our ground, for it is the Levites who collect the tithes in all our towns where we labor. And the priest, the son of Aaron, shall be with the Levites when the Levites receive the tithes. And the Levites shall bring up the tithe of the tithes to the house of our God, to the chambers of the storehouse. For the people of Israel and the sons of Levi shall bring the contribution of grain, wine, and oil to the chambers, where the vessels of the sanctuary are, as well as the priests who minister, and the gatekeepers and the singers. We will not neglect the house of our God.”

Nearly twenty years ago one of our ushers wanted to show me something after one of our worship services. I think he had participated in collecting and counting the offering that day and he thought I would be interested to see something he found in one of the offering plates.

He took me to the room where they counted the offering and showed me a small gold ring. Evidently someone had placed the ring in the offering plate that day instead of a check or cash.

It turned out that the ring didn’t have great monetary value, probably not much more than $5 or $10, but that’s not really the point, is it?

I have often thought about that little ring and what led the person to offer it as a gift to God. Was the person simply so moved during worship that, when the offering time came, he or she spontaneously slipped the ring off and dropped it into the plate? Did the person have nothing else of value, no cash or checking account, and so chose to give a piece of jewelry? Did the ring have some kind of symbolic or emotional value to the giver?

I don’t know what motivated the gift of the ring because I don’t know the giver. If I knew who gave the gift I would thank him or her for the beautiful demonstration of giving as an act of worship.

Notice the different kinds of offerings that Nehemiah encourages the people to bring to God.

“We also take on ourselves the obligation to give yearly a third part of a shekel for the service of the house of our God: for the showbread, the regular grain offering, the regular burnt offering... We, the priests, the Levites, and the people, have likewise cast lots for the wood offering, to bring it into the house of our God...to burn on the altar of the Lord our God... We obligate ourselves to bring the firstfruits of our ground and the firstfruits of all fruit of every tree, year by year, to the house of the Lord; also to bring to the house of our God...the firstborn of our sons and of our cattle... and the firstborn of our herds and of our flocks; and to bring the first of our dough, and our contributions, the fruit of every tree, the wine and the oil, to the priests, to the chambers of the house of our God; and to bring to the Levites the tithes from our ground... For the people of Israel and the sons of Levi shall bring the contribution of grain, wine, and oil to the chambers, where the vessels of the sanctuary are...

The people were to bring money (shekels), bread, grain, wood, fruit, cattle, dough, wine, oil...as a “tithe” to the Lord. Throughout the Old Testament the “tithe” is understood as the first tenth of one’s wealth, produce, herds or flocks. The tithe was given in obedience to God; in thanksgiving for all he had provided; and the tithe allowed the sacrifices of worship to continue to take place.

The tithes and offerings were both a response of obedience and an expression of worship. Remember that we give our worship to God because we believe he is worthy of our deepest devotion; we worship God because he is worth it.

Notice Nehemiah’s straightforward expression of commitment on behalf of the people he leads:

“We will not neglect the house of our God.”

He’s talking about both the worship of God and the tithe to God. Let’s finish this week with a direct question: Is there any way in your worship or in your generosity that you are neglecting the house of your God?

Pastor Brian Coffey