REJOICING IN GENEROUS GIVING
And the people rejoicedH8055 at the willing response of their leaders, for they had given to the LORD freely and wholeheartedly. And King David also rejoicedH8055 greatly.
1 Chronicles 29:9
In 1 Chronicles 28, David explains that he had planned to build a great temple to house the ark of the covenant and be God’s dwelling place on earth. However, the Lord told him he would not be allowed to build His house because he was a warrior who had shed blood. Instead, David’s son Solomon, successor to the throne, would have the holy honor of building the temple in Jerusalem—God’s house of prayer. David had the plan and had already begun amassing the materials knowing that Solomon was young and inexperienced. In chapter 29:1-8, David assembles all the leaders of Israel and lists the amounts of gold, silver, precious stones, etc. that he has already set aside for building God’s dwelling place. Then he asks them, “Now who will volunteer to consecrate himself to the LORD today?” (1 Chronicles 29:5b). The leaders proceed to donate generously and willingly toward the building of the temple. The people rejoiced that their leaders were giving so selflessly to create the temple as a place to honor, glorify, and worship the God of Israel—the one true God. David was jubilant as well to see that the people exuberantly supported his desire to build a house for the Lord.
In the last few years, we have had the privilege of donating toward renovations in our local place of worship. We rejoice in the ability to contribute and, also, rejoice in those who have the means to contribute more than we do. As a community of believers—the Messianic community—we need to rejoice anytime we see each other honoring God with our time, talents, and financial contributions. There are times God is leading us to improve a building both for safety and aesthetics. There are other times, God impresses us to direct more funds toward community service and missionary efforts. He may lead one person to donate in a different specific area than another person. We should rejoice in generous giving and not judge the giver as long as the intent is to honor God and obey Him. The Israelites were exceedingly glad that all the provisions for building the Lord’s temple were being donated. They did not seem to be criticizing the use of all that wealth to honor God or second guessing the best way to spend that money. They were completely joyful that God’s house would be sacred, spectacular, and splendid because it was to be the center of all Jewish worship.
Father, let our giving toward Your work be joyous and lavish. Help us to rejoice when others give willingly to further Your kingdom on earth. Give us wisdom to know where You would have us contribute both monetarily and with our time.