Grow. Pray. Study. The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection Daily Guide for Wednesday, 26 February 2014 "Giving to God 'willingly and wholeheartedly'"
Daily Scripture: 1 Chronicles 29:3 In addition, because I have set my affection on the house of my God, since I have a treasure of my own of gold and silver, I give it to the house of my God, over and above all that I have prepared for the holy house, 4 even three thousand talents of gold,[a] of the gold of Ophir, and seven thousand talents[b] of refined silver, with which to overlay the walls of the houses; 5 of gold for the things of gold, and of silver for the things of silver, and for all kinds of work to be made by the hands of artisans. Who then offers willingly to consecrate himself today to Yahweh?”
6 Then the princes of the fathers’ households, and the princes of the tribes of Israel, and the captains of thousands and of hundreds, with the rulers over the king’s work, offered willingly; 7 and they gave for the service of God’s house of gold five thousand talents[c] and ten thousand darics,[d] of silver ten thousand talents, of brass eighteen thousand talents, and of iron one hundred thousand talents. 8 People with whom precious stones were found gave them to the treasure of Yahweh’s house, under the hand of Jehiel the Gershonite. 9 Then the people rejoiced, because they offered willingly, because with a perfect heart they offered willingly to Yahweh; and David the king also rejoiced with great joy. 10 Therefore David blessed Yahweh before all the assembly; and David said, “You are blessed, Yahweh, the God of Israel our father, forever and ever. 11 Yours, Yahweh, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty! For all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, Yahweh, and you are exalted as head above all. 12 Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all! In your hand is power and might! It is in your hand to make great, and to give strength to all!
Footnotes:
a. 1 Chronicles 29:4 A talent is about 30 kilograms or 66 pounds or 965 Troy ounces, so 3000 talents is about 90 metric tons
b. 1 Chronicles 29:4 about 21 metric tons
c. 1 Chronicles 29:7 A talent is about 30 kilograms or 66 pounds or 965 Troy ounces, so 5000 talents is about 150 metric tons
d. 1 Chronicles 29:7 a daric was a gold coin issued by a Persian king, weighing about 8.4 grams each.
Reflection Questions:
The Chronicler recorded that God told King David he couldn't build the Temple (cf. 1 Chronicles 28:1-3). But David didn't sulk about that. He enthusiastically set out to gather the material Solomon would need to build the Temple, starting with a large chunk of his personal fortune. The people rejoiced, and David blessed the Lord for the chance to be part of this great project.
1 Chronicles 29:9 said the people rejoiced, not because they'd raised a certain amount of money, but because "they had presented their offerings to the Lord so willingly and wholeheartedly." To what extent do the words "willingly and wholeheartedly" apply to your grocery shopping? Your trips to the mall or to online shopping sites? Paying for car repairs? Your giving to God?
By definition, doing something willingly and wholeheartedly means doing it of your own volition, doing it because you want to. No one, not even God, can force you to do anything willingly and wholeheartedly—it can only happen if you choose that attitude. When it comes to giving, what helps you to do it in a willing, wholehearted way?
Today's Prayer:
Lord, remind me that I am your steward, not the "owner" of anything. Keep me grateful for what you entrust to my care, and generous in the ways I use it to advance your Kingdom. Amen.
Insight from Darrell Holtz
Darrell Holtz serves as Program Director for Group Life Curriculum and Writing at The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection.
Read and Reflect:
(Head)
As the end of his life drew near, King David of Israel wanted passionately to build a permanent Temple in God’s honor to replace the sanctuary that had been the center of Israel’s worship since their days wandering in the wilderness. He was convinced God did not want him to build it himself (cf. 1 Chronicles 28:1-3), so he worked to gather materials his son Solomon could use in building the Temple. In today’s reading, David committed much of his personal fortune to this project, and challenged other Israelites to join him.
Now let’s clear one thing up: what on earth is a “kikkar” of gold? (Some translations use “talent” instead—that still doesn’t tell us much.) The online edition of The Jewish Encyclopedia (http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/9316-kikkar) says this was a unit of weight that might have meant as little as 54 pounds of gold, or as much as 103 pounds. The mention of “darics” is also intriguing. The “daric” was a Persian gold coin, which didn’t exist until roughly 500 years after David. But the writer(s) of Chronicles probably wrote during the Persian period. The text used a measure familiar to readers of their time to indicate that Israel in David’s day gave smaller amounts of gold in the form of coins. Altogether, David collected a lot of gold, silver, bronze, iron and other material!
Yet the rejoicing in this passage is not first and foremost financial, but spiritual. The people rejoiced, verse 9 said, not because they’d hit some set amount, but “because they had presented their offerings to the Lord so willingly and wholeheartedly.” It was their attitude, their inner spirit, that inspired joy. When King David prayed over the offering, he said to God “ everything in heaven and on earth belongs to you” (verse 11) and “ You are the source of wealth and honor” (verse 12). The king and his people did not approach the building of the Temple with an attitude of, “We’ve got to give a whole bunch of OUR money for this building.” Instead, they saw this collection as an act of worship, of praise and recognition, a process of giving back to God what was already God’s!
Not just in this capital campaign, but in all of my life dealings that involve finances, I want to learn from their joyous spirit. Giving isn’t first and foremost about our checking accounts—it’s about our hearts.
Prayer and Meditation
(Heart)
O Lord, King David said, “Since everything comes from you, we have given you that which comes from your own hand.” I forget that so often. I so easily believe that the work I do is MINE. I forget all the people who work with me, all the people who taught me, the people who raised me and supported me and encouraged me. I forget that my strength comes from food someone else cooperated with you to grow, and from the workings of a body and brain of such complexity that our best medical science is still just scratching the surface of understanding how it all works.
Lord, I don’t do any of this on my own. Remind me that I am your steward. Keep me grateful for what you entrust to my care, and generous in the ways I use it to advance your Kingdom. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Be, Do & Go
(Hands)
Mentally review all of the financial records you keep—checkbook, computer files, bank or broker’s statements or handwritten sticky notes on your refrigerator. Then spend some time answering honestly:
If you were accused of being a deeply committed Christian, would you be convicted or acquitted based on the information in those financial records?
For Discussion:
Use this section to help prompt discussion with your spouse, children, small group, etc.
1. How do the words “willingly and wholeheartedly” apply to:
a) your grocery shopping?
b) your trips to the mall or to online shopping sites?
c) paying for car repairs?
d) your giving to God?
2. What do your answers tell you about the meaning of “willingly and wholeheartedly”?
About your priorities and values?
3. No one, not even God, can force you to do something willingly and wholeheartedly.
How does that attitude come about in your heart?
Giving to God “Willingly and Wholeheartedly”
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