My Daily Pause

Moses wrote the book of Deuteronomy to the children of Israel who were preparing to enter the long awaited land of promise. Deuteronomy chapter 12 sets the stage for the centralized place of worship that would eventually be the city of Jerusalem where the temple would be built. This chapter also covers commands connected with the worship God’s chosen people would offer to God. As Moses speaks about giving in worship he includes a repeated reminder of the need of continuous rejoicing in giving (Deut. 12:7, 12, 18). Take a moment and notice matters related to the joy the Israelites were to have in giving:

1. The basis of joy in their giving would include trust. The message that God had given them the land is woven throughout this chapter (vv. 1, 7, 9, 10, 15, 20, 29). Obviously, Moses wanted to stress to his audience that God keeps His promises and can be trusted. Knowing that God was their provider in all things should then have made them a rejoicing people. What about today? Does God not promise to bless us in our giving (2 Cor. 9:6-11; Phil. 4:14-19)? Does our trust in God’s promises cause us to rejoice as we give back to Him?

2. Joy in their giving would include teaching. The book of Deuteronomy deals with the crucial need of teaching children of the will of God at every opportunity available (6:6-9). All matters regarding the will and worship of God were to be taught to the upcoming generations. In chapter 12, Moses not only specifies commands to be observed but also the proper attitudes displayed in carrying out these commands. After Moses spoke of the need of rejoicing in worship, he included a list of all those who were to be involved: “ye, and your sons, and your daughters, and your menservants, and your maidservants, and the Levite that is within your gates” (Deut. 12:12). This included everyone, but notice the list began with the pronoun “ye.” This referred to the spiritual heads” of each individual home. They would be the ones to set the proper spirit for the rest in matters of giving. Their individual examples could teach others (especially those in their own homes) to be either grumpy givers or cheerful contributors. Likewise, today, we too teach a lesson to those about us (especially in our own homes) by the attitude we display in the manner in which we give.

3. The scope of their joy in giving was to be total. As Moses spoke of the place that would be chosen for their worship, he also included a broad array of offerings that the Israelites would bring to that place (Deut. 12:11). In all of these offerings, sacrifices and vows, they were to rejoice before the Lord their God (12:12). We too should be joyous in every act of offering and self-sacrifice today. “And thou shalt rejoice before the Lord thy God in all that thou puttest thine hands unto” (Deut. 12:18).

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Filed under: Devotional, Michael Carter on June 29th, 2008