The Offerings We Give

This past Sabbath we heard from Caleb Oliva about offerings. In Malachi 1:6-8, Yahweh talks about how the people of Israel were presenting him with offerings that did not live up to His standards. He also talked about how as our Father and Master, He deserves our respect and honor.

What makes up a presentable offering? The biggest thing is your heart. We see in the story of Cain and Abel in Genesis 4:1-5 that they both brought offerings to Yahweh, but only Abel’s was honored. Why? Cain had the wrong attitude. We can’t give what we have to Yah out of obligation and resentment. On the other hand, we see Abraham and Isaac (Genesis 22:2-13). Abraham was willing to give everything he had. He would sacrifice his son that was promised by Yahweh in order to honor him. Our attitude definitely matters when it comes to giving offerings.

It's also important to remember that Yahweh is our ultimate provider. We should desire to give Him our very best in thanks and reverence for all of the ways he blesses us every single day (Psalms 40:8). Today, we can give offerings through the things that Yahweh has given us. We can give a physical offering like money, manual labor and our time, or Spiritual offerings like teaching, worshiping, and praying.

Ultimately, the greatest offering we can give is obeying His commandments, specifically the one in Matthew 22:37-40. These verses can be summed up by saying “love Yah and love people.” The offerings we give are not meant to glorify ourselves, but rather our Creator, and in doing so, shed light to those around us.