His offering was one silver plate weighing a hundred and thirty shekels[a] and one silver sprinkling bowl weighing seventy shekels, both according to the sanctuary shekel, each filled with the finest flour mixed with olive oil as a grain offering; one gold dish weighing ten shekels, filled with incense; - Numbers 7:13-14

Today’s Scripture Reading (October 23, 2018): Numbers 7

Some years ago I worked for a gentleman who was shaped by the depression of the 1930’s. While he was an excellent boss, the marks that the depression had left on his being were evident more than a generation after that part of our history had ended. Although he had more money than most of us would ever be able to attain, he was very careful with everything that he had; every penny was counted, and every piece of scrap was saved for another use. It was a hoarding mentality that stemmed from a time when there was not enough; a time when eating was not a guarantee and shelter was a question. Whether he understood it or not, he had been shaped by this period of famine and want that he had lived through during his own adolescent years. And it was a mold from which he was unable to break free.

Israel, as a nation, had developed while they were largely slaves to a more a powerful nation. The days of Joseph as an influential leader within the king’s court had been long forgotten. They were a powerless people, scraping just to get by. They were a people who had gotten used to doing without the necessities of life.

But that was not where God wanted them to exist. He desired a people who would be generous with what they had, and so the lesson started early. Every leader’s offering started with a silver plate, weighing about three pounds, a silver bowl, weighing about two pounds, and a gold dish, weighing about four ounces. The silver plate and bowl were to be filled with the finest grain and the gold dish with incense. And this was just the start of the offering which would also include some animals to be sacrificed. For a group of people who had been recently released from their slavery, there is no question that the offering was generous. But there was also a purpose behind the generosity.

Slaves by their nature are takers. They scrap and save everything they can because the provision of necessities is never guaranteed. They are never sure about what their masters will be willing to give to them in the future. But for Israel, God wanted this experience left the past. The people who God wanted them to mature into were a generous people, and that generosity was enabled by their trust in God who would provide for their needs. And the lesson began here with a silver plate and bowl and a gold dish.

Our ability to be generous is a direct result of our willingness to trust in the one who provides. If that trust is placed in ourselves, then there are reasons for our frugality. But if our trust is truly in a God who promises to provide for all of our needs, then we too can be the generous people who God has designed us to be. 

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Numbers 8