Then the people rejoiced because they had given willingly, for with a whole heart they had offered freely to the LORD. David the king also rejoiced greatly.

Obedience brings blessing; disobedience brings judgment. The Book of 1 Chronicles is a chronicle of the pattern of sin, repentance, forgiveness, and restoration of the nation of Israel before the arrival of Jesus.  

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We enter the story as David calls for the permanent house of God to be built. He was previously told that he would not be the one to build it; that honor would go to his son Solomon. But being the good father, David wanted to set Solomon up for success. In 1 Chronicles 29:1-5 David says, “Solomon my son, whom alone God has chosen, is young and inexperienced, and the work is great, for the palace will not be for man but for the LORD God. So I have provided for the house of my God, so far as I was able, the gold for the things of gold, the silver for the things of silver, and the bronze for the things of bronze…Moreover, in addition to all that I have provided for the holy house, I have a treasure of my own of gold and silver, and because of my devotion to the house of my God I give it to the house of my God…Who then will offer willingly, consecrating himself today to the LORD?” It goes on to say that the leaders willingly offered gold, silver, bronze, and precious stones from their own households.  

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Did you know that science shows there is a direct link between generosity and the emotional part of your brain that produces happiness? God designed us so that when we are generous, it makes us happy. I love how God calls for our obedience, but in that, there is blessing for us.

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We see that in our story here. Then the people rejoiced because they had given willingly, for with a whole heart they had offered freely to the LORD. The cycle in the Old Testament (under the Old Covenant) was sin, repentance, forgiveness, and restoration as stated above. The people would sin — most often by following the gods of the surrounding nations; they would then see the errors of their ways — because their disobedience often wrought correction by God; they would be forgiven by God because of their true repentance; and finally, there would be restoration in the relationship with God. It’s here in the restoration that we see their giving happen. Their willingness to give did not happen immediately in the forgiveness portion of the cycle — it was after restoration of their relationship with God that they gave willingly with their whole heart. This was in joyous response to being made right with God.

We see this again in the New Testament in 2 Corinthians 8:2: “In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity.” You see, it is in the overflow of grace where giving brings the greatest joy. Pastor Brian asked the question in his message last week, “What does extreme poverty well up in you?” I can say that I would love for it to be joyous giving, but also, it probably wouldn’t be. Most likely, it would be a knee-jerk reaction of control-seeking and hoarding. How then did these people, sitting in the midst of a very severe trial, give in generosity?

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I think it goes back to 2 Corinthians 8:1, where Paul is telling the church in Corinth about the other churches, and he says that it was grace given by God that prompted this response. If I focus solely on my ability to muster up generosity, I will always fall short. The Macedonian churches were able to give out of their extreme poverty because of the grace of God.  

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Honestly, that gives me great hope. I don’t have to rely on my insufficient generosity; I can rely on His all-sufficient grace. If I approach Him with open hands and a thankful heart for all He has done for me, giving generously is just a natural response — an overflow.

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What do you need to release to God’s grace in order to be open-handed in generosity? And how will you rely on God’s all-sufficient grace to guide you?

Father God, I praise You that I don’t have to rely on my own sufficiency to step into obedient giving. Thank You that Your grace covers where I fall short. Help me to be open-handed in all that I have, knowing that it first came from You. In the precious name of Jesus ~ AMEN.