Wilderness Wanderings

"Do not sacrifice to the Lord your God an ox or a sheep that has any defect or flaw in it, for that would be detestable to him" (Deuteronomy 17:1).

Let us stay with the theme of giving offerings to God which was already explored last week. In our church services, we take up offerings which are also called collections. This name change is rooted in the New Testament collections taken up for the poor. When Paul writes about these collections, his language echoes the themes of Jewish worship and sacrifice. But we before we go further to explore what 'sacrifices' we might give to the Lord today, let us ponder the other part of our text.

God stresses that any sacrifices made to him need to be perfect animals, as he defines perfect. That Israel did not take him seriously becomes evident in the end of the Old Testament. Several of the minor prophets deal with this including Malachi, who records these words of accusation from God against his people, "'You ask, 'How have we shown contempt for your name?' By offering defiled food on my altar. You ask, 'How have we defiled you?' By saying that the Lord's table is contemptible. When you offer blind animals for sacrifice, is that not wrong? When you sacrifice lame or diseased animals, is that not wrong? Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you?'" (Malachi 1:6-8).

These sacrifices signify the covenant relationship between God and his people. God is holy and pure. God has done great things for his people. When they sacrificed their 'leftover' animals to God, they were denying both God's holiness and purity and the value he had as their God. in other words, they were telling him that he was 'not much of a God."

This invites us to think about our response to God. What does it say about the value we ascribe to Him? Is he worth much to us? So let me ask you again. Based on your contributions to the things of God: his church, other Christian organizations, the poor, how much do you value God? When you work out your budget (if you do), do you prioritize financial gifts to God? or does he get your leftovers?

1. Enough about money. I think we need to go beyond money in this conversation. Let me return to Romans 12, where we read, "in view of God's mercy, offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God…" (1). We can hear the echoes of the Jewish sacrificial system here and the reminder that sacrifices need to be holy and pleasing to God. This calls for an essential change of question. The important question is not, "What shall I give to God?" but, "What does God want me to give?"

It also changes what we bring: no longer animals but ourselves. We are invited to consider how our schedules can become an offering to God. When we decide what we are going to do each day, these things ought to be considered dedicated to God. For some of us, this may mean that we need to start planning our days, and not allow them to be planned for us. As we plan out our week, do we include time for rest and time for family, do we include time to simply be with God?

A further thought, this text also asks us to consider HOW we do what we do? When we are at work, are we working well or only half heartedly? Are we treating people around us with respect? Do we view them as image bearers of God or as tools we can use for our own purposes? When we are with family or with church members are we truly present with them or just doing time?

Paul ends his discourse on the collection for the poor with the well-known phrase, "Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!" (2 Corinthians 9:15). The grace of God in Christ is the melody that weaves the Christian life and the church together. Jesus is God's indescribable gift. How can we not give him what is holy and pleasing?

An extended Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings! The text is Revelation 3:20-5:14 from the New International Version of the Bible. Dive In discussion questions are below for further reflection!

To see this sermon in the context of the worship service it comes from, find it here on YouTube. Or, head to our website to connect with the worshiping community of Immanuel CRC: immanuelministries.ca

Dive In Questions

1. When you imagine heaven or heavenly worship, what do you picture? What's it going to be like?

2. What things do you need to have in your imagination as you read the book of Revelation? What's a good, or even one of the best ways to read it?

3. If Revelation 4-5 is a worship service: write out all the different worship elements and images that you see and hear!

4. Have any of these images helped to wake up, season, or enliven your imagination of what heaven might be like?

5. How might you continue to practice here and now the heavenly future of good news hope you look forward to in Christ, the Lamb? Remember, the Kingdom has and is already breaking into our lives today!

"Your Majesty, Araunah gives all this to the king." Araunah also said to him, "May the Lord your God accept you." But the king replied to Araunah, "No, I insist on paying you for it. I will not sacrifice to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing." (2 Samuel 24:23-24a)

Hearing the devotion on Deuteronomy yesterday, I had to think of this passage from 2 Samuel. This phrase of David is one that has stuck with me over the years. "I will not sacrifice to the Lord offerings that cost me nothing."

I feel like we've talked quite a bit in these devotionals and in sermons over the past year about humility and submission before God—that there is a counter-cultural act involved in being a Christian that asks us to commit ourselves in submission to someone higher than ourselves: namely Jesus Christ. Since the atom bomb and technological revolution, the assumption of our culture is that we are gods ourselves these days with the power to create and destroy and so have the right to judge the gods of the various religions and call them to account as beings that, if they do exist, are no more than our equals, if that.

The Christian faith asks for a different posture: to fall on our knees in submission to our God and King, a God worthy to judge us, not we Him. The paradox is that this posture of submission before God is the place of deepest freedom and fullest life. God also does not ask of us something He Himself did not do: after all, God in Christ first submitted himself to our cruelty, sin, and violent, death-dealing ways before putting these ways to death in his death, rising to a life that we now can receive when we submit to Him.

Submission to God is what we are called to. But it's hard work. We need practices that help train us in the rhythms of submission and that give us very real and practical ways to do it in our daily lives. Sacrifice and offering are just those sorts of practices.

Offering is an offering not of something useless or that we've outlived our need for and are looking to get rid of anyway. No one makes a sacrifice when they put something on the buy-nothing group or out in the front yard, free for the taking. Offering is sacrifice: a giving away of something that has meaning, value, purpose, and real utility in our lives. It hurts a little bit. It's an act of trust that the God to whom we offer something is able to fill up the hole left by the thing we're entrusting to Him.

That brings us back to David's exclamation: "I will not sacrifice to the Lord an offering that cost me nothing." These are the last words of David recorded in the books of Samuel. Not insignificantly: this was the plot of land, purchased for the rightful price and offered in sacrifice to God, upon which the Temple would be built.

The Temple was not built on the land that David violently conquered when he killed the Jebusites and took their city, the city we now know as Jerusalem. No, the temple was built on the land that David peacefully purchased for the rightful price from Arunah, a still-living Jebusite, and offered in true sacrifice to the Lord.

So, what will you sacrificially offer in submission and trust to God?

"No one should appear before the Lord empty-handed: Each of you must bring a gift in proportion to the way the Lord your God has blessed you" (Deuteronomy 16:16-17).

As I grew up, every Saturday evening my dad would line up little piles of coins on his desk. Each Sunday morning, his children would stop by his office and pick one up. Most Sunday mornings there was a quarter for the first offering (probably for the church budget) and a dime for the offering cause chosen by the deacons. When dad went to the bank, he regularly withdrew from his account a role of quarters and a role of dimes so that his children could contribute to the offering during Sunday morning worship. When we began earning an income from working on the farm, we were expected to use that to contribute to the Sunday offerings.

I have never questioned giving to the church budget or to the diaconal causes. But I do recall that my understanding changed from giving to the church to giving to the Lord (2 Corinthians 8:5). Supporting the church and various causes is an act of investing in God's kingdom on earth. God choses to used flawed humans to do this, so sometimes the money is not used as well as I would like, but once I give it, God uses it as he will.

But I do not think our text is about investing in God's kingdom. It says, "no one should appear before the Lord empty-handed". Obviously, this will look differently today than it did for Israel going to the tabernacle and later the temple. And we might ask whether this principle still applies to Christians today. I think it does. Israel's gifts to the Lord were rooted in two acts of God: first, his redeeming them from Egypt and second, his provision for them through their labours.

God's people were to prepare for their religious feasts by deciding what they were going to give to the Lord. Israel's coming to the Lord with their hands full was an act of thanksgiving for all he had done for them. Now, you may ask, how can something commanded be an act of thanksgiving? Well, consider how difficult it sometimes is to teach children to say thank you. Thanksgiving does not come naturally; it must be learned.

The commands given in Deuteronomy establish the covenant between God and his people. God knew that his people needed to learn how to live in that covenant. It is easy for us to take our relationship with God for granted. Before COVID, going to worship on Sunday's was part of our covenant relationship with God (unless it was because someone made us go). We would make time to meet with God and his people. Now, we have become accustomed to doing this online. It takes much less time, less preparation, less commitment. Are we still bringing something with us?

Israel had reason to give God thanks. Do we not, in Christ, have more reason for thanksgiving? It is much easier today to take God for granted. I think our text invites us to wonder what it is that we bring to God. Are we thankful to him?

Further, Israel is to give in proportion to what God had given them. If we consider what God has given us, what ought we to bring? For some, 10% will be a real stretch. For others, 10% will not be a sacrifice at all, hardly a matter of thanksgiving.

If you are not in the habit of giving anything at all to the Lord, can I challenge you to start today? Paul tells us to decide how much we will give (2 Corinthians 9:7). And then to give it. And, as has been said recently in Wilderness Wanderings, to give with a joyful (thankful) heart.

"The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." … He began by saying to them, "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing." (Luke 4:18-19, 21)

Is our faith and generosity just a spiritual reality? Or does it need to put on flesh and walk around in the neighbourhood? That question popped up in our devotion yesterday, and when it does, I often think of these verses from Luke.

Jesus has just been baptized and tested by the devil in the wilderness. It's the beginning of his ministry, and here in Luke, this is his first act of ministry. He joins for Sabbath-day worship in his home-town synagogue and stands up to read these words from the prophet Isaiah. Nothing strange about that.

But then he attributes these words to himself and declares them fulfilled. So begins Jesus' ministry. These words, become his mission statement. This is the kind of Messiah Jesus will be.

He is a Messiah who not only preaches and teaches a spiritual word of salvation for souls: he is a Messiah who is anointed to carry out real action in the world: setting the oppressed free. That's good news indeed for the financially oppressed poor, for the physically oppressed blind and imprisoned, and really for any person oppressed by anything.

The church is called to follow its Lord into his mission, which means we are also called not merely to spiritual acts of enacting freedom, like forgiveness, but also very practical acts of enacting freedom, like addressing poverty, racial injustice, homelessness, health care, and so much more.

We cannot so easily divide the spiritual bits of our faith from the lived bits. Jesus lived, healed, taught, freed, died, rose, and ascended quite really and truly in this world. It enacted spiritual freedom from sin and death, but also began to effect freedom from very real physical, fiscal, and practical bonds of oppression. The blind saw, the lame walked, the dead were raised to life. This was his mission.

Sin has broken not only the spiritual relationship between God and the souls of humankind, but also the operations of every business, bank, school, government, church, and family. So salvation in Christ plays on every plane, both spiritual and concrete. This is the salvation we receive in Christ: not just from sin, but also from the real-world impacts and effects of sin. In turn, this is the very real freedom that we then proclaim and seek to bring into this world and into the lives of our neighbours.

That which we have received from God, we offer. The Jesus who has saved us, we seek to imitate and reflect, trusting always that he still does this work of bringing freedom of every kind today.

"At the end of every seven years you must cancel debts. Give generously to [the poor] and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to. There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore, I command you to be openhanded toward your fellow Israelites who are poor and needy in your land. Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you. That is why I give you this command today" (Deuteronomy 15:1, 10, 11, 15).

Deuteronomy 15 is a difficult chapter to understand. There are several difficult translation issues within it, but for our main problem is this: how are Christians to apply this chapter, which regulates economic issues in the nation-state of Israel, to how we live today?

I think it most helpful to look at the principles which govern this chapter rather than the practical ways they were to be implemented in Israelite society. And I also think that verse 15 contains the basic principle that governs the entire chapter, "Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you," says Moses. And then he adds, "That is why I give you this command today."

Repeatedly, Israel is reminded to remember her history. She was never to forget that she began as a nation of slaves. God took her out of Egypt, setting her free and establishing her in a new place. Further, the question was often asked, "Why did Israel deserve this?" And the answer was, "She did not." God did it because God is a generous and loving God, full of mercy and compassion. This history was to shape Israel's religious imagination. As such, Israel was to follow in God's footsteps. She was to imitate God, be like him.

We tend to spiritualize this by concluding that we need to forgive as the Lord has forgiven us. This is a valid move to make. Jesus was very clear on this. In Matthew 6 he says, "For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins" (14,15). Jesus uses language which seems to borrow heavily from Deuteronomy 15, "Give generously to them and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to."

This forgiving is the heart of the Christian faith, and it is my pastoral experience that it is the most difficult thing to do. The best way into forgiveness is to lean into the truth that you are forgiven. I think it is wonderful that we are keeping the sacraments front and centre, each Sunday. They are meant to bring our imaginations back to this heart of our faith, "I am forgiven." Still, it is difficult to practice. Often, when we meet someone, we have forgiven, we find ourselves needing to go through the process of forgiving all over again. As Jesus said, 70 x 7.

But I wonder if this passage should not be limited to the spiritual. I wonder if we are to draw lessons from it for monetary and physical life as well. Did God include this passage in the Bible to poke and prod our hearts? Does he know just how difficult we find it to share our hard-earned money? Did he anticipate that we easily find reasons why poor people do not deserve our generosity? Is this not exactly what God is calling out in this passage? Why did Israel deserve freedom? Why do we deserve to be forgiven by God? There is no reason for either! Israel was freed and we are forgiven simply because God is gracious. And in that we are to imitate him.

Pastor Anthony reminded us yesterday that God's resources are limitless. And now we are reminded of God's character. Two reasons for us to be generous. The road to generosity is not to look at our bank accounts, but to look at God, as the writer of Hebrews tells us, fix your "eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith" (12:2).

Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. (2 Corinthians 9:6-8)

Generosity begins and ends with God's blessing. It isn't about a duty to give. It isn't about how much we have or don't have. It is about who God is and how much he has—and God has an abundance.

As Christian's we are called into a way of living that's oriented around God's coming Kingdom: the future that we long and hope for. A place where there is no longer any death, or sickness, or layoffs, or evictions, or violence, or poverty, or homelessness. The kingdom is a place of life and of abundance. Not a place of death or scarcity.

And already now, this kingdom breaks into our world. We are called to seek it first. We are called to pray for this kingdom to come and God's will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. But we are also called to live as citizens of this kingdom here and now: and that includes living generously, as if all the world and so much more were already ours in Christ Jesus our Lord, because, of course, that's true.

God's abundant kingdom is filled with life and provision plentiful enough. As citizens of that kingdom then, we may take on that mindset of abundance and sow generously: investing our time, our lives, our money, our skill in not just the church, but also in our neighbours.

And the promise from 2 Corinthians 9 is that sowing generously, far from emptying our own pantry of provision, will actually fill it up with a generous abundance. Why? Because the God to whom it all belongs anyway is able to bless us with abundance. He is able to provide enough for our lives and days when we trust ourselves and all the stuff we have, to him. Because again, it's his anyways, not ours: we only hold this stuff in trust, and for a time.

This is an open-handed kind of living: trusting that as we open our hands, let go of our stuff and give it away, God can and does fill our hands back up again.

And even if not: a life lived in trust and reliance in him is, sometimes paradoxically, a life of "enough" all the same, because it is a life lived with God and under his blessing, set free from the tyrannical pursuit of provision and of stuff. It is in this place of freedom with God that Christians throughout the ages have found the secret of joy. The secret is simply this: when we have God, we have enough. This is what it means to a be a citizen, living generously and cheerfully in his kingdom.

A special, extended Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings! The text is Revelation 1:12-20 from the New International Version of the Bible. Dive In discussion questions are below for further reflection!

To see this sermon in the context of the worship service it comes from, find it here on YouTube. Or, head to our website to connect with the worshiping community of Immanuel CRC: immanuelministries.ca

1. How can we make the church beautiful again? Why is this question off target? How can we have more realistic expectations about the church?

1. Do you feel discouraged about the church sometimes?

1. Name some of the ways the congregations in Revelation 2-3 fall short.

1. How does the image of the congregations in Revelation 1 show God's grace? Does this encourage you?

1. What are the two constants among all the churches? Are we known as a congregation which has its ears opened?

"Be sure to set aside a tenth of all that your fields produce each year" (Deuteronomy 14:22).

It may surprise some of you that I have never preached on this text, nor have I written any devotionals on it. And for good reasons. Since I choose to go through Deuteronomy, I need to break my own tradition. The first half won't do for Wilderness Wanderings because it is all about clean and unclean food; thankfully, we do not have to follow these codes anymore – I do like my pork.

The second half of the chapter is introduced with our text. Its implications are worked out in the following verses. Before I explain my avoidance of this text let's explore tithing in Israel. This is where the whole concept of the 10% tithe comes from. Each Israelite family was to set this aside for several purposes.

First, as Tony Campolo reminded the church years ago, Israel was to go and party (23, 26). Yep! You did hear that right. God instructed Israel to take their tithe (grain, wine, sheep, goats, etc.) to the place where God was worshipped. If they lived far away, they could sell their produce and buy what they liked close to the worship centre (26). There they would party. This celebration had a twofold purpose. They would rejoice in God for the provisions he had given, and they would learn to revere him (23).

Israel was to fear the Lord, but not in a stogy, somber, arms folded or terrified kind of way. Their fear and reverence for God came from paying attention to the care and love which he was pouring out. It was not fear of judgement that was to motivate Israel's faith, but joy, joy in the Lord.

If you are thinking that 10% is way too much to spend on one party, you are quit right. The Lord had established several Levite cities within the boundaries of Israel. The tribe of Levi did not receive an inheritance along with the rest of the tribes because they worked at the place of worship. They were dependent on God for provision. But God did not intend to airlift supplies into these towns.

Rather, he instructed the Israelites to leave part of their tithes in them (27). God would provide for the Levites through these tithes. Notice that God does not specify how much should be left there. These gifts for the Levites were also a food bank for those in need. Moses specifies the foreigners, the fatherless and the widows. In the ancient economy, these groups were the most vulnerable. Yet, in Israel they would have a place to go; there would be provision for those who fell on difficult times.

As such in Israel, the 10% tithe provided for the worship of God and those who administered that worship, but also to ensure that the needy would be cared for. However, the emphasis is not on the percentage. The emphasis throughout is on the relationship between God and his people. The people are to worship and revere God. They are to rejoice in all the material goods God provides and to liberally share them with those in need. As the Lord blesses them, they are to bless others. The chapter ends, "so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands" (29).

It is this emphasis on joyfully and liberally passing on God's blessings that makes it way into the New Testament. The most explicit treatment of it is in 2 Corinthians 8-9, which includes this summary, "And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work" (9:8). When I have needed to preach on giving, I have avoided the language of tithing and used this verse as my touch stone. Too much Christian preaching on tithing smells like law: "You must give 10%". I think it more Biblical to begin and end with, "God loves a cheerful giver" (9:7).

So, how will you share the things God has blessed you with?

I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. … I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. (John 15:1,2,5)

A number of big-name Christian leaders have recently fallen into scandal or abused their position of leadership by abusing others. We were reminded of that in our devotion yesterday: that when leaders become isolated enough by their positions to begin to believe that they, and not Christ, are at the centre of the church's story, trouble ensues.

But, it's not just leaders that fall into this trap. It is incredibly easy for any of us to begin to believe that we, and not Christ, are at the centre. In fact, we follow that script pretty faithfully throughout the week. We do our work. We seek to entertain ourselves. We seek to earn enough to pay our bills. We look out for our family. We do our homework. We keep up our friendships. We wonder about who we are and what we should be doing with our lives. It all gets pretty self-centered after a while.

Unless.

Unless we intentionally take time to focus on God, rather than ourselves. I've been increasingly convinced that Sabbath is just a critical Christian practice and God's gift and invitation to us to put all our relationships back in the right order.

The heart of that reality is displayed here in Jesus' words about the vine and the branches. He says rather bluntly that apart from him, we can do nothing. It is only through connection with Christ that the life-giving sap of his love flows into and through us out to the world around. So: Christ must remain at the centre: he's the vine that supports us, not the other way around.

But the curious thing that we find in the first verse is that fruitfulness also requires pruning. I believe God's gift, invitation, indeed command to take a Sabbath is part of his work of pruning the fruitful branches. Sabbath forces us to say no. No to our work, no to appointments on our calendars, no to the needs and desires that pull us into a flurry of us-at-the-centre activity.

Instead: Sabbath puts God at the centre, forcing us to trust that he'll keep the world, our work, and our lives spinning even if we take a break for a day. In that space, we can also listen to him, worship him, and take time to love and be loved by others in our lives too: because for a day, we don't need them to be useful or need to be useful for them. Our relationships are put back in the right order.

What is God seeking to prune out of your life? What do you need to say no to in order to take a true Sabbath this week?