“When Moses entered the Tent of Meetings to speak with the LORD, he heard the voice speaking to him from between the two cherubims above the atonement cover on the ark of the Testimony. And he spoke with him.”
~ Numbers 7:89
Hi James and Ellen,
Do you have anything that you can give as an offering to God? Have you ever given a money offering to God? Do you know why you would want to give an offering to God? God has given everything to your grandmaa, your grandpaa, your dad, your ma, you and every other guy, gal and kid who is living on planet Earth. Everything that every guy, gal and kid has is something that has been loaned to the guy, gal or kid by God. God can take back at any time anything that He has loaned to a guy, gal and kid. The least that your grandmaa, your grandpaa, your dad, your ma, you and every other guy, gal and kid who is living on planet Earth can do is to give back some to God what He has loaned. Your grandpaa will write more someday on how much God expects to be returned to Him from what He has loaned to your grandmaa, your grandpaa, your dad, your ma, you and every other guy, gal and kid who is living on planet Earth. Something that God wants to have returned to Him from what He has loaned to your grandmaa, your grandpaa, your dad, your ma, you and every other guy, gal and kid who is living on planet Earth is some of the money that has been earned and/or received as gifts. When your grandmaa and grandpaa lived as missionaries in Bolivia, your grandmaa and grandpaa would visit different churches. Churches that are Bolivia will almost always take money collections. Almost every guy, gal and kid who regularly attends a church in Bolivia will put a bill or bills and/or a coin or coins in a collection plate or bag. Not long after your grandmaa and grandpaa returned to the United States to begin their first furlough break, your grandmaa and grandpaa went to the church that your dad’s Uncle Meryl and Aunt Bailey are members. Your grandmaa and grandpaa sat on the back bench in the church that your dad’s Uncle Meryl and Aunt Bailey are members. The church collects a money offering during each Sunday church service. When the collection plate got to your grandmaa and grandpaa where they were sitting on the back row, there were no envelopes with checks in them nor were there any bills or coins in the collection plate. Your grandpaa is sure that many of the guys and gals who were in the church service that evening give money offerings to God; they just do it maybe once a month instead of during each church service that they attend. After your grandmaa and grandpaa saw impoverished guys, gals and kids always putting a money gift in a plate or bag, it just . . .
What do you think that the guys and gals who God specially chose for Himself returned as offerings to God? God’s specially chosen guys, gals and kids – the Israelite people group, oftentimes would give an offering that was needed to dedicate something to God. Numbers 7 tells about the dedication of an altar which the Levites would use to make sacrifices to God. Do you know what some of the things are that the Israelite guys and gals would give as offerings to God? Each Israelite people group tribal clan was to bring the very same things to be burnt on the altar on which the Levite tribal clan priests would make sacrifices to God. God told Moses – who was the leader of the Israelite people group of guys, gals and kids, that each day a leader of one of the twelve tribal clans was to bring a young bull, a ram and a year old lamb for burnt offerings and a male goat for a sin offering to Moses – as Moses was standing before the altar that was being dedicated. Each tribal clan leader was also to present two oxen, five rams, five male goats and five male lambs to Moses at the altar being dedicated. These oxen, rams, goats and lambs were to be sacrificed as a fellowship offering on the altar being dedicated. Besides the animals that the tribal clan leaders were to take to Moses to be sacrificed for the altar’s dedication, they were to take a silver plate that weighed about three pounds and a silver sprinkling bowl that weighed less than two pounds to Moses at the altar being dedicated. The plate and the bowl were both to be filled with fine flour and an oil mix which would be the grain offering for the altar that was being dedicated. The tribal clan leaders were also to give to Moses a gold dish – which weighed only a couple of ounces and which was filled with incense, which was also to be used in the dedication of the altar.
Why do you think that dedicating an altar was such a big deal? A tabernacle had just been built. The tabernacle was where God’s presence would be with His specially chosen guys, gals and kids as they traveled to the land that God had promised them that they would always have as their very own land to live in if . . . God’s specially chosen guys and gals could not do enough at this time for God. God’s specially chosen guys and gals were ready to give anything that they had to God – to be used by and for God to please and to bless God. Guys and gals who are living in Bolivia’s rural areas often do not have much that they can give to God. There are guys and gals who live hand to mouth living in rural areas all over planet Earth. These guys and gals harvest, catch or earn just enough money for food for each day. Your grandpaa would visit a church that had an extra room where the Christ-follower guys and gals in the church would leave some of their harvest. When the room was full, the Christ-follower guys and gals in the church would sell what they had put in the room and the money used to serve God. The Israelite tribal clan guys, gals and kids wanted to serve God. The Israelite tribal clans gave to God what God asked from them. God was very pleased with His specially chosen guys, gals and kids. Verse 89 says “When Moses entered the Tent of Meetings to speak with the LORD, he heard the voice speaking to him from between the two cherubims above the atonement cover on the ark of the Testimony. And he spoke with him.” What do you think will happen when God’s specially elected guys, gals and kids give back to God some of what God has loaned them? Ask your dad what he thinks.
Numbers 7 (124)