Day 51: Consecrated to the Lord

“Now I have prepared with all my might for the house of my God the gold for things to be made of gold, and the silver for things of silver, and the brass for things of brass, the iron for things of iron, and wood for things of wood; onyx stones, and stones to be set, glittering stones of different colors, and all kinds of precious stones, and marble stones in abundance.

Moreover, because I have set my affection on the house of my God, I have given of my substance, of gold and silver, which I have given to the house of my God, over and above all that I have prepared for the holy house – three thousand talents of gold, of the gold of Ophir, and seven thousand talents of refined silver, with which to overlay the walls of the houses; the gold for things of gold, and the silver for things of silver, and for every kind of work to be made by the hands of craftsmen. And who is willing to consecrate his service this day to the LORD?”... Then the people rejoiced, because they offered willingly, because with a loyal heart they offered willingly to the LORD, and David the king also rejoiced with great joy. (Chr. 29:2-5, 9)

David had wisely marshaled the resources of the nation for the Temple project. But he knew that the hearts of the people would be unified by giving to the project together. And so, David deliberately provoked the leaders and all the people of Israel – provoked them to flow together in a spirit of “hilarious, cheerful giving.”

In verse 5, the Hebrew text tells us that David literally asked, “Who will fill his hand to the Lord?” In other words, he said, “I challenge you to do what I’ve done. Fill your hand to the Lord today!”

The nobles and the people responded with a great offering, and rejoiced over the fact that they had given willingly, not out of compulsion or pressure. They also knew that they had given “to the Lord,” and not to a project or to David.

Lord, let us give to You from pure and proper motives, so we will have joy in knowing that our giving is really to You!