The title of the sermon today is probably the longest title I have ever given a sermon:

Sacrificial Giving: I Do Not Think It Means What You Think It Means

To illustrate the title of this sermon, I have included a short video that might help you understand why I chose this title.

https://1drv.ms/v/c/5cdf693d0ec8ac69/Ea-p2ASyuoBGha97r_xgudoBsdxyHA0FV-C1MW4gisYpOA?e=2QEGCa

This clip, by the way, is from one of the, if not the greatest movies ever to be made -The Princess Bride.

Have you ever happened upon a situation and after a few moments of listening and observing, had confidence that you knew what was going on only to discover you were severely mistaken?

This is a small but telling anecdote: Two gas company employees finish reading a meter at a home and then sprint back to their truck (in a playful rivalry). The homeowner, watching from inside, panics—assuming the gas workers are fleeing some danger or threat—and rushes out of the house. Her conclusion (they must be running because of danger) was entirely wrong; she’d misinterpreted their friendly competition. (This comes from a “life lesson / assumption” anecdote)

Why do these things happen?

Limited perspective: You see a slice of the scene—others see more or see different angles.

Emotional / value-driven framing: You lean toward an interpretation that fits your worldview, fears, or biases.

Today I want to talk about sacrificial giving and some of the misconceptions that go along with it.

Sacrificial Giving. We’ve probably all heard the term before, but there are some common misconceptions about it. I think these misconceptions primarily come from one of two places: 1) purposeful and manipulative teaching, and 2) a simple misunderstanding of the concept and meaning of sacrifice.

The Widow’s Mite

One of the stories that often gets used to illustrate the concept of sacrificial giving is the example that we often call The Widow’s Mite or The Widow’s Offering. We find this event and Jesus’ comment on it in both the books of Mark and Luke, and today we are going to look at both passages.

Mark 12:41–44 KJV 1900

41 And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much. 42 And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing. 43 And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury: 44 For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living.

Luke relates the event very similarly. Luke 21:1-4

Luke 21:1–4 KJV 1900

1 And he looked up, and saw the rich men casting their gifts into the treasury. 2 And he saw also a certain poor widow casting in thither two mites. 3 And he said, Of a truth I say unto you, that this poor widow hath cast in more than they all: 4 For all these have of their abundance cast in unto the offerings of God: but she of her penury hath cast in all the living that she had.

What we often see pointed out here is that this widow’s sacrificial giving was commended by Jesus. Jesus is seen by many to praise the woman’s offering because it was all she had while He judged those who gave much because it was their “left overs” that they gave.

Many Christians have bought into this application because there have been many people that have taught that this is what it is. Naturally, like the homeowners that witnessed the gas workers running from the house and panicked, many Christians have heard both well intentioned and manipulative messages using this application and have run whole-heartedly after it.

But I want us to analyze these verses one more time as we read them. Mark 12:41-44

Mark 12:41–44 KJV 1900

41 And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much. 42 And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing. 43 And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury: 44 For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living.

After reading these verses carefully, did anyone see Jesus praising the widow or commending her? I don’t see it. Jesus makes a comparison, but I find it difficult to interpret it as a praise. In fact, I find it difficult to interpret the statement about those that gave from their abundance to be a judgment.

Jesus stated, “This widow gave a greater amount because she gave all that she had. As opposed to the other who gave a lesser amount because they gave out of their abundance.” If we were to look at amounts, this would be difficult to comprehend, because how can one penny, the equivalent of the two mites that the widow gave, be more than any other amount?

However, in the sense of percentages, this is readily obvious. If the widow gave all, then she gave 100% of her money. Something that was not being done by the others.

But our real hint that these statements were not made to praise the widow come when we begin to analyze the context. One of the Bible teachers at Isaac Newton Christian Academy is known for saying that not only is context key, but his preferred phrase is “context is king.”

So let’s look at the context of this passage. Immediately before Jesus makes His remarks on the widow’s offering, Jesus is giving a warning to the disciples. This warning appears in line with the story in the book of Mark, taking place in verses 38-40. In Luke, however, they may seem detached because they come at the end of chapter 20, but I will remind you that the chapter and verse divisions were not part of the original writings. Those began to be added in the 1300’s.

But let’s look at the context. We will look at Mark’s version as Luke’s is almost word-for-word the same thing. Mark 12:38-40

Mark 12:38–40 KJV 1900

38 And he said unto them in his doctrine, Beware of the scribes, which love to go in long clothing, and love salutations in the marketplaces, 39 And the chief seats in the synagogues, and the uppermost rooms at feasts: 40 Which devour widows’ houses, and for a pretence make long prayers: these shall receive greater damnation.

Jesus gives several warnings about the Scribes. He says that they love to walk around in long clothing, they loved being recognized by people out in public, they always made sure they were seated in prominent places whether that be at parties or in the synagogues. But then we get to verse 40 and Jesus says, “They devour widow’s houses.”

What the Scribes had done was twisted a form of giving that was supposed to be a blessing for the widows and enforced it to a point where it was devouring everything that they had to live on, as exemplified by the widow who went to give her two mites that ended up being all that she had left to give.

And when Jesus remarks on her giving, He doesn’t tell the disciples to follow her example, He doesn’t comment on her heart or her attitude (so we know of neither), nor does He comment on her status of belief or non-belief in Jesus.

What happens is this. Jesus sits and observes people casting their money into the treasury of the temple. This treasury would have consisted of 13 trumpet shaped receptacles and was located in the court of women, an area of the Temple that was open to anyone who was a Jew. There were certain areas of the temple that only Jewish men could access, others that Jewish men and women could access, and an outer area that Gentiles were confined to. So Jesus sits in the court of women, looking at the treasury and watches people give.

Mark 12:41 KJV 1900

41 And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much.

Notice that it says that he beheld how they cast their money into the treasury. The Scribes and the Pharisees and other religious leaders had, over the generations, twisted so much of this religion that they now sought to be the objects of worship and cared little if God was truly honored or not. But they had made a point to teach that in giving much to the Temple offerings, those that gave would be blessed by God because God would be pleased at the amount given.

Can you imagine being Jesus and watching people give large and small sums of money to the treasury? Because Jesus not only knew exactly how much was going in, but he saw the motivation of each heart. How many people did Jesus watch cast in their money with a hope that that particular offering would make them right with God? or gain them extra blessings? Or how about the heart of those that were just giving in an attempt to one-up their neighbors? As the Son of God, how would Jesus have felt seeing those hearts?

Then His eye is drawn to a particular person - a very poor widow. Mark 12:42

Mark 12:42 KJV 1900

42 And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing.

Jesus looks, and watches her obey a legalistic system that had been twisted in such a way that instead of blessing her and helping her, was now abusing her. No less than 11 passages of scripture in the Old Testament show that widows are supposed to be treated well, not taken advantage of, and even provided for by the offerings of the people. They were not to be turned away and even had special privileges when it came to offering pledges for repayment of debt.

But in this twisted system fostered by the Scribes and Pharisees, widows like this poor woman we told they needed to give their very last coins to the treasury despite their need.

The widow is not the hero in this story, the widow is the victim. She has been duped by the false promise of legalism into giving all that she had, and thinking that in so doing she would receive blessings.

Jesus then uses her giving of the two smallest copper coins, that didn’t even account for an eighth of a day’s wage, as a way of illustrating how the legalistic system of false religion was devouring widows like her.

Mark 12:43–44 KJV 1900

43 And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury: 44 For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living.

Here, Jesus criticizes, not the rich, but the system that doesn’t affect the rich but devours the poor. The Scribes, far from being a help to the poor people, would often take pledges from widows and other impoverished people. They would take houses and other belongings as collateral when they couldn’t pay the temple taxes and then charge interest in a way that they would never be able to repay. They would then take their belongings, up to and including their houses and lands, leaving them destitute - directly contradicting what was explicitly stated in scripture about the religious workers being the ones who were supposed to aid in the provision for these widows.

“But Mike, doesn’t God bless sacrificial giving?” Sometimes. But the real question is, “Does God even want us to give sacrificially?” And the answer to that question is more complex.

How Important Is Sacrifice?

First, we must look at this question: How important is sacrifice? To more fully understand that, we need to consider that there were different types of offerings and sacrifices. Sacrifices and offerings are closely related, but they are different.

In the Old Testament, there are two distinct words in Hebrew used for both of these practices. Offerings were something that was presented to or brought near unto the Lord and offered to Him.

Sacrifices fell under the category of offerings because sacrifices were a type of offering. What made a sacrifice a sacrifice was that an animal was killed. I think an example of farm animals might be a little more enlightening. The First Church of the Farm was meeting one Sunday, and Mrs. Hen was sitting by Mr. Hog, and at the end of the service, the offering plate was being passed around. Cows were putting in pints of milk, sheep were putting in wool, and when it came by Mrs. Hen, she clucked a couple times and put in an egg. She then passed the basket to Mr. Hog who took it, and without putting anything in, passed it on.

After the service was dismissed, Mrs. Hen said to Mr. Hog, “I noticed that you don’t ever put anything in the offering basket when it goes by...” Mr. Hog looked at Mrs. Hen and replied, “Mrs. Hen, when you give, it’s an offering, but when I give it will have to be a sacrifice.”

This is a very general description of the differences. Whole papers have been written on the differences between sacrifices and offerings and the various types that were common for the Jewish nation.

But as we study the Old Testament, we can see that sacrifices, whether they were for praise, for dedication, for sin, or for peace, were regular and important. They were commanded by God to be done under certain circumstances. The sacrifices and the offerings were part of the religious observance of the worship of God and the cultivation of the people’s relationship with Him. Certain sacrifices pointed directly to God’s way of providing the payment for sin through His own Son, the Messiah and Lamb of God - Jesus.

So how important was sacrifice? Very important.

Moving to the New Testament in the time after Jesus gave Himself as the sacrifice for the sins of the world, we no longer observe the rituals of sacrificing animals. Hebrews 9-10 tell us about the sacrifices of the Old Testament being pictures of Jesus, and how Jesus sacrificed Himself once and that sacrifices are no longer needed.

Hebrews 10:1–5 KJV 1900

1 For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices [referring to the sacrifices of the OT] which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect. [These sacrifices could not cleanse men from sin. They only covered that sin for the space of a year, and needed to be repeated yearly.] 2 For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins. [The author of Hebrews here says that if they would have been enough to wipe away sins, then they would not have had to offer them up every year.] 3 But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year. 4 For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.

But look at what Hebrews 10:12-14

Hebrews 10:12–14 KJV 1900

12 But this man [Jesus], after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; 13 From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. 14 For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.

So sacrifices such as the ones performed for peace offerings, sin offerings, and such were no longer needed. Jesus became our peace and our atonement when He died on the cross.

But what about sacrificial giving? The Old Testament, obviously, required sacrifices, and in the New Testament we have the idea of sacrificial giving of money or possessions as well. The two women that gave their very expensive perfume to Jesus demonstrated sacrificial giving. The people that sold their possessions and even their lands and homes so that others could be provided for in the church demonstrated sacrificial giving. The churches of Macedonia, deeply impoverished as they were, gave in a way that Paul described it as “beyond their ability.” Meaning, they gave to the work of the Lord in such a way that it took from their own survivability, from their own ability to provide for themselves and their families. But when they did, God gave them grace and blessed them for it.

So, is sacrificial giving important? Yes! But is it the most important thing? If Jesus was so honored by the sacrificial giving that people made to His ministry and to His glory, and if God bestowed so much grace on the Macedonians who gave out of their great need, beyond what they were able, then we might begin to think that sacrificial giving is one of the best things a Christian can do.

So lets learn a lesson from the book of 1 Samuel.

Lessons from a King

In 1 Samuel, we find the story of a prophet named Samuel and of two Israelite kings - Saul and David.

Samuel was the prophet and priest that anointed Saul as the first King of Israel. He gave Saul instructions from God, and at first, Saul was careful about obeying God.

However, Saul became increasingly impatient and disobedient.

Turn with me to 1 Samuel 13:1-2

1 Samuel 13:1–2 KJV 1900

1 Saul reigned one year; and when he had reigned two years over Israel, 2 Saul chose him three thousand men of Israel; whereof two thousand were with Saul in Michmash and in mount Beth-el, and a thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin: and the rest of the people he sent every man to his tent.

Now at this point, Saul is readying himself and the nation to fight the Philistines. The Philistines were one of several nations that were constantly encroaching on Israel’s lands and waging war against them. Saul has gathered 3,000 men to fight.

Saul’s son Jonathan had been victorious already in some smaller confrontations with the Philistines, and now Saul is getting ready for the big fight.

The thing is, the Israelites have nearly zero weapons. They have been so oppressed over the years by the Philistines that they have 2 swords and that’s about it. Everything else is going to be farm implements. Not only that, but the Philistines are getting ready for war too. They amass, not 3,000, but 30,000 chariots, 6 thousand horsemen, and so many foot soldiers that they can’t even be counted.

So naturally, the people of Israel resort to what they have done for generations - they run to the hills. Literally. The Bible says that they go and begin to hide in caves and mountains.

Saul, however, had been given an order by Samuel - stay at Gilgal until I arrive after seven days to offer sacrifices. Gilgal was the place that the tabernacle of the Lord was before Jerusalem.

So Saul stays. But every day, men are deserting, The army is getting smaller and smaller. The seventh day arrives and still no Samuel. 1 Samuel 13:8-10

1 Samuel 13:8–10 KJV 1900

8 And he tarried seven days, according to the set time that Samuel had appointed: but Samuel came not to Gilgal; and the people were scattered from him. 9 And Saul said, Bring hither a burnt offering to me, and peace offerings. And he offered the burnt offering. 10 And it came to pass, that as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him, that he might salute him.

Can you guess what Samuel’s reaction was? “What have you done!” And Saul says, “Well I waited and waited, and you didn’t come, so I went ahead and made the sacrifices myself. People are deserting the army, Samuel, and this is the only way that I could keep them from abandoning me. The Philistines far outnumber us, and this is the only way to get God’s favor. You were going to offer the same sacrifices anyway, what’s the big deal?!”

And granted, Saul does not say the words, “What’s the big deal,” but every time he disobeys God, he brushes it off like it is no big thing, like his idea is better and more logical.

So Samuel responds. 1 Samuel 13:13-14

1 Samuel 13:13–14 KJV 1900

13 And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly: thou hast not kept the commandment of the Lord thy God, which he commanded thee: for now would the Lord have established thy kingdom upon Israel for ever. 14 But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the Lord hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the Lord hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the Lord commanded thee.

One of the things that was stated in the law was that the kings of Israel could not be priests, nor could they assume the duties of the priests. They could offer their own sacrifices, but not for the nation, which is what Saul tried to do. He had disobeyed, he had become impatient, he had elevated his own wisdom above the level of God’s, and now God would reject him as king and elevate another.

This is not the end of Saul’s disobedience.

A couple chapters ahead we find another disobedience involving sacrifice as well. Saul is visited by Samuel once again and commanded to destroy the nation of the Amalekites. These people, hundreds of years before during the time that Israel was traveling from Egypt to the promised land, had made war upon the Israelites. This was not the only nation that did this, but the way that Amalek had done it was despicable. As the Israelites marched past a certain point, Amalek decided that they would ambush them. What they did was to wait until the majority of the Israelites had passed, and then they attacked the back of the column.

Though militarily this seems like good strategy, we need to remember that the military would not have been in the back. First off, Israel did not have a military. They were a traveling group of ex-slaves. Attacks should have been from the front, because that would be where all the fighting-aged men would have been. That is where leadership would be. But Amalek’s goal was not to just fight and win and spoil and perhaps take slaves. no, Amalek’s goal was to wipe Israel off the face of the earth. So they attacked from the rear. The rear is where the sick and elderly would have been. The slower and weaker people. In Deuteronomy, God talks about this attack and specifically points out that they attacked Israel because they had no fear of God.

But God Gave Israel the victory that day and preserved them. The Amalekites, as descendants of Ishmael, had always had a rivalry and a hatred toward the Israelites, descendants of Isaac and Jacob. After generations, this family rivalry became national rivalry, and after this attack, God had promised Amalek that one day, he would destroy them in such a way that their memory would be erased from the earth.

Fast forward back to Saul - this is the day. 1 Samuel 15:2-5

1 Samuel 15:2–5 KJV 1900

2 Thus saith the Lord of hosts, I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid wait for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt. 3 Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass. 4 And Saul gathered the people together, and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand footmen, and ten thousand men of Judah. 5 And Saul came to a city of Amalek, and laid wait in the valley.

With an army of 210,000 men, Saul goes to one of the Amalekitish cities and gets ready to attack. He warns another group of people to go to safety. The Kenites had been good to Israel when they were fleeing Egypt, so Saul allows them to escape before attacking the Amalekites.

1 Samuel 15:7–9 KJV 1900

7 And Saul smote the Amalekites from Havilah until thou comest to Shur, that is over against Egypt. 8 And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword. 9 But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them: but every thing that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly.

Uh-oh. Saul does not obey again.

And God speaks to the prophet Samuel and tells him what Saul has done. So Samuel sets out to visit Saul.

1 Samuel 15:13–15 KJV 1900

13 And Samuel came to Saul: and Saul said unto him, Blessed be thou of the Lord: I have performed the commandment of the Lord. [Parents, have you ever known your kids to lie to you about something they were supposed to do when you were gone? How many of y’all remember the old tube TVs, before all the LED and plasma screen TVs came out? When I was a kid, I loved watching TV and playing on the Nintendo, Super Nintendo, N64. My parents would sometime ground me from playing these games or watching TV, but my parents were busy people, so they were not always at home to enforce those groundings. Occasionally I would find myself at home, alone and bored. The TV was so inviting. And I remember getting caught disobeying my grounding of TV and video games and then lying about it. I heard my parents drive up to the house, and when they did, I quickly shut off the TV and the game. I crouched, to stay out of sight of the window, and ran to my room and picked up a book to pretend that I had been reading. When my parents came in, I nonchalantly walked out of the door and greeted them. Oddly enough, their first words were not, “Hello, most beloved and amazing child.” Weird, I know. Instead, the first thing they asked was, “Have you been watching TV?” I should have known. That was really fast and very specific. But of course, I said, “No, of course not!” My mom called me into the living room and said, “Watch this,” and she put her hand on the TV screen, and guess what we heard? The horrible crackling of static electricity! She put her hand on the game console and said, “And this is hot. That means you’ve been playing games.” I was caught. Dead to rights. And this is what happens to Saul. Saul says, “Hey Samuel! I just got done obeying everything you told me to do!” 14 And Samuel said, What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear? 15 And Saul said, They have brought them from the Amalekites: for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, to sacrifice unto the Lord thy God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed. [“I brought them for sacrificing! God is going to be super happy with this! We destroyed everything else.”

1 Samuel 15:18–22 KJV 1900

18 …the Lord sent thee on a journey, and said, Go and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until they be consumed. 19 Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the Lord, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of the Lord? 20 And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the Lord, and have gone the way which the Lord sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. [Can you believe Saul? “I did obey! I just didn’t kill Agag or all the best animals. Otherwise, I did exactly what you told me to do!”] 21 But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the Lord thy God in Gilgal. [Saul makes a lame attempt at blaming it on the people, but then Samuel responds this way, and this is what we need to pay attention to today.] 22 And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, As in obeying the voice of the Lord? [And in case that rhetorical question is not as clear as it should be, Samuel goes on to make things very clear.]

1 Samuel 15:18–22 KJV 1900

Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to hearken than the fat of rams.

“Saul,” he says, “Sacrifices are important, but obedience is more important.” And once again, Saul is rejected as king and so is his lineage.

So what lesson does this provide for us? The same one Saul should have learned. Obedience is better than sacrifice.

Obedience Is Better Than Sacrifice

And it is better than sacrificial giving. This is the month when we deal with giving to the Lord through the church. It is an important thing. But the last think I want you to do is to come up with a number all by yourself. Do not lean on your own understanding and your own planning. You and I do not know what is going to befall us tomorrow, let alone the next 12 months, so let God, who does know everything, plan your giving for you.

Proverbs 3:5–6 KJV 1900

5 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; And lean not unto thine own understanding. 6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, And he shall direct thy paths.

In all your ways means all your ways. Including money. You don’t give what you feel is right, you don’t give what you think is right. You give what God has told you to give.

And how should I know what God wants me to give? You have to talk to Him, and you have to let Him talk to you.

For the last couple of weeks I have been urging you to be praying and asking God how much He wants you to give. If you have automatically resorted to 10%, then you need to have a talk with God. I am not saying that 10% is too much or too little. All I am saying is that maybe God wants you to be more generous. And maybe, God wants you to sacrifice, to give something that will threaten your lifestyle and even your livelihood. But maybe not.

But I can’t be the one that determines that in your life, and neither can you. It must be God. Just like in every other area of your life, it must be God that leads you to give whatever it is that you give. This is an opportunity to seek God and know His intention for you.

Did you know that money is the only area where God says, “Put me to the test”? In fact, we are told to not tempt or test God in the Bible. But God spoke to the children of Israel and said, “Prove me in this area of money. Test me, and I will show you.”

Malachi 3:8–10 KJV 1900

8 Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. [The Israelites had been commanded to give 10% of the increase of their income, their harvest, and their cattle in addition to other offerings. Depending on the year, you could have given as much as 30% of your increase to the Temple. So, not just a flat 10%. But then there were reasons to give offerings and sacrifices in addition to the regular tithes and offerings that were mandated by the law. 9 Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, Even this whole nation. [I do not want to take these verses out of context. So let’s be very clear, this is dealing directly with the tithes and offerings to the temple. But the reason God had cursed them was because they had become disobedient. God had mandated something for them, and they had leaned to their own understanding or to their own desires and chose to disobey God. So God issues an order in the form of a challenge.] 10 Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be meat in mine house [The tithe was to provide mainly for the Levites that operated the different services of the Temple. It was to support them and their families in addition to a portion of these tithes being set aside for the provision of the poor and destitute.], And prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts [This is the challenge. “Prove me, put me to the test, and see if I don’t keep my word.”], If I will not open you the windows of heaven, And pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.

This is the only time that God says, “Put me to the test.” Yes, the context is for Israel at that time, but the concept is one that can be still applied to today. Trust God, do what He directs you to do, and see if He does not provide for your needs.

These verses do not mean that if you give what God wants you to give, He will make you rich. But we know from the Sermon on the Mount that God has a desire to provide for His children, and that happens more than just in the financial realm.

Lessons from a Judge

I want to close with this. Be careful what you promise. Before the time of kings in Israel, there were judges. Samuel was the last of these judges, and he anointed the first king.

There is a whole book dedicated to the judges of Israel and that period of time. It is called Judges, and it comes right before 1 Samuel.

I want to talk about one particular judge to end this, and the judges name is Jephthah. We find his story beginning in Judges 11. We will not read it all, but I’ll give you the context.

Jephthah is a son of a man named Gilead, but Gilead’s wife is not Jephthah’s mom. Jephthah is the child of infidelity with a woman of ill repute. Because of this, he is despised by his brothers and by the whole region. They hate him so much that they drive him away from his father’s house. So Jephthah goes to live farther away. But Jephthah is a fighter. He is a brave and valiant man.

Now, it comes to pass that the Ammonites, the nation that came from the children of Ammon, are encroaching upon Israel’s land and making claims on it. Israel does not have a leader at this time, so some men from Gilead call on Jephthah to come and lead their army.

Jephthah says, “I thought you hated me?” And they say, “We did, but now we are in need of you. Come and lead us to victory.”

So Jephthah makes a deal with Israel. “If I come to lead you to victory against the Ammonites, and we win, then I get to be your leader.” The nation agrees, and out comes Jephthah. He starts with negotiations, but that doesn’t work, so empowered by the Spirit of God, he starts to fight them.

Judges 11:29–33 KJV 1900

29 Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah, and he passed over Gilead, and Manasseh, and passed over Mizpeh of Gilead, and from Mizpeh of Gilead he passed over unto the children of Ammon. 30 And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the Lord, and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands, 31 Then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, shall surely be the Lord’s, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering. 32 So Jephthah passed over unto the children of Ammon to fight against them; and the Lord delivered them into his hands. 33 And he smote them from Aroer, even till thou come to Minnith, even twenty cities, and unto the plain of the vineyards, with a very great slaughter. Thus the children of Ammon were subdued before the children of Israel.

That is how Jephthah got rid of the Ammonite threat. But did you catch the vow he made to the Lord?

Judges 11:30–31 KJV 1900

30 And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the Lord, and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands, 31 Then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, shall surely be the Lord’s, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering.

What a nice gesture from Jephthah to God. “God, if you give me the victory, whatever comes out of my house as I return, I will offer it as a burnt sacrifice to you.”

But look what happens.

Judges 11:34 KJV 1900

34 And Jephthah came to Mizpeh unto his house, and, behold, his daughter came out to meet him with timbrels and with dances: and she was his only child; beside her he had neither son nor daughter.

I wish I could tell you that the end of this story is that Jephthah realizes that he has foolishly made a hasty vow, a quick commitment to God. I wish I could tell you that Jephthah repented from not seeking God in his commitment to Him. I wish I could tell you that he made sacrifices to God for making a vow that would have been ungodly and sinful to fulfill, but that is not what happened.

In fact, when Jephthah sees that his daughter comes out of the house to greet him, he tears his clothing in a sign of mourning, and then blames the fact that he will have to sacrifice his daughter on his daughter!

Judges 11:35 KJV 1900

35 And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he rent his clothes, and said, Alas, my daughter! thou hast brought me very low, and thou art one of them that trouble me: for I have opened my mouth unto the Lord, and I cannot go back.

“You have brought me very low! You are the source of my trouble,” he says to her.

When Jephthah’s daughter finds out what he has promised, she asks for a two month reprieve to bemoan the fact that she is unmarried and will never have a family. Her father grants it, and then this happens.

Judges 11:39 KJV 1900

39 And it came to pass at the end of two months, that she returned unto her father, who did with her according to his vow which he had vowed...

So what lessons do we learn from this judge?

Don’t Promise on a Whim

Be careful that you commit to the Lord what He wants you to commit. Jephthah could have saved himself a lot of trouble had prayed and asked God, “God, I want to honor you when you give me the victory. I want to make a sacrifice to you when I get back home. God, what would you want me to offer you?”

Listen, it is the teaching of the Bible that we are to give to the work of the Lord at the church we attend for many reasons which we will not cover again right now. But this church and this pastor are not going to tell you what to give. More importantly, you need to not rely on your own self to determine what to give.

Ask God.

Confess and Repent of Careless Promises

If you make a commitment on November 2nd to give a certain amount, and it was done carelessly and without considering God, you need to take that to God and confess it.

If that commitment causes you to have to sin, then you need to repent of it. Jephthah should have never sacrificed his daughter. He should have repented of his foolish and hasty vow, he should have made sacrifice for that sin, and he should have sought what God would want him to do. But Jephthah did not. He followed through with an absolutely abominable act and sacrificed his daughter, burning her upon an altar.

If you ever make a commitment to the Lord, know that God will hold us to those commitments, but if your commitment to God leads you to sin, then you need to confess it and repent of it.

If you, not seeking God’s guidance, committed to giving 50% of all your income to the church, and now your realize that maybe that was a hasty commitment and you realize that it was done emotionally or because you wanted to give more than the other guy, you need to confess that for what it is - the sin of acting without seeking God first.

Then you need repent, turn around and don’t do that.

And then you need to seek God and ask Him what he wants you to give.

How Much Should I Give?

God desires for us to give. The Bible commands Christians to give to the church for the mission of the church, for the support of the pastors, and for the support of the poor within the church. (Proverbs 28:27, 1 Corinthians 9:9, Galatians 6:6, 1 Timothy 5:17-18, 1 Timothy 6:18, and James 1:27). There is the command, so the question is, “How much?”

And this question is not answered by a simple percentage. I would suggest that if you pray and pray and pray and honestly do not know how much to give, 10% would be a good starting point. But I do not believe that if you are earnestly praying and seeking God, that He will not lay on your heart and mind an amount or a percentage of what to give.

But this question is one that you must ask God yourself. If you are married, you need to ask this question with your spouse to the Lord.

To sacrifice a large sum of money without consulting God is as grave a sin as to not give at all. The whole point that we have been trying to understand over the last two years in studying the life of Christ on Sundays, the Spiritual Gifts, the study of Experiencing God, the study through the book I Will, the study of being salt and light and having a Biblical worldview in every area of our lives, the study of Habakkuk, and now the study through the Disciples Path books, the whole goal of all of that has been and remains for us to understand that we do not live our own lives.

We are dead. We do not belong to ourselves. We ought to live only through the power and direction of the Holy Spirit. That means every decision gets run by Him. Every situation gets His guidance. And when he tells us, we obey. No matter what, including financial decisions such as giving to the church.

If He says, “Give 10%,” give it. If he says 11, do 11. If He gives an amount that seems sacrificial, sacrifice.

And I hope that we remember this: No amount of giving makes God love me more. I cannot buy blessing with tithes or offerings. I cannot buy safety or health with money. The grandest thing about obedience is that it brings me closer to God, it deepens my relationship with Him, and it strengthens me to obey on deeper levels.

That is blessing enough.

Invitation

I’ll ask you to bow your heads and close your eyes. How many would say, “Mike, I have not asked God the question of what to give. I have not sought Him diligently.” Maybe you have just been playing it safe and decided on an amount or a percentage that felt comfortable. maybe you have decided on an amount that makes you feel good because you are giving more than someone else, or you think you are. Maybe you just aren’t giving at all. I don’t know.

But is there anyone that would say, “Mike, pray for me, I am going to start praying today about what God would have me give.”

Life Groups

What stood out to you from this sermon? What things have you learned? What questions do you have?

Opening Questions

1. When you hear the words “sacrificial giving” what does it bring to mind? What kind of emotions does it evoke?

Scripture Focus

2. For those familiar with the passage of the widow’s mite, have you ever noticed that Jesus does not commend her to the disciples not does He ask that the disciples follow her example?

3. Does reading the passage in Mark and Luke about the widows mite change or deepen your understanding about what Jesus is pointing out?

4. What do you think that it practically means when God says that “to obey is better than sacrifice”?

Heart Focus

5. Why do you think that people often associate giving more money with being more spiritual or being more faithful?

6. Have you ever given out of pressures of guilt or prideful motivations?

7. In what ways does obedience to Christ (not just financially) sometimes require sacrifice? What can we do to prevent ungodly sacrifices?

Application

8. Have you ever made a well-intentioned promise to God and later realized that that was not what God wanted from you? (Like Jim Elliot’s vow of celibacy. He later married Elizabeth Elliot.)

9. In what areas of life do you typically make the most decisions without consulting God first?

10. What does it look like to truly “not belong to ourselves” in a culture that prizes independence and self-ownership?

11. What could you do this week to practice obedience in something small, as a step toward deeper trust in the Holy Spirit’s leading?