Psalm 54:6

Psalm 54:6

Freewill offerings

The big question this verse poses is; - “What is a freewill offering?” The freewill  offering was a sacrifice made to the Lord but it was completely voluntary. In the Law, it was an offering of a male bull, sheep, or goat with no physical deformities or blemishes, and it was not to have been purchased from a foreigner. The offering was to include flour mixed with oil and wine; the amounts varied on whether the sacrifice was a lamb, bull, or ram. It had to be made before the Lord and it could be given at any time. Families often bred, what they called the fatted calf, for this very purpose because part of it could be taken home and eaten at a family gathering. Unlike other offerings governed by stricter rules, the priests could eat their share of the freewill offering on the day it was sacrificed or the day after. It was not always an animal or grain or a drink offering, when the people brought their possessions to Moses to allow him to build the Tabernacle, theirs was a freewill offering that included jewellery, fine yarn, tanned skins, silver, bronze, acacia wood, onyx stones, spices, and oil. 
Whether it was the sacrifice of an animal or donated supplies for a place of worship, the freewill offering was to be given generously and unreservedly, as the Lord moved the Israelites’ hearts.

Today, the freewill offering is the only offering we have. There is no tithe demanded from the church. We rely on the sacrifice of Jesus and not the sacrifice of animals for our atonement. All the money, time, and resources we give are to be freely given, as the Spirit leads. The trick for many is noticing and obeying “when the Spirit leads.” God has given us everything we have; if He moves our hearts, then we should cheerfully give back to Him. 2 Corinthians 9:7.

 

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