The Willing Offering

"These are their numbers, according to their fathers' houses. Of Judah, the captains of thousands: Adnah the captain, and with him three hundred thousand mighty men of valor; ¹⁵ and next to him was Jehohanan the captain, and with him two hundred and eighty thousand; ¹⁶ and next to him was Amasiah the son of Zichri, who willingly offered himself to the LORD, and with him two hundred thousand mighty men of valor."

2 Chronicles 17:14-16

The Bible is filled with choice wisdom which can be discovered in listings of genealogies and notable people.  Our initial response when we see longs names and numbers might be to skip or skim, but there are insights for hungry seekers even there.  One such person is mentioned is Amasiah in verse 16, a man "who willingly offered himself to the LORD."

God loves a cheerful giver of themselves into His service, and Amasiah is one of many who offered themselves as a living sacrifice for His glory.  Hannah dedicated her son Samuel before his birth into the service of the tabernacle and later he said to God, "Speak LORD, for your servant hears."  Amasiah was no prophet but a faithful man of God nevertheless, a man God made captain in the army of Judah.  The Hebrew word translated "offered willingly" is defined in the Strong's Concordance as:  "to volunteer (as a soldier), to present spontaneously; offer freely, be (give, make, offer self) willing."  The people willingly gave of their goods to build the tabernacle, but greater still is a man who gives himself willingly unto the LORD.  God's eyes run to and fro throughout the whole earth seeking to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose hearts are loyal and committed to Him (2 Chron. 16:9).

Many people loyal to the God of Israel flocked to King Jehoshaphat who feared and honoured God from all the tribes.  Having willingly offered themselves to God like Amasiah such were pleased to serve the LORD's anointed in Jerusalem.  As a Christian, this made me think of the call for believers to present themselves as living sacrifices to Jesus Christ who died in the place of sinners.  Then it hit me:  if today Jesus literally was sitting on a throne in Jerusalem, would I make it my primary aim to present myself before Him, to willingly offer myself into His service and do whatever He said?  Of course, right?  We would be willing to leave a country, job or career, and all our possessions at great cost just to see in person the Messiah and our KING, to lay our eyes on the One who atoned for our sins on Calvary, to touch the risen and living Son of God.  Like Simeon who held Jesus as an infant we would say upon the conclusion of that meeting, "LORD, I am ready to depart in peace because my eyes have seen your salvation."

Where this illustration falls short is we do not need to wait until Jesus is physically seated on a throne in Jerusalem to willingly offer ourselves to Him, for even now He sits at the right hand of the Father in heaven.  He lives to make intercession on our behalf, ready to grant mercy and grace to help in time of need.  It is attractive for us to willingly offer ourselves in person because of what role He might appoint us to or what we stand to gain in the future, but our daily service unto Him should be based upon Who He is and all He has already done.  Willingly offering ourselves to Him as a living sacrifice is more than a pledge or a commitment but is actually doing the thing, freely giving ourselves into His service.  A son in a parable committed to work for his father but "I go sir!" proved to be empty words.  Christian, we must determine if we are all talk and bluster or are willingly offering ourselves to the LORD, not just bowing our knees or heads in prayer but taking up our cross daily to follow Jesus in joyful obedience.