Giving Without Delay

I was struck by the first part of God's command to His people in Exodus 22:29 (LSB):  "You shall not delay the offering from the fullness of your harvest and the juice of your wine vat.  The firstborn of your sons you shall give to Me."  According to the blessing of the LORD upon His people, they were guided to give.  The command was for the Hebrews under the Law of Moses to bring tithes and offerings to God is well known, but this command not to delay bringing it may be less known.  To delay doing what is right can lead us to forget or put off doing it altogether.

Another reason God's people were not to delay in bringing the fulness of their harvest and juice of their vats was the priests and Levites were dependent on offerings to provide for the service of the house of God, for drink offerings that were required by Law.  A portion of what was brought to the temple was also provision of food and drink for those serving in the tabernacle or temple.  Serving in the LORD's house meant time away from their own properties and thus were unable to tend their own sheep or vineyards.

The teachings of Jesus provide additional guidance with a principle from God's Law in Matthew 7:11-12:  "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him! ¹² Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets."  Speaking for myself, I appreciate prompt service.  When money is owed me, I prefer to have it paid immediately and not need to wait months.  The command in Exodus 22:29 and the Golden Rule taught by Jesus harmonise beautifully, that when God leads us to give and do good we always ought to do so without delay.

In the second part of Exodus 22:29, God said His people were to give the firstborn of their sons to Him, a statue He mentioned previously in Exodus 13:1-16.  The cost to redeem the firstborn of man (and unclean beasts) was 5 shekels and the firstborn of clean beasts were to be sacrificed to the LORD and be food for the priests and Levites (Numbers 1:15-19), and a firstborn of a donkey was to be redeemed with a lamb or be killed (Exodus 13:13).  The keeping of the Passover and the redemption of the firstborn were tokens of God's miraculous deliverance from Egypt and how He slew the firstborn of man and beast so all generations would know God's strength to deliver His people and destroy His enemies.

God does not require of mankind what He did not do Himself.  Though God is under no obligation to anyone, God so loved the world He gave His only begotten Son Jesus Christ, that whosoever believes in Him will have everlasting life.  God's generosity in giving all we have is a facet of His divine character that inspires us to give like kings.  We do not need to have the wealth of kings to give, for Jesus commended a widow for throwing two smallest coins into the temple treasury.  In His estimation, that woman gave more than those who gave great sums, for she gave all she had.  In a sense, the way the woman offered all is how we as Christians ought to present ourselves as living sacrifices unto God.  God will see to it those who give according to His wise guidance without delay will no lack no good thing, for in Him all our needs are met.