Opening greeting: Grace to you and peace from God our Father. Colossians 1:2
Opening verse: 20 First of all, understand this: no prophecy of Scripture is to be interpreted by an individual on his own; 21 for never has a prophecy come as a result of human willing — on the contrary, people moved by the Holy Ghost spoke a message from God. 2 Peter 1.20-21
Introduction: It is my desire to attempt to shed some light on two different Bible passages here, take you on that journey as we look at them together and, hopefully, help you see scriptures as the Holy Ghost intends. These are passages that have often been misinterpreted, misused and misapplied by some. It has been hurtful to the faith of many.
Principles for reading and understanding Scriptures: 1. We need God's (Holy Ghost's) help to interpret it. Ask in prayer and you will get help; 2. Always remember, Scripture has context. It was spoken or written or delivered by a divinely appointed messenger for a specific reason, at a specific time, to a specific individual or group; 3. A Scripture not spoken to you directly- many of them aren't- could only serve as an example or model. Only the principles inherent in it can apply to you. According to apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 10:11, "These things happened to them as prefigurative historical events, and they were written down as a warning to us who are living in the last days."
Two often misinterpreted, misused, and misapplied scriptures:
A. 18 Gad (The Prophet) came to David that day and said to him, “Go, set up an altar to The LORD on the threshing-floor of Araunah the Jebusite.” 19 David went up and did what Gad had said, as The LORD had ordered. 20 Ara-unah looked out and saw the king and his servants coming toward him. Ara-unah went out and prostrated himself before the king with his face to the ground. 21 Then Ara-unah said, “Why has my lord the king come to his servant?” David said, “To buy your threshing-floor, in order to build an altar to The LORD, so that the plague will be lifted from the people.” 22 Ara-unah said to David, “Let my lord the king take and offer up anything that seems good to him. Here are the oxen for the burnt offering; you can use the threshing-sledges and the yokes for the oxen as firewood. 23 All this, O king, Ara-unah gives to the king.” Then Ara-unah said to the king, “May God your God accept you.”
24 But the king said to Araunah, “No; I insist on buying it from you at a price. I refuse to offer to The LORD my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.” So David bought the threshing-floor and the oxen for one-and-a-quarter pounds of silver shekels. 2 Samuel 24:18-24
False Teaching: I have heard verse above interpreted to mean what you give in the offering plate has to be such that it "hurts" you; it must not be convenient.
Rebuttal: That is not what the above scripture says. It is evident from the verse, King David's insistence was on purchasing with his own money his gifts (offering, sacrifice) for God. He was not going to merely "re-gift" God what he himself had received as a gift. If you look at what was offered again, they were things the king could conveniently afford. This suggests that the act of giving to God is not really about quantity or price but about the fact of honoring and respecting God for who he is.
B. 8 Then this word of Adonai came to him (Elijah): 9 “Get up; go to Zare-phath, a village in Sidon; and live there. I have ordered a widow there to provide for you.” 10 So he set out and went to Zare-phath. On reaching the gate of the city, he saw a widow there gathering sticks. He called out to her, “Please bring a little water in a container for me to drink.” 11 As she was going to get it, he called after her, “Please bring me a piece of bread in your hand.” 12 She answered, “As The LORD your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of meal in a pot and a little oil in the jug. Here I am, gathering a couple sticks of wood, so that I can go and cook it for myself and my son. After we have eaten that, we will die.” 13 Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go; and do what you said; but first, use a little of it to make me a small loaf of bread; and bring it out to me. After that, make food for yourself and your son. 14 For this is what The LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘The pot of meal will not get used up, nor will there fail to be oil in the jug, until the day The LORD sends rain down on the land.’” 15 She went and acted according to what Elijah had said; and she, he and her household had food to eat for a long time. 16 The pot of meal did not get used up, nor did there fail to be oil in the jug, in fulfillment of the word of The LORD spoken through Elijah (1 Kings 17:7-16).
False teachings: I have heard verse above explained to mean you must give from your penury or poverty or lack. It is said further, if you have to choose between yourself- for example, food, clothes, bills- on the one hand, and giving in the offering plate on the other hand, you should choose giving in the offering plate and trust God for your needs.
Rebuttal: An examination of the above scripture reveals, before Elijah the prophet (blessed be his name) went up to the widow woman (she is blessed), God already spoke to bless her (see verse 9). It was on the strength of that revelation he asked the woman to provide him food from the little she had. Elijah did know of other widows and poor people but he did not make the same request from them. Jesus confirms this: 25 It’s true, I’m telling you — when Elijah was in Israel, and the sky was sealed off for three-and-a-half years, so that all the Land suffered a severe famine, there were many widows; 26 but Elijah was sent to none of them, only to a widow in Zare-phath in the land of Sidon. Luke 4:25-26
Some counsel: In all matters, you come first with God. He wants you to have before you start thinking of giving to others. If you have to choose between taking care of yourself or taking care of others, it is okay to first take care of yourself. You could make sacrifices, no doubt, but the decision has to be yours.
This may sound controversial but let us go to Jesus in Mathew 25 for more guidance: 1 “The Kingdom of Heaven at that time will be like ten bridesmaids who took their lamps and went out to meet the groom. 2 Five of them were foolish and five were sensible. 3 The foolish ones took lamps with them but no oil, 4 whereas the others took flasks of oil with their lamps. 5 Now the bridegroom was late, so they all went to sleep. 6 It was the middle of the night when the cry rang out, ‘The bridegroom is here! Go out to meet him!’ 7 The girls all woke up and prepared their lamps for lighting. 8 The foolish ones said to the sensible ones, ‘Give us some of your oil, because our lamps are going out.’ 9 ‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both you and us. Go to the oil dealers and buy some for yourselves.’ 10 But as they were going off to buy, the bridegroom came. Those who were ready went with him to the wedding feast, and the door was shut. 11 Later, the other bridesmaids came. ‘Sir! Sir!’ they cried, ‘Let us in!’ 12 But he answered, ‘Indeed! I tell you, I don’t know you!’ 13 So stay alert, because you know neither the day nor the hour.
Invitation: 36 Therefore, let the whole house of Israel know beyond doubt that God has made him both Lord and Messiah — this Jesus, whom you executed on a stake (cross)!
37 On hearing this, they were stung in their hearts; and they said to Peter and the other emissaries (apostles), “Brothers, what should we do?” 38 Peter answered them, “Turn from sin, return to God, and each of you be immersed (baptized) on the authority of Jesus the Messiah into forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Ghost! 39 For the promise is for you, for your children, and for those far away — as many as The LORD our God may call!" Acts 2:36-39
Closing blessing: Peace to you. 1 John 1:13
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