“For our Learning.” Rom. 15:4 by Joseph Harvey Waggoner

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Dec 20, 1870

“For our Learning.” Rom. 15:4

By Joseph Harvey Waggoner

OFFERINGS TO THE LORD.

“And they spake unto Moses, saying, The people bring much more than enough for the service of the work which the Lord commanded to make.” Ex. 36:5.

To appreciate this example of cheerfulness in giving, several points must be noticed:

1. The gold, silver, and other precious articles they were required to bring, must have been that which they received of the Egyptians when they left Egypt. Ex. 12:35, 36. It was all they received for their life-long, cruel bondage.

2. They were as yet homeless—journeying to a land of which they knew nothing, and of which they had little or no idea, except that derived from the promise of God.

3. And of course they had then no means of gain—no income upon which they could depend for the future.

4. Reasoning from probabilities, they would greatly need many of the articles they were required to offer, when they took possession of their new homes in Canaan.

5. An entire uncertainty hung over them in regard to the length and vicissitudes of the journey upon which they had entered.

And the order given to Moses was, to take only of such as offered willingly with his heart. Ex. 25:2.

We often read, with great surprise, of the many instances of their distrust of God, and their murmuring against his providence. Yet, according to their circumstances, their trust and consecration will compare very favorably with ours.

1. We have had evidence constantly accumulating, of the faithfulness of God’s promises concerning our future inheritance.

2. The things which we are required to offer here, will be of no use whatever to us when we enter the promised land.

3. On the contrary, all the benefit we can derive from our worldly substance there, is secured only by our consecrating and devoting it to the cause of God here. Luke 12:33, &c.

4. If we are correct in our expositions of prophecy, (and who can doubt it?) much of that which is counted of most value now, will cease to be of any value to us before the time of deliverance comes; that is, before our future inheritance is given to us. Rev. 13:17.

5. And much of the substance now in the hands of the church of God, has come into their possession with comparatively little effort on their part; some, by inheritance or other providences over which they had no control, or in which they had no direct agency.

Had the children of Israel been situated as we are, in these respects, we should doubtless be quick to detect a wonderful lack of “the spirit of sacrifice” in their offerings. And yet, when we consider all their “tithes and offerings,” under all their varied circumstances, we must admit that if our recognition of divine authority, and of divine blessings, is to be measured by our obedience and consecration, we fall far behind the Israelites, whether we view them as wanderers in the desert, or as dwellers in the land of Palestine. Many who think the Bible system of tithing is oppressive, and regard it with as much distrust as if it were a compulsory tax, seem to forget the many offerings in addition to their tithes.

Reading the Bible, and looking at the past and present, we must confess to a great change somewhere, on these subjects; if it is not in God, (see James 1:17,) then it must be in man. Will the teachings of the Bible sustain the change?

J. H. Waggoner.