A Reciprocity of Giving – Abiding Principles from the Ceremonial Law: Giving (1)

A Reciprocity of Giving

Abiding Principles from the Ceremonial Law: Giving (1)

The ceremonial laws remind us of the constant grace of God.

“And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments and statutes of the LORD, which I am commanding you for your good?” Deuteronomy 10:12, 13

God’s Covenant with His people is all of grace. The purpose of the Law of God is to administer the grace of God in and among His people in such a way that love for God and love for neighbor are practiced consistently and sincerely. The ceremonial laws of Israel, being part of this larger legal framework, were also designed to keep grace flowing to and within the people of God. Fundamental to the ceremonial laws are various statutes and precepts designed to promote selflessness and giving on the part of God’s people. In practicing a life of giving—to God and to their neighbors—the people of Israel would thus reflect the character of God and maintain their privileged status within His Covenant.

God had reached out to Israel in grace. Nothing in the people of Israel commended itself to God, as if it were somehow to His advantage to associate with them (Deut. 7:6-8). Ultimately, binding His people to Himself would mean sending His only-begotten Son to die for their redemption, and the ceremonial laws point to and foreshadow this great sacrifice, as the writer of Hebrews observed (Heb. 7-9).

Having given freely of Himself and His promises to Israel, God determined to enrich their lives even by establishing them in a land of abundance and safety. But His blessing would only flow to them to the extent they were obedient to His Law, which mapped out the landscape of justice and love God requires within His Covenant people. The ceremonial laws—with their sacrifices, offerings, and tithes—encoded the principle of giving which is fundamental to the grace of God and the acknowledgment and expression of that grace among His people and before the nations of the world. These practices, faithfully obeyed, would have helped to keep the gracious nature of God’s relationship with His people continuously in view, thus encouraging and enabling them to embody that grace in gratitude to God and love for their neighbors.

We can see the principle of giving at work in the various sacrifices, offerings, and contributions required as part of the ceremonial laws of ancient Israel. And while we do not continue to practice all these statutes, still, the principle they encode is instructive to us today for guidance in how we must live within the framework of God’s gracious and eternal Covenant.

For a fuller study of the pattern of worship revealed in Scripture, order the book, The Highest Thing, by T. M. Moore, from our online store. These studies and brief essays will help you to see how the pattern of sound worship, which began in the Law of God, comes to complete expression in the rest of Scripture. Pastors, we’re getting ready to start the next season of The Pastors’ Fellowship. Write to me today at tmmoore@ailbe.org for information about how you join in these online discussions. Our theme for the coming series is “The Worldview of God’s Law.” There is no charge for participation, but you must reserve a place for these monthly gatherings. Subscribe to Crosfigell, the devotional newsletter of The Fellowship of Ailbe.

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In the Gates is a devotional series on the Law of God by Rev. T.M. Moore, editor of the Worldview Church. He serves as dean of the Centurions Program of the Wilberforce Forum and principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He is the author or editor of twenty books, and has contributed chapters to four others. His essays, reviews, articles, papers, and poetry have appeared in dozens of national and international journals, and on a wide range of websites. His most recent books are The Ailbe Psalter and The Ground for Christian Ethics (Waxed Tablet).

Scripture quotations in this article are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, (c) copyright 2001, 2007 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.