Numbers 19:2 “This is the ordinance of the law which the Lord has commanded, saying: ‘Speak to the children of Israel, that they bring you a red heifer without blemish, in which there is no defect and on which a yoke has never come.

I recently attended an event in Springfield that was hosted by a PBS station. While waiting for the program to begin I was looking at the brochures that were handed out and I noticed a giving ‘opportunity.’ You can donate old, unwanted cars to the PBS station. It’s a tax write-off for you and they then sell them and use the proceeds to fund their endeavors. It probably goes without saying that they generally receive cars that have seen their better days!

In today’s passage God has a different idea. It’s easy to get bogged down in the details, especially for someone like me that didn’t grow up on a farm! I’m not sure I could accurately identify a heifer, let alone the significance of a red one! But I do get that it has to be a good one - without blemish. It also has to be a ‘new’ one - it’s never been yoked. This is an animal that it is at the beginning of its usefulness. It is an animal of potential. But this is the kind of animal that God instructs the people to give.

We often think of offering to God as being monetary and that is certainly an element to consider. God instructs His people to tithe and it’s always seen as the first 10%, not the (hopefully) leftovers after all the ‘important’ bills are paid. This practice was established before the law was given and was reinforced by Jesus.

But we should also consider our offering to God each week. Do we give to God the beginning of each week? Do we go to church? Sunday is seen by many as a special day that they can do all the things they’ve been looking forward to all week. A leisurely morning with newspaper and coffee. Like, the best part of the week! Am I willing to give to God the best?

What about each day? Do I set aside the first part of the day as an offering to God? A way of devoting each day to Him by reading the Bible and praying?

If the beat-up old car that’s been in your driveway for months suddenly is gone and your neighbor finds out you donated it to PBS, they might be impressed with your generosity I guess. But what if you gave your best car? Wow! They would really think you were committed to PBS!

What do my offerings to God say about my commitment to Him?

Blessings,

Pastor Russ