LESSON: YAHWEH AS OUR EXAMPLE IN GIVING
Introduction: Yahweh is the perfect example in giving, His giving is driven by His love for us and He gives without expecting anything in return. We too are called to give following His example.
In this lesson I intend to cover topics like: What Yahweh gave man at creation, His spiritual provisions, things only Yahweh gives and how Yahweh would want us to imitate him in giving.
- What did Yahweh give at the Creation?
Genesis 1 is a whole narrative of how Yahweh created all things. This chapter tells us that He created man (male and female) and gave them breath of life, His own image, rulership of all the creation, blessing of multiplication and food supply.
- Yahweh Gave Spiritual Provisions to Man:
John 3:16 – For Yahweh so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
Yahweh expressed his love to us by giving his only son for us as a sacrifice for our sins.
Romans 5:8 – But Yahweh demonstrates his own love for us in this; while we were still sinners, Messiah died for us.
Yahweh loved us even when we were in sin. He did not wait for us to be good enough but instead He extended his loving arms towards us to draw us to Himself.
1 John 5:11 – And this is the testimony; Yahweh has given us eternal life, and this life is in his son. He who has the son has life; he who does not have the Son of Yahweh does not have life.
According to this scripture here is the dividing line between those who have eternal life and those who do not have it. Yahweh has already given His Son, it is a completed work. We have to decide whether to receive this gift from Yahweh or not.
John 14:16 – And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counsellor to be with you forever.
For believers to have abundant life, Yahweh has given them not only His Son but the Holy Spirit to be a counsellor after Yahshua went back to His Father.
James 1:16-18 – Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.
Every good and perfect gift is from Yahweh. He gives us both spiritual and material gifts. He gave us birth through the word of truth to become the firstfruits of all He created. This is a very honourable position to us believers. In our giving we should set our focus on Yahweh, the Father and His example of generosity. He gave us His son to redeem us from our miserable condition. We too should be willing to follow His example by giving everything we have been given. This includes taking time to share with others our faith.
- Scriptures that Show Yahweh as the only giver:
- i) Giver of Life:
Deuteronomy 32:39 –See now that I myself am He! There is no god besides me. I put to death and I bring to life, I have wounded and I will heal, and no one can deliver out of my hand.
Job 33:4 – The Spirit of Yahweh has made me; the breath of the Almighty gives me life.
Acts 17:24-25 –The Elohim who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and the earth and does not live in temples built by hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else.
The above Scriptures show clearly that Yahweh is the sole giver of breath and life. No one created anything before or after Yahweh created all that is on this earth.
- ii) Giver of Wisdom:
Eccl.2:26 – To the man who pleases him Yahweh gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases Yahweh. This too is meaningless a chasing after the wind.
Proverbs 2::6 – For Yahweh gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.
James 1:5 – If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask Yahweh, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.
Eph.1:17 – I keep asking that the Elohim of our Lord Yahshua Messiah, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.
Yahweh alone is the sole source of wisdom.
iii) Giver of rain:
Deut.28:12 – Yahweh will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season and bless all the work of your hands.
Zech.10:1– Ask Yahweh for rain in the springtime; it is Yahweh who makes the storm clouds. He gives showers of rain to men, and plants of the field to everyone.
Yahweh pours rain out of heaven. When He shuts the heavens, drought that kills men and animals befalls the earth.
- iv) Giver of victory from our enemies:
Deut.23:14 – For Yahweh your Elohim moves about in your camp to protect you and to deliver your enemies to you. Your camp must be holy so that he will not see among you anything indecent and turn away from you.
I Samuel 17:47 –All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that Yahweh saves; for the battle is Yahweh’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.
Yahweh fights our battles. He never leaves us even during times of battle. We can enjoy peace at such times because we know Yahweh is in charge and will fight for us.
- v) Giver of Strength:
Psalm 68:35 -You are awesome, O Yahweh, in your sanctuary; the Elohim of Israel gives power and strength to his people.
Isaiah 40:29 –He gives strength to the weary, and increases the power of the weak.
Yahweh is the only provider of strength in all areas of life.
- vi) Giver of a heart to know Him:
Jeremiah 24:7 – I will give them a heart to know me that I am Yahweh. They will be my people and I will be their Elohim, for they will return to me with all their heart.
We can only know Yahweh according to how much he reveals Himself to us. This gift is for us when we return to Him with all our hearts.
(vii) Giver of Riches/wealth:
Deuteronomy 8:17-18 – You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.” But remember Yahweh your Elohim for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your forefathers, as it is today.
The ideas to get wealth come from Yahweh and that is why different people have much income while others have very little. Without Yahweh we would run out of ideas to create wealth. Without his blessings all our endeavours would be unfruitful. This teaches us to involve Yahweh in all our efforts to acquire riches. It also warns us not to get involved in crooked businesses because Yahweh will not be involved where sin thrives.
Note that Yahweh is the only giver of the above provisions and we are not able to imitate Him in giving them.
- How to imitate or copy Yahweh in our Giving:
Matthew 6:1-4 – “Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honoured by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”
Do not give as a show off. Yahweh’s blessing will not result from such giving. We should never try to impress other people with our giving. If we do so we already have our reward. Giving to those in need is supposed to be a private affair. We should not seek recognition for the things we give. We should only seek the approval of Yahweh and not receive the glory of men.
Luke 21:1-4 – As he looked up, Yahshua saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury, He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. I tell you the truth, he said this poor widow has put in more than all the others. All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”
It is not the amount that makes a gift acceptable. It is the condition of the heart of the person giving that matters; the wholehearted devotion of the giver.
II Cor.9:6-7 – Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for Yahweh loves a cheerful giver.
Do not give if you are not willing or when you feel like you are being pushed to do it. Give passionately and cheerfully from your heart. Yahweh looks at the condition of the heart of the giver. Since we cannot out-give Yahweh, we should be generous in our giving. We should be glad that we can give to Yahweh and others. This means we should always be looking for opportunities to give.
1 Chronicles 29:14-16 –But whom am I, and who are my people that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand. We are aliens and strangers in your sight, as were all our forefathers. Our days on earth are like a shadow without hope. O Yahweh our Elohim, as for all this abundance that we have provided for building you a temple for your Holy name, it comes from your hand all of it belongs to you.
The attitude of David deserves praise and we should all learn from him. All that we give comes from Yahweh and belongs to Him. If we have this attitude we would never want to hold on to what we have or feel like we are getting poorer when we give. When we have this attitude in giving, the heart rejoices and feels fulfilled.
Matthew 5:44-45 – But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven, He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.
Yahweh gives to all without showing favouritism. We too are called to give to all in need without showing partiality to one over the other.
Prov.25:21-22 – If your enemy is hungry; give him food to eat; if he is thirsty, give him water to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head, and Yahweh will reward you.
One of the rewards that come by giving to an enemy is that of gaining a greater love for him. This kind of love investment can win the heart of an enemy. Yahweh has also promised to reward us for doing this to our enemy.
Conclusion:
From this lesson we have learned that from creation, Yahweh gives spiritual and material things to us and He does it being driven by love. To imitate Yahweh in our ‘Giving’ we too are called to give with an attitude that Yahweh wants us to act like a water pipe. It receives water and gives it out to those who need it. The pipe never stores the water. The pipe is only for transmitting the water to those who need it. In this way we will be suppliers of all that Yahweh gives us. He wills that we copy Him in the area of ‘Giving’.
How ought we to give? Matthew 10:8 – “….Freely you have received, freely give.
