# 205 Sacrificial Giving

The Book of Genesis

Day 205

Ge 22:13 Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son.  14 And Abraham called the name of the place, The-LORD-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, "In the Mount of The LORD it shall be provided."

“The Lord will provide.” How often have we heard that phrase repeated, especially when someone is going through hard financial times!  

Of course the Lord’s number one provision for us is the sacrifice of His only Son for our sins,  but as our loving Father, He also provides for our material needs. Jesus said in Mt 6:33 "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

 Abraham was prepared to “give to God,” the most important thing in his life…..his only son, the long awaited  Isaac.  This willingness to sacrifice Isaac showed a heart that would not withhold anything from God.  A heart that realized all he had was God’s anyway. This is a place where we need to get to in the area of giving. We need to come to the realization that all we have (goods and kindred) belong to God!

Remember when Abraham was ready to go up the mountain and sacrifice (“give”) Isaac back to the Lord? He told the young men who stayed behind, “”The lad and I will go yonder and worship.” Abraham’s willingness to give his only son was an act of worship! Of course God is not asking anyone to sacrifice their children, but sacrificial giving to the Lord is an act of worship!

There are other examples of this type of sacrificial giving in Scripture In 1 Kings 17 we read of the account of the widow and Elijah. She was down to her last bit of flour, yet shared it with Elijah because she believed the word from the Lord. She believed He would not let her oil or flour run out. She believed God would provide.

Then there’s the widow dropping her two mites into the offering and Jesus making special note of her, because she gave all she had. What do you think happened to that widow?  We aren’t told, but she caught the eye of the Lord with this act and  2Ch 16:9 says,  "For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.”

Are you struggling with faith in the provision of God? Do you hold back in your giving out of fear? I know I have in the past, but listen to the words of Jesus. He said, Do not worry saying, what shall we eat? Or what shall we drink? Or what shall we wear? Your heavenly Father knows you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”

God will provide! Our responsibility is to simply seek His kingdom and His righteousness, and His kingdom and righteousness are sought as we obediently yield all that we are and have to Him.