In Exodus 35:5, 22 Moses spoke of having a “willing” heart which in 2 Chronicles 29:31 applies to presenting the burnt offering to the Lord. Offerings given in this way were considered given freely [no compensation required] and voluntarily [not under duress or external compulsion – not required by law – Galatians 5:23]. It has been described as a spontaneous offering, an heart-felt inclination, given by one’s own hand [Leviticus 7:30] and not sparingly, with reservation, or reluctantly. This term in Hebrew defined the “noble” heart of generosity [the wholehearted].
But Leviticus added another characteristic to this heart—another sound to the symphony of thought already given in Exodus. We begin reading in Leviticus 1:3 KJV that what is offered voluntarily or willingly according to the next verse [Leviticus 1:4 KJV] must also be satisfying or pleasurable. The word used means “to please” or what is pleasing. But what is not clear is “pleasing to the Lord {Romans 12:1] or to the offerer [Romans 12:2]. One might argue that a gift given with no compulsion to give is in itself pleasing to the offerer; so, we must be talking about the pleasure of the person the gift is meant for.
So …both!? The mutual satisfaction of both the offerer and the Lord is alluded to in Psalm 37:4, “Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.” Revelation 3:20 adds “I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.”
What all this might suggest is that the joy of giving is mutual and intrinsic; it is a joy in itself, a joy found in the giving and not the gift alone, and a joy that is by definition “shared.” This, then, is a noble act of giving from the abundance of our resources to the poor … to the sacrifice of our lives to the Lord. [Romans 12:1, 2].
How do we determine, then, if our “giving” is “noble” whether in an offering plate or on the altar of commitment? In Matthew 19:27 Peter asked the Lord, “Behold, we have left everything and followed You; what then will there be for us?” [What’s in it for us!]
What’s in it for us!??
Oh, Pete! You didn’t quite get it yet. There is no greater reward—and there is no greater joy—than becoming an instrument of God’s grace in a wilderness of need.
