Fear No Fear

(All scripture from the World English Bible, ebible.org, all rights reserved)

“For their duty was to wait on the sons of Aaron for the service of Yahweh’s house—in the courts, in the rooms, and in the purifying of all holy things, even the work of the service of God’s house; for the show bread also, and for the fine flour for a meal offering, whether of unleavened wafers, or of that which is baked in the pan, or of that which is soaked, and for all measurements of quantity and size; and to stand every morning to thank and praise Yahweh, and likewise in the evening; and to offer all burnt offerings to Yahweh on the Sabbaths, on the new moons, and on the set feasts, in number according to the ordinance concerning them, continually before Yahweh; and that they should keep the duty of the Tent of Meeting, the duty of the holy place, and the duty of the sons of Aaron their brothers for the service of Yahweh’s house.”
(1 Chronicles 23:28-32)

“He looked up and saw the rich people who were putting their gifts into the treasury. He saw a certain poor widow casting in two small brass coins. He said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow put in more than all of them, for all these put in gifts for God from their abundance, but she, out of her poverty, put in all that she had to live on.” As some were talking about the temple and how it was decorated with beautiful stones and gifts, he said, “As for these things which you see, the days will come in which there will not be left here one stone on another that will not be thrown down.””
(Luke 21:1-6)

The Temple was more than a building. It was a cooperative worship of Almighty God. It wasn’t about the stuff and things inside it. It was about the hearts of the people and their duty to ensure that everyone could follow God and worship God. This was the place where humanity could put aside our limited, burdensome thinking and embrace what God had for us. To get right with Him and to glory in His presence. To be blessed by Him and to bless those around us. The people serving in the Temple were dedicated to that service. Not just to God, but to their fellow human beings. Making sure that things were functioning so that the people could make things right with God through their worship and acceptance of His mercy.

Widows were supposed to be cared for (Exodus 22:22; Deuteronomy 10:18), yet here a widow was in such a bad place that this offering was the last bit of money she had to her name. What a failure of the system God set up to take care of those who had no way to care properly for themselves. People had lost the heart of the Law and the heart of the Temple system. They were all about the trappings of the Temple. They put their trust in its beauty and majesty. They had lost God’s heart for the poor and disenfranchised. They had lost God’s heart for the people. They had lost the heart of worship. It was about form and function, not love and humble submission. What they put so much importance on would be completely swept away because they were letting be in the way.

Summary

Prosperity isn’t about money any more than tithes and offerings are about a precise percentage. We are to worship in SPIRIT and in TRUTH. We are to trust in Jesus and put Him first. We are to keep our eyes on Him and not get distracted by life or the things of life. Money is a tool, not a goal. When we put the effort in to keep God first and foremost in our lives, we are in a place where we will be able to live life without life overwhelming us. Without life becoming more important. Without life taking over and putting its cares and worries ahead of what we know is important and right. We need to keep our eyes on God so that we remember what it is we’re really supposed to be about.