The 89 verses of Numbers chapter 7 are, to the Western reader, tedious and repetitive. Each of the twelve leaders brought the same hardware, livestock and miscellany. Yet each is mentioned by name together with a list of everything he brought. The same list of offerings is repeated twelve times. I find myself thinking—this should be a chart, a table or a spreadsheet. Throw in some photos and a Westerner could grab the essential meaning in about three seconds.
But it’s preserved like this instead—89 verses.
Perhaps God is making a point. Maybe He’s saying that everybody’s contribution is recorded even yours and even mine. What we have to offer God may seem mundane and it may seem common, but not to God. He pauses, He ponders, He lingers over your offering and mine.
A few years ago, to help make ends meet, every morning I got up at 4:30 to clean a bowling alley. Not what I envisioned when I graduated from college. This was troubling me, so I talked with the Lord about it. His response deeply touched me: “What you do might not be valued highly in man’s sight, but I see everything you do, and I receive it as an offering of love to me. I value it, and that’s what matters.”
That’s what matters.
Remember, you are designed to make a difference!
Dwight
Photo credits: Work meme adapted from photo by K?rlis Dambr?ns, Flickr, Creative Commons License, girl photo meme adapted from a photo by Hans Clough
