Word of Encouragement (11/28/2024)

“But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able thus to offer willingly? For all things come from you, and of your own have we given you. ¹⁵ For we are strangers before you and sojourners, as all our fathers were. Our days on the earth are like a shadow, and there is no abiding. ¹⁶ O Lord our God, all this abundance that we have provided for building you a house for your holy name comes from your hand and is all your own. (1 Chron. 29:14–16)

David continues to humble himself before God. He says, “For we are strangers before you and sojourners, as all our fathers were. Our days on the earth are like a shadow, and there is no abiding” (v. 15). In what sense were David and the Israelites “strangers” and “sojourners”? He did not mean that they were strangers to God, no more than just sojourners. He just spoke of God’s generous blessings to them. God did so because of His covenant relationship with them. David was speaking of the transience of their lives on earth. So, he said, “...there is no abiding.” He also said, “Our days on the earth are like a shadow....” Shadows appear during the day, but when the night comes, they are gone. The Psalmist said, “My days are like an evening shadow; I wither away like grass” (Ps. 102:11).

By “strangers and sojourners,” David also implied that this world was not their “abiding” home. Keep in mind that the Jews referred to the Gentiles among them as “strangers and sojourners.” Even though they lived in the land of Canaan, they did not belong there. Surprisingly, David referred to himself and the Israelites as strangers and sojourners, too. How could that be when they were living in the promised land, God’s inheritance to them? But David was simply repeating what God said about them: “The land shall not be sold in perpetuity, for the land is mine. For you are strangers and sojourners with me” (Lev. 25:23). The LORD said this before Israel entered the promised land. He was already hinting to them that the land of Canaan was not their ultimate inheritance. This was why the Levites were not given any portion in the land even though they were “closest” to God, serving God at the sanctuary. The land of Canaan was only a picture of heaven, the abiding and eternal home for God’s people.

If the Israelites could live in Canaan and enjoy the abundance of its produce, it was only because God graciously granted it to them. So, David acknowledged, “O Lord our God, all this abundance that we have provided for building you a house for your holy name comes from your hand and is all your own” (v. 16). It was not that they donated what was theirs to God; they gave out of what God had given them by His grace and, therefore, what they gave was God’s own.

But if David and the people of Israel were able to give generously and sacrificially, it was not simply due to the cold fact that God was the Owner of all things and they had received all they had from Him. Rather, it was a deep sense of trust in God for His gracious and generous dealings with them. To give generously and sacrificially to God was to have less for themselves. Yet, they could do it because they trusted in God to provide for them, not in their possessions. After all, it was He who gave them all they had in the first place.

May the spirit of gratitude and trust fill our hearts during this season of thanksgiving so we may be cheerful givers to our gracious God!