Ezekiel 46

 Ezekiel 46 continues the vision of the Temple and worship – particularly around offerings.  There are a number of offerings that scripture lists – but the sacrifice required for each was to be something “without blemish”.  Do you give God things without blemish, or does He get the leftovers or that which is past what you want for yourself?  Sometimes I am afraid God gets the scraps from me.  Scripture tells us the God should have our “first fruits” – we need to give to God first and not just what is left after we have used what we want.  An offering to God needs to be just that – something set aside from the first of what He has given us so we can return that to Him.  I also was struck by the description of “the prince brings a freewill offering” to God.  I believe there is a difference between a tithe and an offering.  We owe God 10% as a tithe.  It is not optional and really doesn’t require any more thought than the obedience required to bring it to the storehouse.  But an offering is what we give beyond the 10% tithe.  It is what we give from our excess….do you have excess after your tithe….there should be if we are living the way God desires.  Life is not about spending and using every dollar and every minute on ourselves.  We need to have margin…excess…that we can use to minister as He leads.  Do you?