At the beginning of Chapter 31 we see revival break out as the Israelites smashed and destroyed foreign idols in Judah. King Hezekiah then called for contributions to be brought in as written in the Law. It tells us in verse 5 that as soon as the order went out, the Israelites gave generously…so much that soon there were mounds of grain, vats of new wine, and buckets of honey in every nook and cranny of the Temple area…not to mention the multitude of herds and flocks. The people were giving out of grateful hearts, and God was blessing them more than they could manage. Malachi 3:10-12 illustrates this well, “Bring the whole tithe – Test Me in this says the Lord Almighty, and see if I won’t throw open the flood gates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you won’t have room enough for it.” Now typically, God tests man,,, but only in a few instances are we invited to test Him, and this is one of them. God was saying, “Test Me, and see if you can out give Me.” We shouldn’t need prompting or perks to give generously. Paul encouraged the Church in Corinth to “See that you excel in the grace of giving.”…that love should move us to great generosity rather than obligation or the Law…and that the Old Covenant requirement of tithing is the minimum we should be giving.
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