(Week of March 12–18)
Why Give to the One Who Has Everything?
Theme Scripture
(1 Chronicles 29:13) And now, O our God, we thank you and praise your beautiful name.
Paragraph 1
(Psalm 104:13-15) He is watering the mountains from his upper rooms. With the fruitage of your works the earth is satisfied. 14He is making grass grow for the cattle And vegetation for mankind’s use, To grow food from the land 15And wine that makes man’s heart rejoice, Oil that makes the face shine, And bread that sustains the heart of mortal man.
(Haggai 2:8) “‘The silver is mine, and the gold is mine,’ declares Jehovah of armies.
Paragraph 2
(Exodus 16:35) The Israelites ate the manna for 40 years, until they came to a land that was inhabited. They ate the manna until they came to the frontier of the land of Caʹnaan.
(Nehemiah 9:20, 21) And you gave your good spirit to give them insight, and you did not hold back your manna from their mouth, and you gave them water when they were thirsty. 21For 40 years you provided them with food in the wilderness. They lacked nothing. Their garments did not wear out, and their feet did not become swollen.
(2 Kings 4:1-7) Now one of the wives of the sons of the prophets cried out to E·liʹsha, saying: “Your servant my husband is dead, and you well know that your servant had always feared Jehovah. Now a creditor has come to take both of my children as his slaves.” 2At this E·liʹsha said to her: “What can I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?” She replied: “Your servant has nothing at all in the house but a jar of oil.” 3Then he said: “Go outside, ask for containers from all your neighbors, empty containers. Do not limit yourself to a few. 4Then go in and close the door behind you and your sons. Fill all these containers, and set the full ones aside.” 5So she left him. When she closed the door behind her and her sons, they passed the containers to her, and she kept pouring. 6When the containers were full, she said to one of her sons: “Bring another container to me.” But he said to her: “There are no more containers.” At that the oil stopped. 7So she came in and told the man of the true God, and he said: “Go, sell the oil and pay off your debts, and you and your sons can live from what is left.”
(Matthew 15:35-38) So after instructing the crowd to recline on the ground, 36he took the seven loaves and the fish, and after offering thanks, he broke them and began giving them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. 37And all ate and were satisfied, and they took up seven large baskets full of leftover fragments. 38Now those eating were 4,000 men, as well as women and young children.
(Matthew 17:27) But that we do not cause them to stumble, go to the sea, cast a fishhook, and take the first fish that comes up, and when you open its mouth, you will find a silver coin. Take that and give it to them for me and you.”
Paragraph 3
(Exodus 36:3-7) Then they took from Moses all the contribution that the Israelites had brought for the work of the holy service. However, these continued to bring him voluntary offerings, morning after morning. 4Then after they started the holy work, all the skilled workers were coming, one after another, 5and they were telling Moses: “The people are bringing much more than what is required for the work that Jehovah has commanded to be done.” 6So Moses commanded that an announcement be made throughout the camp, saying: “Men and women, do not bring any more goods for the holy contribution.” With that the people were restrained from bringing in anything else. 7The goods were enough for all the work to be done, and more than enough.
READ (Proverbs 3:9) Honor Jehovah with your valuable things, With the firstfruits of all your produce;
Paragraph 4
READ (1 Chronicles 29:11-14) Yours, O Jehovah, are the greatness and the mightiness and the beauty and the splendor and the majesty, for everything in the heavens and on the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Jehovah. You are the One exalting yourself as head over all. 12The riches and the glory are from you, and you rule over everything, and in your hand there are power and mightiness, and your hand is able to make great and to give strength to all. 13And now, O our God, we thank you and praise your beautiful name. 14“And yet, who am I and who are my people that we should be in a position to make voluntary offerings like this? For everything is from you, and we have given to you what comes from your own hand.
Paragraph 5
(Revelation 4:11) “You are worthy, Jehovah our God, to receive the glory and the honor and the power, because you created all things, and because of your will they came into existence and were created.”
(Deuteronomy 16:16) “Three times a year, all your males should appear before Jehovah your God in the place that he chooses: at the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the Festival of Weeks, and the Festival of Booths, and none of them should appear before Jehovah empty-handed.
Paragraph 6
READ (Proverbs 29:21)If a servant is pampered from his youth, He will become thankless later on.
Paragraph 7
(Exodus 35:5) ‘Take up a contribution for Jehovah from among yourselves. Let everyone with a willing heart bring a contribution for Jehovah: gold, silver, copper,
(1 Chronicles 29:5-9) the gold for the goldwork and the silver for the silverwork, and for all the work to be done by the craftsmen. Now who volunteers to come forward today with a gift in hand for Jehovah?” 6So the princes of the paternal houses, the princes of the tribes of Israel, the chiefs of thousands and of hundreds, and the chiefs of the business of the king came forward voluntarily. 7And they gave to the service of the house of the true God: 5,000 talents of gold, 10,000 darics, 10,000 talents of silver, 18,000 talents of copper, and 100,000 talents of iron. 8Whoever had precious stones gave them to the treasury of the house of Jehovah, under the care of Je·hiʹel the Gerʹshon·ite. 9The people rejoiced over making these voluntary offerings, for they made the voluntary offerings to Jehovah with a complete heart, and David the king also rejoiced greatly.
(2 Kings 12:4, 5)Je·hoʹash said to the priests: “Take all the money that is brought to the house of Jehovah for the holy offerings, the money for which each one is assessed, the money given as an estimated value for a person, and all the money that each person’s heart is moved to bring to the house of Jehovah. 5The priests will personally take it from their donors and use it to repair the house, wherever any damage is found.”
(Acts 11:27-30) In those days prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28One of them named Agʹa·bus stood up and foretold through the spirit that a great famine was about to come on the entire inhabited earth, which, in fact, did take place in the time of Claudius. 29So the disciples determined, each according to what he could afford, to send relief to the brothers living in Ju·deʹa; 30and this they did, sending it to the elders by the hand of Barʹna·bas and Saul.
Paragraph 8
(Numbers 18:21) “Now see that I have given to the sons of Leʹvi every tenth part in Israel as an inheritance in return for the service they are carrying out, the service of the tent of meeting.
(Luke 8:1-3) Shortly afterward he traveled from city to city and from village to village, preaching and declaring the good news of the Kingdom of God. And the Twelve were with him, 2as were certain women who had been cured of wicked spirits and sicknesses: Mary who was called Magʹda·lene, from whom seven demons had come out; 3Jo·anʹna the wife of Chuʹza, Herod’s man in charge; Su·sanʹna; and many other women, who were ministering to them from their belongings.
Paragraph 9
(Exodus 3:21, 22) And I will give this people favor in the eyes of the Egyptians, and when you go, you will by no means go empty-handed. 22Each woman must ask her neighbor and the woman lodging in her house for articles of silver and of gold as well as clothing, and you will put them on your sons and your daughters; and you will plunder the Egyptians.”
(Exodus 35:22-24) They kept coming, the men along with the women, each with a willing heart, bringing brooches, earrings, rings, and other jewelry, as well as all sorts of articles of gold. They all presented their offerings of gold to Jehovah. 23And all who had blue thread, purple wool, scarlet material, fine linen, goat hair, ram skins dyed red, and sealskins brought them. 24All those contributing silver and copper brought Jehovah’s contribution, and all who had acacia wood for any part of the work brought it.
(Acts 4:34, 35) In fact, no one was in need among them, for all those who owned fields or houses would sell them and bring the value of what was sold, 35and they would deposit it at the feet of the apostles. In turn distribution would be made to each one according to his need.
(1 Corinthians 16:2) On the first day of every week, each of you should set something aside according to his own means, so that collections will not take place when I arrive.
(Luke 21:1-4) Now as he looked up, he saw the rich dropping their gifts into the treasury chests. 2Then he saw a needy widow drop in two small coins of very little value, 3and he said: “Truly I say to you that this poor widow put in more than they all did. 4For all of these put in gifts out of their surplus, but she, out of her want, put in all the means of living she had.”
Paragraph 11
(2 Corinthians 8:1-4) Now we want you to know, brothers, about the undeserved kindness of God that has been granted to the congregations of Mac·e·doʹni·a. 2During a great test under affliction, their abundance of joy and their deep poverty made the riches of their generosity abound. 3For it was according to their means, yes, I testify, it was even beyond their means, 4while they on their own initiative kept earnestly begging us for the privilege of kindly giving, to have a share in the relief ministry for the holy ones.
Paragraph 12
(Matthew 24:45) “Who really is the faithful and discreet slave whom his master appointed over his domestics, to give them their food at the proper time?
(Luke 14:28) For example, who of you wanting to build a tower does not first sit down and calculate the expense to see if he has enough to complete it?
(Ezra 8:24-34) I now set apart 12 of the chiefs of the priests, namely, She·re·biʹah and Hash·a·biʹah, along with ten of their brothers. 25Then I weighed out to them the silver and the gold and the utensils, the contribution that the king and his advisers and his princes and all the Israelites who were present there had made to the house of our God. 26Thus I weighed out into their hand 650 talents of silver, 100 silver utensils worth 2 talents, 100 talents of gold, 2720 small gold bowls worth 1,000 darics, and 2 utensils of fine copper, gleaming red, as desirable as gold. 28Then I said to them: “You are holy to Jehovah, and the utensils are holy, and the silver and the gold are a voluntary offering to Jehovah the God of your forefathers. 29Guard them carefully until you weigh them out before the chiefs of the priests and the Levites and the princes of the paternal houses of Israel in Jerusalem, in the chambers of the house of Jehovah.” 30And the priests and the Levites took the silver and the gold and the utensils that had been weighed out to them, in order to bring them to Jerusalem to the house of our God. 31Finally we pulled away from the river A·haʹva on the 12th day of the first month to go to Jerusalem, and the hand of our God was over us, and he rescued us from the hand of the enemy and from ambush along the way. 32So we came to Jerusalem and stayed there for three days. 33And on the fourth day, we weighed out the silver and the gold and the utensils in the house of our God and handed them over to Merʹe·moth son of U·riʹjah the priest, and with him was El·e·aʹzar son of Phinʹe·has, and with them were the Levites Joʹza·bad son of Jeshʹu·a and No·a·diʹah son of Binʹnu·i. 34Everything was numbered and weighed, and all the weight was recorded.
READ (2 Corinthians 8:18-21) But we are sending along with him the brother whose praise in connection with the good news has spread through all the congregations. 19Not only that, but he was also appointed by the congregations to be our traveling companion as we administer this kind gift for the glory of the Lord and in proof of our readiness to assist. 20Thus we are avoiding having any man find fault with us in connection with this liberal contribution that we are administering. 21For we ‘care for everything honestly, not only in the sight of Jehovah but also in the sight of men.’
Paragraph 17
(Job 42:2) “Now I know that you are able to do all things And that nothing you have in mind to do is impossible for you.
Paragraph 18
(Malachi 3:10) Bring the entire tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in my house; and test me out, please, in this regard,” Jehovah of armies says, “to see whether I will not open to you the floodgates of the heavens and pour out on you a blessing until there is nothing lacking.”
READ (Proverbs 11:24, 25) One gives generously and ends up with more; Another withholds what should be given, but he comes to poverty. 25The generous person will prosper, And whoever refreshes others will himself be refreshed.
(Acts 20:35) I have shown you in all things that by working hard in this way, you must assist those who are weak and must keep in mind the words of the Lord Jesus, when he himself said: ‘There is more happiness in giving than there is in receiving.’”
Paragraph 19
(1 Chronicles 29:17) I well know, O my God, that you examine the heart and that you take pleasure in integrity. In the uprightness of my heart, I have voluntarily offered all these things, and I am overjoyed to see your people who are present here make voluntary offerings to you.
(1 Chronicles 29:9) The people rejoiced over making these voluntary offerings, for they made the voluntary offerings to Jehovah with a complete heart, and David the king also rejoiced greatly.