Dedication Gifts

"The leaders also presented dedication gifts for the altar at the time it was anointed. They each placed their gifts before the altar." Numbers 7:10

There are certain passages of scripture we can be tempted to skip over quickly. I think Numbers 7 presents the perfect example of text that we might think we have ability to write better. It could be condensed, making the same point in a more succinct way. Instead, with twelve consecutive passages, we see identical offerings given again and again. Do you start to skim, assuming the similarity or do you continue to read with the same fresh curiosity as if discovering it for the first time?

All scripture is God-breathed. Every word has been recorded with intention. Repetition is for emphasis. If God thought it valuable to record the items the leaders presented as an offering multiple times there must be a reason. God doesn't waste His words. Although on the verge of monotonous to us, it is meaningful to Him.

This text highlights that God treasures each individual and the offering we bring to Him in obedience. God delighted in each observance of His word. Not only did each gift matter, but each giver was important to Him. He mentions each one by name. Although this presentation of dedication gifts could have been expressed in a few sentences, instead the Lord elaborated on every detail. He drew attention to individual devotion. In the dutiful repetition there is divine recognition.

God deeply cares for us and the gifts we dedicate to Him. What is God asking us to place before His altar? Too often I bring what is easy, but God desires me to bring what is needed. Needed in order to draw me closer to Him. Needed so I can be fully His. What is He impressing on my heart to place before His presence? What necessary is He waiting to see surrendered so that He can do further work in me? I encourage you to make time to ponder these questions personally.

A dedication gift is evidence of complete and wholehearted loyalty and faithfulness. The leaders were committing themselves to the Lord. In surrender, I too long to lay my all on the altar. More than the physical items that were part of the Israelites ceremonies of sacrifice, now God requires lives yielded for His use. The best treasure we can present as a dedication gift is ourselves. So, I join with the writer of a well-known chorus and pray, "Me, my gift is me. All I am and all I'll ever be. I'm not ashamed for the world to see, that it's me, my gift is me."

We are the offering the Lord longs to see as the dedication gift before His altar today. Won't you come and give yourself completely to Him for His use forever.

"My Gift is Me", words and music by Kathie Hill, copyright 1988, Birdwing Music