In 2 Chronicles 31:1-10, we see and exciting story about God’s people being generous in giving to the house of the Lord. Here is a little background. Ahaz was the father of Hezekiah and an evil king. “He did not do what was right in the sight of the Lord…” (28:1). When Ahaz died, his son took over. Hezekiah was an awesome guy and a great leader at age 25. When he became king, it says “in the first year of his reign, in the first month, he opened the doors of the house of the Lord and repaired them” (29:3).
Godly leadership makes the house of the Lord a priority. Hezekiah wasted no time in restoring true worship that had been missing in the reign of his father. All the preparations had been made. Great joy and celebration were in the land, the temple restoration had been completed, and the columns and high places that Ahaz had set up had been torn down and destroyed.
This is where we pick up the story in chapter 31. Hezekiah puts out a decree to have the people bring the tithe into the house of the Lord “the children of Israel brought in abundance the first fruits…they brought in abundantly the tithe of everything”.
The children of Israel were full of joy and celebration and out of that, they gave the tithe to the house of the Lord. This should be our attitude. Become generous givers in this next year and give with joy and celebration starting with our tithe and then offerings. When we do, we will see great things in our lives as a result of our giving.
The story doesn’t stop there, it continues. There was so much collected that there were heaps and mounds of stuff. Hezekiah saw them and asked what they were. The answer was “Since the people began to bring the offerings into the house of the Lord, we have had enough to eat and have plenty left, for the Lord has blessed His people; and what is left is this great abundance.” The children of Israel brought more than enough into the house of the Lord because they moved by joy and generosity to give and the result was Super Abundance.
