Everything Comes from You

The Earth Is the Lord's

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Who owns the gold in a king's treasure room, the coins in a widow's hand and the stars in the sky? The Bible gives one answer: God does. Everything comes from Him.

The earth is the Lord's. David wrote, “The earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness, The world and those who dwell therein” (Psalm 24:1). Fullness means everything that fills it: oceans, mountains, animals and people.

Heaven too. Moses told Israel that heaven and the highest heavens belong to the Lord, and the earth with everything in it (Deuteronomy 10:14). There is no corner of the universe that belongs to someone else.

Every animal. In Psalm 50, God tells His people that He does not need their bulls or their goats. Every animal in the forest is His, and so are the cattle on a thousand hills. He knows every bird in the mountains (Psalm 50:9-11).

God is never hungry. God even says that if He were hungry, He would not tell us, because the world and everything in it is His (Psalm 50:12). He does not need anything from us.

Silver and gold. While God's people were rebuilding the temple after many years away, to some of them it looked like nothing next to the beautiful temple of long ago (Haggai 2:3). God reminded them through the prophet Haggai that the silver and the gold are His (Haggai 2:8).

Full of His things. Psalm 104 praises God for His many works. It says He made them all with wisdom and that the earth is full of what belongs to Him (Psalm 104:24).

So why give? If God already owns everything, why does He want our gifts? It is not because He is poor. He wants our gifts because He wants our hearts. Giving to God is a way of telling Him that everything we have is His.

Even our lives. Our breath, our families, our food and our time all come from God. Nothing we have was ours first.

The Owner came. Paul wrote about Jesus, “All things were created through Him and for Him” (Colossians 1:16). The One who owns everything came to earth as a man. He died on the cross for our sins, and He rose again. He did not have to. He came because He loves us.

What to do. Look around your room or your yard today. Thank God for three things you see, and remember that each one came from Him.

Before anyone asks how much to give God, the Bible answers a deeper question: what do we own at all? Its answer is that we own nothing that did not come from Him.

Psalm 24:1. “The earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness, The world and those who dwell therein.” God's ownership covers both the world and the people living in it.

Melo. The Hebrew word for fullness is melo (say: meh-LOH), everything that fills a thing. The earth and all that fills it, every ocean, mountain, creature and coin, belongs to the Lord.

Deuteronomy 10:14-15. Moses told Israel that heaven, the highest heavens and the earth with all that is in it belong to the Lord. Then he said that out of all of that, the Lord delighted in their fathers, loved them and chose their descendants. The Owner of everything chose to love a people.

Psalm 50:9-12. God refused to be treated as if He depended on sacrifices. Every beast of the forest is His, and the cattle on a thousand hills. If He were hungry, He would not tell us, because the world is His. Offerings were never meant to feed God or make Him richer.

What He asked for. In the same psalm God calls His people to offer Him thanksgiving and to keep their promises to Him (Psalm 50:14). He wanted grateful hearts more than more animals.

Haggai 2:8. The exiles who came home to Jerusalem were rebuilding the temple, and to some of them it seemed like nothing beside the house Solomon had built (Haggai 2:3). God answered that the silver and the gold are His. A plain house did not make Him poor.

Not needy, but near. A God who needs nothing is not a distant God. He gives because He loves, not because He lacks. That is why every gift we bring Him is an answer to His goodness, not a payment that adds to His wealth.

The Owner among us. “All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist” (Colossians 1:16-17). The Son through whom everything was made stood in the temple and watched a widow give. Within days He gave His life for us, not because He owed us anything, but because He loved us.

For you. If everything belongs to God, then nothing you own is really yours to grip tightly. Hold your things with an open hand, thank Him for them and use them in ways that honor Him.

Of Your Own We Have Given You

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Near the end of his life, King David gathered the leaders of Israel. His son Solomon would build a house for the Lord, the temple, and David wanted to help get everything ready (1 Chronicles 29:1-2).

David's own treasure. David had already gathered gold, silver, bronze, wood and precious stones for the work. Then he gave a huge treasure of his own gold and silver too, because he loved the house of his God (1 Chronicles 29:2-4).

Who will give? David asked who else would gladly give to the Lord that day (29:5). The leaders of the families and the tribes, the army captains and the king's officers answered. They gave willingly, and they gave a great deal (29:6-8).

Joy. The people rejoiced because their leaders had given willingly, with all their hearts. King David rejoiced greatly too (29:9). Giving to God was not a sad thing for them. It was a happy day.

David's prayer. Then David praised God in front of everyone. He said that greatness, power, glory and majesty belong to the Lord, because everything in heaven and earth is His. Riches and honor come from Him (29:10-12).

Who am I? David asked God who he and his people were, that they could give like this. Then he gave the answer himself: everything comes from God, and they had only given Him what was already His own (29:14).

From Your hand. David said that all the riches they had gathered to build God's house came from God's hand and all belonged to Him (29:16). Even the king's gift was God's gift first.

He tests the heart. David also prayed that God tests the heart and is pleased when people are honest and true. He had given with an honest heart, and he was glad to see the people give willingly (29:17).

Rich and poor alike. David gave a huge treasure of gold; the widow in the temple gave two tiny coins. Both gifts came out of what God had given first. God does not need the gold, and He does not overlook the coins.

What do we have? Paul asked, “And what do you have that you did not receive?” (1 Corinthians 4:7). Every gift we bring God starts as a gift from Him.

The gift we could never repay. We could never give God enough to pay for our sin. So He gave us His Son instead. “But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities” (Isaiah 53:5). Transgressions and iniquities are sins. Jesus died and rose again so that we could be forgiven as a free gift.

What to do. Next time you give something to God, whether it is your time, your help or your money, thank Him first. You are giving Him back what He gave you.

At the end of his life, David called Israel's leaders together to provide for the temple that Solomon would build. David told them the work was great, because the house was not for a man but for the Lord God (1 Chronicles 29:1).

The king first. David had prepared gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood and stones with all his strength. Then he added his own personal treasure of gold and silver, because he had set his affection on the house of his God (29:2-4).

Nadav. Then he asked who would offer willingly that day (29:5). The Hebrew word comes from nadav (say: nah-DAHV), to give freely, from the heart, with no one forcing the gift. The leaders answered, and the gifts poured in (29:6-8).

Willing and whole. The people rejoiced because they had offered willingly and with a loyal heart (29:9). What made the day holy was not only the size of the offering, but the hearts of those who gave it.

Praise before anything else. David's prayer begins with God, not with the gift: greatness, power, glory, victory and majesty are His; everything in heaven and earth is His; riches and honor come from Him (29:10-13).

Of Your own (29:14). David asked who he and his people were, that they could give so willingly. He answered that all things come from God, and that they had given Him only what was His own. In David's own words, a king's great gift was a return of what already belonged to God.

Strangers and travelers (29:15). David added that they were strangers and travelers before God, like their fathers, and that their days on earth pass like a shadow. People who are only passing through can hold their possessions loosely.

The heart tested (29:17-18). David knew that God tests the heart and takes pleasure in honesty. Then he prayed that God would keep this willing desire in His people's hearts forever and turn their hearts toward Him.

Two gifts, one truth. David's treasure and the widow's two lepta stand at opposite ends of the scale. Both came out of what God first gave. Paul asks, “And what do you have that you did not receive?” (1 Corinthians 4:7).

The gift we receive. If every gift to God is a return of His own, no gift can buy salvation. It must be received. Isaiah saw the price long before: “But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him” (Isaiah 53:5). Jesus, who owned all things, gave Himself on the cross and rose again, so that forgiveness is a free gift to everyone who trusts Him.

For you. Give as someone who has received. Thank God first, give willingly rather than under pressure, and remember that you are handing back what He placed in your hands.

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Read each section and answer the questions correctly.