KINGDOM CONCEPT #9: UNDERSTANDING THE KINGDOM CONCEPT OF GIVING TO THE KING

Exodus chapter 20




Today we are walking in: Understanding The Kingdom Concept of Giving To The King




Today we look to the word- GIVE- H5414- nathan--to give, used with greatest latitude of application (put, make, etc.):—add, apply, appoint, ascribe, assign, avenge, bestow, bring (forth, hither), grant, hang (up), have, indeed, lay (unto charge, up), (give) leave, lend, let (out), occupy, offer, ordain, pay, perform, place, pour, recompense, render, requite, restore, send (out), set (forth), shew, shoot forth (up), yield.





The Torah Testifies.............................






Genesis 13:17

Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give H5414 it unto thee.







The prophets proclaim...............




Hosea 2:15

And I will give H5414 her her vineyards from thence, and the valley of Achor for a door of hope: and she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt.





The writings bear witness.............




2 Chronicles 1:2

Wisdom and knowledge is granted H5414 unto thee; and I will give H5414 thee riches, and wealth, and honour, such as none of the kings have had that have been before thee, neither shall there any after thee have the like.







As We have seen throughout this series, The Most High Yah is the King of a supernatural realm called Heaven that is invisible but very real. In fact, Heaven is more real than the natural realm in which we humans live, breathe, and have our being because it existed before the natural realm and is the source from which all nature originated.

The Most High Yah created the earth, bringing form out of formlessness and order out of chaos, not to leave it empty but for it to be inhabited (see Isa. 45:18).




His original purpose and plan was to extend His heavenly Kingdom to the earth—to bring His invisible supernatural rule into the visible natural domain. It was for this reason that He created mankind—male and female—in His own image and clothed them in physical bodies of flesh and blood and bone made from the same stuff as the earth itself, that they might exercise dominion over the earth just as He did in Heaven. They were to be His vice-regents, ruling in His name and under His authority.

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􏰀King and kingdom are concepts that are of heavenly, not earthly origin. The Most High Yah chose these concepts to describe His plan and program for mankind and the earth. Thus, in order to understand The Most High Yah, we must understand the concept of kingship and kingdom. That has been the purpose and intent of this series.




Adam was created as king and ruler of the earth. This is only natural. The Most High Yah created man in His own image and likeness, and because The Most High Yah was a King, man was to be a king as well. As king of the earth, man possessed certain unique qualities and characteristics that set him apart as distinct from all other creatures on the earth.




One of these qualities was self-determination. Man possessed the ability to reason—to frame his own thoughts and ideas and to make his own decisions. In this he was like his Creator. He was endowed also with the capacity for face-to-face, one-on-one intimate fellowship with The Most High Yah, a privilege that no other creature on earth enjoyed.




The Creator gave Adam the earth as his domain because a king is not a king unless he has territory over which to rule. Through inappropriate use of his power of self-determination, Adam rebelled against The Most High Yah and lost his earthly kingdom. Man’s rule over the earth was usurped by an “unemployed cherub,” a rebellious and fallen angel who had no right or authority to take it. Man became a slave in his own domain.

But the gifts and calling of The Most High Yah are irrevocable (see Rom. 11:29).




The Most High Yah’s original plan and purpose were still in place. Man’s destiny was to rule the earth, so he had to get his Kingdom back. When the time was right in history, the King of Heaven sent His Son to earth to reestablish Heaven’s rule here. He sent His Son to restore man to his earthly Kingdom. Yahashua Christ entered the public eye proclaiming a simple but profound message: “Repent, for the kingdom of heav- en is near” (Matt. 4:17b).




As a human as well as the Son of The Most High Yah, Yahashua had the authority both to restore the Kingdom and to rule it as King. Kingship was His birthright.

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􏰀Kingship is always a matter of birthright or genealogy. You will remember that when Yahashua stood before Pilate the morning He was crucified, and Pilate asked Him if He was the king of the Jews, Yahashua answered, “You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born...” (John 18:37b).




Yahashua was not the only one to recognize His kingship. Even as early as His birth, there were those who knew who He was and why He had come:




After Yahashua was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him” (Matthew 2:1-2).




The coming of Yahashua Christ as King demonstrates another important characteristic of The Most High Yah: He is a giver. First, He gave man the earth to rule. Then, after man lost his Kingdom, The Most High Yah gave His Son so that He could get man’s Kingdom back. Yahashua gave Himself, even to the point of death, to salvage man from the effects and consequences of his rebellion against The Most High Yah. In the coming of Yahashua, and throughout the Bible we see over and over that giving is a fundamental principle of the Kingdom of Heaven.





The Most High Yah is a giver. In fact, His honor as King of Heaven demands a gift. As The Most High Yah, He gives because it is His nature. As Kingdom citizens, we give because we are like Him, created in His image and likeness, and because giving is a proper way to honor a king.





THE SIX ROYAL KINGDOM PRINCIPLES OF GIVING




1. The power of kings is displayed in their wealth. The wealthier the king, the greater his power (or at least the perception of his power in the eyes of others). This is why kings are always seeking to increase their wealth and expand their territory. The most obvious way that wealth displays a king’s power is in his ability to give generously, lavishly, and even recklessly of his wealth to his citi- zens as well as to outsiders who visit his kingdom.




Kings who rule over lands that are sparse in resources and whose citizens are poor are judged to be poor kings, lacking in power and influence and therefore dismissed as unimportant. They may even be perceived as unable or unwilling to take proper care of their citizens and subjects. Poor kings, therefore, develop a poor reputation, which brings us to the second principle.




2. The purpose for a king’s wealth is to secure his reputation—his glory. Every conscientious king wants to be known as good, benevolent, magnanimous, and just. He is constantly concerned for the complete welfare of his people. He wants to be able to show the world that he can provide his citizens with anything and everything they need. Want in a kingdom is a shame to the king.




So a king’s reputation is tied to his ability to take care of his citizens, and that ability is directly related to his wealth. A king whose people are secure in his benevolent provision will be loved by his people, respected by other kings and rulers, and will enjoy a stable and secure reign. His reputation is firmly established, and his glory shines to all around.




3. The glory of a king is his power to out-give another king.




This is another reason why wealth is important to a king. Kings are deeply and continually concerned with their reputations, and no king likes the thought that another king might be richer, more benevolent, or more giving than he. Consequently, kings will give freely in response to a gift given to them, or from pure beneficence, often wildly out of proportion to the value of the gift received or the merit of the recipient.

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This is definitely a characteristic of the King of Heaven. As owner of literally everything, The Most High Yah is the richest King that was, is, or ever will be. No one can out-give The Most High Yah. And He gives lavishly without regard to our merit or our ability to repay. Don’t forget that Yahashua assured us that it was His Father’s pleasure to give us the Kingdom. And He did not demand that we make ourselves “worthy” first.




4. Giving places a demand on the king’s wealth. Wealth that is not used for anything serves no purpose. Righteous and benevolent kings do not seek riches simply for their own enrichment and pleasure. They don’t acquire wealth just so they can sit atop the pile and say, “Look at me! See how rich I am!”




Good kings use their wealth to bring prosperity to their people and improve the quality of their lives. This way the king’s riches do not stagnate or rot away. In keeping with a fundamental principle of wealth-building, good kings know how to make their wealth work for them—they give it away in order to receive more. It is a principle of reciprocity—giving begets giving.




The principle of reciprocity works both ways. Giving to a king places a demand on his wealth because a king cannot allow himself to be out-given. Whatever he receives as a gift he must return in multiplied form. This brings us to the fifth principle of giving.




5. Giving requires a response from the king. When you give to a king, he is obligated not only to respond to your gift but also to exceed it. When the queen of Sheba visited King Solomon of Israel, her gifts to him of spices, large quantities of gold and precious stones, was fitting protocol. However, she was not prepared for the magnitude of wealth she found in Solomon’s court:




When the queen of Sheba saw all the wisdom of Solomon and the palace he had built, the food on his table, the seating of his officials, the attending servants in their robes, his cupbearers, and the burnt offerings he made at the temple of the Lord, she was overwhelmed. She said to the king, “The report I heard in my own country about your achievements and your wisdom is true. But I did not believe these things until I came and saw with my own eyes. Indeed, not even half was told me; in wisdom and wealth you have far exceeded the report I heard....And she gave the king 120 talents of gold, large quantities of spices, and precious stones. Never again were so many spices brought in as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon....King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba all she desired and asked for, besides what he had given her out of his royal bounty (1 Kings 10:4-7,10,13a, emphasis added).




As lavish as the queen’s gifts to Solomon were, his gifts to her in return far exceeded hers to him.




The King of Heaven is the same way. When we give to Him, He responds in kind but in much greater measure. Yahashua said:




Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you (Luke 6:38).




We can never out-give The Most High Yah. Give, and He will give abundantly and overflowing in return. It’s a principle of His Kingdom. Besides, His reputation and glory are at stake.




6. Giving to a king attracts His wealth to the giver. Giving begets giving. This principle works both ways. Kings give away wealth in order to gain more wealth. But when we give to the King, it begets giving back to us because our generosity attracts the King’s wealth to us.

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This is directly related to the concept of stewardship versus ownership. As long as we feel we own what we have, we tend to cling to it and hold it close to our chest. In that posture, it is impossible to receive more. We can’t receive anything with closed fists and clenched fingers. On the other hand, when we approach the King open-handed with our things, not only can we lay them at His feet as a gift, but we are also in a posture to receive. Giving to the King attracts His wealth because He is a giver and is attracted to those who share a like spirit.





SEVEN REASONS TO GIVE TO A KING




1. Royal protocol requires that a gift must be presented when visiting a king. This is why the queen of Sheba brought such lavish gifts to King Solomon even though he was richer than she was. It was royal protocol. He would have done the same had he visited her.




This protocol of presenting a gift to the king reflects a principle of heaven. When The Most High Yah gave Moses the Law for the nation of Israel, He made it clear that whenever the people came before the Lord, they were to bring an offering or a sacrifice of some kind, depending on the occasion. They were never to approach Him with nothing. The Most High Yah commanded Moses:




And none shall appear before Me empty-handed (Exodus 34:21b NKJV).




The principle still applies. We should always approach the King with a gift of some kind to offer: praise, thanksgiving, worship; just not empty-handed. The best gift we can give Him is our heart and life, freely and completely.




2. The gift must be fitting for the king. Worse than approaching a king with no gift is to bring a gift unworthy of him. An inappropriate or inadequate gift amounts to an insult to the king. It shows that the giver does not properly respect the king or his authority. This is why the sacrificial laws of the Hebrews (which prefigure the sacrifice of Christ, the perfect Lamb of The Most High Yah who took away the sin of the world [see John 1:29]). The people were giving a gift to the King, and their gift had to be worthy of Him.





When King David of Israel set out to build an altar to the Lord, he sought to buy a threshing floor owned by a man named Araunah as the site. Araunah graciously offered to give the threshing floor to David for his purposes:




But the king replied to Araunah, “No, I insist on paying you for it. I will not sacrifice to the Lord my The Most High Yah burnt offerings that cost me nothing.” So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen and paid fifty shekels of sil- ver for them” (2 Samuel 24:24).




David was trying to stop a plague in the land caused by his own disobedience to The Most High Yah. After he built the altar and made sacrifices, The Most High Yah responded to his prayers and stopped the plague.




Give a gift to the King that is worthy of Him. Don’t offer something that costs you nothing.




3. The gift reveals our value or “worth-ship” of the king. The quality of what we offer the King and the attitude with which we offer it reveal much more than our words do of the value or worthiness we attach to Him. Quality doesn’t mean expensive or fancy necessarily, but it does mean offering our very best. And our gift does not necessarily have to be of monetary value. Of much greater value to the King is the gift of a heart that seeks first His Kingdom and His righteousness. The Hebrew prophet Isaiah records the Lord’s complaint against His people who devalue His “worth-ship”:




The Lord says: “These people come near to Me with their mouth and honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. Their worship of Me is made up only of rules taught by men (Isaiah 29:13).




Our gifts to the King should always be offered from a sincere heart and a humble recognition of His greatness and awesome majesty.





4. Worship demands a gift and giving is worship. “Worth- ship” is where we get “worship.” To worship the King means to ascribe worth or worthiness to Him. And, as we have already seen, that always involves bringing Him a gift. There is no genuine worship without gift-giving. But giving is itself an act of worship, and worship is always fitting for the King. The Magi who saw His star in the east understood this, which is why they brought gifts when they came to find Him:




On coming to the house, they saw the child with His mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped Him. Then they opened their treasures and presented Him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrhh (Matthew 2:11).




Worship demands a gift, but it may be a gift of praise, a gift of thanksgiving, a gift of confession, a gift of surrender, a gift of forgiveness, or a gift of a tender and obedient heart as well as a monetary gift.





5. Giving to a king attracts his favor. Kings are attracted to people who give with a willing and grateful spirit. Like anyone else, a king likes to know he is loved and appreciated. The King of Heaven is the same way. The Giver is attracted to the giver and extends His favor. Gifts open doors to blessings, opportunities, and prosperity:




A gift opens the way for the giver and ushers him into the presence of the great (Proverbs 18:16).




Those who know the protocol of giving gain access to the throne room, while those who do not, remain standing outside the gate.




Giving from a generous heart with no thought or expectation of return particularly attracts the King’s favor because that is the attitude closest to His own. And He rewards that kind of spirit:




Anyone who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and anyone who receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man’s reward. And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is My disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward (Matthew 10:41-42).




To “receive” a prophet or a righteous man means to care for and supply that person with no expectation of repayment. Giving with no ulterior motive and with no strings attached—that is the kind of giving that attracts the favor of the King.





6. Giving to a king acknowledges his ownership of everything. Remember, kings are also lords; they own everything in their domain. So giving to a king is simply returning to him what is already his. That’s why in the Kingdom of Heaven we are always stewards and never owners.




This truth is embodied in the Bible in the principles of the firstfruits. Every harvest the Hebrews were required to bring the “firstfruits” of the harvest and offer them to the Lord. The same was to be done with all the firstborn of the animals: sheep, goats, cattle. All of this was for the purpose of recognizing The Most High Yah’s ownership—His Lordship—of everything and His benevolence and love in allowing them to use and prosper from His resources.




These same principles apply today, at least in the spirit of acknowledging The Most High Yah’s ownership.




7. Giving to a king is thanksgiving. One of the best ways to express gratitude is with a gift. Gratitude expressed is in itself a gift. Look at the word “thanksgiving.” Turn it around and you have, “giving thanks” or “giving gratitude.” Everyone likes to know they are appreciated. Sometimes the best gift we can give a person is simply to express heartfelt thanks for a gift given or a kindness received. The Most High Yah is the same way. Expressing our thanks to The Most High Yah from a sincere heart for His blessings, kindness, and favor toward us is to offer Him a gift that He receives with delight.





FIVE REASONS TO GIVE





Giving is natural for kings. As Kingdom citizens and children of the King, we too are kings. That being the case, several principles follow:




1. If we all are kings, then we should give to each other.

Remember, you never approach a king without a gift.




2. When we give to the Body, we give to Christ the King. Because Christ lives in us through the Holy Spirit, every time we give to each other, we are giving to Him.

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3. Every time we meet one another, giving should be automatic. If we are to be like our King, who created us in His image and likeness, a giving spirit should be second nature for us.




4. The wise men knew there was a greater King on earth. That is why they brought Him gifts and worshiped Him. He is still on earth—in the hearts and lives of His citizens. So whenever we give, we do so as if giving to Him.




5. When you give to a king, you make a demand on what he possesses. Giving begets giving. When we give to the King of Heaven, we obligate Him to give in return. This is not a presumptuous statement but the expression of a principle He established. When we give, He gives; when we withhold, He withholds.





THE ULTIMATE GIFT




The ultimate and greatest gift the King wants from us is summed up in these words:




Love the Lord your The Most High Yah with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength (Deuteronomy 6:5).




Giving activates royal obligation.




Give Him your life and receive His life.




...remembering the words the Lord Yahashua Himself said: “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35).

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􏰀􏰁 PRINCIPLES

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1. Giving is a fundamental principle of the Kingdom of Heaven.

2. The Most High Yah is a giver.

3. The power of kings is displayed in their wealth.

4. The purpose for a king’s wealth is to secure his reputation—his glory.

5. The glory of a king is his power to out-give another king.

6. Giving places a demand on the king’s wealth.

7. Giving requires a response from the king.

8. Giving to a king attracts his wealth to the giver.

9. Royal protocol requires that a gift must be presented when visiting a king.

10. The gift must be fitting for the king.

11. The gift reveals our value or “worth-ship” of the king.

12. Worship demands a gift and giving is worship.

13. Giving to a king attracts his favor.

14. Giving to a king acknowledges his ownership of everything.

15. Giving to a king is thanksgiving.

16. Giving begets giving.

17. Giving activates royal obligation.

18. Give Him your life and receive His life

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