Thanks Giving
Thanks Giving to God
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Colossians 3:15-17
Be thankful; have gratitude in your hearts; and give thanks to God. All of these things are very important. Unfortunately, they do not come naturally. It is something we must learn. I volunteer at the local aquarium and help with the classes we offer to young students. After each class, the kids are excited because they are about to go to the aquarium. But before they go their teacher says, "say thank you to the instructor and volunteer Michael." These young people are learning to be thankful. How often when we were young did our parents or an adult ask, "what do you say to..." after someone did something for us. We had to learn to say, "Thank you." God, our father in heaven, has also had to teach his children this. The first mention of thankfulness in the Bible is in the regulations that God gave Moses for sacrifices.
"'These are the regulations for the fellowship offering anyone may present to the LORD: "'If they offer it as an expression of thankfulness, then along with this thank offering they are to offer thick loaves made without yeast and with olive oil mixed in, thin loaves made without yeast and brushed with oil, and thick loaves of the finest flour well-kneaded and with oil mixed in.
Leviticus 7:11-12
The Israelites were given very specific instructions on how to offer thanksgiving to God. We don’t have time to go into all of the details here. You can read about them in the book of Leviticus. Right now, I just want to talk about one of the rules.
"When you sacrifice a thank offering to the LORD, sacrifice it in such a way that it will be accepted on your behalf.
Leviticus 22:29
What does it mean, "in such a way that it will be accepted?" The Hebrew word used here is רָצוֹן or ratson. It means delight, acceptable, desire, favor, or pleasure (own, self, voluntary). The New King James version of the Bible translates it this way.
And when you offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving to the LORD, offer it of your own free will.
Leviticus 22:29
The idea is that if you are going to give a sacrifice of thanksgiving, it should be done of your own free will. You shouldn’t do it just because someone told you to do it. But only do it if you really want to do it. If you really don't want to do it, don’t bother because it will not be acceptable to God. For the Israelites, they really seemed to not be interested. So, even though God did so much for them, they did not say thank you very often. It turns out that the next time giving thanks is mentioned in the Bible is not until God helped David escape from King Saul.
He delivers me from my enemies. You also lift me up above those who rise against me; You have delivered me from the violent man. Therefore I will give thanks to You, O LORD, among the Gentiles, And sing praises to Your name. "He is the tower of salvation to His king, And shows mercy to His anointed, To David and his descendants forevermore."
2 Samuel 22:49-51
It is possible, even likely, that someone thanked God for his blessing between the time of Moses and the time of David. However, it is interesting that in the Bible there is no mention of Israelites ever thanking God during this time. Evidently, the Israelites had not learned the importance of giving thanks. The next time thanking the Lord is mentioned is again with David when the ark of God was placed into the newly constructed Tabernacle.
They brought the ark of God and set it inside the tent that David had pitched for it, and they presented burnt offerings and fellowship offerings before God. After David had finished sacrificing the burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the LORD. Then he gave a loaf of bread, a cake of dates and a cake of raisins to each Israelite man and woman. He appointed some of the Levites to minister before the ark of the LORD, to extol, thank, and praise the LORD, the God of Israel:
1 Chronicles 16:1-4
Later, when David was nearing the end of his life, he made his son king. One of the last things he did was to make sure that the Levites or priests were well organized to take care of all their sacred duties. David wanted to make sure that things were all arranged for his son. One of the very important things priests were to do was to give thanks and praise to the Lord every morning and evening.
The duty of the Levites was to help Aaron's descendants in the service of the temple of the LORD: to be in charge of the courtyards, the side rooms, the purification of all sacred things and the performance of other duties at the house of God. They were in charge of the bread set out on the table, the special flour for the grain offerings, the thin loaves made without yeast, the baking and the mixing, and all measurements of quantity and size. They were also to stand every morning to thank and praise the LORD. They were to do the same in the evening and whenever burnt offerings were presented to the LORD on the Sabbaths, at the New Moon feasts and at the appointed festivals. They were to serve before the LORD regularly in the proper number and in the way prescribed for them.
1 Chronicles 23:28-31
Now David was a man after God's own heart. He knew the importance of giving thanks. So, he tried to ensure that his son and his future descendants would continue the practice of regularly thanking God. His son, King Solomon, initially, continued this practice. When the building of the temple was completed, he led the people in giving thanks to God.
When Solomon finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the LORD filled the temple. The priests could not enter the temple of the LORD because the glory of the LORD filled it. When all the Israelites saw the fire coming down and the glory of the LORD above the temple, they knelt on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped and gave thanks to the LORD, saying, "He is good; his love endures forever."
2 Chronicles 7:1-3
Solomon had clearly learned the importance of giving thanks from his father David. The last phrase, "He is good; his love endures forever", is a quote from David's Song of Thanks in 1 Chronicles 16. David sang this during the celebration of placing the ark in the tabernacle.
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever. Cry out, "Save us, God our Savior; gather us and deliver us from the nations, that we may give thanks to your holy name, and glory in your praise." Praise be to the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Then all the people said "Amen" and "Praise the LORD."
1 Chronicles 16:34-36
This same phrase is found over and over again in Psalm 107, 118, and 136 which David wrote. Psalm 136 is known as the Great Hallel. It is about giving thanks to God and is sung as part of the observance of both Pesach and Rosh Hashanah—the Jewish Passover and New Year celebrations. It was also used by the Jewish people in their daily worship. Giving thanks, then, was meant to be part of the regular worship of the Israelites. However, later in his life, Solomon and his descendants went astray. Their worship of God which included giving thanks was corrupted. It was not until years later in the reign of King Hezekiah of Judah that the people rededicated themselves to God and resumed bringing regular thank offerings.
King Hezekiah and his officials ordered the Levites to praise the LORD with the words of David and of Asaph the seer. So they sang praises with gladness and bowed down and worshiped. Then Hezekiah said, "You have now dedicated yourselves to the LORD. Come and bring sacrifices and thank offerings to the temple of the LORD." So the assembly brought sacrifices and thank offerings, and all whose hearts were willing brought burnt offerings.
2Chronicles 29:30-31
Unfortunately, Manasseh, Hezekiah's son did not follow his father's direction. He became king at age 12 and did evil in the eyes of the Lord. He built altars to idols in the temple, sacrificed his children, practiced sorcery and did witchcraft. God spoke to Manasseh and the people of Judah, but they did not listen. So, God brought the Assyrian army against him. He was defeated and taken as a prisoner to Babylon. There Manasseh recognized the error of his ways and prayed to God. God was moved by his prayer and Manasseh was allowed to return to Jerusalem as king again. When he came back, he did many things to correct what he had done in the past. He restored the practice of sacrifices and thank offerings. But in the end it was to no avail.
Then he restored the altar of the LORD and sacrificed fellowship offerings and thank offerings on it, and told Judah to serve the LORD, the God of Israel. The people, however, continued to sacrifice at the high places, but only to the LORD their God.
2 Chronicles 33:16-17
Josiah, Manasseh's son, continued his father's practices and followed the Lord. He destroyed the altars and restored the ceremonies and sacrifices in the temple. However, when he died, his sons did not continue like this and did evil in the eyes of the Lord. In the end, God allowed King Nebuchadnezzar to defeat Judah, destroy the temple, break down the walls of Jerusalem and take the people to Babylon. Years later, the Israelites were given one more chance to come back to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple. When they did, the people once again gave thanks.
When the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the LORD, the priests in their vestments and with trumpets, and the Levites (the sons of Asaph) with cymbals, took their places to praise the LORD, as prescribed by David king of Israel. With praise and thanksgiving they sang to the LORD: "He is good; his love toward Israel endures forever." And all the people gave a great shout of praise to the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid.
Ezra 3:10-11
From all of this history, you begin to see a pattern. When the Israelites willingly gave thanks to God, things seemed to go well. When they stopped, things eventually seemed to turn bad. The one person who seems to have understood this connection was David. He wrote about thanksgiving again and again in Psalms. So, let's go back to the very first time David is documented to have given thanks to the Lord.
He delivers me from my enemies. You also lift me up above those who rise against me; You have delivered me from the violent man. Therefore I will give thanks to You, O LORD, among the Gentiles, And sing praises to Your name. "He is the tower of salvation to His king, And shows mercy to His anointed, To David and his descendants forevermore."
2 Samuel 22:49-51
As David was giving thanks here, he mentions salvation and mercy to David and his descendants. Perhaps if we follow some of David's future descendants, we can recognize this pattern of thanksgiving in them. The best role model we know is Jesus who is a direct descendant of David. When Jesus reached the age for his purification rites, Joseph and Mary brought him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord. There was a prophet named Anna who spoke about the baby.
There was also a prophet, Anna, the daughter of Penuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.
Luke 2:36-38
So, from the very beginning of his life on earth, Anna and others were giving thanks to God for Jesus and redemption. For his part, when he grew older, Jesus frequently gave thanks during his ministry.
And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people.
Matthew 14:19
Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, and when he had given thanks, he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and they in turn to the people.
Matthew 15:36
While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, "Take and eat; this is my body." Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you.
Matthew 26:26-27
This last example is very important. This cup which Jesus shared with his disciples represented Jesus blood which he would shed for our salvation. He gave thanks before they drank it. After sharing this Passover meal with his disciples, Jesus went to the cross and gave his life. He shed his blood one time for all us. As Christians, we are called to share this cup regularly in communion to remember what Jesus did for us. This is just not a ceremony to help us remember what Jesus did, but also away for us to thank God for what Jesus did. It is a cup of thanksgiving.
I speak to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say. Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all share the one loaf.
1 Corinthians 10:17
Giving thanks then is at the core of what we believe as Christians. Paul understood that giving thanks is important and made an example of himself in how we should be thankful. He constantly was thanking God for one thing after another. Here are some examples from the New Testament.
Before the shipwreck...
Now I urge you to take some food. You need it to survive. Not one of you will lose a single hair from his head." After he said this, he took some bread and gave thanks to God in front of them all. Then he broke it and began to eat. They were all encouraged and ate some food themselves.
Acts 27:34-36
To God for deliverance
Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.
Romans 7:25
For the Corinthians
I always thank my God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus.
1 Corinthians 1:4
For the Philippians
I thank my God every time I remember you.
Philippians 1:3
For the Colossians
We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you,
Colossians 1:3
For the Thessalonians
We always thank God for all of you and continually mention you in our prayers.
1 Thessalonians 1:2
And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is indeed at work in you who believe.
1 Thessalonians 2:13
How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy we have in the presence of our God because of you?
1 Thessalonians 3:9
We ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love all of you have for one another is increasing.
2 Thessalonians 1:3
But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters loved by the Lord, because God chose you as firstfruits to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth.
2 Thessalonians 2:13
To Jesus for strength
I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me trustworthy, appointing me to his service.
1 Timothy 1:12
For Timothy
I thank God, whom I serve, as my ancestors did, with a clear conscience, as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers.
2 Timothy 1:3
For Philemon
I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers,
Philemon 1:4
From these examples, we can see a clear difference between the actions of the Old Testament Israelites and the New Testament Christians. In the Old Testament, David, a few other kings and at times the Israelites thanked God through offerings or otherwise. But considering the problems they had continuing their worship of God, giving thanks never became the normal custom of the Israelites even though God had done so much for them. In the New Testament Jesus and later Paul clearly demonstrated that as Christians, thanksgiving should be a common or even daily occurrence. There is so much that we have to be thankful for every day. Paul put it very succinctly.
Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:6-7
King David, a man after God's own heart, seems to have been the one person who of his own free will had the desire to be thankful to God for what he had done and followed through by thanking God. He wrote extensively about this. To complete this study, I am concluding with the major Psalms that David wrote concerning giving thanks. I think you can see by reading this that David had a very good grasp on what we need to be thankful for and the need to give thanks to the Lord.
Let the Redeemed of the Lord Say So
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.
Let the redeemed of the LORD tell their story— those he redeemed from the hand of the foe,
those he gathered from the lands, from east and west, from north and south.
Psalm 107:3
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.
Let Israel say: "His love endures forever."
Let the house of Aaron say: "His love endures forever."
Let those who fear the LORD say: "His love endures forever."
Psalm 118:1-4
Open for me the gates of the righteous; I will enter and give thanks to the LORD.
This is the gate of the LORD through which the righteous may enter.
I will give you thanks, for you answered me; you have become my salvation.
The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone;
the LORD has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes.
The LORD has done it this very day; let us rejoice today and be glad.
LORD, save us! LORD, grant us success!
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD. From the house of the LORD we bless you.
The LORD is God, and he has made his light shine on us. With boughs in hand, join in the festal procession up to the horns of the altar.
You are my God, and I will praise you; you are my God, and I will exalt you.
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.
Psalm 118:19-29
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good. His love endures forever.
Give thanks to the God of gods. His love endures forever.
Give thanks to the Lord of lords: His love endures forever.
to him who alone does great wonders, His love endures forever.
who by his understanding made the heavens, His love endures forever.
who spread out the earth upon the waters, His love endures forever.
who made the great lights— His love endures forever.
the sun to govern the day, His love endures forever.
the moon and stars to govern the night; His love endures forever.
to him who struck down the firstborn of Egypt His love endures forever.
and brought Israel out from among them His love endures forever.
with a mighty hand and outstretched arm; His love endures forever.
to him who divided the Red Sea asunder His love endures forever.
and brought Israel through the midst of it, His love endures forever.
but swept Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea; His love endures forever.
to him who led his people through the wilderness; His love endures forever.
to him who struck down great kings, His love endures forever.
and killed mighty kings— His love endures forever.
Sihon king of the Amorites His love endures forever.
and Og king of Bashan— His love endures forever.
and gave their land as an inheritance, His love endures forever.
an inheritance to his servant Israel. His love endures forever.
He remembered us in our low estate His love endures forever.
and freed us from our enemies. His love endures forever.
He gives food to every creature. His love endures forever.
Give thanks to the God of heaven. His love endures forever.
Psalm 136:1-26
Have a Happy Thanks Giving!