Daily Scripture Reading Numbers 7:36-65
Tom had been planning Mia’s birthday for weeks. He wanted it to be perfect. After five years together, he knew she deserved something special, something that said, without words, that he still saw her the way he did on their first date.
He stood in the jewelry store for nearly an hour, staring at a delicate silver bracelet with tiny blue stones that caught the light like water. It cost $420. He had exactly $380 in his account after rent. He was close to having enough, but not close enough.
He went online. He found the same bracelet, or at least something that looked exactly like it, on a site that promised “premium quality at unbeatable prices.” It was $39.99 with free shipping. The reviews were mixed, but the photos were identical. Tom told himself the difference was just markup. “Rich people pay for the name. Mia will never know.”
When the package arrived, he felt a small, guilty thrill. It looked good in the cheap velvet box. The stones sparkled under his desk lamp. He wrapped it in the nicest paper he could find and added a card he’d written by hand.
On her birthday, he took her to an Italian restaurant. After dessert, Tom slid the box across the table.
Mia smiled, already glowing from the fact that he’d remembered the restaurant where they’d had their first real date. She opened the box, gasped, and said, “It’s beautiful.”
She put it on immediately. The silver caught the candlelight. She turned her wrist back and forth, admiring it. Tom felt the tight knot in his chest loosen for the first time in days.
They went back to her apartment. She kept glancing at her wrist while they talked on the couch. At one point, she kissed him and whispered, “I love it.”
The next morning, Tom woke up to three missed calls from Mia. When he called her back, her voice was flat. She asked, “Can you come over?”
He found her sitting at the kitchen table with the bracelet lying on a paper towel in front of her. One of the blue stones had fallen out completely. The silver plating had already started to flake at the clasp, revealing something dull and brassy underneath. A faint green line ran across her wrist where the metal had touched her skin.
“I wore it to bed,” she said quietly. “When I woke up, it looked like this. I thought maybe I slept on it wrong, but…” She picked up the broken stone between two fingers. It was clearly plastic. “It’s fake,” she said.
If we want to give a gift that expresses how much we value someone, we need to be willing to spend enough money to give a quality gift. If we buy something cheap or fake, we undermine our message.
The seventh chapter of Numbers records the offerings the leaders of the Israelites brought at the dedication of the altar. For twelve days, the leaders took turns bringing their offerings. They did not bring cheap gifts. They brought gifts worthy of the Creator of the Universe. As we read the following verses, consider the value of the offering that was brought by each leader.
Num. 7:36 ¶ On the fifth day it was Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai, leader of the sons of Simeon;
Num. 7:37 his offering was one silver dish whose weight was 130 shekels, one silver bowl of 70 shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering;
Num. 7:38 one gold pan of 10 shekels, full of incense;
Num. 7:39 one bull from the herd, one ram, one male lamb one year old, for a burnt offering;
Num. 7:40 one male goat for a sin offering;
Num. 7:41 and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, five male lambs one year old. This was the offering of Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai.
Num. 7:42 ¶ On the sixth day it was Eliasaph the son of Deuel, leader of the sons of Gad;
Num. 7:43 his offering was one silver dish whose weight was 130 shekels, one silver bowl of 70 shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering;
Num. 7:44 one gold pan of 10 shekels, full of incense;
Num. 7:45 one bull from the herd, one ram, one male lamb one year old, for a burnt offering;
Num. 7:46 one male goat for a sin offering;
Num. 7:47 and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, five male lambs one year old. This was the offering of Eliasaph the son of Deuel.
The gift brought on the sixth day was the same as the gift brought on the fifth day. That was true throughout the twelve days. All the leaders brought identical gifts.
Each day, a leader brought a silver dish and bowl that together weighed around 200 shekels. That much silver would be worth around $5,000 today. The 10 shekels of gold used to make the pan would be worth around $15,000 today. The one bull, six rams, six male lambs, six male goats, and two oxen that made up the burnt, sin, and peace offerings would be worth around $15,000 today. Each day, a leader brought offerings that were worth around $35,000. Over the twelve days, the total value of the offerings was around $420,000.
Num. 7:48 ¶ On the seventh day it was Elishama the son of Ammihud, leader of the sons of Ephraim;
Num. 7:49 his offering was one silver dish whose weight was 130 shekels, one silver bowl of 70 shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering;
Num. 7:50 one gold pan of 10 shekels, full of incense;
Num. 7:51 one bull from the herd, one ram, one male lamb one year old, for a burnt offering;
Num. 7:52 one male goat for a sin offering;
Num. 7:53 and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, five male lambs one year old. This was the offering of Elishama the son of Ammihud.
Num. 7:54 ¶ On the eighth day it was Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur, leader of the sons of Manasseh;
Num. 7:55 his offering was one silver dish whose weight was 130 shekels, one silver bowl of 70 shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering;
Num. 7:56 one gold pan of 10 shekels, full of incense;
Num. 7:57 one bull from the herd, one ram, one male lamb one year old, for a burnt offering;
Num. 7:58 one male goat for a sin offering;
Num. 7:59 and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, five male lambs one year old. This was the offering of Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur.
Num. 7:60 ¶ On the ninth day it was Abidan the son of Gideoni, leader of the sons of Benjamin;
Num. 7:61 his offering was one silver dish whose weight was 130 shekels, one silver bowl of 70 shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering;
Num. 7:62 one gold pan of 10 shekels, full of incense;
Num. 7:63 one bull from the herd, one ram, one male lamb one year old, for a burnt offering;
Num. 7:64 one male goat for a sin offering;
Num. 7:65 and for the sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, five male lambs one year old. This was the offering of Abidan the son of Gideoni.
Today, it is easy and tempting to give gifts that appear to be valuable, but are actually made of cheap plastic that is not worth much. In contrast, when the Israelites brought their offerings to dedicate the altar, they brought true value. Their offerings were worth almost half a million dollars.
If we want to give a gift that communicates how much we value someone, we have to consider whether the cost of the gift we are giving accurately represents how we feel.
Thanks for visiting Bible Mountain. If you have already joined my email list, thank you and please tell others about Bible Mountain. If you have not joined my email list yet, please do so now. In order to join, go to Bible Mountain dotcom, click on subscribe, and that will take you to a page where you can sign up. Your email address will not be sold nor given away. Once again, thanks for visiting Bible Mountain.
“Scripture quotations taken from the (LSB®) Legacy Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2021 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org and 316publishing.com.”