What the Bible says about God's Ownership of Everything
(From Forerunner Commentary)
Reminding Israel that He owns the land and therefore has the power to make good His promises, God demands Israel's loyalty, its commitment to obey His voice. His expectation is for Israel to be faithful to the terms of the covenant. With the words "My voice," God refers to the Ten Commandments, which He "spoke" (Exodus 20:1) from Mount Sinai, as well as to the statutes and judgments (which He also spoke to Moses) recorded in Exodus and Leviticus. God reiterates His requirement for obedience in Exodus 23:21-23.
Charles Whitaker
Searching for Israel (Part Three): The Old CovenantRelated Topics: Covenant | Covenant , Conditions of | God's Ownership of Everything | Obedience | Obeying | Old Covenant
Everything that exists belongs to God, He has the right to keep everything for Himself, but He chooses to share with human beings. He does not need to pay or repay anyone, or ask us for anything. Silver and gold are symbolic of everything of value.
Richard T. Ritenbaugh
Tithing
This is an astounding statement, considering the size of the earth and the number and relative insignificance of birds! But God's exercising of His will in working out His magnificent purpose is far greater because in this He is not dealing with irrational creatures but rational men in His image. Unlike birds, men have free moral agency and sufficient powers to form conclusions and set their wills to go their own way.
John W. Ritenbaugh
The Sovereignty of God: Part FiveRelated Topics: Chance as Occurence | Chance as Random Events | Free Moral Agency | God's Involvement with Inanimate Things | God's Maintenance | God's Management | God's Manipulation of Events | God's Mind | God's Omnipotence | God's Omnipresence | God's Omniscience | God's Ownership of Everything | God's Purpose | God's Sovereignty | God's Watchfulness | God's Will | Sparrow
God does everything perfectly and with wisdom and love. He did not carelessly call us. We are not nonentities swallowed up in the vastness of humanity. Matthew 10:29-30 assures us that God's sovereignty is not limited to just big issues; He superintends even the tiniest details. Each of us is so valuable He gave His Son for us. Thus, we need not fear that He will overlook us as we struggle with life. However, we do need to consider much more deeply how valuable our conduct and attitude are to the entirety of the church.
John W. Ritenbaugh
Little Things Count!Related Topics: Attitude | Calling | Calling, Uniqueness of | Chance as Occurence | Chance as Random Events | Conduct | God's Involvement | God's Involvement with Inanimate Things | God's Maintenance | God's Management | God's Manipulation of Events | God's Mind | God's Omnipotence | God's Omnipresence | God's Omniscience | God's Ownership of Everything | God's Purpose | God's Sovereignty | God's Watchfulness | God's Will | Little Things | Sparrow
God deemed this promise important enough to repeat in Luke 21:18, where the only difference is the context in which Jesus uses the illustration. There He promises that God will closely watch over us during periods of persecution. The scope of God's attentive care of His creation is so great that even an insignificant sparrow cannot die without Him being aware and approving that such a thing should happen. How awesome!
John W. Ritenbaugh
God's Sovereignty and the Church's Condition (Part One)Related Topics: Attitude | Calling | Calling, Uniqueness of | Chance as Occurence | Chance as Random Events | Conduct | God's Involvement | God's Involvement with Inanimate Things | God's Maintenance | God's Management | God's Manipulation of Events | God's Mind | God's Omnipotence | God's Omnipresence | God's Omniscience | God's Ownership of Everything | God's Purpose | God's Sovereignty | God's Watchfulness | God's Will | Little Things | Sparrow