Praises

2 Chronicles 31:2-5 – Hezekiah assigned the priests and Levites to divisions—each of them according to their duties as priests or Levites—to offer burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, to minister, to give thanks and to sing praises at the gates of the Lord’s dwelling. The king contributed from his own possessions for the morning and evening burnt offerings and for the burnt offerings on the Sabbaths, at the New Moons and at the appointed festivals as written in the Law of the Lord. He ordered the people living in Jerusalem to give the portion due the priests and Levites so they could devote themselves to the Law of the Lord. As soon as the order went out, the Israelites generously gave the firstfruits of their grain, new wine, olive oil and honey and all that the fields produced. They brought a great amount, a tithe of everything.

Psalm 7:17 – I will give thanks to the Lord because of his righteousness; I will sing the praises of the name of the Lord Most High.

Numbers 18:12 – “I give you all the finest olive oil and all the finest new wine and grain they give the Lord as the firstfruits of their harvest.

Deuteronomy 12:7,12 – There, in the presence of the Lord your God, you and your families shall eat and shall rejoice in everything you have put your hand to, because the Lord your God has blessed you…And there rejoice before the Lord your God—you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, and the Levites from your towns who have no allotment or inheritance of their own.

Nehemiah 10:39 – The people of Israel, including the Levites, are to bring their contributions of grain, new wine and olive oil to the storerooms, where the articles for the sanctuary and for the ministering priests, the gatekeepers and the musicians are also kept. “We will not neglect the house of our God.”

Nehemiah 13:13 – I put Shelemiah the priest, Zadok the scribe, and a Levite named Pedaiah in charge of the storerooms and made Hanan son of Zakkur, the son of Mattaniah, their assistant, because they were considered trustworthy. They were made responsible for distributing the supplies to their fellow Levites.

Application:

• ·         Vows reflect Israel’s religious consciousness that praise must follow deliverance as surely as prayer springs from need—if God is to be truly honored. Such praise was usually offered with thank offerings and involved celebrating God’s saving act in the presence of those assembled at the temple.
• ·         The king’s giving from his own wealth prompted a generous response from the people, as it had also under David.
• ·         Since the best items of produce were to be given to the Lord, these became the special foods of the priests and their families. The New Testament writers similarly argue that those who minister the word of God in the present period should also be paid suitably for their work.
• ·         The Lord wants His people to enjoy the fruit of their labor, because it is the result of His blessing.
• ·         Joy, based on the Lord’s blessings, was to be a major feature of Hebrew life and worship in the promised land.
• ·         Haggai had accused the people of neglecting the temple.
• ·         Nehemiah appointed honest men to make sure that supplies were distributed equitably, just as the church appointed deacons for this purpose.

All Scripture verses taken from NIV