Exodus 34:20

 

In Exodus 34, Yahweh instructs the Hebrews not to appear before Him emptyhanded. Here is that line from The New American Bible: “’No one shall appear before me emptyhanded.’”

 

My response: Now this can be read literally to mean that no one, however poor, should appear before Yahweh in the temple with no gift of offering to share, even if the gift shared was wildflowers from a nearby meadow, fresh water from a mountain stream, or a pretty quartz rock chunk offered to Yahweh.

 

The gift for the poor, or anyone, I suppose, can be a joyous, prayerful offering, and God would like and accept that.

 

Here is that same line from the Holy Bible (KJV): “And none shall appear before me empty.”