Exodus 35:4-9, “Moses said to all the
congregation of the people of Israel, "This is the thing that the LORD has
commanded. (5) Take from among you a contribution to the LORD.
Whoever is of a generous heart, let him bring the LORD's contribution: gold,
silver, and bronze; (6) blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine
twined linen; goats' hair, (7) tanned rams' skins, and goatskins; acacia
wood, (8) oil for the light, spices for the anointing
oil and for the fragrant incense, (9) and onyx stones and stones for setting, for
the ephod and for the breastpiece… (21) And they came, everyone whose heart
stirred him, and everyone whose spirit moved him, and brought the LORD's
contribution to be used for the tent of meeting, and for all its service, and
for the holy garments. (22) So they came, both men and women. All who
were of a willing heart brought brooches and earrings and signet rings and
armlets, all sorts of gold objects, every man dedicating an offering of gold to
the LORD. (23) And every one who possessed blue or purple or
scarlet yarns or fine linen or goats' hair or tanned rams' skins or goatskins
brought them. (24) Everyone who could make a contribution of
silver or bronze brought it as the LORD's contribution. And every one who
possessed acacia wood of any use in the work brought it. (25)
And every skillful woman spun with her hands, and they all brought what
they had spun in blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen. (26)
All the women whose hearts stirred them to use their skill spun the
goats' hair. (27) And the leaders brought onyx stones and
stones to be set, for the ephod and for the breastpiece, (28) and spices and oil for the light, and for the
anointing oil, and for the fragrant incense.
(29) All the men and women, the
people of Israel, whose heart moved them to bring anything for the work that
the LORD had commanded by Moses to be done brought it as a freewill offering to
the LORD.”
The time has come for the construction of the tabernacle and all its
articles, as well as all the priestly garments. Moses instructs the people to
give of their own resources so that the tabernacle might be built. It is
encouraging for us to read of how generous the people of Israel were, giving
freely of what they had.
For people who had been slaves, what they gave would have been of
great value to them, thus their giving would have been sacrificial. But it
would not have been without blessing, encouragement, joy and reward. What they
gave was then used to construct the tabernacle, with all its articles and
priestly garments. When completed they could look upon it all and know that
they played their part in the making of it. Not all of them were skilled enough
to be involved in the actual building and fabricating work, not all of them
would be able to enter into or serve in the tabernacle. Yet by giving of their
material resources, they could be a part of this tabernacle. We could say the
tabernacle belonged to all the people, for all contributed towards the building
of it, and all could gather around it to worship God. Thus as the work was
completed and the work of the tabernacle commenced they would have been
encouraged, blessed and rewarded by not just seeing the completed tabernacle,
but also by being able to worship God and offer up sacrifices. They would have
rejoiced as God’s presence came and filled the tabernacle, God was amongst
them.
Generally speaking people are only willing to give when they know that
they will get something in return, something of the same or greater value. Very
few will give and give sacrificially when they are not going to get it back or
receive any thing of similar value back. Sadly, many apply that same thinking
to their relationship with God. We give to God, to the work of the church, with
the hope that God will then give to us in return. Too many Christians talk
about receiving from God ten-fold what we have given Him. Such a motivation for
giving demonstrates that we are not giving because we want to give to God out
of the generosity of our heart, love for God and thankfulness towards Him. We
are in fact giving to ourselves, we are giving in the expectation of receiving
more than what we gave.
Our desire for giving should be motivated by our thankfulness to God for
all that He has given to us and for the salvation that we have in Christ. We
should give as an expression of our love for God and as a demonstration of our
trust in Him to provide for all our needs. We should give to God and not be
concerned about getting anything material in return. We should give and give
with joy, because in giving we receive the blessing, joy and encouragement of
knowing that what we give, God uses to support the work of the church and its
local ministries. What we give helps to advance the cause and work of the
Gospel in our community and it helps to advance the cause and work of the
Gospel out in the mission field. God takes our resources and uses them for the
increase of His glory, for the good of the Church and for the conversion of
sinners. This reality alone gives us more than sufficient reason to want to be
generous, willing and sacrificial givers.
Generous Father, You have given to us
beyond what we deserve, and You still give to us. You have been so generous, to
the point that You gave us Your very own Son. We thank You today for the riches
that are now ours through Jesus Christ. We pray that You would help us to tear
the love of money and materialism from our hearts and to love You more. Help us
to be willing, joyful and generous givers, so that Your Word by go forward at
home and abroad, bringing increasing glory to Your great Name. Amen.
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