Giving To The Lord

Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Tell the sons of Israel to raise a contribution for Me; from every man whose heart moves him you shall raise My contribution. And this is the contribution which you are to raise from them: gold, silver and bronze, blue, purple and scarlet material, fine linen, goat hair, rams’ skins dyed red, porpoise skins, acacia wood, oil for lighting, spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense, onyx stones and setting stones and setting stones, for the ephod and for the breastpiece. And let them construct a sanctuary for Me, that I may dwell among them” (Exodus 25:1-8).

Then Moses assembled all the congregation of the sons of Israel, and said to them, “These are the things that the LORD has commanded you to do. For six days work may be done, but on the seventh day you shall have a holy day, a Sabbath of complete rest to the LORD; whoever does any work on it shall be put to death. You shall not kindle a fire in any of your dwellings on the Sabbath day.” And Moses spoke to all the congregation of the sons of Israel, saying, “This is the thing which the LORD has commanded, saying, ‘Take from among you a contribution to the LORD; whoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it as the LORD’S contribution: gold, silver, and bronze, and blue, purple and scarlet material, fine linen, goats’ hair, and rams’ skins dyed red, and porpoise skins, and acacia wood, and oil for lighting, and spices for the anointing oil, and for the fragrant incense, and onyx stones and setting stones for the ephod and for the breastpiece. And let every skillful man among you come, and make all that the LORD has commanded’” (Exodus 35:1-10).

There are many details concerning the contributions of the people in this account, but for our purposes we shall attempt to focus our attention on some of the more general characteristics of the contributions to the tabernacle. Consider the following characteristics:

(1) Israel’s contributions were voluntarily given. There is an interesting comment given to us in verse 20 of chapter 35 which reinforces the voluntary aspect of Israel’s gifts. After Moses had given God’s instructions to the people, explaining the opportunity that each had to make a contribution, he dismissed them: “Then all the congregation of the sons of Israel departed from Moses’ presence” (Exod. 35:20). It is not until later, after the people had been dismissed, that the people began to bring their offerings to the Lord.

A number of modern-day fund-raisers would never think of dismissing a congregation until after they had made a commitment to give a particular sum. They would have pressed the Israelites to make an on the spot commitment. They would have passed out pledge cards to sign, so that the enthusiasm of the moment was not lost. Moses dismissed the people, so that they had time to themselves, apart from outside pressure, to determine what they could and should contribute. This insured the fact that the gifts were indeed voluntarily donated, and not obtained under some kind of emotional or psychological duress.

(2) Israel’s gifts were willingly and joyfully given. God instructed Moses to collect an offering from “whoever is of a willing heart” (Exod. 35:5), and the text frequently informs us that this was the case (cf. 35:21, 22, 26, 29). Every indication of our text is that the people gladly gave their gifts so that the tabernacle could be built.

(3) The gifts of the Israelites were abundantly given. The excitement and enthusiasm of the Israelites is evident by the abundance of their gifts. In fact, the text informs us that the gifts exceeded the need, so that Moses was requested by the workers to command the people to stop giving (Exod. 36:2-7). This is the first time in the history of mankind that I know of that people were told to stop giving because all that was needed was given. Today, there might have been a proposal to enlarge the tabernacle, so that donations would keep coming in. How wonderful it would be, just once, to be told not to give.

(4) The giving of the Israelites was unanimous. While all were free to give or not to give, the text strongly suggests that there were few, if any, who refused to have a part in contributing toward the construction of the tabernacle (cf. 35:23-28).

(5) The giving of the Israelites was proportionate. While virtually everyone gave something for the tabernacle, each one gave in accordance with what he or she had to give.

Everyone who could make a contribution of silver and bronze brought the LORD’S contribution; and every man, who had in his possession acacia wood for any work of the service, brought it. And all the skilled women spun with their hands, and brought what they had spun, in blue and purple and scarlet material and in fine linen. And all the women whose heart stirred with a skill spun the goats’ hair. And the rulers brought the onyx stones and stones for setting for the ephod and for the breastpiece; and the spice and the oil for the light and for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense. The Israelites, all the men and women, whose heart moved them to bring material for all the work, which the LORD had commanded through Moses to be done, brought a freewill offering to the LORD (Exod. 35:24-29, emphasis mine).

Those who were wealthy gave what only the wealthy would possess—the finest stones and gems, the most precious oils and fragrances. Those who had lesser means gave what they had.

(6) The giving of the Israelites included both material goods and technical services. The building of the tabernacle required two essential elements: goods and services. That is, there must be the raw materials from which the tabernacle and its furnishings were to be constructed. This included gold, silver, precious stones, animal skins, spices and ointments, and fine cloth. Then there must be skilled workers, both men and women, who would fashion these raw materials into objects of beauty. Some of those who gave to the tabernacle gave of their goods, while many others gave of their skilled abilities, to create a place of great beauty and worth.

(7) The contributions of the Israelites were of the highest quality. The tabernacle was to be of such quality and craftsmanship that it would befit the God who was to dwell within it (cf.Exod. 25:8). Thus, the materials used in building it were the finest that were available (cf. 35:6-9). So, too, with the craftsmen who were to create the intricate and beautiful works of art within the tabernacle (35:30-35). God was given the finest men had to offer, and all of these fine things, whether goods or skills, were God-given in the first place.

Many people say that they don't like church because they are always asking for money. The point is that when God wants to do something in the midst of His people He will give them an opportunity to be blessed. 

He told Moses to only accept the offering from those who had a willing heart to give. To me, it means not everyone gave but those who did give were a blessing to the project that God ordained. To the point that Moses had to ask them to stop giving. No pulling teeth... no hostage situation. 

Just ask and let God do the rest. I also liked the fact that he asked and The Bible says those that had gave. No one was made to feel bad because they didn't have. No one was pressured and no fake (false) rewards were promised. If you are willing and able changes the framework of how we give and why.

You are Bound No More. 


Pastor Linda Hillman 
(c) 2015 LAH Ministries International 
Booklindahillman@gmail.com 

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