Good
Morning Friends,
“Moses
summoned Bezalel and Oholiab and every skilled person to whom the Lord had given
ability and who was willing to come and do the work. They received from Moses
all the offerings the Israelites had brought to carry out the work of constructing
the sanctuary. The people continued to bring freewill offerings morning after
morning. The skilled craftsmen who were doing all the work said to Moses, ‘The
people are bringing more than enough for doing the work the Lord commanded to
be done.’ Then Moses gave an order and they sent this word throughout the camp:
‘No man or woman is to make anything else as an offering for the sanctuary.’ So
the people were restrained from bringing more, because what they already had
was more than enough to do all the work.” (Exodus 36:2-7)
Can
you imagine a fund-raising effort like this one? The people gave too much! They
kept bringing their offerings morning after morning and finally those who were leading
the construction project stopped their work and came to Moses to say that they
had more than enough to do all that needed to be done. Moses gave the order that
the offerings were to stop! They had to restrain the people from giving more!
I’ve
never known anything like that. There was such a desire to give, such a desire
to honor the Lord with this new tabernacle that the people gave too much!
It
reminds me of what Paul said about the Macedonians. “They gave as much as they
were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, they urgently
pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints.” (2
Corinthians 8:3-4)
They
gave as much as they were able to give.
They
gave beyond their ability.
They
gave with complete willingness, without pressure.
They
pleaded for the privilege of giving.
They
had tremendous hearts of generosity toward the work of the Lord.
How
does your experience with giving compare to the Israelites giving for the
tabernacle? How does your attitude toward giving to the work of the Lord
compare to the attitude of the Macedonians as they shared with those in need?
His,
by Grace, Steve
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