Give generously

Exodus 36:3-7
(3) And they received from Moses all the contribution that the people of Israel had brought for doing the work on the sanctuary. They still kept bringing him freewill offerings every morning,
(4) so that all the craftsmen who were doing every sort of task on the sanctuary came, each from the task that he was doing,
(5) and said to Moses, "The people bring much more than enough for doing the work that the LORD has commanded us to do."
(6) So Moses gave command, and word was proclaimed throughout the camp, "Let no man or woman do anything more for the contribution for the sanctuary." So the people were restrained from bringing,
(7) for the material they had was sufficient to do all the work, and more.

This account of the generous giving of the Israelites touched my heart so much when I read it. The people gave so freely and so much to the work of the Lord that Moses had to command them to stop. The amazing thing is that Moses did not threaten or manipulate them to give either. He just said that those who felt it in their hearts to give should bring it, not much fanfare. I was in a meeting once while at YWAM when we took an offering like that. It took almost half a day to complete the offering and people were bringing money, guitars, shoes, rings, clothes and even a car. It was so nice to give because everyone was obeying the Lord and you knew it was right. It was so glorious and we experienced God’s presence in a tangible way that day.

The children of Israel had come out of Egypt and were travelling through the desert with the stuff they could carry on their donkeys and oxen. They did not own real estate or big established businesses at the time and were actually just about 3 million refugees. This gold and diamonds and things that they brought for the tabernacle must have been very valuable to them as it was the only form of wealth they had, other than their livestock. These things were literally their nest egg that they kept for when they entered the Promised Land. It would be their start-up capital to rebuild their lives and businesses. Still, they were willing to give this up to the Lord.

What we must remember is that these were the Israelites who just finished worshipping the golden calf and who had to be reprimanded for their idolatrous lifestyle. These Israelites, not the most committed people, were willing to give so freely to God. Remember they had no experience of the infilling of the Holy Spirit as we have and they did not know Jesus Christ yet. They were raw out of Egypt and still had a lot of Egypt in them and still they gave so generously. Man, this touched me. Today, we are born again, filled with the Spirit and we know we are going to heaven and yet we cannot raise an offering like this in a church filled with people who have real estate, cars, investments and so on. I have seen the poor giving more generously than most affluent people in the wealthier congregations.

We have a problem today. People are more committed to their own welfare than to the work of the Lord. God faced the same issue when He said that the people of Israel were building their own houses while His house was lying in ruins. I have made a decision that I will dedicate my life for the building of the House of God, which is the church. I have given not only my material goods but also my career, my dreams and my energy to build the church. Where are you at my friend? Are you a generous giver to the work of the Lord or do you have to be manipulated out of your cents? I can only exhort you to be a generous giver; it is how God likes it. He loves a cheerful giver. 2 Cor 9:7

till all has heard..
skalla