Exodus 35-36; Acts 10

Exodus 36:2-7

Then Moses called Bezalel and Aholiab, and every gifted artisan in whose heart the LORD had put wisdom, everyone whose heart was stirred, to come and do the work. And they received from Moses all the offering which the children of Israel had brought for the work of the service of making the sanctuary. So they continued bringing to him freewill offerings every morning. Then all the craftsmen who were doing all the work of the sanctuary came, each from the work he was doing, and they spoke to Moses, saying, “The people bring much more than enough for the service of the work which the LORD commanded us to do.”

So Moses gave a commandment, and they caused it to be proclaimed throughout the camp, saying, “Let neither man nor woman do any more work for the offering of the sanctuary.” And the people were restrained from bringing, for the material they had was sufficient for all the work to be done—indeed too much.

These verses tucked in the middle of all the (sort of boring) details for building the tabernacle and holy garments hold a really special place in my heart. I discovered them a couple or so years ago when my church was going through a very rough period. There were issues dealing with our pastor, some had distrust of our leadership, we hadn't come close to our budgeted giving and I'm sure there were a hundred other negative things going on of which I wasn't even aware. But when I read these verses, especially verses 6 & 7, back then, I started praying them for my church.

All Moses did was say God wants us to take an offering so we can do this thing God has called us to. If you are willing, pitch in. The passage I read doesn't even say everybody brought an offering. It merely says those whose hearts were stirred, leaving me to believe there were some hearts unstirred. And the offerings came and they came and they came, every morning. Hearts were so willing that Moses had to issue an order not to bring any more. "People were restrained from bringing." I love that! They didn't have to be compelled or guilted into giving. Their giving had to be held back.

Now my church has just recently kicked off a capital fund program and is going to be building a sanctuary. We have a great pastor who is proclaiming The Word in boldness. Our church body is much more healthy and less fractured. The total of giving to and through our church last year was a huge, mind-blowing amount. Praise God hearts are being stirred and that He is ever faithful.

But I still pray these verses. I want the hearts of my church family to continue to be stirred. Sure I pray that more than enough funding will come in to pay for the building. But my prayer is not just so they will give of material goods. My prayer continues to be that my heart, as well as theirs, will be stirred in ways that prompt the continual offering of ourslves for use in building His kingdom. In that giving there can never be too much and no restraint will ever be needed.