The Lord's Contribution

God’s Requirements for Giving

20  Then all the congregation of the people of Israel departed from the presence of Moses.   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.  - Exodus 35:20-21 ESV

Moses had come down from the mountain, not only with instructions for how the people of God were to live, but also with detailed blueprints for a tent of meeting where they were to worship their Creator.  Understand that the construction of this tabernacle would take place in the wilderness. God’s people could not go to the local hardware store or lumber yard to pick up supplies. Everything depended on their generous contributions. They were the only source for all the materials required.

The people responsible for supplying these resources were former slaves. Exodus 1 describes their lives in Egypt. Speaking about how the Egyptians treated them, the passage says: 

 13  So they ruthlessly made the people of Israel work as slaves   14  and made their lives bitter with hard service, in mortar and brick, and in all kinds of work in the field. In all their work they ruthlessly made them work as slaves. - Exodus 1:13-14 ESV

Egypt reduced Israel to slavery and made their lives bitter. These Israelites would not have had time to tend their gardens or prosper their families. Their efforts were forcefully devoted to the prosperity of the Egyptians. Their lives were bitter because of how their masters treated them.

Through the valiant efforts of their leader Moses, these former slaves were now on their way to a land promised by God to their forefathers. Put yourself in their situation for a moment. You are looking forward to a new life in your own land. This, of course, will not come without a price. After years of being oppressed as slaves, you are not interested in returning to this kind of lifestyle again. The funds you have available to you are set aside to get started with your new life. They are your assurance of a better future. You can imagine how easy it would have been for these men and women to hold on tightly to any riches they had.

It is in this context that we read in Exodus 35:5, the command of the Lord God to Moses:

 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. - Exodus 35:5-9 ESV

Do you see what God is telling Moses here? He is telling him to get a contribution from these former slaves to build a tabernacle in which to worship His name. In other words, all the supplies for the construction of this tent of meeting were to come from the contributions of God’s people. We could look at this and say, “What kind of God demands that former slaves, now in search of a break in life, give what they need for that new life, to build an elaborate tent to worship Him?” Consider this question for a moment. 

In Exodus 12:33-35 as the people of God were leaving Egypt, we read these words:

 33   The Egyptians were urgent with the people to send them out of the land in haste. For they said, “We shall all be dead.”   34  So the people took their dough before it was leavened, their kneading bowls being bound up in their cloaks on their shoulders.   35  The people of Israel had also done as Moses told them, for they had asked the Egyptians for silver and gold jewelry and for clothing.   36   And the LORD had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they let them have what they asked. Thus they plundered the Egyptians. - Exodus 12:33-36 ESV

Observe what is happening here. As the people of God left Egypt, they asked the Egyptians for silver, gold jewelry and clothing. I can imagine that these Israelites would have been content simply to leave their life of bondage. This was more than they could have imagined. But here we see those who are freed from bondage going from door to door asking for contributions of gold, silver and clothing. Why did they do this?

The answer is found in Exodus 11:1-3 where we read:

 1  The LORD said to Moses, “Yet one plague more I will bring upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt. Afterward he will let you go from here. When he lets you go, he will drive you away completely.   2  Speak now in the hearing of the people, that they ask, every man of his neighbor and every woman of her neighbor, for silver and gold jewelry.”   3   And the LORD gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover, the man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh’s servants and in the sight of the people. - Exodus 11:1-3 ESV

God told Moses to tell the people to go to their neighbours and ask them for silver and gold . The result was that God gave the Israelites favour with the Egyptians and they richly provided them with a great supply. These former Israelite slaves left Egypt very wealthy. This, of course, brings up another question. Why did these slaves need gold, silver and fancy clothes in the desert? There were no stores in the wilderness to spend their gold, and no fancy balls to attend with their new clothing? What use is gold and silver in the wilderness when you are hungry? What benefit is a fancy suit when you are suffering from the heat of the desert?

The answer to this question is found in the verse we read earlier. God asked His people in Exodus 35:5 for a contribution of gold, silver, fine yarns and linen for the construction of the tabernacle. The contributions God asks from His people were from the gifts they had received from the Egyptians. While these things were of no use to them personally in the wilderness, they were of use to God. His people were to be stewards of these gifts for the construction of the tabernacle.

In his book Deeper Christian Life, Andrew Murray, writes:

I must see that everything I have is given by Him; I must learn to believe in God as the Great Owner and Giver of all. Let me hold that fast. I have nothing but what actually and definitely belongs to God. Just as much as people say, ‘This money in my purse belongs to me,’ so God is the Proprietor of all. It is His and His Only.” - Murray, Andrew, Deeper Christian Life.

The resources God requests from His people for the construction of the Tabernacle were given to them to hold until He required them. God asks for nothing that is not already His. We think wrongly when we believe that what God has given is ours alone. 

Listen to the words of Psalm 89:

The heavens are yours; the earth also is yours; the world and all that is in it, you have founded them. - Psalm 89:11 - ESV

What do we have that is not God’s if the heavens, earth, the world, and all that is in it is God’s?

Consider also to the words of 1 Chronicles 29:11:

Yours, O Lord is the greatness and the power, and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and the earth is yours… 1 Chronicles 29:11- ESV

Everything in the heavens and earth is God’s. He has the right to do what He wants with all that is His.

What does Jesus tell us in Luke 14:33?

So, therefore, anyone of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple. - Luke 14:33 - ESV

According to Jesus, anyone that wants to be a disciple of His, must surrender all he or she has for His glory. He must have first place and all that we have must be held in submission to His will. We can only have peace with God when we accept this reality. God had given his people gold, silver and clothing, to safeguard for Him until He required it for the construction of the tabernacle.

While what we have, has been given by God to use as He sees fit, it is possible for us to misuse these gifts and blessings. Consider what happened at the foot of Mount Sinai. There Aaron called for a contribution of gold and fashioned a golden calf. He told the people that this was their new God. This, however, was not the intended use for this gold. The Israelites squandered the resources God had given them on that evil idol.

God does not give up on His people. While they had been guilty of squandering His gifts, here in Exodus 35 He calls for the release of gold, silver, bronze (verse 5), blue, purple, scarlet yarn and linen (verse 6), ram and goat skins as well as acacia wood (verse 7), oil, spices and precious stones (9). You can see the variety of things God’s people carried with them into the desert. God now reveals to them His intended purpose.

While all of these things had been given to the Israelites for safekeeping, observe something very important in Exodus 35:5:

 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;  - Exodus 35:5 ESV

Note particularly the phrase, “Whoever is of a generous heart, let him bring the Lord’s contribution.”  While these gifts belonged to the Lord, and He had the right to reclaim them, He only wanted back what those with a generous heart would give Him. Consider this for a moment. 

The heart is the place of feelings as well as the will and intellect. To give from the heart is to have a desire and willing commitment to do so. The Hebrew word translated “generous” speaks of a voluntary surrender. To give generously is to give out of the kindness and passion of our being. God was asking His people to return to Him from a willing and consenting heart. He was not interested in any gift that was not given in this way. 

While God could have rightfully demanded what He had given to His people, He chose instead to wait for it to be given willingly, and with a generous heart. Given in any other way, it would not have honoured His name.

Giving begins not when we reach for our pocket book, but with the heart. If you can’t give with a willing and generous heart, you can’t truly give. God has a right to everything He has given you, but He will not demand it back against your will. He waits for you to be willing.

We see the attitude God required for the return of what He had entrusted to His people. Note now how the people of Israel gave. Consider first the words of Exodus 35:21:

 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.  - Exodus 35:21 ESV

When God asked for a contribution Exodus 35:21 tells us that “everyone whose heart stirred him, and everyone whose spirit moved him” brought their offerings.

We have already established that the heart is the place of passion and willing commitment. The Hebrew word translated as “stirred” is נָסָה (nāšā́), meaning to lift, to burn, or to desire. Those who returned what the Lord had given them did so with a heart filled with passion and a burning desire to do so.The

Not only did the Israelites give from a heart stirred up, but also from a spirit that moved them. The spirit is understood to be that part of us that reasons and discerns. The word “moved” in the Hebrew language refers to a voluntary act of that spirit. While the stirring of the heart refers to the attitude and emotions in giving, the spirit seems to refer to the voluntary commitment of the mind and intellect. We see the need, hear the call, and determine that it is the right thing to do. God expected Israel to give out of a clear and reasonable sense that what they were doing was right, but also from a heart filled with passion and delight. 

Exodus 35:22 tells us

 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.  - Exodus 35:22 ESV

“All who were of a willing heart brought” their offerings for the construction of the tabernacle. Every gift given that day was from a willing heart. Nobody was forced to give. The call went out and those who felt that call in their heart and spirit gave generously and cheerfully.

Writing to the Corinthians the apostle Paul says:

 7  Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. - 2 Corinthians 9:7 ESV

Notice two details here in this verse. 

First, each person was to give as he determined in his heart. There is an act of the intellect here. The person giving does not do so blindly, but considers the need and determines before God whether this is from Him and gives accordingly.

Second, each person was to give freely and cheerfully and without reluctance or compulsion. The type of giving Paul calls for is a giving that comes from a willing heart that delights to give. It is a gift given to God as a cheerful and joyous gift. To give out of reluctance or compulsion does not honour His name. These are not the gifts God wants for His kingdom. They are defective bricks in the wall that will only weaken its integrity. 

There is something else we need to see from Exodus 35. It is easy for us to feel manipulated or compelled to give. I remember being at a meeting where the pastor did not feel that the offering taken that day was sufficient, so he had the ushers take up a second offering telling people that they needed to give more. What should we do, however, when we do not have what people seem to be demanding from us?

Some years ago I received a phone call I had from an individual I had briefly met on an international ministry trip I had taken.  The individual on the other end of the line asked me to pay for his Bible School education. When I told him I did not have the funds to do so, and that what I did have was tied up in the distribution of books, he simply laughed, telling me that I lived in a country where there was lots of money and I could get what he needed to pay for his schooling if I wanted. In these situations it is easy to wonder if we should sell our house and give what they require. You can almost hear the words, “If you were spiritual enough and had enough faith you would be willing to do so.” How do we respond when people make these types of requests and make us feel guilty for not giving?

First, remember what we have already considered here. While God has a right to all that we have, it was only those whose heart stirred them and whose spirit moved them who were to give. That is to say, those who could give cheerfully and those who had determined in their mind and spirit that this was the will of God for them.

Second, observe the words of Exodus 35:24-25:

 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. - Exodus 35:24-25 ESV

Notice a few details in these two verses. First listen to the words, “Everyone who could make a contribution.” Second, note the phrase, “And every one who possessed acacia wood …brought it.” Finally, consider the statement, “Every skilled woman spun with her hand, and … brought what they had spun.” There is an important theme here. 

It was those who could, who contributed. It was those who possessed, who bought. It was those who had skill, who spun. The implication is clear. There are those who can’t, those who don’t possess, and those who are not skillful. You can’t give what you have not received. God does not ask you to give what He has not given you to safeguard. 

A few years ago, I was spending time reflecting on the New Year and what I needed to be doing in that year. As I reflected and prayed, the Lord spoke to my heart and said: “Don’t outrun my strength.” Those words seemed quite strange to me and I asked myself, “How is it possible to outrun the strength of the Lord?” Isn’t He all powerful? As I asked the Lord about this, He showed me that He gives strength to do what He asks us to do. I can use up that strength, however, by running ahead of Him or doing what I was never called to do. I realized how guilty I was of doing this. In my effort to serve Him faithfully, I was doing more than He had asked me to do, and was burning myself out in ministry as a result. The same is true in our giving. We must be wise stewards of the resources God has given us and carefully discern how we are to use these blessings to do what He has called us to do.

Consider the words of Jesus in Matthew 7 about the servants who prophesied, cast out demons, and did mighty works in His name. Listen to what our Lord said about these individuals and what they will hear on the Day of Judgment:

 22   On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’   23   And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’ - Matthew 7:22-23 ESV

They did all this work, but it was not what God asked them to do. They did it in the name of Jesus, but He did not recognize what they did for Him. What is true of our service, is also true for our giving. You can give God what He does not want from you. Observe what Malachi 1:10-11 tells us about the gifts Israel was bringing to the temple:

 10   Oh that there were one among you who would shut the doors, that you might not kindle fire on my altar in vain! I have no pleasure in you, says the LORD of hosts, and I will not accept an offering from your hand.   11  For from the rising of the sun to its setting my name will be great among the nations, and in every place incense will be offered to my name, and a pure offering. For my name will be great among the nations, says the LORD of hosts. - Malachi 1:10-11 ESV

God called for someone among them to shut the doors of the temple so that no one could bring another offering. He refused Israel’s gifts because they were impure and blasphemed His name. Malachi goes on to speak about the attitude of the people who brought these offerings:

13  But you say, ‘What a weariness this is,’ and you snort at it, says the LORD of hosts. You bring what has been taken by violence or is lame or sick, and this you bring as your offering! Shall I accept that from your hand? says the LORD. - Malachi 1:13 ESV

Genesis 4 recounts the story of two brothers who brought an offering to the Lord. Listen to this account as recorded in Genesis 4:3-5:

 3  In the course of time Cain brought to the LORD an offering of the fruit of the ground,   4  and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the LORD had regard for Abel and his offering,   5  but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell.  - Genesis 4:3-5 ESV

God received the offering from Abel but not from Cain. Just because you bring an offering, does not mean that God accepts it. The prophet Amos speaks about this when he writes in Amos 5:22-23:

 22   Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them; and the peace offerings of your fattened animals, I will not look upon them. 23  Take away from me the noise of your songs; to the melody of your harps I will not listen.  - Amos 5:22-23 ESV

God told His people that He had no interest in their offerings and songs. Cain’s offering was unacceptable, likely because of the attitude of his heart. The offerings of God’s people in Amos’ day were rejected because they were not living for Him and their gifts were being offered with unclean hands. God rejected the offerings of Malachi’s day because they saw it as a weariness and burden to give and did not give with a cheerful and willing heart.

God asks us to be responsible with the resources he wants to use for His kingdom. We hold these resources, care for them and multiply them so that when He requires them of us, we have them ready for His purpose. While these offerings are already His, God will not force them out of our hands. He waits for us to give them back with a willing and cheerful heart. The heart I am speaking about here is the heart of the believer who has been carefully watching over these resources just waiting to hear the call of God to surrender them. It is the heart of the one who has been multiplying and keeping these gifts, shiny and bright for the moment they will be required. It is the heart of the believer who has more delight in how these gifts can be used for the kingdom than in the gifts themselves. Those who understand that the value of the gifts is not in themselves, but in what they can accomplish in the Master’s hands. These are the seeds He will plant to produce a great harvest of righteousness. 

There are offerings, however, that God simply does not want. He does not want to plant seeds infected with the poison of a reluctant heart. He has no desire to receive gifts given with dirty hands stained with sin and defiled by unrighteous deeds and attitudes. He is not asking for you to give what He has not already given you to hold for this purpose. If we want to give as God requires, we must first understand that all we have is from Him. He has given us the stewardship of these resources for the expansion of His kingdom. When He is ready to use those gifts, He looks for men and women, whose hearts are stirred, whose spirits are moved, and who give willingly with a cheerful heart. 

Understand that what God asks from you is not just your money but also your time, effort and skills. Listen for that call. Offer what you can willingly and cheerfully to Him, and you will be surprised at what He can do with it. If you have a reluctant heart, confess that to Him and ask Him to transform it so you can be an instrument in His hands for the expansion of His kingdom.