Blog: Max Dawson
September 26, 2016
Let’s begin by going back in time almost 3,500 years. The people of God–the Israelites–have just been delivered from bondage in Egypt. It was in the third month after their departure from Egypt that they came to Mount Sinai.
At Sinai, Moses received The Ten Commandments–the fundamental precepts of The Law. In addition, he received hundreds of other commandments that were to direct the people of Israel. A major part of those directives addressed the building of the tabernacle, the center of Israelite worship. A large number of special items were required for the construction of the tabernacle and its furnishings. You can read about some of those materials that were required in .
At the beginning of that section, it is plain that the tabernacle would be furnished by free-will offerings from God’s people. Here is an excerpt from .
“And Moses spoke to all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying, “This is the thing which the LORD commanded, saying: ‘Take from among you an offering to the LORD. Whoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it as an offering to the LORD: gold, silver, and bronze…'”
Note, “Whoever is of a willing heart.” God’s faithful people have always had a willing heart. They were urged to give to this important part of God’s plan for worship.
How did they do?
The next chapter () shows how they responded. say…
“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.
That’s right. The people were so generous that they had to be restrained from giving any more. A rare thing? Maybe. But God’s faithful people have always been generous in meeting the needs in God’s cause. Read on.
THE FINAL WORD
I have in my hand a letter from the elders of the Southside Church in Gonzales, Louisiana. They announce that “…we have received enough funds to take care of the needs of our fourteen families that were affected by the Great Flood of 2016.”
The letter goes on to say that the funds received from churches and individuals far exceeded what was needed. As a result, being men of great integrity, the elders are returning some of the funds sent to assist the flood victims. The last line of their letter expresses this thought:
“For all of this—TO GOD BE THE GLORY!”
History repeats itself. As it was in Exodus, so it is today among God’s faithful people. What they gave “was sufficient for all the work to be done–indeed too much.”
The next time the devil tempts you to be down on God’s church, remember this incident. The people of God are the most generous people on earth.
Blessings to you my dear friends,
–Max