EXODUS 35 – 36; PSALM 51

 TITLE: GIVING TO THE LORD

PASSAGE FOR MEDITATION: EXODUS 35:4-9; 36:3-7

Moses said to all the congregation of the people of Israel, “This is the thing that the Lord has commanded. ⁵ Take from among you a contribution to the Lord. Whoever is of a generous heart, let him bring the Lord's contribution.

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, 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, “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.

REFLECT

It must have been quite a sight: precious metals, fabrics, oils, precious stones….brought to Moses over several days. One would have thought that God’s desire for a beautiful sanctuary was an impossible ask. The list of materials required to build the sanctuary comprised things that a group of displaced nomads, traveling without pause in the wilderness, could barely afford. True, some of these materials were given them by the Egyptians. The people must have thought that God had provided these to them for their next phase in the journey to the Promised Land. But here was a call to give for the building of the Holy Place of worship. What if they gave and did not have enough for their next destination?

What was even more amazing was that Moses did not demand the precious materials from the people. He asked for a freewill offering. Freewill offerings are notorious for being a mad idea for fund-raising. You simply won’t get what you hope to get. Hence many churches subtly coerce members to give ‘generously’ by appealing to the tithe – 10% of one’s income, and sometimes a larger percentage in addition. It seems almost foolish to rely on freewill offerings to get what is needed.

But over the next few days, the gifts kept pouring in, so much so that Moses had to stop the people from giving any more. And this outpouring of gifts was not because the congregation was wealthy. It was because they were generous. Neither did they give to show off their wealth or their generosity. They gave anonymously. No records of who gave what was recorded. The gifts were gathered collectively.

RELATE

There is no correlation between generosity and wealth. A pastor shared how he had served among a very poor community. Before he left that community for a different assignment, the members of that community took a collection for a gift to him. The amount that was collected was way more than what a community of persons so materially poor could have given. But they did. They gave despite their lack.

Recently as I received donations to sponsor families for the church camp, a member who earned very little and whose family had already been sponsored for the church camp, approached me with a sum of money. Tearfully, she asked that she be allowed to sponsor someone as well. 

I thank God for the generous in our community. Some have given thousands, and tens and hundreds of thousands. Others have given smaller amounts that are large in comparison to the little that they possess. Yet others have contributed to the weekly Sunday breakfasts, and the beverages and packet drinks for lunch. Yesterday morning, at a whim I reached church at 7am, curious as to what I  would see in church. I saw the tables at the atrium all set up and some members boiling water and preparing the place for breakfast. Day after day I see members giving of themselves in service to our Lord. I do not think God looks at the quantum. I know He is moved by what is in the hearts of the givers.

These days, we fret, and labour hard to raise funds. We agonise over new ideas to fund-raise – such as erecting a wall of honour for donors of large amounts, selling ‘bricks’ for donations, having rooms and facilities named in honour of generous donors, organising golf tournaments and carnivals for that extra dollar. And we hold thanksgiving services when we have finally raised the needed amount.

I pray for a day when we rejoice not only because we have raised enough money for our projects, but we rejoice because our people, rich and poor, have given generously. Because therein lies the heart of worship.

Chiu Ming Li