Episode Transcript
PRAYER OF CONSECRATION
Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.
Jesus, I belong to you.
I lift up my heart to you.
I set my mind on you.
I fix my eyes on you.
I offer my body to you as a living sacrifice.
Jesus, we belong to you.
Praying in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, amen.
Exodus 25:1–9
The Lord said to Moses, “Tell the Israelites to bring me an offering. You are to receive the offering for me from everyone whose heart prompts them to give. These are the offerings you are to receive from them: gold, silver and bronze; blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen; goat hair; ram skins dyed red and another type of durable leather; acacia wood; olive oil for the light; spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense; and onyx stones and other gems to be mounted on the ephod and breastpiece.
“Then have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them. Make this tabernacle and all its furnishings exactly like the pattern I will show you.”
CONSIDER THIS
We come now to the building of the Tabernacle—the place set apart for God to dwell in the midst of his people. There is so much to say about it, and I will say more as we move along, but there is one thing in particular I want to point out at the outset.
Where God is concerned, the way something is built is as (or perhaps more) important as the thing being built for God. This is doubly so when it comes to the way such things are funded. Today’s text reveals some clear wisdom.
The Lord said to Moses, “Tell the Israelites to bring me an offering. You are to receive the offering for me from everyone whose heart prompts them to give.
I hate “fund-raising.” Something tells me you hate it too. There’s an entire industrial complex out there built up around it—raising funds. The emphasis is on people or organizations “raising” funding from other people. Sure, it is being done “for God” and in God’s name and so often for the sake of a godly mission, but I think it misses the mark.
The text seems to articulate a different approach from “fund-raising.” I would call it “fund-receiving.” Look closely at the text again.
Tell the Israelites to bring me an offering: This is between the people and God, not the people and the organization or ministry. Moses is not asking the Israelites to support the cause or fund the budget. He is leading them to engage with God.
You are to receive the offering for me: The organization or ministry receives the offering for God, not for the organization. It seems like a subtle nuance. It is not.
from everyone whose heart prompts them to give: Moses is not asking for everyone to “do their part.” We get the impression Moses is not going to send endless appeals to wear them down. There is a difference between God prompting a person’s heart toward giving and Moses prompting them.
These are the offerings you are to receive from them: Moses lays out with specificity the offering to be received. Note, though, that the blueprints for the tabernacle have not yet been given.
In a few days, we will see a quite different approach to such things. Do the words “golden calf” ring a bell?
When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, “Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.” Exodus 32:1
Notice the contrasting approach at work here:
Aaron said to them, “Tear off the gold rings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” Exodus 32:2
I will let you do the math from here.
THE PRAYER FOR DELIVERANCE
Lord Jesus, you are my Deliverer.
I receive your deliverance from the money-centered enterprise of the golden calf and all its conscripted economy. I receive your deliverance into the God-centered world of the tabernacle with all its gracious provision. I receive your deliverance from the tiring approach of conscription and into the gracious reality of offering.
Put my heart in touch with your prompting alone and grant me an expansive generosity by your Spirit. Remind us all that it all belongs to you—the cattle on a thousand hills—and yes, the hills too. Make us stewards of the manifold grace of God, keeping us ever mindful that where our hearts are, our treasure will be also.
It will be for your glory, for others gain, and for my good.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.
As it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be. World without end, amen! Amen!
THE JOURNAL PROMPTS
What contrasts do you see between the approach taken with the tabernacle and that taken with the golden calf? List as many as you can discern.
THE HYMN
Today, we will sing “Freely Freely.” It is not in our hymnal, so I will include the lyrics below:
God forgave my sin in Jesus’ name
I’ve been born again in Jesus’ name
And in Jesus’ name I come to you
To share His love as He told me to
He said, “Freely, freely you have received
Freely, freely give
Go in my name, and because you believe
Others will know that I live”
All power is givin’ in Jesus’ name
In earth and Heaven in Jesus’ name
And in Jesus’ name I come to you
To share His power as He told me to
For the Awakening,
J. D. Walt
