God’s Desire for Giving

For so many Christians, the topic of giving often has very negative connotations. It brings back memories of pastors standing in the pulpits, guilting their congregation because the bottom line of the church is not being met. There are even stories of ministry leaders sitting down with congregants personally and asking about why they are not tithing a full 10% of their income. The goal here is not to paint a morbid picture of the local church as a money-hungry machine. On the contrary, the goal is to re-frame giving as a response to God and not as an obligation to the church.

God desires a place for his Spirit to dwell.

A story which paints a strong picture for what giving should be rather than what it has become in recent history is the story of Israel building the Tabernacle. Much of this story takes place in Exodus, bur the Tabernacle is referenced all throughout scripture. The Tabernacle was built after Israel was freed from Egypt and during their 40 years of wondering in the wilderness. This structure was designed by God to serve as a holy place where he would be able to dwell among his people. Sacrifices and offerings would be made at the Tabernacle and it would be the very presence of God wherever Israel went. This meant it had to be mobile, but the mobility would not take away from the beauty of the construction. In fact, the author of Exodus spends the latter portion of the book explaining the exact construction of the Tabernacle, to the materials used, the length of curtains, and the design of the structure itself. 

This all may sound like very tedious information to include in the book, let's consider for a moment the implications of this for our own spiritual lives. The Tabernacle was to be a place where God's presence would dwell among his people, a place where priests would come and where sins would be atoned for through sacrifice and offerings. Any place where God dwells must be holy and God himself is ensuring that the Tabernacle would remain a place where his spirit could be found. Jumping forward to the New Testament after Christ dies and is resurrected, the same God who dwelled in the Tabernacle now dwells in us as followers of Jesus and vessels of his Holy Spirit. The amount of detail, time, and resources put into the Tabernacle is what our lives should emulate. We are to be a holy place where God's spirit dwells among his people, and we should tend to the details of our lives just as the Israelites tended to the details of the Tabernacle.

God desires for us to willingly participate.

A logical question one may ask in this situation is, where will these resources come from? Reading this section of scripture in the context of Israel's entire journey, it would not be out of the question to assume that God would miraculously provide everything needed for the Israelites to construct the Tabernacle. He has provided miraculously for the Israelites in the past and their is no reason to think he could not do it again.

In Exodus 35:5, Moses calls together the entire Israelite community and expresses the wishes of the Lord for the collection of materials to be used in the construction of the Tabernacle. "Let everyone whose heart is willing bring this as the Lord's offering..." God makes no bones about it, he wants the Tabernacle built a certain way with certain materials, and the Israelites were going to make it happen. One part of this verse that is worth focusing on is the part when Moses emphasizes "...let everyone whose heart is willing..." The Lord does not go so far as to coerce or force the Israelites to participate in his plan. Rather, the heart of the giver is incredibly important to the Lord. He wants every ounce of contribution to this project to be made willingly and without reservation.

As God is the same yesterday, today and forever, it would make sense that he would want the same heart in our giving today as he wanted from the Israelites. He wants us to willingly participate in his plan, to respond to his vision for His kingdom, not to respond to guilt, fancy campaigns or to selfish motivations. God desires willing participation in his work, and he will not settle for anything less.

God desires for us to give our best.

So now that God's method for procuring the resources for the build has been established, God goes on to lay out the details of the build. In the second part of Exodus 35:5, Moses tells the people of Israel exactly what they are to give with a willing heart. "...gold, silver, and bronze; blue, purple, and scarlet yarn; fine linens and goat hair; ram skins dyed red and manatee skins; acacia wood; oil for the light; spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense; and onyx onyx with gemstones to mount on the ephod and breastpiece." It is obvious that these materials do not come cheaply and are probably well protected in the Israelite homes of the day. When we talk about the people of Israel willingly giving away these fine materials, we are talking about them willingly giving away their financial security, all so the spirit of God can have a proper place to dwell among them. For those who did give, the presence of God meant so much to them that they were willing to give the absolute best their families had to offer.

The chapter goes one step further and loops in not only giving of material possessions, but also the giving of time and skill. Moses goes on in Exodus 35:10 to say, " Let all the skilled craftsman among you come and make everything that the Lord has commanded..." Not only did God call the willing hearts to supply the materials, but he also called the willing hearts to supply the labor. These skilled craftsman could have been using their time and talent to create goods and provides services to support their families. Rather, they trusted God enough and desired his presence enough to devote that time and energy to his commands. Again, no one was coerced or forced to give beyond what that were willing to do so. Rather, God laid out the vision through Moses and the people responded accordingly.

God desires for us to give our best. He is not content with our leftovers and whatever we see as sufficient investment in his work. He wants us to go beyond the comfortable. He wants us to long for his presence so much that we would be willing to give up every amenity, every earthly comfort to have his presence among us.

God desires for us to give until the need is met.

As the construction of the Tabernacle continued, something incredible happened. The people of Israel did not just give once to the project. People came day after day, continuing to give materials for the building of this holy structure. They gave until the builders informed Moses that the need had been completely met and they did not need anymore materials. Moses had to issue a proclamation in Exodus 36:6 telling people to stop bringing material because their was more than enough.

Can you imagine the impact the global church would have on the world if we gave until the need was met? This does not mean that a few wealthy benefactors give to a new church building, or a faithful few do all of the work while the rest of us sat back and reaped the reward. Rather, the transformation of lives would be multiplied enormously if every believer, every Christ follower, simply decided to participate in God's work by giving the best we have to offer.

God is building something far greater right now than he was during the construction of the Tabernacle. He is building His kingdom here on earth through the church established by his son Jesus Christ. Our heavenly father has cast the vision for us, that his name would be glorified here on earth and those around us would be reconciled to him. It is our privilege to be invited to participate in this work and give to that vision. Let us all pray to become better stewards of the resources entrusted to us so that our giving can be found desirable to the Lord.