Friday, April 13, 2012

The gold of the offering


Exodus 38: 21-31, “This is the sum of the tabernacle, even of the tabernacle of testimony, as it was counted, according to the commandment of Moses, for the service of the Levites, by the hand of Ithamar, son to Aaron the priest. And Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made all that the LORD commanded Moses. And with him was Aholiab, son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, an engraver, and a cunning workman, and an embroiderer in blue, and in purple, and in scarlet, and fine linen. All the gold that was occupied for the work in all the work of the holy place, even the gold of the offering, was twenty and nine talents, and seven hundred and thirty shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary. And the silver of them that were numbered of the congregation was an hundred talents, and a thousand seven hundred and threescore and fifteen shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary: A bekah for every man, that is, half a shekel, after the shekel of the sanctuary, for every one that went to be numbered, from twenty years old and upward, for six hundred thousand and three thousand and five hundred and fifty men. And of the hundred talents of silver were cast the sockets of the sanctuary, and the sockets of the vail; an hundred sockets of the hundred talents, a talent for a socket. And of the thousand seven hundred seventy and five shekels he made hooks for the pillars, and overlaid their chapiters, and filleted them. And the brass of the offering was seventy talents, and two thousand and four hundred shekels. And therewith he made the sockets to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and the brasen altar, and the brasen grate for it, and all the vessels of the altar, And the sockets of the court round about, and the sockets of the court gate, and all the pins of the tabernacle, and all the pins of the court round about.”
Even though the Lord gave special gifts to two men to build the Tabernacle, Bezaleel and Aholiab, they couldn’t do anything without the generosity of the Israelis. The greatest gifts in the world are useless without the raw materials to work with. These two men were responsible for making some of the most beautiful things that were ever made in the history of the world but they needed the gold and the other items before they could begin to work. Israel gave everything that was needed as freewill offerings to the Lord and then the men used those things to build the Tabernacle and everything that was needed for their ceremonial religion. The same is true today for gifted people in the Lord’s service, they need to be supported as well. This support should only come from the freewill offerings of the Lord’s people and not under compulsion or they will lose their focus on the Lord and focus on money instead.
(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

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