Passage: Exodus 35, specifically 34:4-5. Here, Moses proclaims God's Word - "Take from among you a contribution to the LORD. Whoever is of a generous heart, let him bring the Lord's contribution..."
Look at the fascinating response from the children of Israel. I mean this is just unheard of! Moses message was simple in its delivery, but very specific in its content. If you read verses 5-19 Moses details exactly what sorts of contributions the people should make. But notice that there is no fancy appeal to the hearts of the people, nothing to tug at their heartstrings so that they can muster the desire to give. Rather, he says - only ONCE I might add - "whoever is of a generous heart, let them bring the Lord's contribution". Wow! Short and sweet. Now look at the people's response - this is the real exciting part. Verses 20-21, "then all the congregation of the people of Israel departed from the presence of Moses. And they came EVERYONE WHOSE HEART STIRRED HIM, AND EVERYONE WHOSE SPIRIT MOVED HIM, and brought the Lord's contribution to be used for the tent of meeting, and for all its service." Again, further down, v. 22 we read: "so they came, both men and women. All who were of a willing heart brought brooches and earrings"...skip on down to v. 29, "All the men and women, the people of Israel, whose heart moved them to bring anything for the work that the Lord had commanded by Moses to be done brought it as a FREEWILL OFFERING to the Lord" It is clear from these passages that it is God who works FIRST in the heart of His children always. We have done ourselves a great disservice in focusing on HUMAN wisdom in order to appeal to HUMAN faculties to accomplish GODLY service. If nothing else, at the very least it has revealed to us just how hard the human heart is. If nothing else, it has made us keenly aware that these Christian principles are impossible to fully exercise without the Spirit of God. The heart to give freely to God cannot be fabricated. Any appeal to the human senses will achieve a human response - it will be transient at best, and lackluster. Notice too in this passage that God worked first in the heart of His leader, the prophet Moses. The preceding chapter details Moses' encounters with God. This man spent hours, (even days!) on mount Hebron to pray and fellowship with God. This was no ordinary preacher. Thus while his request seems all but ordinary in its delivery, there was most certainly an EXTRAordinary force behind it...working in the hearts of the attendants even as he spoke. This ushered me to thoughts of our church leaders these days. They ought to possess the same authority, yet the church pews are filled with zombies...just going through the motions. No change, no zeal for God, no passion for service. From leadership, I began to think of ourselves. How much we struggle with evangelism for example. We are afraid to speak because we don't have the right words to say, or we get nervous who's watching, or we simply lack the desire. Then we marvel at the courage and zeal of our favorite Bible characters. What's the difference? What's missing? We see it clearly evoked in this story. Moses spent time with God. He sought FIRST the kingdom of God and His righteousness. Moses had a mount Hebron where he daily met with God, do you? Our efficacy in the work of CHRIST depends on our faithfulness in the 'small' things. It's as basic as when you first heard it, prayer and Bible meditation are key. They must not be taken lightly. You need personal time with God, that way His Spirit may sharpen you. Then not only will you possess the passion for God's Word and the boldness to proclaim it, you will also witness the authority He has given you as your words somehow seem to pierce through the hearts and souls of individuals, driving them to obedient action. Wow! What wonderful work the Holy Spirit does! If you skip ahead to ch 36:5, notice that the craftsmen are shocked by the people's response. They tell Moses, "the people bring much more than enough for doing the work that the Lord commanded us to do". Haha! MUCH MORE THAN ENOUGH, now that's surplus! You see, when God does His work, it is done perfectly. I leave you with Ecclesiastes 10:10, "if the iron is blunt, and one does not sharpen the edge he must use more strength, but wisdom helps one to succeed". Do you have this wisdom? The Bible says 'the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom'. I ask - do you fear God? If you did, you would keep His commandments and read His Word. -Junève
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Today's Verse
“Behold you are beautiful my love, behold, you are beautiful; your eyes are doves” Song of Solomon 1:15 ESV Quotations"A word spoken by you when your conscience is clear and your heart full of God's Spirit is worth ten thousand words spoken in unbelief and sin." Archives
January 2023
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