After the Israelites escaped slavery in Egypt, it came time for them to build a portable worship space (they called it a tabernacle). So when the people who had been put in charge of construction and decorating asked their fellow citizens for donations of supplies and money, the people were beyond generous.
After all, the whole impetus for the exodus—fancy word for exit—from Egypt was because Pharaoh wouldn’t let them go into the desert to worship God. They were so overjoyed to donate to the project that the artisans doing the work said, “‘The people are bringing more than enough for doing the work the LORD commanded to be done.’ Then Moses gave an order and they sent word throughout the camp: ‘No man or woman is to make anything else as an offering for the sanctuary.’ And so the people were restrained from bringing more, because what they already had was more than enough to do all the work” (Exodus 36:5-7).
Whoa! These former slaves were so excited to be set free that they could not stop giving. For them, giving was a joy. And that’s how believers today give too—freely because they’ve been set free. It’s not a stingy reluctance. It’s a celebration that God gave Jesus freely to rescue us too, to give us an exodus from slavery to sin to freedom in Jesus.
Let’s pray today that we all have the same attitude of generosity when it comes to our time, prayers, money, love, and acts of service.
