Back to God

"Everyone whose heart stirred him and everyone whose spirit moved him came and brought the Lord’s contribution for the work of the tent of meeting and for all its service and for the holy garments. Then all whose hearts moved them, both men and women, came and brought brooches and earrings and signet rings and bracelets, all articles of gold; so did every man who presented an offering of gold to the Lord. Every man, who had in his possession blue and purple and scarlet material and fine linen and goats’ hair and rams’ skins dyed red and porpoise skins, brought them. Everyone who could make a contribution of silver and bronze brought the Lord’s contribution; and every man who had in his possession acacia wood for any work of the service brought it." -Exodus 35.21-24

Israel finally has been told about the Tabernacle, and that God will dwell among them there. And so they all begin to make contributions for the construction to begin. Everyone whose heart stirred him to contribute brought a contribution. They brought gold, silver, bronze, linen, and animal skins, and presented it so that the Lord would dwell among them.

The question we have to ask is where did they get all of this? They were slaves after all and would have not had riches. But God had told Moses that when the people were finally freed that they were to ask the Egyptians for gold and silver and clothing (Exodus 3.22, 12.35). All of their wealth was given to them because God put the fear of Israel into the Egyptians, their wealth was a gift from God. And now they are bringing it back and offering it to God.

Men, take a look around you right now, what do you own? Your house? Car? The stuff in your house? Look at your bank account. Take an inventory of your gifts and talents. Know where you got all of them? You might say you worked hard for what you have. You might say that you developed your talents over time with a lot of practice. To a point that could be true, but who allowed your work and practice to be successful? Everything that you and I own, every talent we have, is from God.

So we must ask the question, what will you do with what you have? Will you hoard it and store it for a rainy day? Will you use it to obtain more? Or will you give it back to the service of God? Will you use your house and car for ministry? Maybe you host a small group in your living room and disciple others. Maybe there is a young man who needs a ride to work. Will you use your talents to build the Kingdom? Maybe you can teach, will you teach others about God? Maybe you are a great administrator or good with finances, will you volunteer your time to the church, or those in the church who could benefit from your knowledge?

All that we have is a gift from God. When the people gave for the Tabernacle, God dwelt among them. If we offer what we have to God, He is able to dwell among us. Are you willing to give back to God?

"Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."

To God alone be the Glory!

Strength and Honor

Communicate and Teach

"Then Moses assembled all the congregation of the sons of Israel, and said to them, 'These are the things that the Lord has commanded you to do:'" -Exodus 35.1

Moses has come down from the mountain and now he gathers Israel together to inform them of what God has commanded. Moses has interceded with God for their actions with the Golden Calf, and now they are ready and able to hear from God. It wasn't enough for Moses to hear from God and keep it to himself, or just to share it with Aaron and Joshua. Moses is the leader of the people of Israel, and as the leader it is his job to communicate the teachings of God to the people.

Men, it is crucial that we are spending time in the presence of God. It is important for that time to be a genuine time of worship and hearing from God. But it is also important that we share what God is teaching us. Our role, as the spiritual leader of our household, involves us teaching our families about God. We learn from God so that we may teach others about God.

God blesses us so that we can bless others. He teaches us so that we can teach others. If we hoard our blessings and teachings, we aren't doing what God intended. We are meant to be poured into, and then pour out into others. The Sea of Galilee has water pour into it from three tributaries that come down from the mountains. It then pours water out into the Jordan River. It is a sea that is full of life and sustains life because it is poured into and pours out.

Follow the Jordan south to the Judean wilderness and you'll reach the Dead Sea. This sea has water pour into it from the Jordan River, but it's the lowest place on earth. Water collects there but never flows out. The water is so dense from all of the minerals that you float effortlessly on the water. But there is no life in the sea, and it is appropriately named Dead.

If all we do is be poured into, then we ultimately become useless, and don't sustain life, just like the Dead Sea. But if we spend time with God and learn from Him, and then pour out what we've learned to others then we give life, just as the Sea of Galilee does.

Let us spend time in the presence of God so that we may communicate and teach others about Him.

"Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."

To God alone be the Glory!

Strength and Honor