Day 43/365- Exodus 35:22; 36:6-7

Both men and women came, all whose hearts were willing. They brought to the Lord their offerings of gold—brooches, earrings, rings from their fingers, and necklaces. They presented gold objects of every kind as a special offering to the Lord . (Exodus 35:22 NLT)

So Moses gave the command, and this message was sent throughout the camp: "Men and women, don't prepare any more gifts for the sanctuary. We have enough!" So the people stopped bringing their sacred offerings. Their contributions were more than enough to complete the whole project. (Exodus 36:6, 7 NLT)

This is quite a different scene from a few chapters back. The people that brought their gold together to make a golden calf to worship instead of God are now giving their gold to build a structure dedicated to the worship of the one true God. The people have had a change of heart. The fact that they had enough gold to do this shows the extent of the plundering they did of the Egyptians.

This reveals a sharp contrast when it comes to what the Lord has given us. We have two options. We can use the blessings he has given us to be a blessing for his purposes in the world or we can use them for selfish intentions. We can use them for us or we can use them for him.

The people are willing to give God so much that they have to stop the giving. WHAT? Stop the giving? Every baptist reading this just had a heart attack. Imagine if today in church your ushers would have stopped the offering plates about half way back. "We got all we needed. We will not be taking up any more funds today." Imagine if half of the people gave so much that there wasn't room in the plates for any more.

This would never happen. But could it?

God's people were so generous that they had more than enough to do what was necessary. They had more than enough to do the work of God.

This is the type of sacrificial giving that we will have to display as God's people if we are to have a impact on the world for God's kingdom.

What are we doing with what we are given? What are we doing with God's blessings that he has given us? Are we using them for us or for him?