20 Then all the congregation of the sons of Israel departed from Moses’ presence.21 Everyone whose heart [s]stirred him and everyone whose spirit [t]moved him came andbrought the Lord’s [u]contribution for the work of the tent of meeting and for all its service and for the holy garments. 22 Then all [v]whose hearts moved them, both men and women, came and brought brooches and [w]earrings and signet rings and bracelets, all articles of gold; so did every man who [x]presented an offering of gold to the Lord. 23 Every man,[y]who had in his possession [z]blue and purple and scarlet material and fine linen and goats’hair and rams’ skins [aa]dyed red and porpoise skins, brought them. 24 Everyone who could make a [ab]contribution of silver and [ac]bronze brought the Lord’s [ad]contribution; and every man [ae]who had in his possession acacia wood for any work of the service brought it. 25 All the [af]skilled women spun with their hands, and brought what they had spun, in [ag]blue and purple and scarlet material and in fine linen. 26 All the women whose heart [ah]stirred with a skill spun the goats’ hair. 27 The rulers brought the onyx stones and the stones for setting for the ephod and for the [ai]breastpiece; 28 and the spice and the oil for the light and for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense. 29 The [aj]Israelites, all the men and women, whose heart [ak]moved them to bring material for all the work, which the Lord had commanded through Moses to be done, brought a freewill offering to the Lord.
Two things stand out to me here. The first is in vv 23-26, where it qualifies those who gave. All the Israelites did not give, but rather, there were several categories of those who gave. All who gave had their hearts stirred by God, which is the most important part. When God speaks to us to give, we dare not ignore that voice. For this is an area (where I’ve heard often), God challenges us to put Him to the test. To see if we can out give God. It cannot be done. If you want to be blessed, don’t hold back. The other categorization indicates those who had in their possession and those who could make something. So God did not ask them to give beyond what He had already given them. But that doesn’t mean the gifts were not sacrificial in nature or amount. I’m reminded of the widow’s mite in Jesus’ day and Jesus said she gave more than all those who gave more monetarily. Her gift, in proportion, was larger, because it was all she had. But she did not doubt that God would provide more. That doesn’t mean you write a $1,500 check when you only have $1,000 in the bank. That’s lunacy, not faith.
The last thing that stood out was that it was a freewill offering. It was not demanded. Indeed the “commandment” itself stated, “whoever is of a willing heart…” God does not value grudging gifts (what an oxymoron), but He wants only what we are willing to give.