Total Need

Take what you have, an offering for the Lord. Exodus 35:5

When the Lord spoke to Moses atop Mt. Sinai, he told the Israelites to bring him an offering, gathered from each one, “whose heart prompts him to give.” These gifts would adorn the Tabernacle – Israel’s center of worship and God’s dwelling place among his people.

The Lord himself had also chosen craftsmen, and had filled them with his Spirit to skillfully follow his blueprint, and build just as he had commanded. God was meticulous in calling for detail.

The worship of God does call for careful attention, but the Bible is clear about two things: God’s people prepare for worship with an offering from the heart, and should remember that even the skills used in so responding are a gift from God.

When Solomon built the great Jerusalem Temple generations later, he said, “Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain.” These words from Psalm 127 would have been an important reminder to the Hebrews that even the great stones of their capital and its temple rested on the security available only through God’s gracious care.

When we respond to God in worship, we also know the success of our efforts rests squarely on remembering our dependence on him. Jesus said, “Without me you can do nothing.” But we spend our whole lives recognizing our need of him is not partial, but total.

Michael Denham