Waving Gifts

It’s one of the most unusual stories in the whole Bible. Moses has led the children of Israel, God’s people, out of slavery in Egypt, through the Red Sea, and out into the desert on their way to the Promised Land of Canaan. On their way, they camp at Mt. Sinai, and God gives Moses the 10 commandments along with instructions for how the people are to live and worship as God’s chosen people.

One of the instructions is to build a Tabernacle, a dwelling for God and a place of worship. Moses announces that anyone who is willing can give to the building of God’s house. Exodus 35 reports that “all who were willing” gave from what they had. People were thrilled to give a gift to the Lord from what they had: gold, silver, jewelry, expensive clothes, gemstones, spices, olive oil, and perfumes. People wanted to thank God for his provision in their lives, and for the journey so far, and mostly, they wanted to bless God with gifts.

The amazing part of the story is that the people gave so much that Moses had to tell them to stop. That’s right; the Bible actually says that Moses had to restrain the people from giving. That is hard to imagine, isn’t it?

My Thursday night Bible Study has spent the whole semester in the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Bible) and we’ve learned a lot about worship as we’ve processed through the laws that God instituted through Moses. One thing that God gives many instructions about is offerings. God made it quite plain about what kind of offerings would please him and that offerings should be a regular part of worship. The Israelites were to practice giving offerings for the atonement of sin as well as regular tithes of the first fruits of their livestock, crops, and income. These were the required offerings.

The Book of Leviticus also says that there will be times when people will want to do more. These will be special times when the people will offer gifts to the Lord over and above the regular offerings as a way of saying, “Thanks for a particular blessing in my life,” or, “Thanks, Lord, for your continued provision,” or, “Here’s a gift just because I wanted to come before you to bless you for who you are.” These offerings were not required; they were given because the person simply wanted to do so. They were called freewill offerings.

This kind of offering was also known as a wave offering because the gift was to be lifted up over your head and waved before the Lord. The “waving” was not to draw attention to yourself but to honor the Lord. Wave offerings were always a celebration, for they represented gratitude and joy.

Here at the end of our Intentional for 10 Emphasis, we are planning a freewill offering: a time to celebrate the Lord’s goodness and provision in our lives. This offering is intentional. We want to be people who continually practice extreme generosity. We want to be people who regularly celebrate the goodness of God by blessing him with the waving of extravagant gifts in gratitude for what He has done for us. And there is no better time to give a gift than Christmas! So, I will invite everyone to offer freewill gifts to the Lord this weekend as a part of worship.

The offering will represent different things for different people:

For some people, it will represent the end of three years of sacrificial giving. Many of us made a commitment at the end of 2006 to help build a place of belonging and welcome for people that we did not know yet. I know that my family made a three year commitment that we will complete this weekend. It has been a stretch for us, but we have been glad to be a part of this dream that God put on the hearts of so many people.

For some, the offering will be a response of gratitude to God for providing a new church home in the last three years. You are new to Covenant. You were not here when almost 800 families committed themselves to give sacrificially, but now you want to add your name to the list of those who are building the future for others. Your sacrificial gift is not the fulfillment of a pledge but a new pledge to join the rest of us as we fuel the mission God has given us here at Covenant.

For others, the offering will be a response to God for his provision during what has been a down year economically. When we give an offering out of the gratitude for God’s provision, we proclaim that our trust is not in the stock market, or the value of the dollar, or the government, but in the Lord who always provides for his people.

For still others, the offering will be a response of obedience. You have heard the Holy Spirit speak specifically to you about giving an outrageous gift. Your heart has wanted to do it, but the number is…well…scary. You may well look back on this particular offering later and be amazed at the joy you had when you gave from your heart!

So, I invite you to come and celebrate with others as we all give!

Just remember that this offering is a freewill offering. No one should give unless they want to. Not everyone will be able to give the same amount, but hopefully everyone can come and give something and so participate in a time of great joy!

See you this weekend,

Branson