Freewill Offerings (Bible Study by Beth Moore)

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Freewill Offerings to God:  Building the Tabernacle

We’re now in week 3 of A Woman’s Heart:  God’s Dwelling Place by Beth Moore.  Today, we studied freewill offerings.  God told Moses to tell the Israelites to bring him offerings of gold; silver; bronze; blue, purple, and scarlet material; fine linen; goat hair; ram’s skins died red; porpoise skins; acacia wood; oil for lighting; spices for anointing oil; fragrant incense; onyx stones; and setting stones.

In this lesson, we are reminded that God had given and given and given to the Israelites.  He continued to provide all their needs in spite of their grumbling and complaining.  Now, God asked the Israelites to give freely, as their hearts desired, to present a freewill offering to Him.

We learn in Exodus 36 that the Israelites responded well to God’s call to give a freewill offering.  In fact, they responded so well, that they gave above and beyond what was needed.

So Moses issued a command, and a proclamation was circulated throughout the camp, saying, “Let no man or woman any longer perform work for the contributions of the sanctuary.” Thus the people were restrained from bringing any more. For the material they had was sufficient and more than enough for all the work, to perform it. – Exodus 36:6-7

They children of Israel gave so much that Moses had to tell them to stop giving!  The purpose of the freewill offering was to collect materials to build the tabernacle.  They had more than they needed, more than enough, to complete the work.

Our freewill offering today is given in service to the Lord.  This lesson in our Bible study prompted me to think about my service.  Do I do it without complaining?  Always?  Do I serve freely, as a freewill offering, or do I serve out of a sense of obligation?  My heart’s desire is to serve freely, but sometimes we get so caught up in the busyness of doing church, that we serve out of habit or even out of a sense of obligation.  My heart’s desire is that my service to the Lord be given in freedom, a freewill offering, to further the Kingdom of Heaven.

Service under compulsion or from a sense of obligation is not a freewill offering.  The only motivation for an earnest freewill offering is the joy of giving.  Just as surely as God was building His tabernacle through the Israelites thousands of years ago, Christ is building His kingdom through us today. – Beth Moore, A Woman’s Heart:  God’s Dwelling Place 

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