Generosity in the Church (Exodus 36:3–7)

“And they received from Moses all of the contributions that the people of Israel had brought for doing the work on the sanctuary. They still kept bringing him freewill offerings every morning. So that all the craftsmen who were doing every sort of task on the sanctuary came, each from the tasks that he was doing, and said to Moses, “The people bring much more than enough for doing the work that the Lord has commanded us to do.” So Moses gave command and word was proclaimed throughout the camp, let no man or woman do anything more for the contribution for the sanctuary so that people were restrained from bringing. For the material they had was sufficient to do all the work and more.”
– Exodus 36:3–7

Do realize what this just described? God had called his people to give for the construction of the tabernacle. They started giving, Exodus 35, out of generous hearts, and they gave so much to the point where Moses had to tell them to stop giving. That they had more than they needed.

Let us pray to the end that by God’s grace we might overflow with generosity for the glory of Christ in the church and among the nations.

God Wants Us to be Exceedingly Generous

I think about, when was the last time in any church a pastor said, “You’re giving too much, stop giving. That’s crazy. To think about people who are giving more than what’s needed to the point where they have to be told to stop. Oh, what if that were the case among us though? What if we were that generous in our giving, that it was like, “Slow down, we don’t have places to give yet all this money to. We don’t have ways to use all these resources wisely right now. Give us some time, and we can figure out ways to make the glory of Christ known in the world more. But we want to make sure we’re using that money wisely. So just hold on for a minute.”

Exodus 36:3–7: Prayer for Abounding Generosity

I pray for this kind of picture of generosity in the church specifically in America. Would you join me in praying for that, and praying for that in our own hearts and lives, and families, in our churches? God, we want to overflow with generosity. There are so many excesses in the world around us. We pray that your church would have excess giving, especially across the United States where I live, and all the wealth you’ve given us. I pray the same though for other countries. Brothers and sisters in other places, God help us to grow in this kind of generosity.

We pray, God, I pray for this kind of story in the church. I’m a part of, churches that I hear about. God, we pray that you would get us to the point where we’re giving too much. Where we’re giving too much. Where we have to be told to stop. Or at least put a pause until there’s the best way possible to spend all the resources that are coming in.

Asking for God’s Spirit to Help Us be Generous

God, your Spirit did this in Exodus, by your grace, you made this a reality among your people. God, I pray for your spirit to do this today in your church. Please oh God, cause this to be a reality among us, like generally among us specifically, in our churches. God, I pray that you cause this to be a reality in my life. Even God, I just pray for my life, my family, and others who are listening to this. Help us to overflow with too much generosity. I didn’t even think there was such a thing. Oh God, but there’s clearly such a thing here in Exodus 36:3–7. So, may it be so in our lives we pray in Jesus name, amen.

David Platt serves as a pastor in metro Washington, D.C. He is the founder of Radical.

David received his Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is the author of Don’t Hold Back, Radical, Follow MeCounter CultureSomething Needs to ChangeBefore You Vote, as well as the multiple volumes of the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series.

Along with his wife and children, he lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area.

LESS THAN 1% OF ALL MONEY GIVEN TO MISSIONS GOES TO UNREACHED PEOPLE AND PLACES.

That means that the people with the most urgent spiritual and physical needs on the planet are receiving the least amount of support. Together we can change that!

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