When asking for gifts to support the church, it is easy to appeal to guilt or fear or shame. But instead, God simply calls those whose hearts move them to give to the work of the Lord (v. 2). And we find the same motivation in the New Testament as well: “Let each one do just as he has purposed in his heart; not grudgingly or under compulsion; for God loves a cheerful giver” (II Corinthians 9:7).

And while a Tabernacle of cloth or a Temple of stone is no longer necessary for God’s worship, we are still called to “construct a sanctuary” for the Lord (v. 8). But today, the Temple is made up of “living stones” – all those who love and trust the Lord Jesus. And we are called to offer, not the blood of bulls and goats, but “spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (I Peter 2:5).

So what sort of sacrifices do we need to offer? What should we give to the Lord to build His Temple, to draw more people to become part of the Body of Christ, the Church? Well, we can support evangelists and church planters with our funds and our prayers, and we can encourage them with our calls, emails and letters. But we can also participate in God’s building project more directly, reaching out to our own neighbors with the good news of Jesus, not only with our words of welcome, but with our deeds of love.

But just as Moses was told to build God’s sanctuary only according to the pattern that God showed Him (v. 9), we must also be careful to do our work of evangelism and mission only according to the Word of God. Every congregation of Christians must rest on the firm foundation of the Person and Work of Christ alone (I Corinthians 3:11).

And why do we seek to live holy lives so that others may believe what we say about Jesus? Why do we give of our time, our talent, and our treasure so that people near and far may acknowledge the claims of Christ? God wanted a Tabernacle to be built so that He might “dwell among” His people (v. 8). And that is still the purpose of the Church – to celebrate the God Who is with us in Jesus Christ, and to welcome others into His fellowship.

Moses called his people to build a Tabernacle, and God is calling us to help build His Church. So, let’s get busy!

Exodus 25:1-9 (NASB)

Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
2 “Tell the sons of Israel to raise a contribution for Me; from every man whose heart moves him you shall raise My contribution.
3 “And this is the contribution which you are to raise from them: gold, silver and bronze,
4 blue, purple and scarlet material, fine linen, goat hair,
5 rams’ skins dyed red, porpoise skins, acacia wood,
6 oil for lighting, spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense,
7 onyx stones and setting stones, for the ephod and for the breastpiece.
8 “And let them construct a sanctuary for Me, that I may dwell among them.
9 “According to all that I am going to show you, as the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furniture, just so you shall construct it.