Offerings and Dwellings~

May 2, 2020 - Debbie Graham

Offerings and Dwellings

Focus Verses

Exodus 25:2 “Speak to the children of Israel, that they bring Me an offering. From everyone who gives it willingly with his heart you shall take My offering.”

Exodus 26:30 “And you shall raise up the tabernacle according to its pattern which you were shown on the mountain.”

After Moses had spent 40 days and 40 nights on Mount Sinai with the Lord, we read in chapter 25 that God speaks again to him and tells him to speak to the children of Israel.  He was to tell them to bring the Lord an offering.  God told him to take the offering to the Lord from whoever gave willingly from his heart.  The Lord told Moses to receive specific offerings from the children of Israel to build His temple.  God had laid out the pattern for the building of the temple where the Lord would dwell. 

We are to give willingly from our hearts to the Lord and worship Him with our gifts.  Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 9:6-7 “But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.”  It is such an honor to get to sow bountifully to the Lord both financially and in serving with what He has bountifully given. 

We read three times in Exodus 25–27 that Moses was told by the Lord to make the items for the temple according to the pattern shown to him on the mountain.  God wanted to dwell with His people and gave specific instructions in the building of the sanctuary so He could dwell with them there.  God was specific with every detail of the building of His temple.  He requested the best materials to be used for His place of worship.  Only the best for Him, and only His best for us. 

Our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit.  “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?” (1 Corinthians 6:19).  Just as God instructed Moses how to build the temple, He has also instructed us on how to build and maintain our temple where He dwells.  We have been shown how the Lord wants us to live to honor Him.  We read in Micah 6:8, “He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God?” 

We read in Exodus 27: 20 that the Lord told Moses, “And you shall command the children of Israel that they bring you pure oil of pressed olives for the light, to cause the lamp to burn continually.”  As we live our lives as a temple of the Holy Spirit, may we always use pure oil in our lamps that we may burn continually and so that others might see Him in us. 

How am I giving?  How am I caring for His temple?  What am I bringing to Him to honor Him?  Am I doing justly?  Am I loving mercy?  Am I walking humbly? 

Prayer

Father God, thank You for showing me what You require of me.  Help me to remember that You want to dwell with me, and that I am a temple in which You choose to dwell.  Help me to prepare and preserve my temple for You with only what is pure.  May I always give to You willingly from my heart.  In Jesus Name, Amen.