August 6

20 And all the congregation of the children of Israel departed from the presence of Moses.

21 And they came, every one whose heart stirred him up, and every one whom his spirit made willing, and they brought the LORD's offering to the work of the talcernacle of the congregation, and for all his service, and for the holy garments.

22 And they came, both men and women, as many as were willing hearted, and brought bracelets, and earrings, and rings, and tablets, all jewels of gold; and every man that offered, offered an offering of gold unto the LORD.

23 And every man, with whom was found blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats' hair, and red skins of rams, and badgers' skins, brought them.

24 Every one that did offer an offering of silver and brass brought the LORD's offering; and every man, with whom was found shittim wood for any work of the service, brought it.

25 And all the women that were wise hearted did spin with their hands, and brought that which they had spun, lots of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, and of fine linen.

26 And all the women whose heart stirred them up in wisdom: spun goats' hair.

27 And the rulers brought onyx stones, and stones to be set, for the ephod, and for the breastplate;

28 And spice, and oil for the light, and for the anointing oil, and for the sweet incense.

29 The children of Israel brought a willing offering unto the LORD, every man and woman, whose heart made them willing to bring for all manner of work, which the LORD had commanded to be made by the hand of Moses.

God wants all His people to give and to work for His cause. There is opportunity for men and women, for boys and girls, for rich and poor, for

28

God wants all His people to give and to work for His cause. There is opportunity for men and women, for boys and girls, for rich and poor, for every variety of talent. Whether one does the fine or coarse work, it is equally acceptable to the Lord. There were spinners of fine material, and spinners of goats' hair.

The great beauty of this lesson lies in the spirit in which the offerings were made. It is not alone what we give, be it little or much, but it is essentially the spirit in which we give our gift or render our service which makes it acceptable to God and a blessing to our own souls. These offerings were made—

1. Enthusiastically. "Their hearts stirred them up." It was more than a cold discharge of duty. They were warm and eager.

2. Willingly. Four times it is said of these offerers in ten verses, that they were "willing" and "willing-hearted." There was no grudging here; no careful and nice calculating; but a willing, happy giving.

3. Universally. They all gave something. No class or sex was excluded from the privilege. The rich gave their gold and precious stones, the poorer their silver and brass; those still poorer gave their acacia-wood and spices, their rams' skins and their flax; while those who had nothing else to give, gave their fingers and offered to spin and forge into shape and form the gifts which others had brought. "It is accepted according to that a man hath, and not to that he hath not" (2 Cor. viii. 12).

4. Abundantly. We learn from xxxvi. 5, that the people brought so willingly and so freely, that there was more than enough, and Moses had to issue a proclamation restraining them from giving any more.

Such giving is inspiring. Evidently the people came to that pass where they loved to contribute. And if people now were to give after that fashion, there is hardly a place in the land where the aid of a home missionary society would be needed.

Closet Promise.—Though the Lord be high, yet hath He respect unto the lowly; but the proud He knoweth afar off.—Psalm cxxxviii. 6.

"I was thinking of Bartholomew—his name appears four times in the Bible, but never first. He was in the right place after all. It is astonishing what a man or woman can do in the right place. Since my consecration to God He has been pleased to use me for His glory."