Moses said to all the congregation of the people of Israel, "This is the thing that the LORD has commanded. Take from among you a contribution to the LORD. Whoever is of a generous heart, let him bring the LORD's contribution: gold, silver, and bronze; blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen; goats' hair, tanned rams' skins, and goatskins; acacia wood, oil for the light, spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense, and onyx stones and stones for setting, for the ephod and for the breastpiece. "Let every skillful craftsman among you come and make all that the LORD has commanded: the tabernacle, its tent and its covering, its hooks and its frames, its bars, its pillars, and its bases; the ark with its poles, the mercy seat, and the veil of the screen; the table with its poles and all its utensils, and the bread of the Presence; the lampstand also for the light, with its utensils and its lamps, and the oil for the light; and the altar of incense, with its poles, and the anointing oil and the fragrant incense, and the screen for the door, at the door of the tabernacle; the altar of burnt offering, with its grating of bronze, its poles, and all its utensils, the basin and its stand; the hangings of the court, its pillars and its bases, and the screen for the gate of the court; the pegs of the tabernacle and the pegs of the court, and their cords; the finely worked garments for ministering in the Holy Place, the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons, for their service as priests." Then all the congregation of the people of Israel departed from the presence of Moses.
Exodus 35:4-20
It is highly instructive to see the order in which this chapter develops. First of all (1-3), worship and communion with God on His holy day; then sacrificial giving from willing hearts; then costly and careful service; and all prefaced by the giving of the Word from God. This has something of the greatest import to teach us in the life of the Church today. The recovery of the Word of God is the first necessity if ever there is to be a recovery of interest in the Church's work, for this is the only real source and inspiration of a true stewardship. One of the saddest and most humiliating aspects of Church life at the present time is the constant complaint about the lack of finance for the Church's work, with its average per capita givings little more than a pittance. If we are to believe the teaching of these verses, the remedy for this deplorable situation lies not in further, better-organised appeals and streamlined, business-like techniques, but in a recovery of interest in the gospel on the part of the Church's membership, and in a revival of evangelical faith in Christ. It is the Spirit of the living God alone that can move the hearts of men and make them willing, and He works in the context of the Word of the gospel. What James Denney once said about missionary interest is true also of the whole range of Christian work today: 'If there is little missionary interest in the churches, depend upon it, the reason is that there is little evangelic interest. The wonder of that redeeming revelation that made the first disciples Apostles has faded away, and we must revive it by standing where the Apostles stood, and seeing Christ in the awful and glorious light in which they saw Him, if new life is to enter into missionary work'. How needful for such words to be written with a pen of iron on the life of the Church today.