Hudson Taylor was a man of great faith whom God used in an extraordinary way to bring the good news about Yeshua to the people of China in the nineteenth century. He was a man who had learned to trust in God in all circumstances and to believe God for all of his needs. We see his faith illustrated through a famous quote of his: “God’s work done in God’s way will never lack God’s supply.” Hudson Taylor was focused on the work of God and he emphatically knew and believed that God would provide for everything that was in accordance with God’s purpose.
Hudson Taylor was not a prosperity gospel preacher or a man who lived an exorbitant life, rather he was a simple man of faith who believed that God would provide for the things that God wanted to accomplish on this earth. Hudson Taylor kept his focus on the LORD and the LORD provided for him time and time again.
Hudson Taylor knew God in an intimate way and understood the faithful character of the LORD. He knew that God was a loving Father who desires to give good gifts to His children and this truth guided him in his walk of faith. Both giving to the LORD and receiving from the LORD require a genuine faith that is focused on God and God alone. We read about this same guiding principle in regard to giving in this week’s Torah Portion, as the children of Israel are challenged to give an offering to the LORD.
The LORD’s Tabernacle
The LORD called Moses to come up to Mt. Sinai and Moses was on the mountain for 40 days and 40 nights (Ex. 24:18). It was during this 40-day mountain top experience that God would explain to Moses the details of the worship center that the children of Israel were to build for His presence. The plan and construction of this worship center, called the Tabernacle, occupy the last third of the book of Exodus starting with Exodus 25 until the end of the book. This week’s Torah Portion begins by the LORD giving the plan of the Tabernacle to His servant Moses.
The LORD had the blueprints for the Tabernacle and He knew exactly how each detail was to be constructed and from which materials it was to be made. In preparation for building the Tabernacle, the LORD told Moses to raise a contribution from among the sons of Israel:
Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Tell the sons of Israel to raise a contribution for Me; from every man whose heart moves him you shall raise My contribution. – Ex. 25:1-2
The LORD did not instruct Moses to send the elders of Israel back to Egypt to apply for a loan from the Egyptian Central Bank. Nor did the LORD instruct Moses to find the best mortgage rate available to finance this new worship center. There was to be nothing of this nature. God told Moses to raise a contribution from the sons of Israel and this would suffice.
The LORD’s Contribution
The Hebrew word for contribution is “תרומה” – “terumah” and can mean “donation,” “contribution,” or “offering.” It is most often used in the Scriptures as an offering to the LORD. The word “תרומה” – “terumah” can be used of an offering which is obligatory (Ex. 30:11-13) or of an offering which is given voluntarily, as we see in the context which we are studying (Ex. 25:2).
When God instructed Moses to take up this contribution from the sons of Israel it was to be of a personal nature. To begin, the LORD told Moses that this contribution was for Him. Twice in one verse the LORD specifically stated that this contribution was for Him personally: “ויקחו לי תרומה” – “veyikho li terumah” – “and they shall raise for Me a contribution” and the last phrase in this verse “תרומתי” – “terumahti” – “My contribution” (Ex. 25:2). The contributions were for building the Tabernacle but they were designated for the LORD. It was to be “The LORD’s Contribution.”
A Voluntary Contribution
The other unique aspect to this contribution was that it was to be voluntary. It was not to be a compulsory or mandatory offering, but rather a donation from the heart: “from every man whose heart moves him you shall raise My contribution” (Ex. 25:2).
This phrase “from every man whose heart moves him” is fairly straightforward in the Hebrew, however, I just want to focus on one aspect of this phrase; “ידבנו ליבו” – “yidvenu libo,” which is translated as “whose heart moves him.” This phrase is used in a poetic manner and could be translated; “who has a generous heart,” “who voluntarily gives from the heart,” or “whose heart desires to give.” The giving was to be done freely, voluntarily, and as generous as one wanted to be. To read more about the uniqueness of the Hebrew used in this verse I recommend reading last year’s commentary on this Torah Portion: The Invitation
The Uniqueness of the Contribution
One does not need to be a Hebrew scholar to understand the intent of what God was communicating in this one verse (Ex. 25:2). God was not forcing or coercing a donation from the people. God had a clear plan for the Tabernacle and He was providing them with an opportunity to give as much as they wanted to or even nothing at all. It was totally up to the conviction of their individual hearts.
It struck me as I was studying this week’s Torah Portion that the heart of God is intrinsically connected to giving voluntarily and extravagantly. The concept of “giving” from God’s perspective is summed up well in this one verse: “Tell the sons of Israel to raise a contribution for Me; from every man whose heart moves him you shall raise My contribution” (Ex. 25:2). The contribution was for the building of the Tabernacle but it’s focus was the LORD. The contribution was for a real physical need but God did not tax the people or try to guilt them into giving. God only desired and requested contributions from the heart.
The Heart of Giving
We read in the New Testament that God loves a cheerful giver (2 Cor. 9:6-7) and I think we see the heart of God illustrated so perfectly in this scenario in the Sinai. The Israelites had come away with great spoil from Egypt (Ex. 12:35-36) and now God was giving them an opportunity to share their wealth. God provided an open door for the sons of Israel to give from their riches and to let their hearts know the joy of giving. I believe that this is the heart of God in the area of giving.
It is easy to become mechanical in our giving or to focus on projects rather than on the LORD Himself. This is a danger that we need to constantly be aware of. Whether we give to an individual in need or to a large project that we believe will bring glory to God, we always need to keep our focus on the LORD Himself and neither on a person nor on a project.
Giving to our Father in Heaven
In Yeshua’s teaching in the “Sermon on the Mount” we read of this same challenge to keep the heart of our giving focused on the Father in heaven:
Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven. So when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honored by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. – Matthew 6:1-4
Yeshua penetrated deep into the motivation of our giving and challenged us to give as unto the LORD Himself with no other strings attached. In our giving, we should not seek the donor plaque on the hall of the church or our name in the newspaper. To whomever and to whatever we give, our giving should always be first and foremost to the LORD.
We see a great illustration of giving found in the book of Acts in the New Testament. In the time following the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the believers in Yeshua at Shavuot (Pentecost), we read that there were literally thousands of new believers who were joining this new spiritual move of God (Acts 4:4).
Extravagant Giving
Just as the nation of Israel experienced a new move of God on earth when they came out of Egypt and were invited to contribute to the Tabernacle of God, so we read of the new move of God by His Spirit after the ascension of Yeshua to the right hand of the Father. The new believers at that time were united by their faith in Yeshua and were eager to see God’s Kingdom advance on the earth:
And the congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul; and not one of them claimed that anything belonging to him was his own, but all things were common property to them. And with great power the apostles were giving testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and abundant grace was upon them all. For there was not a needy person among them, for all who were owners of land or houses would sell them and bring the proceeds of the sales and lay them at the apostles’ feet, and they would be distributed to each as any had need. – Acts 4:32-35
The believers in Yeshua were united in their faith and this led to extravagant giving from those within the body of believers. They were not under compulsion to give but rather they voluntarily gave of their own wealth for the sake of meeting the needs of the community. Their contributions were given to the apostles but the focus of their giving was on the Lord Yeshua.
In this same context of the extravagant giving by the first century believers, we read of two examples of those who gave. The first example is a believer named Barnabas. We read that Barnabas owned some land, sold it, and gave the money to the apostles (Acts 4:36-37). Barnabas is an example of one of the believers who gave extravagantly to the Lord for the sake of the Kingdom of God. Not under compulsion but out of a willing heart, he sold a portion of land and gave the money to the Lord through the authority of the apostles.
Worldly Giving
The second example we read about in this same portion of Scripture shows another side of giving that is tainted with worldly motives. It is a well-known story and I only want to touch on the highlights to illustrate the point of where the focus of our giving should be. This second story is about a married couple named Ananias and Sapphira.
We read that Ananias and Sapphira also sold a piece of property and brought the money to the apostles, however, they somehow misrepresented the amount that they gave. They had pretended to donate the full price that they had received for the land to the apostles but they had lied and had kept some of the money for themselves (Acts 5:1-2).
The Holy Spirit brought this whole situation to light through the apostle Peter and both Ananias and Sapphira were exposed of their falsehood:
But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back some of the price of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not under your control? Why is it that you have conceived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.” – Acts 5:3-4
As we read in this text, Ananias and Sapphira were not under compulsion to sell their property nor to give the money to the Lord. They were totally free to buy, sell, and give as they wished, however, in their giving they had wanted to appear like they were giving extravagantly when in essence they had fabricated a lie to make it look like they were giving the full amount of what they had received. As Peter so precisely pointed out, their actions and words revealed that they had “not lied to men but to God.”
Giving as unto The LORD
The story of Ananias and Sapphira teaches us afresh that our giving should never be to men but to God. If we focus on giving to men than our motives will be confused and there will be no blessing and no reward from our Father in heaven. When our focus in giving is first and foremost to the Lord, our giving will be from a pure heart that is centered on God’s Kingdom. We will not seek an earthly blessing but will only seek the eternal blessing that comes from God above.
As we read about the LORD’s invitation to raise a contribution for the Tabernacle, let us remember that the contribution was not the contribution of Moses or the contribution of the Tabernacle, but the contribution of the LORD! God Himself is to always be the focus of our life, especially in our giving. Be an extravagant giver and keep your eyes on the LORD!
Daniel,
What are your thoughts on the to Terumah being utilized today? If I understand it correctly it is an offering that was given to the rabbi or individual who was teaching or mentoring a person. Is that correct? And I believe the amount was somewhere around 2.9%? Do you think that this could be applicable today as a place of giving an offering to those who teach or mentor us on a regular basis?
Dear Suzanne,
I’m not familiar with the “terumah” being utilized in this way today in Judaism. In modern Hebrew, “terumah” is used as a donation, something given freely, without any percentage placed on it.
As far as giving/supporting those whom you benefit from spiritually, this is clearly a New Testament teaching that is encouraged (1 Corinthians 9:1-14). I hope this helps.
God bless,
Daniel
Daniel,
Thank you for a fresh perspective on scriptures that reveal our Lord’s heart in the matter of giving. I see more clearly now the importance of having a cheerful heart in giving that focuses first on our love for Him and concern of things that matter to our Lord. I see that when we give this way we partake in His freedom, joy and grace. I am also reminded of the Macedonians giving in 2 Corinthians 8:1-5 that shows how their giving was also driven first in the cheerful giving of themselves to God, and then to the apostles by the will of God. God bless you!
Dear Suzette,
I appreciate your reflections on this week’s commentary. That is an excellent example of this principle of giving to the Lord first that you have made note of in 2 Corinthians 8. Thank you!
Daniel