‘…Make everything according to the pattern I have shown you…’ Exodus 25:40 NLT
The second element that marked the building of the Old Testament tabernacle was excellence. God condemns perfectionism because it stifles our creativity and robs us of all sense of progress. And Jesus condemned those who gave to impress others. ‘When you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.’ (Matthew 6:2 NKJV) But if you think this means you can just offer God anything you feel like, you’re sorely mistaken. When it comes to serving, God wants you to aspire to excellence. God said to Moses: ‘And this is the offering which you shall take from them: gold, silver, and bronze… And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them. According to all that I show you, that is, the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furnishings, just so you shall make it.’ (Exodus 25:3-9 NKJV) Why did God ask for gold? Because He wanted the best not anything sloppy or second-rate. Guess where Luke records Jesus sat when He went to church. Beside the treasury, watching people give. ‘Then a poor widow came by and dropped in two small coins. I tell you the truth, Jesus said, this poor widow has given more than all the rest of them. For they have given a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she has.’ (Luke 21:2-4 NLT) So, give God your best!
SoulFood: Dan 5-7, Matt 8:28-34, Ps 89:1-14, Pr 2:20
The Word for Today is authored by Bob and Debby Gass and published under licence from UCB International Copyright 2012
