Exodus 36:1-6

36 “And Bezalel and Aholiab, and every gifted artisan in whom the Lord has put wisdom and understanding, to know how to do all manner of work for the service of the sanctuary, shall do according to all that the Lord has commanded.” ² Then Moses called Bezalel and Aholiab, and every gifted artisan in whose heart the Lord had put wisdom, everyone whose heart was stirred, to come and do the work. ³ And they received from Moses all the offering which the children of Israel had brought for the work of the service of making the sanctuary. So they continued bringing to him freewill offerings every morning. ⁴ Then all the craftsmen who were doing all the work of the sanctuary came, each from the work he was doing, ⁵ and they spoke to Moses, saying, “The people bring much more than enough for the service of the work which the Lord commanded us to do.”

Reflections…

There are some gems in these few passages of scripture that point to the character of God.

If God commanded it, He will also provide the provision for it. He desires willing hearts.

God equipped the artisans to do the work He commanded them to do. This can be applied to so many things.. It further says Moses called everyone whose ‘heart was stirred,’ to come and do the work. Those who desired to support the work of God’s house. It’s possible some of the artisans who were given God’s wisdom and understanding, may not have had a willing heart to participate, but that choice is still there for them to choose.

God desires to partner with His Creation/His Children.

God could have waved His hand, and the Tabernacle would have been completed, but He chose to work through His Creation. The Children of Israel poured out Free Will offerings to aid in the construction of the tabernacle. God did not command them to give, but the choice was there’s to choose. God can do so many things, but He chooses to work through His Body…His Church.

We serve a God of abundance

The Free Will offerings received from the Children of Israel was too much, an overflow. They came out of bondage/Egypt blessed and continued to reap those blessings. The artisans had more than enough to complete the task, and they had integral hearts not to keep the overflow to themselves in greed. The work wasn’t completed because God ‘twisted’ the Children of Israel’s arm to give, it was completed because of willing hearts to serve, to connect to what God was doing. God doesn’t want robots, but He desires us to choose Him.