Can an offering to the Lord be too big?

Imagine you are in your Sunday morning church service, and the pastor makes the following statement: “Our recent offerings have been so large that we will not take up a collection for this week. Thank you for your generosity.”

What would your first reaction be? Surprise? Confusion? Happiness? So many questions would probably come into your mind because a scene like this would be so unfamiliar.

The reason I propose this parable is because of the reaction that Moses received when he asked the congregation of Israel to help him gather items for the building of the tabernacle. Moses passed along the Lord’s request, “Take from among you an offering to the LORD. Whoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it as an offering to the LORD” (Exodus 35:5).

So the people responded by bringing building materials, furnishings, wood, animal skins, linen, thread, oil, incense, stones, gold, silver, bronze, and so forth. Not only did the people donate their material items, some of them even volunteered their time and skills to contribute in the construction of the tabernacle. Read the following account from later in the same chapter:

“And all the congregation of the children of Israel departed from the presence of Moses. Then everyone came whose heart was stirred, and everyone whose spirit was willing, and they brought the LORD’s offering for the work of the tabernacle of meeting, for all its service, and for the holy garments” (Exodus 35:20-21).

Obviously the people took great pleasure in participating with God’s people to do God’s work. No one wanted to be left out, even if it meant a sacrifice of time and goods. The participation eventually became overwhelming.

“So they continued bringing to [Moses] freewill offerings every morning. Then all the craftsmen who were doing all the work of the sanctuary came, each from the work he was doing, and they spoke to Moses, saying, ‘The people bring in much more than enough for the service of the work which the LORD commanded us to do’” (Exodus 36:3-5).

Can’t you just see Moses, who was previously reluctant to lead this group of people, standing with mouth agape as he hears this? It would be like a church contributing to a project that needed to be funded and operated, and then going far above what was asked of them.

“So Moses gave a commandment, and they caused it to be proclaimed throughout the whole camp, saying, ‘Let neither man nor woman do any more work for the offering of the sanctuary.’ And the people were restrained from bringing, for the material they had was sufficient for all the work to be done—indeed too much” (Exodus 36:6-7).

Oh that God’s people today would be willingly generous to the point of abundance. So much in our world needs our attention, and most of us have the means and skills to accomplish much to do the Lord’s work. But will we?