"Of Gold and Goat's Hair" (Exodus 35:4-9, 20-29)

Preached March 1, 2009 by Joe Alain, Pastor of Hebron Baptist Church in Denham Springs, Louisiana

It has been suggested that Americans spend seventy-five percent of their time relating to money. That includes earning it, spending it, thinking about it, investing it, and worrying about it. Yet most of us are very uncomfortable talking about it. This discomfort is magnified when we are inside the church building. This is peculiar when you consider how frequently Jesus, the One in whose name we gather, talked and taught about money. It was one of his favorite topics. He talked more about money than He did about heaven, hell, and prayer combined! A significant number of His parables refer to financial resources and how we handle them. Yet, when the topic is introduced most of us begin to feel, at least, some measure of anxiety.

We might feel like the young country boy who moved to the big city. On Sunday he visited the first church he saw. As fate would have it, it was Pledge Sunday and they handed him a pledge card. He thought he would probably want to join this church and he wanted to make a good first impression so he completed the card pledging to give $100 over the year.

The next Sunday the country boy returned to the church and was surprised to see his name listed in the church bulletin as a $10,000 contributor. After the service he notified the minister of the mistake. The country boy asked what could be done to correct the obvious mistake. The minister hemmed and hawed for a moment or two and then replied, “Well, I guess we can make a correction in next week’s bulletin and say that you are NOT giving $10,000.”

Given no face-saving alternative the country boy did not know what else to do but to say, “Just leave it as it is and I’ll try my best to give $10,000 this year.” The minister seemed quite happy with the boy’s decision and said, “We will take your picture and hang it in the hallway with the pictures of all our other $10,000 contributors. We have quite a lot of them!” The minister continued, “And you can choose your favorite verse of Scripture to place under your picture.” The young man needed to think only a moment and said, “Beneath my picture as a $10,000 contributor please place this verse, ‘I was a stranger and you took me in.’”

When the topic of money or giving or stewardship is mentioned in church, some members begin to suspect that someone is preparing to take them in. I can assure you than no such plans have been laid during our time of stewardship emphasis. This series of messages will deal with money matters because money is important, because the Bible is filled with financial instruction, and because we can never fully and faithfully follow Christ apart from personal stewardship.

This message will address a few of the most basic questions that might be asked about our stewardship emphasis.

The first question is this: Is Raising Money an Appropriate Endeavor for the Church?
The first recorded occasion of God’s people raising funds is found in Exodus 35:4-9. The people’s response is noted in Exodus 35:20-29. The results of the effort are seen in the chapters that follow. Obviously, what we are doing is not a new experience for the people of God. This is the first occasion of God’s people gathering funds, but it would not be the last. Extensive fundraising efforts would be conducted for the construction of Solomon’s Temple, and later, for its rebuilding. The early church in the Book of Acts raised funds to meet special needs.
The Bible is filled with a variety of gifts and ways to give but when you look at biblical giving from the broadest perspective you see there are only two categories of giving.

1. One category of biblical giving is regular, ongoing, and systematic. We see it in the Old Testament and in the New Testament. We generally refer to this regular kind of giving as “Tithing.” These are the funds that have always sustained the work of God among His people. There is, however, another broad category of giving presented in Scripture. 2. In both testaments we find occasions when the people of God were confronted with special needs. They responded with a special kind of giving, “Special Offerings.” This special giving was generally for one specific need and was short term in its duration.

It is this special kind of giving in which our church is now involved. We are asking for sacrificial gifts over a three-year period of time to meet a specific need in the life and ministry of our church. Since this Exodus passage is the first pattern given for this type of effort we should use it to answer some other questions. This then is God’s prototype for special giving programs. What Are the Characteristics of Special Giving?

1. The People Gave More than Enough (36:3-7)
This first effort was remarkably successful. Moses issues the call to bring gifts and everyone goes away. Then, people began to return bearing gifts for the construction of the Tabernacle. And they continued to bring gifts. It appears that they brought not just one gift per person but that the people continued day after day to bring more and more. Gifts and resources began to pile up. We see that the construction crews could not do their work because all the gifts cluttered the construction site and there seemed to be no end to the offering. They complained to Moses who “restrained” the people from giving more. They had to force the people to stop giving, imagine that! They gave more than enough.
2. Their Was Widespread Participation (35:4, 20, 22, 29)
This was not the program of a few of the leaders or only the wealthy. Although no specific numbers are mentioned, the passage repeatedly refers to “all the men” and “all the women.” From the lengthy list of gifts it certainly appears that everyone or nearly everyone participated in this giving program. If we are to achieve success in our campaign, we must have widespread participation. We cannot accomplish our purpose unless we see ourselves as one body, one family, doing a job that no fewer than all of us can do. To meet our great challenge, our great people must tune in to one drumbeat and march to it.

3. The People Gave Willingly
The key throughout this giving campaign was that it was spearheaded and sustained by people who had willing hearts. See 35:5, 21, 22, 29, “freewill offering.” See also the example of the Corinthians (2 Cor. 8:12; 9:6-8). When God’s people give willingly, great things can happen.

What Is the Motivation for Special Giving? Why did these people in the desert respond so wonderfully, so positively? They were just getting acquainted with personal freedom and personal wealth. For generations these Hebrews had been slaves who had not one thing to call their own. Now they were beginning to get some “stuff.” Now they could dream of acquiring “the good life.” And now they are called on to give. What would motivate them to do so?
Their Hearts Were Moved to Give. Throughout the passage, time and time again, you read that they responded because their hearts were stirred and their spirits were moved. There was no external pressure, no arm-twisting. These people were responding to something going on deep in their hearts. Their hearts were filled to overflowing with gratitude to God and that gratitude had to find a way of release. The gratitude of their hearts gushed out in extraordinary expressions of gift giving.

For what were they so grateful? They were free from the evil Pharaoh. They were free from their daily lives as slaves. They were free from a land where they did not belong. Their daily needs were being met by God. Everything they had was from God and they were grateful. If these Hebrews gave so lavishly and sacrificially for their physical deliverance, how much greater should our hearts and hands respond to the spiritual and eternal deliverance that is ours because of God’s great gift of His only begotten Son?

What Kinds of Gifts Were Received in this Offering? Of course, we might ask, “Where did these gifts come from?” When they left Egypt, they left with many of the possessions of the Egyptians (See Ex. 3:21-22; 12:35-36). An extensive list of gifts is recorded in Scripture (35:22-29). The gifts vary in kind and value. They range from gold to goat’s hair. It’s helpful to visualize the scene. Moses has issued the call for everyone to give. The story says that the people went away, not an unusual reaction to sermons about giving! But then, the people begin to return. As they return they brought their gifts. In appears that the people brought one gift and then thought of other possessions they could give. There’s much activity as ever willing-hearted man and woman scurry to and from the construction site excitedly finding and bringing gifts for the construction of the Tabernacle.

They were creative and imaginative in their discovery of gifts. Some brought very valuable gifts of gold, silver, and precious stones. Obviously, these gifts would be needed to build an acceptable place of worship. Not so obviously needed, someone brought a gift of acacia wood. The acacia tree is a gnarled tree that grew in the wilderness. I see a young man who has a heart to give but he has no gold or silver. What can he give? Looking across the wilderness landscape he sees a distant tree on the horizon. He realizes that wood will be required for the Tabernacle. Eagerly he journeys across the rugged terrain to the acacia tree. Through the long hot hours under the desert sun the young man struggles to free the tree from its deep root system. Finally, the hardened soil gives way and the young man wrestles the tree to the ground. He lifts the heavy timber to his shoulders and journeys back to the construction site. Arriving, he drops his heavy load to the ground and in the mist of the billowing dust he declares, “Here is my gift to God.” The strength of his youth and manhood had been mobilized by the desire of his heart and his gift was of great value to God’s plan and purpose.

Someone else brought “goat’s hair.” Now this must have a most imaginative person. I see any aged woman. She has no gold or silver. She has no strength of youth. But she had a heart eager to give and she may have thought long and hard to find a gift. She realizes that fabrics, ropes and cords of all kinds will be needed in this portable place of worship. There would be an essential need for thread and twine. Perhaps she saw a nearby herd of goats. She could provide goat’s hair. Perhaps she was so poor that she didn’t even own a goat. I can see her asking a friend, “Can I borrow your goat for the day?” “No, he will be fine. In fact he will look better when I bring him back.” Where do you get goat’s hair? You brush a goat. She had a heart filled with willingness and she found a gift of value and significance that she could bring.

Now, a theological question: which gift was more pleasing to God, the gold or the goat’s hair? It is a foolish question, of course. Goat’s hair is as pleasing to God as gold when it is the expression of a heart that is in love with God. The value of the gift is not found in its intrinsic wealth but in the willingness of the heart. This is why being “a cheerful giver” is one of the most important aspects of our giving.

Why Does God Call Us to Give? This is a very basic question. Why does God ask us to give? He gives to us and asks us to give in return but why? Does God need the money? God is not broke. God does not need our resources. Does God like new buildings? Is that what impresses Him? If God wanted these Hebrews to have a Tabernacle where they could worship why didn’t God just give it to them? God had parted the Red Sea. He had given them water from a rock and manna from heaven. Dropping a tabernacle from heaven would have been an easy solution. Instead God calls the Hebrews to give and verse after verse, page after page, God gives instructions on the meticulous construction of the Tabernacle.

Why did God have the Hebrews to build the Tabernacle? God is not primarily concerned with breaking ground for a place of worship but with brokenhearted people who will worship. External and physical buildings, renovations, and renewals must always be outward reflections of what is happening in the spirits of God’s people.
From gold to goat’s hair, we can all bring gifts. No one need be left out. Everyone can participate. When it comes to giving, It is never a matter of wealth but a matter of willingness. It is right to look at your resources, your savings, your checking account, and your investments. But, the gift or gifts you bring will be determined by what is found in your heart. We give from a heart that overflows with God’s amazing grace.
(Personal Testimony of Our Plan for Giving)
This message has been focused toward Christians. If you are not a believer today, God is not asking anything from you. In fact, He has a gift for you – it is the gift of His Son, Jesus. It is the gift of forgiveness from your sins. It is the gift of a new life and a new beginning. As a gift is only able to be received, so God’s gift to you of salvation can only be received. With hands open to God this morning, why don’t you now receive God’s incredible free gift of salvation? Experience the joy and freedom that God gives when He is in control of your life!

For His Glory!
Pastor Joe