Exodus 35: Live To Give

Freedom changes what you do with your time and what you do with your stuff. Today we break down Exodus 35, where God starts by commanding Sabbath rest for a people fresh out of slavery, then immediately invites them to build the tabernacle through generous, willing offerings. That pairing is the point: worship is not only what we sing, it is how we rest, how we trust, and how we contribute.

I share why our value “live to give” is bigger than a fundraising slogan. Israel brings gold, fabric, spices, wood, and skilled labor, and we watch a whole community move from consumption to contribution. We also call out something that can be uncomfortable but freeing: God is going to accomplish His plan with or without us. He does not need our money, our talent, or our approval. But we need the joy and formation that comes from participating in what He is doing.

We talk candidly about motives, because giving can drift into a transaction: “I give so God will give back.” Instead, we reframe generosity and tithing as an act of worship, a thank-you offering from people who realize everything they have already belongs to God. If you have never been a giver, we invite you to pray through what it would look like to reorient your life toward openhanded stewardship and Spirit-led generosity.

Subscribe for daily Bible breakdowns, share this with a friend who needs a heart reset, and leave a five-star review so more people can find the show. What would change in your life if you truly chose to live to give?

Transcript

Welcome To Bible Breakdown

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Hey everyone and welcome to the Bible Breakdown Podcast. In this podcast, we will be breaking down the Bible one chapter a day. Whether you are a new believer or have been following Christ for a while, we believe that you will learn something new and fresh every single day. So thank you for joining us and let's get into breaking down the Bible together.

Live To Give As A Value

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Well, hello everybody. Welcome back to the Bible Breakdown Podcast with your host, Pastor Brandon. Today, Exodus chapter 35. And today's title is Live to Give. Live to Give. Well, at Real Life Church, we have a vision, which is we exist to make disciples by knowing God, growing in freedom, and sharing Christ with everyone. But we also have a set of values. Our values are that we love God, we see people, we make it better, we choose joy. And then the last one is we live to give. And that is we live to give our lives to make a difference. That we don't live to take, we don't live to consume, we live to contribute, to make a difference in our community. And that's not always easy to see right away, because we don't always know how we can make the best difference. But it's we live to say, where's a need so I can meet it? And we're gonna see in today's chapter that God calls on the people, whoever is stirred to give, give and watch what they do. I love this so very much, especially knowing where they have come from just a few chapters beforehand and where they are now. So we'll get all that in just a moment. So if you got your Bibles, want to get it, open up with me to Exodus chapter 35. Also, take just a moment, like, share, and subscribe to the YouTube channel and the podcast. Make sure you leave us a five-star review on the podcast. It really does help. And make sure you're going to the Bible breakdown discussion on Facebook. There's an amazing group of people doing a wonderful job, and you can get all the information to that at thebibelbreakdown.com because the more we dig, the more we find. Well, that is definitely true when it comes to the book of Exodus, because for many of us, we think of the book of Exodus and we just think of the first part, you know, where the nation of Israel comes out of Egyptian slavery, which is amazing. That is not a problem to think about that. But there's so much more to the book of Exodus about them going to Mount Sinai and then the golden calf situation and all these other things. And now God has said, okay, I'm going to go with you. So here is a quick synopsis we got yesterday of what you're supposed to do and not to do. Moses becomes a glowworm. And then it is time to make it happen. God says, and you think about how awesome this is, by the way. Real real quick, think about awesome this is. After everything that has happened, God says, I still want to be among you. We're still gonna build the tabernacle. We're gonna make it just like it was. We're gonna, we're gonna do this, but I'm gonna need you to take part in this. Like you got to have some skin in the game. Like I am calling my people to not just be consumers, but contributors, to live, to give. And so let's read this together and let's see what God's Word says to us today.

Sabbath Rest God Takes Seriously

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Chapter 35, verse 1 says this. Then Moses called together the whole community of Israel and told them, These are the instructions the Lord has commanded you to follow. You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but the seventh day must be a Sabbath day of complete rest, a holy day dedicated to the Lord. Anyone who works on the Sabbath day must be put to death. You must not even light a fire in any of your homes on the Sabbath. Now, pause, remember what an amazing thing this would be. Because these are slaves. They've recently been liberated. So they're not used to getting an off day. They're supposed to work. And so God says, I am so committed to you spending one day a week, not just in rest and refreshment, but spending one day with me that if you don't do it, you're out. Because he's having to do that to say, This is how important this is. All right, here we go. Verse four. Then Moses said to the whole, which by the way, there is no record in history of anybody being killed for taking a day off. Okay, so there's not like they ever had to actually do this. It's just God saying, I'm serious about this. Okay, verse four. Then

The Offering List For Worship

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Moses said to the whole community, This is what the Lord has commanded. Take a sacred offering for the Lord and let those with generous hearts present the following gifts to the Lord. This other words he's saying, This is what we need to build a house of worship: gold, silver, and bronze, blue, purple, and scarlet thread, fine linen and goat hair for cloth, tanned ramskins and fine goat skin leather, acacia wood, olive oil for the lamps, spices for the anointing oil, and fragrant incense, onyx stones and other gemstones to be set in the ephod and the priest chess piece. Come, all you who are gifted craftsmen, construct everything the Lord has commanded, the tabernacle and its sacred tent, its coverings, clasps, frames, crossbars, posts, and bases, the ark and its carrying poles, the ark's cover, the place of atonement, the inner curtain to shield the ark, the table, its carrying poles, and all its utensils, the bread of the presence for light, the lamp stam, its accessories, the lamp cups, and the olive oil for lighting, the incense altar and its carrying poles, the anointing oil and fragrant incense, the curtain for the entrance of the tabernacle, the altar of burnt offering, the bronze grating of the altar and its carrying poles and utensils, the wash basin with its stand, the curtains for the walls of the courtyard, the posts and their bases, the curtain for the entrance to the courtyard, the tent pegs of the tabernacle and courtyard and their ropes, the beautifully stitched garments for the priest to wear while ministering in the holy place, the sacred garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments for his sons to wear as they minister as priests. So the whole community of Israel left Moses and returned to their tents, and all whose hearts were stirred and whose spirits were moved came and brought their sack sacred offerings to the Lord. They brought all the materials needed for the tabernacle, for the performance of the rituals, and for the sacred garments. Both men and women came all whose hearts were willing. They brought to the Lord their offerings of gold, brooches, earrings, rings for their fingers and necklaces. They presented gold objects of every kind as a special offering to the Lord. All those who owned the following items willingly brought them blue, purple, and scarlet thread, fine linen and goat hair for cloth, and tanned ramskins and fine goatskin leather. And all who had silver and bronze objects gave them as a sacred offering to the Lord. And those who had acacia wood brought it to use in the project. All the women who were skilled in sewing and spinning prepared blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine linen cloth. All the women were who were willing, used their skills to spin the goat hair into yarn. The leaders brought onyx stones and special gemstones to be set in the ephod and the priest's chest piece. They also brought spices and olive oil for the light, the anointing oil, and the fragrant incense. So the people of Israel, every man and woman who was eager to help in the work of the Lord, had given them through Moses, brought their gifts and gave them freely to the Lord.

Everyone Brings Something To Build

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Then Moses told the people of Israel, The Lord has specifically chosen Basalel, son of Uri, the grandson of Ur, from the tribe of Judah. The Lord has filled Basalel with the Spirit of God, giving him great wisdom, ability, and expertise in all kinds of crafts. He is a master craftsman, expert in working with gold, silver, and bronze. He is skilled in engraving and mounting gemstones and carving wood, and he is a master at every craft. And the Lord has given both him and Aholiab, son of Ashmach, the tribe of Dan, the ability to teach their skills to others. The Lord has given them special skills as engravers, designers, and embroiderers of blue, purple, scarlet thread on fine linen cloth and weavers. They excel as craftsmen and designers. Wow.

Tithing As Worship Not A Deal

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So what happened was is God told the people of Israel, All right, it's time to build. You don't have to, but if you want to be part of this, if you want to be a contributor, not just a consumer, give what you will. And the people just unloaded on Moses and the people. And not just that, but they were also willing to give of themselves and willing to help to realize I am not here just to receive. Like the kingdom of God is not a spa. We are in this together, that if anything, it should be a spa toward God. We're here to worship Him, not just receive from Him, but we have a part to play. And when we give to God, the move of God, the work of God is able to move forward. And here's the thing: for all those who didn't give, God still got his work done, but they were not able to be a part of it. But those who were got to be part of something special. And that's one of the things I love about God is that God will not move, God will not move his plan forward because of the stubbornness of people. God's going to do what he's going to do, he's going to move his plan forward. So I've heard people say that, you know, if you don't give, then God can't do what he wants to do. That's that's that's that's not true. God is God does not need any one of us. The thing is, is that we need God. We need to be part of what he's doing. So God's gonna do what he wants to do either way. It's just we have the opportunity to be part of it. And I think that that is so important that we realize that. That God has given us everything that we have. Everything we have is a gift from God. And you know what he does? You get to keep it. But he says, give me a portion as an act of worship. Well, the truth is, is it's all his. So we're not giving him something that really belongs to us, we're giving him back some of what already belongs to him. And then he blesses us for it. So here's my question for you Do you think of giving as, you know, kind of throwing God, you know, throwing God a bone? Hey, God, you know what? I'm gonna be be nice to you, I'm gonna throw you a little something here. Do you think of that as you're doing God a favor? Well, I want to challenge you that when we live to give, we don't give in order to do God a favor. We live to give because it is an honor, it is a blessing, it is an act of worship that we would be given the opportunity to give back to God when he has given so much to us. Now, for some of us, that is a completely different way of looking at it because maybe we grew up in a culture where it was all about me, it was all about mine, and if God wants something, he should ask. Well, he's given us everything that we have. And so to he, we shouldn't, you know, it should be the other way around. God, what can I give? And so I want to ask you this question Do you live for you or do you live for God? When you give, and you should be giving to the Lord, do you give so that you will get in return or do you give as an act of worship? Now, no matter what you do, it should be an act of worship. And so maybe that needs to be a course correction is God, I am never going to give to you again so that you will give back to me. I am not giving to you in a transactional way. God's word says in Malachi, we are to bring the tithe into the storehouse. 10% of everything we have. God gives us a hundred. He says, Ah, you keep 90, just give me 10. Well, God, I don't want to give you 10, and that's why I want you to give it to me. Is because it reveals your heart. It's just enough that you feel it. So give me 10%. I don't need it. You need to give it. So, first of all, you remember me, you remember that I'm in charge, and it's just enough that you have to trust me with the rest. It'd be crazy if he said, You give me 90 and keep 10, but he'd still be faithful with it. But he says, Give me 10 as an act of worship. And can I tell you, when we do, it is amazing. The honor that we get to give to God, the act of worship. We say, God, I'm so thankful for you. So I give this to you just to say thank you. Watch what happens if you do. If you already give on a regular basis, then maybe your prayer today needs to be, God, I pray you will help me to always give with the right attitude and the right heart and remind me of the honor that you have given me to give. But if you're here today and you've never really given before, you're not a giver per se, and you know, you don't give to give to God, give to his church, this kind of stuff. I would encourage you to pray about that. What would it look like in your life if you reoriented your life so that you could give to God? Because we need it. We need to give to him as an act of worship. But I would encourage you, don't give to God thinking you're doing him a favor. Don't give to God thinking that, well, if I give to him, he's gonna give back to me. All those are bad reasons. Instead, out of the overflow of your love for God, you give to him and watch what it will do for your soul. Let's pray together right now. God, thank you so much for today. Thank you, God, that you're with us and you're for us. Thank you for the honor of being able to live to give, because it is truly more blessed to give than receive. I'm so thankful, God, for the honor of being able to give to you. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. And what God's Word says in Exodus chapter 6, verse 6, he says, I will free you from your oppression and I will rescue you from slavery. I'm so thankful to serve a God of freedom. I love you. I'll see you tomorrow for Exodus chapter 36.