RELATIVE SACRIFICE

PART 1 (of 2): Relative Sacrifice

A study of the Wilderness Tabernacle is a fascinating journey.  The way in which the Lord drew His people together, rebuilt a common spiritual culture and revealed Himself as powerful and present, all make for exhilarating thought.  You'll need to read most of Exodus to get the full picture, but, during this year's read, there were two nuggets, in particular, that stood out to me...

The materials used to build the tent, the articles within it, and even the special garments worn by the priests, were all things donated by the Israelites.  To say this was "generous" doesn't do it justice.  So, let's nuggetize:

1. The relativity of the sacrifice. (This post)
2. The impurity of the spoils. (Our next post)

The Israelites had been enslaved for over 400 years.  It wasn't long after the death of Joseph that things got rough for them.  As they grew in size and strength, they became a threat.  They were were marginalized and defamed.  Starved and deprived.  Used, abused and refused.  Their lifestyle quickly degraded from the glory of Jacob to the gutter of the jilted.  This happened quickly and mercilessly and it lasted for a really, really  l-o-n-g  time. So long, in fact, that they developed soul habits of poverty, bitterness, mistrust and defeat.  So, when Moses comes along and delivers them in God's name, their whole world is rocked!  In a flash, their oppressors are cast down.  They are lavished with the spoils of 400+ years of back pay and they cross the Red Sea in style!  Now, imagine this dialogue just a handful of weeks later...

• GOD:  "Hey, why not build me a travelling tabernacle?" 

• JEWS:  "Okaaaay...what are You thinking?"

• GOD:  "Oh, well...super detailed, quite large in size, and heavy as all get out."

• JEWS:  (Their head talk:  "Isn't this what we were just doing for all those Pharoahs?") 

• GOD:  "I know what you're thinking."

• JEWS:  "Oops."

• GOD:  "I know what I'm asking.  And it's about to get even a little tougher...The spoils you collected will be needed for this project.  I am asking for you to sacrifice the gifts you were given when you left Egypt, so you can build for Me a tabernacle made with human hands...which I will someday tell you is an insufficient home for Me anyway."

• JEWS:  (insert sound of crickets here)  "Huh?"

• GOD:  "Do you trust Me?  Do you love Me?  Are you willing to give up the tangible spoils of 400 years of persecution to build a culture of generosity, intimacy and gratitude with Me?"

The context through which these amazing blessings had come - on the heels of a cultural, economic and self-esteem famine - classified the relative nature of this sacrifice as "through the roof!"  Of course, we know how they answered.  They gave.  And they gave.  And they GAVE.  They gave until it hurt.  Then they gave some more.  They gave past the hurt until it became a gloriously infectious affair.  Joy erupted from the midst of the sacrifice, which had become the very air around them, swirling with thanksgiving and celebration. They gave until they were begged to stop.  This giving transformed them. 

HERE'S THAT QUOTABLE:  The quality of the glory God receives, the intimacy with Him that we enjoy, and the transformation that we experience, are directly proportional to the relativity of our sacrifices. 

That doesn't just refer to financial or material gifts, though they are certainly included.  Even more significant, are the sacrifices we make of our will, our time, our affections.  The harder it is to part with these controls, the more powerful will be the results.  Some of us have emerged from our own version of "400 years of persecution."  We have earned these spoils and we don't want to part with them.  But God.  He is so very worthy.  And we trust Him.  And so we give.  And we give some more.  And we keep giving, until we, too, experience the euphoric joy of our sacrifice.  We give until He is glorified.  We give until we know Him more intimately than we could have imagined.  We give until we are transformed.  And in that place, we come to reflect our Father, completely, powerfully, beautifully.