Exodus 35:21: “ And they came, every one whose heart stirred him up, and every one whom his spirit made willing, [and] they brought the LORD’S offering to the work of the tabernacle of the congregation, and for all his service, and for the holy garments.”
As I am not a theologian I have no obligation to explain the finer points which express the differences between rauch spirit and a lev heart, except that I know there is a difference between these two as this verse indicates that there is a difference.
In Exodus 35:21 we find that the heart lev is stirred up and the spirit rauch is willing. This distinction is important as it is talking about the motivation for bringing an offering to God. There are many motivations for giving an offering. The word used here in the Hebrew for offering is curious as it is a word rarely used for an offering. It is the word teruvmah which comes from the root word rum which means to be high or exalted. It is a lifting up. What is also curious is that this word is preceded by an eth in the Hebrew text indicating that it is a direct object to the word YHWH. This is literally saying that the people bringing the offering to the Lord where exalting or lifting up the Lord. It is more precisely rendered as the Lord’s lifting up.
We find in John 3:14 the words: “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:” That word lifted up in the Aramaic is the word raum which is the Aramaic equivalent to the Hebrew word rum which is the word used here in Exodus for an offering. Every Sunday I hear our worship leader say something like, “Let us lift up or offer up our praises to God.” Here where the people were bringing gifts of gold and silver for the tabernacle out of a heart that was stirred and a spirit that was willing, the word offering has the idea of lifting something up. In ancient times when a sacrifice was offered up it was literally picked up by the priest and raised over his head. It is interesting that Jesus was raised up on the cross. He was not executed on the ground by a sword or spear, he was raised up to die. His death on the cross was a picture of an offering a sacrifice.
We have a number of words in Hebrew that are rendered as offering. Aside from rum, there is a minchah which is a gift and is often used to express an offering such as a meal offering which is not necessarily a sacrificial type of gift. There is the ishsheh which is an offering made with fire, a zevach which is an animal sacrifice, an olah which is a burnt offering and there is a general all purpose word korban which is used for a variety of offerings but offerings of a sacrificial nature, an offering where you part with something of importance to you. Of course you have also have the word masser which is the tithe which was offered once a year to support the priest and maintain the tabernacle. Rarely is rum used for an offering. Yet in Exodus 35:21 people gave a free will offering and it was called a rum, more precisely it was called the Lord’s offering or the lifting up of the Lord.
Some offerings were given to support the priest, some were given to decorate the tabernacle, as it was in this case, and some were given to pay the light bill so to speak. We had a guest speaker at church last Sunday who worked with children in South America rescuing them from sexual slavery or slavery working in mines and people gave an offering to help support him in his work. For many it was just a minchah a gift to help the work. My study partner emptied her wallet, that was both a minchah and a korban as this was not only a gift but a sacrificial gift on her part. Later as I kidded her about be moved by an emotional appeal and we both concluded her minchah gift was not only a korban a sacrificial gift, but a rum as well. It was not given to just help this missionary pay for his plane ticket, or to fund soccer scholarships for these children, it was ultimately given to exalt or raise up the name of Jesus.
It is interesting that in Exodus 35:21 the word rum is used rather than korban. Even though this was a sacrificial gift on the part of the people, their motivation was to exalt the name of Jehovah. Note it says that those whose hearts were stirred. The word stirred is nasa’ which is another word for lifting up, but a lifting up to carry or take away. Their hearts were lifted up or carried away. Just as my study partner’s heart was carried way or nasa’ when hearing the story of these children in South American who were being sold into slavery and rescued by this missionary. You heart is carried away by an emotional appeal such that you will empty your wallet, but that is not bad when it is for a cause such as rescuing children from the sexual slavery. I mean the very nature of the cause is the emotional appeal. The heart is the very seat of you emotions and passions. These people gave their valuables to the tabernacle because their hearts were carried way with some emotion, in this case it was just an emotion of love for God and thus it was a rum. Ultimately, my study partner was motivated to give purely out of a love for God.
It was this type of offering that was used for the tabernacle, the house of God. No other offering, or giving for any other motivation was acceptable. No offering that came with a request that a seat have inscribed on it “Through the generous donation of Reuben” was acceptable for the tabernacle. The house of God had to be built to exalt the Lord and not man.
Then we learn it was a giving that the spirit made willing. I am no theologian but I do understand that the spirit or ruch is that part of us that is connected to God. The word for made willing is nadab in Hebrew. We have a free will. Our spirit connected to the Spirit of God is nadab. That is it is impelled or incited. The word nadab comes from a Canaanite root for a soldier that volunteers to a mission that could cost him his life. When our hearts are joined with the heart of God he is rum, He rises above all our personal agendas, desires and plans and we can’t help but nadab have a willing spirit or spirit is impelled to give. Just as my study partner’s spirit was joined with Spirit of God when she heard the appeal for these young people who were being sold into slavery her spirit was nadab compelled such that God became more important than what she originally intended to use that money in her wallet for.
Whether it is to pay a light bill, a soccer scholarship to keep a young person out of sexual slavery, or to just pay someone’s salary or plane ticket or even if you are the victim of some religious con job, ultimately the greatest offering is the rum given through a nadab, an offering to exalt the name of the Lord given when your spirit is joined with the Spirit God and He rises above all your personal goals and agendas.
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