God introduces it by telling Moses to request donations from the people
– “offering” refers to a specific sacrifice and how it was presented
• it was “lifted” or “raised up” in the hands of the priest
• so, giving was considered an act of worship, and the gift was considered sacred
– one condition to their giving was that their hearts had to be moved to do so
• this had to be something they wanted to do
◦ it has to do with the nature of the sacred tent
◦ they had to value their participation, and it had to be personal
• what they provided were raw materials