What is a free will offering / freewill offering?

The daily sacrifice was not a voluntary offering, it was what Jehovah demanded of Israel, and as from the whole congregation, but it served as a pattern of the fulness that God expected from His people when they entered the good land that He would give them. A nation in the land of promise would have the opportunity of rendering their thanks to their God who had so richly blessed them by offering “a burnt offering, or a sacrifice in performing a vow, or in a free-will offering, or in your solemn feasts, to make a sweet savour unto the Lord, of the herd, or of the flock” (Num. 15:3).

These offerings were to come from hearts touched with the sense of Jehovah’s goodness, from those who desired to do what gave Him pleasure as is expressed in the burnt offering. A vow would be a special mark of devotion to the will of God, and a free-will offering the simple desire to give to God something in return for His bounty and goodness. The solemn feasts prompted the hearts of God’s people as being suitable occasions for ministering to Him who constantly ministered unto them from His exhaustless resources.

In this case, God makes no peremptory demand, but tells Moses to speak to the people to the effect that they should willingly with their heart bring an offering to the Lord. There was no question as to how much each should give, nor if they should give at all if their heart was not in it. This must be a fully voluntary offering. The principle here corresponds fully with the principle laid down for the assembly of God today in their giving. 2 Corinthians 8 and 9 deal extensively with this question. Exodus 9:7 is most plain, “So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity: for God loves a cheerful giver.” Therefore this offering of Exodus 25 shows that even in the giving of the law God looked beyond the law to the grace that would yet be revealed.

The willingness of God to receive from His people is thus proclaimed. The grace of God in this particular touched and opened their hearts; "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." (v. 21.) And again we read, "The children of Israel brought a willing offering unto the Lord, every man and woman; whose heart made them willing to bring, for all manner of work which the Lord had commanded to be made by the hand of Moses." (v. 29.) There are principles involved in these statements which are applicable to all dispensations. The apostle Paul enforces the same when he says, "Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver." (2 Cor. 9:7; read the whole chapter.) It is therefore of the first importance to remember that everything offered to God must proceed from hearts made willing by His Spirit, that it must be spontaneous, not the result of persuasion or of external pressure, but from the heart. The church of God would have been in a very different state today if this had been remembered. What has wrought more ruin than the many worldly schemes for raising money? and what more humbling than the fact that solicitations of all kinds are used to induce the Lord's people to offer their gifts? Moses was content with announcing that the Lord was willing to receive, and he left this gracious communication to produce its suited effect upon the hearts of the children of Israel. He needed not to do more; and if saints now were in the current of God's thoughts they would imitate the example of Moses, and would shun the very thought of obtaining even the smallest gift, except it were presented willingly, and from the heart, as the effect of the working of the Spirit of God. And let it be remarked, that there was no lack; for in the next chapter we find that the wise men who wrought came to Moses and said, "The people bring much more than enough for the service of the work, which the Lord commanded to make. And Moses gave commandment, and they caused it to be proclaimed throughout the camp, saying, Let neither man nor woman make any more work for the offering of the sanctuary. So the people were restrained from bringing. For the stuff they had was sufficient for all the work to make it, and too much." (Ex. 36:5-7.) If the first Pentecostal days be excepted, there has probably never been seen anything answering, to this even in the history of the church. The chronic complaint now is concerning the insufficiency of means to carry on the Lord's work. But it cannot be too often recalled — first, that the church of God is never held responsible to obtain means; secondly, that if the Lord gives work to do, He Himself will lay it upon the hearts of His people to contribute what is necessary; thirdly, that we are travelling off the ground of dependence, and acting according, to our own thoughts, if we undertake anything for which the needful provision has not already been made; and lastly, that gifts procured by human means can seldom be used for blessing.

The last point referred to is the invitation addressed to the people to bring offerings of materials of which the tabernacle was to be composed. It is a bright exhibition of grace on the part of God thus associating the people with Himself in His desire to have a sanctuary to dwell in their midst. Hence it was only of willing hearts that the offerings were to be taken. This is exceedingly beautiful. God first produced the willingness, and then ascribed to them the offering they rendered. He counted upon the fellowship of the people, expecting a response to the expressed desires of His heart. The people did respond, as will be seen later on in the book, and so fully that proclamation had to be made to stay the offerings. A fine example of this was seen also in David in regard to the temple: "He sware unto the Lord, and vowed unto the mighty God of Jacob; surely I will not come into the tabernacle of my house, nor go up into my bed; I will not give sleep to mine eyes, or slumber to mine eyelids, until I find out a place for the Lord, an habitation for the mighty God of Jacob." (Ps. 132:2-5.) If in lesser measure than characterized the king of Israel, yet the required offerings flowed out in abundance from willing hearts, hearts made willing by the grace of God, which thus enjoyed the privilege of contributing materials which, when made up according to the directions given, would form Jehovah's dwelling-place, and which separately would be employed as an emblem, and a manifestation of some ray of His glory.

There are three characteristics of the peace-offering here, — a thanksgiving, a vow, and a free-will offering. It is strange that there should be contention among the commentators as to the meaning of these, as also that by some the higher character should be ascribed to the first, when the law itself so plainly decides otherwise. The "thanksgiving" is plainly the acknowledgment of some special blessing from God, while the "free-will" offering, on the contrary, supposes that nothing of this kind had roused the heart to remembrance: it needed nothing; as where one walks with God, and finds Him ever before him, walks in His light, rejoicing ever in Himself. It is clear which is the higher state implied, and which therefore is the higher character of offering. As to the vow, it is not so plain at first why it should be higher. The vow is supplicatory, was often dictated by the pressure of circumstances, is in the text distinguished from free-will offerings. Yet as addressed to Jehovah, the expression of confidence in Him in trial, He rates it higher than the simple thanksgiving. And this is evident, if we could not at all account for it, by the fact that, in the case of this as of the free-will offering, the flesh might be eaten the day after as well as the day of the sacrifice, typically implying more energy for sustained communion than in the thanksgiving-offering. On the third day even here, whatever remained was to be burned in the fire; and if eaten, it would be pollution. The contact with uncleanness also, if one went on with what expressed communion with God, would be grievous sin, as connecting His table with it. Reconciliation with God means holiness of life.

We now reach the law of the peace-offering, and have three revelations connected with it, ere the whole of the divine mind regarding it is unfolded. In the first of the three (which commenced at chap. 6:24), the two occasions on which such a sacrifice could be brought are stated. What was to accompany it is detailed, and the conditions under which any could partake of it are expressly declared. Being an offering of requitals, or recompenses, it might be brought as the expression of thanksgiving, or as a vow, or a voluntary offering. If the offerer presented it for thanksgiving, it could be partaken of by him, and those with him, only on the day that he offered it. If he brought it as a vow or a voluntary offering, he could feed on it for two days, but never on the third. For communion with God is a real thing; so the outward appearance of it was not to continue, when the inward energy had died away. Now, a vow, or a free-will offering, betokened a more deep-seated sense of divine goodness than that which stirred the heart to thanksgiving. For a vow, or a free-will offering spoke of something surrendered to God, whether for a time or forever. Thanksgiving spoke only of gratitude for something which had been received. Hence the spirit of it being more transient, the peace-offering as the expression of it, was only to be eaten of on the day that it was brought.

The very title of this offering would show us that it was to be brought by an Israelite whose conscience was in rest and peace before God. There was no compulsion about it; he just desired to bring it; In this respect it was the opposite to the sin or trespass offering, which was to be brought under compulsion by the Israelite, whose conscience was not in peace because of wrong-doing.

A peace-offering might either be "for a thanksgiving," or "a vow, or a voluntary offering."

(1) A voluntary offering

The Peace Offering was a voluntary offering.

First of all comes a distinction peculiar to these offerings. Some were simply for thanksgiving; others might be for a vow, marking special devotedness, or they might be voluntary, and so quite as powerfully representing love and delight without any direct occasion to elicit them. They had therefore a deeper character than where the offering was for thanksgiving. But this will come again before us later on.