Commanded

DEVOTION

EXODUS

COMMANDED

Ex 40:17-38

17 So the tabernacle was set up on the first day of the first month in the second year. 18 When Moses set up the tabernacle, he put the bases in place, erected the frames, inserted the crossbars and set up the posts. 19 Then he spread the tent over the tabernacle and put the covering over the tent, as the LORD commanded him. 20 He took the Testimony and placed it in the ark, attached the poles to the ark and put the atonement cover over it. 21 Then he brought the ark into the tabernacle and hung the shielding curtain and shielded the ark of the Testimony, as the LORD commanded him. 22 Moses placed the table in the Tent of Meeting on the north side of the tabernacle outside the curtain 23 and set out the bread on it before the LORD, as the LORD commanded him. 24 He placed the lampstand in the Tent of Meeting opposite the table on the south side of the tabernacle 25 and set up the lamps before the LORD, as the LORD commanded him. 26 Moses placed the gold altar in the Tent of Meeting in front of the curtain 27 and burned fragrant incense on it, as the LORD commanded him. 28 Then he put up the curtain at the entrance to the tabernacle. 29 He set the altar of burnt offering near the entrance to the tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting, and offered on it burnt offerings and grain offerings, as the LORD commanded him. 30 He placed the basin between the Tent of Meeting and the altar and put water in it for washing, 31 and Moses and Aaron and his sons used it to wash their hands and feet. 32 They washed whenever they entered the Tent of Meeting or approached the altar, as the LORD commanded Moses. 33 Then Moses set up the courtyard around the tabernacle and altar and put up the curtain at the entrance to the courtyard. And so Moses finished the work. 34 Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. 35 Moses could not enter the Tent of Meeting because the cloud had settled upon it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. 36 In all the travels of the Israelites, whenever the cloud lifted from above the tabernacle, they would set out; 37 but if the cloud did not lift, they did not set out — until the day it lifted. 38 So the cloud of the LORD was over the tabernacle by day, and fire was in the cloud by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel during all their travels.

NIV

There is a repeated phrase here that is so clear and stands out almost screaming at us. “As the LORD commanded him” Moses set up the tabernacle just as the LORD commanded him. From this narrative it would appear Moses did it all by himself, but as we thought earlier, it would seem that would not be possible as so much of the wood overlaid with gold would be too heavy for a man of his age. However that is not the point here. He set up the tabernacle whether all alone or with the help of the Levites, just as the LORD commanded him. When God directs someone to do something it would be fair to say, the LORD expects it to be done just as he directs it be done. It is when we get involved in the process, of whatever it is, the activity gets fuzzy. When we start inserting human creativity into service to the LORD or fulfilling what we want to believe is the command of God, we get off track and may well not be doing just as the LORD commanded. It would be good advice for us to be still and know that he is LORD. But that is exactly his advice.

Ps 46:10

10 "Be still, and know that I am God;

NIV

This verse 10 is within the context of man holding still while the LORD does the battle. However that advice also holds true when it comes to our doing what we think is in service to the LORD. We should not be doing what we have decided to do, but rather be still and wait for the command of God. Then we should act in accordance with his command, just as he commanded. The problem exists in that how do we know want he has commanded. That should be very clear, as it is so stated throughout all the scriptures. It is true that God spoke directly to Moses, most likely in an audible voice, however we were never told that exactly. We were told he spoke to him face to face, which means as a friend rather than actually facetime, because we also have been told no one can see the face of God and live. However way the LORD spoke to Moses, he was clear in his commands and Moses did everything the LORD commanded him just as he commanded him to do. We have so many of the LORD’s commands within the scripture, if we never actually hear his voice, to do just as he commands us to do. Can we say we are anything like Moses? Can we say we do everything just as the LORD commands us? It would even seem some of his commands are open to denominational opinions. But putting all denominationalism aside and simply seeing his commands as for all those who chose to follow him, we have a way to go before we could say we have done everything just as he commanded. We also have to put aside our way of thinking, our humanity in a sense, in order to see the truth of his commands. We have been told to worship him in spirit and in truth. When we think in the flesh, in our human thinking, we seem to get off track. But we can see clearly his commands in the spirit and know the truth. We need more work, more listening, more changes in our attitudes and behaviors before we can say we have done everything the LORD has commanded us to do. We also need to see that we should not be doing anything unless he commands us to. It is all about his commands.

Apartness

DEVOTION

EXODUS

APARTNESS

Ex 40:1-16

40:1 Then the LORD said to Moses: 2 "Set up the tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting, on the first day of the first month. 3 Place the ark of the Testimony in it and shield the ark with the curtain. 4 Bring in the table and set out what belongs on it. Then bring in the lampstand and set up its lamps. 5 Place the gold altar of incense in front of the ark of the Testimony and put the curtain at the entrance to the tabernacle. 6 "Place the altar of burnt offering in front of the entrance to the tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting; 7 place the basin between the Tent of Meeting and the altar and put water in it. 8 Set up the courtyard around it and put the curtain at the entrance to the courtyard. 9 "Take the anointing oil and anoint the tabernacle and everything in it; consecrate it and all its furnishings, and it will be holy. 10 Then anoint the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils; consecrate the altar, and it will be most holy. 11 Anoint the basin and its stand and consecrate them. 12 "Bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and wash them with water. 13 Then dress Aaron in the sacred garments, anoint him and consecrate him so he may serve me as priest. 14 Bring his sons and dress them in tunics. 15 Anoint them just as you anointed their father, so they may serve me as priests. Their anointing will be to a priesthood that will continue for all generations to come." 16 Moses did everything just as the LORD commanded him.

NIV

All the work now completed by all the craftsmen the LORD inspired and gave them their skills and crafts, Moses is instructed to set it up. We can assume he did not do that all by himself, but many of the craftsmen were also involved in setting up all the heavy wood boards overlaid with gold on the silver and bronze plates. Again, we are not sure what kind of tools they had or if they had a large hammer to pound the bronze stakes into the ground for the tent of meeting. What we do know is that all the materials overlaid with gold would be heavy and thus require more than one person to do the job. Yet with all the assembling of the Tabernacle and the outer court with all the fixtures inside and out, the last portion of this narrative is what we should consider for our life lesson. Aaron was then dressed in the sacred garments, anointed and consecrated so he may serve the LORD as priest. His sons were likewise done the same to. It is interesting the original language for sacred means apartness as much does the original word for consecrated. The difference is sacred is apartness and consecrated is the act of being set apart. They were to be dressed in holy garments and made holy so they could serve the LORD as priests for generations to come.

1 Peter 2:9-10

9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation , a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

NIV

Here we are, once not a people, but now we are the chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God. The reason is so we may declare the praises of him who called us out of darkness into his wonderful light. We have been dressed in a sacred garment, Christ. We have been set apart to serve as priests to the LORD. He has consecrated us for this purpose. Aaron and his sons, and his sons, sons and their sons served the LORD in the tabernacle or later in the temple. They served to offer the sacrifices of the people for sin. They keep the lamp burning at night, they replaced the show bread when needed. Once a year one, the high priest would enter the holy of holies on the Day of Atonement. But we do not serve in that temporary tabernacle or the temple that was destroyed. We serve the LORD in the tabernacle of his making, our bodies, where the Spirit of God has taken up residence. Instead of the people bringing the sacrifices for their sins to Aaron, we bring the ultimate sacrifice for their sins to them. We bring them Jesus. We serve the LORD both by our way of life, by the renewing of our minds, the way we think, our attitudes, as well as our behavior.  But we also serve him by offering the sacrifice Jesus made for the sins of all people to them. We need to bring the message of salvation, of the grace and mercy of God to the people. They are living in the city of sin and darkness and Jesus is the bridge across that great chasm into the city of love and light. The Spirit goes before us to convict people of their sin and need to repent, but we serve to bring them the message of the sacrifice God made so they can enjoy his peace. Let us first be dressed in our sacred garments, our self in Christ, that both is set apart and being set apart for service to the LORD. Then let us be that royal priesthood to the people, declaring the praises of God. 

Blessed

DEVOTION

EXODUS

BLESSED

Ex 39

39:1 From the blue, purple and scarlet yarn they made woven garments for ministering in the sanctuary. They also made sacred garments for Aaron, as the LORD commanded Moses. 2 They made the ephod of gold, and of blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and of finely twisted linen. 3 They hammered out thin sheets of gold and cut strands to be worked into the blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen — the work of a skilled craftsman. 4 They made shoulder pieces for the ephod, which were attached to two of its corners, so it could be fastened. 5 Its skillfully woven waistband was like it — of one piece with the ephod and made with gold, and with blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and with finely twisted linen, as the LORD commanded Moses. 6 They mounted the onyx stones in gold filigree settings and engraved them like a seal with the names of the sons of Israel. 7 Then they fastened them on the shoulder pieces of the ephod as memorial stones for the sons of Israel, as the LORD commanded Moses. 8 They fashioned the breastpiece — the work of a skilled craftsman. They made it like the ephod: of gold, and of blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and of finely twisted linen. 9 It was square — a span long and a span wide — and folded double. 10 Then they mounted four rows of precious stones on it. In the first row there was a ruby, a topaz and a beryl; 11 in the second row a turquoise, a sapphire and an emerald; 12 in the third row a jacinth, an agate and an amethyst; 13 in the fourth row a chrysolite, an onyx and a jasper. They were mounted in gold filigree settings. 14 There were twelve stones, one for each of the names of the sons of Israel, each engraved like a seal with the name of one of the twelve tribes. 15 For the breastpiece they made braided chains of pure gold, like a rope. 16 They made two gold filigree settings and two gold rings, and fastened the rings to two of the corners of the breastpiece. 17 They fastened the two gold chains to the rings at the corners of the breastpiece, 18 and the other ends of the chains to the two settings, attaching them to the shoulder pieces of the ephod at the front. 19 They made two gold rings and attached them to the other two corners of the breastpiece on the inside edge next to the ephod. 20 Then they made two more gold rings and attached them to the bottom of the shoulder pieces on the front of the ephod, close to the seam just above the waistband of the ephod. 21 They tied the rings of the breastpiece to the rings of the ephod with blue cord, connecting it to the waistband so that the breastpiece would not swing out from the ephod — as the LORD commanded Moses. 22 They made the robe of the ephod entirely of blue cloth — the work of a weaver —  23 with an opening in the center of the robe like the opening of a collar, and a band around this opening, so that it would not tear. 24 They made pomegranates of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen around the hem of the robe. 25 And they made bells of pure gold and attached them around the hem between the pomegranates. 26 The bells and pomegranates alternated around the hem of the robe to be worn for ministering, as the LORD commanded Moses. 27 For Aaron and his sons, they made tunics of fine linen — the work of a weaver —  28 and the turban of fine linen, the linen headbands and the undergarments of finely twisted linen. 29 The sash was of finely twisted linen and blue, purple and scarlet yarn — the work of an embroiderer — as the LORD commanded Moses. 30 They made the plate, the sacred diadem, out of pure gold and engraved on it, like an inscription on a seal: HOLY TO THE LORD. 31 Then they fastened a blue cord to it to attach it to the turban, as the LORD commanded Moses. 32 So all the work on the tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting, was completed. The Israelites did everything just as the LORD commanded Moses. 33 Then they brought the tabernacle to Moses: the tent and all its furnishings, its clasps, frames, crossbars, posts and bases; 34 the covering of ram skins dyed red, the covering of hides of sea cows and the shielding curtain; 35 the ark of the Testimony with its poles and the atonement cover; 36 the table with all its articles and the bread of the Presence; 37 the pure gold lampstand with its row of lamps and all its accessories, and the oil for the light; 38 the gold altar, the anointing oil, the fragrant incense, and the curtain for the entrance to the tent; 39 the bronze altar with its bronze grating, its poles and all its utensils; the basin with its stand; 40 the curtains of the courtyard with its posts and bases, and the curtain for the entrance to the courtyard; the ropes and tent pegs for the courtyard; all the furnishings for the tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting; 41 and the woven garments worn for ministering in the sanctuary, both the sacred garments for Aaron the priest and the garments for his sons when serving as priests. 42 The Israelites had done all the work just as the LORD had commanded Moses. 43 Moses inspected the work and saw that they had done it just as the LORD had commanded. So Moses blessed them.

NIV

We could spend a great deal of words rehashing all the details of the ephod, breastplate and other garments of the priests who were to minister to the LORD in the tabernacle. But that would just be rehashing. What we have arrived at is the last details of the whole command of God regarding how his dwelling place among the people would be and how those who were to minister would be dressed. It is finished, down to the last detail. Now Moses inspected the work and he saw that they had done it just as the LORD had commanded. So Moses blessed them. All the details we have gone through and it is down to this last few words. We wonder if anyone is there to inspect all the work we do to see if it is exactly as the LORD has commanded. Could it be the Spirit? Surely there is no other person who is a mediator between God and us, as Moses was to the people. There cannot be anyone who God speaks to in order to give us his commands, other than ourselves. We have his word, the Holy Scriptures which speaks volumes of his commands to us. The Bible is in fact God-breathed and thus his words to us as to how we are to live. We have seen the parallel between the tabernacle in the wilderness for the children of Israel and us being the tabernacle today. Both being the place God dwells among his people. We have seen how detailed he was about how that tabernacle should be, and how detailed he is about how we, as his tabernacle, should be. Therefore it has to be the Spirit who inspects to see if all our work has been down just as the LORD commanded. It is true that it is God who began the work in us and it is he who will complete it.

Phil 1:3-6

3 I thank my God every time I remember you. 4 In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

NIV

However, there are also many scriptures which tell us to do something, such as take off the old self and put in the new self, or be holy as I am holy, or make every effort to live in peace with all men. Do not repay evil with evil. Put on the full armor of God. Be filled with the Spirit. On and on the commands for us to do something. Have we done it just as the LORD commanded? If so, we will be blessed. Maybe the reason some believers are not blessed is because they are not doing everything just as the LORD commanded. Maybe none of us are doing everything just as the LORD commanded and thus none of us are being blessed. Is that concept just under the covenant of the Old Testament? Could it be that if we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior and therefor he having done everything the Lord commanded, is our righteousness, and therefore we too have already accomplished all the LORD commanded and so we have been blessed. Yet there still are all those commands within the New Testament, under the new covenant. How do we deal with them? Do we just say, “We are in Christ, therefore we have done them”? That appears not to be the case. Even though we are in Christ, we have been commanded to do certain things, to give up certain attitudes, to be renewed in our minds. We have been commanded to not do certain things and to do other things instead. Over and over the list of our attitudes and behaviors are before us. Are we doing all exactly as the LORD has commanded us to do? If so, then we will be blessed. Perhaps just accepting Jesus as our Lord and Savior is all the LORD has truly commanded us to do. But no, that is not a command, but rather an offer to which we must accept or reject. His commands are commands and we should be doing all the Lord commanded exactly as he commands. Then we will be blessed, happy, content, fulfilled, satisfied, and complete. All that is wrapped up in being blessed. 

Representation

DEVOTION

EXODUS

REPRESENTATION

Ex 38

38:1 They built the altar of burnt offering of acacia wood, three cubits high; it was square, five cubits long and five cubits wide.   2 They made a horn at each of the four corners, so that the horns and the altar were of one piece, and they overlaid the altar with bronze. 3 They made all its utensils of bronze — its pots, shovels, sprinkling bowls, meat forks and firepans. 4 They made a grating for the altar, a bronze network, to be under its ledge, halfway up the altar. 5 They cast bronze rings to hold the poles for the four corners of the bronze grating. 6 They made the poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with bronze. 7 They inserted the poles into the rings so they would be on the sides of the altar for carrying it. They made it hollow, out of boards. 8 They made the bronze basin and its bronze stand from the mirrors of the women who served at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. 9 Next they made the courtyard. The south side was a hundred cubits long and had curtains of finely twisted linen, 10 with twenty posts and twenty bronze bases, and with silver hooks and bands on the posts. 11 The north side was also a hundred cubits long and had twenty posts and twenty bronze bases, with silver hooks and bands on the posts. 12 The west end was fifty cubits wide and had curtains, with ten posts and ten bases, with silver hooks and bands on the posts. 13 The east end, toward the sunrise, was also fifty cubits wide. 14 Curtains fifteen cubits long were on one side of the entrance, with three posts and three bases, 15 and curtains fifteen cubits long were on the other side of the entrance to the courtyard, with three posts and three bases. 16 All the curtains around the courtyard were of finely twisted linen. 17 The bases for the posts were bronze. The hooks and bands on the posts were silver, and their tops were overlaid with silver; so all the posts of the courtyard had silver bands. 18 The curtain for the entrance to the courtyard was of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen — the work of an embroiderer. It was twenty cubits long and, like the curtains of the courtyard, five cubits high, 19 with four posts and four bronze bases. Their hooks and bands were silver, and their tops were overlaid with silver. 20 All the tent pegs of the tabernacle and of the surrounding courtyard were bronze. 21 These are the amounts of the materials used for the tabernacle, the tabernacle of the Testimony, which were recorded at Moses' command by the Levites under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron, the priest. 22(Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made everything the LORD commanded Moses; 23 with him was Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan — a craftsman and designer, and an embroiderer in blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen.) 24 The total amount of the gold from the wave offering used for all the work on the sanctuary was 29 talents and 730 shekels, according to the sanctuary shekel. 25 The silver obtained from those of the community who were counted in the census was 100 talents and 1,775 shekels, according to the sanctuary shekel —  26 one beka per person, that is, half a shekel, according to the sanctuary shekel, from everyone who had crossed over to those counted, twenty years old or more, a total of 603,550 men. 27 The 100 talents of silver were used to cast the bases for the sanctuary and for the curtain — 100 bases from the 100 talents, one talent for each base. 28 They used the 1,775 shekels to make the hooks for the posts, to overlay the tops of the posts, and to make their bands. 29 The bronze from the wave offering was 70 talents and 2,400 shekels.   30 They used it to make the bases for the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, the bronze altar with its bronze grating and all its utensils, 31 the bases for the surrounding courtyard and those for its entrance and all the tent pegs for the tabernacle and those for the surrounding courtyard.

NIV

This is approximately sixty-five million dollars in gold, nearly two million dollars in silver and it is unclear the value of two and a half tons of bronze. But that is all the precious metals that were used in the construction of the tabernacle. The fixtures inside, the altars outside and the courtyard area. This does not include the cost of all the acacia wood and fabrics or the overall cost of labor. The total project was staggering in both cost of materials and labor. Far more than any of the ancient basilicas of Europe even with their massive sizes, like that of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. And yet with all this intricate work, this tabernacle was portable. We are unclear as to how much value was placed on gold, silver and bronze in those days, but imagine if there was a traveling exhibit being carried around by people today that was worth at least close to seventy million dollars. But what is the value men place on God? It is appearent the Israelites had no reservations about giving up everything of value for the place God would dwell among them. Again they had just invested in a golden calf not too long ago, but they also must have experienced the forgiveness of God in some sense. Those who the Levites had gone throughout the camp killing served to show the rest of them the grace they received. They had to have repented of their sin, their worship of the golden calf and came to their senses about their relationship with the LORD. We remember their giving of materials was so abundant the workers had to have Moses restrain them from giving more. They must have put great value on this project. We are unclear of the daily life within the camp during the construction period, however after it completion, we know the people were continually bringing some type of sacrifice for sin. It would seem the whole of community life was centered on the tabernacle, in turn around the LORD. There may have even been a bit of pride in their hearts every time they came near the courtyard, thinking of how they gave of their gold, silver, bronze, wood, wool, skins, and linens for its construction. Certainly this was the purpose of those large basilicas which usually stood in the center of town, to focus people on the LORD. Today we have such a wide variety of designs and sizes of local churches as well as so many different ones all throughout communities they somewhat lose the impact or influence on the daily life of people. Some denominations still seem to want the ornateness but for so many the plainness or even the non-church look style building dots the community landscape. How they hope to be the center of influence in the community still seems to elude reality. However there is another tabernacle which has great worth to God which is how he intends to dot the landscape and have tremendous influence on the community. We are that tabernacle in which God dwells among his people. We should be the center most attraction in the community, the central focus of the landscape. Perhaps we have taken this concept of being separate, of being other, too far and withdrawn from the community in which we are to be the central theme.  Maybe we have withdrawn into our buildings hoping beyond hope that some sinner will stumble in and get saved. Then maybe we just have the “Us four and no more attitude”, clinging to our own brand of Christianity, as separatists. But the tabernacle was the central theme in the camp of the Israelites, it stood in the center of all their daily life. We too must be that kind of tabernacle, a shining light on a hill where all people can see the tabernacle of God. This is where we can have great influence on the daily life of the people. We are not to blend in. The tabernacle was unlike any other tent in the camp. It was the most expensive display of their wealth, a shining example of their respect for the LORD. It did not blend in with the rest of the community. We should be standing tall, being different than rest of the community, being of great value to God, even more than the finest gold, silver and bronze, but yet right in the center of town, being the central focus, the central theme, the representation of the presence of God among the people. 

No Improvising

DEVOTION

EXODUS

NO IMPROVISING

Ex 37

37:1 Bezalel made the ark of acacia wood — two and a half cubits long, a cubit and a half wide, and a cubit and a half high.   2 He overlaid it with pure gold, both inside and out, and made a gold molding around it. 3 He cast four gold rings for it and fastened them to its four feet, with two rings on one side and two rings on the other. 4 Then he made poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with gold. 5 And he inserted the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark to carry it. 6 He made the atonement cover of pure gold — two and a half cubits long and a cubit and a half wide.   7 Then he made two cherubim out of hammered gold at the ends of the cover. 8 He made one cherub on one end and the second cherub on the other; at the two ends he made them of one piece with the cover. 9 The cherubim had their wings spread upward, overshadowing the cover with them. The cherubim faced each other, looking toward the cover. 10 They made the table of acacia wood — two cubits long, a cubit wide, and a cubit and a half high.   11 Then they overlaid it with pure gold and made a gold molding around it. 12 They also made around it a rim a handbreadth wide and put a gold molding on the rim. 13 They cast four gold rings for the table and fastened them to the four corners, where the four legs were. 14 The rings were put close to the rim to hold the poles used in carrying the table. 15 The poles for carrying the table were made of acacia wood and were overlaid with gold. 16 And they made from pure gold the articles for the table — its plates and dishes and bowls and its pitchers for the pouring out of drink offerings. 17 They made the lampstand of pure gold and hammered it out, base and shaft; its flowerlike cups, buds and blossoms were of one piece with it. 18 Six branches extended from the sides of the lampstand — three on one side and three on the other. 19 Three cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms were on one branch, three on the next branch and the same for all six branches extending from the lampstand. 20 And on the lampstand were four cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms. 21 One bud was under the first pair of branches extending from the lampstand, a second bud under the second pair, and a third bud under the third pair — six branches in all. 22 The buds and the branches were all of one piece with the lampstand, hammered out of pure gold. 23 They made its seven lamps, as well as its wick trimmers and trays, of pure gold. 24 They made the lampstand and all its accessories from one talent of pure gold. 25 They made the altar of incense out of acacia wood. It was square, a cubit long and a cubit wide, and two cubits high — its horns of one piece with it. 26 They overlaid the top and all the sides and the horns with pure gold, and made a gold molding around it. 27 They made two gold rings below the molding — two on opposite sides — to hold the poles used to carry it. 28 They made the poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with gold. 29 They also made the sacred anointing oil and the pure, fragrant incense — the work of a perfumer.

NIV

Here are all the fixtures that go inside the tabernacle with just as much detail, if not more, than the tabernacle itself. It certainly appears these men were dedicated to doing everything precisely as the LORD had commanded. What happened to them? It was not that long ago they were dancing around a golden calf. Was it the witness of Moses that brought them to this point? Was it his face that shone so brightly he needed a veil to cove r it? We have dealt with this before, but it has come to us again. These men and woman who were the actual workers on the tabernacle and all the fixtures were there of their own free will, well except a couple of men whom the LORD called by name and filled them with his Spirit. So again, we have several issues that come to mind. First that people come to the LORD of their own free will, but also there are some whom the LORD specifically calls to him. There are some people God simply will not do without. That seems rather bold to say. In all reality God doesn’t need anything or anyone, but he did create all this for himself to enjoy, including all of us. We all exist for his pleasure and purpose. But for the most part he desires that we seek him. He has sent his Holy Spirit to convict all men of their need to repent and accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Yet at the same time he makes sure certain individuals find him. He makes it so they cannot not find him. He sends just the right people into their lives, he makes the situations just so in order for certain people to come face to face with the choice to acknowledge him and accept him. This was the story with Noah, with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. This is the same story with Paul as well as all those first disciples he called to follow him. Moses was indeed one of those God was not going to do without. It had to be his incredible faith, his shining face, and his witness that converted these men from worshipping a golden calf to allowing God to inspire them with all the skill and knowledge and willingness to work so diligently on all the things for the tabernacle. But these men were also the ones he filled with his Spirit. Then there were the others who he may not have called by name, but were so impressed, again perhaps because of Moses, they came of their own free will to work diligently in such detail on the tabernacle. There is one more amazing idea in that all these workers did all the work together, working as a team, each doing the part they were skilled in. We are not told anything about how the weavers of fabric were jealous of those who were the workers of gold. In fact there had to be some who simply were the foundry workers, melting all the gold jewelry down into pour 24 carat gold. Hard work. The same with the silver and bronze. Others doing nothing but spinning wool and other animal hair into fine linen. Others were willing to learn whatever trade the leader, teachers taught them. They all worked together for the expressed purpose of God. We should be so like that. For the most part it appears we are all doing our part for the advancement of the kingdom, but it may also be that we, at some time, think others have a more important part then we do. We all have come to the Lord from our own free will, but there are also some among us that God simply would not do without. Now, does that means those he will not do without have no free will? It would not fit with his character. He desires all men come to him and he has given all men the free will to choose to come to him. But there are some among us whom the Lord caused the perfect situation and brought exactly the right people into their paths so that their choice was almost made for them, so to speak. How could these men not come to work on the tabernacle with the combined witness of Moses and the infilling of the Spirit of God? Today we have the same kind of people. We can also learn another lesson here. There are still others the Lord desires to come to him for specific tasks, callings. As we have seen before, are we like Moses, with our shining face, being that exact witness these people need to come to Christ? He has sent his Spirit out to convict them, but at the same time a witness is on call to bring them the right message. With the workers of the tabernacle, combined with all the givers of material goods, they all did their part. This is our story. We are all supposed to be doing our part. God has called us to diligently work on the tabernacle in detail. That could apply to being dedicated on self-improvement, or increasing in our knowledge of him, growing in stature among men and God. This could also apply to our dedication of being the best at the part of the body of Christ we have been called to be. They did everything exactly as the LORD had commanded it to be done. We need to be doing our part exactly as the Lord has commanded us to do. This also means no improvising, no human creativity, no doing it our way, but exactly as the Lord has commanded.  

Exactly

DEVOTION

EXODUS

EXACTLY

Ex 36:8-38

8 All the skilled men among the workmen made the tabernacle with ten curtains of finely twisted linen and blue, purple and scarlet yarn, with cherubim worked into them by a skilled craftsman. 9 All the curtains were the same size — twenty-eight cubits long and four cubits wide.   10 They joined five of the curtains together and did the same with the other five. 11 Then they made loops of blue material along the edge of the end curtain in one set, and the same was done with the end curtain in the other set. 12 They also made fifty loops on one curtain and fifty loops on the end curtain of the other set, with the loops opposite each other. 13 Then they made fifty gold clasps and used them to fasten the two sets of curtains together so that the tabernacle was a unit. 14 They made curtains of goat hair for the tent over the tabernacle — eleven altogether. 15 All eleven curtains were the same size — thirty cubits long and four cubits wide.   16 They joined five of the curtains into one set and the other six into another set. 17 Then they made fifty loops along the edge of the end curtain in one set and also along the edge of the end curtain in the other set. 18 They made fifty bronze clasps to fasten the tent together as a unit. 19 Then they made for the tent a covering of ram skins dyed red, and over that a covering of hides of sea cows.   20 They made upright frames of acacia wood for the tabernacle. 21 Each frame was ten cubits long and a cubit and a half wide,   22 with two projections set parallel to each other. They made all the frames of the tabernacle in this way. 23 They made twenty frames for the south side of the tabernacle 24 and made forty silver bases to go under them — two bases for each frame, one under each projection. 25 For the other side, the north side of the tabernacle, they made twenty frames 26 and forty silver bases — two under each frame. 27 They made six frames for the far end, that is, the west end of the tabernacle, 28 and two frames were made for the corners of the tabernacle at the far end. 29 At these two corners the frames were double from the bottom all the way to the top and fitted into a single ring; both were made alike. 30 So there were eight frames and sixteen silver bases — two under each frame. 31 They also made crossbars of acacia wood: five for the frames on one side of the tabernacle, 32 five for those on the other side, and five for the frames on the west, at the far end of the tabernacle. 33 They made the center crossbar so that it extended from end to end at the middle of the frames. 34 They overlaid the frames with gold and made gold rings to hold the crossbars. They also overlaid the crossbars with gold. 35 They made the curtain of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen, with cherubim worked into it by a skilled craftsman. 36 They made four posts of acacia wood for it and overlaid them with gold. They made gold hooks for them and cast their four silver bases. 37 For the entrance to the tent they made a curtain of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen — the work of an embroiderer; 38 and they made five posts with hooks for them. They overlaid the tops of the posts and their bands with gold and made their five bases of bronze.

NIV

Well that is a whole of work and everything was done to the exact plans God had given to Moses. We spent some time with that when God was instructing Moses with all this detail. Once again without dissecting every aspect of this narrative, what we learn again is the exacting detail God goes to in his interaction with the people. It would have been possible that God could have told Moses to simply make a larger style tent, one that would have two rooms for some fixtures. But everything about this was to be precisely as God directed it to be in all the finest details. Could we expect anything less from God? Could we expect anything less from him in his interaction with us? Could we expect anything less in his working in our lives? He is not vague. He is exact in all that he does. He does not just save us and then leave us to flounder around on our own. He has specific plans for each of our lives, very exact specific plans. He has an extremely detailed purpose for each member of the body of Christ. As detailed as he was about the Tabernacle, which was the place he was to dwell among the people, how much more exact is he about this tabernacle, our beings, in which he dwells. These details include where we live, where we work, where we church, where we play, where we shop, and every aspect of our lives. He has our days numbered even before the foundation of the earth. There is no secret he holds back concerning how we are to be as his tabernacle. Just as he gave Moses all the plans, not withholding some critical step, or part, he gives us all the plans needed to be the exact person he desires us to be. He both reveals every aspect of his character to us and what our character should be. As we have heard from one previous pastor, our personality is who we are when with people, our character is who we are when we are alone. The only thing is that we are never alone, as God is always with us, in us and working through us. The scripture is clear that as our heart is so are we, as we think, what are character is, that is who we really are and in most cases it shows in our personality. It may be true that we build facades for people to see someone who we are really not. It has also been said, that we are not we who think we are, nor are we who others think we are, but that we are who we think others think we are. That would be like being as a chameleon, changing depending on who we are with. God does not desire that to be the way we are. He has established the exact plans for our character, how we are to think. When we come to him as our Savior, he tells us that one of the ways in which our spiritual worship is to be manifested is in the renewing of our minds. We are to no longer conform to the pattern of the world. We are to conform to his pattern, his plans, and his purpose. The world has an exact pattern as to how we should think and behave. But God has a very exact pattern as how we are to think and behave, in fact he came in the flesh to show us that exact pattern. He was very clear, very exact and very detailed about this tabernacle in which he would dwell. We may not be built with wood, gold, silver, bronze, fine linens and skins, but we have been build, created by the very hands of God. That makes us far more worthy then that tabernacle in the wilderness. We are far more precious than gold. We are his tabernacle, his dwelling place. He has directed that place exactly, and he directs us as exactly.   

Restrained

DEVOTION

EXODUS

RESTRAINED

Ex 36:2-7

2 Then Moses summoned Bezalel and Oholiab and every skilled person to whom the LORD had given ability and who was willing to come and do the work. 3 They received from Moses all the offerings the Israelites had brought to carry out the work of constructing the sanctuary. And the people continued to bring freewill offerings morning after morning. 4 So all the skilled craftsmen who were doing all the work on the sanctuary left their work 5 and said to Moses, "The people are bringing more than enough for doing the work the LORD commanded to be done." 6 Then Moses gave an order and they sent this word throughout the camp: "No man or woman is to make anything else as an offering for the sanctuary." And so the people were restrained from bringing more, 7 because what they already had was more than enough to do all the work.

NIV

Having already considered the LORD was the one who gave all the skills and knowledge of all the crafts needed to construct the tabernacle, as well as the willingness of all the people to give offerings, we should find something else here. Although it is good to be reassured of the same truths over and over again so we know that God desires us to see it clearly. As the men were starting the project using the plans the LORD gave to Moses, they had a clear idea of how much material would be needed to complete the Tabernacle. The people were so excited about this whole idea and were so willing to give of their material possessions they came every morning with more. Granted, when there is a congregation of several million people, there could be a great deal of materials available. It would be far more difficult for a church of several hundred to come up with that much gold and silver, as well as bronze and all the fabric. Of course we could go to Lowes for the wood, and Joann Fabrics for the fine linen. But the point is with all those people there was more than enough to get the project completed. So with more and more materials showing up each morning, the workman had to tell Moses they had enough, in fact more than enough. So the people were restrained from bringing anymore. Wouldn’t that be a real hoot, if the Pastor of our church told us that we stop giving any offerings because the treasury is full enough. But that just isn’t the case. The postmodern church seems to never have enough no matter how much it has. It has a continual thirst for more and more offerings. God established the plans which included the exact size of the Tabernacle. He determined the exact materials that were to be used in its construction. He gave certain men the exact skills and abilities to do the work that was to be done. Everything about this whole project was just as the LORD had commanded.  Have we overstepped the command of God in the way we construct our buildings, our tabernacles? Have we made our churches to fit our fashion, our fancy, rather than as directed by God? It seems the more we give the bigger the church becomes and able to get more people in so as to be able to have more people to give offerings. Sure we say we want them to come to get saved. But how long has it been since salvation has been preached? How long has it been since altar calls were made? Are all the attendees saved? It is one thing to get new people in the door, but are they going to hear the salvation message or about giving? The people gave so much of their own free will they had to be restrained. Maybe we should be giving that much as well. But then it gets into the sticky business of who all is giving. We already know from statistics that only about twenty percent of any congregation tithes. We are told it is difficult to determine the exact percentage of people who give free will offerings. But the point is that we all are certainly not bringing so much that we need to be restrained. Then we start thinking if we give that much, would anyone else? Why should we be the only ones bringing so much offering each morning? But then maybe it is not about us bringing gold and silver or bronze or wood. Maybe it is not about bringing so much linen and skins. Maybe it is not about bringing too much material goods each morning that we need to be restrained. Maybe it is all about the offering of our bodies as a living sacrifice.

Rom 12:1-2

12:1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God — this is your spiritual act of worship. 2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is — his good, pleasing and perfect will.

NIV

What if we made this kind of offering each morning to the LORD in such abundance, he told us to restrain ourselves? Would he even do that? But then do we bring that much of an offering each morning, more than what is needed to complete the project? God still has a project he wants to accomplish. He is always about finishing the work he has stared in us. But he also desires new people to come to him, to find his salvation. As we offer ourselves each morning in so much abundance, he uses our offerings to accomplish is will. But we have never been restrained from offering ourselves. Maybe because we have never offered that much of ourselves. It would be interesting to see what would happen if we did, so as to be restrained. 

Know-How

DEVOTION

EXODUS

KNOW HOW

Ex 35:30-36:1

30 Then Moses said to the Israelites, "See, the LORD has chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, 31 and he has filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts —  32 to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, 33 to cut and set stones, to work in wood and to engage in all kinds of artistic craftsmanship. 34 And he has given both him and Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, the ability to teach others. 35 He has filled them with skill to do all kinds of work as craftsmen, designers, embroiderers in blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen, and weavers — all of them master craftsmen and designers. 36:1 So Bezalel, Oholiab and every skilled person to whom the LORD has given skill and ability to know how to carry out all the work of constructing the sanctuary are to do the work just as the LORD has commanded."

NIV

We have already visited this thought about the LORD choosing this man Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. But what we hadn’t considered was that the LORD filled him with the Spirit of God. This is way before Jesus sent the Spirit to be poured out on all men. Yet here is the Spirit filling a man with the skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts. The LORD also gave him as well as Oholiab the ability to teach others their trades. This is no small thing. We do not know what kind of tools they had to work with but there must have been a lot of them. First just to take all the acacia wood and plane it and cut it into all the right sizes for all the parts the tabernacle, then cover them with gold. There is just so much that requires a great craftsman to complete. Where else would these men gain that kind of knowledge then from the Spirit of the LORD? There were no trade schools to attend. There was, at least for others, some on the job training, but it came from men who were filled the Spirit with the ability to teach and train others in each trade. Once again we see that when God wants something to be accomplished he will get it done. The LORD will call upon people to do things, even if they have no professional training or education in that area. What matters is the willingness of the heart to do that which the LORD has called us to do. It would seem man has developed his own way to gain knowledge or ability in order to be skilled or knowledgeable in some area to serve the LORD. It would be very rare for a person to become a pastor of a church unless he attended some bible college or seminary and was accredited by that particular denomination. There are hoops upon hoops that need to be jumped through in order for a person to be the pastor of a church. Teachers have much the same ordeal in needing to be degreed in order to obtain their certification by the governing body. Yet it is for certain God is not restricted by all the rules and regulations of man in order to accomplish his will. He simply fills a person with his Spirit and walla, that person has the ability. We have complicated this having ability and knowledge way too much. It seems in our post-modern culture we have people teaching people who teach people who teach people and have left the Spirit for doing just an occasional spiritual thing in a few churches that believe the Spirit moves among us. We really need to rely more on the Spirit then on people. Now, it is true these men were given the ability to teach others. So some men did teach other men, but that was due to the Spirit. These men did not even have the ability nor able to teach it to others unless they were filled with the Spirit. So the key for us is to either be filled with the Spirit or find someone who is in order to learn from them. In either case we should be relying on the Spirit rather than men. It is the Spirit who gives us the know-how. 

Free will

DEVOTION

EXODUS

FREE WILL

Ex 35:20-29

20 Then the whole Israelite community withdrew from Moses' presence, 21 and everyone who was willing and whose heart moved him came and brought an offering to the LORD for the work on the Tent of Meeting, for all its service, and for the sacred garments. 22 All who were willing, men and women alike, came and brought gold jewelry of all kinds: brooches, earrings, rings and ornaments. They all presented their gold as a wave offering to the LORD. 23 Everyone who had blue, purple or scarlet yarn or fine linen, or goat hair, ram skins dyed red or hides of sea cows brought them. 24 Those presenting an offering of silver or bronze brought it as an offering to the LORD, and everyone who had acacia wood for any part of the work brought it. 25 Every skilled woman spun with her hands and brought what she had spun — blue, purple or scarlet yarn or fine linen. 26 And all the women who were willing and had the skill spun the goat hair. 27 The leaders brought onyx stones and other gems to be mounted on the ephod and breastpiece. 28 They also brought spices and olive oil for the light and for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense. 29 All the Israelite men and women who were willing brought to the LORD freewill offerings for all the work the LORD through Moses had commanded them to do.

NIV

The Lord commanded what was to be done, but all this is about free will. There is no compulsion here. There is no assignment of work here. There is nothing but the free will of men and women deciding to offer their material possessions and labor to the work of the LORD. There may be many times in our lives when we are asked to give something toward the work of the LORD. The difference is in the way of the asking. Here we are told the LORD commanded what was to be done, but the people were told if they were willing to bring and to do the various tasks to accomplish what the LORD commanded. Again, we cannot see anything other than, the LORD commanded, if you are willing. If at any time we are asked to give either of our material sustenance or our time and labor with some kind of pressure of made to think we are obligated, the asking is not of the LORD. The LORD desires for us to have a heart for him. It is when our heart moves us to give and to do, the LORD is pleased. He is all about wanting us to do everything from our heart. From the very first time we make the heart choice to believe, it is our own free will doing it. Certainly the Holy Spirit was sent to convict us of our sin, but even under conviction we had the choice to refuse and go our own way. The scripture is clear that whosoever believes will be saved. It does not say that God demanded us to believe. The scripture is clear that whosoever humbles himself, the LORD will exalt. It also says that if we exalt ourselves we will be humbled. But the point is it is our choice, our free will. If that flies in the face of John Calvin, so be it. The Scripture is clear, God neither wants robots which he programs to serve him, nor does he force his will upon his creation. He makes an offer, first for salvation, second for a blessed life. He makes the offer and it is our choice to accept or reject his offer. Here we see the people responded willingly to bring all the material needed and to do all the work required to build the Tabernacle. We had just seen how sinful they had been in the making of the golden calf and their revelry in worship of it. They had to have the knowledge the LORD was gracious to them. Although they had also just experienced a portion of his wrath when the Levites went throughout the camp killing several thousand of them. Whether their hearts were moved out of the fear of the LORD or out of thanksgiving for grace, it was still up to them to execute their free will. That should still apply to our lives. The difference is that we are under the New Covenant of Christ. Because we decided, because we made the heart choice to believe, we have nothing to fear in this life, but there are many scriptures which tell us we should fear the Lord. However, that is not being afraid of God, but reverence of God. He is still God and we are but his creation. It certainly puts us in the right place when we consider the power and might, the majesty of God and then we look at ourselves. But we do not have to be afraid of his wrath because we are in Christ. We have or experience his grace. But that is due to our heart choice. When we give of either our material goods, or our time and skills or talents it is because we do it from our heart, our choice. It is interesting that all that was needed to be given and to be done was given and done, all from the free will of the people. It would seem that whenever God desires something to be given or done, he will find a way to get it given and done. God’s will always is accomplished, even within the free will of man. 

Come and Build

DEVOTION

EXODUS

COME AND BUILD

Ex 35:10-19

10 "All who are skilled among you are to come and make everything the LORD has commanded: 11 the tabernacle with its tent and its covering, clasps, frames, crossbars, posts and bases; 12 the ark with its poles and the atonement cover and the curtain that shields it; 13 the table with its poles and all its articles and the bread of the Presence; 14 the lampstand that is for light with its accessories, lamps and oil for the light; 15 the altar of incense with its poles, the anointing oil and the fragrant incense; the curtain for the doorway at the entrance to the tabernacle; 16 the altar of burnt offering with its bronze grating, its poles and all its utensils; the bronze basin with its stand; 17 the curtains of the courtyard with its posts and bases, and the curtain for the entrance to the courtyard; 18 the tent pegs for the tabernacle and for the courtyard, and their ropes; 19 the woven garments worn for ministering in the sanctuary — both the sacred garments for Aaron the priest and the garments for his sons when they serve as priests."

NIV

Sometimes it seems there is no life lessons in a historical record of what was going on with the Israelites. Here we have just a repeat of what was told to us before about all the portions of the Tabernacle, just not in the fine details we already have seen. The one comment here that is those who are skilled. Back in chapter 31 we were privy to a conversation between the LORD and Moses. There he told Moses he had given certain skills to certain men, actually giving Moses the names of a couple of the men. The LORD also told Moses that he has given all the skills of all the craftsmen in order to get the job done right. We are also going to see Moses tell the Israelites this same thing. HE will name a few of the men who have been given certain skills. But for now he makes a general call from all of the community. “All who are skilled among you”. What we can learn here is that each of us has some skill which is useful for the LORD. Because of all the different types of skills needed in the making of the Tabernacle we should note that each person did their part, using their individual skills, all who were given by the LORD. The goldsmiths did not attempt the weaving of fine threads and the Silversmiths did not try to make curtains from fine linens. The workers of skins was not involved with the wood workers. Each who was skilled in a specific area did their part. Just as Paul talks about us all being part of the body of Christ. Two things here. One is that we should be using our skill in some way for the kingdom of God. It might seem that in many cases some use their skills within the church and it may appear as if those skills are in serving each other. The church secretary keeps us all informed of the happenings going on. The Janitor cleans up after us, so to speak. The choir or worship team leads us in singing or worship. The Pastor does a whole lot of things, but mainly his calling is to be a shepherd of Gods people. The point seems to be we are using our skills for the benefit of the rest of the body. That may be the right thing. But then maybe we should be using our skills for the furtherance of the kingdom of God. The Tabernacle did in some sense serve the community of Israelites. But it also served as a symbol of their relationship with God. As their traveled and encountered other cultures, they could see the Israelites had this central theme, this one large tabernacle where their God met with them. We have to know they were not all alone in the world. Even as they wandered around in the wilderness they had to come across other travelers. The world was not void of others. We know that at times they engaged in battles with other peoples. The point here is that although the Tabernacle was to be constructed by all the skilled craftsmen, who were given their skills by God, they were both serving each other and working for the advancement of the kingdom in some way. The call has gone out to every believer as well.

Mark 16:15-18

15 He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18 they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well." 

NIV

There are skills or gifts given to those who are called to go into the world and preach the good news. If we believe we are among those called to go, which is the general call to all believers, then the LORD has also given us the skills needed to demonstrate his power in our lives and for us to be that light in the world. How many of us actually drive out demons? How many of us actually speak in a new tongue? It’s not common for any of us to be picking up snakes or drinking poison, but then it not also not very common we place our hands sick people and they get well. So are we just confining our Christianity to within the church, for the building of the church, as the Israelites were in building the Tabernacle? It surely was important for them to have a place for the LORD to dwell among them. Throughout the history of the church there has been times with great churches were constructed thinking it was the place God would dwell among them. But he does not live in building made with human hands. We might use these places, these church buildings as a place to meet the living God. But he dwells within each of us on a daily basis, gifting us with the talents and skills we need to further his kingdom. If we are to go into all the world, that may mean both the physical world, each and every country and bringing the word to every language, and also in the world in the sense of skills. Go into world of science, the world of construction, the world of medicine, the world of business, the world of engineering, the world of sales, the world of……., the list goes on. Each has been given certain skills by the LORD and we are called into his service to build the place where he dwells among his people. There is the sense that we should be building each other up as well.

1 Thess 5:11

11 Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.

NIV

This brings with it the sense that each of us should be using our God-given talents and skills for the edification of others in the body of Christ. It always comes down to those of us who are skilled, come and build whatever the LORD has commanded.  

Willingly and Gladly

DEVOTION

EXODUS

WILLINGLY AND GLADLY

Ex 35:4-9

4 Moses said to the whole Israelite community, "This is what the LORD has commanded: 5 From what you have, take an offering for the LORD. Everyone who is willing is to bring to the LORD an offering of gold, silver and bronze; 6 blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen; goat hair; 7 ram skins dyed red and hides of sea cows; acacia wood; 8 olive oil for the light; spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense; 9 and onyx stones and other gems to be mounted on the ephod and breastpiece.

NIV

The gathering of the materials is the first task at hand. What we might find interesting is this is a people who not too long ago escaped Egypt, fleeing with only what they could carry with them. Now perhaps they did have some carts, especially considering the elderly among them may not have been able to keep up on foot. We also know they were able to plunder much from the Egyptians. So it is not out of the question that many of the Israelites had a lot of gold, silver and bronze along with fabrics, yarn and fine linen. The animals were certainly theirs from even when they were in Goshen being shepherds. But again the spices, fragrance and stones and gems were most likely part of the plunder of Egypt. Although having lived in Egypt for hundreds of years it is also possible much of this material was gained or gathered over the generations by the Israelites for their own material possessions. Nevertheless, it does not matter how they came about having all this material, they were being asked, if they were willing, to bring it for the construction of the Tabernacle. The LORD commanded them to bring an offering, if they were willing. That seems a little strange. He commands, but if they are willing. Doesn’t seem like much a command. What if a commanding army officer ordered an assault on an enemy position, but in that command told his troops, only if you are willing. What good is a command if it includes or depends on the willingness of the people? There is the precedents of the whole of salvation, only if we are willing. God does not command us to be saved, although commanded the method by which he saves us. But we must be willing. However this lesson is about bringing an offering from what they had. It was not demanded of them, without their willingness. It was not absconded from them. They were to bring it willingly, of their own free will. They were being told it was up to them whether they wanted to part with their material possessions for the construction of this Tabernacle. This could lead us down a rabbit hole if we wanted to travel that way. Should we consider all of giving to be a command of God, only if we are willing? We could focus on the matter of the tithe, but this is not about the tithe which is also a discussion which is somewhat in question because of the Old Testament use of it, and what appears to be the lack of that term in the New Testament. If the Old Testament was under the old covenant and law, and the New Testament is under the new covenant of Christ, free from the old and the law, then what of the tithe? But here we are not about the tithe, but rather an offering. It is not a tax, not a tithe, it is an offering, a free will offering. This, the New Testament speaks about many times. One of them is:

2 Cor 9:6-15

6 Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 7 Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver . 8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. 9 As it is written: "He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor; his righteousness endures forever."   10 Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. 11 You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. 12 This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God's people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. 13 Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else. 14 And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you. 15 Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!

NIV

This is not the complete discussion Paul has in his letter to them, but it is enough of it for us to get the idea of some offering to help others. The giving of their material goods for the benefit of others. It was not a command, it was to come from their own free will to give. The Lord loves a cheerful giver. This must have been the mental state of the Israelites in their bringing their gold, silver and bronze and gems along with all the other fine material possessions they had. Cheerfully bringing it, not under compulsion or reluctantly. This is how we are to live as well. We have been given the free will to decide in our own hearts what we bring to the LORD as an offering. Now it is true that the church has certainly taught well about bringing in the tithe. We have been more or less indoctrinated with this as a command of God, even if we are not willing, we must bring it in. But we have also heard that an offering is above the tithe. First the tithe, then bring an additional offering. But that is not discussed here. No tithe was mentioned. It is simply an offering for the Temple of God, from the generosity of their own hearts, from their own willingness to give. The promise God has made to the New Testament believer is that as we give from our hearts, he will bless us back, so we can give even more. This is one of the ideas one preacher and writer promotes as seed faith. Although we may not agree with all of his teachings, it seems right to consider that as we give, God gives us more so we can give more. If, however we only give for that purpose it might be worthless. The point is that we give because of the love in our heart for God, of our own free will, whatever we decide in our heart. They is no fixed amount. They is no formula. It is only as we decide, and we cheerfully give. This is how the Israelites were to bring their offerings and this is how we are to bring our offerings. Now, we could also include the fact that we are to offer or sacrifice our own beings, our bodies as living sacrifices, a living offering to God, cheerfully giving ourselves to the temple of God, which is within us, in fact, is us. Nevertheless, whatever we give, whether that be material goods or ourselves we are to do it willingly and gladly. 

True rest

DEVOTION

EXODUS

TRUE REST

Ex 35:1-3

35:1 Moses assembled the whole Israelite community and said to them, "These are the things the LORD has commanded you to do: 2 For six days, work is to be done, but the seventh day shall be your holy day, a Sabbath of rest to the LORD. Whoever does any work on it must be put to death. 3 Do not light a fire in any of your dwellings on the Sabbath day."

NIV

And so it begins. We are about to enter the phase of the construction of the Tabernacle. We will see the offering brought of all the needed material for its making. We will see all the skilled craftsman the LORD has inspired, actually knit together in their mother’s womb with the knowledge and skill of their trades. But we start first with the first thing. What we find is that Moses assembled the whole Israelite community. Now some of our scholars believe that was not the whole of the community, but rather the leaders and representatives from each tribe. They in turn would report what he said to their tribes and sub-sets. The original language leaves room for this thinking as it says the Moses gathered a crowd or congregation of the children of Israel. However, because Moses is a type of Christ and is the one mediator between God and the Israelites, we could not have the mediator making smaller mediators. So we are left with the idea that he did in fact gather the whole Israelite community which would have been millions of people. How exactly he managed to speak loud enough for all of them to hear is questionable. Perhaps that is why some of our scholars want to consider the other idea of just a few leaders who passed on his message to their smaller groups. If that was so we would have been told so, but we are told he gathered the whole of the children of Israel and God would have inspired a way for all the people to hear Moses. That is but part of the lesson with Moses. What we see is that he told them the things the LORD has commanded them to do. Moses was faithful as a servant of God. There is a side lesson about this fact as well.

Heb 3:1-6

3:1 Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess. 2 He was faithful to the one who appointed him, just as Moses was faithful in all God's house. 3 Jesus has been found worthy of greater honor than Moses, just as the builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself. 4 For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything. 5 Moses was faithful as a servant in all God's house, testifying to what would be said in the future. 6 But Christ is faithful as a son over God's house. And we are his house, if we hold on to our courage and the hope of which we boast.

NIV

However, for the point we need to see about the faithfulness of Moses telling all the people what the LORD commanded them to do is his faithfulness to tell them only what the LORD commanded them to do. Moses did not leave anything out, nor did he add anything. This should be a great lesson for us. Whenever we have the opportunity to share God’s word, whether that be through verbal communication, either a conversation, or Sunday school leading, or preaching, or through some written form, such as a book, an article or devotion, we need to be faithful to share only the word, leaving nothing out, nor adding anything in. This would or should include our opinions. It seems we all have certain opinions. Maybe a better word would be interpretations of what the scriptures say. One of the greatest differences in opinions is the debate between Calvin and Wesley. Yet in all reality they were but two men with opinions that differed. We can be sure that God neither ascribes to Calvin’s or Wesley’s opinion, but only to his own. Moses was faithful to tell only that which God had spoken to him regarding his commands for the people. It would have been easy for him to add something about his authority in all matters, or that he was to be exalted or whatever. But he only told them what God said and all that God said. We should be that faithful in our communication of God’s word. This would mean we need to keep ourselves free of the opinions of others, but only true to what God has said, leaving nothing out and adding nothing. This also means we too cannot ascribe to either Calvin’s or Wesley’s opinions. We must only ascribe to the word of God. He has given us the Spirit who will lead us into all truth. It is only the Spirit who we need to listen to in order to know all that God has commanded us to do. The rest of this beginning narrative in the construction of the Tabernacle is set in the concept of working diligently for six days and taking that one day, the Sabbath to do no work on the Tabernacle at all. The idea about the fires not to be struck had to do with the workers of metal, or other work which would need the fire. Nevertheless, the Sabbath was to be the day of rest. We could carry that into our culture, as we have considered before. Again, we do not actually celebrate the Sabbath, the seventh day of the week with no work. So then in the strictest sense we are not fulfilling the command of God. But then we have discussed all that about Jesus and Christians choosing Sunday instead, but then we still do some form of work on that day as well, if nothing else we lite a fire to cook our food. But there is an eternal Sabbath that is coming.

Heb 4:1-11

4:1 Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it. 2 For we also have had the gospel preached to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because those who heard did not combine it with faith.   3 Now we who have believed enter that rest, just as God has said, "So I declared on oath in my anger, 'They shall never enter my rest.'" And yet his work has been finished since the creation of the world. 4 For somewhere he has spoken about the seventh day in these words: "And on the seventh day God rested from all his work."   5 And again in the passage above he says, "They shall never enter my rest." 6 It still remains that some will enter that rest, and those who formerly had the gospel preached to them did not go in, because of their disobedience. 7 Therefore God again set a certain day, calling it Today, when a long time later he spoke through David, as was said before: "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts."   8 For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day. 9 There remains, then, a Sabbath — rest for the people of God; 10 for anyone who enters God's rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. 11 Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience.

NIV

There will be a day, when we will in fact rest from all our work, that Day of the LORD. If we are faithful to our LORD, if we do not disbelieve, but remain true to our faith, we will enter his rest, his eternal Sabbath. But for now, let us continue with the task set before us building the tabernacle, the dwelling place of God among his people, our very beings. Let us be true to his word, not the opinions of man, but his word. Let us not forget or leave anything out and let us not add anything to it. All we have is God’s word. Let us not add those human rules and regulations, those denominational bias that can so easily distort the truth by either leaving something out or adding something in. Let us be true to God and God alone, then we will enter his Sabbath, his rest.