Exodus 36:1-7 "Bezalel and Oholiab and every craftsman
in whom the LORD has put skill and intelligence to know how to do any work in
the construction of the sanctuary shall work in accordance with all that the
LORD has commanded." (2) And Moses called Bezalel and Oholiab and
every craftsman in whose mind the LORD had put skill, everyone whose heart
stirred him up to come to do the work. (3) And they received from Moses all the
contribution that the people of Israel had brought for doing the work on the
sanctuary. They still kept bringing him freewill offerings every morning, (4) so
that all the craftsmen who were doing every sort of task on the sanctuary came,
each from the task that he was doing, (5) and said to Moses, "The people bring
much more than enough for doing the work that the LORD has commanded us to
do." (6) So Moses gave command, and word was
proclaimed throughout the camp, "Let no man or woman do anything more for
the contribution for the sanctuary." So the people were restrained from
bringing, (7) for the material they had was sufficient to
do all the work, and more.
This is a rare moment in the history of this generation of Israelites.
Throughout the Exodus there has been the constant theme of ingratitude,
discontentment and complaining against God. They have questioned God’s goodness
and the truth of God’s promises, and worst of all they have incited God to
wrath by their idolatrous actions. But Exodus 36 stands apart from this general
theme, as the people give, they give sacrificially and they give generously.
They give to the point that there is an over-abundance and they are instructed
to give no more. It is an encouraging picture of people giving generously to a
God who had given generously to them and would continue to do so for many
generations to come.
Not only did the people give, many of them also set themselves to the
work of constructing the various aspects and objects of the tabernacle. We are
told that many craftsmen and people gathered to do the work, they turn aside
from their own work of providing for their own families and worked to build the
tabernacle. They gave of themselves and used the skills, abilities and gifts
that God had given them, for the work of God. This sacrificial giving and
service would have led to greater joy when the tabernacle was completed, as
well as an increased appreciation of it.
As has already been mentioned, this is a rare moment in the life of this
generation, for they will soon resort back to their old ways. Thus whilst this
chapter demonstrates a desire to give to and serve God, this desire cannot
endure when there is no change of heart. The people give sacrificially of their
possessions, but they do not give sacrificially of their hearts, of their
lives. While their hearts and lives remains unchanged, all their external
actions and desires will never endure, nor will they be anything more than
external actions. The reason for this, is that these external desires are not
prompted by an internal reality. They are moved to give and to serve for a
time, but they have not given themselves wholly unto God. Lasting, genuine
worship and service of God can only be prompted from the inside out. A heart, a
life changed by God and given completely over to God, will produce worship and
service that will endure and will continue on even in the midst of trial and
hardship. Why is this? A heart, a life that is given wholly unto God is turned
back to what it was created for, and that is to worship and serve God. We were
created, designed to worship and serve God in all things and at all times, but
our sin has led us to worship everything else but God. Until that sin is dealt
with our worship of God, even when it is elaborate, will not be true of our
hearts and lives. This is why Jesus tells us in John 4 that the Father seeks
after those who worship in spirit and in truth. In other words God seeks the worship
of those whose hearts are filled with the truth and who lives have been changed
by God. Therefore it is only through Christ that we can find this new heart,
life and worship. Christ restores us back to our created design.
For those of us who are believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, we have
more reason than any other to worship and serve God, generously and
sacrificially with all of our lives. God may have given much to the Exodus
generation, but He has given us exceedingly more in the giving of Christ. Not
only has God given abundantly to us, He has also turned us back to being able
to truly worship and serve Him, for His glory and for our joy. The challenge
comes to us today, to be people who are seeking to worship and serve God with
our lives, in all things, at all times. We should desire to give constant
evidence to the world of that which is an inward reality in our lives, to show
them the great joy and life that is found in the constant worship and service
of God. Each time we fail to do this, we are displaying our old nature, the
nature that did not worship God in truth, but worshipped self instead. Our
desire should be to worship and serve God and God alone. Let us give ourselves
wholly to this glorious privilege of being able to worship and serve God in all
that which we do today. Let us do it for Him, for the increase of His glory and
to lead those who don’t worship God to have cause to worship God.
Our great and majestic God, all the
angels of heaven bow before Your throne and offer up their worship. How we long
to add our voice to their today, for You have been exceedingly, abundantly
gracious towards us through the Lord Jesus Christ. We thank You that You have
turned our hearts back to being able to truly worship and serve You. We thank
You for the deep joy, peace, hope and comfort that fills our hearts and lives when
we worship You. Thank You that through this we are able to draw all the closer
to You and have a glorious fore-taste of heaven. We pray that today we would
give external evidence of what is an inward reality, that You have changed our
lives for our eternal joy and good. May we worship and serve You throughout the
day in everything that we do. Amen.
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