Gifts from God
Exodus 36-38
Gifts from God, Exodus 36-38. When God was ready to have the Israelites built a sanctuary for Him, he chose the men with the most skill and intelligence to do the work.
1 “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.
Exodus 36:1-7, ESV
Gifts from God
Exodus 36-38
When the time came for the Israelites to
build a place of worship, God chose specific men, Bezalel and Oholiab,
along with other craftsmen in whom God had put skill and intelligence to
know how to build the sanctuary according to the commands of God. Their skills were gifts from God who not only chose them for the work they would do, but also, prepared and equipped them with the abilities they needed to do the work.
The
time had come for the building of the tabernacle; Exodus 36-38
covers the making of the Ark, the Table, the Lampstand, the Atlar of
Incense, the Altar of Burnt Offering, the Bronze Basin, and the Court.
As we try to understand how each of these looked upon completion, I would
like to share with you a website with
some fascinating replicas of several of these items. It helped me to
gain a better perspective of the beauty and complex structure of each of
these items.
I
think it is important to note, that when God was ready to have the
Israelites built a sanctuary for Him, he chose the men with the most
skill and intelligence to do the work. These men were equipped with the gifts from God needed to do the work to which they were called. We place a high priority on skill
and intelligence in our world today. Who wants to go to a doctor, a
lawyer, and even a carpenter without these attributes? I know I sure
don't!
However,
to put these same people on a pedestal because of their abilities or
wealth is certainly a mistake. Just as we read this of Bezalel and
Oholiab, in whom the Lord has put skill and intelligence, we
must remember that everything we have or are are gifts from God. If God
has endowed us with intelligence, that does not make us any more
valuable than the factory worker or even one who is mentally retarded!
We
must remember that God creates every person unique, and as Christians,
each and every one has a specific purpose to fulfill for which they have
been especially equipped by God. Pray today that God would give you a
spirit of humility, as well as respect for each of those around you. Pray, too, that you would use the gifts and abilities you have been given by God so that you may seek to understand God's specific will for your life.
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