Readings for the day: Exodus 37, 38, 39, 40
You just finished Exodus! Well done, friends! You’ve already knocked out three of the longest books of the Bible and are well on your way to meeting your goal of reading the Bible this year! If you’ve fallen a little behind...no worries! Keep plugging away! Remember, reading the Bible in a year is somewhat arbitrary. It’s just as good to read the Bible in six months or a year and a half! God honors all the time we spend in His Word.
Before we leave Exodus, I do want to give a shout out to two guys who are often overlooked. Bezalel and Oholiab are just as critical to this story as Moses, Aaron, Miriam, and all the rest. Without their God-given talent and ability and passion for craftsmanship, we wouldn’t know much about how the early Israelites worshipped. Without their attention to detail and ability to shape gold and wood and cloth, we wouldn’t have the Tabernacle and all its furnishings. No ark. No altar. No golden lamp stand. You may recall back in Exodus 31, God saying these words, “See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship, to devise artistic designs, to work in gold, silver, and bronze, in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, to work in every craft. And behold, I have appointed with him Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. And I have given to all able men ability, that they may make all that I have commanded you: the tent of meeting, and the ark of the testimony, and the mercy seat that is on it, and all the furnishings of the tent, the table and its utensils, and the pure lampstand with all its utensils, and the altar of incense, and the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and the basin and its stand, and the finely worked garments, the holy garments for Aaron the priest and the garments of his sons, for their service as priests, and the anointing oil and the fragrant incense for the Holy Place. According to all that I have commanded you, they shall do."
It’s so easy to get focused on Moses or Aaron or Joshua or some other great leader in Israel’s history. It’s so easy to assume they are the focus of the story. They are the ones gifted by God. They are the ones called by God. They are the ones whom God uses to accomplish His great work. But Bezalel and Oholiab are quick to remind us that ALL of us have been gifted by God in some way and ALL of us are called to use our gifts for His glory. It’s not just the pastors or the missionaries who are the heroes. It is the people of God exercising the gifts God has given each of them for the upbuilding of the Body of Christ and the glory of God’s Kingdom. When we fail to exercise our gifts or diminish our gifts in any way, we lose out on at least part of what God has planned for us. Think about how impoverished we would be if there had never been a Bezalel or Oholiab? Think about the impact on the worshipping life of Israel if there were no craftsmen around to make all God had ordained?
Now think about our life together. Think about our worship together. What gifts do you bring? Is it the gift of music? The gift of prayer? The gift of friendship? The gift of production? The gift of preaching? The gift of teaching? The gift of serving? If you are a Christian, you have the same Spirit of God filling you that filled Bezalel. This same Spirit imparts all the gifts and talents we need to worship and serve God as He demands. So how are you exercising your gift? How are you seeking to use your gift to build up others in your church family? In your home? In your neighborhood? At work or at school? May God fill you with the same passion that He once gave to Bezalel and Oholiab and may you then put your gifts and talents in service to God’s mission in the world!