Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 36:8-13

8 And every wise hearted man among them that wrought the work of the tabernacle made ten curtains of fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet: with cherubims of cunning work made he them.

9 The length of one curtain was twenty and eight cubits, and the breadth of one curtain four cubits: the curtains were all of one size.

10 And he coupled the five curtains one unto another: and the other five curtains he coupled one unto another.

11 And he made loops of blue on the edge of one curtain from the selvedge in the coupling: likewise he made in the uttermost side of another curtain, in the coupling of the second.

12 Fifty loops made he in one curtain, and fifty loops made he in the edge of the curtain which was in the coupling of the second: the loops held one curtain to another.

13 And he made fifty taches of gold, and coupled the curtains one unto another with the taches: so it became one tabernacle.

I won’t step through every single detail, but notice that the dimensions and design being described in these verses are exactly what God originally dictated to Moses up in the mountain. The author of this record wanted to make sure that we knew that the Lord’s plan was executed exactly as He had given.

With my little experience in creativity, I understand that one of the most difficult challenges is being able to effectively translate the conceptual to the material. It’s easy to have an image in your head, but to actually draw it is something else. You can imagine the characters and their actions perfectly, but the scene still falls flat on the page. It is the work of a true master simply to be able to express exactly what he meant to express, and here we saw that God’s vision was so crystal clear that it could be adhered to perfectly.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 36:5-7

5 And they spake unto Moses, saying, The people bring much more than enough for the service of the work, which the Lord commanded to make.

6 And Moses gave commandment, and they caused it to be proclaimed throughout the camp, saying, Let neither man nor woman make any more work for the offering of the sanctuary. So the people were restrained from bringing.

7 For the stuff they had was sufficient for all the work to make it, and too much.

I mentioned earlier that the Lord’s vision for the tabernacle was dependent on enough people willfully donating their possessions and time to make it a reality. He trusted that these people would come through, and as we see today, they more than did so. So great was the willful offering that they actually had to turn people away and prevent further donations.

It would seem that the people could have made an even greater tabernacle than what had been detailed. Perhaps the courtyard could have been bigger, perhaps there could have been two large sacrificial altars instead of just one, perhaps precious gems could have been incorporated into more of the architecture. But none of that was what happened. God had provided a vision, it was what it was, and it wasn’t going to be expanded further.

Indeed, simply adding more could have had a detrimental effect. When we reviewed God’s description of the tabernacle, we saw that everything seemed carefully chosen to be representative of an eternal principle. These symbolic lessons could easily have been obfuscated by simply throwing more stuff on top of it all.

There is a message here that while God does ultimately invite us to give our entire lives to Him, that doesn’t mean we are to exceed His parameters for any specific calling. In every moment, He will define what offering is proper, and it would be improper to do more. Take the law of tithing for example. I believe we are only to give a tenth as our tithe, no more and no less. Afterwards, if we feel like we’d like to contribute more to specific charities or ministries, we certainly may, but the tithe to the Lord itself has specific terms that we should not try to extend. It just is what it is, and it isn’t up to us to modify what the Lord has called for.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 36:1-4

1 Then wrought Bezaleel and Aholiab, and every wise hearted man, in whom the Lord put wisdom and understanding to know how to work all manner of work for the service of the sanctuary, according to all that the Lord had commanded.

2 And Moses called Bezaleel and Aholiab, and every wise hearted man, in whose heart the Lord had put wisdom, even every one whose heart stirred him up to come unto the work to do it:

3 And they received of Moses all the offering, which the children of Israel had brought for the work of the service of the sanctuary, to make it withal. And they brought yet unto him free offerings every morning.

4 And all the wise men, that wrought all the work of the sanctuary, came every man from his work which they made;

A theme in the Bible is the spiritual and conceptual manifesting in the material. The book even begins with it in the story of creation. On each day God expresses the idea of what He wants, and then it becomes a reality. “God said, Let there be light: and there was light,” (Genesis 1:3). At each stage, “God said,” and then it was so.

This theme most famously manifests in the birth of Jesus, which is the unseen, conceptual God becoming mortal man. In Jesus we see the idea of the law being lived out in perfection. In him we see the concept of perfect love made real upon a cross.

This same pattern of concept-to-reality has been playing out over the last ten chapters of Exodus. We have seen how God inspired Moses with the vision of the tabernacle, how Moses expressed it to the Israelites, and how it now becomes a reality. Accounts like these acknowledge and describe the process by which the metaphysical becomes the material, the vision becomes the work, and the idea becomes the creation.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 35:34-35

34 And he hath put in his heart that he may teach, both he, and Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan.

35 Them hath he filled with wisdom of heart, to work all manner of work, of the engraver, and of the cunning workman, and of the embroiderer, in blue, and in purple, in scarlet, and in fine linen, and of the weaver, even of them that do any work, and of those that devise cunning work.

Moses mentions that Aholiab will also be a chief artificer with Bezaleel, to whom the Lord had given a separate set of skills to round out the rest of the tabernacle’s requirements. These two men would not only have the skill of the craft, but also the ability to train others to assist in the work.

This is another principle of the gospel being demonstrated: delegation. Just as Jethro showed Moses the wisdom in dividing his labors through multiple layers of trusted assistants, the work of building of this tabernacle needed to be distributed across many hands to be accomplished. Christ, himself, would call twelve disciples to share in his work. And even omnipotent God continues to distribute His work to all of us today.

By training other craftsmen and then instructing them, Aholiab and Bezaleel are engaging in both delegation and a shared vision. These two concepts literally give us access to a power beyond our own. Ordinarily, the accomplishments of a man would be limited by his own skill, strength, and the finite number of years in his life. This account in Exodus, however, shows that the work that one would have done can be turned into a vision, and if that a vision that is compelling enough, and can be shared with others, a delegated to different responsibilities, then it is virtually boundless in what it can accomplish.

One man’s work can be multiplied across many hands and even continue after he is gone. By this method, we can have road systems that sprawl over millions of miles, skyscrapers that reach thousands of feet into the air, and bridges that cross over one hundred miles. What is more, all the work of the gospel is the singular vision of God being dispersed through billions of men and women, throughout thousands of years, accomplishing immeasurable good, and even bringing about the reclamation of souls in all the world.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 35:30-33

30 And Moses said unto the children of Israel, See, the Lord hath called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah;

31 And he hath filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship;

32 And to devise curious works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass,

33 And in the cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of wood, to make any manner of cunning work.

Moses reveals to the Israelites that the Lord has already chosen His chief artificer, the foreman who will oversee the work of building the tabernacle. I’m sure that Bezaleel was already a skilled craftsman, but that wasn’t the only reason why he was right for this work. Moses makes it clear that the man has been divinely inspired as well. Thus, no man is called to the work simply by virtue of personal achievement. We can make ourselves worthy vessels and useful resources, but we do not decide what purpose that the Lord has for us. He does.

I do wonder what the experience leading up to this moment was like for Bezaleel. It sounds like he was already being filled with creative visions, even before Moses made this announcement. Had he been receiving urges to build something without knowing exactly what it was? Did he have an inexplicable sensation that something important was coming his way? Or did he already know exactly what he was about to do, and just needed the formal announcement to get started?

I also wonder whether he knew that this was a work that would immortalize his name. We do not know the names of most of the people that have ever lived, but due to the work of his hands, Bezaleel became a name that has been preserved for thousands of years, appearing right alongside titans like Moses and Aaron.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 35:29

29 The children of Israel brought a willing offering unto the Lord, every man and woman, whose heart made them willing to bring for all manner of work, which the Lord had commanded to be made by the hand of Moses.

Over the last three days we read how every common man and woman, and every ruler had the opportunity to combine their various talents and resources to the building of the temple. No one was compelled to, but anyone whose heart was so moved would have a way that they could volunteer for this great work.

I mentioned earlier that God would have had the omniscience to know whether His people would bring forth sufficiently to fulfill His vision, but also, He would have had access to their hearts, being able to whisper into those that were devoted to Him, inspiring them to bring what they had. Thus, even as the people brought what parts that they could, they were doing so with the Lord burning in their bosom.

This is an important theme in the Bible, that God not only sets the standard, but inspires and empowers the fulfillment of it. He calls us to righteousness, then works within our hearts to help us live so, as well as makes atonement for when we fall short. It is not just God reaching from one side and man from the other to meet in the middle, it is God reaching from both sides, and man joining in on one half of that.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 35:27-28

27 And the rulers brought onyx stones, and stones to be set, for the ephod, and for the breastplate;

28 And spice, and oil for the light, and for the anointing oil, and for the sweet incense.

Yesterday we saw how men and women came together, combining their different talents and expertise to create something greater than what they could have accomplished on their own. That pattern is now continued, as the efforts of the common men and women are now further adorned by the jewels, spices, and oils of the wealthy. We are seeing a synergy not only between the sexes, but also across the classes.

Also note how the giving of precious rarities to God allows for equal benefits to all. For the sparsest of resources, there literally may not be enough for everyone to have their own, but dedicating those to the Lord would allow all to share equally in the blessings of the Lord’s presence at the tabernacle.

When done intelligently, there is merit in the wealthy distributing their riches to the less fortunate. As theses verses illustrate, though, there is also the option for the wealthy to invest in infrastructure and beauty that elevates everyone together.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 35:25-26

25 And all the women that were wise hearted did spin with their hands, and brought that which they had spun, both of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, and of fine linen.

26 And all the women whose heart stirred them up in wisdom spun goats’ hair.

In the last passage we heard how the men brought raw materials and now we hear how the women used their craft to spin and create thread and canvas. Once again, each demographic is bringing what they can, using their God-given talents and their learned expertise, devoting all of these to the Lord that He might have the best of them.

What is more, see how the purpose of the Lord is unifying the separate talents of the people. What man does on his own, and what woman does on her own, are being brought into one whole, to create something that neither of them accomplished individually.

Of course, men and women can unite together for other reasons, such as survival or to prosper, but today’s verses show that the cooperation of the two sexes is one of the specific objectives of the Lord also. Today’s passage reinforces God’s original intent, which Adam summed up nicely for us: “a man shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh” (Genesis 2:24). Thus, any philosophy or ideal or trend that would divide the two, and set them at odds to one another, and advocate for one side going it alone or just not needing the other, is spiritually perverse. It is arguing for the one thing that God pronounced “not good” in all of creation: that “man should be alone” (Genesis 2:18).

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 35:22-24

22 And they came, both men and women, as many as were willing hearted, and brought bracelets, and earrings, and rings, and tablets, all jewels of gold: and every man that offered offered an offering of gold unto the Lord.

23 And every man, with whom was found blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats’ hair, and red skins of rams, and badgers’ skins, brought them.

24 Every one that did offer an offering of silver and brass brought the Lord’s offering: and every man, with whom was found shittim wood for any work of the service, brought it.

I mentioned yesterday how God trusted that there would be enough Israelites who joined this project that the tabernacle could be built. Part of us trusting the Lord is trusting His plan, and that even the parts which are dependent upon mortals will work out. We have to trust that enough of our brothers and sisters will come forward to make the vision a reality, and that God knew that they would do so because of His omniscience.

Over the next few days, we will read how emphatically positive of a response God’s invitation found among the Israelites. His plan was not in vain, and more than enough Israelites did, indeed, make a willful offering.

The record divides the contributions of the Israelites according to their various stations. First, we hear the contribution of the common men (verses 22-24), then of the common women (verses 25-26), and then of the rulers (verses 27-28). All brought forward according to their unique status and capability, each having their own part to play.

In today’s verses we cover the contributions of the men. They provided all of the raw materials. The wood, the precious metals, the skins, and the linen. These were things that men would chop, dig, and hunt for, the fruits of sheer brute labor. The contributions of the common man came “by the sweat of their brow.”

Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 35:20-21

20 And all the congregation of the children of Israel departed from the presence of Moses.

21 And they came, every one whose heart stirred him up, and every one whom his spirit made willing, and they brought the Lord’s offering to the work of the tabernacle of the congregation, and for all his service, and for the holy garments.

Now it was time for each individual Israelite to examine his situation and desire. Surely not all had enough to offer to the tabernacle. Surely some, too, could give but simply did not want to. They had no obligation to. The Lord had only asked for those who had the means and a willing heart, so this would be entirely voluntary or not at all.

But what if not enough people chose to make offerings and they couldn’t build the tabernacle? God’s plans depended on the willful involvement of these people, and they could very well let Him down. This is but one example in the scriptures of how God puts trust in mortal people, fallen as we are. In fact, God’s entire enterprise with the Earth, His plan to assimilate it into the Kingdom of Heaven, is dependent upon there being souls down here that are willing conduits for His work.

Of course, God does not require our help to persist as the Supreme Being of the universe. If we all abandoned Him, He would still be who He is, but He and we would exist in isolation from one another until we went extinct. But if, instead, there is to be an overlap of heaven and earth, it is going to require willful effort on both sides, and so God trusts in the good of people and we trust in the good of Him.