Can you believe it, we are almost done with our second book of the Bible!!! Way to go guys!!! :) Two books in less than a month... I am totally siked and feeling like I've accomplished something... I can't imagine how cool it will be to know I read the whole thing. :)
Anyway, on to today's commentary...
Chapter 35: verse 3... ok, this is me focusing on worldly stuff, but I did wonder if they couldn't light a fire on the Sabbath, how did they stay warm that day?
verse 5 (also 21, 22 and 29)... I've said this basically before, but I still like the idea in this verse... how God wants us to give an offering to Him out of what we have (not go get something or become someone else)... and also, to give an offering willingly (not out of obligation or force or guilt)... this is as it should be, even now... the study notes ask "What do you bring God when you worship Him? Which are you more likely to contribute to a project for the Lord? a. your time? b.manual labor? c.supervisory skills? d. money?"... sometimes people say one of those choices is better than another, but I wonder if that is really true... looking over this chapter, some people brought things, some people made stuff with what was brought or with what they had, some people taught others how to make stuff, etc, so it seems to go back to the idea of "giving what you have"... time isn't necessarily better than money, etc... it is about using what God has given you (blessed and equipped you with) to the best of your ability for His glory... I think that that is different for different people because God made us each unique (see also Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12, and Romans 10:13-15... we all have an important, but different role in doing God's work)
Section on "Bezalel and Oholiab" (Exodus 35:30-36:7)... interesting that these two were not chosen because of their skills, instead, they were given skills because God chose them... so, it makes me wonder, why them?... but wow! How cool to be chosen specifically by God to do His work! (1 Peter 2:9-12, Matthew 28:18-20)... do you ever wonder, why did God choose me? I know I ask that question all the time, why me? surely there was someone else better? but that makes me think about a training someone went to one time where they were going to learn how to shoot professionally, and the trainer said it was preferable if the students had never shot a gun before because it is easier to train someone the right way to do something if they didn't have to untrain them from the wrong way first, so maybe God likes to use people who don't know what they are doing so He can train them in His way without having to untrain them from the wrong way... also, when the impossibly person is chosen, it is obvious that their talent, etc, came from God because it obviously didn't come from them. :)
Chapter 36... verse 1-2... God gives us our gifts and abilities, so isn't it fitting that we serve Him with them?
verse 5-7... interesting that rulers, like Pharoah, etc, had to enslave people and force them to build pyramids, temples, monuments, shrines, etc to/for them, but God just had to ask and the people gave more than was even needed, out of love... what power love has!... wouldn't that be an awesome problem nowaday?! That people were too generous and places had to ask them to stop giving!... you know God is really blessing your work for Him if that is the case, huh?
"The Tabernacle" section (verse 8-38)... made as God instructed in Exodus 26... made by all the skilled men among the workman
Chapter 37... "the ark" section (verse 1-9)... instructions for construction found in Exodus 25... made by Bezalel only... cool that God asked him to specifically make His special house!... sometimes God asks us to do special projects for Him... things that He has equipped only us to do... God made each of us for a special purpose (Psalm 139:16)... what an honor!
question on the making of the cherubs... how did Bezalel know what they looked like? Did God give him a creative license to just go with his imagination? or did God offer him a real cherub to sit there while Bezalel sculpted him (like they do with models in art classes and stuff)? or what?... wouldn't it be cool if God was like, hey, here's the cherub model, and Bezalel got to see a real like little angel (isn't that what a cherub is?)?... anyway, I digress...
"the table" section (verse 10-16)... instructions in Exodus 25
"the lampstand" section (verse 17-24)... instructions in Exodus 25... all the talk of branches and being all one piece and light (idea from lampstands), makes me think about God being our vine and us being the branches (John 15:1-8), and how apart from God we cannot "grow" or "produce fruit"... it also makes me think of our lives being lights/lamps we put on a "stand" so others can see God through us (Matthew 5:14-16, Luke 11:33)... I don't know if that is why God put the details on the lampstand that He did (or even why He had them make the lampstand to begin with), but it made me think about it anyway. :)... the study notes had a question about all the things and details being made: "What is the difference between physical "aids" and religious "idols"? What can you do to ensure that they remain aids and do not become idols?"... I thought these were good to think about because it can really be a fine line that we walk sometimes between what we do or have that helps remind us or bring us closer to God, and what we begin to worship instead of God.
"the alter of incense" section (verse 25-29)... instructions in Exodus 30... verse 29 is about the annointing oil and fragrant incense which had their instructions in Exodus 30 also.
I thought it was interesting that the Isrealites could make these things to a "t", but they couldn't seem to follow God's other commands... why are the tangible "do" type things easier to follow than the "heart" things so often?
That's all I've got for tonight... Have a wonderful evening!
In His Love,
sandJ
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