Exodus 25:1-40

God pays close attention to detail and He had a specific way that He wanted the children of Israel to build the tabernacle and the furniture that was in it.  This would be the center for worship and sacrifice for the new nation and every detail was vital in this process.  God made it very clear to Moses how he was supposed to build these items and Moses was expected to pay close attention and then lead the people to execute these instructions.  There are two principles I would like to observe and apply to our lives through these instructions.
THE PRINCIPLE OF PROVISION: God had made provision for the materials for the tabernacle through the nation of Egypt.  God had told Israel to ask for gifts from the people and as they were leaving Egypt, they were given much gold, silver, bronze, jewels and other materials that would be necessary for this project.  These objects of value were given to the individual families and would be considered personal property.  This was a nation of slaves, but God had made special provision for the people so that, in turn, the people could make provision for the tabernacle.  Everything belongs to God, but He entrusts us with material blessings so that we might have the spiritual blessing of participating in His work.  This is really a double blessing for us.  We have the blessing of receiving from the hand of God and then we have the blessing of investing in the work of God.  When it came time to build the tabernacle, the people had already been given all that was needed to do this job.  However, the opportunity to invest in this project was given by God.  He makes provision for us that we might make provision for His purposes through us.  God expects His people to be generous and contribute to His work with joy.
THE PRINCIPLE OF PRECISION: God had a specific plan for how he wanted the tabernacle to look and how each item was to be built.  The types of materials that were to be used and how those materials were to be worked were clearly described to Moses.  This process of instructions is very interesting to observe and I think that there are some important things about God’s revelation that can be observed.  It is obvious that God had a very specific plan that He wanted to have followed in this building.  It is also obvious that He revealed this plan to Moses in a very specific way.  I think that it is dangerous for us to assume that God has such a specific will for every area of our lives.  We are responsible to do what God has revealed to us to do.  When God gives us a precise instruction we are to follow that instruction with precision and excellence.  However, there may be times when we have no such clear instruction from God.  In these cases I believe it is wise to follow the general principles of Scripture in our decision making process and not worry about failing to fulfill a specific part of God’s will that He has chosen not to reveal to us in a specific manner.  I believe that to point of application here is that we diligently seek to know and understand the revealed will of God and then strive to fulfill that will with excellence and precision.  God expects His people to serve Him with precision and excellence.

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