Exodus 31:1-18


God is a provider.  He knows exactly what we need and He has made adequate provision for all of our needs.  God had revealed to Moses exactly what the children of Israel were supposed to build.  God gave the materials to them through the families of Egypt and now we can see God equipping His people for the work ahead.  However, God’s provision in the lives of His people goes beyond the physical realm.  God also knows that His people need time for rest and worship, so He made provision for that as well.  It is a comfort and blessing to serve a God who not only knows our needs but also has made provision for all of our needs.
GOD EQUIPES US TO COMPLETE HIS WORK: The building plans for the tabernacle were detailed and required special knowledge and skill for those plans to be executed.  Moses may have felt overwhelmed with all of the details and the obvious amount of work that needed to be done.  God makes it very clear that Moses was not the one required to do this work but that God had equipped two special men with unique craftsmanship to be able to complete this work with excellence.  We must not think that the work of God is solely dependent upon any one of us.  God prepares people for the work that He requires of us.  The ministry is an effort of the entire body of Christ and not the sole responsibility of any one person.  When there is a job that needs to be done for the glory of God; we can be assured that there is a person equipped to do that job by the power of God.
GOD EXPECTS US TO COMPLY WITH HIS WORD: God made it very clear that He wanted His people to rest on each Sabbath day.  This was one day a week that work was not to be done but rather that the people were to rest and worship.  This is one way that men recognize their dependence upon God.  God expects us to work, but we must never become so confident in our work that we think that we cannot rest.  When we rest we are admitting our weakness and recognizing that we need God.  God wants us to depend upon Him and set aside time to focus on Him, praise Him and worship Him.  God is more concerned about who we are than He is about what we do.  It is possible that His gracious equipping ministry in our lives could produce pride in our hearts.  God’s requirement that we rest is a means of building humility into our lives.  The same God who equips us to work commands us to rest.  We must work faithfully in dependence upon His grace, but we must also rest regularly to demonstrate that dependence.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Isaiah 54:1-17

Hope is a wonderful blessing from God, without which we would be vulnerable to all kinds of destructive tendencies in our lives.  Today’s society is marked by depression, anger, fear, anxiety and self-righteousness, in large part, because of the sense of hopelessness that prevails in our culture.  Isaiah writes to a people who are about to be taken into captivity because of their sin.  God knows that they will feel rejected, threatened and hopeless so He reveals His future plans for the nation in order to give them hope in the midst of the coming trial.  Hope is the expectation of good based upon the promises of God.  Many times when our lives are marked by the sins mentioned above it is because we have forgotten or failed to focus upon the promises of God’s Word. THE PROMISE OF GOD: From the very first day that God revealed His plan for the nation of Israel, He promised numerous descendants.  God chose Abraham, not because he was more righteous than any of the other people of his
Read more

1 Timothy 1:3-7

As I urged you when I was going to Macedonia, remain at Ephesus so that you may charge certain persons not   to teach any different doctrine,   nor   to devote themselves to myths and endless   genealogies, which promote   speculations rather than the stewardship from God that is by faith.    The aim of our charge is love   that issues from a pure heart and   a good conscience and   a sincere faith.    Certain persons, by   swerving from these, have wandered away into   vain discussion, desiring to be teachers of the law,   without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make confident assertions.   There will always be false teachers that come into the church attempting to distract people from the truth and destroy people’s faith.  When this happens, it is the job of spiritually mature leaders to confront these false teachers and correct their teachings.  However, it is important that this correction be accomplished with the right motives and methods. 
Read more

1 Timothy 2:11-15

Let a woman learn quietly   with all submissiveness.    I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet.    For Adam was formed first,   then Eve;   and Adam was not deceived, but   the woman was deceived and became a transgressor.    Yet she will be saved through   childbearing—if they continue in   faith and love and holiness, with self-control. There is certainly controversy and confusion about this passage in many churches today.  The idea of a distinction between men and women and their roles in the family and church certainly goes against the flow of many cultures around the world.  Some would argue that the literal and plain teaching of this passage is no longer applicable to today’s culture.  However, it is always dangerous to discard biblical teaching or try to interpret Scripture based on the cultures in which we live.  Certainly, the Spirit who inspired this text was aware of the many changes that would occur in future cul
Read more