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.

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