Exodus 37
Exodus 37
The plans God gives Moses on the mountain are coming to fruition now by the hands of spirit-filled Israelites. All are culminating towards a moment where God can be united to and among His covenant people.
If I’m going, to be honest with you, initially, there wasn't much excitement as I began reading this section and the previous chapters leading up to it. I would be surprised if I were alone in the feeling too. When coming across portions of the Old Testament where we seemingly have a long list of facts, we might experience less zeal or motivation as we read through the Gospels, the Epistles, or heroic stories like that of David. Ancient Hebraic law and census reports don’t often appear as popular devotional series from Grace Co. and others. Or, as John MacArthur references this portion of Exodus as a “manufacturing report,” an account of exactly what went into the creation of the tabernacle might fall into those categories too. But with all Scripture, God is at work, pursuing His people in an effort to reconcile them back to Himself.
So let’s zoom into Exodus, in chapter 35, where we begin to see how involved God’s Spirit is through this process of fulfilling the plans given at Mt. Sinai. Moses summons Israel and asks whoever is willing to donate the resources necessary to construct God’s dwelling. From the start, their hearts were moved to the point that the donations of resources were overwhelming for the workers, who eventually had to tell Moses to tell them to stop (Exodus 36:3-7). Bezalel and a host of Israelites were filled with the Spirit to work wonders in craftsmanship on all the pieces of the Tabernacle (35:30-35). The accounts of Israel building the Tabernacle compared to when God gave Moses the design plans from the mountain are so similar that it's easy to overlook what's happening. One commentary on this section points the reader back to their notes on chapters 25, 26, 27, and 30. Everything is going according to God’s plan.
Suppose we read closely and compare it to when the plans were given, the construction account, i.e., quicker. Not that details are left out or missed, but almost as if the scribe writing the document wanted to get to what this moment is building towards… The presence of God is coming to be among His people, and this is the attempt Go Himself has created for it to happen.
The creation of a meeting place was necessary then, as atonement, offerings, cleansings, and more were all mandatory for designated people (Levites) to be devoted to the work of operating the physical meeting space. Yet we have Jesus, who makes way for God’s presence to be inside us right now, at this moment! As it is explained to the woman at the well, “Woman,’ Jesus replied, ‘believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation comes from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and His worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth” (John 4:21-24). And at the Bible's end, we are further affirmed of this reality, which is our hope and joy. “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and He will dwell with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God.” Praise God! We do not require a Tabernacle now or a temple to go to in order for us to commune with our God. Yet let ourselves be reminded of what it took. That gap between God and us was insurmountable by human means alone. Only a certain family line within a certain ethnic group on the face of the earth was able to draw near a specific place.
Take time to be with the Lord and delight in the coming of His presence within us. Ask Him to help you be made aware of His nearness. Praise the Lord our God and thank Him for this Gospel reality.
