February 9 - Exodus 25:1-28:43
Good morning everyone,
This morning’s reading begins with a specific set of instructions God gave Moses on the mountain for the construction and furnishing of the tabernacle, however, before any work can get done supplies were required and so it is through Moses that God asks the people to give the materials needed from their own possessions to build. Please note, though, that this was not a command, the Lord wanted the people to give willingly and from their hearts. Now, I so totally love what that means and how it is applied to our lives today. How many people toss money in the offering because they feel pressured? Or, how many others hand it over because they feel obligated? When you, when I, when we love God we want to give and give freely from our hearts. It is the same type of giving you shower those you love with on say Christmas or birthdays or just because days. My brother, who is not a wealthy man, is the single most selfless person I know when it comes to giving to others. It is with no hesitation he will willingly offer up the money to bring a loved one half way across the United States to share in a family vacation, give them housing, feed them pay for their way into various adventures or amusement parks, and this is not just a one time thing. It is not uncommon to hear him say “just let me know how much it is and we will make that happen”. It is his “way” to selflessly give, not for his satisfaction but for no other reason but to bring joy to/for someone else. This is what God wanted from the Israelites for His sanctuary, this is what He wants from us today. He longs for us to love Him so much that we want to, again, hear this … we “want” to “willingly” shower him with our tithes and gifts. As we continue to read we will see through all of the plans there must have been quite a few willing hearts.
I am absolutely blown away by all the detail and the specific plans God gave to Moses for the construction of the tabernacle, the table, the lamp stand the ark and its cover, (just to name a few) along with God adding at 25:9 “Make this tabernacle and all its furnishings exactly like the pattern I will show you.” EXACTLY?! No pressure!!! My first thought was, “Oh my gosh, I would have probably forgotten something, like using only one piece of gold to pound out the mercy seat with the cherubim on each end or something else.” When I am sewing or cooking I refer to a new recipe or pattern several times to be confident there are no mistakes. I’m sure I would have gotten whiplash looking back and forth from blueprint to project, not to mention worn my feet out running from seamstress to goldsmith to embroider to be certain all was exactly as planned … ha ha, and as I am writing this God is reminding me that all I would need to do is trust in Him, let Him be my guide because it is by His strength not mine that I, and that you can do all things. Ahhh … Amen!
With all these amazing plans there is one I would like to bring attention to, and that is the High Priest’s clothing, paying specific attention to the breast plate and even more specifically the beautiful twelve stones found on it. The jewels, there’s twelve so please hang in there with me as I again ask you to see these in your head, are the; carnelian, a brownish-red gemstone; chrysolite, a yellow-green gemstone; beryl, a crystal which can be of green or coral or yellow: turquoise, a blue-green mineral; lapis lazuli, another mineral royal blue in color with what appear to be threads of yellow or gold color laced through it; emerald, brilliant green gemstone; jacinth, a dark reddish-blue gemstone; agate, a white to grey, light blue, orange to red, black, banded quartz; amethyst, a violet to purple mineral; topaz, a brownish gemstone; onyx, a gemstone often black in color; and jasper, a gemstone commonly red. Many of these stones can vary in color from region to region depending on what else may be in the soil surrounding them (a whole other topic of conversation in itself), but what caught my attention is how very similar they are to the description we find in Revelation 21:16-21 of what heaven is going to look like, go check it out. the beauty is going to exceed anything we could ever imagine. The colors we have just looked at in our mind’s eye will be as a faded, washed out photos from the 1960’s compared to the lively, vivid beyond belief, jaw dropping beauty of heaven. Our God is such an awesome God and it is with exact, precise personal detail that He is preparing your special spot, my special spot in heaven right now, wanting nothing but the best for us.
Well, that’s the “wonder of it all” God gave me today. I hope it made some sense to you.
I pray you have an amazing day. To God be the glory!
God bless you all …
Good morning everyone,
This morning’s reading begins with a specific set of instructions God gave Moses on the mountain for the construction and furnishing of the tabernacle, however, before any work can get done supplies were required and so it is through Moses that God asks the people to give the materials needed from their own possessions to build. Please note, though, that this was not a command, the Lord wanted the people to give willingly and from their hearts. Now, I so totally love what that means and how it is applied to our lives today. How many people toss money in the offering because they feel pressured? Or, how many others hand it over because they feel obligated? When you, when I, when we love God we want to give and give freely from our hearts. It is the same type of giving you shower those you love with on say Christmas or birthdays or just because days. My brother, who is not a wealthy man, is the single most selfless person I know when it comes to giving to others. It is with no hesitation he will willingly offer up the money to bring a loved one half way across the United States to share in a family vacation, give them housing, feed them pay for their way into various adventures or amusement parks, and this is not just a one time thing. It is not uncommon to hear him say “just let me know how much it is and we will make that happen”. It is his “way” to selflessly give, not for his satisfaction but for no other reason but to bring joy to/for someone else. This is what God wanted from the Israelites for His sanctuary, this is what He wants from us today. He longs for us to love Him so much that we want to, again, hear this … we “want” to “willingly” shower him with our tithes and gifts. As we continue to read we will see through all of the plans there must have been quite a few willing hearts.
I am absolutely blown away by all the detail and the specific plans God gave to Moses for the construction of the tabernacle, the table, the lamp stand the ark and its cover, (just to name a few) along with God adding at 25:9 “Make this tabernacle and all its furnishings exactly like the pattern I will show you.” EXACTLY?! No pressure!!! My first thought was, “Oh my gosh, I would have probably forgotten something, like using only one piece of gold to pound out the mercy seat with the cherubim on each end or something else.” When I am sewing or cooking I refer to a new recipe or pattern several times to be confident there are no mistakes. I’m sure I would have gotten whiplash looking back and forth from blueprint to project, not to mention worn my feet out running from seamstress to goldsmith to embroider to be certain all was exactly as planned … ha ha, and as I am writing this God is reminding me that all I would need to do is trust in Him, let Him be my guide because it is by His strength not mine that I, and that you can do all things. Ahhh … Amen!
With all these amazing plans there is one I would like to bring attention to, and that is the High Priest’s clothing, paying specific attention to the breast plate and even more specifically the beautiful twelve stones found on it. The jewels, there’s twelve so please hang in there with me as I again ask you to see these in your head, are the; carnelian, a brownish-red gemstone; chrysolite, a yellow-green gemstone; beryl, a crystal which can be of green or coral or yellow: turquoise, a blue-green mineral; lapis lazuli, another mineral royal blue in color with what appear to be threads of yellow or gold color laced through it; emerald, brilliant green gemstone; jacinth, a dark reddish-blue gemstone; agate, a white to grey, light blue, orange to red, black, banded quartz; amethyst, a violet to purple mineral; topaz, a brownish gemstone; onyx, a gemstone often black in color; and jasper, a gemstone commonly red. Many of these stones can vary in color from region to region depending on what else may be in the soil surrounding them (a whole other topic of conversation in itself), but what caught my attention is how very similar they are to the description we find in Revelation 21:16-21 of what heaven is going to look like, go check it out. the beauty is going to exceed anything we could ever imagine. The colors we have just looked at in our mind’s eye will be as a faded, washed out photos from the 1960’s compared to the lively, vivid beyond belief, jaw dropping beauty of heaven. Our God is such an awesome God and it is with exact, precise personal detail that He is preparing your special spot, my special spot in heaven right now, wanting nothing but the best for us.
Well, that’s the “wonder of it all” God gave me today. I hope it made some sense to you.
I pray you have an amazing day. To God be the glory!
God bless you all …
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