“Just as the Lord Commanded.” Exodus 40:34

In Exodus 39 and 40, the artisans used their crafts to build the tabernacle. Do you know what the tabernacle is? If the temple is God’s House, the tabernacle is God’s mobile home: it could be moved.

The artists and craftsmen obeyed God in EVERY DETAIL. The result: God’s glory.

39:1— “They made … garments … just as the Lord commanded Moses.”
39:5— “…just as the Lord had commanded Moses.”
39:7— “…just as the Lord commanded Moses.”
39:21— “They did just as the Lord commanded Moses.”

This pattern continues. The phrase “just as the Lord commanded Moses” is repeated SEVENTEEN times. The craftsmen were perfectly obedient in all that they did.

The RESULT?

“The glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.” Exodus 40:34.

APPLICATION?

If we follow God, carefully doing all that He commands, then His glory will descend on us. If you want to see God do amazing things in your life, do like Moses, and do everything “just as the Lord commanded.”

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ARE YOU A ‘MAKER’? God Uses Artists, Craftsmen, Designers, Engineers, Mechanics, and Hobbyists.

Pictured: Jesus showing his mother Mary a table he built, a scene from the film THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST.

I once asked my father, “Daddy, are you a people person, an idea person, or a thing person?”

There was a pause while he looked up from the model airplane he was building.

“I don’t know.  Can I be all three?”

As you grow, God may indeed train you to enjoy all three.  But what is your passion? It probably favors one area over another.  Given his engineering career and innumerable hobbies, my dad’s deepest passion was probably “things,” though he loved good stories, great books, and deep conversations about ideas.

Do you hold “MAKERS” in lower esteem than thinkers, leaders, writers, and preachers?  God does not.  He revealed Himself as Creator first, and the Bible is filled with passages indicating how important good craftsmanship is to God.  Consider some of the ingredients that went into the building of the tabernacle:

  1. Acacia wood (harder and more beautiful than oak)
  2. 2,193 pounds of gold
  3. 7,544 pounds of silver
  4. 5,310 pounds of bronze
  5. Anointing oil
  6. “pure, fragrant, and expertly blended incense”
  7. Carnelian, topaz, emerald, turquoise, sapphire, diamond, jacinth, agate, amethyst, beryl, onyx, jasper
  8. Ram skins dyed red and Manatee skins
  9. Finely spun linen
  10. Blue, purple, and scarlet yarn

“They hammered out thin sheets of gold, and he [Bezalel] cut threads from them to interweave with the blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, and the fine linen in a skillful design” Exodus 39:3.

Could you do that? What, make golden thread and weave it into a priestly garment–are you kidding me? This was but one task among thousands necessary to prepare the tabernacle and the priests who would serve there.  “The Israelites did all the work according to everything the Lord had commanded Moses” 39:42. 

God BLESSED their obedience “and the GLORY OF THE LORD filled the tabernacle” 40:35.  God blesses the work of His artists, designers, craftsmen, and mechanics.  Their work is not “second-class” in God’s eyes.  He gives us “Maker-gifts” so we can fulfill His purposes. (Remember, God chose a carpenter to raise Jesus and teach him a vocation.)

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Put Your Heart Into Your Work.

When Moses needed men to build the tabernacle, God brought men with skill AND passion. They had a CALLING. We have many skills, but few callings. That is, you may be good at several things. But your heart will lead you to the one that is right for you. Of course, your heart can get it wrong and confuse you when you’re young–because you have done so few things. But as you gain experience in MANY areas, you will begin to sense a calling to the one that is God’s plan for you. 

I was drawn to acting for a time, and the training and experience proved useful, though only rarely did it pay anything. I was drawn to church work and it benefited me and the youth, but it was not a calling for life. I was NOT drawn to teaching, and was even against it–but it grew on me, and years later, I’m doing it again (and it does feel like a calling of sorts).

“And Moses called … every wise-hearted man, in whom the Lord had put skill, every one whose heart stirred him up to come unto the work to do it.” Exodus 36:2.

As a young person, you must participate. Get involved in lots of things! Do everything for as many years as you can. Then narrow to your areas of skill. Then narrow again to areas of both skill and calling. God’s plan for your life will often involve both. After years of working and serving God and people, your heart will begin to guide you to areas where you should focus your energy and talent. That passion will fuel you as you serve God with your whole life.

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Who is God?

How would you describe God? Angry? Forgiving? Judgmental? Uninvolved? Deists said he was the Cosmic Clock Maker, who set the universe in motion, but has kept his hands off since. What do you say? Is He involved? Does he consider little prayers, or only wars and pandemics? Is God personal, or is he just a mystical energy like the “force” in the STAR WARS films?

God IS personal, and though beyond human understanding, God explains Himself in human terms. The Bible says he is father, shepherd, warrior, law giver and judge, rescuing savior, and ultimate hero.  Consider how he explains himself to Moses:

“The Lord, the Eternal One, is a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, and rich in faithful love and truth, maintaining faithful love to a thousand generations, forgiving wrongdoing, rebellion, and sin. But He will not leave the guilty unpunished, bringing the consequences of the fathers’ wrongdoing on the children and grandchildren to the third and fourth generation” Exodus 34:6-7.

What adjectives does God use to describe himself?

Compassionate, gracious, patient, filled with a loyal love and committed to truth, will loyally love us and our children for a thousand generations, forgiving but punishing the guilty to the third and fourth generations.

Which of these traits do you like best or least? Are any of them qualified or explained by other Bible passages?  Yes.  The most uncomfortable lines are qualified in Jeremiah 31.  God says after the Messiah comes, children will no longer suffer for the sins of their fathers.  “Instead, each will die for his own iniquity” Jer. 31:30.

We serve a God who LOVES US, who is DEEPLY PERSONAL. He is more interested in your heart than you are! He is patient, loyal, forgiving, and full of grace.  Why do we run? Why do we let anything keep us from the One Person Who loves us the most?

God, thank you for your deeply personal love for each of us.  Never let us stray from your side!

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MOSES.

Moses will forever be one of history’s great men: Miracle worker. Delivered the Jews. Taught them the law and worked as their judge. Founded a new nation. Wrote Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.

But more than that, consider his walk with God: the burning bush, encounters with Pharaoh, God spoke to him face-to-face, God gave him the Ten Commandments. God showed him his glory. And later, he joined Jesus and Elijah for a conversation at the Mount of Transfiguration. See Matthew 17.

One curious story happens in Exodus 34. Moses has been talking to God on the Mountain for forty days. He has fasted the whole time. He persuaded God to show Him His glory, and God said “I will place you in the rocks [a cave?] and cover you with my hand as I pass by—for no man can see my face and live—but I will let you see my back.” Then God dictated the ten commands so Moses could carve a replacement set of stone tablets.

Finally, Moses came down the mountain to talk to the people. Do you know what happened? His face shined so brightly with God’s glory that the people were afraid to come near him. He had to put a veil on—had to mask up—just to talk to everyone. From then on, he wore a veil when speaking to people, but took it off when speaking to God.

That’s amazing. And I think God does the same thing today. When we are closest to God—when we have seen His glory and been filled by the intense, white-hot fire of His presence, it radiates from our face. Our countenance is filled with the light and joy and love and glory of the Lord. Have you ever seen that anointing on anyone? It is what I prayed for when portraying Jesus on stage. But it will make some people uncomfortable, just as it did with Moses.

God, may we love you so deeply and communicate with you so intensely that we shine with your glory. Use the joy and peace and grace and love on our faces to draw people to you! 

“Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever.” Daniel 12:3.

I want to shine for God, don’t you?

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Forget “Beauty Rest.” Get Your “Beauty Prayer.”

What can walking with God do for your physical appearance? Quite a lot, it turns out. Have you ever seen the way some people look angry all the time—their faces permanently unhappy?

When King David was depressed, he turned to God:

“Why are you in despair, O my soul? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him, THE HELP OF MY COUNTENANCE and my God.” Psalm 42:11.

When you worship God, you cheer up. When you read His word, your soul has a conversation with your Savior. How could it not lift your spirits? And if you talk to Him and read His words daily, your face will change over time—your countenance will become more cheerful, more hopeful. You know why children loved Jesus? Because He spent time with the Father until He radiated PURE JOY.

Remember Moses? He spent 40 days alone with God, fasting and praying.

“And he did not realize that the skin of his face shone as a result of his speaking with the Lord. When the Israelites saw Moses, the skin of his face SHONE! They were afraid to come near him…. Moses’ face was RADIANT.” Exodus 34:29-30,35.

Moses eventually had to cover his face with a veil! The people could not look at God’s glory, even shining from the face of a man.

When we walk with the Lord, He lifts our countenance. Weight is lifted from our shoulders. Guilt from our backs. We face the world with a cheerfulness that draws people to us. Do you want to be more attractive? Forget hair products and skin treatments. Forget age-defying wrinkle creams. Instead, spend time with Jesus. Bask in His grace. Worship Him. Remind yourself of His promises. Spend time thanking Him for His blessings, and your countenance will improve. I can see this in your grandparents. Since I have known them, I have seen the four become more cheerful and more attractive as they have aged. Talk about aging gracefully! Spend time with Jesus—He is “the help of your countenance.” Psalm 42:11.

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The Invisibility Cloak.

Harry Potter had an invisibility cloak—and it was AWESOME! He and a friend or two could hide under the cloak and escape detection. That blanket saved Harry so many times. And wouldn’t it be FUN?! I would love to get my hands on that serape.

Unfortunately, I know of only one Invisibility Cloak, and right now it’s in use. When it comes to invisibility, God’s got dibs. Theologians argue sometimes about God’s greatest miracle—is it Creation? Parting the Red Sea? The virgin birth? The resurrection? Those are huge. But maybe the greatest miracle—because it happens EVERY DAY—is that God hides Himself.

Think about it: God is eternity’s biggest, most powerful force. He is bigger than everything: bigger, faster, stronger, louder. Yet we never see Him. He is busy, active, and working, yet we are oblivious. Those of us who seek Him catch only shadows, a wind in the trees. He hides Himself, all-day, every-day. But how do you hide Someone who is OMNIPRESENT? How big would an invisibility cloak have to be to cover GOD?


And it’s not because He is spiritual and we are physical. A Person powerful enough to speak a universe into existence is powerful enough to knock it over with a whisper. If you are not seeing God jostle your world every day, don’t you think that’s by design? God’s plan every day is to hide Himself.

But He gives us signs. He gives us His word and His Spirit. He gives enough to keep us walking by faith—without sight.  Still, skeptics will argue: “I CAN’T BELIEVE IN SOMETHING I CANNOT SEE…”

Since when do you not believe in things you cannot see? Do you believe in radio waves, TV signals, or WiFi? Do you believe in electricity? Can you see X-rays or magnetism?

Yet God’s invisibility will always be the first point raised by unbelievers: “How do I know God is real if I can’t see Him?” Jesus answered that: “The wind blows where it wishes. You hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it is going” John 3:8.

We cannot see wind—but we see its effects. The same is true of God. His work is all around you. Maybe rather than complain we can’t see Him, we should flip the script: what if you COULD see Him?

(Pause and imagine THAT….)

—Would God be some huge person, His shoulders a mountain on the horizon, watching you every day? Or maybe He would replace the sun, hanging in the sky, shining His glory down on everything He made? Or would He be the greatest King on the greatest throne, with golden streets curving away from the base of the throne in all directions, like rivers of crystal bringing the Water of Life to everyone?

Could you handle that? Could you live a good life with the Creator of the Universe visible at every moment? Could you relax and have fun—ever? What if God was so big, awesome, holy, and powerful, that seeing Him would stop you DEAD in your tracks—literally? Because you know what? God IS that big. He said “No man can see My face and live!”

Instead of complaining that He hides Himself, we should thank Him. The people of Israel saw a tiny display of God’s glory and were terrified: “When all the people witnessed the thunder and lightning … and the mountain enveloped in smoke, they trembled and stood at a distance. ‘Speak to us yourself and we will listen,’ they said to Moses. ‘But do not let God speak to us, or we will die’” Exodus 20:19.

Soon Moses spent so much time talking to God that each time he came to the people he had to cover his face because God’s glory—the tiny residue of it that glowed on the face of Moses—was too much for them. They were terrified: “So when Aaron and all the sons of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to approach him” Exodus 34: 30.

Skeptics charge God with invisibility, as though invisibility were a weakness. But God is not invisible because He is weak, or because He lacks the power to overwhelm you by ‘showing up.’ God is invisible because He is MERCIFUL. God is invisible because HE LOVES US. Because He does not want to terrify us, or smoke us to dust simply by showing up. Because that is what would happen.

You are not ready to see the face of God. The Almighty Creator of Man’s first breath? Are you kidding me? A Being so powerful, He holds the universe in His hand like a grain of sand, a Person so strong the earth is nothing to Him?

The sight of Him would be the end of you. We are mortals. Fragile as dried rose petals. If we get anywhere near the Consuming Fire of the Immortal God, we will burst into flame. Our lives are short and frail—nothing but the Mercy of God keeps us from death. Look at the constant stream of deaths around you—accidents, car wrecks, illnesses—your life is as frail as a spider web in a gentle rain. We have no capacity for immortality—the mere sight of it would kill us. Be patient. IMMORTALITY—even the sight of immortality—is FOR ANOTHER TIME.


Even Moses, who bore the glory of God on his own face, could not see God’s face. He asked and God told him, “No man can see My face and live… But there is a place where you may stand on a rock. When My glory passes by, I will hide you in the cleft of the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed. Then I will take My hand away and you will see My back as I pass by, but My face must not be seen” Exodus 33:19-20.

He is protecting us every day, covering us with His hand as He covered Moses, hiding Himself from tiny creatures so fragile the mere sight of Him would burn them to ashes. And we have all eternity to see Him! Paul writes that when a child of God is buried, what is sown in weakness will be raised in power. We will exchange mortal flesh for immortal, the perishable for the imperishable. 1 Corinthians 15:42-58. Then we WILL be ready to see the greatest King on the greatest throne, with golden streets curving away from the base of His throne in all directions, like rivers of crystal bringing the Water of Life to everyone. “And the city will not need the sun or the moon, for the glory of God will illuminate it, and its lamp is the Lamb” Revelation 21:23.


Perhaps God’s greatest miracle, and one of His greatest acts of mercy, is His Invisibility Cloak.

“Yes, You are a God Who hides Himself” Isaiah 45:15.

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“But I Can’t Believe in Something I Cannot See.”

Since when do we not believe in the invisible? Do you believe in radio waves, TV signals, or WiFi? Do you believe in electricity? Can you see X-rays or magnetism?

God’s invisibility may be the first point raised by unbelievers: “How do I know God is real if I can’t see Him?”  Jesus answered that: “The wind blows where it wishes. You hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it is going” John 3:8.

We cannot see wind—but we see its effects.   The same is true of God. His work is all around you. Maybe rather than complain we can’t see Him, we should flip the script: what if you COULD see Him?

(Pause and imagine for a minute….)

—Would God be some huge person, His shoulders a mountain on the horizon, watching you every day?  Or maybe He would replace the sun, hanging in the sky, shining His glory down on everything He made?  Or would He be the greatest King on the greatest throne, with golden streets curving away from its base in all directions, like rivers of crystal bringing the Water of Life to everyone? 

Could you handle that? Could you live a good life with the Creator of the Universe visible at every moment? Could you relax and have fun—ever? What if God was so big, awesome, holy, and powerful, that seeing Him would stop you DEAD in your tracks—literally? Because you know what? God is that big.  He said “No man can see My face and live!”

Instead of complaining that He hides Himself, we should thank Him!  The people of Israel saw a tiny display of God’s glory and were terrified:  “When all the people witnessed the thunder and lightning … and the mountain enveloped in smoke, they trembled and stood at a distance.  ‘Speak to us yourself and we will listen,’ they said to Moses.  ‘But do not let God speak to us, or we will die’”  Exodus 20:19.   

Soon Moses spent so much time talking to God that each time he came to the people he had to cover his face because God’s glory—the tiny residue of it that glowed on the face of Moses—was too much for them.  They were terrified.  “So when Aaron and all the sons of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to approach him” Exodus 34: 30.

Skeptics complain about God being invisible, as though invisibility were a weakness.  But God is not invisible because He is weak, or because He lacks the power to overwhelm us by ‘showing up.’  God is invisible because He is MERCIFUL.  God is invisible because HE LOVES US.  Because He does not want to terrify us, or smoke us to dust simply by showing up.  Because THAT is what would happen.  

You are not ready to see the face of God.  The Almighty Creator of Man’s first breath? Are you kidding me? A Being so powerful, He holds the universe in His hand like a grain of sand, a Person so strong the earth is nothing to Him?

The very sight of Him would be the end of you.  We are mortals.  Fragile as dried rose petals.  If we get anywhere near the Consuming Fire of the Immortal God, we will burst into flame.  Our lives short and frail—nothing but the Mercy of God keeps us from death.  Look at the death around you—accidents, car wrecks, illnesses—your life is as frail as a spider web in a gentle rain.  We have no capacity for immortality—the mere sight of it would kill us.  Be patient.  Immortality—even the sight of immortality—is for another time.

Even Moses, who bore the glory of God on his own face, could not see God’s face.  He asked and God told him, “No man can see My face and live…  But there is a place where you may stand on a rock.  When My glory passes by, I will hide you in the cleft of the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed.  Then I will take My hand away and you will see My back as I pass by, but My face must not be seen” Exodus 33:19-20. 

He is protecting us every day, covering us with His hand as He covered Moses, hiding Himself from tiny creatures so fragile the mere sight of Him would burn them to ashes.  And we have all eternity to see Him!  There we WILL see the greatest King on the greatest throne, with golden streets curving away from the base of His throne in all directions, like rivers of crystal bringing the Water of Life to everyone. “And the city will not need the sun or the moon, for the glory of God will illuminate it, and its lamp is the Lamb” Revelation 21:23.

God, thank You for Your Merciful Invisibility. Remind us how frail we are and how deeply we depend on Your Mercy to sustain us every moment!

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The Best Prayers. Exodus 33:3.

Is there one prayer that God hopes to hear from you more than others? What is the best thing you can pray for?

Consider these prayers. Eleven times in Ps. 119, David prayed,

“Teach me your statutes…Teach me the way of your statutes…Teach me, O Lord, the way of your statutes… Teach me your ordinances…And teach me your statutes….”

Similarly, when God told Solomon to ask for whatever he wanted, Solomon prayed for wisdom:

“God, you have blessed me… but I am so young, …so give your servant a wise and discerning heart to distinguish between right and wrong.” 1 Kings 3:7-9.

God loved Solomon’s prayer and promised to make him the wisest man who would ever live. (If God liked his prayer that much, we should pray it too!)

Moses prayed a similar prayer. This man was 80 years old. He was the best-educated man in the nation of Israel; Moses was highly regarded, even feared. We call celebrities “rock stars,” but Moses was bigger than any rock star. Only Jesus worked more amazing miracles than Moses. And the Bible says “The Lord spoke with Moses face to face, just as a man speaks with his friend.” Exodus 33:11. Moses had just spent 40 days on the mountain with God learning God’s laws for Israel. God had let Moses see His throne, and later He revealed His glory. Moses knew so many of the “secrets of God.”

Yet what did Moses pray for?

“Please teach me Your ways, and I will know You and find favor in Your sight.” Exodus 33:13.

Are we as great as Moses? If not, we should pray what he prayed, and what David and Solomon prayed.

Dear God, give us Your wisdom. Teach us Your ways. Help us to read and study Your word so we can learn. Give us Godly wisdom for decisions we face every day. Teach us Your statutes. Give us wise and discerning hearts. Teach us Your ways so we can find favor in Your sight. Help us to love Your word!

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God Loves Arts, Crafts, and Mechanical Devices.

Never think God is only interested in preachers.  Most never preach.  Does that mean we laymen are second-class citizens in God’s Kingdom? No.

“Now if the foot should say, ‘Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,’ it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. And if the ear should say, ‘Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,’ it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be?’ 1 Corinthians 12:15-17.

Do you ever feel useless, an appendix in the Kingdom of God? He is your Creator.  HE made you! He loves you!  He has a PURPOSE for you!  Each time I read Exodus I am encouraged by the story of the craftsman Bezalel.  He never preached a sermon.  He never wrote a book.  He worked with his hands.  He was mechanically minded and artistically skilled, a man who could look at a problem with a building or a piece of furniture and come up with a solution.  Bezalel had a gift—and God used him to build the Tabernacle:

“The Lord has chosen Bezalel … and filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability, and knowledge … and he has given him the ability to TEACH others….  So Bezalel and every person to whom the Lord has given skill and ability … are to do the work just as the Lord commanded” Exodus 35:30-36:1.

Scriptures describing the design and construction of tabernacles and temples are difficult to read because today the information would be captured in surveys and blueprints.  But read the passages anyway and reflect on God’s deep passion for beautiful design and quality construction.  Look at the world around you—our Creator is an artist! He loves it when artists and craftsmen do their work with excellence!

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