MAKE AND MADE
Opening Prayer
Gracious Father, I pray for a pure heart, a humble heart, and a heart of faith, so that I may serve you faithfully.
Scripture Reference
EXODUS 36:8–38
Read
The Tabernacle
8 All those who were skilled among the workers made the tabernacle with ten curtains of finely twisted linen and blue, purple and scarlet yarn, with cherubim woven into them by expert hands. 9 All the curtains were the same size—twenty-eight cubits long and four cubits wide.[a] 10 They joined five of the curtains together and did the same with the other five. 11 Then they made loops of blue material along the edge of the end curtain in one set, and the same was done with the end curtain in the other set. 12 They also made fifty loops on one curtain and fifty loops on the end curtain of the other set, with the loops opposite each other. 13 Then they made fifty gold clasps and used them to fasten the two sets of curtains together so that the tabernacle was a unit.
14 They made curtains of goat hair for the tent over the tabernacle—eleven altogether. 15 All eleven curtains were the same size—thirty cubits long and four cubits wide.[b] 16 They joined five of the curtains into one set and the other six into another set. 17 Then they made fifty loops along the edge of the end curtain in one set and also along the edge of the end curtain in the other set. 18 They made fifty bronze clasps to fasten the tent together as a unit. 19 Then they made for the tent a covering of ram skins dyed red, and over that a covering of the other durable leather.[c]
20 They made upright frames of acacia wood for the tabernacle. 21 Each frame was ten cubits long and a cubit and a half wide,[d] 22 with two projections set parallel to each other. They made all the frames of the tabernacle in this way. 23 They made twenty frames for the south side of the tabernacle 24 and made forty silver bases to go under them—two bases for each frame, one under each projection. 25 For the other side, the north side of the tabernacle, they made twenty frames 26 and forty silver bases—two under each frame. 27 They made six frames for the far end, that is, the west end of the tabernacle, 28 and two frames were made for the corners of the tabernacle at the far end. 29 At these two corners the frames were double from the bottom all the way to the top and fitted into a single ring; both were made alike. 30 So there were eight frames and sixteen silver bases—two under each frame.
31 They also made crossbars of acacia wood: five for the frames on one side of the tabernacle, 32 five for those on the other side, and five for the frames on the west, at the far end of the tabernacle. 33 They made the center crossbar so that it extended from end to end at the middle of the frames. 34 They overlaid the frames with gold and made gold rings to hold the crossbars. They also overlaid the crossbars with gold.
35 They made the curtain of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen, with cherubim woven into it by a skilled worker. 36 They made four posts of acacia wood for it and overlaid them with gold. They made gold hooks for them and cast their four silver bases. 37 For the entrance to the tent they made a curtain of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen—the work of an embroiderer; 38 and they made five posts with hooks for them. They overlaid the tops of the posts and their bands with gold and made their five bases of bronze.
Footnotes
- Exodus 36:9 That is, about 42 feet long and 6 feet wide or about 13 meters long and 1.8 meters wide
- Exodus 36:15 That is, about 45 feet long and 6 feet wide or about 14 meters long and 1.8 meters wide
- Exodus 36:19 Possibly the hides of large aquatic mammals (see 35:7)
- Exodus 36:21 That is, about 15 feet long and 2 1/4 feet wide or about 4.5 meters long and 68 centimeters wide
New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Meditate
Consider
‘Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.”’1
Think Further
I once heard a Christian leader, who had a reputation for being disorganized, say, ‘I can’t be bothered with administrivia. The only thing that matters is sharing the gospel.’ It’s true that different people are called to different roles, but an effective leader must have an appreciation for the details and what they mean to see clearly the big picture. When it came to building the tabernacle, God had an appreciation for the details; they mattered to him.
Back in Exodus 26, God gave very specific instructions on building the tabernacle. ‘Make the curtains …’ (26:7), ‘make upright frames …’ (26:15), ‘make crossbars …’ (26:26) and so on. Here in chapter 36 we get the summary of the people’s obedience to the commands: ‘They made curtains’ (v 14), ‘They made upright frames’ (v 20), ‘They also made crossbars’ (v 31). It may seem a bit mechanical, but there are two spiritual takeaways.
First, we are reminded once again that the particulars of worship matter to God. Our churches may not look like the tabernacle and our services may not follow the pattern of Exodus, but are we as thoughtful about creating worship experiences that point people to God in every detail? Second, I’m struck by the repetition of the word ‘make’ in chapter 26 coupled with ‘they made’ in chapter 36. God said, ‘Make…’ and so, ‘They made…’. It’s true there are some aspects of God’s Word that are difficult to understand, but the bulk of what we have in the Bible is very straightforward. The challenge is our willingness to obey. We’ve already seen examples of the Israelites trying to do things their own way. Here we have an example of them simply doing what God said. It may not be a dramatic reading, but it captures the essence of a living relationship with God.
Apply
Over the past month, is there something you sense God has been prompting, directing, even commanding you to do? Make that the focus of your prayer.
Closing Prayer
Dear Lord, enable me to the small things well, so that you can confidently entrust me with greater tasks.
1 John 14:23
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Last Updated on August 20, 2022 by kingstar
