Fear No Fear

(All scripture from Lexham English Bible, Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software)

Like all good leaders, Moses takes a step back. Bezalel and Oholiab step up. They have been given the talents and wisdom to do the work and teach the doing of the work to others. Moses showed them what to do because he had the plans, but the actual techniques to do the work and the work itself other people did. As leaders, if we don’t delegate and let others do the work THEY have been gifted to do, we will burn out or fail to accomplish the work as it should be or both.

These two men received all the offerings that Moses had collected and they asked him to tell the people to stop. That’s right. To STOP giving. It was MORE than they needed – that’s something when you think that the Ark alone had 75 lbs of gold on it. They people gave and gave and gave more. This is incredible when you think that they as a group were worshipping idols a short time previous. Their hearts had been stirred in a very different direction AND they were responding. If we’re willing, the Lord can turn anyone around.

They started with the tabernacle. The curtains and rings and rods and boards. All that was originally shown to Moses in Exodus 26. Next was the Ark (shown in Exodus 25). Then the table for the showbread (Exodus 25). Then the lampstand (Exodus 25). Then the altar for incense (Exodus 30). And the incense and the oil for it (Exodus 30). Next was the altar for burnt offerings (Exodus 27). And the bronze basin for washing (Exodus 27).

Once the tabernacle and its main pieces were made, they set about the courtyard. The pillars and hooks and sockets and tent pegs. It was a rectangle about 150 feet long and 75 feet wide, with a doorway which always faced east that was about 25 feet wide.

Next came the priestly garments (Exodus 27) – which included the garments themselves, the ephod, the breastplate, and the other garments (like linen breeches). Some were extra special and only worn while ministering in the holy place – they had to wear other robes the rest of the time and change in and out of them for service.

All of this was colourful and rich material. All told there were (approximate amounts from conversion) 1,900 pounds of gold, 7,500 pounds of silver, and 5,000 pounds of brass. In today’s money that’s around forty to sixty MILLION dollars. That isn’t counting the goat skins, badger skins, and ram skins. Blue, purple, and scarlet thread. Yarns. Linens. It was all worked with designs and reliefs and patterns. This was a shining, colourful tableau. It was also all portable, being able to be disassembled and reassembled as they travelled. This was an incredible work.

Summary

Key Players: Moses, Bezalel, Oholiab

Key Themes: Construction, Obedience, Completion

Key Verse(s): Exodus 36:1, 5-7