Discover His heart: He stirs and moves the hearts of many to accomplish great feats
@ Exodus 39
“And so at last the Tabernacle was finished.”(32) Whew! What a building project! After detailed instructions from God regarding the building and furnishing of every part of the tabernacle, it was finished!
“So the people of Israel followed all of the Lord’s instructions to Moses. Then Moses inspected all their work. When he found it had been done just as the Lord had commanded, he blessed them.”(42-44) Does it seem plausible that after months of defiance and disobedience, the Israelites would do anything just as the Lord had commanded? Evidently, the Lord’s warning that His presence would not go with them into Canaan after the golden calf incident had made an impact. Now, their obedience to His detailed instructions brought blessing from Moses.
How did this once stubborn, grumbling group of people ever accomplish such a feat as the building of the Tabernacle? I remember the Sunday School song from long ago, “When we all pull together, together, together…how happy we’ll be. For your work is my work and our work is God’s work…” I don’t mean to oversimplify this monumental task, but really, that’s how it got done! They joined their efforts to God’s plan and the work began:
After the instructions were given, “The whole community of Israel left Moses and returned to their tents. All whose hearts were stirred and whose spirits were moved came and brought their sacred offerings to the Lord. They brought all the materials needed for the Tabernacle…Their contributions were more than enough to complete the whole project.” (35:20-21;36:7) So committed were they to the building project that they brought more than what was needed for the completion of the Tabernacle. Hearts stirred, spirits moved.
Then the construction began. Imagine the assembling of the curtains around the Tabernacle: 10 curtains of finely woven linen, embroidered with cherubim, each 42 feet long by 6 feet wide, joined together and 11 curtains of goat-hair cloth, each 45 feet long by 6 feet. This involved teamwork! As a seamstress, I couldn’t handle one curtain of that size by myself much less ten of them. It took many hands weaving, embroidering, sewing and working together just to accomplish this one single detail of this elaborate master plan. “When we all pull together, together…”
The lesson here is obvious to us. It’s incredible what can be accomplished in our homes, workplace and churches when our hearts are stirred and our spirits are moved to give all that is needed, joining our efforts to His grand design to get the job done. Given the Israelites’ history of disobedience to God yet their ultimate success in building the Tabernacle, we should be able to accomplish just about anything if we put His mind to it and pull together.
Moving Forward: I respond to His stirring and moving in my heart and join my efforts with those of others to accomplish His plans for my home, my work and my church.
Tomorrow @ 1 Kings 5-9
Phyllis Benigas 