The building of the tabernacle was a building project of epic proportions. Every aspect of the construction was covered down to the minutest detail.
From the materials to the dimensions to the placement of articles, God left nothing for man to figure out on his own. He gave every instruction.
God even picked the men for this project:
“Then the Lord said to Moses, “Look, I have specifically chosen Bezalel son of Uri, grandson of Hur, of the tribe of Judah.” (Exodus 31:1-2, NLT)
“And I have personally appointed Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, to be his assistant.” (verse 6, NLT)
God specifically and personally handpicked those who were to oversee this project.
But there was more – of Bezalel, God said:
“I have filled him with the Spirit of God, giving him great wisdom, ability, and expertise in all kinds of crafts.” (verse 3, NLT)
God not only selected the men, He equipped them for the tasks they would need to do.
The building of the Tabernacle did not fall on solely these few men. There were many others who were needed, and God had this to say of them:
“Moreover, I have given special skill to all the gifted craftsmen so they can make all the things I have commanded you to make.” (verse 6, NLT)
God gave the craftsmen the skill they needed as well. Each one, fitted by design of the Master Craftsman, God Himself.
What are the lessons we need to draw from this today?
- God addresses us by name. He knows those who are His.
- God fills each of us with different gifts and talents.
- God brings people together by His design and for His purposes.
But there was one more lesson to be gleaned …
Some of the craftsmen probably had personalities that annoyed, or were bossy, or too quiet, or talked too much. There may have been those who were hard workers, while others were lazy.
But … they had to work together. Huge lesson for us today.
May we learn to get along, to work together.
Keeping our focus on the goal, the outcome, the project at hand,
and protecting the unity.
“Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God. Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace.” (Ephesians 4:1-3, NLT)
Peter, the impetuous disciple. Experiencing failure brought him to the end of himself. He comes to the point where “he has no more confidence in himself, no bravado, no impulsive promises.” In her post, “When You Feel Like a Failure“, Barbara Harper reminds us of what can we learn from Peter’s, and our own, failures. More so, she brings us encouragement and hope to move past our failures.
Come, sit a spell. Bring your coffee, your posts, and your thoughts. If you link up, kindly visit those who have drawn up a seat around you.
Photo by Natalie Pedigo on Unsplash
Thanks so much for featuring my post about failure. I hope people are encouraged by it.
I love how you tie these lessons about the tabernacle with building up the body of Christ. How we need to stop sniping and fussing over non-essentials and instead get about God’s business.
Joanne, I appreciated that final paragraph about the need, the call for us to put our usually petty differences aside and work together for the kingdom.
The harvest fields need committed workers. Ain’t got no time or energy for that other stuff.
Joanne such good thoughts about the greatest building project of all time: the building of God’s Kingdom. He indeed has work suited for each of us, and when we work together, we see the beauty of His Kingdom here on earth!
Joanne, I like your application for us. We need to listen to our Lord and seek His will and purpose. I love the scene in the Bible when Joshua meets the Capt. of the Lord’s army and asked whose side He is on. His answer reminds us whose will and way matters! Let’s join His team, not fight each other. He has a special role for each of us.
Beautiful encouragement, Joanne, to work with excellence and to work in harmony with others unto Him.
I love that God used each one’s gift to accomplish his big purpose. The Tabernacle is a beautiful picture of His redemptive work.
Great post Joanne. We do all need to get on & keep the upward goal in sight.
Blessings, Jennifer
Joanne, I love this, Scripture. I read it a couple of months back and I found it so lovely that God went into detail on how to build His Tabernacle. But also, how He specifically picked and called the artisians to build in. This shows me that God is interested in our work too. And may we all do it to glorify Him.
I find it so encouraging to know that He has gifted each one with what we need to accomplish just what He has called us to do.
I love how you’ve taken the scripture words and challenged us to apply them in a very practical manner. I can think of work situations currently where personalities are clashing. I know of a business that places teams together at work sites according to personality. He has a worker that tells very dry jokes, for example, that needs a certain “special” co-worker who does not get annoyed by his jokes! haha! It takes work to get along with others at times, but through God’s strength we can do it! After all, life is too short to be conflict consistently.
“May we learn to get along, to work together.
Keeping our focus on the goal, the outcome, the project at hand,
and protecting the unity.”
Amen and amen!
Joanne, I love how God creates each of us with gifts that we can use, sometimes on our own and sometimes with other people, for His glory.