Four chapters ago the Lord told Moses about two men He had chosen to be in charge of the tabernacle project: "See, I have chosen Bazalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills...Moreover, I have appointed Oholiab son of Ahisamak, of the tribe of Dan, to help him." (Exodus 31:2-3, 6a) In our study today Moses makes known to the people that these two men are to be overseers of this great enterprise.
We don't know whether these two men would have been the first to come to Moses' mind when deciding who should oversee such skilled work, but they are God's first choice and Moses carries out the Lord's wishes. The Lord has already equipped these two men with the talent and imagination and managerial skills that are required to handle a project as magnificent as this. He has done the same for you and me: He has equipped us with whatever talents and imagination and people skills we'll need to fulfill whatever calling He gives us.
"Then Moses said to the Israelites, 'See, the Lord has chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and He has filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills---to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, to cut and set stones, to work in wood and to engage in all kinds of artistic crafts.'" (Exodus 35:30-33) This man is quite the talented designer with a variety of materials! He may also be Moses' great-nephew if the ancient tradition is true that Hur was married to Moses' sister Miriam. That may be why Moses is careful to stress to the people that Bezalel is God's choice to be the head of the project. Naturally Moses wouldn't want anyone to think He's showing favoritism to a relative. But even if Bezalel isn't Moses' great-nephew it's important for the people to know that he's been appointed by God, not Moses. This information grants Bezalel's position the legitimacy and authority needed for people to listen to and obey whatever Bezalel says in regard to the tabernacle and its furnishings.
The Lord has appointed Oholiab to be Bezalel's assistant manager. "And He has given both him and Oholiab son of Ahisamak, of the tribe of Dan, the ability to teach others. He has filled them with skill to do all kinds of work as engravers, designers, embroiderers in blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen, and weavers---all of them skilled workers and designers." (Exodus 35:34-35)
"'So Bezalel, Oholiab and every skilled person to whom the Lord has given skill and ability to know how to carry out all the work of constructing the sanctuary are to do the work just as the Lord has commanded.' Then Moses summoned Bezalel and Oholiab and every skilled person to whom the Lord had given ability and who was willing to come and do the work." (Exodus 36:1-2) Not everyone in the camp possesses the skills to work on the tabernacle project and that's okay. If everyone were a metalworker or weaver, who would shepherd the flocks and herds? Who would watch over and teach the children? Who would cook meals or wash clothes or mend tents? Who would perform medical services? Who would provide counseling and encouragement? God doesn't grant the same talents to everyone and it's a good thing He doesn't. Those who doesn't possess the skills to work on the tabernacle project need not feel bad about themselves. The Lord has called them to do other things---things that are also important.
The Israelites were instructed to search their hearts and donate to the tabernacle project the materials needed to get the job done. Moses collects these offerings and passes them along to the skilled workers. "They received from Moses all the offerings the Israelites had brought to carry out the work of constructing the sanctuary. And the people continued to bring freewill offerings morning after morning." (Exodus 36:3) The people's hearts are moved to contribute to the project. They have a deep desire for a house of meeting with the Lord. In fact, they're so generous that they bring more than is needed! "So all the skilled workers who were doing all the work on the sanctuary left what they were doing and said to Moses, 'The people are bringing more than enough for doing the work the Lord commanded to be done.' Then Moses gave an order and they sent this word throughout the camp: 'No man or woman is to make anything else as an offering for the sanctuary.' And so the people were restrained from bringing more, because what they already had was more than enough to do all the work." (Exodus 36:4-7)
We must give credit where credit is due. The people were presented with a great opportunity to join together in unity and they took the opportunity to band together for a common goal. As a result they are overwhelmed with a generous spirit. They are filled with love for each other and for the Lord. The Lord honors unity among believers and I believe He is very pleased with what we see happening in our passage of Exodus today.
I feel that our nation was presented with an opportunity during this pandemic to join together in unity all across our land, to strengthen our bond and our love for each other, and to work together for the good of all. But instead the pandemic and the handling of it became politicized and people have actually grown farther apart. Who knows what awesome blessings the Lord would have poured out on our nation if we'd handled our current troubles in the right spirit? I believe our cups would have run over with blessings! But this past week the words of the Lord Jesus keep running through my mind when He said that a house divided against itself cannot stand. Now more than ever we need to join together as the people of the United States of America. We won't always agree with each other but we don't have to agree with each other to love each other. Instead of focusing on our differences we need to focus on the things that make us alike. We are all citizens of the same nation. We are all human beings. We are all deserving of love and respect. We all want to see our nation prosper, not fall apart.
Now more than ever we need to be praying daily for the Lord to have mercy on the United States of America before it becomes the Divided States of America. The Lord blesses unity and love and cooperation among people. He is displeased with division and hatred and strife and suspicion. I feel the best thing we could do is commit to praying daily for the healing of our land---for physical healing from this virus, for relational healing between people, and for spiritual healing so we can love each other the way we should. The Lord has already told us what He will do in response to such a prayer: "If My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land." (2 Chronicles 7:14)
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