Just finished reading Exodus this morning. That book has much to digest and I feel like I need a vacation after reading it. I love the final chapters about the Tabernacle, the construction of it, and then the closing of the book being the dramatic scene of God filling the tablenacle with His glory.
Something else caught my eye this morning that I found interesting....and very sad...for us today. In chapter 36:
3 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. 45 and said to Moses, “The people are bringing more than enough for doing the work the LORD commanded to be done.” So all the skilled workers who were doing all the work on the sanctuary left what they were doing
6 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, 7 because what they already had was more than enough to do all the work.
I don't think I have once stood in front of a congregation and told them to stop giving or signing up for something. What a feeling it must have been to have "more than enough to do all the work!"
I also found it interesting that the exact measurements of gold and silver used in the tabernacle were given....gold (29 talents & 730 shekels), silver (100 talents & 1775 shekels). I decided to do some figuring to see just how much this "portable" worship center would cost today, not including all the furnishings, jewels and fabric/wood used. The gold would translate (using 70 pounds per talent) to about 2030 pounds...over 1 ton! The silver would translate to about 3.8 tons! In today's prices of gold ($1356) and silver ($29.91), that means they gave over $44 MILLION dollars in gold and $3.6 MILLION in silver....call it $48 Million Dollars just in gold and silver it would cost us to construct a duplicate Tabernacle today! Would anyone today spend this much on a portable tent to meet with God in? I think not....
How much is it worth to us to meet with God's presence? What are we willing to sacrifice in our life and show Him his value (worship)? Do we "give more than enough to do all the work?" or is it always a struggle of priorities?
I hope I can always give more than enough to do the work!
No pushing or prodding either! So how does this line up with being extravagant in our external worship (what people see) versus our internal worship (what they can't see)?
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