Faithful in the Details

Posted On March 6, 2023

“Make this tabernacle and all its furnishings exactly like the pattern I will show you.”

Exodus 25:9 NIV

“I have chosen the way of faithfulness…”

Psalm 119:30 NIV

As I type this, I am fighting a terrible headache that has left me queasy and bedridden for the past day-and-a-half. Yesterday was the day I had planned to work on this post, but the pounding in my head made that impossible. I’m marginally better now, but I’m having trouble focusing both my mind and my vision, and I’m wondering, Why in the world do I feel the need to do this? It hurts to look at a computer screen. My husband told me to just post a short message stating that due to illness there will be no post this week. Sounds reasonable enough, but for some reason I can’t do that. I have to write this post today. I may not get it finished in time, and I don’t know if it will even be any good, but it’s a commitment that I’ve made, and I can’t let it go.

Have you ever felt this way? Have you shown up and fulfilled your obligations, even on bad days, and then wondered if it was worth it? Have you ever wondered if what you do really makes a difference? If so, then I want to share something with you that encouraged me…

Our plan for 2023 is to journey through The NeverEnding Story of the Bible and discover how we fit into it along the way. Our plan for this year is loosely based on The Story, an abridged chronological version of the Bible, and the accompanying study guide The Heart of the Story by Randy Frazee.

Here is where we are in The Story:

MOVEMENT TWO: The Story of Israel (Genesis 12-Malachi)

Chapter 5 – New Commands and a New Covenant

This chapter in The Story includes Exodus 19-20, 24-25, 32-34, 40. Last week we focused on Moses’ journey up to Mount Sinai to receive God’s laws. This week we will look at more instructions Moses received while on the mountain: God’s elaborate plans for the building of the Tabernacle, a portable tent in which God would come down and dwell with His people.

“The Lord said to Moses, ‘Tell the Israelites to bring me an offering. You are to receive the offering for me from everyone whose heart prompts them to give. These are the offerings you are to receive from them: gold, silver and bronze; blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen; goat hair; ram skins dyed red and another type of durable leather; acacia wood; olive oil for the light; spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense; and onyx stones and other gems to be mounted on the ephod and breastpiece. Then have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them. Make this tabernacle and all its furnishings exactly like the pattern I will show you.'”

Exodus 25:1-8 NIV

“It’s time for Israel to move into the promised land of Canaan, a garden-like land flowing with milk and honey. And for the first time since Eden. God comes down and lives among his people. In preparation, he instructs the Israelites to build a tent called the tabernacle.”

Randy Frazee, The Heart of the Story

God called the Israelites to offer what they had, much of it given to them as they escaped Egypt, for this project. He gave Moses specific instructions for the construction of the Tabernacle and all its furnishings. The Tabernacle itself would be made “with ten curtains of finely twisted linen and blue, purple and scarlet yarn, with cherubim woven into them by a skilled worker” (Exodus 26:1 NIV) and “curtains of goat hair for the tent over the tabernacle—eleven altogether” (Exodus 26:7 NIV). Over the tent there was to be “a covering of ram skins dyed red, and over that a covering of the other durable leather” (Exodus 26:14 NIV). The frame was to be made from acacia wood.

The Ark of the Covenant, which would contain God’s laws, was to be made of acacia wood, covered in gold. Once constructed, it was never to be touched, so it had rings for gold-covered carrying poles used to move it from place to place. The cover, also called the mercy seat, was to be made of pure gold and would have two cherubim made of gold. From above the mercy seat, between the two cherubim, God would meet with Moses to give him His commands for the Israelites.

They were also to construct a gold-covered table for the bread of Presence, a golden lampstand, a bronze-covered altar, curtains for the courtyard, priestly garments, an altar of incense, and a bronze basin for washing. And they were instructed to provide oil for the lampstand, atonement money, anointing oil, and incense. The detailed instructions for the Tabernacle and everything related to it go on for 7 chapters (Exodus 25-31). God was very specific about every detail. We may wonder why all of this was recorded for us to read today, but as we look closely, we begin to see symbols of God’s plan:

“There’s a lot of detail in this section, but one interesting thing is that the layout of the tabernacle parallels a lot of what we saw in Eden: There’s an east-facing entrance, there are cherubim guards, the burning lampstand symbolizes the Tree of Life, and the testimony (the law) symbolizes the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. So when God starts telling them these details and says He’ll come there to dwell with them, it’s a step toward restoring paradise and all that was lost in the garden of Eden. We won’t see the fulfillment of this until Christ returns and we have a new heaven and a new earth. But here in Exodus, we see God advancing in that direction to dwell with His people forever.”

Tara-Leigh Cobble, The Bible Recap

“So the people of Israel followed all the Lord’s instructions to Moses. And Moses inspected all their work and blessed them because it was all as the Lord had instructed him.”

Exodus 39:42-43 TLB

“For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world.
And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.”

1 John 5:4 ESV

In the construction of the Tabernacle, the Israelites were faithful in the details, and they were blessed because of it. But the Tabernacle wasn’t the only thing they were building. By obeying God, they were also building their faith in Him. The same is true for us. When we follow God’s instructions, even when we don’t necessarily understand them, we will be blessed. We will begin to see the wonder in the details. We will see God turn our small offerings into something amazing. But most of all, we will build our faith — faith that overcomes the world.

“This tabernacle and God’s presence are worth it all to the Israelites. They donate their plunder, they melt down their shekels, they weave fabrics and craft curtain rods, all so YHWH [the LORD] can dwell in the midst of them. Surely you recognize yourself in these people a little bit…. You’re here reading and even recapping what many would consider to be a very dry passage of Scripture. It reveals a lot about what God’s doing with that lampstand in your heart, that continual fire of the Spirit, burning even when you can’t detect it.”

Tara-Leigh Cobble, The Bible Recap

“When God tells you to do something, have faith and do it thoroughly. With wholehearted obedience comes not only the fullness of His blessing but complete victory.”

Charles F. Stanley, God’s Purpose for Your Life

“Whoever is faithful in small matters will be faithful in large ones;
whoever is dishonest in small matters will be dishonest in large ones.”

Luke 16:10 GNT

So, it’s now Monday morning, and I’ve missed my self-imposed Sunday deadline to have this post up. My headache is gone, but I’m still not feeling 100 percent, and I really need to start getting ready for work. However, I’m determined to finish this post before I do anything else. This is a perfect example of a time when I may be tempted to wonder if it’s really worth it. Would anyone really care if I missed a week? Maybe not. But here is what I read that inspired me to do it anyway:

“He is here with us, drawing us near even on the days when there seems to be nothing flashy about Him, even in the spaces that feel routine or humdrum. He’s in the ritual, and He’s in the ordinary. There will probably be days when the priests are mixing the incense and slaughtering the animals that they don’t feel any closer to God than they did beforehand. They may wonder if it is really even doing anything. But they keep at it, trusting beyond their own understanding that doing these things over and over really does serve some kind of purpose, even when they can’t see it. They trust His Word, and I hope you do too. Drawing near to God, bit by bit, will always be worth the slow days, because He’s where the joy is!”

Tara-Leigh Cobble, The Bible Recap

I am choosing to trust that doing this, and faithfully doing all the other things I feel called to do, is serving some kind of purpose, even if I can’t see it. Every time I read my Bible, say a prayer, sing a hymn, say something kind, help someone, or spend time with my loved ones, it’s doing something that God can use in His plan. The same is true for you. We may not be given instructions as detailed as those God gave to Moses for the Tabernacle, but there are things God has called us to do. With the help of the Holy Spirit, we discover what they are by spending time in prayer and in His Word. So let’s choose to do them faithfully, even on the hard days, because it really does make a difference!

“God can absolutely revolutionize your life…. However, you must be willing to do what He says — in His timing and way…. So to become a wholly surrendered disciple of Jesus, you must begin by obeying Him in every aspect of your life, however small it may appear. Unless you say yes to the seemingly little instructions from the Lord, you will never really know what your life can be or what wonderful blessings can be yours.”

Charles F. Stanley, God’s Purpose for Your Life

This week’s Scripture passages encourage us to be faithful in the little things, because that is how we grow. As we continue to offer what we have to God, trust Him, and obey Him, we will be blessed. Maybe we don’t understand the point of His instructions. Maybe we don’t think our contribution really matters. But as we offer it in obedience anyway, trusting Him to use it in His plan, we build our faith. And if we look really hard, we may begin to see the wonder in the details. Each one of us is a thread in God’s grand tapestry, and we can trust Him to use our lives to create something amazing and beautiful!

“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

Ephesians 2:10 ESV

References:

• Cobble, Tara-Leigh. The Bible Recap: A One-Year Guide to Reading and Understanding the Entire Bible. Bethany House, 2020.
• Frazee, Randy.  The Heart of the Story: Discover Your Life Within the Grand Epic of God’s Story. Zondervan, 2017.
• Stanley, Charles F. God’s Purpose for Your Life: 365 Devotions. Thomas Nelson, 2020.
• The Story: Read the Bible as One Seamless Story from Beginning to End. Rev. ed., Zondervan, 2008.

Images:

• Threads featured image by Anna from Pixabay
• Tabernacle image by Jim Black from Pixabay
• Ark of the Covenant image by Jeff Jacobs from Pixabay
• Lampstand image by Robert from Pixabay
• Incense image by Matthias Grießhammer from Pixabay
• Loom image by Sergio Gonzalez on Unsplash