Bezalel Gets to Work, Exodus 37 - 39:31

Bezalel must have had a very capable committee working beneath him, because he was responsible for everything built in the Tabernacle. In the midst of the descriptions of the construction effort, Moses stops to record the inventory of materials collected for the Tabernacle. Since we are not familiar with the equivalence of sheckels and talents, I thought it would be interesting to know what these numbers meant. Turns out the Israelites gave roughly a ton (2000 lbs.) of gold, 4 tons of silver, and 2 1/2 tons of bronze. Modern day worth of the gold alone would have approached 1 million dollars, and when other materials (fabrics, animal skins, wood, precious stones) are taken into account, the overall cost of the Tabernacle would be equivalent to $5,000,000! This insertion into the construction details seems to be a reminder for all time, that this is what it looks like when people give as God leads them.

Moses finishes off the description with the making of the priestly garments. The final verse read "Finally, they made the sacred medallion- the badge of holiness- of pure gold. they engraved it like a seal with these words: HOLY TO THE LORD. They attached the medallion with a blue cord to Aaron's turban, just as the Lord had commanded Moses". Aaron. Golden calf Aaron. I found myself thinking initially, "he didn't deserve to wear a turban that said HOLY TO THE LORD on it", but then was reminded that that truly none of us deserves to be used of God, and yet He chooses to do so. Aaron is no different. So if you've done something in your life that you believe renders you unqualified for any use by God, think again. Could it possibly have been worse than making a golden calf for a nation of people to worship in blatant idolatry?! No, it couldn't. And if you've been keeping up with your readings, you know that the heroes of the faith were all broken people. But when broken people dust themselves off and get back in the game, God can do great things through them.

About Melissa Gibbs:

 Melissa is the mother of four boys and the wife of her junior high sweetheart, JD.  He is the President of Joe Gibbs Racing and the son of NFL Hall of Fame coach Joe Gibbs.  JD and Melissa have been married 16 years and are actively involved with Young Life, Motor Racing Outreach, their church, and other ministries.  Their youngest son Taylor is nearing completion of a 3 year treatment protocol for leukemia, which has been a powerful faith walk for their family.  Since his diagnosis, Melissa has been called upon to share their family's testimony with many local churches.

 Visit Melissa at http://chronologicalbiblein2010.blogspot.com/