So Moses went into the midst of the cloud and went up into the mountain. And Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights. (Exodus 24:18) And the Lord God had finally come to the end of giving Moses all the commandments, laws and instructions regarding the building of the Tabernacle and everything that was to be made for it. Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: “See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. And I have filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, to design artistic works, to work in gold, in silver, in bronze, in cutting jewels for setting, in carving wood, and to work in all manner of workmanship. (Exodus 31:1-5)
“And I, indeed I, have appointed with him Aholiab the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan; and I have put wisdom in the hearts of all the gifted artisans, that they may make all that I have commanded you: the tabernacle of meeting, the ark of the Testimony and the mercy seat that is on it, and all the furniture of the tabernacle— the table and its utensils, the pure gold lampstand with all its utensils, the altar of incense, the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and the laver and its base— the garments of ministry, the holy garments for Aaron the priest and the garments of his sons, to minister as priests, and the anointing oil and sweet incense for the holy place. According to all that I have commanded you they shall do.” (Exodus 31:6-11)
We've studied this previously, but it bears repeating that when God calls us to do a certain task or assignment or job, He will also empower us to do it. When John the Baptist was explaining to his own disciples who Christ Jesus was, he made two very profound statements: 1. “A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven." (John 3:27); 2. "For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure." (John 3:34) This was not only true regarding Christ Jesus, but this truth applies to all of us.
God is the One Who give us all we need, and He does not withhold anything from us that we need in order to successfully navigate this life and do His will. As the Apostle Paul taught, Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant:... There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all:... But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills. (I Corinthians 12:1, 4-11)
And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak also to the children of Israel, saying: ‘Surely My Sabbaths you shall keep, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the Lord who sanctifies you. You shall keep the Sabbath, therefore, for it is holy to you. Everyone who profanes it shall surely be put to death; for whoever does any work on it, that person shall be cut off from among his people. (Exodus 31:12-14)
"Work shall be done for six days, but the seventh is the Sabbath of rest, holy to the Lord. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death. Therefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever; for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed.’” (Exodus 31:15-17)
The Lord God had given Moses a lot of instructions, "And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them. According to all that I show you, that is, the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furnishings, just so you shall make it." (Exodus 25:8-9) Remember, their purpose for leaving Egypt was to return to the promised land of Canaan, not to live in the wilderness. The natural tendency of the people would probably be to hurry up and do all that the Lord God had commanded, so that they could get start moving, which is the natural tendency of most of us also.
But the Lord God is very clear, all that He commands us to do is to be done the way He commands us to do it, and we are not to feel justified in disobeying any of His commandments because we're trying to do His work; for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed. Therefore, the children of Israel had to obey, and we have to learn to do the same, to work six days, but then make sure we have one day a week that we rest from our work.
As Christ Jesus taught, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath." (Mark 2:27) Man wasn't made to rest, because If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat. (II Thessalonians 3:10) But, God made a day for man to rest. Which ever day we choose doesn't matter, because all of our schedules are different. We just have to make sure we take a day to rest. One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. (Romans 14:5)
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