You Will Always Have What You Need in This Life if You Seek God First
INTERESTING FACTS : GOD IS USED 3,101 TIMES IN THE OLD TESTAMENT, AND LORD 7, 242 TIMES. YET, IN THE BOOK OF ESTHER WHICH HAS TEN CHAPTERS, NEITHER GOD NOR LORD IS USED EVEN ONCE[1].
DAILY READING : [EXODUS 33 - 35]
TEXT : Exo 35:20 And all the congregation of the children of Israel departed from the presence of Moses. Exo 35:21 And they came, every one whose heart stirred him up, and every one whom his spirit made willing, and they brought the LORD'S offering to the work of the tabernacle of the congregation, and for all his service, and for the holy garments. Exo 35:22 And they came, both men and women, as many as were willing hearted, and brought bracelets, and earrings, and rings, and tablets, all jewels of gold: and every man that offered offered an offering of gold unto the LORD. Exo 35:29 The children of Israel brought a willing offering unto the LORD, every man and woman, whose heart made them willing to bring for all manner of work, which the LORD had commanded to be made by the hand of Moses. Exo 35:30 And Moses said unto the children of Israel, See, the LORD hath called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah; Exo 35:31 And he hath filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship; Exo 35:32 And to devise curious works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, Exo 35:33 And in the cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of wood, to make any manner of cunning work. Exo 35:34 And he hath put in his heart that he may teach, both he, and Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. Exo 35:35 Them hath he filled with wisdom of heart, to work all manner of work, of the engraver, and of the cunning workman, and of the embroiderer, in blue, and in purple, in scarlet, and in fine linen, and of the weaver, even of them that do any work, and of those that devise cunning work.
THEME : STEWARDSHIP
No sooner does God give Moses the Law for His people then the people begin to wander from Him and sin grievously against the Lord. Aaron's fashioning of the golden calf and the people's willingness to seek other gods in chapter thirty two of Exodus is an example of the whimsical nature of Man. One day singing to the Lord, the next day sinning, all of us have a tendency to extremes in our responsibility to God. A.W. Pink wrote in his book - Interpretation of the Scriptures - "Man is notoriously a creature of extremes, and nowhere is that fact more evident than in the attitude taken by different ones to this subject." The children of Israel, unwilling to wait for Moses after forty days absence, turn to their own ways in their wilderness experience. Their faith, like many Christians, has limits that are not too far away from their bendable commitment and willowy profession of belief in God.
Moses, after breaking the tablets of stone that had the Ten Commandments on them and pronouncing judgments on the people, soon after intercedes for them before God. God was ready to destroy them, but Moses reminded God of His reputation. This is an imposing thought. That is, living in such a way that we care more about God's reputation [since we carry His Name "Christ"ian] than our own wants, needs, desires, or concerns. Many Christians take too little time to think of God's Holy character and His Good Name. Far too often, especially during stressful times or a period of crisis we are prone to do what is expedient - even if it means breaking God's Law and giving a poor image of Him to those around us who see, hear, and watch us. The Apostle Paul demonstrates this in the Book of Romans when he wrote -
"And art confident that thou thyself art a guide of the blind, a light of them which are in darkness, An instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, which hast the form of knowledge and of the truth in the law. Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest thou not thyself? thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost thou steal? Thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery? thou that abhorrest idols, dost thou commit sacrilege? Thou that makest thy boast of the law, through breaking the law dishonourest thou God? For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you, as it is written. [Rom 2:19 - 23]
Such it was with Israel. They became impatient with God [as Moses delayed His coming down from the mountain] and sinned against Him. This is the fickle nature of Man. Thankfully, the power of intercessory prayer prevents many judgments that could have come on God's people. God is willing to hear prayer offered on the behalf of others as we read of God "repenting" of the evil He said He would do to Israel. "And the LORD repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people." [Exo 32:14]
As Moses meets with God, he is given a new set of tablets and more directions for the journey into Canaan. God also informs Moses whom He has ordained to build the Tabernacle, since He has given this man His Spirit to do His work. "And Moses said unto the children of Israel, See, the LORD hath called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah; And he hath filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship." [Exo 35:30 - 31] This man - Bezaleel, and his associate Aholiab - played an important role in the Old Testament, more than is seen at first glance.
TRUTH FOR TODAY : YOU WILL ALWAYS HAVE WHAT YOU NEED IN THIS LIFE IF YOU SEEK GOD FIRST!
Jesus said - "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." [Mat 6:33] This command is not for the elite Christian, but for all who claim to be a follower of Christ. The promise that all we will ever need in this life is motivation enough to follow His instruction here. Yet, there is something more important. I refer to the reputation of God, and the building of His Tabernacle. Specifically, each of us is a stone in the Temple of Christ and we all must do are part according to the gifts and talents God gave each of us to build His Kingdom. The parallel between the building of the Tabernacle and the building of the Church are nearly identical. As the Scripture says -
"To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious, Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light. [1 Pe 2:4 - 5; 9]
When we gaze on the beauty of the Tabernacle we should think - what good would the instructions given to Moses be if no one had the ability to build it? Of course, God's Arm is not short. Therefore, He has everything planned in advance. Thus, we see that instructions are given to Moses of what God's wants. Yet, the task of knowing how to do this is given to two men whose names are rarely mentioned or remembered by the preacher or the people. God ordained and anointed Bezaleel and Aholiab with His same Holy Spirit given Moses and Aaron. Granted, the responsibilities of Moses and Aaron are greater. Still, the point remains. Without Bezaleel and Aholiab there would be no Tabernacle for Moses and Aaron to perform their responsibilities! These men were chosen by God to build, the same as every Christian is chosen by God to build. In addition, let us not neglect that all the people of Israel contributed to building the Tabernacle. This was, and still is, God's ordained method. He uses all of His people for a specific task in the Kingdom, and this should be taken serious by every Christian. See what Jesus said about neglecting God given gifts and talents for the building of His Kingdom -
Mat 25:14 For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. Mat 25:15 And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey. Mat 25:16 Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents. Mat 25:17 And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two. Mat 25:18 But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord's money. Mat 25:19 After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them. Mat 25:20 And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more. Mat 25:21 His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. Mat 25:22 He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them. Mat 25:23 His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. Mat 25:24 Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed: Mat 25:25 And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine. Mat 25:26 His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed: Mat 25:27 Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury. Mat 25:28 Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents. Mat 25:29 For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath. Mat 25:30 And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
We know we are all members of the Body of Christ. Further, it has been given to all of us some task to perform in building His Kingdom. Bezaleel and Aholiab may be forgotten by many, but not by God. Their task was critical to the plan of God in the Old Testament, as yours is in the New Testament. Let us all remember we must give account to Him who comes to judge the living and the dead. In addition, as we seek the Kingdom God first and His righteousness - all we will ever need will be added to us!
