King James Bible Study – “And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” – Mark 8:34
Date: Tuesday, February 11, 2020
Chapters: Exodus 36-38
Message: The Grace of God In Me
Hello My Friend,
This past Sunday, before the church service, my pastor comes up to me and says, “I think we should get the women joining together in prayer before the service.” I agreed, and then he proceeded to tell me that I was going to lead them every week. Me, lead the entire congregation of women in prayer, who by the way, were all older than me? I was nervous, and they knew it, all I kept thinking was that God is going to get me out of my shell one way or another. It astounds me that with all my shortcomings, and as much as I fail God, He continues to use me. The one thing that keeps coming to my mind is what Paul said, who called himself the chiefest of sinners. “But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. Therefore whether it were I or they, so we preach, and so ye believed.” – I Corinthians 15:10-11.
“but the grace of God which was with me.” None of us is qualified to do the work of God, it is by His grace that we can even attempt to do His work. Why does He choose us then? “so we preach, and so ye believed.” It is not for our own sake, for we know we are saved, it is for the sake of all those around us. We are willing vessels that God uses, which by the way, is the most fulfilling and prosperous work we will ever do. When God calls on You to do His work, He does not take it lightly, He knows exactly what we are able to do, and when we are going to do it. Now, God gave Moses the instructions on how to built the first sanctuary made just for Him, and it was a tent. The reason it was a tent was for the fact that it was portable, they were building a tent that they would take with them as they traveled to the promised land. Now, it was time to build everything necessary to bring it all together. God choose two men that would head it all up, and would be the foremen of this project.
“Then wrought Bezaleel and Aholiab, and every wise hearted man, in whom the LORD put wisdom and understanding to know how to work all manner of work for the service of the sanctuary, according to all that the LORD had commanded. And Moses called Bezaleel and Aholiab, and every wise hearted man, in whose heart the LORD had put wisdom, even every one whose heart stirred him up to come unto the work to do it: And they received of Moses all the offering, which the children of Israel had brought for the work of the service of the sanctuary, to make it withal. And they brought yet unto him free offerings every morning. And all the wise men, that wrought all the work of the sanctuary, came every man from his work which they made; And they spake unto Moses, saying, The people bring much more than enough for the service of the work, which the LORD commanded to make.” – Exodus 36:1-5.
“Then wrought Bezaleel and Aholiab,” These two men played a huge part in overseeing the work that needed to be done. Bezaleel, in a sense, drew up the blueprints of the building and the designs for the furniture inside according to God’s instructions. Aholiab, was the engraver, making sure that every detail down to a knop on the candlestick (menorah), and every curtain was just as God instructed. It was God that gave them the wisdom and skill to be able to pull this off, more important, He inspired them to do it through His Spirit. God will only use a willing vessel in the first place to do His work, and once we are willing, He will give us all the skill, knowledge, and wisdom necessary to complete it just as He specifies. “And they received of Moses all the offering,” God may not use everyone in the service of His work, but He will give some the willingness to help those who are, and that is in the way of giving offerings. Tithes and offerings too, must be given with a willing heart, and any time we give to God it needs to be sincere, and with the right intention. Let me tell you, prosperity preaching does not work, yes, when we give to God He returns the favor by increasing us with more than what we have given, but if we have the mentality that giving to the church will make us rich then that is not giving willingly or with a sincere heart. “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” – Galatians 6:7-9.
“if we faint not.” When doing the work of God we can get weary, which is why we need a Sabbath day of rest to God every week, and if we are really weary we need a few days of rest in Him. Thousands of ministers of God have fainted, having given up their ministry because they got weary from never resting in God themselves, falling into sin themselves, and away from serving God all together. So, unless we take some time to be with God, and fellowship with Him we will faint, this includes sitting in a church service and getting fed through preaching, teaching, prayer, and singing, which by the way, is what gets our heart ready for the preaching. And this is why God set it up that even when the priests were in the tabernacle, they would eat at a table together which was adjacent to where the Ark of the Covenant would reside. In fact, the very first item built was the Ark of the Covenant, the wooden box that would hold the two tablets that had the ten commandments on.
“And Bezaleel made the ark of shittim wood: two cubits and a half was the length of it, and a cubit and a half the breadth of it, and a cubit and a half the height of it: And he overlaid it with pure gold within and without, and made a crown of gold to it round about. And he cast for it four rings of gold, to be set by the four corners of it; even two rings upon the one side of it, and two rings upon the other side of it. And he made staves of shittim wood, and overlaid them with gold. And he put the staves into the rings by the sides of the ark, to bear the ark. And he made the mercy seat of pure gold: two cubits and a half was the length thereof, and one cubit and a half the breadth thereof. And he made two cherubims of gold, beaten out of one piece made he them, on the two ends of the mercy seat; One cherub on the end on this side, and another cherub on the other end on that side: out of the mercy seat made he the cherubims on the two ends thereof. And the cherubims spread out their wings on high, and covered with their wings over the mercy seat, with their faces one to another; even to the mercy seatward were the faces of the cherubims.” – Exodus 37:1-9.
“And Bezaleel made the ark of shittim wood:” Shittim wood is another name for acacia wood, it is heavy, strong, durable, and able to withstand much wear and tear, which is why good furniture is often made with it. Every piece of furniture and even the pillars was made of this wood and overlaid with gold, silver or brass. So, you can imagine just how valuable it was, not to mention heavy, strong, and durable to withstand the wear and tear it would go through in their travels. “And he made two cherubims of gold,” The cherubims were a reminder of just how precious the Word of God is, and needed to be protected at all times. Every saved, born again Christian has a very valuable possession inside of them, and that is God’s Spirit, which would not have even been known to us unless we had heard the Word of God (Romans 10:17). The Holy Spirit is the only one who can give us the strength and durability to withstand the wear and tear that life brings. “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.” – Romans 8:26-27.
“Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities:” Every single weakness we have can be overcome when we allow the Holy Spirit to guide us. We, and I am completely guilty of this, really do not give Him the credit He deserves, He really is our Comforter. The one who gives us rest, hope, relief, and even the good scolding we sometimes need. And let me tell you, when You hear that inner voice commanding that you to get up, when all you want to do is given up, you certainly do see just how strong and resilient you are with Him. Now, a sum of the tabernacle is given, this would be everything given, including the ransom money given from the census tax.
“This is the sum of the tabernacle, even of the tabernacle of testimony, as it was counted, according to the commandment of Moses, for the service of the Levites, by the hand of Ithamar, son to Aaron the priest. And Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made all that the LORD commanded Moses. And with him was Aholiab, son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, an engraver, and a cunning workman, and an embroiderer in blue, and in purple, and in scarlet, and fine linen. All the gold that was occupied for the work in all the work of the holy place, even the gold of the offering, was twenty and nine talents, and seven hundred and thirty shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary. And the silver of them that were numbered of the congregation was an hundred talents, and a thousand seven hundred and threescore and fifteen shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary: A bekah for every man, that is, half a shekel, after the shekel of the sanctuary, for every one that went to be numbered, from twenty years old and upward, for six hundred thousand and three thousand and five hundred and fifty men.” – Exodus 38:21-26.
“made all that the LORD commanded Moses.” Every single element within the tabernacle, and including the tabernacle itself is a picture of Jesus Christ. “The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing: Which was a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience; Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation. But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.” – Hebrews 9:8-12.
“by a greater and more perfect tabernacle,” The power and presence of God has never been in a tent or building made by man, it is in the soul of the one He possesses. Every saved, born again Christian, meaning every single person who accepted Christ as their Saviour, by faith, is the tabernacle of God (II Corinthians 5:1-5). Remember, a tent is movable so that it can be transported from place to place, which is why He is in us, and not some building that cannot be moved. We are to never take lightly what God has called us to do, whether it is to serve Him in some ministry, to give offerings to help in the services, or just sit still and let Him talk to us. “And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:” – Hebrews 12:27-28.
Today’s Prayer: God, Thank You, for Your endless mercies and grace, for Your never ending promise to give eternal life to all who receive Your Son as their Saviour. We are Your tabernacle, and for whatever reason, You have chosen us to serve You in some way. Lord, Lead us and guide us, fill us with Your Holy Spirit power to be able to do the work You can given us to do, let us not forget to rest so that we do not become weary in well dong and faint in doing so. Forgive us where we have failed You, strengthen us, and make us durable through Your Word so we can be able to withstand the wear and tear of life that comes along the way. I ask these things in Your name, Jesus. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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