“Previously Equipped”
It was a section in the Old Testament I wanted to skip over. I knew words like, “cubits and tabernacle” were waiting to rattle my brain and produce doubt to their relevancy. I loved the familiar stories in Exodus but didn’t see the point in stumbling over detailed instructions of how to build a massive tent. God had already given Moses the Ten Commandments; I felt I had grasped the bigger message, what more was there?
Ironically, this massive tent, aka the tabernacle, happen to be the lesson planned for my rotation in children’s church- gee thanks God. If that wasn’t enough, God made sure to add it to the lesson in my adult Bible study that week too.
As I reluctantly thumbed through cubit measurements and detailed building instructions, I grumbled there was no relatable ‘life message’ to be found…until Exodus 25 thumped my forehead.
Exodus 25 described a strong message to the Israelites in reference to their participation in building this dwelling place for God, “tell the Israelites that they are to set aside offerings to me. Receive the offerings from everyone who is willing to give. These are the offerings I want you to receive from them: gold, silver, bronze, blue, purple, and scarlet material.” A question within my Bible study was, “where did these items to be offered even come from since they had fled Egypt and had been wandering around the desert?”
The answer to this question is where my reluctancy found purpose.
Back up a bit to Exodus 12 to see how detailed God can be…as they fled Pharoah and the Egyptians, well before they even dreamed of building a tabernacle, verse 35 says, “The Israelites did as Moses instructed and asked the Egyptians for articles of silver and gold and for clothing. The Lord had made the Egyptians favorably disposed toward the people, and they gave them what they asked for.”
Isn’t that amazing?! Amid chaos and confusion God worked in the detail of supplying them with items they would later use for His glory. I’m sure in the moment of fleeing Egypt the Israelites thought, “Are you kidding me, you want me to ask for their possessions too, aren’t we escaping this place?!”
God was orchestrating what they could not see, just as He does for us. He equips us well in advance for what lies ahead; sometimes in the form of a strong trait, support from community, success, time, the list goes on. I often need to remind myself of this. The world has a way of clouding God’s message to us, but reminding ourselves of how relatable the Bible can be, and absorbing God’s Word is the willingness He desires. When we focus on His Word and who He is, we see a God of detail, fully equipping us with everything we need for the journey ahead. Our willingness to recognize it is key.
I’m thankful for detailed cubit measurements and weird Bible words, because among all the tiny black words are life lessons.
