All Coming Together

"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:" Exodus 36:2. Remember Bezaleel, Aholiab, and all the builders? The men who headed up the construction of the tabernacle? In this passage, we get the full breakdown of just how much attention to detail matters as we've discussed previously.

...But there's something beyond that: yes, The Lord equipped them with wisdom of heart to do the work, but if their hearts were not stirred up with a passion to proceed, the work would not have gotten completed (or would have been done unwillingly, which is not the right spirit to have!). Thankfully, there were many willing hearts who desire to contribute to this work. A disgruntled & divided people were finally becoming one, just like the many detailed parts of the tabernacle were coming together as one!

"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 36:5. The people who weren't even doing the work had just as much of a heart in the matter! They brought what they could and did what they could, and it was too much!

"And Moses gave commandment, and they caused it to be proclaimed throughout the camp, saying, Let neither man nor woman make any more work for the offering of the sanctuary. So the people were restrained from bringing. For the stuff they had was sufficient for all the work to make it, and too much."
Exodus 36:6‭-‬7.

It was more than enough, just like our God does for us on a daily basis! When we pray, He gives us more than we ever thought we needed. The people were starting to be more like God and less sinful. Again, everyone was coming together as one, and so was the work of the tabernacle:

"And he made fifty taches of gold, and coupled the curtains one unto another with the taches: so it became one tabernacle."
Exodus 36:13.

There were 50 taches of gold, yet all the pieces of the curtains were coupled together in order to make ONE. Our projects may start out complex, but there's always a way to simplify! Just like our relationship with God & others. Things may seem complicated at first, but the more you put your heart in it & get to know them, the easier it becomes!

So the tabernacle curtains came together as one, and so did the curtains of the tent:

"And he made fifty loops upon the uttermost edge of the curtain in the coupling, and fifty loops made he upon the edge of the curtain which coupleth the second. And he made fifty taches of brass to couple the tent together, that it might be one." Exodus 36:17‭-‬18.

Again, 50 taches came together as one tent. One massive group of Israelites came together as ONE people with ONE heart and ONE goal to please our ONE GOD! Some say one is the loneliest number, but I say it's the simplest, most peaceful number! It means unity instead of division. It means one whole, completed work. The number 1 helps us understand God! Let's take a look at the mercy seat:

"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." Exodus 37:7‭-‬8.

2 cherubims on both ends, coupled together out of one piece of gold! Also, the candlestick was made of pure gold (remember the representation of Christ as the Light!). And although there were many different detailed parts of this candlestick, it was ONE beaten work:

"Their knops and their branches were of the same: all of it was one beaten work of pure gold." Exodus 37:22.

"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28.

The workers and all the Israelites were together in God's purpose, and most importantly, they loved God! They did it all out of a willing heart! What seemed like a lot of material to gather ended up being more than enough. What seemed complex came together as one. This is totally applicable to our lives!

Many things we deal with in various relationships (God, spouse, children, friends, co-workers) seem really complex at first. Sometimes there are problems and differences that take a while to resolve. But try to get to the heart of the matter. Pray & ask God for unity instead of division (with Him and with others). Just come together! Work it out! There's no reason to fear a serious relationship with God, because we can clearly see the patience He has with all of us throughout these readings! And there's no reason to fear working things out with others. God will help us every step of the way! Just have a willing heart, and God will provide the wisdom!