Exodus 39:32 Thus was all the work of the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation finished: and the children of Israel did according to all that the LORD commanded Moses, so did they.
33 And they brought the tabernacle unto Moses, the tent, and all his furniture, his taches, his boards, his bars, and his pillars, and his sockets,
34 And the covering of rams’ skins dyed red, and the covering of badgers’ skins, and the vail of the covering,
35 The ark of the testimony, and the staves thereof, and the mercy seat,
36 The table, and all the vessels thereof, and the shewbread,
37 The pure candlestick, with the lamps thereof, even with the lamps to be set in order, and all the vessels thereof, and the oil for light,
38 And the golden altar, and the anointing oil, and the sweet incense, and the hanging for the tabernacle door,
39 The brasen altar, and his grate of brass, his staves, and all his vessels, the laver and his foot,
40 The hangings of the court, his pillars, and his sockets, and the hanging for the court gate, his cords, and his pins, and all the vessels of the service of the tabernacle, for the tent of the congregation,
41 The cloths of service to do service in the holy place, and the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and his sons’ garments, to minister in the priest’s office.
42 According to all that the LORD commanded Moses, so the children of Israel made all the work.
43 And Moses did look upon all the work, and, behold, they had done it as the LORD had commanded, even so had they done it: and Moses blessed them.
Verse 32 is a very important verse. It is God’s assessment of the matters at hand. It is not some deluded person pretending to do what God’s will is. It is God declaring that the men He chose for this important work, did all that the LORD commanded Moses to do. They did exactly what God wanted of them.
As we have noted, He equipped them for the work. He provided all the materials needed for the work. All He required of the people was that they obey His commands.
This is a picture of God’s salvation. He provided the Lamb — the Lord Jesus Christ. He provided the Blood, the pure, spotless Blood of Jesus Christ. He provides the eternal life man needs and desires, through the sacrifice of His only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. All that God demands of man is that He obey His command to repent toward God and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord.
In our text, we have already noted, that the people did as they were told. Sadly, most people reject God’s offer and provision of salvation. They would rather struggle through life and end up condemned to the lake of fire for all eternity. Why?
We see in the following verses that the people brought all they had made to Moses. He was chosen by God to be their leader. He was only doing what God required of Him. He was not responsible for the design. He could not take credit for enabling the people to do the work. He was only being obedient to God’s call upon him. Yes, there were pressures put upon him because the people did not always obey. They followed Aaron’s direction and they made a golden calf in defiance of the LORD’s will. However, when God judged them, they sobered up for awhile and they obeyed what God required of them.
Moses could be pleased to present before the LORD the finished work that was done according to His command. No doubt this was a great pleasure for Moses. He did not need to hang his head in shame at this time. It reminds me of another place where God reminds us of the importance of godly leadership:
Hebrews 13:17 Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.
Godly pastors are important. We need good leadership. We need men who will be humble and obedient to God’s Word and who will teach God’s Word faithfully. We do not need story tellers who will put their finger to the wind and see what is popular and then entertain people with that. That is what most people are lured into, but it is not what their soul longs for. The wise person listens to God and seeks out a godly pastor who will help them know the truth and walk in it.
Moses was reluctant to obey God. However, he learned that it was wise to obey God. Those whom God chooses to rule over His people are always wise to obey Him. There is no blessing in corrupting His commands and inventing a false religion. There is no joy in serving the devil.
We read that the people did as the LORD commanded them. How good it would be if people would do as the LORD commands them to, in our time. There are so many people who hear the Word of God preached and taught and yet they reject it. They love to embrace their sin. They do not want to submit to the truth because it goes against their sinful desires. Whenever they are exposed to the truth, their blood begins to boil. They are convicted and they do not like that. Thus they try very hard to avoid exposing themselves to the truth.
We know that God put that finished tabernacle in the midst of the camp. Everywhere God moved the nation of Israel, that tabernacle was set up in the midst of the camp. When they entered the land of Canaan, God eventually gave them Jerusalem, a city set on a hill. That is where He directed king Solomon to build the Temple. It stood in that place for several hundred years. Eventually God had that Temple destroyed because it had lost its meaning. The people chose idolatry and paganism over truth. They went into exile at the hand of God for seventy years. After that, they were under foreign occupation, even though some of them lived in their own land.
In 1948 they were given permission to go back to their homeland, and some of them did that. However, the Gentiles are still causing problems for the nation of Israel. In reality, the Gentiles are not nearly as big a problem for the nation of Israel as their own stubborn, rebellious hearts are.
As we, the Gentile world, observe the trouble Israel is facing, it should wake us up. It should cause us to turn to God and trust in Him for our salvation and for our guidance after we are saved.
Today is the Lord’s Day. It is the first day of the week. It gives us the opportunity to put God first. We can go to His house and we can learn what the pillar and ground of truth looks like. Of course you won’t learn that if you go to the devil’s social club. Be sure you choose a true, local church to attend this morning. You will be glad you did, if you submit to the will of God.
Pastor Bartel