Exodus 38:21 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.
22 And Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made all that the LORD commanded Moses.
23 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.
24 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.
25 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:
26 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.
27 And of the hundred talents of silver were cast the sockets of the sanctuary, and the sockets of the vail; an hundred sockets of the hundred talents, a talent for a socket.
28 And of the thousand seven hundred seventy and five shekels he made hooks for the pillars, and overlaid their chapiters, and filleted them.
29 And the brass of the offering was seventy talents, and two thousand and four hundred shekels.
30 And therewith he made the sockets to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and the brasen altar, and the brasen grate for it, and all the vessels of the altar,
31 And the sockets of the court round about, and the sockets of the court gate, and all the pins of the tabernacle, and all the pins of the court round about.
In these verses God shows us that He kept accurate records of the accounting for the tabernacle. Unlike our current governments, there was no waste in the construction of the tabernacle and its vessels. Good stewardship is important to God. This is not just for the tabernacle, but for each family as well. With God it is not the amount of money a person has, but rather how efficient he is in using what he has.
God demonstrated the ability of guiding the people in the use of what they had accumulated while in Egypt. Some of that had been their own, and some of it would have been what the Egyptians gave them as they left that country.
We notice here as well that Aholiab was equipped by God to be able to engrave things and one that knew how to embroider the things that needed that type of work. There is no lack of talent among God’s people, when they are submissive to Him.
Today we find a lack of servants for the fields that are white already for harvest. We need to pray for men who would surrender to the Work of the Lord and who would see the value of laying up treasure in heaven. We do not need compromisers. There are far too many of those now.
We see in this passage that there was quite a cost in putting this tent and its vessels together. We do not have accurate figures to convert this to today’s money, but rough estimates would put the price at above fourteen million dollars in today’s dollars. God did not tell them to hold back on what He wanted. He provided for them and this expense for God’s tabernacle was not a waste. That tent represented the Son of God. He is more precious than gold.
Psalm 19:7 The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.
8 The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.
9 The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.
10 More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
11 Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward.
12 Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults.
13 Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression.
14 Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.
It should be alarming to note the millions and in fact billions that are wasted in this country. We are a small country in comparison to others like the U.S. Our deficit for this year is estimated to be in the high 70 billion dollar range. That is the estimate. We know that our governments always go beyond their estimates. We can only keep building that deficit for so long. We are already beholden to China for much of our debt. Eventually we will not be able to print anymore money.
Today, our churches are to be an example of the house of God, the pillar and ground of truth. We do not need gold and silver in them to be that house of God. Jesus Christ has already come. We are not told to depict Him in the material things in our churches. We are told to depict Him in our lives. We, those who are saved, are the temple of the Holy Ghost. We, those who are saved, are commanded to be holy as our God and Saviour are holy.
For us the value is in souls. The longer this world stands, the less of the material things we as individuals will have. The governments are seeing to it that they will have more and we will have less. God is able to supply our needs. We will need to get closer to our needs in these last days.
As we take more of the Biblical approach to life, we will become a greater light for the Lord.
Peter and John had no silver or gold to give the lame man in Acts 3. They had something far more precious. They were not fraudsters. They were apostles and they proved that by being able to heal that crippled man. Today we have something much greater to offer mankind than silver and gold. We are not called to heal the sick. We are called upon to show the lost where they can find healing for their souls. God can still heal the body, but He is not obligated to do so. It is foolish to buy into the lies of the charismatics who teach that those who are saved should not be sick. That simply is not true.
Ephesians 2:7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
Ephesians 3:16 That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;
The tabernacle was a type of the Lord Jesus Christ. The gold, silver and brass all pointed to the Lord Jesus Christ. As we have noted, today it is not a building that points to Jesus Christ, but it is those who are saved, who are to be that testimony of His holiness and greatness. As we yield ourselves to Him, we can be a blessing to others, who need to find the grace to be saved and then the grace to guide them in their walk with the Lord.
Pastor Bartel