elaborate and portable

The last several chapters of Exodus are filled with the details of constructing the Tabernacle or tent of worship for the people of Israel.  The Lord gives scores of extremely detailed specifications for the materials and design.  This is the place where sacrifices for sin will be made and where priests will approach God on behalf of the people.  It occurred to me that the magnificent glory of this place, with all its gold and finely woven fabrics, was fashioned in the midst of a desert by a people who tended toward rebellion.  But God not only provided the design, He also prepared skilled craftsman and women and ultimately placed the strong desire in their hearts and spirits to give the materials and dedicate their talents to follow the design and complete the project.  And, as remarkable as this achievement would have been in the most sophisticated city, it was completed in the roughest and wildest of places.  Not only that, but God built "portability" into the design with a tent and with important furnishings like the Ark of the Covenant designed to be folded up or carried from place to place.  If the Tabernacle represents the glorious beauty of God's presence and His plan of forgiveness, it also represents His design to accompany His people in their walk through the wilderness.  Now we who have trusted in the Lord for salvation have become His Temple and all of the wonderful design and glory is carried within our frames as we move through the wilderness of our days.  There is wonder and glory in the desert!

Exodus 31:⁶ "Moreover, I have given special skill to all the gifted craftsmen so they can make all the things I have commanded you to make:

⁷ the Tabernacle;
the Ark of the Covenant;
the Ark's cover—the place of atonement;
all the furnishings of the Tabernacle;
⁸ the table and its utensils;
the pure gold lampstand with all its accessories;
the incense altar;
⁹ the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils;
the washbasin with its stand;
¹⁰ the beautifully stitched garments—the sacred garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments for his sons to wear as they minister as priests;
¹¹ the anointing oil;
the fragrant incense for the Holy Place."

blessings,

Rob Smith