God Has Given The Skill

Exodus 36-40

God has given men the skill to create the works of art he has given them. Put another way, God has given men and women the wisdom to keep his commands. Or: God has given humanity the capacity to participate in the flourishing of the Earth. 

Israel is discovering their identity at Mt. Sinai. God has given them a second round of Ten Words (or Commandments), plus a lot more words and commands to live by. Keeping these commands will lead to them becoming a unique nation in the Ancient Near East. If everything goes according to plan, unique so that they can be a blessing. 

At Mt. Sinai they get detailed instructions on how to worship YHWH. Of course they would, how would they know to honor and praise him, they've been steeped in Egyptian idolatry for hundreds of years. They also were given detailed instructions on how to craft the objects to be used in this worship. We read these details with glazed over eyes. But if we read between the lines, what will we see?

God has given the detailed instructions on what he wants, and then he gives the skill to people to do it.

Think about that.

God is creating a new people, giving them a new way to worship him, to become a blessing to their neighboring tribes, to become a nation of their own having been delivered from an impressive and oppressive empire. And to do this, he not only gives them his presence - as cloud and fire - but words to follow, and then skills to accomplish it. That is good news for Israel. And us.

Alas, the rebellious instincts that lurk deep within us are powerful enough to derail us from the details God lovingly spells out for us. When Israel kept the commands, when the craftsmen hammered out the objects of worship, when the people participated in the worship of a holy God, they were blessed. But when they rebelled, grumbled, turned to idols, and rejected Moses, they became cursed. Despite all God did for them.

When we look around our community, our neighbors, our home, our church - God has details for us on how to get involved and join him in on the work he is doing. And the giving of the details often includes the capacity to do it with skill. Because God works through a community of people, he will place people in relationship to you so that together you can accomplish what he is doing in the world. Good news indeed!