Take a moment to read the entire chapter of Exodus 37 before reading the devotional below.
We are almost finished with our Exodus series before we head into an 8-day gratitude series followed by a series for Advent. If you have friends, family members, or church members who want to get into a Bible-reading habit during the Christmas season or in the new year, let them know about Freedom For Today! You can hit the Share buttons at the top of each post to spread the word about what you’re reading.
In today’s chapter, Bezalel continues to build the Tabernacle. He is melting down gold to overlay the Ark of the Covenant and the sacrifice table as well as to fashion the lampstand and the incense altar. It strikes me that the last time God’s people were melting down gold it was for the purpose of crafting a false idol to worship instead of God. We have no way of knowing, but I wonder if Bezalel himself had a hand in that idol-making process. He is clearly the most qualified craftsman. Could it be that this is as much a redemption story about Bezalel and God’s people as it is about how the Tabernacle was made?
Here’s your freedom for today: God gives us second chances. Bezalel may have once used his talents to betray God. If he wasn’t personally involved, certainly we know that the Israelites as a whole engaged in the misuse of their resources for idol worship. Here we see that God is allowing them to try again. He invites them to use their resources and talents to serve and worship him. They could have failed again. (And certainly in future stories we see that they do fail again many times.) But for now, Bezalel leads the way in obeying God’s instructions and using the gold entrusted to him for the right purposes. God honors this kind of stewardship and leadership. Even if you have used your resources or talents in sinful ways, it’s not too late to start applying those skills to the work God is calling you to do.