Take Two: Exodus 26, Proverbs 8

As you read this chapter, you may have a tendency to want to fast forward through some of the details. (I had to read it twice). The details seem a bit extraneous to me as I read them…because I am greatly removed from the context. I mean, why do I need to know how many loops and fittings God declared must be in each curtain.

Then the big idea hits: God has an INTIMATE and SPECIFIC plan for every detail of our lives. He leaves nothing to circumstance, chance, or “karma.” From the composition of the raw materials, to their design, to the qualifications of the craftsman (v.31,36).

This should serve as an encouragement. If God is so concerned with the details of construction of a tent, how much more concerned is He about that which persists forever (the souls of His people)?  (See also MT 6:26,30).

The construction of the veil surrounding the Holy of holies struck me in a significant way. Significant in that I know that Jesus is the veil we must pass through to come into the presence of God. Apart from Jesus, we are precluded from coming to or seeing God…but through Him (the veil) we have access to the Holy of Holies. The offering that was continually before God (Showbread and incense) was made before coming into His presence.

{NOTE: The significance as I read it today is the comparison to how many “Christians” approach God today…desiring to come into His presence and then worshipping if they feel blessed to be there. This is opposite of the intended design. One must come to understand the blessing of even calling on God’s Name (because of His covenant with us) before experiencing the blessing of His presence.}

One other observations struck me. The construction of the veil which blocked off the Holy of holies from the Holy place is of the same construction as the curtain which served as the doorway or entrance into the Tabernacle (minus the cherubim embroidery). As I think about that, I wonder how many people think that by coming into the Holy place…they have arrived…even though they have never experienced the presence of God in the Holy of holies. Stated another way, how many people have made themselves satisfied with knowledge about God rather than an intimate knowledge OF God? If we are ever to experience the grace of God as He intends, we must get honest before Him and answer the question…do I know about You and your Grace…or have I experienced it in a transformative way in my life?

Proverbs 8:18, 21 are the takeaways today. Wisdom states, “Riches and honor are with me, enduring wealth and righteousness”…”to endow those who love me with wealth, that I may fill their treasuries.” Wisdom states that living according to God’s instructions yields “enduring wealth and righteousness,” and that God’s desire is to endow those who love Wisdom with it…to “fill” their treasuries. This is not a health and wealth statement…but speaks to the heart of God to bless abundantly those who pursue Him with that which “endures.”