Based on Exodus 38:9-31 (New King James Version)
“Then he made the court on the south side; the hangings of the court were of fine woven linen, one hundred cubits long. There were twenty pillars for them, with twenty bronze sockets. The hooks of the pillars and their bands were silver. On the north side the hangings were one hundred cubits long, with twenty pillars and their twenty bronze sockets. The hooks of the pillars and their bands were silver. And on the west side there were hangings of fifty cubits, with ten pillars and their ten sockets. The hooks of the pillars and their bands were silver. For the east side the hangings were fifty cubits. The hangings of one side of the gate were fifteen cubits long, with their three pillars and their three sockets, and the same for the other side of the court gate; on this side and that were hangings of fifteen cubits, with their three pillars and their three sockets. All the hangings of the court all around were of fine woven linen. The sockets for the pillars were bronze, the hooks of the pillars and their bands were silver, and the overlay of their capitals was silver; and all the pillars of the court had bands of silver. The screen for the gate of the court was woven of blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and of fine woven linen. The length was twenty cubits, and the height along its width was five cubits, corresponding to the hangings of the court. And there were four pillars with their four sockets of bronze; their hooks were silver, and the overlay of their capitals and their bands was silver. All the pegs of the tabernacle, and of the court all around, were bronze. This is the inventory of the tabernacle, the tabernacle of the Testimony, which was counted according to the commandment of Moses, for the service of the Levites, by the hand of Ithamar, son of Aaron the priest. Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made all that the Lord had commanded Moses. And with him was Aholiab the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, an engraver and designer, a weaver of blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and of fine linen. All the gold that was used in all the work of the holy place, that is, the gold of the offering, was twenty-nine talents and seven hundred and thirty shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary. And the silver from those who were numbered of the congregation was one hundred talents and one thousand seven hundred and seventy-five shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary: a bekah for each man (that is, half a shekel, according to the shekel of the sanctuary), for everyone included in the numbering from twenty years old and above, for six hundred and three thousand, five hundred and fifty men. And from the hundred talents of silver were cast the sockets of the sanctuary and the bases of the veil: one hundred sockets from the hundred talents, one talent for each socket. Then from the one thousand seven hundred and seventy-five shekels he made hooks for the pillars, overlaid their capitals, and made bands for them. The offering of bronze was seventy talents and two thousand four hundred shekels. And with it he made the sockets for the door of the tabernacle of meeting, the bronze altar, the bronze grating for it, and all the utensils for the altar, the sockets for the court all around, the bases for the court gate, all the pegs for the tabernacle, and all the pegs for the court all around.”
Did Moses build the tabernacle alone? No. It would have been impossible for one man to put together everything that was needed, to have all the knowledge to do the different tasks, and to have done all the labor. In this passage, we see Moses as the spiritual authority of the people, but there was also a large group of people who came together in one accord to do the work. Some are named such as Ithamar, Bezalel, and Aholiab, but there were others who are not named (but God does know them), and formed part of the work.
Now, the purpose of this message is not necessarily to inspire material constructions, and that groups of people must begin to donate time, money and effort as proof of faith and loyalty to God, as many supposed spiritual leaders often do today, who are more focused on the material and temporal than in the eternal of God. And because of my secular profession (as an architect and builder, which God has given me so as not to be a burden to anyone as His minister), I would have a good excuse to justify and inspire such material constructions.
What will this be about? Regarding the following: “God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things.” Acts 17:24-25. We must focus not on building material things, but rather on the temples that Almighty God seeks to inhabit, in the hearts of men. Because this is what His Word also says: “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.” 1 Corinthians 3:16-17. The temples that matter to God are people. Each of us who chooses to follow Christ is a temple of the Lord, and we are holy temples by the grace and forgiveness of God through the works of the Lord Jesus Christ, because of His birth, life, death, resurrection, and ascension to His throne, at the right hand of God the Father.
So, similar to the building of the tabernacle, God has chosen that we be the ones to build His temples here on earth. And this is a group effort. Each of us has our place, our responsibility (because God does not force anyone). The Lord gives us the opportunity to be saved and redeemed so that we can return to the purpose for which he created us, to serve Him. If anyone wants to know the answer to our existence, it is this: ‘We were created and made to serve God.’ And by His grace, despite our sins and rebellions, He has made provision for the restoration of our purpose through faith in Jesus Christ, as it is written: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:8-10. God made man to serve Him. And by His grace, we have a new opportunity to do His work together.
And what does the Lord call us to do? “And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.’ Amen.” Matthew 28:18-20. “Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.” James 1:27. “What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,’ but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” James 2:14-17. We have much to do as disciples of Christ, and we have to do it together under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. So, are you part of the divine construction, or are you following the devil by just thinking about yourself? Lord bless! John. God bless Israel!