Three Thoughts on the Repetitive Parts (Exodus 35-39)

There is a reason Exodus (and parts of Leviticus) are so annoyingly repetitive!

It gets a little hard reading Exodus after the people arrive at Sinai. The text gets bogged down in detailed instructions. It is more like reading an assembly manual than a story. And then, those instructions given from chapter 25 to 31 are repeated in great detail as they are carried out! Today, we would simply say, “They carried out God’s commands.” But back then, they didn’t know the rules to telling a story well, right? Wrong. The point here is to illustrate in a precise, clear way that obedience to God’s instructions was accomplished. When following God’s plans, you don’t just wing it or look at the pictures and make your best guess. You need to get it right. You want to be both faithful and skillful.

God gives His people divine help, along with ability and skill to do His work.

Bezalel and Oholiab have always been some of my favorite Bible characters. Bezalel does not appear to be a great artisan whom God uses to lead His people to build the Tabernacle. The language in Exodus seems to imply that God gave him supernatural wisdom, understanding, and knowledge of all the craftsmanship needed for the job. (Ex 31:3) With that power, he is put in charge of leading Oholiab and all the other craftsmen to do the work. So, we see here a combination of natural and supernatural abilities to do the task. And Oholiab is even more interesting. He too is appointed by God, with Bezalel. It is as though he is divinely gifted to assist. With the detailed instructions, God gives skill and calling to His people to accomplish His plans. Biblical obedience is willing, not compulsory.

As God’s creatures, it behooves us to do what He wants us too. But, in a restored relationship with our Father, the obedience is something we joyfully long to do. It is not forced. The people here in Exodus had already been saved by God. They had a restored relationship with Him. They would not earn that salvation or relationship with Him through obedience. And the instructions we see here are qualified with “whoever is of a willing heart.” And the contributions from such “willing hearts” were so great that they had to be commanded to stop. Walking with God is not about following a law by force, but living a lifestyle by desire.

Comments

Popular Posts