A Holy Nation

By Jeff Curtis

The book of Leviticus was written with the intention of helping the nation of Israel learn how to be a holy nation. To that end, it informed the people of God that they had been cleansed by the blood and were to remove uncleanness from their midst. In addition, they were also to worship regularly, offer sacrifices, and act lovingly toward others. These requirements can be summarized in two words: “Obey God!” If the people obeyed His laws, they would, in fact, be doing everything that the Lord required of them to be a holy nation. Obedience to God was the foundation for acquiring and maintaining their status as a holy nation. It was the key to having God’s approval. It is also the key to having God’s approval today.

What encouragement did the Israelites have to obey God? One answer to that question is found in Leviticus 26, near the end of the book. In that text, God, through Moses, gave a twofold reason for obeying Him. (1) If God’s people would obey Him, He would bless the nation. He promised to bless his obedient children with abundant rain, good crops, plenty of food, relief from predatory animals, victory over their enemies, large families, and His presence (26:1-13). (2) Conversely, od would curse the people if they didn’t obey Him. He would send upon them “a sudden terror, consumption and fever” (26:16).  They would be defeated by their enemies (26:17). He would send drought upon the land (26:19-20). He would plague them with predatory animals (26:22). He would cause them to be so hungry that would even eat the flesh of their own sons and daughters (26:26-29). If they refused to be obedient, God would make their land desolate, destroy their cities, and scatter their people among the nations (26:31-33).

Why should we obey God today? For similar reasons; If we do, we will be blessed; and if we don’t, we will be cursed. This doesn’t mean that we will be blessed and cursed in the same ways that Israel was. God has not promised us physical blessings and protection for doing His will in this Christian age, and He has not threatened us with physical pain or economic harm if we fail to His will. His covenant blessings today are spiritual, not physical. Even so, it should be enough to know that, if we obey, we will be blessed abundantly with “every spiritual blessing” (Ephesians 1:3).

Building Up the Lord’s Church

By Jeff Curtis

Christians are constantly building the church of the Lord, the house of God – building it from the beginning in new areas, and then building it up in both numbers and in spirituality. How can we successfully help to build up the Lord’s church? Paul told us to be wise builders in 1Corthians 3:9-10. We would be smart to look at the example of the Israelites who built the tabernacle. How did they do it?

The explanation of building the tabernacle emphasizes Israel’s use of their talents and abilities in its construction. The text points out that some of the offerings for the tabernacle consisted of cloth made by “skilled women” (Exod. 35:25) or by women “whose heart was stirred with a skill” (Exod. 35:26).

The text also highlights the fact that the actual building of the tabernacle was done by people who used their special skills for that purpose. The Lord told Moses that He had called Bezalel to take charge of the actual construction of the tabernacle, saying that He had “filled him with the Spirit of God in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all kinds of craftsmanship” (Ex. 31:3). Also, God called Oholiab and other skilled men to help in the building, giving them the skills they needed to do so (Ex. 31:6). In Exodus 35 Bezalel and the other workers were actually appointed to the task. Again, Moses emphasized that it was the Lord who had called Bezalel and his assistants and had endowed them with the skill they needed (35:30-35).

Three truths stand out in considering our text, and the gifts used to build the tabernacle.

The Skills these men and women possessed came from God. What kinds of gifts were involved? Their gifts were not that they became prophets or able to speak the word of God eloquently. They were skills necessary for the building of the tabernacle. Today, God also gives Christians the skills they need to do their work as carpenters, electricians, plumbers and seamstresses. If you can repair a car, fix a broken faucet, or make a computer run properly, then you have that talent from God.

These individuals were willing to use their abilities in the service of God. The Bible doesn’t emphasize their willingness, but there is no suggestion in the text that God forced them to dedicate themselves and their skills to this cause. God called them, and they were willing to answer His call.

The people who had the gifts were willing to give their time in using them. Gifted individuals were willing to invest more than six months of their lives in building the tabernacle. They worked consistently for six months, six days a week, on this project. They stayed with it until they were done.

What does the church need today? More money? Generally speaking, members have enough money to do what is needed, but they may need to become more generous givers. More talents? As a rule, within the membership of almost every congregation, there is enough talent to enable the church to accomplish everything God expects. What the church needs more than anything else in most places is time, that is, time that the members are willing to invest in the work of the Lord. What good are abilities if those who have them are unwilling to volunteer their time to use those abilities inf God’s service? We need to be willing to use our time serving God – studying the Bible, praying, worshiping God in the services of the church, visiting the sick, helping our neighbors, getting involved in the activities of the church, and doing its work.

For the church to be what God wants it to be, members need to give their abilities, their time, and their money to the task. If they will, the church can be built up wherever we go, in the same way the tabernacle was built. Then God will be pleased today, just as He was then.