PREPARED: WHO, ME?

PREPARED: WHO, ME?

Friday, May 9, 2014

Exodus [GW] 36:1-7 Moses continued, "So Bezalel and Oholiab will do the work as the LORD has commanded. They will do this with the help of every other craftsman to whom the LORD has given the necessary skills and talents. They will know how to do all the work for constructing the holy place." 2 Moses called Bezalel and Oholiab and every other craftsman to whom the LORD had given these skills and who was willing to come and do the work. 3 Moses turned over to them all the contributions the Israelites had brought for the work of constructing the holy place. But the people still kept bringing him freewill offerings every morning. 4 Finally, all the skilled craftsmen who were working on the holy place stopped what they were doing. They all came to Moses. 5 They said, "The people are bringing much more than we need for doing the work the LORD commanded us to do." 6 So Moses gave instructions to have the following message announced all over camp: "No man or woman needs to make anything more to give as their special contribution to the holy place." Then the people stopped bringing gifts. 7 The material they had was more than enough to do the job.

Esther [GW] 4:14 [Mordecai communicated to his niece Queen Esther] “The fact is, even if you remain silent now, someone else will help and rescue the Jews, but you and your relatives will die. And who knows, you may have gained your royal position for a time like this."

John [GW] 9:1-3 As Jesus walked along, he saw a man who had been born blind. 2 His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, why was this man born blind? Did he or his parents sin?" 3 Jesus answered, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned. Instead, he was born blind so that God could show what he can do for him.

  In years past I often heard “willingness to give” preached and taught from the Exodus 36:1-7. Recently while again reading I noticed something other than that which was ingrained.

  God didn’t tell Moses “Now that you have my plans for the tabernacle, go find people with the skills to build and construct what I have ordered.”

  God told Moses there were craftsmen that He had already given the necessary skills and talents to get the job done!

  Now I know where the Jews questioning Jesus got the knowledge that God reared children, teens, and young adults for a later scene; a scenario that could be as lengthy as building the tabernacle, the need to intercede, or an instantaneous public miracle.

  And here’s the scary part: Most of us hold no royal or otherwise grand influential position, but is there to be “a time like this” of some sort for you or I? Or, there was and we didn’t even recognize it when it came to pass?  EBB4