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As The Lord Had Commanded (Exodus 39:32-43)
I. The Work Done
II. The Work Inspected
III. The Work Blessed
Tonight our text is taken from Exodus 39:32–43.
Whenever a building is under construction, there are times when the builders would face delays, hindrances and obstructions. It could be due to the lack of materials or the extreme weather or multiple other reasons. But after going through all those difficulties, when the building is finally constructed, it is time for inspection.
Likewise, the children of Israel has spent much time and effort building the tabernacle. Most certainly they would have faced difficulties along the way. But finally, the building was up, and like every building it was ready for inspection.
This is what Exodus 39:32–43 is all about. We will not go through every single verse to learn the significance of every piece of furniture in the tabernacle because we had already done that in the previous messages. Rather, we will focus on the phrase “as the LORD had commanded”. This phrase was repeated throughout this chapter in verse 1, verse 5, 7, 21, 26, 29, 31, 32, and 43. When something is repeated so many times, surely we need to take note of it.
Firstly, we want to learn about the work done and how it was done. Beginning with verse 32: “Thus was all the work of the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation finished: and the children of Israel did according to all that the LORD commanded Moses, so did they.”
Verses 33–41 tell us that the children of Israel brought the curtains for covering the tabernacle and the veils for separating the holy place from the most holy place. They brought the ark of the covenant, the table of showbread, the golden lampstand, the golden altar of incense, the bronze altar together with the bronze basin and the garments for Aaron and the priest.
Imagine if everyone were to build the furniture designated to them according to their own human understanding or liking. What would happen? The tabernacle would look ridiculous.
The construction of the tabernacle was a cohesive work based on the specific instructions given by God through Moses. This is what it means, “as the LORD had commanded”. In other words, they were united as one, each contributing to the work, following the same set of instructions.
Once an architect who was looking at this passage, he was amazed at how these instructions were given so specifically to put it into the rightful application.
The same principle applies to us serving in the church. We need to follow specific instructions. We are called to do specific works in the church. Some are called to be preachers. Others are called to be musicians. Yet others are called to serve in the PA, Sunday school, fellowship groups, refreshment ministries, and so forth.
Why do we do what we are doing? And who are we serving? God. If we are serving God, then we must do the work according to his instructions. We are not here to do our own work, but to be committed to the Lord's work following his instructions given in the Bible.
While it is true that we may not find every detail as to what we should do, what we can do and cannot do. Like in the case of our altar of worship, the Bible does not tell us how many hymns to sing or what comes after the invocation or when to conduct the Lord's supper on the first Sunday, the second Sunday or every Sunday.
Here is where we draw biblical principles from the scriptures to guide the way we order our worship. Some people call this the regulative principle of worship. However, there are many other instructions that are very clear and we are to do those things accordingly. Like in the case of worshiping God on the Lord's day, not just any other days, but on the first day of the week. Only in special isolated cases, we designate another day for the worship of God, having elders to lead the church, deacons to serve tables, and so forth.
So God's work must be done in God's way. The children of Israel did as the Lord had commanded and they brought the entire tabernacle proper to Moses.
This brings us to our second point, the work inspected. Look down to verse 42: according to all that the Lord commanded Moses, so the children of Israel made all the work. Verse 43: And Moses did look upon all the work, and behold, they had done it as the Lord had commanded. Even so had they done it.
Moses was the mediator to represent God before the people and the people before God. He was the one who had received the instructions on how to build the tabernacle. He had commanded the people to contribute toward the building project and designated certain individuals to do the work. So when the work was done, he was the right man to inspect the work on God's behalf.
In our modern times, when it comes to a building project, there are the builders, the project manager and the client with the architectural drawing. The client would say, I want it to be built according to this drawing. In a sense, Moses was the project manager. Since he had met the architect himself who was gone, he was able to tell the builders what their client wanted.
Notice when the people brought the work, Moses inspected it and he reckoned that it was done accordingly.
As I mentioned, the same architect who was amazed at the specific instructions given when he read this passage, he felt that it was unusual for a project the size of the tabernacle to pass inspection perfectly on the first attempt. Often times there are amendments, some things need to be changed or corrected. He said that this would only be possible if the workers were highly motivated to please their client.
In this case, the client was gone. The children of Israel knew who he was. He was the one who made the heavens and the earth, promised to give them the land of Canaan, and commanded them to build the tabernacle so they could come before his holy presence. Needless to say, they did the work with all their hearts, with all their souls, and with all their strength to please God.
And what was the result? Moses just took one look and he said, "They had done it as the Lord had commanded. Even so had they done it."
Dear friend, often times we do the work just going through the routines or the motions, and we fail to see who we are really serving and who we are seeking to please.
If we truly understand that we are serving God and we are seeking to please him, the one who sent his only begotten son Jesus Christ to die on the cross and pay the penalty of our sins. The one who promised heaven to be our eternal home. The one who beckon us to come nigh unto him.
If we truly understand we are seeking to please him, then he will change the whole perspective of our services. There will be no murmuring and complaining, no competition as in I can do this better than you. No pride, no jealousy and envy, but with one heart, one mind, united, seeking to please God.
God is omnisient. He sees not only the work done but into the innermost of our hearts and knows our motivations and intentions. He knows whether we are seeking to please him or not. This is something we must always bear in mind because God not only looks at the work done. That's is only part of the equation. Upon inspection so to speak, he will take into account our motivations and intentions.
So that was the work done. The work inspected and upon inspection there was also the blessing. Look at the last phrase in verse 43, “And Moses blessed them.”
When God's work is done in God's way, it always has his blessing. It was God's blessing, not Moses, that the people were receiving. As a mediator, he spoke to the people for God on behalf of God. When he saw that they had done everything right, he set God's approval on their work.
This pronouncement of blessing was more than a word of encouragement. It meant that the grace and blessing of the almighty God would be with them for good. Essentially this was a pronouncement of benediction. A benediction is a prayer asking for divine blessing. By the way, pastors will give the benediction at the end of the worship service. The pastor has no power of his own to give such blessing. Only God alone.
Now on the other hand, when God's work is not done in God's way, it will not receive his blessing. Instead, it will incur his curse. The Israelites learned this the hard way. When they worshiped the golden calf, they thought they were doing the Lord's work. They claimed to be worshiping the one living and true God. But the reality was that they were doing the work in their own way and the result was they receive God's curse instead of his blessing.
Perhaps we should pause here for a moment and consider our lives and services. We may think we are serving God and we expect to receive a blessing but instead we receive a curse. Why do we say that? Because serving God does not only mean engaging in spiritual activities. It also includes doing things according to biblical prescribed ways as the Lord had commanded.
Let's say we want people to come to church, more people to hear the gospel and be saved, which is a good thing. And we ought to be committed to do that. But in order to have more people come to church, we resort to the ways of the world. If the people like contemporary rock music then bring it into the church. If the people liked yoga, tai chi and line dancing then bring those activities into the church. If the people do not like hard preaching, then mellow down on our preaching and not talk about sin, judgment, death, and hell.
The Bible clearly says, “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” (Romans 12:2)
How do we know what is good and acceptable and perfect will of God? Everything that has been prescribed for us in the holy scriptures.
The church is not a place to do our own thing. It is a spiritual community, the body of Christ, that glorifies God by doing things according to what he had commanded. We are to follow the biblical pattern for the church. Which means in our worship, building our ministries on the solid rock of his word, bearing one another's burdens, reaching out to others with deeds of mercy and words of truth, and supporting the gospel work around the world as the Lord had commanded.
This is what we must do. If we want to receive his blessing, then we must apply this principle as the Lord had commanded into every area of our lives.
In our work, we are called to work hard serving God and not simply our employers. You and I are called to be honest in all our dealings. Not seeking selfish and dishonest gains but for the good of others.
In the school, we are called to study diligently, finishing our homework, resisting the temptation to cheat, respecting our teachers, and showing kindness to others.
In our homes, there is a godly way to be single. Living a singlehearted devotion to God and learning to serve others. There's a godly way to be married. Wives submitting to their own husbands and husbands loving their wives as Christ loved the church. There's a godly way to bring up children. Not by provoking fear in them, but encouraging faith in them, not harshly, but lovingly training their souls and not only their physical bodies. There's a godly way for children to honor their parents, not by arguing with them or complaining about them, but by obeying them cheerfully and sacrificially and willingly.
We must learn to see our position in the work, in the school, in our homes as doing God's work. If you are called to be a husband or wife, that is God's work for you. If you are called to be a parent, God has his work set before you, his instructions given to you as the Lord had commanded. So we need to know our places and we work according to his ways we will receive his blessings.
God has a way to deal with any and every situation in life. There's a godly way to handle success with humility and gratitude to God. There's a godly way to handle adversity. Not becoming bitter with God, but trusting him and his sovereign care. There's a godly way to celebrate, a godly way to grieve, a godly way to work, and a godly way to rest. God has his ways.
Dear friend, what is God calling you to do? Whatever he is calling you to do, there are two ways to do it. His ways and the wrong way. So often we try to do things our own way thinking that we know best and the result is always disastrous. So we should do things and work as the Lord had commanded and we will receive his blessing. God will approve of what we do and cause the thing we do to prosper. He will bless the work and he will bless the one who does it.
Finally, brethren, these three important points, the work done, the work inspected, and the work blessed are in line with the teachings of 2 Corinthians 5 verse 9-10. Allow me to read for you 2 Corinthians chapter 5:9-10.
Wherefore we label that whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that everyone may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.
Notice there is the work done. Wherefore we label that whether present or absent we may be accepted of him. To be present is when the soul is present with the body which means to be alive. To be absent means the soul is absent from the body which means to be dead because the soul is with the Lord in heaven. When we are alive in this world, we glorify God though imperfectly. When we are dead and our soul is in heaven, we glorify God perfectly because there's no sin. In other words, whether present or absent, whether perfectly or imperfectly, we are to work to label with this overwhelming desire to please God.
Next, there's the work inspected. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ. This judgment seat of Christ is sometimes known as the bema seat of Christ. It is not a judgment of condemnation. As Romans 8:1 says, "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus." It is a judgment of reward. As 1 Corinthians 3:13-15 says, "Every man's work shall be made manifest. For the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire, and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. If any man's work abide which he hath built thereon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss, but he himself shall be saved, yet so as by fire."
Notice the Bible did not say the man shall be burned, but his works shall be burned. The man himself shall be saved if he's a true believer. However, his works shall all be burned. And the picture here is very interesting. It is like a man coming out of a house on fire. He's not burned, but he smell of smoke. Even so, as by fire, by the grace of God, he is saved. But sadly, all his works, everything he has done throughout his lifetime may be burned. We do not want that to happen to us, do we?
There is also the work blessed or rewarded that everyone may receive the things done in his body according to that he hath done whether it be good or bad which means whatever you put in you will receive.
Remember it is not a judgment of sin or condemnation but a judgment of reward. So if we serve with a selfcentered motivation or a self glorifying purpose or we go through the events of life with no consideration for God or do things not as the Lord had commanded then it will be banned. We will receive nothing absolutely nothing. No reward at the end of the day.
Dear friend, it is so easy to fool ourselves into thinking that anything we do in the Lord's name will be accepted by God simply because we are sincere or hardworking or very active or successful in the ministry. But what we think looks like gold may turn out to be wood, hair and stubble. That is why we must always examine ourselves.
Why do we do this? What is my motivation? Is it to please God or to please men or to please myself? Why do I attend the fellowship? Why do I not attend the fellowship? Why do I choose to do this? Why do I choose to do that? Is this the right attitude? Is this the right thing that I should do? As the Lord had commanded, everything will be evaluated and be rewarded accordingly.
So my friend, if you have forgotten whatever I have said, please remember, we must consider the work done. We are called to do specific works as we live our lives on this earth. There will be works that we have done and the work will be inspected. Everything we do will be evaluated and inspected. And there is the work blessed. There will be blessing or reward.
Why do we worship? Why do we serve? Why do we give? Why do we help others? Why are we committed to build the church? The answer is we do what we do. Because as the Lord had commanded and we know that the day will come we will receive our due blessing and reward. May each and every one of us seek to do the work as the Lord had commanded. May the Lord flourish the work that we do. Bless the work and the one who does it.
Let us pray.
Our father in heaven. Even as we consider the children of Israel building the tabernacle, how we have learned about thy instructions given to them in regards to every single furniture in the tabernacle. The people obeyed thy instructions. They built the tabernacle and brought the entire tabernacle proper to Moses thy servant. And on behalf of thee, Moses took one look and said, they had done as the Lord had commanded. And Moses blessed them.
Indeed, as we study through this passage, we learn this valuable lesson about the work done. There are works for us to do. Wherever thou has placed us, there are works for us to accomplish. It is whether we are faithful or unfaithful today. That is the question.
The work will be inspected. Everything we do will be evaluated by thee. And we are always in thy presence. We can never escape thy eyes. And there's the work blessed. For we know that ultimately we shall all appear before the judgment seat of Christ. And everything we do, whether it be good or bad, we will receive due rewards. So be mindful of this truth.
Help us to live our lives with this one important perspective that we will always do things as the Lord had commanded. So teach us thy word so that through the wonderworking of thy spirit we will always abide by thy truth and be pleasing unto thee. All to the glory of thy precious name.
In Jesus name we pray. Amen.