There is a lot of text in Exodus devoted to the Tabernacle – Exodus 25 – 40 – and there are a number of takeaways, not the least of which is that Bezalel, the guy in charge of actually making the Tabernacle is the first man in scripture to be “filled with the Spirit.”

I do not intend to get into all the details. When I was growing up, I went to a week-long series of meetings centered around a scale model of the Tabernacle including what each piece and each number meant. I’m not sure that level of detail is warranted. You can read the “big picture” in Hebrews 8.1 – 6 and Hebrews 9.1 – 10.25.

Today, I want to focus on one of the bright spots in Israel’s experience, and tomorrow share a metaphor I hadn’t seen before.

The story of the Tabernacle highlights a successful project, beginning with a call for volunteers:

Moses said to all the congregation of the people of Israel, “This is the thing that the LORD has commanded. Take from among you a contribution to the LORD. Whoever is of a generous heart, let him bring the LORD’s contribution: gold, silver, and bronze; blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen; goats’ hair, tanned rams’ skins, and goatskins; acacia wood, oil for the light, spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense, and onyx stones and stones for setting, for the ephod and for the breastpiece. Let every skillful craftsman among you come and make all that the LORD has commanded…” (Exodus 35.4 – 10, ESV)

A call for voluntary contributions of all kinds of things (recall that at the Exodus, the Israelites “plundered the Egyptians” (Exodus 12.33 – 36)). A call for voluntary labor.

And they got both:

And Moses called Bezalel and Oholiab and every craftsman in whose mind the LORD had put skill, everyone whose heart stirred him up to come to do the work. And they received from Moses all the contribution that the people of Israel had brought for doing the work on the sanctuary. They still kept bringing him freewill offerings every morning, so that all the craftsmen who were doing every sort of task on the sanctuary came, each from the task that he was doing, and said to Moses, “The people bring much more than enough for doing the work that the LORD has commanded us to do.” So Moses gave command, and word was proclaimed throughout the camp, “Let no man or woman do anything more for the contribution for the sanctuary.” So the people were restrained from bringing, for the material they had was sufficient to do all the work, and more. (Exodus 36.2 – 7, ESV)

Success! I’m going to have to add this to my list of successful projects in the Old Testament (there aren’t many), where there was a clear objective that required the cooperation of people, and they met the objective.

So Moses finished the work. (Exodus 40.33, ESV)

Thus the LORD gave to Israel all the land that he swore to give to their fathers. And they took possession of it, and they settled there. And the LORD gave them rest on every side just as he had sworn to their fathers. Not one of all their enemies had withstood them, for the LORD had given all their enemies into their hands. Not one word of all the good promises that the LORD had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass. (Joshua 21.43 – 45, ESV)

So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty-two days. (Nehemiah 6.15, ESV)