READING FOR JULY 17, 2024: EXODUS 26, 1 TIMOTHY 1, PSALM 69:1-13                                       EXODUS 26  God’s Directions for the Construction of the Tabernacle:

“You shall make the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine twisted linen and violet, purple, and scarlet material; you shall make them with cherubim” (26:1).	"You shall also make fifty clasps of gold and join the curtains to one another with the clasps so that the tabernacle will be a unit” (26:6).	“You shall make curtains of goat‘s hair as a tent over the tabernacle; you shall make eleven curtains in all” (26:7).
“You shall make a covering for the tent of rams’ skins dyed red (26:14a).	“And a covering of fine leather above” (26:14b).	“You shall make the boards of acacia wood, standing upright ...two tenons for each” (26:15-16).
“You shall make...twenty boards for the south side... on the north side, twenty boards” (26:18-20).	”To the west, you shall make six boards...two boards for the corners” (26:22-23).	"Make bars of acacia wood, 5 for the boards of one side...and 5 bars for the other” (26:26-27.)
”Overlay the boards with gold and make their rings of gold as holders for the bars” (26:29).	“The veil shall serve as a partition ...between the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place” (26:33).	”Putthe atoning cover on the ark of the testimony in the Most Holy Place” (26:34).

Many of us may have been under the impression that the tabernacle was huge, something like the Morman Tabernacle in Salt Lake City, Utah. As you can see, it had just two rooms: The Holy Place and the Most Holy Place. The dimensions were 45 ft. long, 15 ft. wide, and 15 ft. high.     

READING FOR JULY 17, 2024 CONTINUED 1 TIMOTHY 1, PSALM 69:1-3                                         1 TIMOTHY 1 Paul asserts that he was chosen to be an apostle by God, not appointed by man. How can he be so certain? First, Jesus appeared directly to Paul and said, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting, but get up and enter the city, and it will be told to you what you must do” (Acts 9:5-6). Meanwhile in the city, the Lord instructed Ananias to lay hands on Paul saying, “He [Paul] is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel” (Acts 9:15). By the time of this letter to Timothy, God had further confirmed Paul’s ministry many times. As an older apostle, Paul considered Timothy his spiritual son. The concept of a mature believer mentoring a younger person is presented positively throughout the Bible and still has value. 

Paul reminded Timothy of his task: instruct certain people not to teach strange doctrine that doesn’t align with God’s plan. He said some confident people want to be teachers but are not qualified because they have “strayed” from the truth. We should not allow anyone to preach or teach at our church who strays from the Bible. Paul then provides a few specific actions that are contrary to the Gospel: murder, sexually immorality, homosexual acts, slave trading lying, and perjury. This list overlaps with and adds to Paul’s list from 1 Cor.6:9-10.

Paul reminds Timothy that he, Paul, was the foremost sinner, but found mercy because the grace and patience of Jesus were more than enough. If a sinner like Paul can be saved, all of us can be saved by “believing in Him [Jesus]for eternal life.”  Paul then urges Timothy to keep fighting spiritually to maintain his faith. He sadly mentions two men who had rejected this faith, but whom Paul turned over to Satan for a spiritual lesson.  Don’t reject the Gospel.

PSALM 69:1-13 This Psalm shows how far God might allow His people to experience pain and danger before rescuing them. David seems to have reached His limit. Maybe some of us are at this point, also.  We can still affirm Rom. 8:28: “we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”  Having wrong expectations about the Christian life can be deadly. It is the wise Christian who understands that living for God, although beyond wonderful, can be extremely painful at times. Rom. 8:35 lists ways His people can and will suffer: tribulation, trouble, persecution, famine, nakedness, danger, sword, killed, and regarded as sheep to be slaughtered. 

David said he did nothing wrong. In this case, it may have been true. Unfair? Yes, but we know he committed great sins other times. In contrast, consider Jesus and what the Father allowed Him to experience for us: “For our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Cor. 5:21). Then we can prevail in God’s power: “But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us” (Rom 8:37).