READING FOR JULY 31, 2024: EXODUS 36, TITUS 1, PSALM 74:1-11 EXODUS 36 Bezalel and Oholiab were called by God to lead the construction and artistic work of the Tabernacle. Others were invited to join them if they were skilled and stirred to action from their hearts. Consider this as a good principle for work needing done for God at our church. Those invited to participate should have the skills needed for the task and should have a desire to serve. We could put it the opposite way, also. If folks have no skill to preach or play the piano, they should not be asked to serve in these ways. If they have to be dragged kicking and screaming, even though they are talented, they should not be forced to serve in these ways. Both the ability and inclination to serve the Lord are necessary.
Moses then had a problem most churches would love to have. They received so many contributions from the people that they told the people to stop giving these voluntary offerings for the work. This tells us that their planning was advanced enough to know exactly how much was needed. Also, it tells us that they were not interested in stockpiling resources that were not needed and possibly could be used in negative ways. They were truly interested in only using these offerings as God directed.
As we steward the resources of our church, we also need to be careful not to raise money for one project, only to move the money, without consulting with the contributors, to another budget line when the announced need is met. Another financial/spiritual lesson to draw from this passage is that God will stir the hearts of willing donors to meet needs that are clearly God’s will for a particular time in the church’s life.
The rest of this chapter and much of the next chapters consist of the work being done exactly as God directed it be done in the earlier chapters. When God reveals His will, it is not our prerogative to change the plan when we implement it. We don’t have a better idea or need to update God’s perfect will. In the movie “Amadeus,” someone makes a suggestion for how Mozart could improve his composition. He rightly responds something like, “How can you improve on perfection?” Israel was right not to “improve” on God’s plans. May we not try to improve on His word as we serve him in 2024: “The Law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul; The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes” (Psalm 19:17-18).
TITUS 1 The first five verses of the letter are all one sentence with lots of clauses. All are interesting. Paul opens by saying he is at once the lowest possible slave of God while also the highest possible leader (i.e. apostle) in the church. He serves for those elect or chosen by God. This sounds highly Calvinistic (see Eph. 1 guide) and certainly Calvinists would claim this as
READING FOR JULY 31, 2024 CONTINUED: TITUS 1, PSALM 74:1-11
support that it’s God who chooses who will be Christians. Wesleyan Arminians would say God chooses or elects all who freely place their faith in Jesus to be Christians. Paul also serves for the spreading of the knowledge of truth relating to Godliness. The statement, “Today is July 31” is true but has no apparent connection to Godliness. When Paul mentions the hope of eternal life, he is not suggesting he is uncertain of its happening. He says God promised this and God cannot lie. It is more like placing hope in or an anticipation of getting wet when jumping into a swimming pool full of water. Paul also clarifies that God’s plan is not improvised but was determined ages ago and has been recently revealed to us in full through His word.
Because of everything in this gigantic sentence, Paul left Titus in Crete to organize the church and appoint elders. Paul says (not this writer) the church elders have to meet these criteria:
- A man without spiritual faults having but one wife with children who are Christians and not rebellious.
- He should not be self-willed, quick-tempered, a drunkard, a bully, or greedy for money.
- He should be hospitable, virtue-loving, self-controlled, righteous, holy, disciplined, and Bible-believing.
- He should be able to exhort others in sound doctrine and contradict those how oppose it.
Paul says elders should hold these qualities because lots of folks say they are Christians but deny God by their deeds (vs 6). By way offering some balance, here is a statement supporting a more egalitarian view of this chapter: “Those who favor the ordination of women usually do so on the basis of what they see to be themes and broader affirmations and trends in the Bible. Those who oppose it do so on the basis of a few specific verses.” (Rev. Brian Harris).
PSALM 74:1-11 Asaph doesn’t give us an exact number of days he feels rejected by God. This is poetry after all. He gives a precisely accurate sense of what it feels like: Israel has been rejected forever. He identifies God as their shepherd, but an angry one, not the gentle Psalm 23 one. As almost blasphemous as he sounds at first, Asaph puts his total faith in God in a time of trouble. He knows God is his only hope. He believes God will responds to his cries. He remembers the history of God redeeming Israel from Egypt. He knows he’s God’s inheritance.
It’s against this backdrop of strong faith that Asaph brings to God this current perplexing situation—as he should. It’s unclear if the reference to the sanctuary is for the Tabernacle or the Temple, but in either case there’s good reason for Asaph to be upset. Remember the care God took describing its construction? This is violence to the place of God’s presence. In verse nine Asaph also laments there are no prophets, which means there’s no word from God. Remember Deut. 8:3: “Man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord.” This is bad, but Asaph is on the line with the right 911: The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
