July 5 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading

Exodus 35:22-29

²²And they came, both men and women, as many as were willing hearted, and brought bracelets, and earrings, and rings, and tablets, all jewels of gold: and every man that offered offered an offering of gold unto the LORD.
²³And every man, with whom was found blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats' hair, and red skins of rams, and badgers' skins, brought them.
²⁴Every one that did offer an offering of silver and brass brought the LORD's offering: and every man, with whom was found shittim wood for any work of the service, brought it.
²⁵And all the women that were wise hearted did spin with their hands, and brought that which they had spun, both of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, and of fine linen.
²⁶And all the women whose heart stirred them up in wisdom spun goats' hair.
²⁷And the rulers brought onyx stones, and stones to be set, for the ephod, and for the breastplate;
²⁸And spice, and oil for the light, and for the anointing oil, and for the sweet incense.
²⁹The children of Israel brought a willing offering unto the LORD, every man and woman, whose heart made them willing to bring for all manner of work, which the LORD had commanded to be made by the hand of Moses.

Devotional

God ordered a tabernacle to be constructed for His worship. Sometimes we get lost in the details for the building of the tabernaacle and later the temple. We lose sight of some of the gems we find in chapters like this.

Men and women who were willing-hearted and wise-hearted brought the God-given raw materials and with them employed their God-given talents to make a beautiful place in which to worship Him. Read the whole chapteer when you are able and note the recurrence of this theme.

God loves beauty. He was the first Artist. Ever since creation He has been continuously making a sunrise and a sunset, circling the world ceaselessly with a beauty that declares His glory! For God is glorified in beauty. And He has made us, who were made in His image, to be creative, too. Do we develop our gifts? Do we give Him the glory for them? Do we use our gifts as opportunity arises in His service?

Our homes should be as beautiful as we can make them, not extravagantly but simply beautiful. The parallel between the home in which the family lives and the church in which the family of God gathers requires that we regard each as a special place. What a happy place when the members are willing-hearted and wise-hearted as they apply their talents to creating a tangible beuty as well as a spiritual beauty!