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Six days shall work be done…

Work is a blessing from the Lord. When the Bible speaks of “work” it is not referring a 9-5 5-day work week kind of work. We are, honestly, very soft on work. When the Bible, either Old or New Testament speaks of a “day” of work, it’s talking about labor while the sun is up. Most people would be calling OSHA if a 60+ hour work week was required for their job… Yet, this is how we are made. We all have the same about of time during the week, but do we make the most of it? Rest well, but earn that rest. Work is a blessing, take advantage of it while you can. Some call that “hustle.” Look to the ant… (Prov 6:6)

 The Lord said to Moses, “When you take the census of the people of Israel, then each shall give a ransom for his life to the Lord when you number them, that there be no plague among them when you number them. Each one who is numbered in the census shall give this: half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel is twenty gerahs), half a shekel as an offering to the Lord. Everyone who is numbered in the census, from twenty years old and upward, shall give the Lord’s offering. The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less, than the half shekel, when you give the Lord’s offering to make atonement for your lives. You shall take the atonement money from the people of Israel and shall give it for the service of the tent of meeting, that it may bring the people of Israel to remembrance before the Lord, so as to make atonement for your lives.”

We are all in need of atonement for our sins, that means someone pays the price. In the Old Testament there were all kinds of rites and rituals which pictured this. The “Temple Tax” was one such symbol. It didn’t change based on how much money you had, and it was required of every adult. So too it is with us. You don’t need extra special saving if you’re “really bad” nor do we need any less help from Jesus if you’re already a “good person.” We all need the same atonement for our sins. That price was paid by Jesus on the cross. Praise the Lord!

You shall command the people of Israel that they bring to you pure beaten olive oil for the light, that a lamp may regularly be set up to burn. In the tent of meeting, outside the veil that is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons shall tend it from evening to morning before the Lord. It shall be a statute forever to be observed throughout their generations by the people of Israel.

God has designed the way we worship in such a way that we are meant to work together to provide for his people to give him praise. Sure, God could have worked a miracle to provide light for the sacrifices, but that’s not what he wants. He wants us to all participate. He wants us to do the work and organization to provide even the most basic necessities for his people. That’s an even bigger miracle.

let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst.

God waits for his people to build him a place to reside. Today, God has foregone residing in buildings made of wood and stone (Acts 7:48, 17:24). Now, he lives in the temple of his people (1Peter 2:4-6). But we still have to build it. Are you a house fit for God? Is your body (your individual body, but also your church body) ready for him to live there?

Lord, prepare me to be a sanctuary
Pure and holy, tried and true
With thanksgiving, I’ll be a living
Sanctuary for You

If a man seduces a virgin who is not betrothed and lies with her, he shall give the bride-price for her and make her his wife.

Marriage is important. Most of the Old Testament Law is what we call “case law,” giving us examples we can then apply to our own situations. We see in this law that there were no such things as “deadbeat dads” in ancient Israel. Once you had slept together, you were married. It is a big deal. The move towards thinking that sex is just a physical act is misplaced. It is out of step with God’s Word and with the reality of who we are. If you’re willing to sleep together, you need to be committed to each other for the rest of your lives. That’s how it works. Do it any other way and you’re hurting yourself and others.