(You think Moses really looked like this?)
I don't even know where to start. Moses is still up on the mountain, just listening to God. Great things can happen when you get alone and listen to what God has to say. I know that sometimes I need to just shut up and let God speak, which is what Moses did up on Mt. Sinai. These two chapters of Exodus are absolutely packed full of great and challenging verses, and the only thing I know to do is break it down section by section.
Ex. 31:1-11
You have been given gifts by God. Isn't that an amazing thought? God has actually placed gifts within you to do great things for Him! God tells Moses that he has already planned for these guys, Bezalel and Oholiab to be expert craftsmen in completing all of the tasks God has asked the people to do. Apart from their crazy names, these guys were extremely talented. But, I bet you've never heard of them before! God has certain gifts that he gives each of us, but not all of us are called to be the "Moses" - the leader who gets all of the attention. Some of us are to work behind the scenes, but that does not mean our jobs are any less important. Whatever God has gifted you to do - you need to be using that gift for Him. If you don't know what your gift is, then you need to pray that God would reveal it to you, so that you can get to work!
Ex. 31:12-18
The Sabbath Day. This is something you don't hear much about anymore, but I think it's something that is vitally important to our Christian faith. If God rested after the 6 days of creation, don't you think it's important that we take time to rest. He says, "It is given so you may know that I am the Lord, who makes you holy" (v. 13). A sabbath is a time to spend resting in God, and we all need times where we completely rest in God - like a child climbing into his mother's arms. We need to curl up with God and allow him to care for us. Many people treat Sunday as their sabbath, and they go to church and spend time thinking about God. That's great. It's something we should all do. Whether it's Sunday or some other time, we all need a sabbath.
Ex. 32
I mentioned earlier that Moses was still up on the mountain. (I guess as long as God felt like hanging out, he was going to stay!) By this time, the people were growing impatient. I can imagine the things that went through their heads: "Did Moses die? Where is he? Did he leave us behind? This whole God thing must have been a lie! He left us down here to be eaten by wild animals! I never liked him in the first place! We should've stayed in Egypt! The people grew impatient. They decided to turn to other things. And that's often what we do. When God doesn't do what we want, when we want it, we tend to turn to other things for satisfaction. As we can see, the people turned elsewhere for satisfaction, and it got them in some trouble. We learn that thousands of them even died for their disobedience to God. We have to remember that God will always come through right when we need it. Let's not get impatient and turn to other things. Let's trust Him always.
See. I told you. This just scratches the surface of what we can learn in Exodus 31 and 32. Dig into it for yourself. God has something to teach you if you'll take the time, like Moses, to listen.
-Taylor
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