QT 4/17/2026 Exo 26:1-37, We need to pray and DO

Exodus 26:30–37 (ESV) —

30 Then you shall erect the tabernacle according to the plan for it that you were shown on the mountain.

31 “And you shall make a veil of blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen. It shall be made with cherubim skillfully worked into it. 32 And you shall hang it on four pillars of acacia overlaid with gold, with hooks of gold, on four bases of silver. 33 And you shall hang the veil from the clasps, and bring the ark of the testimony in there within the veil. And the veil shall separate for you the Holy Place from the Most Holy. 34 You shall put the mercy seat on the ark of the testimony in the Most Holy Place. 35 And you shall set the table outside the veil, and the lampstand on the south side of the tabernacle opposite the table, and you shall put the table on the north side.

36 “You shall make a screen for the entrance of the tent, of blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen, embroidered with needlework. 37 And you shall make for the screen five pillars of acacia, and overlay them with gold. Their hooks shall be of gold, and you shall cast five bases of bronze for them.

 

NOTE: I skipped the commenting of the structure, a lot of pillars. At first it is hard to visualize how it all fit together (vss 1-29), but then I remembered and also read verse 30, there was a pattern, a model up on the mountain. Was it a doorway into heaven or just something God created on the spot to help Moses visualize? We don't know. If God could create, then why give instructions to build it. Actual there are multiple reasons / answers to that question. God has a habit of starting a work but always using people to do the work. I think, my small brain, sees that God values purpose. God gives meaning to life through work. In the case of ministry, God trained eleven men to take the gospel to the world. He could had done it differently, but he uses people to do the work. Israel needed to build that tabernacle. Israel needed to give to build the tabernacle. This example of a microcosm of truth in walking with God. I disagree with statements like "let go and trust God." I do believe that God gives the results, we must make the first steps. We have to DO something. But we also have to trust God for the results, the strength, and the help to make it happen. A phrase incorrectly ascribed to Ignatius (although it does capture the spirit of Ignatius):

 

“Pray as if everything depends on God and work as if everything depends on you”

 

PONDER:

1. It is good to pray for change in our character, but what are we doing to create change in our life?

 

PRAYER: Father, thank you for fifty-plus years of walking with you and learning this lesson. We need to DO and to PRAY, both are indispensable. Praying without doing is laziness. Doing without praying is prideful-ness.