The Gratitude Loop - Week 2 - 11/10/24

The Gratitude Loop - Week 2

Exodus 31:1-11
1 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, 3 and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship, 4 to devise artistic designs, to work in gold, silver, and bronze, 5 in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, to work in every craft. 6 And behold, I have appointed with him Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. And I have given to all able men ability, that they may make all that I have commanded you: 7 the tent of meeting, and the ark of the testimony, and the mercy seat that is on it, and all the furnishings of the tent, 8 the table and its utensils, and the pure lampstand with all its utensils, and the altar of incense, 9 and the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and the basin and its stand, 10 and the finely worked garments, the holy garments for Aaron the priest and the garments of his sons, for their service as priests, 11 and the anointing oil and the fragrant incense for the Holy Place. According to all that I have commanded you, they shall do.”

Moses has led the Israelites out of Egypt, and between 6 and 7 weeks later they find themselves at the foot of Mt Sinai. Moses goes up on the mountain with God, and over a period of weeks is handed down the law directly from God, complete with instructions to build a Tabernacle to use as a place of worship. The building instructions are elaborate and detailed. Tables, lampstands, the main tent structure, a bronze altar, special oil, priestly garments, and a bronze basin were all commissioned pieces that Moses was to have built by the people. At the end of the instructions, God makes Moses aware of some of the skilled craftsmen he has gifted to create the pieces.
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God gave you your work.
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A heart of gratitude, as we discussed last week, leads up to being thankful for not only what we have but what we are able to do. A heart of gratitude acknowledges that we have been given ability and from whom that ability originated.
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Exodus: An Introduction and Commentary (God’s Craftsmen (31:1–11) In early Old Testament days, every form of skill and strength and excellence is directly and bluntly credited to ‘the Spirit of God’. This is because God is rightly seen as the source of all wisdom.
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The Tabernacle Moses was commanded to build was not a shanty but an exquisite display of the ability God had given his people and a structure worthy of his presence.
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We must continue to look at our work as God-given and a form of worship.
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Ephesians 2:10 “10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”
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Gratitude for what we are able to do only arises as we attribute what we have been given to God our creator and savior.
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Work that Produces Worship
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When we are grateful for what we have been given, we use those abilities to produce worship back to God.
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God had given Moses the pattern and forms by which the Israelites would worship him and then empowered people to create the forms so that worship could take place in the manner God had instructed. Everything that the skilled craftsman put their hands to would result in worship to God. The work produced a return
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Exodus 31:6 “6 And behold, I have appointed with him Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. And I have given to all able men ability, that they may make all that I have commanded you:”
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Do you consider what you are making an act of worship to God? Is the quality up to the standard? Is the work ethic up to the standard? Is your attitude up to the standard of worship?
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Colossians 3:23–24 “23 Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.”
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If we look at work as worship, we should be a productive people.
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All work worships something.
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Will you work to produce a return of righteousness for God or simply for our own benefit?
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Exodus 32:1–4 “1 When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves together to Aaron and said to him, “Up, make us gods who shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” 2 So Aaron said to them, “Take off the rings of gold that are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” 3 So all the people took off the rings of gold that were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. 4 And he received the gold from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and made a golden calf. And they said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!””
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Orient your work as worship to God.
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1 Peter 2:1–5 “1 So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. 2 Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— 3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good. 4 As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, 5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”
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You cannot work with envy and greed in your heart and then offer the product to God.
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All work should bring a return.
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The return that the gifted craftsmen brought was far greater than the effort they had put into it.
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2 Corinthians 9:11 “11 You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God.”
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The gift would produce much more than it took to create.
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Parable of the Talents
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Gratitude leads us to bring a return on what we have been given, and the production enables us to be generous, which leads to gratitude.