9 Exactly as I show you concerning the pattern of the tabernacle, and of all its furniture, so you shall make it. Exodus 25:9
Here is my typical Sunday morning schedule. In the morning, after I do my Bible recap, I will review my sermon notes for what I’ll preach in a few hours. I’ll look over our order of worship. I will pray for our small group leaders as they bring their offering of teaching. I’ll think about our musicians and our worship leaders. Also, ever since we started livestreaming due to the pandemic, I am thinking about our tech. Are the cameras charged? Is the Internet connection strong? Is our sound guy going to be alert with sound and lighting cues?
They all boil down to the question, “Have we prepared to give our absolute best to the Lord this morning?”
Today’s reading, about the detailed plans for the Tabernacle, blows me away with its attention to detail.
Exodus 25:9: “EXACTLY as I show you concerning the pattern of the Tabernacle, and of all its furniture, so shall you build it.” And again in 25:40, 26:30, and 27:8: “As I have shown you on the mountain, so shall it be made.”
Sometimes we fall into a “close enough” mindset in our service to the Lord. We don’t always pursue excellence in our preparations for worship. We will excuse inattention to details; whether its a battery that goes dead in a microphone; or a vocalist that is off key.
Pastors and teachers do it too. We might throw out a recycled sermon preached from something we heard on a podcast. A Sunday school teacher prepares her lesson at the red lights between her house and church, with the teacher’s book spread out on the passenger seat next to her.
And we say with a laugh, “Thank the Lord that He looks on the heart, because my mind is somewhere else this morning!” Ha ha.
Don’t get me wrong. I am VERY glad the Lord looks on my heart. There have been plenty of times I’ll reflect back on a worship service and confess that my preparations fell short. But realize that when these former slaves of Egypt built a tabernacle in the wilderness, they brought their very best. They employed their best embroiderers and incense makers and carpenters and silversmiths. Because they knew God deserved it. In the words of that great theologian, Vanilla Ice, anything less than the best is a felony.
