Whether we think about it often or don’t think about it at all; our God, the Creator of all we see, feel, touch, smell, and taste is very detailed in all He designed for us to enjoy!  He designed every tree with a system of veins to carry sustaining nourishment from root to stem!  He designed our bodies in such meticulously unique ways that doctors, with all their schooling, still must figure out how and why our hearts race or how other body parts fail us. God threw the moon and stars into the sky above us to reflect the sun, our light and heat source. He set the planets in perfect rotation as they revolve around the sun so that seasons of growing and resting could be accomplished. 

God who was at the beginning, who is leading Moses in all the details of life on a journey through the wilderness with thousands; is with us today on our journey. God is the same God who breathed life into His Son, the promised Messiah, as the newborn made His way through the birth canal of a devote young woman espoused to a devote man who listened to God and obeyed. And was it just luck that a particular star exploded in the expanse of the night sky to lead people, rich and poor, to the newborn King to worship Him?  Mm, there is no coincident with God.  God is sovereign.

God is a God of details.  There is not enough space or time to describe all the details designed and implemented by our God!  It is important not to slide over the repetition of words describing all the design work of God for His place of worship and atonement.  God is in the details of every part of our lives, too.  As humans, it is pleasing to God when we notice the detailed work of God in our lives with a pause to praise Him!  To God be the glory! 

God honors what we do for Him.  God bless our efforts to stick to His detailed instructions as we accomplish His work.  Our work is designed to be His way of teaching us His ways as He works in and through us.  All we think, say, and do must bring honor to him.  Trust God.  God leaves nothing to chance.  God is in the details!

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” Colossians 3:23-24

Observe how Bezalel and the other craftsmen and artisans work to fulfil every detailed instruction given to them by God, the Designer!

Exodus 37

The Ark

37 Bezalel made the ark of acacia wood—two and a half cubits long, a cubit and a half wide, and a cubit and a half high. ² He overlaid it with pure gold, both inside and out, and made a gold molding around it. ³ He cast four gold rings for it and fastened them to its four feet, with two rings on one side and two rings on the other. ⁴ Then he made poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with gold. ⁵ And he inserted the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark to carry it.

⁶ He made the atonement cover of pure gold—two and a half cubits long and a cubit and a half wide. ⁷ Then he made two cherubim out of hammered gold at the ends of the cover. ⁸ He made one cherub on one end and the second cherub on the other; at the two ends he made them of one piece with the cover. ⁹ The cherubim had their wings spread upward, overshadowing the cover with them. The cherubim faced each other, looking toward the cover.

The Table

¹⁰ They made the table of acacia wood—two cubits long, a cubit wide and a cubit and a half high. ¹¹ Then they overlaid it with pure gold and made a gold molding around it. ¹² They also made around it a rim a handbreadth wide and put a gold molding on the rim. ¹³ They cast four gold rings for the table and fastened them to the four corners, where the four legs were. ¹⁴ The rings were put close to the rim to hold the poles used in carrying the table. ¹⁵ The poles for carrying the table were made of acacia wood and were overlaid with gold. ¹⁶ And they made from pure gold the articles for the table—its plates and dishes and bowls and its pitchers for the pouring out of drink offerings.

The Lampstand

¹⁷ They made the lampstand of pure gold. They hammered out its base and shaft, and made its flowerlike cups, buds and blossoms of one piece with them. ¹⁸ Six branches extended from the sides of the lampstand—three on one side and three on the other. ¹⁹ Three cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms were on one branch, three on the next branch and the same for all six branches extending from the lampstand. ²⁰ And on the lampstand were four cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms. ²¹ One bud was under the first pair of branches extending from the lampstand, a second bud under the second pair, and a third bud under the third pair—six branches in all. ²² The buds and the branches were all of one piece with the lampstand, hammered out of pure gold.

²³ They made its seven lamps, as well as its wick trimmers and trays, of pure gold. ²⁴ They made the lampstand and all its accessories from one talent of pure gold.

The Altar of Incense

²⁵ They made the altar of incense out of acacia wood. It was square, a cubit long and a cubit wide and two cubits high—its horns of one piece with it. ²⁶ They overlaid the top and all the sides and the horns with pure gold, and made a gold molding around it. ²⁷ They made two gold rings below the molding—two on each of the opposite sides—to hold the poles used to carry it. ²⁸ They made the poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with gold.

²⁹ They also made the sacred anointing oil and the pure, fragrant incense—the work of a perfumer.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

All details matter and have significance in worship to God for all He has done.  God is God alone.  There shall be no other gods worshiped.  There shall be no hint of other gods in the Tent of Meeting with God.  Maybe God’s specific and detailed instructions were commanded by Him to train their minds away from entertaining their old habits of the worship of other gods, learned as slaves in Egypt. Even so, God is in the details for even greater significance!

Although Bezalel oversaw the construction of each item for the tabernacle, Moses personally saw to it that every piece of furniture and every utensil was anointed and placed where it ought to be. God could not and would not dwell in the tabernacle unless everything was done according to the pattern He showed Moses on the mountain.

• Since there was no way to let in natural light from the outside, the gold lampstand was the only source of light available in the Holy Place.  Consider these details:  Without light from the lampstand; the priests couldn’t have carried on their various ministries.
• God wants us to offer Him intelligent worship, not ignorant worship (John 4:19–24; Acts 17:22–31; Romans 1:18–25), and to do that, we need the light of the Word of God to guide us (Ps. 119:105, 130; Prov. 6:23).  God is in the details!

Consider these details of significance:  In order to please God and not be in danger of death, the priest had to use not only the right fire on the altar but also the prescribed mixture of spices for the incense (Exodus 30:34–38). Later we will read of Nadab and Abihu who tried to worship God with “profane fire” and were killed (Leviticus 10). Any Israelite who tried to duplicate this special incense for his own personal use would be cut off, which could mean death.  The priests were warned not to use this golden altar for anything other than burning incense (Exodus 30:9), for there are no substitutes for prayer. No amount of sacrificing can take the place of true praying.

“What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. James 4:1-4

The golden altar wasn’t a place for making bargains with God or trying to change His mind (James 4:1–4; 1 John 5:14, 15). It was a place for adoring Him and praying, “Thy will be done.”  (Jesus prayer to God, His Father!)

God made us. God sees what’s inside us and knows the motivations of our hearts.  “The heart wants what the heart wants” is today’s worldview mantra among many who have given up on life abundant and have fallen for The Deceiver who is leading us from God’s detailed design to death.  The Deceiver does all he can to distract us from our relationship with God long enough to pull us away from His protection.  He “separates the lambs from the herd for only one purpose—to devour, defeat and rob us of our Hope of eternal life.  But there is One who was, is, and always will be the Overcomer who rescues us and brings us back to God—Jesus.

Jesus was sent to earth centuries later to not only save us but to go back over all the details of God’s commandments that got lost and distorted by humans who sought to satisfy their desires instead of seeking the Lord.  See Matthew 5-7 for detailed instructions from God’s Son explaining the intent and implementation of God’s original commandments designed in detail for our good and God’s glory.

Yes, God is still in the details!  Watch for God sightings today! An alert mind who seeks God will indeed find Him and see His glory at work all around us and in us! To God be the glory!

Lord,

Cleanse our hearts by removing all that does not belong there.  Renew our minds; transform our behaviors.  Refresh our souls with today’s fresh mercies.  Restore the joy of your salvation at work within us and all around us—for our good and your glory!

In Jesus Name, Amen