Exodus Chapter 31 Verses 1 - 5

• I love this because as God commanded all of this work to be done and laid out all of the details of how to do the work…workers were yet needed. I think we sometimes have this false expectation upon God that He is like Mary Poppins! Just a wiggle of the nose and all of the work is complete. But that’s not how it works and there are good reasons as to why that’s not how it works.
• Listen to these two wonderful promises of God. Romans 8:31, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” And Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” These two promises are so encouraging, so comforting, so very true but inherent in them is the requirement for work on my part. If I don’t know that then I will claim these promises, the enemy will have a hay-day with me, and in the end, I’ll be inclined to blame God!
• What do I mean? If God is for us, who can be against us? Claimed in a time of confrontation, discomfort and adversity…obviously! Someone or something must be coming against you for this verse to ring…but…the condition is when God is for you…God cannot bless sin. And God cannot contradict His Word and withhold consequence to be “for” you when you are not “for” And so even the smallest of girls standing out by a fire can overwhelm you when you are not for the Lord, just as what happened to Peter that night.
• I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me! Workers are yet needed! How can you expect this promise of God when you are rejecting God’s Spirit and transgressing His Word? You see, it’s simple…you cannot. 1 Corinthians 1:20 says, “For all the promises of God IN HIM are yes, and IN HIM amen, to the glory of God through us.” God’s desire is for you to accomplish and enjoy every one of His promises given in His Word…but for me to remember, for us to know, work is yet needed. And our work is to trust Him and obey Him.
• And check this out, as the worker of God, taking in His Word, His direction…paying attention especially to the details, then there is an embedded promise that we see here in verse 3 that simply with your resolve, your born-ness (my word) to be and to do as God has directed, then comes the filling of the Spirit of God! And just a few elements are listed here, others are listed in places like Romans 12 and Galatians 5, but here we see wisdom, understanding, knowledge and skill!
• I love this, “wisdom” in the Hebrew means, “good sense / wits.” “Understanding” in the Hebrew means, “insight and ease of intelligence / fast learning.” “Knowledge” in the Hebrew means, “perception / discernment.” And “workmanship” in the Hebrew means, “skill in profit.” I just love that. Being filled with the Spirit of God (how? By trusting God and placing yourself in position of promise) brings good sense, fast learning, keen perception and skill for profit. Add to that the fruit in Galatians 5 and the abilities in Romans 12…man, that’s awesome…and that is what is missed, all of it, when you claim the promises of God without claiming God Himself…

Exodus Chapter 31 Verses 6 – 8

• This is interesting and makes total sense to me and to anyone who has been to Israel and perhaps visited the Temple Institute there in Jerusalem. As I’ve said before in previous studies, the pure golden lampstand was to be fashioned out of one piece of gold and even today, with all of our technology and advancements, the Jews cannot do it. They don’t know how it was done. This verse explains it…God gave them the secret.
• I was talking to a buddy of mine that works on cars and he was telling me about a car he had worked on that the owner had spent countless frustration-filled hours trying to simply remove a part from the underside of the engine. Some of the components of the engine can be very hard to get to in the first place but he had gotten to it and removed all of the hardware and yet it still wouldn’t budge…my friend said, “He didn’t know about the ‘magic bolt.’” I think the pure gold lampstand is something like that and this chapter reveals that.

Exodus Chapter 31 Verses 9 – 17

• The Sabbath is a very very big deal for God. In the New Covenant, the “sign” of the Sabbath was changed from a day to a life. Colossians 2:16-17 says, “Let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ.” And this is quite explicit in Hebrews 4:9-10 which says, “There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His.” And so, the Old Covenant sign of the Sabbath Day became fulfilled in the Person of Jesus Christ providing ultimate and all-encompassing rest for those that would be born again.
• But even though the Sabbath DAY is fulfilled, the Sabbath rest is still a huge deal to God! Well then what is it now…it is for you and for me, for all those who have been born-again into the Body of Christ, to know, to understand and to acknowledge that the work in Jesus is finished and we must never allow the finished work of Jesus to be eclipsed (Guzik’s word) by our work for God.
• Here’s what Guzik says and I cannot say it any better; “When workers for God are burnt-out, they have almost always allowed their work for God to be bigger in their minds than His word for them.” Remember, ministry, life, marriage, parenthood…it’s all to be done in the rest and refuge of Jesus Christ. That is now our Sabbath, our renewal, our refueling…and so no wonder so many are burnt out and weary in ministry and in life…you need to spend time with the Lord, in prayer, in person…just worshipping…or the work will end up being just that…just work...and the consequence of Exodus 31 will yet arrive…the death of your passion, the death of your joy, the death of your ministry…I’d much rather keep all that God has blessed me with and Sabbath forever.

Exodus Chapter 31 Verse 18

• Have you ever heard someone say, “Welp, it’s not written in stone,” meaning it can be changed? Not the commandments of God. They were indeed written in stone and what’s more, written by Him personally. So, not written by man and indeed written in stone…they cannot be changed…but what we will see next week in one of the most tragic chapters in all of scripture, they can be broken…and all of the wonderful promises of God will go unreceived, although they have all been given to everyone.