Thoughts on the readings for February 23rd (Exodus 36, Psalms 94, 95, 1 Corinthians 6)

Exodus 36 tells that Bezaleel and Aholiab were the chief craftsmen, put over several others to whom the LORD had given wisdom and skill. Moses gave the congregation's free will offerings to these two exceptionally gifted men. So great was the congregation's generosity that Moses had to tell the people to cease from their giving. What a wonderful problem to have! Verses 8-19 describe the making of the curtains of the Tabernacle. The curtains were of fine white linen speaking of the righteous deeds of the justified saints (the ecclesia). They were joined by couplings of gold - representing their tried and precious faith - called "hands". Once again we have a description of unity and support - a common purpose in promoting the holiness of God. Through this holiness believers will see the Lord and inherit His Kingdom (Hebrews 12:14; Matthew 5:8). Verse 19 spake of two of the coverings of the Tabernacle - rams' skins and goats' skins. Verses 20-30 describe the frames of the acacia boards over which the coverings were hung. The dimensions of the frames are given and these frames were set in bases, or sockets of silver - speaking of redemption. Verses 31-34 tell of the bars which linked the frames. The bars were made of acacia wood overlaid with gold. Verse 35 tells of the making of the veil, which was of linen with cherubim woven into it. These weavings were of golden, blue, purple and scarlet threads. Verse 36 describes the frame from which the veil hung. Verses 36-37 tell of the linen entrance gates into the tent ("ohel"). Psalm 94 tells us that our God will never forsake His people. Verses 1-7 speaks of the LORD's vindication of His despised and downtrodden saints. The wicked will only be tolerated for so long until the Almighty rises in justice for the defence of the faithful. Fools cannot understand; but our all wise Creator, who made the each person, hears the cries of the oppressed. The One who made the eye sees mankind's evil and He must rise and avenge such wickedness. How base is human thought. However the wise will respond to the words of wisdom. And in so doing they will be blessed. The pit, which the wicked made for the righteous will become their place of eternal abode. Yahweh's justice and righteous ways will prevail. The stedfast love of the LORD will uphold the faithful. Our Omnipotent Father will eradicate the wicked and be the fortress and deliverer of His children. Psalm 95 is a call for devout worshippers to sing praises to their Omnipotent King. We praise Him with joy and with a grateful heart. We come into His presence in thanksgiving. We acknowledge His awesomeness. The lofty and deep places of the earth have been formed by, and are in, His hands. Let us worship and bow with reverence before Him. He is the Shepherd and we are the sheep fed by Him and led by Him. Israel tempted and provoked their Mighty deliverer at the start of their wilderness journey at Massah and at the end of their wandering 40 years later at Kadesh Meribah. Their heart was hardened so that they failed to appreciate the wonderful provisions of their God. They became hard of hearing to His Words of life. What a contrast to the spirit with which this psalm began. How telling are the closing words, that because of their failure to hear the words of the Living God; which He swore in His wrath that those rebels would never enter the Promised Land. All of these incidents were symbolic of the coming kingdom (see Hebrews 3 and 4 for details). Among the Corinthians there was a misunderstanding in relation to the responsibility of the need to make judgments on disputes between believers. They were taking their fellow believers before the bench for decisions. So Paul urged them in this 6th chapter to settle the issue among themselves. He said that the time would come in the kingdom when the worldly authorities would be ruled by the saints. So surely determinations of differences could be decided by them. The ancient city of Corinth was renowned for fornication. It was a proverb of the day that visitors would go here to 'Corinthianise', that is to fornicate. The Acro Corinthia, atop of the city's mount, had a temple with many restaurants and 3,000 temple prostitutes. So wrong was this behaviour that Paul warned believers against going there for a meal if they were to be distracted by the practices. And even if they were not, he says they should not go should it become a cause of stumbling to another. Engaging in a sexual union outside of marriage is defiling for holy believers - they are God's temple (see Hebrews 13:4). Our bodies are God's temple and to kept in purity for Him and in obedient loving service in worship of our Almighty God. Penned by Warwick Rosser and his team, produced by Christadelphianvideo.org See more Thoughts from the Christadelphian Dialy Bible Reading Planner (By R.Roberts) here... https://christadelphianvideo.org/thoughts-on-the-readings-for-february-23rd-exodus-36-psalms-94-95-1-corinthians-6/?feed_id=85747&_unique_id=67b96a51521fd