Exodus 37

Crafted with Purpose

Next Bezalel made the Ark of acacia wood—a sacred chest 45 inches long, 27 inches wide, and 27 inches high. He overlaid it inside and outside with pure gold, and he ran a molding of gold all around it.  ~ Exodus 37:1-2

Have you ever noticed how God pays attention to details? From the colors of a sunset to the design of a snowflake, His craftsmanship is unmatched. In Exodus 37, Bezalel, a man filled with the Spirit of God, carefully builds the ark of the covenant, the table, the lampstand, and the altar of incense. Every piece was made with precision and care, exactly as God commanded. Nothing was random, nothing was rushed. It was sacred work, done with skill and intention.

There have been times in my life where I felt like I was in the middle of construction.  Even years where God was shaping me in ways I didn’t always understand. I remember serving in a role where I was unseen, doing tasks that felt small and insignificant. But as time went on, I began to see how those moments were building something inside me. Just like Bezalel’s craftsmanship, God was forming something valuable within me through my obedience in the small things. He was teaching me to pay attention to His details, to follow His design instead of my own.

The same is true for you. God is crafting something beautiful in your life. Even when it feels like the pieces don’t make sense, He knows exactly what He is building. Just as the ark and the lampstand had a purpose in the tabernacle, the work God is doing in you has purpose in His plan. Your obedience, your diligence, and your willingness to do what He asks, no matter how simple or unseen, are shaping something eternal.

Here are some practical ways to apply this passage:

• Take time each day to invite God into your work, whether it’s in ministry, at home, or on the job. Let Him guide your hands and heart.
• Do small tasks with excellence and care, knowing that faithfulness in the little things pleases God.
• Ask God to fill you with His Spirit like Bezalel so that you can carry out His work with wisdom, skill, and creativity.
• Be patient with the process. God’s craftsmanship takes time, and He is working even when you cannot see the full design.
• Look for opportunities to use your gifts to serve others. Your obedience could be the key that brings light or beauty into someone else’s life.

Today I want to encourage you to trust the work God is doing in and through you. Even the smallest act of obedience is part of His greater design. You are not just going through motions, you are being shaped by the Master Craftsman Himself. Let Him continue to form you with purpose and precision, knowing that when He finishes His work, it will be something beautiful and lasting.

Today’s scripture reading: Exodus 37

1 Next Bezalel made the Ark of acacia wood—a sacred chest 45 inches long, 27 inches wide, and 27 inches high. 

2 He overlaid it inside and outside with pure gold, and he ran a molding of gold all around it. 

3 He cast four gold rings and attached them to its four feet, two rings on each side. 

4 Then he made poles from acacia wood and overlaid them with gold. 

5 He inserted the poles into the rings at the sides of the Ark to carry it.

6 Then he made the Ark’s cover—the place of atonement—from pure gold. It was 45 inches long and 27 inches wide. 

7 He made two cherubim from hammered gold and placed them on the two ends of the atonement cover. 

8 He molded the cherubim on each end of the atonement cover, making it all of one piece of gold. 

9 The cherubim faced each other and looked down on the atonement cover. With their wings spread above it, they protected it.

10 Then Bezalel made the table of acacia wood, 36 inches long, 18 inches wide, and 27 inches high. 

11 He overlaid it with pure gold and ran a gold molding around the edge. 

12 He decorated it with a 3-inch border all around, and he ran a gold molding along the border. 

13 Then he cast four gold rings for the table and attached them at the four corners next to the four legs. 

14 The rings were attached near the border to hold the poles that were used to carry the table. 

15 He made these poles from acacia wood and overlaid them with gold. 

16 Then he made special containers of pure gold for the table—bowls, ladles, jars, and pitchers—to be used in pouring out liquid offerings.

17 Then Bezalel made the lampstand of pure, hammered gold. He made the entire lampstand and its decorations of one piece—the base, center stem, lamp cups, buds, and petals. 

18 The lampstand had six branches going out from the center stem, three on each side. 

19 Each of the six branches had three lamp cups shaped like almond blossoms, complete with buds and petals. 

20 The center stem of the lampstand was crafted with four lamp cups shaped like almond blossoms, complete with buds and petals. 

21 There was an almond bud beneath each pair of branches where the six branches extended from the center stem, all made of one piece. 

22 The almond buds and branches were all of one piece with the center stem, and they were hammered from pure gold.

23 He also made seven lamps for the lampstand, lamp snuffers, and trays, all of pure gold. 

24 The entire lampstand, along with its accessories, was made from 75 pounds of pure gold.

25 Then Bezalel made the incense altar of acacia wood. It was 18 inches square and 36 inches high, with horns at the corners carved from the same piece of wood as the altar itself. 

26 He overlaid the top, sides, and horns of the altar with pure gold, and he ran a gold molding around the entire altar. 

27 He made two gold rings and attached them on opposite sides of the altar below the gold molding to hold the carrying poles. 

28 He made the poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with gold.

29 Then he made the sacred anointing oil and the fragrant incense, using the techniques of a skilled incense maker.

Journal:

• What area of my life is God shaping right now?
• How can I trust His process even when I cannot see the full picture?