The wedding planner’s work is not over until the ceremony is concluded and the happy couple pronounced husband and wife and packed off on their honeymoon! By the morning of the wedding, the grunt work is probably done; but the wedding coordinator must work tirelessly to set things up, ensuring everything is in its place and everyone enters on cue to play their part.

As the first day of the first month – Israel’s ‘independence anniversary’ – approaches, Moses is given a final checklist for preparing the tabernacle (vs 1,2). The words ‘set up’, ‘set out’, ‘bring’, ‘place’ and ‘put’ are used repeatedly (vs 2–8). Every item has a prescribed place and must be placed just right. The holiness of the occasion demands that Moses ‘anoint’ and ‘consecrate’ every part of the tabernacle (vs 9–11). The people involved in this momentous event must also be properly prepared: ‘Bring Aaron and his sons … wash them with water … dress Aaron in the sacred garments, anoint him…’ (v 12,13). Like a good wedding coordinator, Moses diligently attends to these preparations ‘just as the Lord commanded him’ (v 16; see also 40:18–33).

What one thing are you most single-minded about in your life? Why?

When our children were young, they reached an age, perhaps about 5 or 6 years old, where they enjoyed helping with grown-up tasks, which came in handy when we were preparing for a family gathering. ‘Can you put a fork next to each plate?’ and off they’d go on their important mission. Or, ‘Could you carefully fold these napkins and put one at each place?’ Sometimes we’d even take a picture of our little workers because it brought us joy to see them single-mindedly doing what they’d been told.

That’s similar to what’s happening in this passage. God is giving Moses specific instructions for the things that he wanted in the tabernacle: the ark, the table, the lampstand, the golden altar, the anointing oil and other furnishings (vs 1–15). Tomorrow we’ll see why these instructions were important, but for now the key point is that ‘Moses did everything just as the Lord commanded him’ (v 16). Throughout our journey in the second half of Exodus we’ve seen the children of Israel learning to obey. True, there have been notable setbacks,¹ but when the Israelites follow his commands, God is pleased to dwell with his people. That’s what he really wants.²

There’s another angle to this picture of obedience that we might overlook. Today, some people think happiness is found in making their own rules, doing whatever they want, but I noticed, as a parent, that my children were happiest when they willingly obeyed what I asked them to do. Maybe that’s why Jesus said, ‘Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children’.³ Single-mindedly doing what pleases our loving Father is the secret to the abundant, satisfying, joyful life Jesus offered.⁴ That’s the two-way joy of obedience.

How have the setbacks and missteps in your life helped you more fully obey God?

¹ Exod 32  ² Exod 29:42–46  ³ Matt 19:14, NLT  ⁴ John 10:10