Minutia or Meaning?
March 17th, 2010I am sure we have all heard things like, “don’t worry about the letter of the law; just get the spirit right.” We tend to by-pass the “little” commands of God, especially when we do not see the validity. We excuse it by saying that we have the right attitude.
When God directed the Hebrews to build the tabernacle, he gave them minute details. To a fat and sassy American Christian, this seems a little overdone. Why didn’t God just give them a general plan and let them use their creativity to accomplish it? Maybe at this stage in the history of the nation the people needed exacting details as to how to accomplish what God commanded.
In Exodus 39 and 40, the phrase, “just as the Lord commanded Moses” is used fourteen times. There are seven occurrences in each chapter. The first set of seven has to do with the manufacture of the tabernacle parts. The second set has to do with putting it together. In every detail, the people did exactly as God instructed.
How important is the “minutia”? I heard about two men discussing this very subject. One was frustrated at the commands of God that seem to be so trivial. The second man asked him what would happen if you missed even one dot or letter in an internet address. The answer, of course, is that you would not get to the site you wanted.
God’s ways are not ours. His thoughts are not ours (Isaiah 55:8). What may seem unimportant to me may be of critical importance to God. Why should I consider anything that God tells me of little importance?
God rewards us according to how we handle the little things in life. Jesus said, “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much” (Luke 16:10). Why should God trust me with the big things if he can’t trust me with the small? Why should he expect me to be a great person of faith if I do not do even the little things he instructs me?
Keep The Light Burning!
Perry Greene
