On the Little Details

In Exodus 31, we see the account of the building of the Tabernacle, and are introduced to two men with special skills - Bezalel and Oholiab. In today's verses, we see the account of the building of the Temple and are introduced to a man with special skills. 2 Chronicles 2:13-14 talks about the qualifications of a man named Huram-Abi. Huram-Abi was a skilled craftsman who could work in wood, soft metals, hard metals, stone, yarn and fine linen, and engraving. He was sent to Solomon by the king of Tyre at Solomon's request. If you were to grab your Bible and read Exodus 31:1-6 you'd notice that Oholiab was also a skilled craftsman who could work in wood, soft metals, hard metals, stone, yarn and fine linen, and engraving. After some further research, I found another parallel - Oholiab and Huram-Abi were from the same tribe of Israel.

I've sat here pondering this one for a while now, and asked God what His point is. I think I've got it and it's really not too earth-shattering: There is no such thing as a coincidence. God has planned all of history and the future already and we're just sitting here watching it play out. In the case of the building of His two "dwellings", God ordained that two men, generations apart would come from the same tribe and be gifted with the same skills to create structures and furnishings for the ultimate churches. Long before either of these men were born, God chose them to be His workmen. He could have chosen any two people in those two generations, but He decided that they would come from the same tribe even. It may seem like a small thing, but it really does blow my mind. There is such intent and attention to detail in everything God does.

Before I started writing this, I was complaining to myself about some things in my life that just aren't working out the way I wanted them to. Silly me then asked God to settle me down and teach me something. I get it now - God didn't just choose these two guys so carefully, He chose me carefully too. Everything that has happened in my life (or hasn't happened), He chose. And guess what? The same goes for you. One of my favorite Psalms is 139 which says that before the creation of the world, God knew who each of us would be (v.16).

And what's even better than that, He sees the details we miss. It was one thing for Oholiab and Huram-Abi to have the same skill set. That was pretty important considering the job they were each given. But God added a little detail that would forever link them to each other. And I think that detail was put in for us who would read about them someday. Just a casual reading of Exodus and 2 Chronicles wouldn't bring up this seemingly insignificant parallel, but it's there.

What are we missing in the detail of our lives because we're just looking casually at them? What has God weaved into the fabric of our stories that someday will cause people to marvel at His attention to detail? I don't yet know what it is in my life, but I can now honestly say, I can't wait to see it someday. Our God is the Master Craftsman, and He does incredibly detailed work!