details

Did you know that curtain-making instructions are included in the Bible? I am reading through the Bible this year, and this week I have been plowing through the highly detailed instructions that God gave to Moses about how the Israelites were supposed to construct the tabernacle and related worship paraphernalia. The elaborate description found in Exodus 26:1-37 (and repeated in Exodus 36:8-38) of the ten curtains for the tabernacle - the portable tent of meeting where the Israelites would worship God during their sojourn in the wilderness - is but one fascinating part of God's DIY instruction manual for the Israelites. "How to" guides were also included for: the ark of the covenant, the table, the lampstand, the oil for the lampstand, the altar of incense, the incense, the altar of burnt offering, the basin for washing, the courtyard,  and the priestly garments.

These highly detailed instructions are extremely appealing to me. This is exactly what I want to hear from God: Do this, and do it this way. I can follow instructions well. I like to know exactly what is expected of me so that I can hit the mark, and hit it dead on.

But this is not how God usually speaks to me. My experiences have been a lot more like Abram's: "Go to the land I will show you" (Gen. 12:1). When I was working on my M.Div. at Beeson Divinity School and people asked me, "What are you going to do after you finish your degree?" my typical reponse was, "God is dealing with me on a need-to-know basis, and apparently I don't need to know." God is still dealing with me on a need-to-know basis, and apparently I still don't need a divine, detailed "To Do List."