Ellen Chauvin | Soaked & Sprouting

Soaked in God's Word, Sprouting Seeds of Faith

The Mercy Seat and B

by Leave a Comment

Bezalel. 

You’ve read his story in scripture. Like me, you may have skipped right over his name. Cause you know, the challenge of Biblical pronunciation, amen? You know what I’m talking about! I’ll bet you don’t raise your hand to read scripture aloud, until you’ve glanced over it to make sure you can say all the words. Right? So when I’m reading about Bezalel, I just call him B.

Even though B’s name is mentioned only nine times in scripture, we see that he was quite important. Why? He was called by God.

“See, I have called by name Bezalel, the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah.” Exodus 31:2 NASB

Bezalel was a skillful man. However, the Lord added more skill and understanding to him. He was supernaturally equipped and enabled by God to do the job assigned to him⁠1.  And what was that?

Bezalel was called to work on constructing the sanctuary. He helped make the curtains and he built the ark of the covenant.

“Now Bezalel made the ark of acacia wood; its length was two and a half cubits, and its width one and a half cubits, and its height one and a half cubits;” Exodus 37:1 NASB

Not only that, Bezalel constructed the mercy seat.

“He made a mercy seat of pure gold, two and a half cubits long and one and a half cubits wide.” Exodus 37:6 NASB

So what?

Horrors, I’m gasping here! You’re asking so what?  What’s the big deal about Bezalel building the mercy seat? 

An artisan from the tribe of Judah made a seat representing the mercy of the Lion of Judah.

Interesting fact: the original Hebrew word for mercy seat meant lid, or cover. It also means propitiation, which is a big word meaning to offer a gift to appease someone’s wrath. On the Day of Atonement, the high priest made atonement (or amends) for himself, the Tabernacle, and the people by a sin offering, which included sprinkling blood on this cover. It was here, above the mercy seat that God resided. 

The mercy seat points forward to Christ. Jesus was the offering to appease the wrath of God because of our sins. He is the propitiation for our sins. His death was the atoning sacrifice to save us from death. He took our place on the cross. When we place our faith in Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we are covered by His blood. 

What better way to commemorate the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus, than by remembering the mercy He had in choosing to take our place on the cross.

Today, I’m praising God for Bezalel. I’m thankful for his obedience to use his gifts for the glory of God. 

The Mercy Seat and B. What a beautiful reflection of Jesus.

Grace be with you,

Ellen

anImage_8.tiff

1 Ex. 36:1-2

Do you know Jesus?

anImage_2.tiff

1 Ex. 36:1-2

Closing the Door on Prayer

by Leave a Comment

Have you ever heard of Rhoda? Noooo, not the one from The Mary Tyler Moore television sitcom. Although the way Rhoda acted, it could have been a Biblical sitcom. I’m talking about the Rhoda is from scripture. We can find her in Acts 12.

“He knocked at the door of the outer gate, and a servant named Rhoda came to answer.” Acts 12:13 CSB

Rhoda was with a group of believers at the house of Mary, John Mark’s mom. They were having a fervent prayer meeting, specifically to pray for Peter’s release from prison. As they were praying, an angel of the Lord went to the jail and rescued Peter. His chains fell off and he was free!

Peter then made his way to Mary’s house, where he knocked on the outer gate and Rhoda came to answer. 

But get this: Rhoda didn’t let him in!!

She recognized Peter’s voice, and because of her joy, she did not open the gate but ran in and announced that Peter was standing at the outer gate. Acts 12:14 CSB

I’m sure Rhoda was pretty embarrassed by her comedic performance. But in her joy at Peter’s deliverance and the answer to their prayers, she left him standing outside the gate. I’ve gotta tell you, I would have looked at Rhoda and said “You left the Apostle Peter outside the gate?? Why didn’t you let him in??”

Notice the reaction of her friends. It was in stark contrast to her joy. They couldn’t believe their prayers had been answered so quickly and specifically. 

“You’re out of your mind!” they told her. But she kept insisting that it was true, and they said, “It’s his angel.” Acts 12:15 CSB 

Honestly, I’d like to condemn them for their unbelief. But don’t we sometimes do the same? 

We slam the door on answered prayer. 

When our answered prayers show up at the gate, we leave them there. Maybe it’s unbelief. Or maybe they haven’t been answered the way we wanted. Perhaps the answer involves work that we don’t want to do. Whatever the reason, we close the door to the answer.

“Lord, I see how you answered my prayer. I do need Your help. But what You’re asking me to do is much too hard. I can’t…”

“This can’t possibly be God’s answer! No way!”

“This has got to be a coincidence. I can’t imagine that the Lord would answer my little piddly prayers immediately and specifically.”

But, what if we prayed with great anticipation and expectation?  What if we began looking for God’s answers? And then, what if we squealed with joy and excitement over the answers? What if we couldn’t wait to run and tell others that our prayers had been answered, giving glory to God?

What if?

“Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!” Mark 9:24 ESV

Grace be with you,

 

 

 

Do you know Jesus?