Ellen Chauvin | Soaked & Sprouting

Soaked in God's Word, Sprouting Seeds of Faith

The Mercy Seat and B

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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

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1 Ex. 36:1-2

Do you know Jesus?

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1 Ex. 36:1-2

The Dangers of Hollandaise

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At a recent women’s event, we played several fun games. One of the them involved putting a tongue depressor in your mouth and balancing pieces of candy on it. One person at the table was designated to be the tongue depressor holder. Several of us said “Absolutely not! I don’t like a tongue depressor in my mouth. It makes me gag!”

Don’t you know, I felt bad that no one wanted to be the designated gagger, so I said Yes.

It seemed to take forever to balance those candies on that little piece of wood stuck to my tongue. All the while, I was trying not to choke and gag. Finally it was over, and I spit that piece of wood out of my mouth as quickly as I could! 

“So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth.” Revelation 3:16

After that game, I knew exactly how Jesus felt about the church in Laodicea. He wanted to spit them out of His mouth. Why? Because they are lukewarm. Neither hot nor cold. Emetic (an agent that induces vomiting; something good for little more than inducing vomiting). Tepid.

Tepid: lacking in passion, force or zest; marked by an absence of enthusiasm or conviction. 

A lukewarm Christian is comfortable, complacent, and bland.

Kinda reminds me of Hollandaise sauce. What? You don’t see the connection? Hollandaise sauce has no color (bland), no fire (bland), and just sits there on top of the food (complacent). It’s a Tony Chachere’s wannabe. 

The church at Laodicea was a materially wealthy church. This led them to become self-sufficient. Why, they had all the wealth they needed! What could Jesus give them? Sadly, their self-reliance led to pride, which turned into apathy. They were complacent. They had become spiritual Hollandaise.

Spiritual complacency and becoming lukewarm are slow and gradual. They creep into our lives and we may not notice immediately. How can we guard against becoming lukewarm, self-sufficient, and prideful? We can begin with an inventory of our hearts.

 

Here are a few questions to ask:

  • Is my passion for Jesus still burning hot? If not, why?
  • Is my prayer time fervent or bland? Is it all about me, me, me, or do I intercede on behalf of others? Do I adore and praise        God, give Him thanks and offer confession for my apathy?
  • Do I read scripture to check it off my to-do list, or to know Jesus more and more?
  • Have I become self-sufficient or do I rely on guidance from Holy Spirit each and every minute of each and every day?
  • Am I bored with church? Am I just going through the motions of church attendance and service to the body of Christ?

Take some time today to evaluate your walk with the Lord. Pray about ways to add fire and spice back into your walk. Aim to be a Tony Chachere’s Christian, not a Hollandaise Christian!