Exodus 38:21-23:
Without going into details here, both the Old and New Testament is very clear about the transparency that is to be built into that process. This is not something that can simply be delegated to a group of elders as many try to do. If a minister of the Gospel is making the kind of money that his or her elders are afraid or ashamed to share with their congregations, then he or she is making way too much.
21This is the number of the things for the tabernacle, the tabernacle of the testimony, as they were numbered according to the command of Moses, for the service of the Levites, by the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.
22 Now Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made all that the Lord had commanded Moses.
23 With him was Oholiab the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, an engraver and a skillful workman and a weaver in blue and in purple and in scarlet material, and fine linen.
Thoughts on the Passage
In these three verses, we get to meet some of the leaders of the work that were involved in the inventory of the list of materials that went into the building of the Tabernacle.
David Guzak suggests that Ithabar, the son of Aaron the head of the Levites, was named to oversee either the Levites in the work to be done by the priests in the Tabernacle or to oversee the taking of the inventory of what materials were used in the making of the Tabernacle. The text is not clear. Until further notice, I would suggest it was the latter. Either way, this was a big responsibility to manage all these resources and/or to perform their services in the Tabernacle. Both were done well.
Moses had ordered the inventory to be taken as clearly indicated in verse 21.
It is difficult to estimate the present-day value of the materials used in the tabernacle, but David Guzak writing in his updated commentary (2017) estimates over $13 million U.S. dollars. The combined weight of the material, he says, would be almost 19,000 pounds (more than 9 tons or 8,500 kilograms). Not only was this a significant project to manage but think of having to relocate this structure every time God moved the Israelite camp to another spot for close to 40 years.
This was God’s work and money or valuable assets that belonged to worshippers were involved. So, this inventory was most important and sets up a model for us that points to the necessity of thoroughness and accuracy and transparency in the work of the Lord in all financial matters.
Guzak also reminds us that all these resources given by the children of Israel originally came because as Exodus 12:36 tells us, from the fact that Egyptians willingly gave it to them as the equivalent of their back wages for all the years of slavery that the Israelite’s had served the Egyptians. It was guilt money in a sense and also a desire of the Egyptians to get rid of the Israelites given all the plagues that had taken place, attributed to their the Israelites’ God.
Matthew Henry, referring to the key players mentioned in this passage, indicates that Ithamar the son of Aaron was appointed to draw up this account or inventory. Bezaleel and Aholiab must bring in the account of all the materials and Ithamar was to audit it, and then give it to Moses.
This reminds me a lot of the Auditor Generals that we have in our western government systems. The government spending the money must provide records to the appointed supposedly non-partisan Auditor General who then audits and renders his or her findings, which are then presented to the ultimate level of government in a democracy, the people.
For us the message is clear – God’s work must be done openly, honestly, accurately, with attention to details. I am so disheartened by local church leaders that operate their “business” with respect to what they tell their congregants on a “need-to-know” basis. That is not what God intended for His work, nor what He wants. And saying that we have been “audited by Chartered Accountants” does not replace the need to keep your people informed of how money is brought in and how it is spent for the Kingdom.
It would be great if you would share your thoughts or questions on this blog in the comments section below or on social media.
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