Wednesday, June 17, 2026
Scripture Readings
- Primary Reading: Exodus 37-38
- Secondary Reading: Psalms 70
Key Verse
Exodus 38:2 — “And he made the horns thereof on the four corners of it; the horns thereof were of the same: and he overlaid it with brass.”
Devotional Thought
The middle of June has a way of making us count things. The school year’s receipts, the garden’s yield, the budget’s stubborn arithmetic—this is the season of inventories. And Exodus 37–38 is, at heart, an inventory: a careful accounting of the tabernacle as Bezaleel and Aholiab built it exactly as the LORD commanded Moses. Every ring and stave, every almond blossom on the golden candlestick, every socket and pin is named and numbered. The gold came to twenty-nine talents and seven hundred thirty shekels; the silver, gathered as a half-shekel from each of 603,550 men, was cast into a hundred sockets, a talent for a socket. Even the laver of brass was made from the lookingglasses of the women who assembled at the door of the congregation—their mirrors melted into a basin for washing.
Notice what kind of God receives such meticulous devotion. He is not vague or indifferent to detail. The mercy seat with its two cherubims, wings spread and faces toward one another, was where He promised to meet His people. The ark was overlaid with pure gold within and without—no hidden corner left common. In a world of shortcuts and half-finished work, this passage quietly rebukes our sloppiness. It asks the reader today: are you building your life, your home, your service to Christ with the same reverent exactness? Not for show, but because the One we serve is holy.
Yet for all the gold and silver, the passage ends in brass—the sockets, the pins, the grate, the altar of burnt offering. The tabernacle’s glory rested on humble footings. So it is with us. The Lord takes the small, unglamorous things—the lookingglasses surrendered, the pins pounded into the ground—and makes them load-bearing in His house. And Psalm 70 supplies the cry of the heart that makes such labor possible: “Make haste, O God, to deliver me.” David, poor and needy, does not wait for better circumstances to magnify God; he asks God to hurry, and he praises while he waits.
Perhaps that is the June work: to keep building, keep counting, keep giving—while praying, “Thou art my help and my deliverer; O LORD, make no tarrying.”
Reflection
- Where in your life has God asked for patient, detailed obedience rather than quick, impressive results—and are you giving it to Him?
- Like the women who gave their lookingglasses for the laver, what cherished thing might God be asking you to surrender for His service?
Prayer
O Lord, make haste to help us, for we are poor and needy and prone to build with careless hands. Thank You for the willing work of Bezaleel and Aholiab, and for every soul who gave gold, silver, brass, or a lookingglass to Your dwelling. Teach us to serve You with the same reverence, exactness, and joy—whether our part is a golden candlestick or a single pin in the ground. Let those who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; let us say continually, Let God be magnified. You are our help and our deliverer; make no tarrying. In the name of Jesus, Amen.
Psalm Verse
Psalms 70:1 — “MAKE HASTE, O GOD, TO DELIVER ME; MAKE HASTE TO HELP ME, O LORD.”