Exodus 38:21-31 (ESV)

These are the records of the tabernacle, the tabernacle of the testimony, as they were recorded at the commandment of Moses, the responsibility of the Levites under the direction of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest. Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made all that the LORD commanded Moses; and with him was Oholiab the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, an engraver and designer and embroiderer in blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen.

All the gold that was used for the work, in all the construction of the sanctuary, the gold from the offering, was twenty-nine talents and 730 shekels, by the shekel of the sanctuary. The silver from those of the congregation who were recorded was a hundred talents and 1,775 shekels, by the shekel of the sanctuary: a beka a head (that is, half a shekel, by the shekel of the sanctuary), for everyone who was listed in the records, from twenty years old and upward, for 603,550 men. The hundred talents of silver were for casting the bases of the sanctuary and the bases of the veil; a hundred bases for the hundred talents, a talent a base. And of the 1,775 shekels he made hooks for the pillars and overlaid their capitals and made fillets for them. The bronze that was offered was seventy talents and 2,400 shekels; with it he made the bases for the entrance of the tent of meeting, the bronze altar and the bronze grating for it and all the utensils of the altar, the bases around the court, and the bases of the gate of the court, all the pegs of the tabernacle, and all the pegs around the court.

It’s curious that the Levites are under the direction of Ithamar, Aaron’s youngest son.

These are the names of the sons of Aaron: Nadab the firstborn, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. These are the names of the sons of Aaron, the anointed priests, whom he ordained to serve as priests. – Numbers 3:2 (ESV)

If Aaron himself isn’t going to direct the Levites, one would expect that job to fall to Nadab, his firstborn. Even with the foreknowledge that Nadab and Abihu would die, Ithamar still isn’t the oldest; Eleazar is.

This extends the LORD’s record of often picking younger sons over older ones. Seth, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and David are all examples of younger sons who became heirs to the promise.

God has this thing about bucking man’s rules.

Man’s rules aren’t a bad thing; they’re essential. The Declaration of Independence’s first specific complaint is that the king has refused to allow “laws most wholesome and necessary for the public good.”

https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration-transcript

Pray for the people who are charged with making laws – our elected officials. Usually, we think of this in terms of the president and other national figures. But let’s lift up the local ones we might actually meet.

Ask God to give them wisdom and patience, and to protect them from the forces that would do them ill.

The weekly study guides, which include all six devotionals plus related questions for discussion or meditation, are available for download here:

https://www.ailbe.org/resources/itemlist/category/91-deep-studies