Romans 8:28 is one of my favorite passages of scripture. The CJB renders it, “Furthermore, we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called in accordance with his purpose.” Other versions say, “all things work together for good” or “in all things God works for the good”, of those who qualify as loving God and being called in accordance with His purpose. The context of this bold statement is set in verses 18-23, where the apostle Paul describes some of the adversity that we all suffer while we await the “redemption” of our bodies; that is, while we live our mortal lives.

This morning I briefly meditated on this verse, and formed a mental picture of God working as a master weaver in the lives of His loving, called-out-ones; weaving together the threads of our experiences- pleasant and unpleasant, into beautiful, colorful, durable tapestries that emerge as both ‘good’ in our eyes and purpose-fulfilling in His. That’s all the meditation I had time for before going to Shabbat service…

And then… you may not believe what was the first verse I noted down from the pastor’s teaching. It was Exodus 35:35: “He has filled them (Bezalel and Aholiab) with skill to do all manner of work of the engraver and the designer, and the tapestry-maker, in blue, purple and scarlet thread, and fine linen, and of the weaver– those who do every work and those who design artistic works.”

Although it will extend this post, I must tell you something about these two craftsmen, Bezalel and Aholiab, that will link this Old Testament verse with the New Testament verse I was meditating on at home. Bezalel’s name meant “in the shadow of God”, Aholiab’s name meant “the Father’s tent”, and these two men had been chosen by God and teamed up together to build His Tabernacle. Their names describe closeness and submission to God (i.e. devotion and love… Jesus/Yeshua said, “If you love me, keep my commandments”). For one to be in God’s shadow one has to be sticking close to God and moving in synch with Him. To be in the Father’s tent one has to be submitted to the Father’s house rules. These qualities signified their suitability to fulfill the purpose of God in their generation- the building of His Tabernacle, the place that would eventually be filled with His glory.

These men were endowed with skills such as that of a weaver, to make tapestries of different colored threads, but they were only operating in the shadow of God. What does that tell you? God was doing a weaving too, making a tapestry too… otherwise His shadow could not have been. So, I am brought back to Romans 8:28, where God is still weaving together the many-colored, many-textured threads of our life experiences into a tapestry of good for us, which fulfills His purposes and reflects the beautiful design of a master weaver. Some threads may be rough when taken on their own, but they add durability to the tapestry. So let’s ensure we are walking in God’s shadow, and positioning ourselves under His tent, loving Him and submitting to His purposes. Then, behold- see the beautiful tapestry He will make of our lives.

See my latest book: T.G.I.F. Thank God It’s Friday