There is a saying — “the devil is in the details” —meaning that while the overall concept may seem simple, the execution isn’t because of hidden complications or problems that come up as you try to implement the smaller elements.

That saying was actually derived from the saying “God is in the details” which means that when a person takes time and care on the small things, they are often rewarded with a masterpiece.

But the truth of the matter is that GOD is definitely in the details. We saw it in the specificity of all of his building projects and now in Leviticus we are seeing it over and over again. 

It’s easy to just get mired in the minutia that is Leviticus because it is a book of laws but on closer look these laws are all to make the Israelites holy and healthy. It deals with both the spiritual and the physical. It required hygienic washing and quarantining long before anyone else did.

God is always about the details. Just look at the planet we live on—created specifically to support life and the only planet in a position to view and study the universe. 

And what about the human body? Forty-six chromosomes in almost every cell of the body (mature red blood cells and platelets do not), and the body has anywhere from 30 to 36 trillion cells. Then each of these chromosomes carries a DNA strand which carries hundreds to thousands of genes and each of those genes has a unique set of instructions.

The rest of nature is no different as you can see in the picture above. Beautiful detail.

So if you think God doesn’t care about the details in your life, think again. He definitely does. He is all about details.

And if you think Leviticus is a dry book of rules, then look again, for Leviticus is the book that just keeps on giving. 

Leviticus is proving to be quite the revelation. Chapters 1 through 7 all deal with the various offerings (burnt offering, grain offering, fellowship offering, sin offering, and penalty offering). 

My first thought was that there was a lot of sacrificing that needed to take place, and a lot of animals and grain. It also took a lot of time. Time to find a suitable sacrifice and then to prepare and offer it acceptably. I looked up why there were so many sacrificial requirements and here is what I learned. 

First and foremost, these sacrifices provided a tangible way for the people of Israel to draw near to God, to bridge that divide between sinful man and holy God. Second, it was a way to show thanks to God for his mercy and provision. 

By the time I concluded chapter 7, I was very glad I was born on this side of the cross. 

Because as Dr. Jeremiah said in one of his recent sermons, Jesus made the final sacrifice and now the Holy Spirit bridges that gap. No longer do we need to have a priest interceded on our behalf. The Holy Spirit (the third member of the Trinity—so God) is always with us, always hears us, always helps us, always comforts us. 

However, sometimes I think living on this side of the cross can make us forget how great the divide that exists between sinful us and almighty and holy God truly is. We can often take God’s goodness and closeness and mercy and grace for granted. 

There was value in having to take the effort to find and prepare the sacrifices. Doing so caused one to focus not only on the reason for the sacrifice (repentance or thanksgiving) but also on what a great, powerful, and Holy God we serve. 

Romans 12:1 states “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.”

As we offer ourselves up each day, let us take the time to remember all that God has done for us: His forgiveness, grace, mercy, provision, protection, . . . and thank Him for it.

Last week I wrote about God’s exactness in his building projects—that He doesn’t make mistakes and His creations are designed perfectly, exactly how He wants them to be—exactly how he wants each of us to be. 

However, there is a danger in resting in that exact spot—to assume that the perfect blueprint is the end of the story. Because, as all of us know, the blueprint is just the beginning. Now the structure must be built. So to use the excuse that because God made me a certain way justifies me to live the way I want is flawed. We cannot live in sin or in self-pity or in self-deprecation or self-aggrandizement.

As John 9:3 reminds us about the man born blind, he was born blind “so that the works of God might be displayed in him.” And that is the exact reason all of us are born to the specifications God prescribed. So that God’s glory and strength can be revealed in our lives and through our weaknesses (2 Corinthians 12:9).

Paul had his thorn in the flesh. Mary Magdalene suffered demon possession. Peter was impetuous and self-sufficient. Some of us are born with genetic propensities for addictions and some for mental illnesses. Some have physical limitations and others mental. 

But just as the architect has a purpose for every building he designs, so God has a purpose for each one of us even with our limitations: “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” Ephesians 2:10).

Finally, the building project begins under the careful supervision of the contractor. No building can build itself. For us, God is not only our architect but also our contractor. He oversees the process of perfecting us. In fact, He has promised to see the project to completion: “Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:6).

Therefore--
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Embrace who God made you, for He does not make mistakes. You are wonderfully made.

Embrace your purpose, made specifically for you in advance.

Embrace your journey as God moves you toward perfection.

If you joined me last week, you know that I am working my way through Exodus. This week I have been reading about the building of the temple and all the accoutrements needed to outfit it. And something became very apparent.

God is extremely precise in all of his building projects. 

Go back to Genesis and Noah’s ark or jump ahead to I Kings or 2 Chronicles and read about Solomon’s temple and you will see that everything God puts His hand to has exact measurements. So what does this mean?

It means, God takes great care in everything He builds—from the ark to the tabernacle to the temple—to us.  Yes us. For we are also one of God’s building projects.

“Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?”  1 Corinthians 3:16

And we were not put together at the last minute in a slipshod manner.

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you.” Jeremiah 1:5a

“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” Psalm 139:14

And if that is not enough to convince you that each of us was created just exactly as God intended, then perhaps this one will. 

“So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them. . .” Genesis 1:27

So ask yourself. Why would God cut corners on his most precious creation? Why would he employ shoddy craftsmanship? The answer is He wouldn’t and He didn’t.

We look at ourselves and others through the world’s view of perfection (which by the way keeps changing) and see what to us are imperfections. We do not understand why some blueprints come with cerebral palsy or spinal bifida or Downs. But I do know two things.

First, each one of us was made precisely according the blueprint God had for us for God does not make mistakes.

And second, it does no good to ask questions of an infinite, omniscient, omnipotent God from the position of finiteness. The disciples did this when the blind man was healed (John 9) and they wondered who had sinned, he or his parents, that led to his blindness, and Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, . . .but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.” John 9:3

Some of the greatest demonstrations of God’s glory come through what are often viewed the weakest vessels. For he does “chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.” I Corinthians 1:27b

​As we interact with those around us, remember that they and you and fearfully and wonderfully made in the image of the God who never makes mistakes. Embrace who God made you.