Here at Harvest we are in the midst of a building project. We are having a gym built with a youth room which will be awesome to use. There is also going to be a Children’s Ministry building that is huge and I know they are excited about this. There is also an extra parking lot being built (which we need) and a baptismal. All of these are in the process and it is exciting to see the progress every day. I know I, as well as many others, will be glad when it is all done and ready to be used. Sometimes it is hard to be patient for something that is needed and you may want so bad. It is good to wait and know that God is in control and in the timing of everything. Israel now gets to erect the tabernacle and it will be ready to be used and to show God’s glory and purpose for Israel.

As we saw the details of how the furniture and clothing of the priest came to be and how they were handled with care. We also see how everything was meant something and was important. Each piece served a purpose and was a reminder to Israel in what God has done for them. The timing of the tabernacle being erected was New Year’s day, two weeks short of the anniversary of the exodus. 

Everything was consecrated

 After Moses set up the tent and put up the fence he put all the pieces in the proper place, he was told by God to consecrate everything. This means that he sprinkled oil to anoint it. When oil was used to anoint a person or thing it usually mean that it was anointed with the Holy Spirit. Everything was anointed and I mean everything. The utensils, the bowls, the altars, the people who would be touching these objects, everything.

Glory in the Highest

As the people watched and Moses was finishing up by placing everything in the proper place, God covered the tent of meeting with a cloud. The glory of the Lord filled the temple. How amazing this sight might have been, this glory is called the Skekinah glory, the manifestation of God where the people would see. It was amazing indeed, where there was an awestruck silence in reverence but also words could not express the glory that was shown. We see in other places where the Skekinah glory was shown. It was shown to Isaiah in the temple (Isaiah 6). It was shown to Solomon and the people of Israel after the Temple was built (2nd Chronicles 7). It was revealed in Jesus as he was on the Mt. of transfiguration (Luke 9). God has shown himself to his people and to us. If we could see a glimpse of this glory it would bring us to our knees. We should have the proper respect in knowing that our God is awesome, holy, sovereign, glorious, and worthy of true undefiled worship. May we come to the place and realize we are not worthy but God is so gracious to allow us to serve him, we are loved, and he knows our names.  

We do not have the tabernacle like Israel but we do have our bodies which we are told is the temple of the Holy Spirit (1st Corinthians 6:19). We should have our bodies consecrated like Moses consecrated the tabernacle. We should have the respect to know that God is glorious and we should serve him. May we keep our bodies and actions pure before the Lord as we are a living temple for him.

All this talk about building makes me want to go to Home Depot or something. We are reading the continuation of the building of the tabernacle. We will see that there are a couple of other items of furniture that need to be made as well as the walls of the court of meeting and the materials used in the tabernacle. We are coming to the last few chapters of Exodus and will be moving to Leviticus. It could seem somewhat overwhelming when getting into the books of the law but they do serve a purpose and can encourage the student to grasp more of God’s great plan for mankind.

The Altar of Burnt Offerings

Yesterday we read and learned about the altar used for incense but now we are going to look at another altar used for the sacrifices. We read about this and learned a little about it in chapter 27. It would be made with wood and then overlaid with bronze around the whole thing. The purpose of the altar was for the sacrifice of the animals for the forgiveness of sins. Israel would bring different animals (sheep, goats, bulls, doves) to be sacrificed before God. The altar was not necessarily a good thing. Something had to die, blood had to be shed for the forgiveness of ones sins. Death was on the altar for life of someone to live.

The Bronze Basin

 This basin was used to hold water was first mentioned in chapter 30. There is more mentioned in that chapter then in this one. Aaron and his sons, the priests, were to use the water in the basin to wash their hands and feet in order for them to be clean to offer the sacrifices to God. This was the first thing an individual needed to do after entering the only entrance to the tent. The only thing that chapter 38 shares about the bronze basins were that they were given by women who used the highly polished bronze as a mirror. During this time there was not a mirror like what we have today, reflective glass. Instead they would use bronze that was finely polished which acted as a mirror.

Materials used for the tabernacle

We recently went to Magic Mt. as a group for the Jr. High Ministry. I was in line for Colossus and read a sign that said it was made with over some crazy amount of nails. It was ridiculous the amount of nails that would have been used. When it is all said and done you can believe the amount because of the size of the roller-coaster.  In verses 24-31 we see the amount of silver, gold, and bronze that was given to the building of the tabernacle. Scholars have added up what the amount of a shekel and a talent is. The amount of gold used alone in the tabernacle was 2,210.65 pounds. The amount of silver used was 7,601 pounds.  The amount of bronze used was 5,350 pounds. That is a lot of silver, gold, and bronze used in this building. The cool thing is that all of it was given by the people.

We come with clean hands. 

Israel needed to come clean before God in order to offer the sacrifice for the atonement of sin.  Today we do not need to clean our hands and feet before offering a sacrifice to God.We should clean our hands before we eat and wash our feet daily. We are saved as dirty wretched sinners and are considered cleansed by the blood of Christ. The sacrifices for Israel was how they would be considered clean (Hebrews 9:22). We do not go and kill a goat because we said something that we shouldn’t. We do go and get a sheep ready because we lied. We have a sacrifice that pleased the Lord forever. That was His Son, Jesus Christ (1st John 2:2).

As my wife and I were first moved into our apartment we realized that we needed some furniture. I realized that I did not like looking for furniture and that a sofa is a sofa and a bed is a bed. I was like just give me something to use. My wife, who I think is the brighter one out of us, looked for sofa with specific detail and color and how comfortable it was as well as what was the price. We ended up getting the sofa that she picked out. I am so thankful we did because what she picked out not only looked better than what I wanted but also it is way more comfortable to sit on.

In chapter 37 we are continuing with the making of the tabernacle. God told Moses these details in chapter 24 through 31. There was a little break in the story due to some golden calf stuff and now the tabernacle and the furniture that will go in it is being built.

The Ark

The task was given to the chief craftsman, Bezalel. The ark is probably the most important piece of furniture for the tabernacle. The ark was housed in the Most Holy Place of the Tabernacle. I wonder what goes through your mind when you read the detail of the ark. Many man hours were put into the building of this beautiful object. Remember the Ark served as the footstool of God. The ark was home to three sacred things. The first was manna that was placed in a golden jar(Exodus 16:32). The second was Aaron’s staff (Numbers 17:8). The third was the tablets of stone. The 10 commandments showed that God would be God to Israel and they would be His people.

The ark served as a reminder to know that God is ruler and provider for his people. If you remember that Noah and his family was placed into a big boat that was called an ark. The ark shows us security and protection. It was a very important piece to the tabernacle and to Israel. The most important part of the ark was not what was placed inside but what was placed on top. The lid was beautifully crafted with Cherubim, a mighty angel placed on top. It was to show that this was a representation of God’s throne. 

The Table

The table was to be the place where the unleavened bread was to stay. It is also called the Table of showbread. The table served to hold the twelve loaves of bread that were made every week by the priests. It served as a reminder to Israel that God is our provider. He was the one that sent manna down from heaven every morning for Israel to be nourished. God was the one that showed them the way. The bread also reminded Israel of the lasting covenant between them and God (Leviticus 24:8).  

The Lampstand

 It is also called the Lampstand of life. Its purpose was to give light to the tabernacle. The lampstand was to be a continual light in the tabernacle to show God’s continual presence (Leviticus 24:1–4). The lampstand was decorated with buds and flowers showing that God is the author of life. He is also the light to this dark world. 

Altar of Incense

The Altar of Incense was the place where special incense was made to be a sweet smell to God and it was offered every morning and evening. It stood right in front of the ark but was separated by the curtain to the Holy of Holies. The raising smoke of the incense represented the prayers of the people rising to God. It served as the altar of prayer for Israel.   We see that everything in the tabernacle served as a reminder to Israel that God was everything that they needed. He was their provider as well as their King. He was one who would listen to their prayers and even answer them. The Tabernacle was the home to God.

God’s House Today

The Israelites had the tabernacle to show this is where God lived. Today it is different because obviously we do not have the tabernacle that existed thousands of years ago in the Sinai wilderness, but also the tabernacle was only an example of what would come in the future. We are blessed with something better than a tent with goat skins. We have Jesus Christ who is the tabernacle of God. Christ came onto this earth as his name will be Immanuel which means God is with us (Matthew 1:23). The tabernacle was used by God to show his love for Israel but it was all a shadow of the great love that is shown in Christ.

Do you have Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior? Israel lived in expectation of the Savior to come which was represented in the furniture of the Tabernacle. Christ came and fulfilled everything that the Tabernacle served as for Israel. He is our ark, he is the sweet aroma to God, he is our everlasting sacrifice (1st John 2:2), he is the bread of life (John 6:35), Jesus is our light (John 8:12). Thank You Jesus for everything that you did and do for us your children. In him there is no other for salvation. May you know him personally for who he is.   

Our story of Exodus now shows the making of the tabernacle. It may seem like Scripture is repeating itself because the same information was given to Moses by God on how the construction of the Tabernacle should be. We are reading how Bezalel and Oholiab is following the word of the Lord. They first were mentioned in chapter 31 about how they will be filled with the Spirit and be able to be the craftsman for the Tabernacle.

The camp of Israel was working together on this project for the Lord. If they were not working on the actual building and construction of the Tabernacle, they were giving.

When to say enough

I love when I see people going out of their way for others. It is a great thing to see when the church body comes together and gives for a cause. This last summer we saw some big fires hit Southern California. I was touched by how the churches around Southern California came together and helped the many different families that lost their homes. Israel came together and offered a free will offering to God and gave the supplies and gold and silver for the construction of the Tabernacle, God’s dwelling place. The people brought these gifts every morning because they wanted to give to the Lord and help out as much as they could. It turned out that they gave more than what was needed and Moses had to make an announcement to have them stop giving. This is something that is unheard of today, “Stop giving.” We normally wonder way people are not giving enough. It is easy to get caught up with a cause and give a one time donation but what about continually to the Lord. Israel gave to the Lord unconditionally. Do you give to the Lord? We can give to the Lord in many different ways. We can give financially to the work of the Lord. We can give our time to serving God in all that we do and help out in ministry or volunteer somewhere. We can give our materials, just like Israel was giving. More importantly have you given your heart? I know people that would help out and give of their money but their heart was not given over to the Lord. What they do is very short term. 2nd Corinthians 9:6-7 says, “Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” God cares about the condition of the heart. I encourage  you to be so giving that the church could come back and say that is enough just like Moses had to.  

 In chapter 32 we saw Moses come down from Mt. Sinai and in outrage threw down the tablets that had the 10 commandments written on them. Moses was so mad that he just threw what God commanded and they broke. Now as we see God wanting Israel to move on in their journey but before they do it was time for Moses to get the 10 commandments written on the two new tablets of stone.  God tells Moses to prepare two tablets and then make the journey up the mountain one more time. The same decree went out to all of Israel for them to consecrate themselves and for nothing to touch the mountain. If you read chapter 19 you can see the similarities. The cloud descended upon the mountain and the mountain shook.

The Proper Attitude before an Almighty God 

As God was passing before Moses, Moses said, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfastness love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children. And Moses bowed low the ground in respect for the Lord. When we come to the Lord we need to always have the proper attitude. We need to know that we are going before an almighty God. We are talking with a sovereign God.  Moses knew that God was gracious and merciful and bowed low before him. We sometimes do not have the proper attitude before God, yeah we do not bow before the Lord, but we sometimes do not take it seriously. God does love us and he does give grace and mercy. God also does not mess with sin. What is on your mind during the time that there is public worship? What goes on when your read the Bible? What goes on when you sit in for Bible study? Do you have the proper mindset? I always need to have my heart prepared because if I do not I will take for granted what God has done for me.  

Have you ever done something that you should not have and you got in trouble for it? When you first get into trouble it seems as though you will never get past that point. The whole world is crashing on you and your big mistake. Once you move past that initial shock it is time to move past it. It is time for Israel to move past their issue. We will see that they will literally move from the Sinai area and into the promise land (or at least try). It is cool to see God’s grace because he could have said, “You guys will not get into the Promise Land, because you messed up.” Instead he gives them another chance. The only problem is that God cannot go before them because he would consume them, instead now an angel will lead the way. All of Israel took this to heart and started to mourn. Separation from God is the ultimate punishment. Israel knew this and they knew they needed God but now they see the consequence of their sin . 

Moses was Lucky

We see that Moses had a tent that he went to meet with God on a regular basis. This tent was outside the camp and Moses would enter and the pillar of cloud would descend at the entrance. In verse 11 shares about how the relationship between Moses and God was. It says, “The Lord used to speak to Moses face to face as a man speaks to his friends. As we read later in the section that no man could see God’s face and live so Moses did not see God’s face, but we know that Moses was able to talk with God. No man during this time was able to speak to God like Moses was able to, if they did they would die.  

Not only was Moses able to speak to God, he actually was able to see the backside of God. There are no words to describe what this must have been like but Moses was able to have favor in the eyes of God. Only a few other men in the Old Testament were able to do this, Isaiah (Isaiah 6) and Ezekiel (1:28). Moses was a man of prayer and talked with God and was confident that God would listen to his requests. The amazement that must have been seen by Moses was something that would never leave his mind. He was truly a blessed man to be used by God but to have that type of relationship with him. 

Moses was able to have a chance to talk with God. He was able to be close and personal with the Almighty. We have this opportunity now too. It is true, we do not deserve it, we are unworthy but those who are a child of God can. I am a child of God because I have been forgiven of my sin and now am considered righteous. Hebrews 20:19 tells us that we can have confidence to approach God. God knows us by name, like he knew Moses. God cares about us (1st Peter 5:7). I am so thankful that I can approach my God. I encourage everyone to be able to do the same thing

Moses had been up talking with God on the mountain for about 40 days. We have read all the details that God shared with Moses regarding the building of the tabernacle in the last few chapters. While Moses was up there talking with God, Aaron was left to be in charge of the people. Remember there was about 2 million Israelites that Aaron would have to watch. Because of the idle time the people started to get restless. 40 days is a long time to be away. The people started to wonder what happened to Moses. They started to start wanting to take things in their own hands.

Forgetting the Great Gift

As Moses was gone, the children of Israel went to Aaron and said, “Make us gods.” They were wanting Aaron to make them an idol to worship. Aaron listened and took all the gold from the people and melted it and then made a calf.  This calf was an Egyptian god named Apis. This god was considered to be a manifestation of Ptah, the creator god of Egypt. This god was a calf/bull image that the Egyptians would worship. After the idol was made they took it a step further and said, “These are the gods that brought us out of Egypt!” How sad, they are neglecting that the true God, Yahweh, brought them out of Egypt. Forgetting his constant provision for them, forgetting His leading hand. They took matters into their sinful hearts.

God’s wrath and the Punishment for sin  

Moses was told to go back to the camp and take charge of the rebellious people. God told Moses that he could kill them all for their actions but Moses intervened and said, “no.” Moses went back and was shocked by what he saw. He took the two stones that had the commandments on them and broke them. The whole camp was singing and dancing around this golden image and worshipping it. They were proclaiming that this man made thing brought them to where they were. Moses asked Aaron what happened and Aaron responded with, “The people gave me their gold and I threw it in the fire and look what popped out, this golden calf.” Aaron was guilty because he should have been the one to make a stand for what was right and for the Lord but he did not. OH Aaron, what a missed opportunity.

Moses then said, “Who is for the true Lord, stand by me.” It was a choice of whom you will serve. The sons of Levi stood up and stood by Moses. They were commanded by God to kill those who would not follow after the Lord. Three thousand men and people fell that day because of the result of sin. 

Today

We may not have a golden calf that we dance around but we have our own times of not worshipping the true God. We tend to take for granted, just like Israel, his daily provisions, his protection, and most important his salvation which is through Jesus Christ. We may have had a great time with the Lord and grew and maybe there are some slow times in our life. We become idle in our Christian walk and we wonder what God’s will is for our life. Usually idle time equals trouble because I can think of all the idle time I had and how I have found myself in some kind of trouble.  Joshua 24:15 says, “And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in who land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” We have a choice to serve the Lord with all our heart or choose the to please sin. Romans 6:6 says, “We know that our old self, was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.” We do not have to choose sin. The sin nature died with Christ. I desire for sin to be killed in my life so that it will not erupt in my camp.  Choose this day whom you will serve!

Moses is still receiving the information from God about the tabernacle. God is detailed in his plans and now he is telling Moses not to worry about how it will come together because there will be able men who will do the detailed tasks. My wife and I are getting ready to buy a house and one of the questions that keeps coming up in my mind is how much work will need to happen at each house that we are looking at. There are some guys that are naturally gifted in the area of construction, there are some guys that do not have to try hard to learn how to fix things, and then there are guys like me. I can’t fix things for the life of me. I can learn how to do certain things but it will take me twice as long as anyone else and it still will not be fixed. God is sharing with Moses that he has raised the right men to do this heavy job. Men who born just for this job.

Bazalel and Oholiab 

In verse 3 it says that Bazalel was filled with the Spirit. He was going to serve as the contractor and be the one leading the construction of the tabernacle. He was going to have an assistant named Oholiab. The task at hand with the construction of the tabernacle was not a small task. This was a great responsibility that they would need the Lord to help with. God chose the right people for the job. These men were skilled in their areas of craftsmanship. 

The Sabbath 

The last section of chapter 31 God speaks to Moses directly about the Sabbath. God established this day for a specific purpose for the people of Israel to keep. This was something that was established even before the 10 Commandments but during creation. In Genesis 2 we see that God created the 7th day for the observation of who God is. God makes this clear while speaking to Moses that the Sabbath was designed for Israel to know about the knowledge of God. 

God has given each of us certain gifts and talents that we were born with and we use all the time. These two men were gifted in certain artistic areas. We are called by God in 2nd Timothy 2:15 to do our best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. I may not be Mr. Construction guy but I can be a worker of God’s Word and handling it rightly. In fact that is what I am called to do. You may be good in sports, art, communication, music, and etc. but we still, as believers, are called by God to handle his word the right way.

The task that these guys had needed to be handled with the upmost respect. They did not just say, “Whatever.” They actually desired for God to be glorified in his dwelling place. When it comes to respect, do you respect God’s Word? Do you know that it is truth? I pray that we can look at this task that God has for us with respect and love.

We have been reading about God’s designing plan of the tabernacle. He has given Moses the blue prints to how it should look and how it should be made. He even gave detail on where the furniture should go. God then told Moses what the priests will need to wear.  Today we read about the consecration of the priests. This means how they will become holy so they can go before the Lord in the tabernacle.

A Big Deal

One of the biggest events involving the tabernacle was the consecration of the priests. This would take 7 days to do the different sacrifices. This event was nothing to be overlooked. They needed to stick to the details because the priests were the only ones that could offer the sacrifices for the people. If they were not right before the Lord then the people could not offer their sacrifices and they could not be right before the Lord. In this particular chapter, Moses will be the one running the different sacrifices for the consecration of the priests. The priests are Aaron, who will serve as the high priest, and his two sons who will be under him.

They will need to take different steps for this process to be complete. First, they will need to be washed at the entrance with water. Then they will need to make a couple of different sacrifices. They will have to sacrifice a bull that will serve as the sin offering. Then a ram that will serve as a burnt offering, and another ram that will serve as the consecration of the priests and their outfits. The last one was a special meat offering with unleavened cakes and oil. Immediately after this event the priests started with the sacrifices for the people.

An interesting point is in verse 20 where Moses was to take some of the blood from the ram and place it on the right ear, right thumb and right big toe of Aaron and his sons. This was to show that the ear would be sanctified to hear the word of God. The right thumb was to show that the hands needed to be set apart for their performance of offering the sacrifices for the people. The right toe was to sanctify the walk of the priest; so they would walk pure.

The Big Picture

It is easy to get caught up in the details with the consecration of the priests. The point God wanted to make was what was mentioned at the end of the chapter. The whole reason why he brought Israel out of Egypt was so he could dwell among his people. He did this for the redemption of mankind. What else is even cooler about this is that God still had a bigger plan than what even the Israelites could grasp, that was Christ. He would come as our High Priest, who is perfect and was able to be the sacrifice for mankind. Aaron and the priesthood to follow would only shadow the greatness of Christ and the completeness of Christ. When I read about how many animals had to be killed because of sin, and still that did not fulfill the debt with God, I am relieved because Christ was it. There is no need for any more sacrifices for sin, there is no need for anymore bloodshed. Thank You Jesus.

The description of the tabernacle continues and now God is giving Moses the information on how the court should be made. The court was the place for the Jews to come and offer the sacrifices. Within the court was the Holy Place which only the priests could enter and within that was the Holy of Holies which only the High Priest would be able to enter once a year. The court was the place for worship and for the sacrifices to be made. 

The Bronze Altar

This was the biggest piece of furniture in the tabernacle. It was about seven feet wide, seven feet long, and about four feet high. The corners of the altar were decorated with horns. It is not quite certain what was the purpose of the horns but we do know that there is a reference when accused criminals would grab the horns for protection (1st Kings 1:50). There is reference to God as being the horn of my salvation in Psalms 18:2. Either way the horns served in the sacrifice of the burnt offerings and the sacrifice of an innocent animal needed to be done for the forgiveness of sin.

The Courtyard

The courtyard was like a fence. The bronze altar was inside the fence in the middle of the courtyard. There was only one entrance the courtyard and that is in verses 16-19. Everything served a purpose. The colors chosen for the fabrics were that of beauty. You could only see that if you went inside the tabernacle. If you were to stand on the outside it would have looked like a normal tent, covered in goat’s hair. You would have to go inside and be with God to see the beauty of the place. 

The Eternal Flame

There is little said about the duties of the priest so far but in the last part of this chapter God tells Moses what one of the jobs that Aaron and his sons will be doing. They are responsible to keeping the flame on the lamp going. We read about the lamp in chapter 25. The oil had to be obtained a certain way. The flame had to be on for sure during the evening. The light represented the eternal presence of the Lord.

Today we have been given a light that never goes out and that is the Holy Spirit. He is here right now to guides us. He convicts us of sin (John 16:8). He is here to help us as Jesus even said, “He is our helper,” in John 14:6. The Holy Spirit goes on our behalf and prays for us (Romans 8:26-28). The Israelites looked at the light to symbolize the presence of God, and we look to a light to, that is the Holy Spirit who works on our behalf. He is here in our midst.