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Exodus
34:9-35 “And he said, Behold, I make a
covenant: before all thy people I will
do marvels, such as have not been done in all the earth, nor in any
nation: and all the people among which thou
art shall see the work of the LORD: for it is a terrible thing that I will
do with thee. 11 Observe thou that
which I command thee this day: behold, I
drive out before thee the Amorite, and the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the
Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite. 12
Take
heed to thyself, lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land
whither thou goest, lest it be for a snare in the midst of thee: 13
but
ye shall destroy their altars, break their images, and cut down their groves: 14
for
thou shalt worship no other god: for the
LORD, whose name is Jealous, is
a jealous God: 15 lest thou make a
covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they go a whoring after their
gods, and do sacrifice unto their gods, and one call thee, and thou eat
of his sacrifice; 16 and thou take of their
daughters unto thy sons, and their daughters go a whoring after their gods, and
make thy sons go a whoring after their gods. 17
Thou
shalt make thee no molten gods. 18
The
feast of unleavened bread shalt thou keep.
Seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, as I commanded thee, in the
time of the month Abib: for in the month
Abib thou camest out from Egypt. 19
All
that openeth the matrix is mine; and every firstling among thy cattle, whether
ox or sheep that is male. 20
But
the firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb: and if thou redeem him not, then shalt
thou break his neck. All the firstborn
of thy sons thou shalt redeem. And none
shall appear before me empty. 21 Six days thou shalt
work, but on the seventh day thou shalt rest:
in earing time and in harvest thou shalt rest. 22
And
thou shalt observe the feast of weeks, of the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and
the feast of ingathering at the year’s end. 23
Thrice
in the year shall all your menchildren appear before the Lord GOD of Israel. 24
For
I will cast out the nations before thee, and enlarge thy borders: neither shall any man desire thy land, when
thou shalt go up to appear before the LORD thy God thrice in the
year. [i.e.
no Yom Kippur attacks, or HAMAS attacks on the Last Great Day of the Feast of
Tabernacles] 25 Thou shalt not offer
the blood of my sacrifice with leaven; neither shall the sacrifice of the feast
of the passover be left unto the morning. 26
The
first of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring unto the house of the LORD thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother’s
milk. 27 And the LORD said unto Moses,
Write thou these words: for after the
tenor of these words I have made a covenant with thee and with Israel. 28
And
he was there with the LORD forty days and forty
nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the
covenant, the ten commandments. 29
And
it came to pass, when Moses came down from mount Sinai with the two tables of
testimony in Moses hand, when he came down from the mount, that Moses wist not
that the skin of his face shone while he talked with him.
30 And
when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his
face shone; and they were afraid to come nigh him. 31 And Moses called unto
them; and Aaron and all the rulers of the congregation returned unto him: and Moses talked with them. 32
And
afterward all the children of Israel came nigh:
and he gave them in commandment all that the LORD had spoken with him
in mount Sinai. 33 And till Moses
had done speaking with them, he put a veil on his face. 34
But
when Moses went in before the LORD to speak with him, he
took the veil off, until he came out.
And he came out, and spake unto the children of Israel that which
he was commanded. 35 And the children of
Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses’ face shone: and Moses put the veil upon his face again,
until he went in to speak with him.” Introduction [Audio
version: https://resources.ccphilly.org/detail.asp?TopicID=&Teaching=WED564] “Exodus, we have come in chapter
34 as far as verse 10, Moses had been 40 days and 40 nights on the mountain
with God. They’re given, and we started
back in chapter 25, to study in great detail the dimensions and description of
the Tabernacle, the furnishings of the Tabernacle, the priest’s garments and so
forth, setting aside of Aaron and his sons.
And Moses comes down, and of course there’s bedlam in the camp, they’re
worshipping a golden calf and there’s idolatry, there’s immorality and so
forth, and God brings judgment. And
Moses then pleads for the people, and God slowly, knowingly of course,
acquiesces to Moses’ cry, knowing that he would have be gracious all along,
growing Moses no doubt, until Moses finally says ‘LORD, let me see your
glory,’ God
had yielded to his intercession, and he thought ‘God is yielding, I’m asking
him for everything,’ and God said ‘Alright, I’ll make my goodness
pass before you, I’m going to put my hand over you, Moses, you can’t see my
face and live, but I’m gonna let you see my back as I go by.’ What an incredible thing, you have to
ask Moses when you see him. And God
makes his goodness pass by, merciful, longsuffering, forgiving sin and
iniquity, and at the same time he’s just, and he’s going to in no wise just
push aside sin, but he’s going to visit the iniquity of the parents to the 3rd
and 4th generation of those that hate him and so forth. And yet he’s a merciful God. And Moses then in light of the revelation he
has, he’s gone back up onto the mountain to meet with God, gets on his face and
says ‘We,’ includes himself, ‘We are a stiffnecked people,
and yet you’re perfect in all that you are, for us, because of our failings,
because of our stiffneckedness, because of our sin and our iniquity, you are
the perfect God, so God go with us, you’re the only kind of God that could go
with us on this journey,’ he’s the only kind God that could go with us,
too, isn’t he? You can come tell me
about it later, personally, but I know.
But he’s the only kind of God that could go with us as individuals,
forgiving, longsuffering, merciful, gracious God, and he says, asks, ‘Go
with us.’ So we’ve come as far as
verse 9, and in verse 10 God begins to answer that. Now, Lord willing, I’d like to do the next seven
chapters this evening, I’ve done things like that before, but we’ll see. You don’t believe me. The
LORD
Re-Establishes His Covenant With The People Of Israel, Forgiving Their Sin In verse 10, if you’re worried
about a 15 minute introduction forget it, but in verse 10, “And he said,
Behold, I make a covenant: before all
thy people I will do marvels, such as have not been done in all the earth, nor
in any nation: and all the people among
which thou art shall see the work of the LORD: for it is a terrible thing that I will
do with thee.” So he’s renewing the
Covenant, which means he’s extending his grace, which means in fact he has
forgiven. Now, now doubt he’s saying
these things will be greater than the signs that were manifest when you were
delivered out of Egypt, God is going to do greater things. And he’ll part of Jordan River, the sun and
moon will stand still in the Valley of Ajelon, those things. But certainly this is looking all the way to
the end of the Age, to the day that we live in, God is going to continue, and
still do awesome things with the nation of Israel that are still ahead of
us. But he makes this covenant, and he
says ‘because that’s who I am, that’s what I’ll do,’ “Observe thou
that which I command thee this day:
behold, I drive out before thee the Amorite, and the Canaanite, and the
Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite.” (verse 11) because
of who he is and what he’s going to do, “Take heed to thyself, lest thou
make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land whither thou goest, lest it be
for a snare in the midst of thee:” (verse 12) so God says ‘I’m going
to make a covenant with you, and I’m going to be gracious, longsuffering, and
I’m going to do marvels, miraculous things in the midst of thee, and the other
nations around you are going to see it, they’re going to be awesome and
terrible things. I’m going to drive out
these nations before you, but take heed to yourself, lest you make a covenant,
I’m making a covenant with you, but I want you to look out lest you make a
covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and it becomes a snare unto you.’
A snare is something you get caught
in, something that trips, a trap, he says.
“but ye shall destroy” rather than making a covenant with them,
“their altars, break their images, and cut down their groves:” (verse 13) the
phallic symbols, some of the immoral worship, “for thou shalt worship no
other god: for the LORD, whose name is
Jealous, is a jealous God:” (verse 14)
You’ll find that 6 times in the Old Testament, where he says ‘I am
a jealous God,’ he wants no other gods in the picture. Of course ‘I’m the LORD thy God, thou shalt
have no other gods before me,’ that doesn’t mean before me in line, it means ‘in
my presence, my view,’ there shall be no other gods in your life, no other
gods before me. We’re told that he’s a
jealous God, he’s jealous of our time, he’s jealous of our hearts, he’s
jealous, if you think of the things that a husband can be jealous about with a
wife, he’s called Israel to be his wife, and then she becomes the adulteress,
the wife of Jehovah. Now the Church is
the Bride of Christ. Think of what
jealousy can be like among human beings, he’s jealous of our thoughts, he’s
jealous of our hearts and of our time. James
chapter 4, verse 5 says this to you and I, that the Holy Spirit himself,
know ye not that “The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?” is
what the King James says, but it’s ‘Don’t you realize the Holy Spirit
himself lusteth, desires, enviously, to possess all of you.’ Not forcing himself, but he lusteth,
he’s envious over the parts of your hearts and your lives that you give to
others, and here he says ‘my name is Jealous, I’m a jealous God,’ and
he’s warning them, “lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the
land, and they go a whoring after their gods, and do sacrifice unto their gods,
and one call thee, and thou eat of his sacrifice; and thou take of their
daughters unto thy sons, and their daughters go a whoring after their gods, and
make thy sons go a whoring after their gods.” (verses 15-16) And we think ‘Oh we would never do this,
this is so ancient,’ but sadly so many times we hear in the Body of Christ
of those who marry unbelievers, and certainly there’s grace now, it’s a different
covenant, but that is a lowering of the standard, it is forbidden in the New
Testament, it is light and darkness, it is the temple of God and the temple Baal,
you read 2nd Corinthians chapter 6.
And how often, even I hear parents that have so lowered the standards in
their own home, ‘Oh, he’s a nice boy, a nice girl,’ and here he says ‘I
don’t want to see any of that, I’m jealous over you, I’m jealous over your
children and who they marry.’ God
says ‘It is important to me whom your children marry, and I want them to
be zealous in regards to the things of God, not making covenants with the
inhabitants of the world, and living according to their standards,’ isn’t
it interesting? Take heed, he says,
don’t exchange idolatry for the glory that he’s revealing. “Thou shalt make thee no molten gods.”
(verse 17) The Holy Days Re-Commanded, Among
Other Commandments Now he’s reiterating the
Covenant, so some of these things we’ve heard, “The feast of unleavened
bread shalt thou keep. Seven days thou
shalt eat unleavened bread, as I commanded thee, in the time of the month
Abib: for in the month Abib thou camest
out from Egypt. All that openeth the
matrix is mine; and every firstling among thy cattle, whether ox
or sheep that is male.” (verses 18-19) the firstborn males were
dedicated to God, they are redeemed through the blood of the lamb, it is
something they offered in remembrance, “But the firstling of an ass thou
shalt redeem with a lamb: and if thou
redeem him not, then shalt thou break his neck. All the firstborn of thy sons thou shalt
redeem. And none shall appear before me
empty.” (verse 20) of course the animal rights activists would be having a
fit today, but this is God, and he’s still God as far I know, this was his
standard in the Old Testament [this giving of the firstborn male animals to the
Levitical priesthood was a part of God’s “tithe & offering” system. see https://www.unityinchrist.com/gifts4.htm]. “And none shall appear before me empty,” the
idea is when you come, you come with the redemption money. Interesting, verse 21, “Six days thou
shalt work, but on the seventh day thou shalt rest: in earing time and in harvest thou shalt
rest.” “in earing” that’s the time
of planting, “and in harvest thou shalt rest,” God says in the time of the year
when you’re planting your crops, don’t tell me ‘Oh we gotta get the seed in
the ground, we gotta work this Saturday,’ God says no, in time of planting
I want you to rest on the 7th day, and in time of harvest, ‘Don’t
tell me, we gotta get it in or the crop will be ruined. No, you rest on the 7th day.’ The interesting thing to take note of
though, is from the Law in Exodus 20 it says ‘For in seven days the LORD made the heavens and
the earth,’ and
everybody says ‘Well we don’t know whether those are seven ages or they’re
seven days,’ no, no, these are days that fit within the time of planting
seed and they fit within the time of harvesting, these are 24 hour days. And there were six of them that God used to
make every thing, even the complainers that don’t believe it. So, “And thou shalt observe the feast of
weeks, of the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the feast of ingathering at the
year’s end.” (verse 22) Pentecost, of the first fruits of the wheat
harvest, and the feast of ingathering, the Feast of Tabernacles, Booths, at the
year’s end, “Thrice in the year shall all your menchildren appear before the
Lord GOD of Israel.” (verse 23) and we’ll have this
expanded on in Leviticus. Imagine if
three times a year all of the men of the nation had to show up in Washington,
you’ve seen some of these million man marches, we’ve never known whose counted
them in any of them, whether there was a million men there. But imagine if every year a hundred and fifty
million men in America showed up in Washington DC, just imagine what God is
saying, three times a year [this means during the three Holy Day seasons,
Passover-Days of Unleavened Bread, Shavuot or Pentecost, which is the Feast of
Firstfruits, and the Fall Holy Day season, which includes the Feast of
Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and the Feast of Tabernacles] all the males in
the nation of Israel are to show up at his prescribed place of worship, to
worship the LORD.
He says, “For I will cast out the nations before thee, and enlarge
thy borders: neither shall any man
desire thy land, when thou shalt go up to appear before the LORD thy God thrice in the
year.” (verse 24) Your borders will be
secure, when all the males come up to worship, you’re not going to get attacked
by your enemies, don’t give me the excuse ‘Well we can’t do this, we can’t
come, what about the dangers,’ he says, if you obey, if you give me your
lives, I will intercede between you and your enemies. [i.e. no Yom Kippur attacks, or HAMAS attacks
on the Last Great Day of the Feast of Tabernacles. Sadly, the Israelis seem to get attacked on
God’s Holy Days, it’s happened causing two major wars in Israel so far by their
enemies. Satan doesn’t want to see
Israel re-established in the Promised Land.
And Satan hates God’s Old Testament Holy Days. see https://unityinchrist.com/messianicmovement/Holydayshadows.htm] And Christians, you know, we face warfare,
the New Testament talks about warfare, it talks about the Sword of the Spirit
and the shield of faith, it talks about that we shouldn’t entangle ourselves
with the affairs of this world, because a soldier of Christ, a good soldier
doesn’t entangle himself with civilian affairs, we’re taught to run a race and
so forth. And we have to understand that
if we obey him, if we’re standing in the place that he wants us to stand in, in
obedience, he does the same thing. It
says ‘Submit yourself to God and resist the devil, and he’ll flee.’ Submit yourself to God is the first
part of that, here he says if you obey, you come three times a year, no enemy
of yours is going to desire your land when you’re worshipping me, it’s not
gonna happen, and I’m going to stand between you and them, you will be secure
because of your obedience, interesting picture.
“Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leaven; neither
shall the sacrifice of the feast of the passover be left unto the morning.”
(verse 25) [This is a Passover
command, refer back to Exodus 12.] “The
first of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring unto the house of the LORD thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother’s
milk.” (verse 26) Now we talked more about this earlier, this
is not a dietary law, it has to do with the time of harvest, it has to do with
a pagan ritual where they [the pagans] would boil a kid in his mother’s milk or
in his mother’s blood and then pour that out on the ground, so that the ground
would be plentiful bringing forth the grain and so forth, so this is relative
to harvest, it’s not a dietary law, as it’s given it become that through
tradition in Israel today, certainly. “And
the LORD said unto Moses, Write thou
these words: for after the tenor of
these words I have made a covenant with thee and with Israel.” (verse 27) That ultimately will bring the whole world to
war, it’ll become the stumbling block of all the nations of the world, “I
have made a covenant with thee and with Israel.” Moses
Comes Back Off The Mount--His Face Is Supernaturally Glowing “And he was there with the LORD forty days and forty
nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables” that’s God wrote,
“the words of the covenant, the ten commandments. And it came to pass, when Moses came down
from mount Sinai with the two tables of testimony in Moses hand, when he came
down from the mount, that Moses wist not that the skin of his face shone while
he talked with him.” (verses 28-29) He
was shining, his batteries were completely charged, from 80 days in the
presence of God. Deuteronomy chapter 9,
I believe, verses 8 and 25 tell us he went up twice, he was there for 80
days. 80 days he didn’t drink water. Now anybody here understands that’s an
impossibility. 80 days he didn’t eat,
and yet his life was sustained in the presence of God. What we are originally created for is to
exist in the presence of God. 80 days in
the presence of God, what capacity again does a human being have. Stephen when he’s speaking in Acts 7, it says
his face shone like an angel, he’s so filled with the Spirit of God. 80 days, by the way, we are not recommending
an 80 day fast here to try this out, ok.
If God tells you to come back up onto the mountain, makes his glory
pass, there’s a right time for that, it’s not going to happen to us, fasting is
a great thing, but the idea here is, the human frame in its resurrected form
will maintain this evidently [now what follows is Calvary Chapel’s ‘flesh
and bone theory,’ which I consider one of their more weird but
unsubstantiated Bible interpretations, because the Word of God plainly teaches
that God is a spirit, “a consuming fire” as the apostle John called God, not
composed of flesh and blood, and Paul says in Corinthians 15 that flesh and
blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God.
God is a spirit-being, the angels are spirit-beings. So take what he’s saying with a grain of
salt, as they say]. It tells us in
Revelation chapter 19 that the saints are clothed with fine linen, bright and
white, and that the fine linen of the saints is the righteousness, it says
plural, of the saints, it says that’s what we’ll be clothed with. When Adam and Eve evidently were created,
they were clothed with light [now we don’t know this, Genesis never says that],
because they were created in his image and likeness, that would be with his
righteousness. When they sinned, their
light went out, and they knew they were naked, and God then makes them coverings. But in their original existence before they
fell, we’re not even sure, it says Eve came to Adam, he said this is bone of my
bone, flesh of my flesh, we’re not even sure, we’re not even certain whether
blood was involved, there was bone and flesh.
When Jesus rose from the dead in Luke, at the end of Luke’s Gospel,
Thomas is there and the disciples were afraid, he says to Thomas ‘Doth a
spirit have flesh and bone,’ that’s what he was left with, his blood was
drained out on the cross, he said ‘Doth a spirit have flesh and bone,’ he
had no blood. And it says our bodies
shall be fashioned like unto his glorious body.
So in the Kingdom age what we’re driven by is not a carbon burning blood
system, we’re driven by spirit, and this physical frame has the capacity, in
it’s glorified and resurrected form to be driven by spirit. [Now that is totally unsubstantiated biblical
theory, believe it if you choose to--we’ll find out later at the Wedding Feast
of the Lamb.] Moses evidently, 80 days
in the presence of God, is so enveloped in the presence and glory of God, he
comes down from the mountain to talk to the people, and he’s glowing, it says
his face shone. We’re going to read that
all the people are freaked out. Now
look, understand, they had never seen a lightbulb, please, put this in context,
at nighttime they had seen the moon, the stars, they had seen a fire, these
people have never seen a lightbulb, never seen a neon light, they have never
seen a man’s head glow. We really
haven’t either, in that sense. It says
he wasn’t even aware of it. I think
people who spend that time in the presence of the Lord are not aware, they’re
the last, and sometimes I think to know.
It says verse 30, “And when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw
Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone; and they were afraid to come nigh
him.” “And Moses called unto them; and
Aaron and all the rulers of the congregation returned unto him: and Moses talked with them.” (verse 31) He must have said ‘What is wrong with you
guys?’ ‘Your face looks like something
that would be invented in the 19th century.’ “And afterward all the children of
Israel came nigh: and he gave them in
commandment all that the LORD had spoken with him
in mount Sinai. And till Moses
had done speaking with them, he put a veil on his face.” (verses 32-33) He covered his face, initially, because they
were afraid to come, and then it tells us in 2nd Corinthians chapter
3, that the glory was fading, and that’s why it was there, because it was a
reflected glory. Again, you and I, we
have a glory that’s metamorphosized, that will come from the inside out,
because the Eternal Christ is dwelling in our hearts, and one day all of that
will be released, he will have his fulness in us. But, it says in verse 34, “But when Moses
went in before the LORD to speak with him, he
took the veil off, until he came out.
And he came out, and spake unto the children of Israel that which
he was commanded. And the children of
Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses’ face shone: and Moses put the veil upon his face again,
until he went in to speak with him.” (verses 34-35) he would cover it up when he
talked with the people. Now, no doubt
all of this is coming into play in what’s going to happen now. Moses now will begin to talk to the children of Israel about the things he had
seen on the mount the first time up.
He’s been up there 80 days now.
You and I read through all of these descriptions of the Tabernacle, the Bronze
Laver and the Menorah and the Table of Showbread and the Table of Incense, and
the Ark of the Covenant and the Tabernacle with all of its coverings and all of
the border around it. They haven’t heard
it yet. So these chapters we’re about to
go through kind of reiterates all of those things, and we’re going to move at
light speed as we go through some of these things, because it’s a reiteration
of what we’ve already read, but the people haven’t heard it yet. And now Moses is going to work with them, ask
them to bring an offering to construct the Tabernacle as God as the LORD had told him, and
it’s going to give us again a reiteration of all of those things, and then
finally get us to chapter 39 where it says “and it was all finished,” then to
chapter 40 where it says “it was all set up,” and then the presence of God
comes and inhabits it. So important
things here, and the materials here in chapter 35. Exodus
35:1-35 “And Moses gathered all the
congregation of the children of Israel together, and said unto them, These are
the words which the LORD hath commanded, that ye
should do them. 2 Six days shall work be
done, but on the seventh day there shall be to you an holy day, a sabbath of
rest to the LORD:
whosoever doeth work therein shall be put to death. 3
Ye
shall kindle no fire throughout your habitations upon the sabbath day. 4
And
Moses spake unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying, This is
the thing which the LORD commanded, saying, 5
Take
ye from among you an offering unto the LORD: whosoever is of a willing heart, let
him bring it, an offering of the LORD; gold, and silver,
and brass, 6 and blue, and purple, and
scarlet, and fine linen, and goats’ hair, 7
and
rams’ skins dyed red, and badgers’ skins, and shittim [acacia] wood, 8
and
oil for the light, and spices for anointing oil, and for the sweet incense, 9
and
onyx stones, and stones to be set for the ephod, and for the breastplate. 10
And
every wise hearted among you shall come, and make all that the LORD hath commanded; 11
the
tabernacle, his tent, and his covering, his taches, and his boards, his bars,
his pillars, and his sockets, 12 the ark, and the
staves thereof, with the mercy seat, and the vail of the covering, 13
the
table, and his staves, and all his vessels, and the shewbread, 14
the
candlestick [lampstand] also for the light, and his furniture, and his lamps,
with the oil for the light, 15 and the incense altar,
and his staves, and the anointing oil, and the sweet incense, and the hanging
for the door at the entering in of the tabernacle, 16
the
altar of burnt offering, with his brasen grate, his staves, and all his
vessels, the laver and his foot, 17
the
hangings of the court, his pillars, and their sockets, and the hanging for the
door of the court, 18 the pins of the
tabernacle, and the pins of the court, and their cords, 19
the
cloths of service, to do service in the holy place, the holy garments
for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons, to minister in the priest’s
office. 20 And all the congregation of the
children of Israel departed from the presence of Moses. 21
And
they came, every one whose heart stirred him up, and every one whom his spirit
made willing, and they brought the LORD’s offering to the
work of the tabernacle of the congregation, and for all his service, and for
the holy garments. 22 And they came, both
men and women, as many as were willing hearted, and brought bracelets,
and earrings, and rings, and tablets, all jewels of gold: and every man that offered offered an
offering of gold unto the LORD. 23
And
every man, with whom was found blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen,
and goats’ hair, and red skins of rams, and badgers’ skins brought them.
24 Every one that did offer an
offering of silver and brass brought the LORD’s offering: and every man, with whom was found shittim
wood for any work of the service, brought it. 25
And
all the women that were wise hearted did spin with their hands, and brought
that which they had spun, both of blue, and of purple, and of
scarlet, and of fine linen. 26 And all the women whose
heart stirred them up in wisdom spun goats’ hair. 27
And
the rulers brought onyx stones, and stones to be set, for the ephod, and for
the breastplate; 28 and spice, and oil for
the light, and for the anointing oil, and for the sweet incense. 29
The
children of Israel brought a willing offering unto the LORD, every man and woman,
whose heart made them willing to bring for all manner of work, which the LORD had commanded to be
made by the hand of Moses. 30 And Moses said unto
the children of Israel, See, the LORD called by name
Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah; 31
and
he hath filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, and in
knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship; 32
and
to devise curious works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, 33
and
in the cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of wood, to make
any manner of cunning work. 34 And he hath put in his
heart that he may teach, both he, and Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of
the tribe of Dan. 35 Them hath he filled
with wisdom of heart, to work all manner of work, of the engraver, and of the
cunning workman, and of the embroiderer, in blue, and in purple, in scarlet,
and in fine linen, and of the weaver, even of them that do any work, and
of those that devise cunning work.” The
LORD
Asks The Israelites For A Willing, Voluntary Offering For the Tabernacle’s
Building Materials “And Moses gathered all the
congregation of the children of Israel together, and said unto them, These are
the words which the LORD hath commanded, that ye
should do them. Six days shall work be
done, but on the seventh day there shall be to you an holy day, a sabbath of
rest to the LORD:
whosoever doeth work therein shall be put to death.” (verses 1-2) Seems pretty plain, simple, straight forward. “Ye shall kindle no fire throughout your
habitations upon the sabbath day.” (verse 3)
[Now some scholars feel this command about not kindling a fire was
meant to mean an industrial fire, since all the Tabernacle construction
instructions were about to be given, we don’t know, we’ll find out at the 2nd
coming.] “And Moses spake unto all
the congregation of the children of Israel, saying, This is the thing
which the LORD commanded, saying, Take ye from
among you an offering unto the LORD: whosoever is of a willing heart, let
him bring it, an offering of the LORD; gold, and silver,
and brass, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats’ hair,”
(verses 4-6) it’s
going to go all the way down through the oil and the herbs, and it describes
the Tabernacle, down to verse 20, where it says, see I told you we’d be moving,
“And all the congregation of the children of Israel departed from the
presence of Moses.” (verse 20) So he
gave them this exhortation, “And they came, every one whose heart stirred
him up, and every one whom his spirit made willing, and they brought the
LORD’s offering to the work of the
tabernacle of the congregation, and for all his service, and for the holy
garments.” (verse 21) Again in verse 22 it says “And they
came, both men and women, as many as were willing hearted, and brought
bracelets, and earrings, and rings, and tablets, all jewels of gold: and every man that offered offered an
offering of gold unto the LORD.” Over in verse 29 it says “The
children of Israel brought a willing offering unto the LORD, every man and woman,
whose heart made them willing to bring for all manner of work, which the LORD had commanded to be
made by the hand of Moses.” Five times in the
chapter it says the LORD would only receive
for the construction of the Tabernacle and the clothes for Aaron and his sons
that which came of a willing sacrifice, it’s preceded by a commandment, if you
break the Sabbath you’re going to be put to death. There’s going to be a whole list of things
given to the children of Israel that are mandatory, ‘you’re going to have to
do this, you’re going to have to do this, this is the way you offer a peace
offering, and a sin offering.’ But
when it comes to the Tabernacle, every thing that’s used in the construction
has to come willingly. Everything has to
be given with a willing heart, because the Tabernacle is a picture of Jesus
Christ. He didn’t come under constraint,
he didn’t come because he was forced to come, he came and he laid down his life
for you and I willingly. Everything
about him, he offered himself willingly, ‘no man takes my life, but I lay
it down,’ and all of the things necessary to construct the Tabernacle,
which reflected him, had to come of a willing heart and of a willing mind, five
times we’re told that. There’s going to
be many commandments, these things came willingly. And what a wonderful picture. Now look, understand as we go through, all of
the detail of the ephod and of the breastplate and of the Ark of the Covenant
and of the Table of Showbread and of the Menorah and of the Table of Incense
and of the hangings and of the Vail and of the Laver, the Altar of sacrifice
and all of these things, all of the details, this is the same Creator who made
the heavens and the earth. This is the
same Creator that scientists refuse to acknowledge when they look under an
electron microscope and they see the construction and the digital code, the DNA
and the genes, they see the mystery of the beauty of the way a flower is made,
the fabric of the petal of a rose, or they see the intricacy of everything
else. As God describes this Tabernacle,
it is with incredible intricacy, because all of it reflects God, and no doubt
when we get to heaven [which is the New Jerusalem, God’s throne area, 1,500
miles by 1,500 miles, by 1,500 miles] and God’s Word abides forever, we will
know fully, even as we’ve been fully known, now we see these things as best we
can, as the Spirit gives them to us.
Moses, we’re going to find out in chapter 40, inspects all of these
things after they’re made, to make sure that they’re exactly the way God said
they should be as they were in heaven, because he saw the heavenly realities,
and he inspects them all to make sure when the Tabernacle is set up, that it is
according to God’s commandments. And
then we’re going to see God’s presence come and inhabit it. But it begins here with this willing offering
to put this together. And it, look, it
is the same today. In fact as we go to verse
20, let’s read there again, it says “And all the congregation of the
children of Israel departed from the presence of Moses.” And they went home after his exhortation to
think about these things, “And they came, every one whose heart stirred him
up, and every one whom his spirit made willing, and they brought the LORD’s offering to the
work of the tabernacle of the congregation, and for all his service, and for
the holy garments. And they came, both
men and women, as many as were willing hearted, and brought bracelets,” and it doesn’t seem
like an important thing, “and earrings, and rings, and tablets, all jewels
of gold: and every man that offered offered
an offering of gold unto the LORD. And every man, with whom was found blue, and
purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats’ hair, and red skins of
rams, and badgers’ skins brought them.
Every one that did offer an offering of silver and brass brought the LORD’s offering: and every man, with whom was found shittim
wood for any work of the service, brought it.” (verses 21-24) So some men said ‘I’m poor, I don’t have
silver, I got some acacia wood in the garage, I’m going to bring that.’ The
True Spirit Of Giving Notice, “And all the women
that were wise hearted did spin with their hands, and brought that which they
had spun, both of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, and of
fine linen. And all the women whose
heart stirred them up in wisdom spun goats’ hair. And the rulers brought onyx stones, and
stones to be set, for the ephod, and for the breastplate; and spice, and oil
for the light, and for the anointing oil, and for the sweet incense. The children of Israel brought a willing
offering unto the LORD, every man and woman,
whose heart made them willing to bring for all manner of work, which the LORD had commanded to be
made by the hand of Moses.” (verses 25-29) It’s interesting to see the picture, some
bring bracelets, some bring earrings, it doesn’t start with gem stones, it
doesn’t start with the ruler who brought no doubt the most costly items, it
starts in God’s heart with the person who says ‘I have an earring,’ or
the person who said ‘I have a bracelet,’ it starts with the women who
said ‘I don’t have anything, but I can weave, I can weave fine linen.’ And the women after that who said ‘My
hands are old, they’re not supple anymore, I can’t work in fine linen, blue and
scarlet, but I can work in the more course things like the goats’ hair and so
forth,’ and they gave what they could, and the picture all the way along is
about everybody giving what they could give.
And last of all, it says the elders, they brought gem stones, the things
that we would think are most important, but not to God. He watches somebody that brings an earring,
he watches somebody whose hands are worn and tired by life, doing the small
things that they can. It matters to
him. And he lays it all out, and he
wants it to be of a willing mind and of a willing heart. There’s nobody here begging, ‘OK, this is
triple tithe Sunday, everybody come down, down the aisle, lay down your hundred
dollar bills here,’ there’s none of the cajoling and begging and the
nonsense we see today in the name of Christ.
When God’s Work is done God’s way, God provides what’s necessary
to do that work. When God guides, God
provides. And whenever he calls
his people, it’s commensurate to the provision they have within their hands, he
does not beg a church or a congregation or people for more than they have. When you see somebody doing that, and they’re
beating the church and beating the church, ‘you can make your pledges,’ Jesus
said don’t do that, let your yea be yea and your nay be your nay, but they
don’t read those things, ‘You can donate your mortgages, you can donate your
trust funds, you can donate, you can do this and do that,’ and what
happens, you whip people up into a frenzy to give, and you build some plant,
some monument, your own kingdom with that kind of frenzy. But people die back to the normal pace of
giving, and then you have to whup them continually to maintain the thing you
built on a higher budget than you ever had in the first place. Nobody runs their home like that. So if we come, all of us, if we give
willingly, some of us don’t have gold or silver, some of us come and don’t have
money to put in the offering, but there are women who sit here and stuff Sunday
school envelopes, who help put together stuff for the kids in Sunday school,
that are going to get their rewards in heaven.
There are those who can bring jewels and more costly things, there are
those who can bring the offering of their hand and their heart, and of their
labour, and say ‘my hands are worn with years, but I can reach out to a
child in Sunday school.’ He takes notice of it all. There are many commandments for our lives and
there are many restrictions, but in regards to the building of his Kingdom, he
wants a willing heart and a willing offering, a willing mouth to speak the
right things, a willing attitude. He
says he doesn’t like a grudging giver, ‘Here comes that bucket again, I got
to stick in there,’ just keep it and buy pizza, because you’re not going to
get any eternal rewards for that at all.
Our responsibility as pastors is also in regards to your eternity,
certainly you’re saved, but understand in regards to giving, you give of a
willing heart, you give because you love Jesus, and whatever that is, whatever
form it comes in, you can come in here and vacuum, God takes note of every
usher, every Sunday school worker, musicians, sound people, everybody who
serves, everybody who gives of their abundance, everybody who gives willingly,
whatever capacity they give, he takes note of it. And the remarkable thing now, as this thing
is about to be established, there were pagans who had temples all over the
world, and they were covered with gold and marble. This is going to be a tent in the middle of
the nation of Israel, and the presence of God is going to come down and sit
right on it. And no pagan temple
anywhere in the world ever experienced anything like this tent is going to
experience. And God wants it a
reflection of his Son who came willingly, who gave himself willingly, who said “Not
my will, but thy will be done, Father forgive them, for they know not what they
do. Into thy hands do I commend my
spirit.” Verse 29, “The children of
Israel brought a willing offering unto the LORD, every man and woman,
whose heart made them willing to bring for all manner of work, which the LORD had commanded to be
made by the hand of Moses.” Bezaleel
And Aholiab Chosen, Inspired By The LORD To
Do And Oversee The Construction Of The Tabernacle “And Moses said unto the children
of Israel, See, the LORD called by name
Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah; and he hath
filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, and in
knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship;” this anointed carpenter here,
this anointed construction worker, “and to devise curious works, to work in
gold, and in silver, and in brass, and in the cutting of stones, to set them,
and in carving of wood, to make any manner of cunning work. And he hath put in his heart that he may
teach, both he,” and his side-kick “and Aholiab,” which means
“the father of the tent,” isn’t it interesting his mom and dad named him that
years before he’d make the Tabernacle, “the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe
of Dan.” God says these two guys are there, they’re anointed to teach and
to instruct, and to share their knowledge, “Them hath he filled with wisdom
of heart, to work all manner of work, of the engraver, and of the cunning
workman, and of the embroiderer, in blue, and in purple, in scarlet, and in
fine linen, and of the weaver, even of them that do any work, and of
those that devise cunning work.” (verses 30-35) So this Tabernacle is supposed to be so
precise, so detailed, so remarkable, when you looked at the embroidery in this
Tabernacle, you didn’t see a stitch missed anywhere. When you looked at anything, a flower,
something that was carved, a knop on the Menorah, it was perfect. God gave these workmen supernatural guidance
to make these things.” Exodus
36:1-38 “Then wrought Bezaleel and
Aholiab, and every wise hearted man, in whom the LORD put wisdom and
understanding to know how to work all manner of work for the service of the
sanctuary, according to all that the LORD had commanded. 2
And
Moses called Bezaleel and Aholiab, and every wise hearted man, in whose heart
the LORD had put wisdom, even
every one whose heart stirred him up to come unto the work to do it: 3
and
they received of Moses all the offering, which the children of Israel had
brought for the work of the service of the sanctuary, to make it withal. And they brought yet unto him free offerings
every morning. 4 And all the wise men,
that wrought all the work of the sanctuary, came every man from his work which
they made; 5 and they spake unto Moses,
saying, The people bring much more than enough for the service of the work,
which the LORD commanded to make. 6
And
Moses gave commandment, and they caused it to be proclaimed throughout the
camp, saying, Let neither man nor woman make any more work for the offering of
the sanctuary. So the people were
restrained from bringing. 7 For the stuff they had
was sufficient for all the work to make it, and too much. 8
And
every wise hearted man among them that wrought the work of the tabernacle made
ten curtains of fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and
scarlet: with cherubims of
cunning work made he them. 9 The length of one
curtain was twenty and eight cubits, and the breadth of one curtain four
cubits: the curtains were all of one size. 10
And
he coupled the five curtains one unto another:
and the other five curtains he coupled one unto another. 11
And
he made loops of blue on the edge of one curtain from the selvedge in the
coupling: [a
“selvedge” is an edge produced on woven fabric during
manufacture that prevents it from unravelling.] likewise he made in the uttermost
side of another curtain, in the coupling of the second. 12
Fifty
loops made he in one curtain, and fifty loops made he in the edge of the
curtain which was in the coupling of the second: the loops held one curtain to another.
13 And he made fifty taches of gold,
and coupled the curtains one unto another with the taches: so it became one tabernacle. 14
And
he made curtains of goats’ hair for the tent over the
tabernacle: eleven curtains he made
them. 15 The length of one curtain was
thirty cubits, and four cubits was the breadth of one curtain: the eleven curtains were of one size. 16
And
he coupled five curtains by themselves, and six curtains by themselves. 17
And
he made fifty loops upon the uttermost edge of the curtain in the coupling, and
fifty loops made he upon the edge of the curtain which coupleth the second. 18
And
he made fifty taches of brass to couple the tent together, that it might
be one. 19 And he made a covering for the
tent of rams’ skins dyed red, and a covering of badgers’ skins
above that. 20 And he made boards for
the tabernacle of shittim wood, standing up. 21
The
length of a board was ten cubits, and the breadth of a board one cubit
and a half. 22 One board had two tenons, equally
distant one from another: thus did he
make for all the boards of the tabernacle. 23
And
he made boards for the tabernacle; twenty boards for the south side southward: 24
and
forty sockets of silver he made under the twenty boards; two sockets under one
board for his two tenons, and two sockets under another board for his two
tenons. 25 And for the other side of the
tabernacle, which is toward the north corner, he made twenty boards, 26
and
their forty sockets of silver; two sockets under the one board, and two sockets
under another board. 27 And for the sides of
the tabernacle westward he made six boards. 28
And
two boards made he for the corners of the tabernacle in the two sides. 29
And
they were coupled beneath, and coupled together at the head thereof, to one
ring: thus he did to both of them in
both the corners. 30 And there were eight
boards: and their sockets were
sixteen sockets of silver, under every board two sockets. 31
And
he made bars of shittim wood; five for the boards of the one side of the
tabernacle, 32 and five bars for the boards of
the other side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the boards of the
tabernacle for the sides westward. 33
And
he made the middle bar to shoot through the boards from the one end to the
other. 34 And he overlaid the boards with
gold, and made their rings of gold to be places for the bars, and
overlaid the bars with gold. 35 And he made the vail of
blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen: with cherubims made he it of cunning
work. 36 And he made thereunto four
pillars of shittim wood, and overlaid them with gold: their hooks were of gold; and he cast
for them four sockets of silver. 37
And
he made an hanging for the tabernacle door of blue, and purple, and
scarlet, and fine twined linen, of needlework; 38
and
the five pillars of it with their hooks:
and he overlaid their chapiters and their fillets with gold: but their five sockets were of brass.” The
Israelites Gave More Than Was Needed--Moses Had To Tell Them To Stop Giving! “Chapter 36 we come to the
framework and the hangings, it begins to describe to us here what Bezaleel and
Aholiab do, how they’re gathering together the materials. It says in verse 4, “And all the wise men,
that wrought all the work of the sanctuary, came every man from his work which
they made;” and look at verse 6, “And Moses gave commandment, and they
caused it to be proclaimed throughout the camp, saying, Let neither man nor
woman make any more work for the offering of the sanctuary. So the people were restrained from
bringing.” Imagine seeing this on TV
today? ‘Stop giving! You’re killing us, too much money, stop, we
can’t take anymore, you give and you give, we don’t have places to put the
money, please, no more giving, the ministry has got too much money, stop
giving.’ Just imagine, what a
refreshing thing, God’s people, we’re told, ‘You guys are outdoing
yourselves, we have more than we can use, we have more gold and silver and
linen and acacia wood, we have more material, goats’ hair, badgers’ skins than
we even need to finish this.’ And
Moses restrained them from giving, what a wonderful thing when God is moving in
the hearts of his people. “And every
wise hearted man among them that wrought the work of the tabernacle made ten
curtains of fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet: with cherubims of cunning work made he
them.” (verse 8) they’re making the hangings now, and it gives the
measurements. Down in verse 14 we come
to the curtains of the goats’ hair, which were over the outside, it looked very
rustic from the outside, beautiful on the inside, and they made a covering,
verse 19, for the tent of rams’ skins dyed red, covering of badgers’ skins
above. Verse 20 we come to the boards
and the sockets that went all the way around the edge of the Tabernacle, verse
35, let’s not skip verse 31, there we make the bars of acacia wood, and for the
Tabernacle itself it gives us the description of the boards overlaid with
gold. Verse 35 he “And he made
the vail of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen: with cherubims made he it of cunning
work.” that hung between the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies, it tells us
about how it hung there and the sockets.
We went over all of this in the earlier chapters. “And he made an hanging for the tabernacle
door of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, of
needlework; and the five pillars of it with their hooks: and he overlaid their chapiters and their
fillets with gold: but their five
sockets were of brass.” (verses 37-38) Exodus
37:1-29 “And Bezaleel made the ark of
shittim wood: two cubits and a half was
the length of it, and a cubit and a half the breadth of it, and a cubit and a
half the height of it: 2 and he overlaid it
with pure gold within and without, and made a crown of gold to it round about. 3
And
he cast for it four rings of gold, to be set by the four corners of it;
even two rings upon the one side of it, and two rings upon the other side of
it. 4 And he made staves of
shittim wood, and overlaid them with gold. 5
And
he put the staves into the rings by the sides of the ark, to bear the ark. 6
And
he made the mercy seat of pure gold:
two cubits and a half was the length thereof, and one cubit and a
half the breadth thereof. 7 And he made two
cherubims of gold, beaten out of one piece made he them, on the two ends
of the mercy seat; 8 one cherub on the end
on this side, and another cherub on the other end on that side: out of the mercy seat made he the cherubims
on the two ends thereof. 9 And the cherubims
spread out their wings on high, and covered with their wings over
the mercy seat, with their faces one to another; even to the mercy
seatward were the faces of the cherubims. 10
And
he made the table of shittim wood:
two cubits was the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth
thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof: 11
And
he overlaid it with pure gold, and made thereunto a crown of gold round about. 12
Also
he made thereunto a border of an handbreadth round about; and made the crown of
gold for the border thereof round about. 13
And
he cast for it four rings of gold, and put the rings upon the four corners that
were in the four feet thereof. 14
Over
against the border were the rings, the places for the staves to bear the table.
15 And he made the staves of
shittim wood, and overlaid them with gold to bear the table. 16
And
he made the vessels which were upon the table, his dishes, and his
spoons, and his bowls, and his covers to cover withal, of pure gold. 17
And
he made the candlestick [lampstand, menorah] of pure gold: of beaten work made he the
candlestick; his shaft, and his branch, his bowls, his knops, and his flowers,
were of the same: 18 and six branches going
out of the sides thereof; three branches of the candlestick out of the one side
thereof, and three branches of the candlestick out of the other side thereof: 19
three
bowls made after the fashion of almonds in one branch, a knop [bud] and a flower;
and three bowls made like almonds in another branch, a knop and a flower: so throughout the six branches going out of
the candlestick. 20 And in the candlestick
were four bowls made like almonds, his knops, and his flowers: 21
and
a knop under two branches of the same, and a knop under two branches of the
same, and a knop under two branches of the same, according to the six branches
going out of it. 22 Their knops and their
branches were of the same: all of it was
one beaten work of pure gold. 23
And
he made his seven lamps, and his snuffers, and his snuffdishes, of pure
gold. 24 Of a talent of pure gold
made he it, and all the vessels thereof. 25
And
he made the incense altar of shittim wood: the length of it was a cubit, and the
breadth of it a cubit; it was foursquare; and two cubits was the
height of it; the horns thereof were of the same. 26
And
he overlaid it with pure gold, both the top of it, and the sides thereof
round about, and the horns of it: also
he made unto it a crown of gold round about. 27
And
he made two rings of gold for it under the crown thereof, by the two corners of
it, upon the two sides thereof, to be places for the staves to bear it withal. 28
And
he made the staves of shittim wood, and overlaid them with gold. 29
And
he made the holy anointing oil, and the pure incense of sweet spices, according
to the work of the apothecary.” All
The Items Inside The Tabernacle Are Created “And chapter 37 and 38 gives us a
description of all of the furnishings of the Tabernacle. ““And Bezaleel made the ark of
shittim wood: two cubits and a half was
the length of it, and a cubit and a half the breadth of it, and a cubit and a
half the height of it:” (verse 1) Now,
when you read Deuteronomy chapter 10, verses 1-5, Moses says “he made an ark of
acacia wood,” so evidently he was involved in this to some degree, because it
seems like when he was coming down from the mountain the first time, he wanted
the ark of acacia wood to put the tablets in, or as some scholars feel, that
before he went up the second time, he had already seen what he had seen, and
knew it would be necessary when he came down with the tables of stone, to place
them, not to let them sit around in the desert somewhere, but to put them right
into the ark before it was even covered with gold. So you have here Bezaleel working making the
ark, and he gives the dimensions.
Deuteronomy chapter 10, verses 1-5 you’ll hear that Moses was involved
in this process. Verse 6 says they made
the mercy seat of pure gold, and by the descriptions given, if it was an inch
thick it was over 750lbs of pure gold.
Verse 10 says they made the table of acacia wood, it gives the
description here of the Table of Showbread and how long it was, how high it
was, we went over this. He made the
lampstand in verse 17, and that was of beaten work, and it describes all the
details. And he made the Incense Alter
in verse 25, of acacia wood, and it gives the length and the height of that,
verse 29 he made the holy anointing oil, and pure incense of sweet spices
according to the work of the apothecary.
Everything the people had donated is going directly into what it was
supposed to go to, and God is producing with their willing giving this place of
worship.” Exodus
38:1-31 “And he made the altar of burnt
offering of shittim wood: five
cubits was the length thereof, and five cubits the breadth thereof; it
was foursquare; and three cubits the height thereof. 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.
3 And he made all the vessels of
the altar, the pots, and the shovels, and the basons, and the
fleshhooks, and the firepans: all the
vessels thereof made he of brass. 4
And
he made for the altar a brazen grate of network under the compass thereof
beneath unto the midst of it. 5 And he cast four rings
for the four ends of the grate of brass, to be places for the staves. 6
And
he made the staves of shittim wood, and overlaid them with brass. 7
And
he put the staves into the rings on the sides of the altar, to bear it withal;
he made the altar hollow with boards. 8
And
he made the laver of brass, and the foot of it of brass, of
the lookingglasses of the women assembling, which assembled at
the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. 9
And
he made the court: on the south side
southward the hangings of the court were of fine twined linen, an
hundred cubits: 10 their pillars were
twenty, and their brazen sockets twenty; the hooks of the pillars and their
fillets were of silver. 11 And for the north side
the hangings were a hundred cubits, their pillars were twenty,
and their sockets of brass twenty; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets of
silver. 13 And for the east side eastward
fifty cubits. 14 The hangings of the one side of
the gate were fifteen cubits; their pillars three, and their sockets three.
15 And for the other side of the
court gate, on this hand and that hand, were hangings of fifteen cubits;
their pillars three, and their sockets three. 16
All
the hangings of the court round about were of fine twined linen. 17
And
the sockets for the pillars were of brass; the hooks of the pillars and
their fillets of silver; and all the pillars of the court were
filleted with silver. 18 And the hanging for
the gate of the court was needlework, of blue, and purple, and
scarlet, and fine twined linen: and
twenty cubits was the length, and the height in the breadth was
five cubits, answerable to the hangings of the court. 19
And
their pillars were four, and their sockets of brass four; their
hooks of silver, and the overlaying of their chapiters and their fillets
of silver. 20 And all the pins of
the tabernacle, and of the court round about, were of brass. 21
This
is the sum of the tabernacle, even of the tabernacle of testimony, as it
was counted, according to the commandment of Moses, for the service of
the Levites, by the hand of Ithamar, son to Aaron the priest. 22
And
Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made all that
the LORD commanded Moses. 23
And
with him was Aholiab, son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, an
engraver, and a cunning workman, and an embroiderer in blue, and in purple, and
in scarlet, and fine linen. 24 All the gold that was
occupied for the work in all the work of the holy place, even the gold
of the offering, was twenty and nine talents, and seven hundred and thirty
shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary. 25
And
the silver of them that were numbered of the congregation was an hundred
talents, and a thousand seven hundred and threescore and fifteen shekels, after
the shekel of the sanctuary: 26 a bekah for every man,
that is, half a shekel, after the shekel of the sanctuary, for every one
that went to be numbered, from twenty years old and upward, for six hundred
thousand and three thousand and five hundred and fifty men. 27
And
of the hundred talents of silver were cast the sockets of the sanctuary, and
the sockets of the vail; an hundred sockets of the hundred talents, a talent
for a socket. [that’s 75lbs of
silver in each socket!] 28 And of the thousand
seven hundred seventy and five shekels he made hooks for the pillars,
and overlaid their chapiters, and filleted them. 29
And
the brass of the offering was seventy talents, and two thousand and four
hundred shekels. 30 And therewith he made
the sockets to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and the brasen
altar, and the brasen grate for it, and all the vessels of the altar, 31
and
the sockets of the court round about, and the sockets of the court gate, and
all the pins of the tabernacle, and all the pins of the court round about.” Construction
Of The Tabernacle Continues--The Brass Laver--The Definition Of Law & Grace
Is Revealed In Its Construction “And he made the altar of burnt
offering of shittim wood: five
cubits was the length thereof, and five cubits the breadth thereof; it
was foursquare; and three cubits the height thereof.” (verse 1) Verse 8 says he made the Laver. Now this is interesting, he made the Laver,
this is the place where they would wash, “And he made the laver of
brass, and the foot of it of brass, of the lookingglasses of the
women assembling, which assembled at the door of the tabernacle
of the congregation.” Mirrors of
course were popular in Egypt, and that’s where they had come from, because
lipstick and eye makeup was invented in Egypt.
And ladies, you know you don’t ever want to undertake that without a
mirror, imagine just having to say to your three-year-old, ‘Does this one
look longer than this one?’ So in Egypt the brass would be taken and
beaten and highly polished to where they had looking glasses, so they could
look at their faces, part of the culture.
And isn’t it interesting to see now, something they had used for one
thing now being used by God for something else.
Something that no doubt to some degree they had been consumed about with
themselves and their own appearance, and what they looked like, and how they
appeared. And this is a sacrifice in
this day, because they couldn’t go down to CVS and buy a new mirror. They might be kissing this mirror
good-bye. But they’re saying there’s
something more important to me now than just looking at myself. That’s always a great place of service and
worship. ‘There’s something more
important to me these days than self.’ And
when the priests, when anyone would go to wash themselves at that laver, they
would see the reflection of themselves through the water that was in there, and
be reminded of the washing of the water of God’s Word [actually the washing the
Holy Spirit does], of how God saw them, interesting picture. [Law of God--A Spiritual Mirror: People always get confused about the role of the Law of God in a believer’s
life. James spelled it out perfectly, the Law of God, which he called “the
perfect law of liberty” is like a mirror, a spiritual mirror. But what most of
us miss on this analogy is that mirrors of and by themselves, cannot
clean the dirt off the person that's using one. They reveal the dirt, but it
takes the water of the Holy Spirit to make washing the dirt off possible in the
first place. Mirrors are only revealers of dirt. The apostle Paul
noticed in Romans 7 how good the Law was in revealing the spiritual dirt in
him, but lamented throughout that chapter how impossible it was to remove the
dirt the Law revealed by his own human efforts. Then in Romans 8:1-17 Paul
revealed how the dirt is actually removed, by way of the indwelling Holy
Spirit, which, opposite of the carnal nature of man which makes mankind hate
God and the Law of God, actually instills within us a love for both God and his
Laws (vs. 3). That is not legalistic obedience, but love-driven obedience. I
experienced this love for God and his Laws upon my conversion, I can remember
it to this day, as my conversion was taking place. The Israelites under Moses
had the Law of God, but as Moses lamented in Numbers 11, they didn't have the
Holy Spirit. He said he wished they all had the Holy Spirit. All of Israel in
Numbers 11, other than Moses, maybe Aaron, Joshua, Caleb and those 70 elders,
did not have the ability to obey God's Laws, reason, they didn’t have God’s
Holy Spirit indwelling them. The Law is the Mirror in the brazen laver (Exodus
38:8), the water in it is the Holy Spirit.
A mirror does not clean the dirt off
the face of the one using it, it is the water in the bronze laver, which
removes the dirt the beholder sees on himself as he looks into it, and then
uses the water, symbolic of the Holy Spirit, to remove the dirt. So in this
instance, the water in the bronze laver is symbolic of the Holy Spirit,
represents the Holy Spirit, without which no man or woman will be able to
overcome sin in their lives.] Verse 9
says he made the Court, which is 150 foot long and 75 foot wide that the whole
Tabernacle is contained in, and the hanging for the gate in verse 18 is
described there for us. “This is the sum
for the Tabernacle” in verse 21, it gives us the measurements and so forth.” Exodus
39:1-43 “And of the blue, and purple, and
scarlet, they made the cloths of service, to do service in the holy place,
and made the holy garments for Aaron; as the LORD commanded Moses. 2
And
he made the ephod of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine
twined linen. 3 And they did beat the
gold into thin plates, and cut it into wires, to work it in the
blue, and in the purple, and in the scarlet, and in the fine linen, with cunning
work. 4 They made shoulderpieces for it,
to couple it together: by the two
edges was it coupled together. 5 And the curious girdle
[sash]
of his ephod, that was upon it, was of the same, according to the
work thereof; of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined
linen; as the LORD commanded Moses. 6
And
they wrought onyx stones inclosed in ouches of gold, graven, as signets are
graven, with the names of the children of Israel.
7 And
he put them on the shoulders of the ephod, that they should be stones
for a memorial to the children of Israel; as the LORD commanded Moses. 8
And
he made the breastplate of cunning work, like the work of the ephod; of
gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen. 9
It
was foursquare; they made the breastplate double: a span was the length thereof, and a
span the breadth thereof, being doubled. 10
And
they set in it four rows of stones: the
first row was a sardius, a topaz, and a carbuncle: this was the first row. 11
And
the second row, an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond. 12
And
the third row, a ligure, an agate, and an amethyst. 13
And
the fourth row, a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper:
they were inclosed in ouches of gold in their inclosings. 14
And
the stones were according to the names of the children of Israel,
twelve, according to their names, like the engravings of a signet, every
one with his name, according to the twelve tribes. 15
And
they made upon the breastplate chains at the ends, of wreathen work of
pure gold. 16 And they made two ouches of
gold, and two gold rings; and put the two rings in the two ends of the
breastplate. 17 And they put the two wreathen
chains of gold in the two rings on the ends of the breastplate. 18
And
the two ends of the two wreathen chains they fastened in the two ouches, and
put them on the shoulderpieces of the ephod, before it. 19
And
they made two rings of gold, and put them on the two ends of the
breastplate, upon the border of it, which was on the side of the ephod
inward. 20 And they made two other
golden rings, and put them on the two sides of the ephod underneath, toward the
forepart of it, over against the other coupling thereof, above the
curious girdle of the ephod. 21 And they did bind the
breastplate by his rings unto the rings of the ephod with a lace of blue, that
it might be above the curious girdle of the ephod, and that the breastplate
might not be loosed from the ephod; as the LORD commanded Moses. 22
And
he made the robe of the ephod of woven work, all of blue. 23
And
there was a hole in the midst of the robe, as the hole of an habergeon, with
a band round about the hole, that it should not rend. 24
And
they made upon the hems of the robe pomegranates of blue, and purple,
and scarlet, and twined linen. 25
And
they made bells of pure gold, and put the bells between the pomegranates
upon the hem of the robe, round about between the pomegranates; 26
a
bell and a pomegranate, a bell and a pomegranate, round about the hem of the
robe to minister in; as the LORD commanded Moses. 27
And
they made coats of fine linen of woven work for Aaron, and for
his sons, 28 and a mitre [turban] of
fine linen, and goodly bonnets of fine linen, and linen breeches of
fine twined linen, 29 and a girdle of
fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, of needlework; as
the LORD commanded Moses. 30
And
they made the plate of the holy crown of pure gold, and wrote upon it a
writing, like to the engravings of a signet, HOLINESS TO THE LORD. 31
And
they tied unto it a lace of blue, to fasten it on high upon the mitre;
as the LORD commanded Moses. 32
Thus
was all the work of the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation
finished: and the children of Israel did
according to all that the LORD commanded Moses, so
did they. 33 And they brought the tabernacle
unto Moses, the tent, and all his furniture, his taches, his boards, his bars,
and his pillars, and his sockets, 34
and
the covering of rams’ skins dyed red, and the covering of badgers’ skins, and
the vail of the covering, 35 the ark of the
testimony, and the staves thereof, and the mercy seat, 36
the
table, and all the vessels thereof, and the shewbread, 37
the
pure candlestick [lampstand,
menorah], with the lamps thereof, even with the lamps to be
set in order, and all the vessels thereof, and the oil for the light, 38
and
the golden altar, and the anointing oil, and the sweet incense, and the hanging
for the tabernacle door, 39 the brasen altar, and
his grate of brass, his staves, and all his vessels, the laver and his foot, 40
the
hangings of the court, his pillars, and his sockets, and the hanging for the
court gate, his cords, and his pins, and all the vessels of the service of the
tabernacle, for the tent of the congregation, 41
the
cloths of service to do service in the holy place, and the holy garments
for Aaron the priest, and his sons’ garments, to minister in the priest’s
office. 42 According to all that the LORD commanded Moses, so
the children of Israel made all the work. 43
And
Moses did look upon all the work, and, behold, they had done it as the LORD had commanded, even
so had they done it: and Moses blessed
them.” Aaron’s
& The Priest’s Garments Are Created “Chapter 39, verse 1, we’re doing
great, aren’t we? Chapter 39, verse 1,
now Aaron’s garments, Aaron and his sons, it says “And of the blue, and
purple, and scarlet, they made the cloths of service, to do service in the holy
place, and made the holy garments for Aaron; as the LORD commanded Moses.” Now in chapters 39
and 40 you’re going to read that 18 times, “as the LORD commanded
Moses.” Moses was faithful in all of his
house, Moses did as the LORD commanded him down to
the last stitch, to the last socket, to the last hanging, as Moses was
commanded, we’re going to read that 18 times in these two chapters. Ah, verse 6 it says “And they
wrought onyx stones inclosed in ouches of gold, graven, as signets are graven,
with the names of the children of Israel.”
He made the breastplate in verse 8, as you go down, it says in verse 22,
they made the robe and the ephod and the woven work and so forth. Verse 27 they made the coats of linen, woven
work for Aaron and his sons. In verse
30, “And they made the plate of the holy crown of pure gold, and wrote
upon it a writing, like to the engravings of a signet, HOLINESS TO THE
LORD. And they tied unto it a lace of
blue, to fasten it on high upon the mitre; as the LORD commanded Moses.” (verses
30-31)
it would be on the forehead of the high priest.
Look in verse 32, “Thus was all the work of the tabernacle of the
tent of the congregation finished: and
the children of Israel did according to all that the LORD commanded Moses, so
did they.” Finished, does that sound good? All this work is finished, and in verse 43
it’s going to be inspected. “And they
brought the tabernacle unto Moses, the tent, and all his furniture, his taches,
his boards, his bars, and his pillars, and his sockets,” (verse 33) and
they must lay it out, before it’s set up they lay it all out so he can inspect
every piece, verse 43 says, “And Moses did look upon all the work,
and, behold, they had done it as the LORD had commanded, even
so had they done it: and Moses blessed
them.” Moses looked at every single piece and it was
made exactly the way it had been instructed up upon the mountain with God,
there alone with him, and he blesses the people. Exodus
40:1-38 “And the LORD spake unto Moses,
saying, 2 On the first day of the first
month thou shalt set up the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation. 3
And
thou shalt put therein the ark of the testimony, and cover the ark with the
vail. 4 And thou shalt bring in the
table, and set in order the things that are to be set in order upon it; and
thou shalt bring in the candlestick, and light the lamps thereof. 5
And
thou shalt set the altar of gold for the incense before the ark of the
testimony, and put the hanging of the door to the tabernacle. 6
And
thou shalt set the altar of the burnt offering before the door of the
tabernacle of the tent of the congregation. 7
And
thou shalt set the laver between the tent of the congregation and the altar,
and shalt put water therein. 8 And thou shalt set up
the court round about, and hang up the hanging at the court gate. 9
And
thou shalt take the anointing oil, and anoint the tabernacle, and all that is
therein, and shalt hallow it, and all the vessels thereof: and it shall be holy. 10
And
thou shalt anoint the altar of the burnt offering, and all his vessels, and
sanctify the altar: and it shall be an
altar most holy. 11 And thou shalt anoint
the laver and his foot, and sanctify it. 12
And
thou shalt bring Aaron and his sons unto the door of the tabernacle of the
congregation, and wash them with water. 13
And
thou shalt put upon Aaron the holy garments, and anoint him, and sanctify him;
that he may minister unto me in the priest’s office. 14
And
thou shalt bring his sons, and clothe them with coats: 15
And
thou shalt anoint them, as thou didst anoint their father, that they may
minister unto me in the priest’s office:
for their anointing shall surely be an everlasting priesthood throughout
their generations. 16 Thus did Moses: according to all that the LORD commanded him, so he
did. 17 And it came to pass in the first
month in the second year, on the first day of the month, that the
tabernacle was reared up. 18 And Moses reared up
the tabernacle, and fastened his sockets, and set up the boards thereof, and
put in the bars thereof, and reared up the pillars. 19
And
he spread abroad the tent over the tabernacle, and put the covering of the tent
above it; as the LORD commanded Moses. 20
And
he took and put the testimony into the ark, and set the staves on the ark, and
put the mercy seat above upon the ark: 21 and he brought the
ark into the tabernacle, and set up the vail of the covering, and covered the
ark of the testimony; as the LORD commanded Moses. 22
And
he put the table in the tent of the congregation, upon the side of the
tabernacle northward, without the vail. 23 And he set the bread
in order upon it before the LORD; as the LORD had commanded Moses. 24
And
he put the candlestick in the tent of the congregation, over against the table,
on the side of the tabernacle southward. 25
And
he lighted the lamps before the LORD; as the LORD commanded Moses. 26
And
he put the golden altar in the tent of the congregation before the vail: 27
and
he burnt sweet incense thereon; as the LORD commanded Moses. 28
And
he set up the hanging at the door of the tabernacle. 29
And
he put the altar of burnt offering by the door of the tabernacle of the
tent of the congregation, and offered upon it the burnt offering and the meat
offering; as the LORD commanded Moses. 30
And
he set the laver between the tent of the congregation and the altar, and put
water there, to wash withal. 31
And
Moses and Aaron and his sons washed their hands and their feet thereat: 32
when
they went into the tent of the congregation, and when they came near unto the
altar, they washed; as the LORD commanded Moses. 33
And
he reared up the court round about the tabernacle and the altar, and set up the
hanging of the court gate. So Moses
finished the work. 34 Then a cloud covered
the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. 35
And
Moses was not able to enter into the tent of the congregation, because the cloud
abode thereon, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. 36
And
when the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the children of Israel
went onward in all their journeys: 37
but
if the cloud were not taken up, then they journeyed not till the day that it
was taken up. 38 For the cloud of the LORD was upon the
tabernacle by day, and fire was upon it by night, in the sight of all the house
of Israel, throughout all their journeys.” The
Tabernacle Is Set Up By Moses, With All Of Its Utensils, Inside &
Outside--On The 1st Of Abib “Chapter 40, it begins to be set
up, “And the LORD spake unto Moses,
saying, On the first day of the first
month thou shalt set up the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation. And thou shalt put therein the ark of the
testimony, and cover the ark with the vail.
And thou shalt bring in the table, and set in order the things that are
to be set in order upon it; and thou shalt bring in the candlestick, and light
the lamps thereof. And thou shalt set
the altar of gold for the incense before the ark of the testimony, and put the
hanging of the door to the tabernacle. And
thou shalt set the altar of the burnt offering before the door of the
tabernacle of the tent of the congregation.
And thou shalt set the laver between the tent of the congregation and
the altar, and shalt put water therein. And
thou shalt set up the court round about, and hang up the hanging at the court
gate. And thou shalt take the anointing
oil, and anoint the tabernacle, and all that is therein, and shalt
hallow it, and all the vessels thereof:
and it shall be holy. And thou
shalt anoint the altar of the burnt offering, and all his vessels, and sanctify
the altar: and it shall be an altar most
holy. And thou shalt anoint the laver
and his foot, and sanctify it. And thou
shalt bring Aaron and his sons unto the door of the tabernacle of the
congregation, and wash them with water. And
thou shalt put upon Aaron the holy garments, and anoint him, and sanctify him;
that he may minister unto me in the priest’s office.” (verses 1-13) This is Aaron’s coronation day, the beginning
of the priesthood, and it will continue until 70AD when the Romans with Titus
Vespasian destroyed Jerusalem and tore down the Temple, this priesthood that
begins here will run several thousand years now. It seems that during the Tribulation [World
War III], through some covenant, reenforced or confirmed with the anti-christ,
there will be sacrifices again, but that will be apostate, unacceptable, that
is not God’s doing, it is under the anti-christ. Because the ultimate Lamb of God that takes
away the sin of the world has been offered
[The anti-christ will “allow” the Jews to start the sacrifice right
after the 7-year peace treaty is enacted between the Israeli Jews and the Arab
nations. See https://unityinchrist.com/End%20time%20temple/End-Time%20TempleI.htm]. But this priesthood remarkably beginning,
that will follow all the way through the Old Testament. “And thou shalt bring his sons, and clothe
them with coats: And thou shalt anoint
them, as thou didst anoint their father, that they may minister unto me in the
priest’s office: for their anointing
shall surely be an everlasting priesthood throughout their generations. Thus did Moses: according to all that the LORD commanded him, so he
did.” (verses 14-16) He’s the servant of
God. Most of us don’t lack for knowing,
we lack for doing. I heard Charles
Swindoll talking about marriage, he said “Most Christians who have been
around for awhile, they all know what Ephesians chapter 5 says about marriage,
they all know what 1st Peter chapter 3 says” he says “we
don’t lack for knowing, we lack for doing.”
Moses never stopped that, that was his hallmark, “so did he, according
to all that the LORD commanded him,” and in that he
enjoyed the closeness of fellowship with God, the presence of God, God’s
anointing upon his life, Moses did according to all that God had commanded him.
“And it came to pass in the first month in the second year, on the first day
of the month, that the tabernacle was reared up.” (verse 17) So we know this, Exodus 19:1 is the third
month of the first year, when Israel arrives at Sinai [at Jabel al-Lawz in
Saudi Arabia, which is called Mount Sinai in Exodus, but that’s the actual
location of the real Mount Sinai].
Exodus chapter 40, verse 2 says that it’s the first day of the first
month of the second year. If we subtract
from that the several months of the wandering, and the 80 days that Moses is
upon on the mountain, the work on the Tabernacle took about six months, they
had been working on it about half a year, two to three million people,
bringing, giving, working, and it takes about six months for it to be
completed. And it says ““And it came
to pass in the first month in the second year, on the first day
of the month, that the tabernacle was reared up.” (verse 17) New
Year’s as it was. They didn’t sing Old
Lange Sein, the Tabernacle went up. “And
Moses reared up the tabernacle, and fastened his sockets, and set up the boards
thereof, and put in the bars thereof, and reared up the pillars. And he spread abroad the tent over the
tabernacle, and put the covering of the tent above it; as the LORD commanded Moses.”
(verses 18-19) so
the fine linen, everything on top of the gold, and then the badgers’ skins, the
goats’ hair, the badgers’ skins, everything on top of that, “And he took and
put the testimony into the ark, and set the staves on the ark, and put the
mercy seat above upon the ark: and he
brought the ark into the tabernacle, and set up the vail of the covering, and
covered the ark of the testimony; as the LORD commanded Moses.”
(verses 20-21) So
he takes the Ark of the Covenant now, he brought the Ark into the Tabernacle,
he set up the Vail of the covering, and he covered the Ark of the Testimony as
the LORD had commanded Moses. Imagine, he takes now the Ark of the
Covenant, with the mercy seat, with the two tables of stone, puts them in the
Holy of Holies, 15-foot square, and then he hangs the vail in front of it, and
no one now but the high priest will go in there once a year on Yom Kippur. Interesting, all of that work, now it’s
hidden away, there where the presence of God would be. “And he put the table in the tent of the
congregation, upon the side of the tabernacle northward, without the vail.”
(verse 22) because the door’s facing
east, so northward you would have the Table of Showbread without the vail. “And he set the bread in order upon it
before the LORD; as the LORD had commanded
Moses. And he put the candlestick in the
tent of the congregation, over against the table, on the side of the tabernacle
southward. And he lighted the lamps before
the LORD; as the LORD commanded Moses. And he put the golden altar in the tent of
the congregation before the vail: and he
burnt sweet incense thereon; as the LORD commanded Moses. And he set up the hanging at the door
of the tabernacle. And he put the altar
of burnt offering by the door of the tabernacle of the tent of the
congregation, and offered upon it the burnt offering and the meat offering; as
the LORD commanded Moses. And he set the laver between the tent of the
congregation and the altar, and put water there, to wash withal. And Moses and Aaron and his sons washed their
hands and their feet thereat: when they
went into the tent of the congregation, and when they came near unto the altar,
they washed; as the LORD commanded Moses. And he reared up the court round about the
tabernacle and the altar, and set up the hanging of the court gate. So Moses finished the work.” (verses
23-33) When
The Setting Up Of The Tabernacle Is Finished, The LORD
Supernaturally Fills It With His Presence! “Then” it says, “a
cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter into the
tent of the congregation, because the cloud abode thereon, and the glory
of the LORD filled the tabernacle.” (verses 34-35) Imagine this, Moses finishes the work, he’s
got everything up the way God has said to put it up, we’re looking at over one
ton of gold, three and a quarter tons of silver, between four and five tons of
brass, we’re looking at, if God doesn’t show up, just a very, very expensive
tent. What sets it aside from every
pagan temple now, is everything is done the way the LORD has asked for it to
be done, with the resources that God has supplied for it to be done, God’s
work done in God’s way, brings God’s blessing and God’s presence. God’s work, done in God’s way, without
compromise, nobody was building this the way they wanted to do it, nobody had
changed anything, this was according to his description, it’s the way the
Church should be built, according to his description. Not cool, slick and savvy, to be relevant to
any age, but something that’s a heavenly design that’s above everything on this
earth. God’s work done in God’s way
brings God’s presence. Imagine, Moses
finishing here, all the work, the children of Israel heading to their tents,
Moses walking away, and all of a sudden, if you remember back in chapter 33,
and you should, it says Moses set up the tabernacle of meeting, which was not
this Tabernacle, a separate place for him to meet with the LORD, outside the camp,
because of their sin. Now, when this is
all done, the people look, here’s the Pillar of fire rising from the tabernacle
of meeting outside the camp, coming and hovering over the Tabernacle, and coming
down upon it. And his glory so
magnificent that Moses couldn’t even enter into the Tabernacle. God’s saying to the people that he had
approved, he had brought them within the bounds of a covenant stating that he
himself would be a Pilgrim with them, not in a temple, but in a tabernacle, and
that he would dwell in their midst. He
had been outside the camp because of their sin, now he reenforces everything of
his forgiveness, of his grace, of his covenant, by his own presence, first time
since the Garden of Eden, God’s presence is glowing in the midst of his people,
coming and settling right down in the midst of this people, this nation. “Then a cloud covered the tent of the
congregation, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter into the
tent of the congregation, because the cloud abode thereon, and the glory
of the LORD filled the tabernacle.” (verses 34-35) The Bible tells us we will behold with
unveiled face the glory of the Lord, we’re going to stand around and look into
his face. It says we shall see his
face. Isn’t that amazing? In glory.
It says Moses face was shining, but we will shine like the sun in its
strength, Matthew chapter 13 the righteous shall shine like the sun, but he, it
says, in his presence, there will be no need for the sun or the moon or lamps
or any other light there, in the City, for God himself giveth it light, the
most brilliant unimaginable light. We
only think we know what light is. When
we see the light of his glory reflecting through walls of jewels and
transparent streets of gold, and a multitude of angels, and a myriad of saints,
shining like the sun, we just have no idea what light is. We’re headed there, we’re headed there. The glory of the LORD filled the
Tabernacle, “And when the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the
children of Israel went onward in all their journeys: but if the cloud were not taken up, then they
journeyed not till the day that it was taken up. For the cloud of the LORD was upon the
tabernacle by day, and fire was upon it by night, in the sight of all the house
of Israel, throughout all their journeys.” (verses 36-38) You hear Christians say today ‘I wish I
knew what the Lord wanted me to do,’ it was a no-brainer back then, and
they got everything wrong anyway. Now if
there were two to three million people, all estimates of the size of the camp
are between 500 and 700 square miles, between two to three million people in
tents will cover 500 to 700 square miles.
No doubt all of the tents were facing the center of the camp, and in the
center this Pillar of fire was there by night, and a Pillar of cloud, shading
things during the day, so the sun would not smite them by day, nor the moon by
night, interesting, interesting picture.
And it’s a no-brainer, as long as the Pillar is there, we camp. You know, if your three-year-old comes in and
says ‘Mommy, there it goes again,’ you look out, the Pillar’s going up,
time to pack up the tent real fast. I’m
sure God was gracious and gave them packing time [they needed one third of the
tribe of Levi, assigned to setting up and taking down the Tabernacle, to do
that for the whole Tabernacle assembly].
And then they followed the cloud.
When the cloud made a left, you made a left, when the cloud made a
right, you made a right, and they still rebelled and they still sinned, and
they would worship idols, after all of the glory, all the things they saw. The important thing for you and I is that
we’re born-again, and the change takes place from the inside out and not from
the outside in. Human beings are so hardhearted,
no change ever takes place from the outside in, it takes place from the inside
out. But, the remarkable picture, “but
if the cloud were not taken up, then they journeyed not till the day that it
was taken up. For the cloud of the LORD was upon the
tabernacle by day, and fire was upon it by night, in the sight of all the house
of Israel, throughout all their journeys.” (verses 37-38) Imagine 40 years of this, this becomes, no doubt
they take it for granted. The first
generation seeing the glory of God on the mountain, hearing the trumpets,
saying ‘You talk to him, anything he says well do,’ the first generation
seeing Moses’ face shine, the first generation seeing the Red Sea parted,
seeing the deliverance from Egypt, the first generation seeing this Pillar
comes and inhabits their camp initially, seeing the initial falling of
manna. And yet, they would not enter the
Promised Land because of unbelief, they would say ‘No,’ and their
children would enter in. But after 40
years of that, every day, 40 years of God’s blessing, it’s taken for
granted. For you and I, his mercies are
new every morning, he daily loadeth us with benefits. How often do we take for granted, be honest,
how often do I? Way too often. Corey ten Boom said “You never know how
much you need Jesus until he’s all you have left.” But what we find, is in the most
difficult circumstances of life, he is there, he never leaves us or forsakes
us. He is Emmanuel, God with us, to
dwell in the midst of his people. And
it’s interesting as we watch, you now, as long as the people serve him, his
presence is there. When they sin and
turn against him, it’s Ichabod, the glory departs. Solomon dedicates the Temple, and the
presence comes back again and fills the Temple, so again the priests can’t even
enter, and the presence of God there in the Temple, till they turn away and
become idolatrous and murderous, and then there’s Ichabod again, Ezekiel sees
the glory depart. The glory then returns
in the person of Jesus Christ, and now is in the Church, in us. The difference next time will be this, the
first time the glory departed from the Tabernacle, and then it departed from
the Temple, now it’s in the Church, this time the Church departs, he promised
never to leave us or forsake us. So this
time, when the world gets too wicked, it’s the Tabernacle that leaves, it’s the
Temple that leaves, it’s the Church that goes up. When God withdraws his presence this time, we
go with it. And I’m ready, I’m
ready. There’s work to do, we should
pray for Revival, we should get to our friends and relatives and our classmates
that don’t know him, our children and our grandchildren, that we have this
assurance. Next time, because he’s
promised to never leave us or forsake us, there is no more Ichabod, not for the
Church, not for the believing Church, the Church goes the next time the
presence leaves, and I’m hoping and…[transcript of a connective expository
sermon on Exodus chapters 34 through 40, given by Pastor Joe Focht, Calvary
Chapel of Philadelphia, 13500 Philmont Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19116] related links: This giving of the firstborn male
animals to the Levitical priesthood was a part of God’s “tithe & offering”
system. see https://www.unityinchrist.com/gifts4.htm When you see the end-time Temple
being built by the ultra religious Jews in Jerusalem, you know the time is very
close to the Tribulation, World War III:
see https://unityinchrist.com/End%20time%20temple/End-Time%20TempleI.htm Jews Getting Ready To Build The 3rd
Temple https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhebWqm0yB0 Hidden Reason Hamas Invaded (Jews fly in red heifers from
Texas to West Bank) News
article about the red heifers’ tie to the Hamas attack There will be no Yom Kippur
attacks, or HAMAS attacks on the Last Great Day of the Feast of
Tabernacles. Sadly, the Israelis seem to
get attacked on God’s Holy Days, it’s happened causing two major wars in Israel
so far by their enemies. Satan doesn’t
want to see Israel re-established in the Promised Land. And Satan hates God’s Old Testament Holy
Days. see https://unityinchrist.com/messianicmovement/Holydayshadows.htm Audio version: https://resources.ccphilly.org/detail.asp?TopicID=&Teaching=WED564 |