The following is Pastor Nate’s teaching transcription from Calvary Monterey’s 7/13/21 Tuesday Night Service. We apologize for any transcription inaccuracies.
Exodus 38
1 He made the altar of burnt offering of acacia wood. Five cubits was its length, and five cubits its breadth. It was square, and three cubits was its height. 2 He made horns for it on its four corners. Its horns were of one piece with it, and he overlaid it with bronze. 3 And he made all the utensils of the altar, the pots, the shovels, the basins, the forks, and the fire pans. He made all its utensils of bronze. 4 And he made for the altar a grating, a network of bronze, under its ledge, extending halfway down. 5 He cast four rings on the four corners of the bronze grating as holders for the poles. 6 He made the poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with bronze. 7 And he put the poles through the rings on the sides of the altar to carry it with them. He made it hollow, with boards. 8 He made the basin of bronze and its stand of bronze, from the mirrors of the ministering women who ministered in the entrance of the tent of meeting.
The Altar
Now here, we have a description of the actual construction of the altar itself in the tabernacle precinct. As I shared with you in our previous study, these last five or six chapters of the Book of Exodus, they feel fairly repetitious because we already, at a previous section in Exodus, have learned about all these different instruments and dwelling places that God has prescribed for the people of Israel. We learned about the tabernacle, the Ark of the Covenant, the altar of incense, the table of showbread, the lampstand, the veil, the bronze laver, the place where the altar of sacrifice was found, the priesthood and their garments, the outer courts and the wall that was constructed around the tabernacle precincts. We've already thought about each of these in depth when God gave the design to Moses up on Mount Sinai. Now here, we have a repetition of all of those elements in the description of them actually being constructed.
Now part of this, as I shared with you in our last study, is that we're getting this detail so that we can see that the people and particularly the artisans, the craftsmen, people like Bezalel and Oholiab, that they constructed them precisely according to the word of God, so what God said is exactly and precisely what they did. This is helpful because it helps us see what good obedience looks like, to hear the word of the Lord and then execute it precisely. Secondly, it also shows us that God is not changing. He's not evolving here. He says what it is that He wants to have done, and He approves what they do. What they do is exactly what He has already told them to do. The precise commands that He gave is what they heeded. So it helps us to be a people who heed the word of the Lord.
But also this repetition, and at this point, as we looked at in our last study, we've already studied the construction of the tabernacle itself, the Ark of the Covenant, the other instruments inside of the holy place. Now with the altar, we're going outside for the very first time, and we're seeing the elements that are outside. But in looking at these, part of the reason that this is said twice, it's not just to help us see what obedience looks like but to help us understand that God is identifying with this structure. In one sense, He's identifying with His people. They were going to live in tents, and so God, Himself, would live in a tent among His people. He wants to be among His people. He's going to be with them as a people on the move. So in a sense, all of this, where God is dwelling among them as they construct this tabernacle in their midst, it just helps us because we, of course, don't live in an era where we're living in literal tents and God is dwelling in a literal tent, but we have these physical tents. The Bible teaches we are the temple of the Holy Spirit.
The idea today is that as we progress in our journey in Christ, especially as we seek to execute the mission that Jesus gave to us to make disciples of all nations, He wants to be with us in that process. Just as He was with the people of Israel in His own tent as they were camping in the wilderness on their way to the Promised Land, so He also wants to dwell with us as His people as we execute the mission or go on the journey that He has prescribed for us. I want you to remember that because a lot of Christian thought in the popular, mainstream culture especially in the West communicates the idea that God is just with us regardless of what our lives are about or what direction they're headed in. In a sense, when you become a believer that is true. He is with you. But the idea here is that when we're on the journey that God has prescribed for us, when we are doing the work of the Lord, when we are making disciples, there's a special presence of God that is found with us.
So in this first description that we looked at today, we see the altar described. There are details that we've already looked at before. It was made of bronze which is often the metal of judgment and Scripture, and that's appropriate for the place of sacrifice where sin would be theoretically judged or by faith, judged as the animals were sacrificed. You have the horns on the four corners of the altar. There were times that these horns would actually have blood placed upon them when the priests were ordained. Blood would be put upon them when it was consecrated. Blood would be put upon it each year on the Day of Atonement. Then there's the description of this altar and what it was like. Basically the description helps us understand that there was likely a spot for a fire to be built underneath it probably with stones that would be holding all of the flammable material placed underneath this altar so that technically it was still an altar of earth and not a manmade structure.
The interesting element that's added to this description is actually found in Verse 8 where he says that "He made a basin of bronze and its stand of bronze from the mirrors of the ministering women who ministered in the entrance of the tent of meeting." So you have these female servants of the Lord who are engaged in assisting the tabernacle worship structure and who are interested in the things of God. Their donation is their mirrors, which would have been made of bronze and then highly polished. They take their mirrors, and they give them to the Lord. They're then melted down, and they become part of this bronze altar.
I think this is powerful because what it tells us... I mean if you think about what a mirror is. Of course, a mirror is there to help you see yourself. For us in our modern age, we use a mirror to make ourselves look as best as we possibly can, to deal with imperfections and blemishes, to get our hair right. Men and women alike will use a mirror to make themselves look their best. But these women, it seems as if what they're saying is, "Yes, there is our external beauty, but what we care about more than our appearance is we care about God, and we want God to be first in our lives."
There are Scriptures that might be appropriate at this passage. Proverbs 31, Verse 30 comes to mind. "Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised." This is a king writing to his prince son saying, "Here's what you should be looking for in a potential mate: "Charm is deceitful, beauty is vain," or some versions say passing, "but it's the fear of the Lord that should be praised." They might be externally impressive, but inwardly they love the Lord. That's more important. Peter said in First Peter 3, Verse 3 and 4, "Don't let your adorning be external, the braiding of hair, the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear, but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious."
Now all through Scripture, women are held out as often being beautiful. This is part of God's imaging of human beings in the female species that they are the pinnacle of human beauty. But what Peter is saying is there is something that is more important than that. It's the hidden person of the heart, the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit. Our external beauty, of course it fades. All of us lose to Father Time. But the reality is that our character, who we are inwardly, can become more and more beautiful and attractive as the years pass by. I just love these women here who made the decision to place God above their external beauty, to prioritize their internal person above their external person.
The Court
9 And he made the court. For the south side the hangings of the court were of fine twined linen, a hundred cubits; 10 their twenty pillars and their twenty bases were of bronze, but the hooks of the pillars and their fillets were of silver. 11 And for the north side there were hangings of a hundred cubits; their twenty pillars and their twenty bases were of bronze, but the hooks of the pillars and their fillets were of silver. 12 And for the west side were hangings of fifty cubits, their ten pillars, and their ten bases; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets were of silver. 13 And for the front to the east, fifty cubits. 14 The hangings for one side of the gate were fifteen cubits, with their three pillars and three bases. 15 And so for the other side. On both sides of the gate of the court were hangings of fifteen cubits, with their three pillars and their three bases. 16 All the hangings around the court were of fine twined linen. 17 And the bases for the pillars were of bronze, but the hooks of the pillars and their fillets were of silver. The overlaying of their capitals was also of silver, and all the pillars of the court were filleted with silver. 18 And the screen for the gate of the court was embroidered with needlework in blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen. It was twenty cubits long and five cubits high in its breadth, corresponding to the hangings of the court. 19 And their pillars were four in number. Their four bases were of bronze, their hooks of silver, and the overlaying of their capitals and their fillets of silver. 20 And all the pegs for the tabernacle and for the court all around were of bronze.
Now in Verse 9, we have the record of the making of the court. You might remember the outside of the tabernacle structure itself, there was this large court area, which was about a quarter of the size of an American football field. That court would be wrapped with this fencing that was made of fabric. We read of that in Verse 9. It says, "He made the court. For the south side the hangings of the court were of fine-twined linen, 100 cubits. Their 20 pillars and their 20 bases were of bronze, but the hooks of the pillars and their fillets were of silver. For the north side there were hangings of 100 cubits. Their 20 pillars and their 20 bases were of bronze, but the hooks of the pillars and their fillets were of silver. For the west side were hangings of 50 cubits, their 10 pillars and their 10 bases, the hooks of the pillars and their fillets were of silver. For the front to the east, 50 cubits. The hangings for the one side of the gate were 15 cubits, with their three pillars and three bases, and so for the other side.
On both sides of the gate of the court were hangings of 15 cubits, with their three pillars and their three bases. All the hangings around the court were of fine-twined linen. The bases for the pillars were of bronze, but the hooks of the pillars and their fillets were of silver. The overlaying of their capitals was also of silver, and all the pillars of the court were filleted with silver. The screen for the gate of the court was embroidered with needlework in blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine-twined linen. It was 20 cubits long and five cubits high in its breadth, corresponding to the hangings of the court. Their pillars were four in number. Their four bases were of bronze, their hooks of silver and the overlaying of their capitals and their fillets of silver. All the pegs for the tabernacle and for the court all around were of bronze."
Again, we have the fencing described here and also the gate that would lead people into the courtyard area where the sacrifices would be offered. The first thing that you would see when you came in to this gate or this area fence that was draped in a special kind of way was the altar itself, the place of sacrifice. It just reminds me that, as believers, the cross of Christ, the place of sacrifice for us and really for these folks as well, by faith, should be paramount in our minds. It's got to be front and center. I was listening to a pastor friend of mine recently sharing with his congregation. I just loved what he had to say because he just communicated to his church, "Hey, I will be preaching the Gospel every week. The cross of Jesus is what refreshes us, what delights us, what releases God's forgiveness and power. We need to continually set our sights upon it.
Now again, thinking about all these different elements that we've looked at up to this point, you have the Holy of Holies where the Ark of the Covenant was. You have the holy place where the lampstand and the table of showbread were, the table of fellowship were. Then you have the altar of incense or the place of sacrifice was. Again, I've asked this question before, but thinking of the progress of your own Christian life, where are you? Are you just out in the courtyard only happy with the sacrifice of Jesus, and so you're saved, you're in the Kingdom, but you're not really enjoying fellowship with God? No, go further. Go into the holy place and fellowship with God at His table. Let Him feed you from His word and receive from Him. Then also be a light to the world that you're in. Don't just be a saved person that takes your light and hides it under a bushel, but allow it to shine and let the lampstand represent that illuminating work that God wants to work through your light.
We saw this in a recent study in our own fellowship in First Peter, Chapter 2 teaching us that we're called by God as a "chosen race, a royal priesthood, as a holy nation, as God's own special people that we might declare the excellencies of Him who called us out of darkness into His marvelous light." We're meant to declare God's excellencies to our community, to our world, and we're purposed for that. Then make sure that you're going all the way in to the Holy of Holies where there's that personal interaction with God, where His grace is received, His mercy is received, where you are in fellowship with God and really pouring out your heart before Him and getting to know who God is. So I love that. I want to be saved absolutely in the courtyard. I want to be serving the Lord absolutely in the holy place, but I really want to be fellowshipping with God. That's where it all starts in the Holy of Holies.
The Materials
21 These are the records of the tabernacle, the tabernacle of the testimony, as they were recorded at the commandment of Moses, the responsibility of the Levites under the direction of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest. 22 Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made all that the Lord commanded Moses; 23 and with him was Oholiab the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, an engraver and designer and embroiderer in blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen. 24 All the gold that was used for the work, in all the construction of the sanctuary, the gold from the offering, was twenty-nine talents and 730 shekels, by the shekel of the sanctuary. 25 The silver from those of the congregation who were recorded was a hundred talents and 1,775 shekels, by the shekel of the sanctuary: 26 a beka a head (that is, half a shekel, by the shekel of the sanctuary), for everyone who was listed in the records, from twenty years old and upward, for 603,550 men. 27 The hundred talents of silver were for casting the bases of the sanctuary and the bases of the veil; a hundred bases for the hundred talents, a talent a base. 28 And of the 1,775 shekels he made hooks for the pillars and overlaid their capitals and made fillets for them. 29 The bronze that was offered was seventy talents and 2,400 shekels; 30 with it he made the bases for the entrance of the tent of meeting, the bronze altar and the bronze grating for it and all the utensils of the altar, 31 the bases around the court, and the bases of the gate of the court, all the pegs of the tabernacle, and all the pegs around the court.
But in Verse 21, the passage goes on to tell us about all the materials that were used. Again, this is all repetition. We've seen these materials previously, but now we have the actual record of them doing what God had asked. Verse 21, "These are the records of the tabernacle, the tabernacle of the testimony as they were recorded at the commandment of Moses, the responsibility of the Levites under the direction of Ithamar, the son of Aaron the priest. Bezalel, the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made all that the Lord commanded Moses. With him was Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan," it's a tough name for me to say, "an engraver and designer and embroiderer in blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine-twined linen.
All the gold that was used for the work in all the construction of the sanctuary, the gold from the offering was 29 talents and 730 shekels by the shekel of the sanctuary. The silver from those of the congregation who were recorded was 100 talents and 1,775 shekels, by the shekel of the sanctuary; a beka a head, that is, half a shekel, by the shekel of the sanctuary, for everyone who was listed in the records from 20 years old and upward for 603,550 men. The 100 talents of silver were for casting the bases of the sanctuary and the bases of the veil; 100 bases for the 100 talents, a talent a base. Of the 1,775 shekels, he made hooks for the pillars and overlaid their capitals and made fillets for them. The bronze that was offered was 70 talents and 2,400 shekels. With it he made the bases for the entrance of the tent of meeting, the bronze altar and the bronze grating for it and all the utensils of the altar, the bases around the court and the bases of the gate of the court, all the pegs of the tabernacle and all the pegs around the court."
That's a lot that we just read giving us the record of the materials that we were used especially the precious metals that were used to construct the tabernacle itself. The record gives us, especially in Verse 25 and 26, a little bit of an insight into Israel's population at that time. Just basically the way it worked out, if you calculate it, you've got 600 or so thousand men that would have given to come up with these metals. So it's not hard to do. They probably had about two million people in Israel at that time at least.
This also helps us understand that the generosity or the giving of the people, it was expensive. This tabernacle had significant cost attached to it. You had a little over a ton of gold, almost four tons of silver, and about two and a half tons of bronze, so a lot of precious metals that were used. We haven't even gotten to the gemstones yet, but a lot of precious metals that were used to construct this tabernacle. The idea here is that God's kingdom is worth that financial investment. Their investment here in this tabernacle would be something that lasted forever in many senses.
Exodus 39
1 From the blue and purple and scarlet yarns they made finely woven garments, for ministering in the Holy Place. They made the holy garments for Aaron, as the Lord had commanded Moses.
2 He made the ephod of gold, blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and fine twined linen. 3 And they hammered out gold leaf, and he cut it into threads to work into the blue and purple and the scarlet yarns, and into the fine twined linen, in skilled design. 4 They made for the ephod attaching shoulder pieces, joined to it at its two edges. 5 And the skillfully woven band on it was of one piece with it and made like it, of gold, blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and fine twined linen, as the Lord had commanded Moses. 6 They made the onyx stones, enclosed in settings of gold filigree, and engraved like the engravings of a signet, according to the names of the sons of Israel. 7 And he set them on the shoulder pieces of the ephod to be stones of remembrance for the sons of Israel, as the Lord had commanded Moses.
Now in Chapter 39, we move on and we get to see them construct the ephod for the priests. It says, "From the blue and purple and scarlet yarns they made finely woven garments for ministering in the Holy Place. They made the holy garments for Aaron, as the Lord had commanded Moses. He made the ephod of gold, blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine-twined linen. They hammered out gold leaf and cut it into threads to work into the blue and purple and the scarlet yarns and into the fine-twined linen in skilled design. They made for the ephod attaching shoulder pieces, joined to it at its two edges. The skillfully woven band on it was of one piece with it and made like it, of gold, blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine-twined linen, as the Lord had commanded Moses. They made the onyx stones enclosed in settings of gold filigree and engraved like the engravings of a signet according to the names of the sons of Israel. He set them on the shoulder pieces of the ephod to be stones of remembrance for the sons of Israel, as the Lord had commanded Moses."
The Ephod
Here again, we have the construction of the garments for the high priests, and there's this special ephod. We looked at it in detail earlier on in the Book of Exodus. But the thing that I want to recall is that a lot of these elements or materials are the same materials that were used to construct the tabernacle so kind of one and the same. The tabernacle points so blatantly to Jesus that it's easy for us to see how these men were as an extension of the tabernacle, we should see ourselves in our modern time the priesthood of the believers as an extension of Christ. We are the body of Christ. We're meant to emulate Him and carry out His wishes, His will here on Earth today. We, of course, can't die for anybody's sins, but we can be a representation of Christ to the people that are in our lives. Paul said in First Corinthians, Chapter 12 that "We're the body of Christ," Verse 27, "and individually members of it." Then he lists all these different offices and gifts that God has given to the church.
Again, there's the idea of the stones of remembrance on the high priests's garments, the names of the tribes carried on these engraved, on to these stones, put on their shoulders. This is emblematic of the prayer life really. They were carrying the burden of the people before God, and we, ourselves, are to carry a burden before God for somebody. I think of the prayer life of Paul the Apostle, just all the people that he brought to the Lord in prayer. We should emulate that in some way in our own lives, bringing people that we care out before God.
The Breastpiece
8 He made the breastpiece, in skilled work, in the style of the ephod, of gold, blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and fine twined linen. 9 It was square. They made the breastpiece doubled, a span its length and a span its breadth when doubled. 10 And they set in it four rows of stones. A row of sardius, topaz, and carbuncle was the first row; 11 and the second row, an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond; 12 and the third row, a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst; 13 and the fourth row, a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper. They were enclosed in settings of gold filigree. 14 There were twelve stones with their names according to the names of the sons of Israel. They were like signets, each engraved with its name, for the twelve tribes. 15 And they made on the breastpiece twisted chains like cords, of pure gold. 16 And they made two settings of gold filigree and two gold rings, and put the two rings on the two edges of the breastpiece. 17 And they put the two cords of gold in the two rings at the edges of the breastpiece. 18 They attached the two ends of the two cords to the two settings of filigree. Thus they attached it in front to the shoulder pieces of the ephod. 19 Then they made two rings of gold, and put them at the two ends of the breastpiece, on its inside edge next to the ephod. 20 And they made two rings of gold, and attached them in front to the lower part of the two shoulder pieces of the ephod, at its seam above the skillfully woven band of the ephod. 21 And they bound the breastpiece by its rings to the rings of the ephod with a lace of blue, so that it should lie on the skillfully woven band of the ephod, and that the breastpiece should not come loose from the ephod, as the Lord had commanded Moses.
Verse 8, the breastpiece is mentioned. He says, "He made the breastpiece in skilled work in the style of the ephod of gold, blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine-twined linen. It was square. They made the breastpiece doubled, a span its length and a span its breadth when doubled. They set it in four rows of stones: a row of sardius, topaz, and carbuncle was the first row; and the second row: an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond; and the third row: a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst; and the fourth row: a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper. They were enclosed in settings of gold filigree. There were twelve stones with their names according to the names of the sons of Israel. They were like signets, each engraved with its name for the twelve tribes.
They made on the breastpiece twisted chains like cords of pure gold. They made two settings of gold filigree and two gold rings and put the two gold rings on the two edges of the breastpiece. They put the two cords of gold in the two rings at the edges of the breastpiece. They attached the two ends of the two cords to the two settings of filigree. Thus they attached it in front to the shoulder pieces of the ephod. Then they made two rings of gold and put them at the two ends of the breastpiece on its inside edge next to the ephod. They made two rings of gold and attached them in front to the lower part of the two shoulder pieces of the ephod at its seam above the skillfully woven band of the ephod. They bound the breastpiece by its rings to the rings of the ephod with a lace of blue so that it should lie on the skillfully woven band of the ephod and that the breastpiece should not come loose from the ephod, as the Lord had commanded Moses."
Again, this is the mention of the breastpiece on the ephod where the two shoulder stones that had the names of the tribes of Israel engraved upon them. Here you have the breastpiece with the 12 stones. Each tribe represented by one of these stones. Again, the congregation is on the shoulders of the high priest, but the congregation is also on the heart, so to speak, of the high priest. We're to work for God's people, but we're also to have a heart for God's people. Praise God, our great high priest, Jesus, has both. He has a heart for us, but he also has worked so successfully for our lives.
The Robes/Garments
22 He also made the robe of the ephod woven all of blue, 23 and the opening of the robe in it was like the opening in a garment, with a binding around the opening, so that it might not tear. 24 On the hem of the robe they made pomegranates of blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen. 25 They also made bells of pure gold, and put the bells between the pomegranates all around the hem of the robe, between the pomegranates— 26 a bell and a pomegranate, a bell and a pomegranate around the hem of the robe for ministering, as the Lord had commanded Moses.
Now Verse 22, we have the robes and the garments of the high priest and for the other priests as well. It says, "He also made the robe of the ephod woven all of blue. The opening of the robe in it was like the opening in a garment with a binding around the opening so that it might not tear. On the hem of the robe they made pomegranates of blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine-twined linen. They also made bells of pure gold and put the bells between the pomegranates all around the hem of the robe between the pomegranates, a bell and a pomegranate, a bell and a pomegranate around the hem of the robe for ministering, as the Lord had commanded Moses." Again, a very ornate robe. Many people think of the pomegranate speaking to something fruitful and maybe indicating the joy and the gladness with which the priests were meant to their ministry. You have to imagine there was a lot of blood, a lot of death, a lot of confession, a lot of sin that was there in the tabernacle precincts. Perhaps these pomegranates were meant to speak of life and joy and hope.
27 They also made the coats, woven of fine linen, for Aaron and his sons, 28 and the turban of fine linen, and the caps of fine linen, and the linen undergarments of fine twined linen, 29 and the sash of fine twined linen and of blue and purple and scarlet yarns, embroidered with needlework, as the Lord had commanded Moses.
"They also made the coats," Verse 27, "woven of fine linen for Aaron and his sons, and the turban of fine linen, and the caps of fine linen, and the linen undergarments of fine-twined linen, and the sash of fine-twined linen and of blue and purple and scarlet yarns embroidered with needlework, as the Lord had commanded Moses." As I mentioned previously in other religions around at that time, often the priesthoods or the clergy would perform their sacrificial rites naked. Here there's nothing like that for Aaron or for his sons. There would be decency. They would be covered.
The Holy Crown
30 They made the plate of the holy crown of pure gold, and wrote on it an inscription, like the engraving of a signet, “Holy to the Lord.” 31 And they tied to it a cord of blue to fasten it on the turban above, as the Lord had commanded Moses.
"They made the plate," Verse 30, "of the holy crown of pure gold and wrote on it an inscription, like the engraving of a signet, 'Holy to the Lord.' They tied to it a cord of blue to fasten it on the turban above, as the Lord had commanded Moses." Again, they'd wear a crown that said "Holy to the Lord," golden crown, "Holy to the Lord" over their turban. It was meant to communicate, "We're set apart. We belong to God." Again, the priesthood of the believers is a modern doctrine for modern, today Christian. We've got to remember that we're called to be holy to the Lord as well.
Completion!
32 Thus all the work of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting was finished, and the people of Israel did according to all that the Lord had commanded Moses; so they did. 33 Then they brought the tabernacle to Moses, the tent and all its utensils, its hooks, its frames, its bars, its pillars, and its bases; 34 the covering of tanned rams’ skins and goatskins, and the veil of the screen; 35 the ark of the testimony with its poles and the mercy seat; 36 the table with all its utensils, and the bread of the Presence; 37 the lampstand of pure gold and its lamps with the lamps set and all its utensils, and the oil for the light; 38 the golden altar, the anointing oil and the fragrant incense, and the screen for the entrance of the tent; 39 the bronze altar, and its grating of bronze, its poles, and all its utensils; the basin and its stand; 40 the hangings of the court, its pillars, and its bases, and the screen for the gate of the court, its cords, and its pegs; and all the utensils for the service of the tabernacle, for the tent of meeting; 41 the finely worked garments for ministering in the Holy Place, the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons for their service as priests. 42 According to all that the Lord had commanded Moses, so the people of Israel had done all the work. 43 And Moses saw all the work, and behold, they had done it; as the Lord had commanded, so had they done it. Then Moses blessed them.
Now to round out Chapter 39, there's this celebration that it is finished. Read it with me in Verse 32. It says, "Thus all the work of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting was finished. The people of Israel did according to all that the Lord had commanded Moses, so they did. Then they brought the tabernacle to Moses, the tent and all its utensils, its hooks, its frames, its bars, its pillars, and its bases; the covering of tanned rams' skins and goatskins and the veil of the screen; the Ark of the Testimony with its poles and the mercy seat; and the table with its utensils and the bread of the Presence; the lampstand of pure gold and its lamps with the lamps set and all its utensils, and the oil for the light; the golden altar, the anointing oil and the fragrant incense, and the screen for the entrance of the tent; the bronze altar and its grating of bronze, its poles, and all its utensils; the basin and its stand; the hangings of the court, its pillars, and its bases; and the screen for the gate of the court, its cords, and its pegs; and all the utensils for the service of the tabernacle, for the tent of meeting; the finely worked garments for ministering in the Holy Place, the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons for their service as priests.
According to all that the Lord had commanded Moses, so the people of Israel had done all the work. Moses saw all the work, and behold, they had done it. As the Lord had commanded, so had they done it. Then Moses blessed them." Now this is completely opposite to the golden calf episode. Remember the golden calf episode? Moses comes down the mountain, fresh off of receiving the commands to do all of these things, to build all of these things with the Ten Commandments in his hands written by the finger of God. He sees the people of Israel doing the exact opposite before he even arrives. They're worshiping a golden calf. They're attributing all their success previously to this golden calf, and they are breaking every commandment that's in Moses's hands at that time. They're ill-equipped and prepared to do the work of the Lord. They've already taken gold that should have been designated for the tabernacle, and they built this golden calf. So Moses in anger throws down the Ten Commandments, grinds the golden calf into powder, throws it and scatters it on the water and requires the people to drink it. It was a time of extreme judgment because of the people's sin.
But that moment is over with now. God has dealt with it. He's restored the covenant, and they are His people afresh. He truly is long suffering in nature. Now Moses gives the commission to build the tabernacle, and the people do it. They bring everything just as Moses has prescribed to Moses. He sees it. He sees everything that they've done, and it says, "Then Moses blessed them." This is indicative of the blessing of God, Moses being the conduit from God to the people that his blessing would flow. They obeyed the Lord, and they were blessed by the Lord.
As you think about the way that they obeyed the Lord, again, I've already alluded to one of these elements, but they obeyed the Lord precisely. They looked at what God had said, they heard what God had say, and they obeyed the Lord precisely. It is human nature to want to fudge on the word of God, to try to bend the word of God, to make God's commandments less clear than they actually are. But we must hear the word and obey it precisely.
They also were quick in their obedience to the Lord. If you look at the time that all of these things took place, it took them a year almost within a few days of the time that they left Egypt to the time that the tabernacle was constructed. They, of course, didn't take that whole year to build this. There was the three months of travel to Mount Sinai. Then there was the 80 days or so that Moses was up on Mount Sinai receiving from God. What that means is that within about six months, give or take a couple of weeks, the people of Israel constructed all this stuff. So they were quick in their obedience. They did not delay.
There would be later points where they delayed their obedience to God sometimes for years. There would be a moment where God had to judge them because for 490 years they failed to give the land a Sabbath rest ever seventh year. That's a long delay of obedience. But here we see quick obedience, and God blessed them. So precise obedience, quick obedience, not delaying, not saying, "Next year I'll deal with this area of sin in my life. Next year I'll become obedient to God in this category or area of my life." You don't know if you'll get to next year. You don't know if you'll be so entrenched and bound in your sin that you can't escape it next year. It's good to say quickly, "Today I'm going to deal with what I know God is asking me to do."
Also thirdly and lastly, not only were they precise and quick in their obedience, but they were wise in their obedience. Can you imagine the teamwork that was required to build, construct all of these elements in six short months back in that era without all of the instruments and tools, garages, power that we have today? It would have required a lot of coordination, a lot of communication. This group will construct the Ark. This group will construct the lampstand. This group will construct the table of showbread. This group will begin working on the outer veil. You had to have lots of coordination, communication, and teamwork. It was wise obedience is what I'm wanting to say here. It was precise. It was quick, but it was also wise. There was wisdom. They used their minds and they served the Lord well.
He didn't tell them, "On the first day, you pick up a needle, and you take the thread. You pull out this goat skin, and you start working on the outer veil." No, he didn't say anything like that. He just said, "This is what I want you to do. Now you use your wisdom, discernment, mind, teamwork, and get the job done." The Lord is asking us to do the same today. Too often Christians are saying, "I will do X for the Lord if he gives me a vision in the sky, if he brings someone to prophesy that same word into my life." But if God has said it, then we should precisely, quickly, but also with wisdom, figure out how to get the job done.
Exodus 40
Moses Directed to Setup the Tabernacle
Now in Chapter 40, we have the concluding chapter of the Book of Exodus. Moses is going to be directed in this chapter by God to set up the tabernacle. He will then set up the tabernacle, and then we'll see what God does in response to the construction, the setting up of the tabernacle. How will God respond to this moment? Again, even in this chapter, there's lots of repetition. We've already seen twice all the elements of the tabernacle listed out, once on Mount Sinai, once as they're building them. We just finished that section. Now we're going to see a third time that all these elements are mentioned when God tells Moses to set them up. He's going to say, "And this is what you should set up." We've already seen them all, but God's going to say them to Moses. Then when Moses sets them up, we'll have a fourth record of all of these elements. It just tells us how important this structure is or was in the mind of God.
1 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “On the first day of the first month you shall erect the tabernacle of the tent of meeting. 3 And you shall put in it the ark of the testimony, and you shall screen the ark with the veil. 4 And you shall bring in the table and arrange it, and you shall bring in the lampstand and set up its lamps. 5 And you shall put the golden altar for incense before the ark of the testimony, and set up the screen for the door of the tabernacle. 6 You shall set the altar of burnt offering before the door of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting, 7 and place the basin between the tent of meeting and the altar, and put water in it. 8 And you shall set up the court all around, and hang up the screen for the gate of the court. 9 “Then you shall take the anointing oil and anoint the tabernacle and all that is in it, and consecrate it and all its furniture, so that it may become holy. 10 You shall also anoint the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and consecrate the altar, so that the altar may become most holy. 11 You shall also anoint the basin and its stand, and consecrate it. 12 Then you shall bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the tent of meeting and shall wash them with water 13 and put on Aaron the holy garments. And you shall anoint him and consecrate him, that he may serve me as priest. 14 You shall bring his sons also and put coats on them, 15 and anoint them, as you anointed their father, that they may serve me as priests. And their anointing shall admit them to a perpetual priesthood throughout their generations.” 16 This Moses did; according to all that the Lord commanded him, so he did.
Let's read in Verse 1. It says, "The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 'On the first day of the first month you shall erect the tabernacle of the tent of meeting. You shall put in it the Ark of the Testimony, and you shall screen the Ark with the veil. You shall bring in the table and arrange it, and you shall bring in the lampstand and set up its lamps. You shall put the golden altar for incense before the Ark of the Testimony and set up the screen for the door of the tabernacle. You shall set the altar of burnt offering before the door of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting and place the basin between the tent of meeting and the altar and put water in it. You shall set up the court all around and hang up the screen for the gate of the court.
Then you shall take the anointing oil and anoint the tabernacle and all that is in it and consecrate it and all its furniture so that it may become holy. You shall also anoint the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils and consecrate the altar so that the altar may become most holy. You shall also anoint the basin and its stand and consecrate it. Then you shall bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the tent of meeting, and you shall wash them with water and put on Aaron the holy garments. You shall anoint him and consecrate him that he may serve me as priest. You shall bring his sons also and put coats on them and anoint them, as you anointed their father, that they may serve me as priests. Their anointing shall admit them to a perpetual priesthood throughout their generations.' This Moses did. According to all that the Lord commanded him, so he did."
Moses Sets Up the Tabernacle
17 In the first month in the second year, on the first day of the month, the tabernacle was erected. 18 Moses erected the tabernacle. He laid its bases, and set up its frames, and put in its poles, and raised up its pillars. 19 And he spread the tent over the tabernacle and put the covering of the tent over it, as the Lord had commanded Moses. 20 He took the testimony and put it into the ark, and put the poles on the ark and set the mercy seat above on the ark. 21 And he brought the ark into the tabernacle and set up the veil of the screen, and screened the ark of the testimony, as the Lord had commanded Moses. 22 He put the table in the tent of meeting, on the north side of the tabernacle, outside the veil, 23 and arranged the bread on it before the Lord, as the Lord had commanded Moses. 24 He put the lampstand in the tent of meeting, opposite the table on the south side of the tabernacle, 25 and set up the lamps before the Lord, as the Lord had commanded Moses. 26 He put the golden altar in the tent of meeting before the veil, 27 and burned fragrant incense on it, as the Lord had commanded Moses. 28 He put in place the screen for the door of the tabernacle. 29 And he set the altar of burnt offering at the entrance of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting, and offered on it the burnt offering and the grain offering, as the Lord had commanded Moses. 30 He set the basin between the tent of meeting and the altar, and put water in it for washing, 31 with which Moses and Aaron and his sons washed their hands and their feet. 32 When they went into the tent of meeting, and when they approached the altar, they washed, as the Lord commanded Moses. 33 And he erected the court around the tabernacle and the altar, and set up the screen of the gate of the court. So Moses finished the work.
Here again, a year later because it tells us the first day of the first month. They had left Egypt on the 14th day of the first month. So we've got almost a full year minus two weeks that they come to this place that God tells Moses to set up the tabernacle. Now Moses heard that, so Verse 17, "In the first month in the second year, on the first day of the month, the tabernacle was erected. Moses erected the tabernacle. He laid its bases, and set up its frames, and put in its poles, and raised up its pillars. He spread the tent over the tabernacle and put the covering of the tent over it, as the Lord had commanded Moses.
He took the testimony and put it into the Ark," or the Ten Commandments, "and put the poles on the Ark and set the mercy seat above on the Ark. He brought the Ark into the tabernacle and set up the veil on the screen, and screened the Ark of the Testimony, as the Lord had commanded Moses. He put the table in the tent of meeting on the north side of the tabernacle, outside the veil, and arranged the bread on it before the Lord, as the Lord had commanded Moses. He put the lampstand in the tent of meeting, opposite the table on the south side of the tabernacle, and he set up the lamps before the Lord, as the Lord had commanded Moses. He put the golden altar in the tent of meeting before the veil and burned fragrant incense on it, as the Lord had commanded Moses.
He put in place a screen for the door of the tabernacle. He set the altar of burnt offering at the entrance of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting and offered on it the burnt offering and the grain offering, as the Lord had commanded Moses. He set the basin between the tent of meeting and the altar and put water in it for washing, with which Moses and Aaron and his sons washed their hands and their feet. When they went into the tent of meeting and when they approached the altar, they washed, as the Lord commanded Moses. He erected the court around the tabernacle and the altar, and set up the screen of the gate of the court. So Moses finished the work."
So Moses actually does the work of setting up the tabernacle just as God had said. I just love that phrase there in Verse 33, "So Moses finished the work," is actually written similarly to the seventh day of creation in Genesis Chapter 2 where God finished His work. We've thought about that previously here in the Book of Exodus thinking about the tabernacle as the new place where God was going to dwell with his people. The Garden of Eden was the original place that God wanted to dwell with us. Now the tabernacle is a new place that God wants to dwell with his people. So Moses, he finishes that work.
Now the question is, what will happen? Will God dwell with His people? Before answering that question, we should also notice that in this whole section the emphasis is really on the obedience of Moses. Seven times in just the paragraph we read, it tells us that Moses did things exactly as the Lord had commanded him. He set up the tabernacle just like the Lord commanded him. He took the testimony and placed in the Ark or the Ten Commandments, just as God had commanded him. He placed the table. He placed the lampstand. He placed the golden altar. He put up the curtain and set up the altar of burnt offering, and he placed the basin just as the Lord had commanded him. This is the obedience of Moses, a faithful man.
But there's something interesting here as well because it tells us in Verse 27 that Moses was actually burning incense. So Moses, himself, seems to have behaved like a priest until the moment that the priesthood was installed. Then he did what only Moses could do from that point forward. But Moses finished the work. Now some day, you will finish the work that God has put in front of you. Some day, the things that God wants from your life will be completed. What a great feeling, I think, that will be to be able to say, "I did what God asked me to do."
Now we close out this study and our study of the Book of Exodus with the answer to the question, what happened after God built or the people built the tabernacle? You'll remember, this whole book began back in Exodus 1 and 2 with the people of promise, descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, toiling in bitter slavery in Egypt. It seemed that God was far from them. Their life was dry. They were being persecuted. They were disadvantaged in every way, and they cried out to God: "God, where are you? God, we're crying out for the God of our forefathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to come, to be with us, to rescue us, to be among us."
The Glory of God
34 Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. 35 And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.
Now we're going to end and seeing the exact opposite of that situation where they felt that God was far from them. Now God is going to appear to be right there with them. Let's read in Verse 34. It says, "Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. Throughout all their journeys, whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the people of Israel would set out. But if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not set out till the day that it was taken up. For the cloud of the Lord was on the tabernacle by day, and fire was in it by night in the sight of all the house of Israel throughout all their journeys."
What did God do in response to the building of the tabernacle? Well, he came and he dwelt in their midst. The cloud covered the tent of meeting. God's glory was so thick that when Moses tried to enter the tent of meeting or the tabernacle, he couldn't do it because the cloud was there. The glory of the Lord was there. This is exactly what God had promised. He said, "I will go with you. My presence will be with you." Here He's fulfilling His promise. The tabernacle would be nothing, the work of the Lord would be nothing without the presence of the Lord. There He is, right there with His people.
I think in a sense all of this, where we're left at the end of the Book of Exodus, it wraps up Exodus beautifully because, as I said a moment ago, it starts with the people of Israel feeling that God is far away. But now God has brought them out of Egypt, and He is dwelling there in their midst. It also prepares us nicely for what's coming after the Book of Exodus. It prepares us for Leviticus in the sense that Moses, he cannot go in. It is probable he could not go in because the glory of the Lord was so thick in that place, but some wonder if he was prohibited from going in by God himself. Remember on Mount Sinai, God had to invite Moses up to the mountaintop. This is a very Sinai-like atmosphere: the glory of the Lord, the presence of God. So perhaps Moses was not yet invited to come in to the tabernacle precincts. There's something prohibiting him from going in.
Well, the Book of Leviticus shows us precisely how God was inviting his priesthood and the people of Israel into His courts and into His house for worship. So this is kind of preparing us for that moment. Moses couldn't get in. How could they get in? The Book of Leviticus gives us an answer to that question. It also prepares us for beyond Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy and also Joshua, because the cloud of God's presence is not just there in glory but also there for journeying. God is ready to go.
36 Throughout all their journeys, whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the people of Israel would set out. 37 But if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not set out till the day that it was taken up. 38 For the cloud of the Lord was on the tabernacle by day, and fire was in it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel throughout all their journeys.
It says, "Throughout all their journeys," in Verse 36, "whenever the cloud was taken up... the people of Israel would set out." They are following the cloud. God is ready to journey with them. The Book of Numbers and Deuteronomy would help them or is a record of their journey. They're to go to the land of promise with God. That's what they're meant to be or meant to do. The book really ends by basically saying God's really not done. He's brought them out of Egypt. He's established them as His people, but He's not finished with them. He has more for them. Brothers and sister in Christ, if you're listening to this, then God is not done with you. Your journey is not complete. He is trying to bring you forward into His plans and purposes for your life.
That concludes our study of the Book of Exodus. In Exodus, you'll find so many passages of the New Testament. When you're reading your New Testament Scripture, you're going to see the Book of Exodus over and over and over again. So I hope that Exodus will be a friend to you for years to come in your journey with Jesus as He brings you out of Egypt and establishes you as His covenantal person and then brings you further into His plans for your life. God bless you, Church. Have a wonderful week.