Thursday Night Bible Study

Exodus 25-Exodus 26 (Click title for audio access)

"Tabernacling!"  •  4.14.11  •  Calvary Christian Fellowship, Thursday Night Bible Study

Intro.

- Tonight, we'll be covering these two chapters before us, that speak literally of a meeting place between God and His people, prohphetically of Jesus Christ and metaphorically of the Church.

- Let's quickly get moving.

Text

•  Exodus 25:1-9  :  "Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ^'Speak to the children of Israel, that they bring Me an offering. From everyone who gives it willingly with his heart you shall take My offering. And this is the offering which you shall take from them: gold, silver, and bronze; blue, purple, and scarlet thread, fine linen, and goats’ hair; ram skins dyed red, badger skins, and acacia wood; oil for the light, and spices for the anointing oil and for the sweet incense; onyx stones, and stones to be set in the ephod and in the breastplate. And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them. According to all that I show you, that is, the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furnishings, just so you shall make it."  :  This process was to begin with an offering from the people that was to come from a willing heart.

- God will not be a debtor to you and I. He wants us to give willingly to Him. He doesn't need our gifts, but He does invite our participation in the things that matter to Him.

- The things that would be given would serve their worship of the Lord. They were giving for their sanctuary, their worship center, the place where God would meet with them.

- All of these items would likely have been in their possesion, given to them by the Egyptians when they left captivity.

- They were carrying them around the resource that would make up the heart of their worship.

- It would be a sanctuary, made for Him. Notice those words: Make Me a sanctuary! The word "sanctuary" is "a consecrated place" or as the NLT renders it "a sacred residence."

- Please notice that: The sacred place is not for the comfort and ease of the people. It's a place for the Lord!

- It must be sacred, set apart for Him, so that He may dwell with them! The word "dwell" is very rich. It speaks of settling in or lying down, reclining and being at ease!

- That is what God wants to do with you and I! He wants to enjoy your company and be at ease with you! He does not want to visit. He doesn't want an appointment. He wants to settle in!

- This place is for Him and it's to be made to pattern, from the building to the furnishings. Everything had a purpose and was to be designed specifically!

- He begins with the furnishings that will be in the innermost part of the Tabernacle and then He'll work His way out.

•  Exodus 25:10-15  :  "And they shall make an ark of acacia wood; two and a half cubits shall be its length, a cubit and a half its width, and a cubit and a half its height. And you shall overlay it with pure gold, inside and out you shall overlay it, and shall make on it a molding of gold all around. You shall cast four rings of gold for it, and put them in its four corners; two rings shall be on one side, and two rings on the other side. And you shall make poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold. You shall put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark, that the ark may be carried by them. The poles shall be in the rings of the ark; they shall not be taken from it."  : The first piece of furniture that the people were to make was the Ark which was a chest, made of wood, but overlayed with gold.

- The size of this chest would be roughly 3 1/2 ft by 2 by 2.

- To transport it, 4 gold rings would be attached to the ark for the acacia poles to fit through. They were to remain in their place. The poles could not be used for any other purpose.

•  Exodus 25:16  :  "And you shall put into the ark the Testimony which I will give you."  :  The chest was to hold the law of God. The center of the ark was the Testimony given to man, to Israel, by God.

- Later, more added into the center of this chest, but the law was always meant to have a central place in the lives of the Hebrews.

- The chest, if the first piece of furniture and it's importance is central to the worship of God, then at the center of the ark is the law! That has to be understood principally.

- The worship of God is intermingled with the existence and centrality of the law.

•  Exodus 25:17-19  :  "You shall make a mercy seat of pure gold; two and a half cubits shall be its length and a cubit and a half its width. And you shall make two cherubim of gold; of hammered work you shall make them at the two ends of the mercy seat. Make one cherub at one end, and the other cherub at the other end; you shall make the cherubim at the two ends of it of one piece with the mercy seat."  :  The mercy seat is a very interesting word. It means covering. In the Septuagint, which is the Greek translation of the New Testament, this word is translated "hilastrion."

- The latin vulgate translates this same word "propitiatorium."  That is where we get our English term "propitiation."

- The place of propritiation was to be made of pure gold. Gold is and has always been the most precious metal on earth. At the place of mercy, it is the only metal that can work.

- It was to cover the entire surface of the ark. The mercy seat was the sole covering.

- As part of the ark were to be two cherubic representatives. They were to be an inseparable part of the mercy seat.  

•  Exodus 25:20-22  :  "And the cherubim shall stretch out their wings above, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and they shall face one another; the faces of the cherubim shall be toward the mercy seat. You shall put the mercy seat on top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the Testimony that I will give you. And there I will meet with you, and I will speak with you from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are on the ark of the Testimony, about everything which I will give you in commandment to the children of Israel."  :  This is a beautiful picture for us to consider. God would meet with the High Priest where mercy was the theme.

- He would speak with Him there, with the angels looking on. Humans have fellowship with God based not on the law, but on His mercy!

- Peter tells us in 1 Peter 1:12 that this salvation relationship is something that the angels long to look, literally stoop over to investigate!

- Where can we meet God? The place of propitiation, Jesus Christ, whose blood stands between us and the righteous demands of the law.

•  Exodus 25:23-30  :  "You shall also make a table of acacia wood; two cubits shall be its length, a cubit its width, and a cubit and a half its height. And you shall overlay it with pure gold, and make a molding of gold all around. You shall make for it a frame of a handbreadth all around, and you shall make a gold molding for the frame all around. And you shall make for it four rings of gold, and put the rings on the four corners that are at its four legs. The rings shall be close to the frame, as holders for the poles to bear the table. And you shall make the poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold, that the table may be carried with them. You shall make its dishes, its pans, its pitchers, and its bowls for pouring. You shall make them of pure gold. And you shall set the showbread on the table before Me always."  :  The second article of tabernacle furniture is the table of showbread.  It's made of wood, common material, overlayed with gold, being the greatest value.

- It's going to be 3x1.5x2 with a golden 3 inch rim on top of it. As with the ark, there were to be no human hands to come upon it. There were to be golden poles that were attached to the table.

- Every accoutrement was to be made of gold and the showbread was to be on the table perpetually. It was to always be before the Lord.

- There would be 12 loaves, symbolic of the tribes of Israel and speaking toward the fellowship that God wanted to have with His covenant people.

- He doesn't just want us to walk in and worship. He wants us to stay and have fellowship!

•  Exodus 25:31-36  :  "You shall also make a lampstand of pure gold; the lampstand shall be of hammered work. Its shaft, its branches, its bowls, its ornamental knobs, and flowers shall be of one piece. And six branches shall come out of its sides: three branches of the lampstand out of one side, and three branches of the lampstand out of the other side. Three bowls shall be made like almond blossoms on one branch, with an ornamental knob and a flower, and three bowls made like almond blossoms on the other branch, with an ornamental knob and a flower—and so for the six branches that come out of the lampstand. On the lampstand itself four bowls shall be made like almond blossoms, each with its ornamental knob and flower. And there shall be a knob under the first two branches of the same, a knob under the second two branches of the same, and a knob under the third two branches of the same, according to the six branches that extend from the lampstand. Their knobs and their branches shall be of one piece; all of it shall be one hammered piece of pure gold."  :  The third piece of furniture is the golden lampstand, known to us as the Menorah. Three branches would come from each side.

- It would be fashioned from one piece of gold with little almond blossoms all the way around it.

- They would be adorned intricately on each side. The bowls would be where the fire would be held, but the ornamentation would simply be for the sake of beauty.

- The lampstand, we'll see, is the only light source within the very dark tabernacle.

- In the same way, Jesus is the light of the world, giving understanding to a life with God.

•  Exodus 25:37-40  :  "You shall make seven lamps for it, and they shall arrange its lamps so that they give light in front of it. And its wick-trimmers and their trays shall be of pure gold. It shall be made of a talent of pure gold, with all these utensils. And see to it that you make them according to the pattern which was shown you on the mountain."  : The light was to be in front of the lampstand. The light was to be the feature that mattered. All was to be made according to the pattern that Moses received.

- Now as we move into chapter 26, God gives them the pattern for the tabernacle tent.

•  Exodus 26:1-6  :  "Moreover you shall make the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine woven linen and blue, purple, and scarlet thread; with artistic designs of cherubim you shall weave them. The length of each curtain shall be twenty-eight cubits, and the width of each curtain four cubits. And every one of the curtains shall have the same measurements. Five curtains shall be coupled to one another, and the other five curtains shall be coupled to one another. And you shall make loops of blue yarn on the edge of the curtain on the selvedge of one set, and likewise you shall do on the outer edge of the other curtain of the second set. Fifty loops you shall make in the one curtain, and fifty loops you shall make on the edge of the curtain that is on the end of the second set, that the loops may be clasped to one another. And you shall make fifty clasps of gold, and couple the curtains together with the clasps, so that it may be one tabernacle."  : The tabernacle was a highly portable item made of several curtains.

- Each individual curtain would be 42 feet long, 6 ft wide and the ten of them would be clasped together. These curtains were to be made of linen and were to be beautifully colored and designed.

- They were not to be one piece, but several unique pieces that were joined together. Here is a wonderful picture of what the body of Christ is like: Unique pieces clasped together as one!

- They were to inspire beauty and make one understand that they were in a place where God was! They were to be brought into His presence and everything was to point to that reality.

- All told, the tabernacle itself would be 210 feet long. Now, God gives them instructions for the outer tent, which would surround the tabernacle.

•  Exodus 26:7-14  :  "You shall also make curtains of goats’ hair, to be a tent over the tabernacle. You shall make eleven curtains. The length of each curtain shall be thirty cubits, and the width of each curtain four cubits; and the eleven curtains shall all have the same measurements. And you shall couple five curtains by themselves and six curtains by themselves, and you shall double over the sixth curtain at the forefront of the tent. You shall make fifty loops on the edge of the curtain that is outermost in one set, and fifty loops on the edge of the curtain of the second set. And you shall make fifty bronze clasps, put the clasps into the loops, and couple the tent together, that it may be one. The remnant that remains of the curtains of the tent, the half curtain that remains, shall hang over the back of the tabernacle. And a cubit on one side and a cubit on the other side, of what remains of the length of the curtains of the tent, shall hang over the sides of the tabernacle, on this side and on that side, to cover it. You shall also make a covering of ram skins dyed red for the tent, and a covering of badger skins above that."  :  Over the tabernacle would be this giant covering of goats hair, which would be roughly double the size of the tabernacle itself. It was also to be as one unit, clasped together.

- Other coverings were to be made of ram and badger skins. Even the clasps were made of lower material. This would have deterred any light or water from entering into the tabernacle.

- It's interesting that to the outside world, the tabernacle structure would seem very ordinary. In fact, one might even think that it was a bit ugly!

- The real beauty of the place of worship was reserved for those who made their way into the tabernacle proper! Outwardly, there wasn't anything that appealed to the senses.

- Inwardly, there was beauty that could be seen everywhere! That is the same both with Christ, as well as His body!

- We're plain servants, seeking to draw close to Jesus, who was a plain man when He came.

•  Exodus 26:15-25  :  "And for the tabernacle you shall make the boards of acacia wood, standing upright. Ten cubits shall be the length of a board, and a cubit and a half shall be the width of each board. Two tenons shall be in each board for binding one to another. Thus you shall make for all the boards of the tabernacle. And you shall make the boards for the tabernacle, twenty boards for the south side. You shall make forty sockets of silver under the twenty boards: two sockets under each of the boards for its two tenons. And for the second side of the tabernacle, the north side, there shall be twenty boards and their forty sockets of silver: two sockets under each of the boards. For the far side of the tabernacle, westward, you shall make six boards. And you shall also make two boards for the two back corners of the tabernacle. They shall be coupled together at the bottom and they shall be coupled together at the top by one ring. Thus it shall be for both of them. They shall be for the two corners. So there shall be eight boards with their sockets of silver—sixteen sockets—two sockets under each of the boards."  :  This section describes how that tabernacle was framed. Golden acacia would be the order of the day. These boards would fit into 16 silver sockets.

- The boards would slide into these sockets, keeping them from touching the earth.

- Silver, as we have seen is the metal of redemption. The entire footing for relationship with God is His redemption of His people.

•  Exodus 26:26-30  :  "And you shall make bars of acacia wood: five for the boards on one side of the tabernacle, five bars for the boards on the other side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the boards of the side of the tabernacle, for the far side westward. The middle bar shall pass through the midst of the boards from end to end. You shall overlay the boards with gold, make their rings of gold as holders for the bars, and overlay the bars with gold. And you shall raise up the tabernacle according to its pattern which you were shown on the mountain."  : The boards that would frame the tabernacle would be overlayed with gold.

- Even something this far out from the center, received exquisite attention from the Lord.

•  Exodus 26:31-37  :  "You shall make a veil woven of blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine woven linen. It shall be woven with an artistic design of cherubim. You shall hang it upon the four pillars of acacia wood overlaid with gold. Their hooks shall be gold, upon four sockets of silver. And you shall hang the veil from the clasps. Then you shall bring the ark of the Testimony in there, behind the veil. The veil shall be a divider for you between the holy place and the Most Holy. You shall put the mercy seat upon the ark of the Testimony in the Most Holy. You shall set the table outside the veil, and the lampstand across from the table on the side of the tabernacle toward the south; and you shall put the table on the north side. You shall make a screen for the door of the tabernacle, woven of blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine woven linen, made by a weaver. And you shall make for the screen five pillars of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold; their hooks shall be gold, and you shall cast five sockets of bronze for them."  :  The final item that Moses received instruction about was the veil that separated the Holy Place from the Most Holy place.

- The veil shall be a divider for you. Notice those words. Separation is intoned in those words.

- Later, it was said of the veil, that it was thick enough for 4 fingers to be held across it!

- We don't need to guess at the significance of the veil, as it is intimately related to Jesus.

- Turn over to Hebrews 10.

•  Hebrews 10:19-23  :  "Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, and having a High Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful."

Conclusion

- God, the great initiator, invites men and women to have a relationship with Him. It is a relationship that is measured and that invites our cooperation only in accepting these terms.

- He invites us deep into Himself and what we find there is the light of Jesus Christ, illuminating the secrets of heaven to His people!