Building the Tabernacle

Exodus 36:8-38 

8 Then all the gifted artisans among them who worked on the tabernacle made ten curtains woven of fine linen, and of blue, purple, and scarlet thread; with artistic designs of cherubim they made them. 9 The length of each curtain was twenty-eight cubits, and the width of each curtain four cubits; the curtains were all the same size. 10 And he coupled five curtains to one another, and the other five curtains he coupled to one another. 11 He made loops of blue yarn on the edge of the curtain on the selvedge of one set; likewise he did on the outer edge of the other curtain of the second set. 12 Fifty loops he made on one curtain, and fifty loops he made on the edge of the curtain on the end of the second set; the loops held one curtain to another. 13 And he made fifty clasps of gold, and coupled the curtains to one another with the clasps, that it might be one tabernacle.
    14 He made curtains of goats’ hair for the tent over the tabernacle; he made eleven curtains. 15 The length of each curtain was thirty cubits, and the width of each curtain four cubits; the eleven curtains were the same size. 16 He coupled five curtains by themselves and six curtains by themselves. 17 And he made fifty loops on the edge of the curtain that is outermost in one set, and fifty loops he made on the edge of the curtain of the second set. 18 He also made fifty bronze clasps to couple the tent together, that it might be one. 19 Then he made a covering for the tent of ram skins dyed red, and a covering of badger skins above that.
    20 For the tabernacle he made boards of acacia wood, standing upright. 21 The length of each board was ten cubits, and the width of each board a cubit and a half. 22 Each board had two tenons for binding one to another. Thus he made for all the boards of the tabernacle. 23 And he made boards for the tabernacle, twenty boards for the south side. 24 Forty sockets of silver he made to go under the twenty boards: two sockets under each of the boards for its two tenons. 25 And for the other side of the tabernacle, the north side, he made twenty boards 26 and their forty sockets of silver: two sockets under each of the boards. 27 For the west side of the tabernacle he made six boards. 28 He also made two boards for the two back corners of the tabernacle. 29 And they were coupled at the bottom and coupled together at the top by one ring. Thus he made both of them for the two corners. 30 So there were eight boards and their sockets—sixteen sockets of silver—two sockets under each of the boards.  31 And he made bars of acacia wood: five for the boards on one side of the tabernacle, 32 five bars for the boards on the other side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the boards of the tabernacle on the far side westward. 33 And he made the middle bar to pass through the boards from one end to the other. 34 He overlaid the boards with gold, made their rings of gold to be holders for the bars, and overlaid the bars with gold.
    35 And he made a veil of blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine woven linen; it was worked with an artistic design of cherubim. 36 He made for it four pillars of acacia wood, and overlaid them with gold, with their hooks of gold; and he cast four sockets of silver for them.  37 He also made a screen for the tabernacle door, of blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine woven linen, made by a weaver, 38 and its five pillars with their hooks. And he overlaid their capitals and their rings with gold, but their five sockets were bronze.

The intricacies of God’s design and the enabling of His people with the talents and desire to construct the tabernacle are enough to either get lost in the details or be in awe at it all.  The sheer amount of work to create what was in God’s mind as planned is but a shadow of the heavenly temple (Acts 7:44, Hebrews 8:1-2, 5).  How much more glory will be found in the details of the tabernacle where God dwells in the heavenly places, which we will enter in by the grace and righteousness of Christ Jesus alone, and not by the merits of our sacrifices or works!  We wait in anticipation for the day we stand before His face unveiled and glorious. Until that time, He inhabits the temples of our bodies which are made holy for and by Him, and we worship as we build these tabernacles together by His direction and enabling.  

Abundantly Giving to God

Exodus 36:2-7

2 Then Moses called Bezalel and Aholiab, and every gifted artisan in whose heart the Lord had put wisdom, everyone whose heart was stirred, to come and do the work. 3 And they received from Moses all the offering which the children of Israel had brought for the work of the service of making the sanctuary. So they continued bringing to him freewill offerings every morning. 4 Then all the craftsmen who were doing all the work of the sanctuary came, each from the work he was doing, 5 and they spoke to Moses, saying, “The people bring much more than enough for the service of the work which the Lord commanded us to do.”
    6 So Moses gave a commandment, and they caused it to be proclaimed throughout the camp, saying, “Let neither man nor woman do any more work for the offering of the sanctuary.” And the people were restrained from bringing, 7 for the material they had was sufficient for all the work to be done—indeed too much.

When the artistic license was prescribed by God to build the tabernacle and its sanctuary, Moses called them all together to begin the work.  God put the wisdom and will to do the work (Philippians 2:13) in each one chosen, moving their hearts to serve the Lord in these ways with God-given skills.  There were others who provided the raw materials for the artisans to use in their work, again according to God’s design and the talents put in the hands of those He put the desire and ability into.  His people kept giving more to the work, so much that there was far too much for the work that needed to be done!  They gave abundantly, just as we should for the work of the gospel (2 Corinthians 8:1-4).  This giving for the work should be as needed and willingly supplied, not by compulsion nor to be misused, but proportionately supplied by all as God supplies and places in each heart (2 Corinthians 8:13-14).  God accepts what we desire to give and not what others expect from us (2 Corinthians 8:12) with joy (2 Corinthians 9:6-7).  We therefore give willingly and sacrificially to worship our great God in the gospel work, taking our example from these who gave so much for the tabernacle of worship.  

Rest, Willing Offerings, and Artistic License

Exodus 35:1 - 36:1  

1 Then Moses gathered all the congregation of the children of Israel together, and said to them, “These are the words which the Lord has commanded you to do: 2 Work shall be done for six days, but the seventh day shall be a holy day for you, a Sabbath of rest to the Lord. Whoever does any work on it shall be put to death. 3 You shall kindle no fire throughout your dwellings on the Sabbath day.”
    4 And Moses spoke to all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying, “This is the thing which the Lord commanded, saying: 5 “Take from among you an offering to the Lord. Whoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it as an offering to the Lord: gold, silver, and bronze; 6 blue, purple, and scarlet thread, fine linen, and goats’ hair; 7 ram skins dyed red, badger skins, and acacia wood; 8 oil for the light, and spices for the anointing oil and for the sweet incense; 9 onyx stones, and stones to be set in the ephod and in the breastplate.
    10 ‘All who are gifted artisans among you shall come and make all that the Lord has commanded: 11 the tabernacle, its tent, its covering, its clasps, its boards, its bars, its pillars, and its sockets; 12 the ark and its poles, with the mercy seat, and the veil of the covering; 13 the table and its poles, all its utensils, and the showbread; 14 also the lampstand for the light, its utensils, its lamps, and the oil for the light; 15 the incense altar, its poles, the anointing oil, the sweet incense, and the screen for the door at the entrance of the tabernacle; 16 the altar of burnt offering with its bronze grating, its poles, all its utensils, and the laver and its base; 17 the hangings of the court, its pillars, their sockets, and the screen for the gate of the court; 18 the pegs of the tabernacle, the pegs of the court, and their cords; 19 the garments of ministry, for ministering in the holy place—the holy garments for Aaron the priest and the garments of his sons, to minister as priests.’ ”
    20 And all the congregation of the children of Israel departed from the presence of Moses. 21 Then everyone came whose heart was stirred, and everyone whose spirit was willing, and they brought the Lord's offering for the work of the tabernacle of meeting, for all its service, and for the holy garments. 22 They came, both men and women, as many as had a willing heart, and brought earrings and nose rings, rings and necklaces, all jewelry of gold, that is, every man who made an offering of gold to the Lord. 23 And every man, with whom was found blue, purple, and scarlet thread, fine linen, goats’ hair, red skins of rams, and badger skins, brought them. 24 Everyone who offered an offering of silver or bronze brought the Lord's offering. And everyone with whom was found acacia wood for any work of the service, brought it. 25 All the women who were gifted artisans spun yarn with their hands, and brought what they had spun, of blue, purple, and scarlet, and fine linen. 26 And all the women whose hearts stirred with wisdom spun yarn of goats’ hair. 27 The rulers brought onyx stones, and the stones to be set in the ephod and in the breastplate, 28 and spices and oil for the light, for the anointing oil, and for the sweet incense. 29 The children of Israel brought a freewill offering to the Lord, all the men and women whose hearts were willing to bring material for all kinds of work which the Lord, by the hand of Moses, had commanded to be done.
    30 And Moses said to the children of Israel, “See, the Lord has called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah; 31 and He has filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom and understanding, in knowledge and all manner of workmanship, 32 to design artistic works, to work in gold and silver and bronze, 33 in cutting jewels for setting, in carving wood, and to work in all manner of artistic workmanship.  34 “And He has put in his heart the ability to teach, in him and Aholiab the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. 
35 He has filled them with skill to do all manner of work of the engraver and the designer and the tapestry maker, in blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine linen, and of the weaver—those who do every work and those who design artistic works.  36:1 “And Bezalel and Aholiab, and every gifted artisan in whom the Lord has put wisdom and understanding, to know how to do all manner of work for the service of the sanctuary, shall do according to all that the Lord has commanded.”

Israel was reminded again of the need for rest in the midst of all the work, especially of preparing the tabernacle.  They were to use the artistic talents of named individuals whom God identified and licensed to do the work, while free offerings were asked and given to construct all the cloth, jewels, spices, gold work as of the lampstands, and clothing for the priests.  The willing sacrifices of offerings were freely done as commanded (2 Corinthians 8:3, 12), not under compulsion of their will.  This passage speak of the construction of the tabernacle of the Old Testament as well as the temples of our bodies.  We likewise are commanded by God to live holy and righteousness lives and to obey His word, yet this is a willing subjection because His Law is now written on our hearts and we respond in love and eternal thanksgiving for the rescue of our souls from sin’s bondage by grace through Christ’s work on our behalf.  We have been set free to freely offer our all to worship and glorify our great God and Savior, having found rest from our works in Him!  

The Shining Face Veiled

Exodus 34:29-35

29 Now it was so, when Moses came down from Mount Sinai (and the two tablets of the Testimony were in Moses’ hand when he came down from the mountain), that Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone while he talked with Him. 30 So when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him. 31 Then Moses called to them, and Aaron and all the rulers of the congregation returned to him; and Moses talked with them.
    32 Afterward all the children of Israel came near, and he gave them as commandments all that the Lord had spoken with him on Mount Sinai. 33 And when Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil on his face. 34 But whenever Moses went in before the Lord to speak with Him, he would take the veil off until he came out; and he would come out and speak to the children of Israel whatever he had been commanded. 35 And whenever the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses’ face shone, then Moses would put the veil on his face again, until he went in to speak with Him.

Moses shone with God’s glory reflected in his face after spending time with Him.  It was God’s presence and words to Moses that must have made him glow like that as if the change in him was outwardly evident to all who saw him.  The people of God were afraid when they saw him, for they were seeing God’s holiness and glory which was convicting and fearful because of their sin and distance from Him in their thoughts and deeds.  Each time Moses went to speak with the Lord to hear His commands to repeat to the people, he had to cover his face immediately after he was done talking to cover the shining glory of God reflected in his face!  Of course, he had no need to cover himself in God’s presence, but only for the sake of the people in their unholy state.  We are reminded of this in 2 Corinthians 3:13-18, beginning with the explanation of the veil being necessary for the Old Testament Law which was to pass away when Christ lifts it for good.  It was blindness to grace that kept them from gazing at God’s glory, for they knew they all sinned and forever fell short of His requirements of holiness and righteousness for life at peace with God.  Christ took away that veil of separation of us from God by His righteousness and completed work for our holiness and acceptance.  If we choose to hear Moses’ Law and not the gospel, we have veiled hearts which are hidden from the glory of God by the grace of Christ; if we turn to Him in believing and absolute trust in His work, knowing our sinfully hopeless state, we then have Him remove that covering of mystery by Christ in us as the hope of glory (Colossians 1:27).  We therefore do not have to hide from God’s face anymore, but have been set free for eternity by and with Him.  Each day those of us in Christ can reflect in God’s glory in the face of Jesus Christ who transforms us (progressive, daily, ongoing sanctification) by His Spirit (2 Corinthians 3:18) who now lives within His called out children who have peace with God in Christ alone (Romans 5:1)!  Remember the shining face of Moses and listen now to Jesus unveiled, not seeking to earn grace by the Law of Moses, but by the gospel of grace, for what was hidden of God in the Law of works for salvation is revealed in Christ who removes the veil and sets us free indeed with eternal deliverance from sin and the wrath of God.  Amen.  

Jealous Covenants of Commandments and Grace

Exodus 34:10-28 

10 And He said: “Behold, I make a covenant. Before all your people I will do marvels such as have not been done in all the earth, nor in any nation; and all the people among whom you are shall see the work of the Lord. For it is an awesome thing that I will do with you. 11 Observe what I command you this day. Behold, I am driving out from before you the Amorite and the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite. 12 Take heed to yourself, lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land where you are going, lest it be a snare in your midst. 13 But you shall destroy their altars, break their sacred pillars, and cut down their wooden images 14 (for you shall worship no other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God), 15 lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they play the harlot with their gods and make sacrifice to their gods, and one of them invites you and you eat of his sacrifice, 16 and you take of his daughters for your sons, and his daughters play the harlot with their gods and make your sons play the harlot with their gods.
    17 “You shall make no molded gods for yourselves.  18 “The Feast of Unleavened Bread you shall keep. Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, in the appointed time of the month of Abib; for in the month of Abib you came out from Egypt.  19 “All that open the womb are Mine, and every male firstborn among your livestock, whether ox or sheep. 20 But the firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb. And if you will not redeem him, then you shall break his neck. All the firstborn of your sons you shall redeem. “And none shall appear before Me empty-handed.  21 “Six days you shall work, but on the seventh day you shall rest; in plowing time and in harvest you shall rest.  22 “And you shall observe the Feast of Weeks, of the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering at the year's end.  23 “Three times in the year all your men shall appear before the Lord, the Lord God of Israel. 24 For I will cast out the nations before you and enlarge your borders; neither will any man covet your land when you go up to appear before the Lord your God three times in the year.  25 “You shall not offer the blood of My sacrifice with leaven, nor shall the sacrifice of the Feast of the Passover be left until morning.  26 “The first of the firstfruits of your land you shall bring to the house of the Lord your God. You shall not boil a young goat in its mother's milk.”
    27 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write these words, for according to the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.” 28 So he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights; he neither ate bread nor drank water. And He wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments.

God initiated the old covenant agreement with His people, based on His promises and faithfulness.  As they were promised the new country, they were also charged with obedience to Him.  He is a jealous God, one who wants His creation for Himself and no other; this is not human jealousy which is full of hate and selfishness, but the sole love and care of the Creator for His beloved and precious creation.  He warned the people never to make their own covenants with the ungodly, nor make other gods to worship; we are not to bow to any idol in place of the one true and living God.  The Lord therefore laid out the Ten Commandments, the words of His covenant according to His will for our good and His glory as a Creator and Master.  All was to be given in sacrificial living to Him, and He would watch over and lead them, He would wonderfully lead them.  He had Moses write the Law down so there was no forgetting the promises and expectations of this trustworthy agreement, taking forty days to do so, which number of days our Savior would later endure temptations to break these laws of God’s old covenant to create a new one based on His faithful obedience and not our flawless keeping of the law (James 2:10), since we could never fully keep the old (Jeremiah 31:31-34, 2 Corinthians 3:6-7, Hebrews 8:8, 13, 12:24).  Our hope is in the eternal new covenant based on Christ’s work alone, and we respond in His power and will to work out that salvation to do the works designed for us to carry out because of that work of His faithfulness (Philippians 2:12-13, Ephesians 2:10). 

New Tablets and Eternal Inheritance

Exodus 34:1-9 

1 And the Lord said to Moses, “Cut two tablets of stone like the first ones, and I will write on these tablets the words that were on the first tablets which you broke. 2 So be ready in the morning, and come up in the morning to Mount Sinai, and present yourself to Me there on the top of the mountain. 3 And no man shall come up with you, and let no man be seen throughout all the mountain; let neither flocks nor herds feed before that mountain.” 4 So he cut two tablets of stone like the first ones. Then Moses rose early in the morning and went up Mount Sinai, as the Lord had commanded him; and he took in his hand the two tablets of stone.
    5 Now the Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. 6 And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, 7 keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children's children to the third and the fourth generation.”
    8 So Moses made haste and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshiped. 9 Then he said, “If now I have found grace in Your sight, O Lord, let my Lord, I pray, go among us, even though we are a stiff-necked people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us as Your inheritance.”

Moses did not see all of God’s glory as he asked, just a gaze from behind as He passed by and God uncovered his eyes just enough to glimpse from behind.  Moses would soon shine with the Lord’s glory from being in His presence, yet even that was not a full gaze into the face of God.  Now he is instructed to cut two more stone tablets to take back up the mountain for God’s finger to etch out His commands once more.  The sin of Israel caused the first tablets to be broken, yet God’s covenant of promise remained intact.  As Moses ventured back up the mountain and the Lord came down from heaven to touch the earth out of a cloud, he saw God go before him and announce who He is.  He is the Lord God, Yahweh El, the one who exists from before and after forever, the self-existing and uncreated ruler over the entire created universe.  He shows mercy and grace, for He is those things by nature and character; He suffers long in patient endurance over man’s sin and failures; He overflows with absolute truth and goodness.  He is the only God, and loudly proclaimed these truths to Moses to remind him of His mercy over the people by forgiveness of sin acted against Him, yet holding sinners accountable.  The repercussion of consequences would be felt through man’s descendants as ripples in the pond of humanity from Adam to Cain and until the second Adam’s coming.  When Moses heard all of this, he made haste to bow down in worship and pleaded for mercy.  He asked that God would come among His people in spite of their sin because of these character attributes of Himself.  He pleaded for pardon and begged that He would still take these as His inheritance.  We see how Christ did these things for us, holding us accountable for sin while assuming the penalty for all of His people who are His inheritance in Himself.  He stepped in to do what we could not to forgive and accept us in Christ despite our continued failures; He came in our midst and even further - into our souls to inhabit us and not just our dwelling place.  He is Emmanuel, God both with and in us, and we are His eternal inheritance by grace (1 Peter 1:3-4, Colossians 1:12, Ephesians 1:11-18, Matthew 1:23, Colossians 1:27).  He has taken us as His people and inheritance; we have new tablets of flesh in place of stony hearts where His Law is written by His very finger, and the promised eternal inheritance in Christ with all the saints.  All by grace and mercy. 

Lead Me and Show Me Your Glory

Exodus 33:1-23 

1 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Depart and go up from here, you and the people whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt, to the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, ‘To your descendants I will give it.’ 2 And I will send My Angel before you, and I will drive out the Canaanite and the Amorite and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite. 3 Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey; for I will not go up in your midst, lest I consume you on the way, for you are a stiff-necked people.” 4 And when the people heard this bad news, they mourned, and no one put on his ornaments. 5 For the Lord had said to Moses, “Say to the children of Israel, ‘You are a stiff-necked people. I could come up into your midst in one moment and consume you. Now therefore, take off your ornaments, that I may know what to do to you.’ ” 6 So the children of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments by Mount Horeb.
    7 Moses took his tent and pitched it outside the camp, far from the camp, and called it the tabernacle of meeting. And it came to pass that everyone who sought the Lord went out to the tabernacle of meeting which was outside the camp. 8 So it was, whenever Moses went out to the tabernacle, that all the people rose, and each man stood at his tent door and watched Moses until he had gone into the tabernacle. 9 And it came to pass, when Moses entered the tabernacle, that the pillar of cloud descended and stood at the door of the tabernacle, and the Lord talked with Moses. 10 All the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the tabernacle door, and all the people rose and worshiped, each man in his tent door. 11 So the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. And he would return to the camp, but his servant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, did not depart from the tabernacle.
    12 Then Moses said to the Lord, “See, You say to me, ‘Bring up this people.’ But You have not let me know whom You will send with me. Yet You have said, ‘I know you by name, and you have also found grace in My sight.’ 13 Now therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight. And consider that this nation is Your people.”  14 And He said, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”  15 Then he said to Him, “If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here. 16 For how then will it be known that Your people and I have found grace in Your sight, except You go with us? So we shall be separate, Your people and I, from all the people who are upon the face of the earth.”  17 So the Lord said to Moses, “I will also do this thing that you have spoken; for you have found grace in My sight, and I know you by name.”
    18 And he said, “Please, show me Your glory.”
19 Then He said, “I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.” 20 But He said, “You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live.” 21 And the Lord said, “Here is a place by Me, and you shall stand on the rock. 22 So it shall be, while My glory passes by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock, and will cover you with My hand while I pass by. 23 Then I will take away My hand, and you shall see My back; but My face shall not be seen.”

God told Moses after the rebellion of idolatry that the people should go to the promised land by the leading of His Angel, but that He would not go with them in their midst because of their hard hearts of stiff necks.  He told them that He could consume them at any time if He remained among them in this standing.  They were to remove their idolatrous clothing and trinkets if they were truly repentant, and they undoubtedly did so out of fear of the Lord.  Then God had Moses move the tabernacle where God met with him outside of the camp where His people were, demonstrating that He had left them and was now at a distance, except for Moses and Aaron, the priests whom He spoke and allowed near Him still.  Moses was the intercessor who spoke with God before His face as a friend while the people worshipped at a distance.  The communication and community were now separated from the people and moved outside the camp, and the sacrifices were to be burned outside it as well until Jesus Christ suffered outside the camp to sanctify His people and draw them near again to worship (Hebrews 13:11-12, 13, 15).  Moses then pleaded with God from outside the people that He would go with them because they were His, and the Lord God then said He would go with them with His Presence.  God agreed because they were His people, because Moses found grace, and He knew him by name!  Moses wanted more, though.  He wanted desperately to see God’s glory, a full look into His wonderful face.  God said He would parade His glory past Moses, but not reveal His face; if He did, Moses would surely die.  God reminded him of His sovereignty as well, that He alone chose who to show or restrain His grace from (Romans 9:15-16).  God allowed Moses to see Him as He passed by from behind, covering his eyes with His hand to protect Moses and only reveal as much glory as humanly possible to view.  We now see Him at a distance in the face of Christ, but shall stand before Him one day (2 Corinthians 4:6, Revelation 22:4). 

Rebellion of Sin and its Consequences

Exodus 32:17-35

17 And when Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said to Moses, “There is a noise of war in the camp.”  18 But he said:
    “It is not the noise of the shout of victory,
    Nor the noise of the cry of defeat,
    But the sound of singing I hear.”
19 So it was, as soon as he came near the camp, that he saw the calf and the dancing. So Moses’ anger became hot, and he cast the tablets out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain. 20 Then he took the calf which they had made, burned it in the fire, and ground it to powder; and he scattered it on the water and made the children of Israel drink it. 21 And Moses said to Aaron, “What did this people do to you that you have brought so great a sin upon them?”  22 So Aaron said, “Do not let the anger of my lord become hot. You know the people, that they are set on evil. 23 For they said to me, ‘Make us gods that shall go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’ 24 And I said to them, ‘Whoever has any gold, let them break it off.’ So they gave it to me, and I cast it into the fire, and this calf came out.”
    25 Now when Moses saw that the people were unrestrained (for Aaron had not restrained them, to their shame among their enemies), 26 then Moses stood in the entrance of the camp, and said, “Whoever is on the Lord's side—come to me!” And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together to him. 27 And he said to them, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘Let every man put his sword on his side, and go in and out from entrance to entrance throughout the camp, and let every man kill his brother, every man his companion, and every man his neighbor.’ ” 28 So the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses. And about three thousand men of the people fell that day. 29 Then Moses said, “Consecrate yourselves today to the Lord, that He may bestow on you a blessing this day, for every man has opposed his son and his brother.”
    30 Now it came to pass on the next day that Moses said to the people, “You have committed a great sin. So now I will go up to the Lord; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.” 31 Then Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Oh, these people have committed a great sin, and have made for themselves a god of gold! 32 Yet now, if You will forgive their sin—but if not, I pray, blot me out of Your book which You have written.”  33 And the Lord said to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against Me, I will blot him out of My book. 34 Now therefore, go, lead the people to the place of which I have spoken to you. Behold, My Angel shall go before you. Nevertheless, in the day when I visit for punishment, I will visit punishment upon them for their sin.”  35 So the Lord plagued the people because of what they did with the calf which Aaron made.

Moses was joined by Joshua on the way back down the mountain where he met God and received His commands on the tablets of stone, and they heard a loud noise from the camp below.  It was not a war cry of defeat or victory, but singing and merrymaking.  They entered the camp only to find the idolatrous people dancing around a golden calf which they were worshipping!  The people whom God so mightily delivered out of Egypt gave up after forty days of Moses being away in God’s presence.  Moses was righteously angry and threw down the law which they had broken and the stones broke to signify that.  Then he burned and ground the idol to powder and made the people drink of their sin, in a way reminding us of rejection of Christ which leads to that stone of rejection’s judgement falling on disbelievers and grinding them to powder (Matthew 21:44, Luke 20:18).  Aaron had not restrained the people, and had made the idol of gold, which brought God’s people shame before their enemies who looked on them as set apart and righteous in their God.  This idolatry brought dishonor to His name.  The punishment was doled out by those who took a stand for God, killing about three thousand of their brethren that day as the consequence for their rebellious sin.  They who remained were then called to consecrate themselves, to set themselves apart to follow God again, and Moses made atonement for their sin before God.  He interceded for their forgiveness, just as Christ has for us forever for our cosmic rebellion.  God led them on, but plagued them as punishment for their sin, just as we may suffer consequences for sin as well, even though forgiven.  

Golden Earrings and Idolatrous Living

Exodus 32:1-16

1 Now when the people saw that Moses delayed coming down from the mountain, the people gathered together to Aaron, and said to him, “Come, make us gods that shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” 2 And Aaron said to them, “Break off the golden earrings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” 3 So all the people broke off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them to Aaron. 4 And he received the gold from their hand, and he fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made a molded calf.  Then they said, “This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!”  5 So when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow is a feast to the Lord.” 6 Then they rose early on the next day, offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.
    7 And the Lord said to Moses, “Go, get down! For your people whom you brought out of the land of Egypt have corrupted themselves. 8 They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them. They have made themselves a molded calf, and worshiped it and sacrificed to it, and said, ‘This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!’ ” 9 And the Lord said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and indeed it is a stiff-necked people! 10 Now therefore, let Me alone, that My wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them. And I will make of you a great nation.”  11 Then Moses pleaded with the Lord his God, and said: “Lord, why does Your wrath burn hot against Your people whom You have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? 12 Why should the Egyptians speak, and say, ‘He brought them out to harm them, to kill them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth’? Turn from Your fierce wrath, and relent from this harm to Your people. 13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants, to whom You swore by Your own self, and said to them, ‘I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven; and all this land that I have spoken of I give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.’ ” 14 So the Lord relented from the harm which He said He would do to His people.  15 And Moses turned and went down from the mountain, and the two tablets of the Testimony were in his hand. The tablets were written on both sides; on the one side and on the other they were written. 16 Now the tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God engraved on the tablets.

As 1 Corinthians 10:7 reminds us, we must not follow the example here of abandoning God and His word that we should “sit down to eat and drink, and rise up to play” with sinful abandon.  When the people of God did not see Moses return quickly enough for them from the mountaintop meeting to bring God’s word back down to them in concrete form, they immediately grumbled in discontent and looked for another God out of the material value from golden earrings.  Aaron got caught up in the idolatrous living and made the people a golden idol for their worship.  They further attributed their deliverance from Egypt’s bondage to this false god, and blasphemed God by proclaiming a feast day to the Lord while substituting this golden idol for the living God who really delivered them, and who had chosen Moses as His instrument of salvation.  They quickly forgot the goodness and mercy of God, even disobeying His word in their desire for the immediate passing pleasures of sin (Hebrews 11:25)!  Therefore, the Lord God told Moses to return with His word to the people who ‘corrupted themselves’ as described here.  God saw their prideful disobedience as a stiffnecked lot, and told Moses He would smite them and start over through Moses; but Moses knew that the nations would then mock God and His people if they were destroyed after being delivered, so he reminded God as he pleaded and repeated the promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to multiply them as a nation under God to inherit the promised land.  God did relent after hearing Moses express his faith as anticipated.  God did not actually change His mind, but tested Moses to lean on His promises.  Do we in Christ also trust and follow despite when God’s people do not?  Do we who are leaders in Christ’s Church refuse to compromise His word to give the people what they want, knowing it offends God and harms them in satisfying their immediate and spiritually shortsightedness?  We then do not condone or live in sin and idolatrous living, but learn to trust God and His work with our faithful obedience as this history gives us the pattern and example.  

God’s Work and Rest

Exodus 31:1-18

1 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 2 “See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. 3 And I have filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, 4 to design artistic works, to work in gold, in silver, in bronze, 5 in cutting jewels for setting, in carving wood, and to work in all manner of workmanship. 6 “And I, indeed I, have appointed with him Aholiab the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan; and I have put wisdom in the hearts of all the gifted artisans, that they may make all that I have commanded you: 7 the tabernacle of meeting, the ark of the Testimony and the mercy seat that is on it, and all the furniture of the tabernacle— 8 the table and its utensils, the pure gold lampstand with all its utensils, the altar of incense, 9 the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and the laver and its base— 10 the garments of ministry, the holy garments for Aaron the priest and the garments of his sons, to minister as priests, 11 and the anointing oil and sweet incense for the holy place. According to all that I have commanded you they shall do.”
    12 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 13 “Speak also to the children of Israel, saying: ‘Surely My Sabbaths you shall keep, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the Lord who sanctifies you. 14 You shall keep the Sabbath, therefore, for it is holy to you. Everyone who profanes it shall surely be put to death; for whoever does any work on it, that person shall be cut off from among his people. 15 Work shall be done for six days, but the seventh is the Sabbath of rest, holy to the Lord. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death. 16 Therefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant. 17 It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever; for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed.’ ”. 18 And when He had made an end of speaking with him on Mount Sinai, He gave Moses two tablets of the Testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God.

God told Moses which ones He had gifted with artistic talent for His workmanship which we all are also in Christ (Ephesians 2:10), in order to honor the Lord with the tabernacle’s construction.  It showed His honor and glory due Him in the labor of those He so gifted to apply their hands, minds, wisdom, and hearts to the tasks given each of them.  As He commanded, so they did.  Then the Lord commanded them to rest on the seventh day to honor Him by resting from their good labor as He had in the beginning of all creation.  We now find ultimate rest from our work in Christ’s work for us, and therefore some see every day one of rest entered into (Hebrews 4:4-10, Romans 14:5) instead of the one made for man (Mark 2:27).  We were not created to serve the day of rest, but rest in serving the One who accomplished the entirety of salvation’s work for us so that we could find our rest in Him and acknowledge Him each day the same.  We do not serve the Sabbath, but God in Christ.  This passage finishes with God ending His verbal instruction and giving His written word which captured what He spoke to us through Moses, tablets of stone written by His very finger!  Ah, but we now who are in Christ have that same word and will of God written on our hearts by that same finger, not on cold stone tablets outside of us (Jeremiah 31:33, 2 Corinthians 3:3, Hebrews 10:16, Ezekiel 36:26-27). We now can follow Him in willing obedience from a heart resting in His word by His Spirit within us to do the works we were created to do as designed (Ephesians 2:10, Philippians 2:12-13).  This is God’s work and rest in followers of Christ.

Holy Oil and Incense

Exodus 30:22-38 

22 Moreover the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 23 “Also take for yourself quality spices—five hundred shekels of liquid myrrh, half as much sweet-smelling cinnamon (two hundred and fifty shekels), two hundred and fifty shekels of sweet-smelling cane, 24 five hundred shekels of cassia, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, and a hin of olive oil. 25 And you shall make from these a holy anointing oil, an ointment compounded according to the art of the perfumer. It shall be a holy anointing oil. 26 With it you shall anoint the tabernacle of meeting and the ark of the Testimony; 27 the table and all its utensils, the lampstand and its utensils, and the altar of incense; 28 the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and the laver and its base. 29 You shall consecrate them, that they may be most holy; whatever touches them must be holy. 30 And you shall anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, that they may minister to Me as priests.  31 “And you shall speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘This shall be a holy anointing oil to Me throughout your generations. 32 It shall not be poured on man's flesh; nor shall you make any other like it, according to its composition. It is holy, and it shall be holy to you. 33 Whoever compounds any like it, or whoever puts any of it on an outsider, shall be cut off from his people.’ ”
    34 And the Lord said to Moses: “Take sweet spices, stacte and onycha and galbanum, and pure frankincense with these sweet spices; there shall be equal amounts of each. 35 You shall make of these an incense, a compound according to the art of the perfumer, salted, pure, and holy. 36 And you shall beat some of it very fine, and put some of it before the Testimony in the tabernacle of meeting where I will meet with you. It shall be most holy to you. 37 But as for the incense which you shall make, you shall not make any for yourselves, according to its composition. It shall be to you holy for the Lord. 38 Whoever makes any like it, to smell it, he shall be cut off from his people.”

The next two items for worshipping God in His sanctuary were the oil and incense.  The oil was specifically made for anointing the tabernacle and ark of God’s testimony, never to be used on people and never imitated to be used for any other purpose than setting aside God’s place of worship for Him alone.  If any misused the holy, it was profane enough to excommunicate the perpetrator from God’s people.  His holiness is serious business.  The incense was also most holy, set aside to use for God alone; even making it for personal pleasure just to enjoy its scent also invited the person to leave God’s people.  These two items show us that worshipping our Lord is to be pure, on His terms, and the form and location not to be misused for any other personal pleasure or use.  We should not be flippant in prayer and worship of Him, nor misuse His word or gifts or even our places of worship for what does not honor our Lord and Savior God, Jesus Christ.  This includes our bodies which are His temple that He lives in and where we worship from! 

Altar and Ransom of Atonement with Cleansing

Exodus 30:1-21 

1 “You shall make an altar to burn incense on; you shall make it of acacia wood. 2 A cubit shall be its length and a cubit its width—it shall be square—and two cubits shall be its height. Its horns shall be of one piece with it. 3 And you shall overlay its top, its sides all around, and its horns with pure gold; and you shall make for it a molding of gold all around. 4 Two gold rings you shall make for it, under the molding on both its sides. You shall place them on its two sides, and they will be holders for the poles with which to bear it. 5 You shall make the poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold. 6 And you shall put it before the veil that is before the ark of the Testimony, before the mercy seat that is over the Testimony, where I will meet with you. 7 “Aaron shall burn on it sweet incense every morning; when he tends the lamps, he shall burn incense on it. 8 And when Aaron lights the lamps at twilight, he shall burn incense on it, a perpetual incense before the Lord throughout your generations. 9 You shall not offer strange incense on it, or a burnt offering, or a grain offering; nor shall you pour a drink offering on it. 10 And Aaron shall make atonement upon its horns once a year with the blood of the sin offering of atonement; once a year he shall make atonement upon it throughout your generations. It is most holy to the Lord.”
    11 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 12 “When you take the census of the children of Israel for their number, then every man shall give a ransom for himself to the Lord, when you number them, that there may be no plague among them when you number them. 13 This is what everyone among those who are numbered shall give: half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary (a shekel is twenty gerahs). The half-shekel shall be an offering to the Lord. 14 Everyone included among those who are numbered, from twenty years old and above, shall give an offering to the Lord. 15 The rich shall not give more and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel, when you give an offering to the Lord, to make atonement for yourselves. 16 And you shall take the atonement money of the children of Israel, and shall appoint it for the service of the tabernacle of meeting, that it may be a memorial for the children of Israel before the Lord, to make atonement for yourselves.”
    17 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 18 “You shall also make a laver of bronze, with its base also of bronze, for washing. You shall put it between the tabernacle of meeting and the altar. And you shall put water in it, 19 for Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet in water from it. 20 When they go into the tabernacle of meeting, or when they come near the altar to minister, to burn an offering made by fire to the Lord, they shall wash with water, lest they die. 21 So they shall wash their hands and their feet, lest they die. And it shall be a statute forever to them—to him and his descendants throughout their generations.”

The sacrifices were on the altar with a sweet smelling aroma to God as the prayers of the saints are described in Revelation 8:3-4, and it is noteworthy that this was a holy altar of atonement for sin.  When the people of God were counted, an atonement price was calculated and given by each person, not taken from them, which was the same for everyone no matter their position or financial standing.  They were atoned for and paid for to avoid the consequences of sin.  Finally, the priests who served God or met with Him were to always cleanse themselves, which is symbolic of holiness on the inside by washing the outside.  We have been washed by God (1 Corinthians 6:11, Titus 3:5-6) and are called to do battle with remaining sin, mortifying it by His Spirit in us.  We worship and serve in the beauty of holiness, knowing we have been atoned for by the blood of Christ’s sacrifice for us, the price fully paid by Him and not even a bit by ourselves.  We have been sanctified in our standing with God in Christ and run the race to be further sanctified in practice within our hearts and deeds.  These are some lessons we see as we reflect back on what part the altar and ransom with cleansing mean in the spiritual realm, lessons for us to learn from (Romans 15:4).  These things were given as examples for us as revealed in Christ’s work.

Daily Sacrifice of Holiness

Exodus 29:38-46 

38 “Now this is what you shall offer on the altar: two lambs of the first year, day by day continually. 39 One lamb you shall offer in the morning, and the other lamb you shall offer at twilight. 40 With the one lamb shall be one-tenth of an ephah of flour mixed with one-fourth of a hin of pressed oil, and one-fourth of a hin of wine as a drink offering. 41 And the other lamb you shall offer at twilight; and you shall offer with it the grain offering and the drink offering, as in the morning, for a sweet aroma, an offering made by fire to the Lord. 42 This shall be a continual burnt offering throughout your generations at the door of the tabernacle of meeting before the Lord, where I will meet you to speak with you. 43 And there I will meet with the children of Israel, and the tabernacle shall be sanctified by My glory. 44 So I will consecrate the tabernacle of meeting and the altar. I will also consecrate both Aaron and his sons to minister to Me as priests. 45 I will dwell among the children of Israel and will be their God. 46 And they shall know that I am the Lord their God, who brought them up out of the land of Egypt, that I may dwell among them. I am the Lord their God.

The sacrifices included lambs at morning and as the sun went down each day, showing that every day should begin and end with lives given to God, even as by fire.  These offerings were given in front of where God met them and spoke with them, and we can echo this now by a morning devotional and an evening reflection on God with His person and work in Christ.  This meditation should also challenge us to consider if we are truly living sacrifices as Romans 12:1 describes our response to His mercies each day (they are new every morning).  His house, the tabernacle where He now abides, is our body; it must be consecrated to Him as our reasonable ministry to serve Him, and this is to be in holiness through daily sacrifice (1 Corinthians 15:31, Luke 9:23) of our lives lived now for His glory.  We are all priests to God in Christ, for He is our God who dwells among us as Spirit and so enables us to serve Him.  We now know Him who is our Lord, who delivered us from the bondage of sin as foreshadowed in Israel’s deliverance from Egypt’s enslavement, and He delivered us in order to live within His people and not just around them anymore!  He is the Lord our God who saves us from the wrath to come (1 Thessalonians 1:10) by undeserving mercy in grace.  Let us be the daily sacrifice. 

Holy Consecration and Sacrifices

Exodus 29:1-37 

1 “And this is what you shall do to them to hallow them for ministering to Me as priests: Take one young bull and two rams without blemish, 2 and unleavened bread, unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil (you shall make them of wheat flour). 3 You shall put them in one basket and bring them in the basket, with the bull and the two rams. 4 “And Aaron and his sons you shall bring to the door of the tabernacle of meeting, and you shall wash them with water. 5 Then you shall take the garments, put the tunic on Aaron, and the robe of the ephod, the ephod, and the breastplate, and gird him with the intricately woven band of the ephod. 6 You shall put the turban on his head, and put the holy crown on the turban. 7 And you shall take the anointing oil, pour it on his head, and anoint him. 8 Then you shall bring his sons and put tunics on them. 9 And you shall gird them with sashes, Aaron and his sons, and put the hats on them. The priesthood shall be theirs for a perpetual statute. So you shall consecrate Aaron and his sons.  10 “You shall also have the bull brought before the tabernacle of meeting, and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands on the head of the bull. 11 Then you shall kill the bull before the Lord, by the door of the tabernacle of meeting. 12 You shall take some of the blood of the bull and put it on the horns of the altar with your finger, and pour all the blood beside the base of the altar. 13 And you shall take all the fat that covers the entrails, the fatty lobe attached to the liver, and the two kidneys and the fat that is on them, and burn them on the altar. 14 But the flesh of the bull, with its skin and its offal, you shall burn with fire outside the camp. It is a sin offering.
    15 “You shall also take one ram, and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands on the head of the ram; 16 and you shall kill the ram, and you shall take its blood and sprinkle it all around on the altar. 17 Then you shall cut the ram in pieces, wash its entrails and its legs, and put them with its pieces and with its head. 18 And you shall burn the whole ram on the altar. It is a burnt offering to the Lord; it is a sweet aroma, an offering made by fire to the Lord.  19 “You shall also take the other ram, and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands on the head of the ram. 20 Then you shall kill the ram, and take some of its blood and put it on the tip of the right ear of Aaron and on the tip of the right ear of his sons, on the thumb of their right hand and on the big toe of their right foot, and sprinkle the blood all around on the altar. 21 And you shall take some of the blood that is on the altar, and some of the anointing oil, and sprinkle it on Aaron and on his garments, on his sons and on the garments of his sons with him; and he and his garments shall be hallowed, and his sons and his sons’ garments with him.  22 “Also you shall take the fat of the ram, the fat tail, the fat that covers the entrails, the fatty lobe attached to the liver, the two kidneys and the fat on them, the right thigh (for it is a ram of consecration), 23 one loaf of bread, one cake made with oil, and one wafer from the basket of the unleavened bread that is before the Lord; 24 and you shall put all these in the hands of Aaron and in the hands of his sons, and you shall wave them as a wave offering before the Lord. 25 You shall receive them back from their hands and burn them on the altar as a burnt offering, as a sweet aroma before the Lord. It is an offering made by fire to the Lord.  26 “Then you shall take the breast of the ram of Aaron's consecration and wave it as a wave offering before the Lord; and it shall be your portion. 27 And from the ram of the consecration you shall consecrate the breast of the wave offering which is waved, and the thigh of the heave offering which is raised, of that which is for Aaron and of that which is for his sons. 28 It shall be from the children of Israel for Aaron and his sons by a statute forever. For it is a heave offering; it shall be a heave offering from the children of Israel from the sacrifices of their peace offerings, that is, their heave offering to the Lord.
    29 “And the holy garments of Aaron shall be his sons’ after him, to be anointed in them and to be consecrated in them. 30 That son who becomes priest in his place shall put them on for seven days, when he enters the tabernacle of meeting to minister in the holy place.  31 “And you shall take the ram of the consecration and boil its flesh in the holy place. 32 Then Aaron and his sons shall eat the flesh of the ram, and the bread that is in the basket, by the door of the tabernacle of meeting. 33 They shall eat those things with which the atonement was made, to consecrate and to sanctify them; but an outsider shall not eat them, because they are holy. 34 And if any of the flesh of the consecration offerings, or of the bread, remains until the morning, then you shall burn the remainder with fire. It shall not be eaten, because it is holy.
    35 “Thus you shall do to Aaron and his sons, according to all that I have commanded you. Seven days you shall consecrate them. 36 And you shall offer a bull every day as a sin offering for atonement. You shall cleanse the altar when you make atonement for it, and you shall anoint it to sanctify it. 37 Seven days you shall make atonement for the altar and sanctify it. And the altar shall be most holy. Whatever touches the altar must be holy.

There was much to adhere to in preparing the priests to minister various sacrifices, including consecration of the altar, the sacrifices, and the ones making the sacrifices.  The clothing had to be cleansed and set apart, consecrated as holy, in order for the priests to then be themselves similarly consecrated; since God is holy, His servants and their service had to be also.  This applied to what was sacrificed as well.  The priests were anointed with oil to be considered holy, just as we in Christ are made holy and sanctified by His Spirit and blood in whom we are sprinkled and immersed (1 Peter 1:2, Hebrews 9:13-14, 10:22, 1 Corinthians 12:13).  As the bull was burned outside the camp for the sin of God’s people, even so this shadow came to light in Christ suffering and dying outside Jerusalem (Hebrews 13:11-12) as He was sacrificed for our sin, one time forever and for all whom He calls.  Likewise the holy things were not for outsiders, but for God’s people alone who are consecrated and sanctified (Exodus 29:33).  As John 6:53-55 tells us, we who are in Christ are to eat and drink of Him who atoned for us, our eternal sacrifice in the heavens; no outsider is to partake who has not been sanctified and consecrated in the sacrificial Lamb.  We should therefore learn from this that we have been made holy in Christ, and our lives minister the gospel in such consecration by keeping ourselves pure (Acts 15:29, 1 John 3:3).  This is holiness in His sacrifice and our consecration. 

Godly Garments

Exodus 28:31-43 

31 “You shall make the robe of the ephod all of blue. 32 There shall be an opening for his head in the middle of it; it shall have a woven binding all around its opening, like the opening in a coat of mail, so that it does not tear. 33 And upon its hem you shall make pomegranates of blue, purple, and scarlet, all around its hem, and bells of gold between them all around: 34 a golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, upon the hem of the robe all around. 35 And it shall be upon Aaron when he ministers, and its sound will be heard when he goes into the holy place before the Lord and when he comes out, that he may not die.  36 “You shall also make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it, like the engraving of a signet:
    HOLINESS TO THE LORD.
37 And you shall put it on a blue cord, that it may be on the turban; it shall be on the front of the turban. 38 So it shall be on Aaron's forehead, that Aaron may bear the iniquity of the holy things which the children of Israel hallow in all their holy gifts; and it shall always be on his forehead, that they may be accepted before the Lord.
    39 “You shall skillfully weave the tunic of fine linen thread, you shall make the turban of fine linen, and you shall make the sash of woven work.  40 “For Aaron's sons you shall make tunics, and you shall make sashes for them. And you shall make hats for them, for glory and beauty. 41 So you shall put them on Aaron your brother and on his sons with him. You shall anoint them, consecrate them, and sanctify them, that they may minister to Me as priests. 42 And you shall make for them linen trousers to cover their nakedness; they shall reach from the waist to the thighs. 43 They shall be on Aaron and on his sons when they come into the tabernacle of meeting, or when they come near the altar to minister in the holy place, that they do not incur iniquity and die. It shall be a statute forever to him and his descendants after him.

The godly garments of the priests who served the Lord and interceded for His people were meticulously made according to God’s instruction.  There were even bells on Aaron’s robe between the pomegranates to announce that he was approaching the Lord in the holy place.  It was not that God could not hear him coming, but rather for Aaron’s sake to make him aware that he was drawing near to God’s presence.  To make the seriousness of his service clear, God had Aaron wear a gold sign on his head reminding him that holiness to the Lord was essential to be on his mind in all his ministry.  This is a picture of our service as Christ followers and priests to our holy Lord; we also must be aware we are in the presence of the one and only almighty God as if bells go off in His presence with fearful awe and holiness to come before Him (Hebrews 12:14).  We are secure in Christ’s righteousness to justify us, yet still approach God as Holy and not with casual abandon.  We are to be holy as He defines it and because He Himself is holy (1 Peter 1:15-16, 2 Peter 3:11, Ephesians 1:4).  Disregard for who God is and how we are to be is as it was for Aaron and his sons who were warned not to earn iniquity and die as Ananias and his wife (Acts 5:1-5).  Even Job 24:23 reminds us not to use security as an excuse for sin (which Paul reminds us of in Romans 6:1-2), and this includes living with willing obedience towards holiness with a humble fear of our loving Lord and Master.  We must put on holy garments as His servants (Colossians 3:10) and Christ Himself (Romans 13:14) with His righteousness, for even Hebrews 12:28 reminds us to serve our Lord with reverence and godly fear.  

Judgement Worn Over the Heart

Exodus 28:15-30 

15 “You shall make the breastplate of judgment. Artistically woven according to the workmanship of the ephod you shall make it: of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine woven linen, you shall make it. 16 It shall be doubled into a square: a span shall be its length, and a span shall be its width. 17 And you shall put settings of stones in it, four rows of stones: The first row shall be a sardius, a topaz, and an emerald; this shall be the first row; 18 the second row shall be a turquoise, a sapphire, and a diamond; 19 the third row, a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst; 20 and the fourth row, a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper. They shall be set in gold settings. 21 And the stones shall have the names of the sons of Israel, twelve according to their names, like the engravings of a signet, each one with its own name; they shall be according to the twelve tribes.
    22 “You shall make chains for the breastplate at the end, like braided cords of pure gold. 23 And you shall make two rings of gold for the breastplate, and put the two rings on the two ends of the breastplate. 24 Then you shall put the two braided chains of gold in the two rings which are on the ends of the breastplate; 25 and the other two ends of the two braided chains you shall fasten to the two settings, and put them on the shoulder straps of the ephod in the front.  26 “You shall make two rings of gold, and put them on the two ends of the breastplate, on the edge of it, which is on the inner side of the ephod. 27 And two other rings of gold you shall make, and put them on the two shoulder straps, underneath the ephod toward its front, right at the seam above the intricately woven band of the ephod. 28 They shall bind the breastplate by means of its rings to the rings of the ephod, using a blue cord, so that it is above the intricately woven band of the ephod, and so that the breastplate does not come loose from the ephod.
    29 “So Aaron shall bear the names of the sons of Israel on the breastplate of judgment over his heart, when he goes into the holy place, as a memorial before the Lord continually. 30 And you shall put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim, and they shall be over Aaron's heart when he goes in before the Lord. So Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel over his heart before the Lord continually.

The breastplate of judgement was worn over the heart of the priest in the holy place before the Lord, engraved with the names of Israel’s children.  This was attached to the ephod vest by chains of gold, showing the value of God’s people and the heart for them in judgement; His mercy and forgiveness were to be in the forefront of the priest’s approach to the holy God.  This seems to be symbolic for our great High Priest, the Son Of God, who approaches the Father to intercede in our judgement in the presence of His holiness and our unworthiness (Hebrews 9:12, 10:12-14).  He writes our names on His heart as ours are on His, and now our intercessor’s heart carries us into the holy of holies to be able to see God in the face of Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 4:6).  As the names of the sons of Israel were borne as a memorial before the Lord to be remembered, we know we are remembered by name for eternity by our High Priest in mercy and forgiving grace beyond the end of time.  We will be before Him forever by His heart to impart His righteousness on our hearts because His love for us has put us on His heart.  This priestly attire with the Urim and Thummin (literally the Lights and the Perfections) were to guide and give God’s judgement on how to live and where to go for Israel, but now the Priest Himself is our light and direction.  How the foreshadowing and symbolic teach us of God’s Grace even now! 

True Priestly Attire

Exodus 28:1-14 

1 “Now take Aaron your brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, that he may minister to Me as priest, Aaron and Aaron's sons: Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 2 And you shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty. 3 So you shall speak to all who are gifted artisans, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they may make Aaron's garments, to consecrate him, that he may minister to Me as priest. 4 And these are the garments which they shall make: a breastplate, an ephod, a robe, a skillfully woven tunic, a turban, and a sash. So they shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother and his sons, that he may minister to Me as priest.
    5 “They shall take the gold, blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and the fine linen, 6 and they shall make the ephod of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine woven linen, artistically worked. 7 It shall have two shoulder straps joined at its two edges, and so it shall be joined together. 8 And the intricately woven band of the ephod, which is on it, shall be of the same workmanship, made of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine woven linen.  9 “Then you shall take two onyx stones and engrave on them the names of the sons of Israel: 10 six of their names on one stone and six names on the other stone, in order of their birth. 11 With the work of an engraver in stone, like the engravings of a signet, you shall engrave the two stones with the names of the sons of Israel. You shall set them in settings of gold. 12 And you shall put the two stones on the shoulders of the ephod as memorial stones for the sons of Israel. So Aaron shall bear their names before the Lord on his two shoulders as a memorial. 13 You shall also make settings of gold, 14 and you shall make two chains of pure gold like braided cords, and fasten the braided chains to the settings.

Priestly Attire was given by instruction of God for Aaron and his four sons.  They were to wear holy clothing to set them apart from others and apart for ministering to the Lord in His holy place of meeting for worship and instruction.  These special pieces of clothing were both beautiful and for God’s glory as described by God to Moses.  They were an ephod (vest), a breastplate to represent the people of God in intercession, and other clothing, showing the holiness of God in representing themselves as set apart or holy in their service.  The first piece described is the ephod vest, artistically made (“for beauty”) and containing stones on the shoulder straps with the twelve tribes of Israel from His twelve sons (God’s people of His glory).  These names were then born on their behalf by the priest before God to remember them and represent them in supplication and worship as their representative.  We now have Christ representing and interceding eternally for us as our one true High Priest; we no longer need holy clothing on the outside, but worn on the heart and lived out to others in word and deed (1 John 3:18).  He represents us to the Father in His holiness and righteousness, and He alone is hailed as being full of mercy and grace.  No holy garments or special priests represent us or are now required, for we all who are in Christ are His priests (Exodus 19:6, 1 Peter 2:5, 9-10, Revelation 1:6, 20:6).  This then speaks of True Priestly Attire; not the ceremonial of the physical tabernacle, but the true spiritual of the heart.  We now worship God in the beauty of holiness, being set apart by and for Him alone.  Amen and amen. 

The Altar, Tabernacle Court, and Lampstand

Exodus 27:1-21

1 “You shall make an altar of acacia wood, five cubits long and five cubits wide—the altar shall be square—and its height shall be three cubits. 2 You shall make its horns on its four corners; its horns shall be of one piece with it. And you shall overlay it with bronze. 3 Also you shall make its pans to receive its ashes, and its shovels and its basins and its forks and its firepans; you shall make all its utensils of bronze. 4 You shall make a grate for it, a network of bronze; and on the network you shall make four bronze rings at its four corners. 5 You shall put it under the rim of the altar beneath, that the network may be midway up the altar. 6 And you shall make poles for the altar, poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with bronze. 7 The poles shall be put in the rings, and the poles shall be on the two sides of the altar to bear it. 8 You shall make it hollow with boards; as it was shown you on the mountain, so shall they make it.
    9 “You shall also make the court of the tabernacle. For the south side there shall be hangings for the court made of fine woven linen, one hundred cubits long for one side. 10 And its twenty pillars and their twenty sockets shall be bronze. The hooks of the pillars and their bands shall be silver. 11 Likewise along the length of the north side there shall be hangings one hundred cubits long, with its twenty pillars and their twenty sockets of bronze, and the hooks of the pillars and their bands of silver.  12 “And along the width of the court on the west side shall be hangings of fifty cubits, with their ten pillars and their ten sockets. 13 The width of the court on the east side shall be fifty cubits. 14 The hangings on one side of the gate shall be fifteen cubits, with their three pillars and their three sockets. 15 And on the other side shall be hangings of fifteen cubits, with their three pillars and their three sockets.  16 “For the gate of the court there shall be a screen twenty cubits long, woven of blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine woven linen, made by a weaver. It shall have four pillars and four sockets. 17 All the pillars around the court shall have bands of silver; their hooks shall be of silver and their sockets of bronze. 18 The length of the court shall be one hundred cubits, the width fifty throughout, and the height five cubits, made of fine woven linen, and its sockets of bronze. 19 All the utensils of the tabernacle for all its service, all its pegs, and all the pegs of the court, shall be of bronze.
    20 “And you shall command the children of Israel that they bring you pure oil of pressed olives for the light, to cause the lamp to burn continually. 21 In the tabernacle of meeting, outside the veil which is before the Testimony, Aaron and his sons shall tend it from evening until morning before the Lord. It shall be a statute forever to their generations on behalf of the children of Israel.

More descriptions of the tabernacle include the altar for sacrifices outside, the court, and the care of the lampstand with its seven continuously-lit lamps of pure pressed olive oil.  There again is meticulous detail given by God of a heavenly pattern they were to adhere to in constructing each and every part.  He was telling His people then to learn from obedience and of worship in holiness, and teaches us the same by His perfect plan to save us; the difference is in who does the work to justify and make us righteous.  We know now it is Christ’s sacrifice and work, and we worship from individual tabernacles of our own bodies where He lives to continually offer praise in holy obedience from a changed heart instead of adherence to rules we only fear to get enough right to earn His favor.  Like the lamps, we keep our souls trimmed and burning until His return (Matthew 25:1-4).  Like the altar, we offer continuous praise as living sacrifices (Romans 12:1, 1 Peter 2:5).  We can learn much from the Old Testament examples. 

Veiled Holiness in the Tabernacle

Exodus 26:1-37 

1 “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. 2 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. 3 Five curtains shall be coupled to one another, and the other five curtains shall be coupled to one another. 4 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. 5 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. 6 And you shall make fifty clasps of gold, and couple the curtains together with the clasps, so that it may be one tabernacle. 7 “You shall also make curtains of goats’ hair, to be a tent over the tabernacle. You shall make eleven curtains. 8 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. 9 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. 10 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. 11 And you shall make fifty bronze clasps, put the clasps into the loops, and couple the tent together, that it may be one. 12 The remnant that remains of the curtains of the tent, the half curtain that remains, shall hang over the back of the tabernacle. 13 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.
    14 “You shall also make a covering of ram skins dyed red for the tent, and a covering of badger skins above that.  15 “And for the tabernacle you shall make the boards of acacia wood, standing upright. 16 Ten cubits shall be the length of a board, and a cubit and a half shall be the width of each board. 17 Two tenons shall be in each board for binding one to another. Thus you shall make for all the boards of the tabernacle. 18 And you shall make the boards for the tabernacle, twenty boards for the south side. 19 You shall make forty sockets of silver under the twenty boards: two sockets under each of the boards for its two tenons. 20 And for the second side of the tabernacle, the north side, there shall be twenty boards 21 and their forty sockets of silver: two sockets under each of the boards. 22 For the far side of the tabernacle, westward, you shall make six boards. 23 And you shall also make two boards for the two back corners of the tabernacle. 24 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. 25 So there shall be eight boards with their sockets of silver—sixteen sockets—two sockets under each of the boards.  26 “And you shall make bars of acacia wood: five for the boards on one side of the tabernacle, 27 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. 28 The middle bar shall pass through the midst of the boards from end to end. 29 You shall overlay the boards with gold, make their rings of gold as holders for the bars, and overlay the bars with gold. 30 And you shall raise up the tabernacle according to its pattern which you were shown on the mountain.
    31 “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. 32 You shall hang it upon the four pillars of acacia wood overlaid with gold. Their hooks shall be gold, upon four sockets of silver. 33 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. 34 You shall put the mercy seat upon the ark of the Testimony in the Most Holy. 35 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.  36 “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. 37 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.

There were intricate details given to make God’s tabernacle of worship just the way He designed it, given to show His holiness and make His people see the separation of sin while looking forward to the day it would be lifted in Christ (Hebrews 6:19, 9:2-3, 10:20).  The people were in the wilderness, so the entire tabernacle was designed to be taken apart and carried from place to place, which was no small undertaking!  The inner sanctuary was where the ark of testimony (God’s covenant words of command and promise) was kept, and upon it was the seat of the Most Holy God’s mercy.  Outside was the table with the lampstand and showbread to remind them of God’s presence as Moses and later the high priest would see when entering in to His mercy behind the veil.  These things were only a shadow of what was going on on the heavenly place (Hebrews 9:9, 11-12, 8:5).  We should see this tabernacle then as God preparing His people for His very presence to tabernacle and worship in, knowing the earthly one was only pale in comparison to the glorious heavenly one it shadowed.  We anxiously await to see where Jesus entered the holy of holiness when He entered that veil for us to see God face to face when we die and live again.  Amen! 

God’s Design of the Showbread and Lampstand

Exodus 25:23-40 

23 “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. 24 And you shall overlay it with pure gold, and make a molding of gold all around. 25 You shall make for it a frame of a handbreadth all around, and you shall make a gold molding for the frame all around. 26 And you shall make for it four rings of gold, and put the rings on the four corners that are at its four legs. 27 The rings shall be close to the frame, as holders for the poles to bear the table. 28 And you shall make the poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold, that the table may be carried with them. 29 You shall make its dishes, its pans, its pitchers, and its bowls for pouring. You shall make them of pure gold. 30 And you shall set the showbread on the table before Me always.
    31 “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. 32 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. 33 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. 34 On the lampstand itself four bowls shall be made like almond blossoms, each with its ornamental knob and flower. 35 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. 36 Their knobs and their branches shall be of one piece; all of it shall be one hammered piece of pure gold. 37 You shall make seven lamps for it, and they shall arrange its lamps so that they give light in front of it. 38 And its wick-trimmers and their trays shall be of pure gold. 39 It shall be made of a talent of pure gold, with all these utensils. 40 And see to it that you make them according to the pattern which was shown you on the mountain.

The sanctuary had a table with the showbread and various utensils on its gold-covered surface.  Described in Lev. 24:5–9, the showbread consisted of twelve loaves which represented the tribes of Israel.  They were arranged in two rows and called showbread because they were placed symbolically before God’s “face” as it were, demonstrating the people of God presenting themselves in His sight.  The lampstand (menorah) was ornately created out of gold and its seven lamps fueled by pure olive oil.  The seven lamps represent God's perfect leadership over his people and were to be lit always, trimmed morning and evening (Lev 24:2).  There is more significance to these lamps on this stand, since they were to remind God’s people of His sovereign leadership over them and their constant remembrance of that in return, being more for their edification and remembrance than simply being a pleasing thing commanded by God.  It is noteworthy that they were made from a single piece of gold, and the seven lamps were also symbolic of the seven spirits of God and seven churches of His people mentioned in Revelation 1:20, 4:5, 5:6.  God had Moses build these for the tabernacle sanctuary according to His glorious plan to teach us how to worship and see Him in all we do. 

A Place to Worship Face to Face

Exodus 25:1-22 

1 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 2 “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. 3 And this is the offering which you shall take from them: gold, silver, and bronze; 4 blue, purple, and scarlet thread, fine linen, and goats’ hair; 5 ram skins dyed red, badger skins, and acacia wood; 6 oil for the light, and spices for the anointing oil and for the sweet incense; 7 onyx stones, and stones to be set in the ephod and in the breastplate. 8 And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them. 9 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.
    10 “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. 11 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. 12 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. 13 And you shall make poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold. 14 You shall put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark, that the ark may be carried by them. 15 The poles shall be in the rings of the ark; they shall not be taken from it. 16 And you shall put into the ark the Testimony which I will give you.
    17 “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. 18 And you shall make two cherubim of gold; of hammered work you shall make them at the two ends of the mercy seat. 19 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. 20 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. 21 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. 22 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.

The people of God were to give willing offerings to make a place for God to dwell in as He met with a representative out of them (first Moses, then the high priest later).  They were to use their willing offerings to build according to the blueprints which God designed and gave to them to follow exactly, using precious jewels and gold.  We also are to give the best of ourselves to make His temple, our bodies, holy and acceptable according to His plan of holiness worthy of a place to worship Him in - even more than the old sanctuary, for He lives and dwells in each of His children now.  The ark covered in gold and holding the tablets of His word was hidden from view and was where God met with Moses in His glory.  We now have Him meet us face to face in the face of Jesus Christ!  His mercy seat is occupied with Himself who was slain from the foundation of creation, and He now speaks from above that seat of mercy in grace according to the testimony of His word, written in our hearts as well as on paper.  We now follow His word from a heart of never-ending worship face to face (2 Corinthians 3:18) in the beauty of holiness.  Amen.