The Journey Begins

Exodus 40:1–38 (1-6 and 33-38)

The Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

“On the first day of the first month you shall erect the tabernacle of the tent of meeting.

And you shall put in it the ark of the testimony, and you shall screen the ark with the veil.

And you shall bring in the table and arrange it, and you shall bring in the lampstand and set up its lamps.

And you shall put the golden altar for incense before the ark of the testimony, and set up the screen for the door of the tabernacle.

You shall set the altar of burnt offering before the door of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting,

and place the basin between the tent of meeting and the altar, and put water in it.

And you shall set up the court all around, and hang up the screen for the gate of the court.

“Then you shall take the anointing oil and anoint the tabernacle and all that is in it, and consecrate it and all its furniture, so that it may become holy.

You shall also anoint the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and consecrate the altar, so that the altar may become most holy.

You shall also anoint the basin and its stand, and consecrate it.

Then you shall bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the tent of meeting and shall wash them with water

and put on Aaron the holy garments. And you shall anoint him and consecrate him, that he may serve me as priest.

You shall bring his sons also and put coats on them,

and anoint them, as you anointed their father, that they may serve me as priests. And their anointing shall admit them to a perpetual priesthood throughout their generations.”

This Moses did; according to all that the Lord commanded him, so he did.

And he erected the court around the tabernacle and the altar, and set up the screen of the gate of the court. So Moses finished the work.

Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.

And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.

Throughout all their journeys, whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the people of Israel would set out.

But if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not set out till the day that it was taken up.

For the cloud of the Lord was on the tabernacle by day, and fire was in it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel throughout all their journeys.

A ‘theology’ of the tabernacle was laid down in 29

Ex 29:43–45: There I will meet with the people of Israel, and it shall be sanctified by my glory. 44 I will consecrate the tent of meeting and the altar. Aaron also and his sons I will consecrate to serve me as priests. 45 I will dwell among the people of Israel and will be their God.

This is what the book was leading up to.

NOW THEIR JOURNEY BEGINS AS THE PEOPLE OF GOD ON THEIR WAY TO THE PROMISED LAND.

The church is mistaken to have too much of a promised land mindest.

This earth is not our home

We must maintain a pilgrim mindset

We must be a tabernacle in the wilderness

TITLE: THE JOURNEY BEGINS

THREE KEY COMPONENTS

Anointed Places

Qodesh = Holy (The word is used twice in verse 9

קִדַּשְׁתָּ (Qiddashta) — The verb form, "קִדַּשׁ" (qiddesh)

קֹדֶשׁ (Qodesh) — The noun form, "קֹדֶשׁ" (qodesh)

Put HOLY on it so that it can become HOLY.

THE HOLIFICATION OF PLACES

The Anointing

Post-Reformation Protestantism is not very familiar with ritual anointing. The early and medieval Church, nonetheless, practiced anointing with some regularity

Anointing oil symbolized the presence of the Lord’s Spirit

We consecrate, not only through ritual anointing, the word of God, and the power of God, and the worship of God

Anointed People

What Moses Did

Wash them

Put a robe on them

Anoint them

Establish a perpetual priesthood

What Christ has done

Washed us

Tt 3:5 - he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit

Put a robe on us

Put on Christ

Anointed

Made us a perpetual priesthood

Appointed Paths

God is going to have us go to places

Some places He will have us stay for a long time.

Some places He will have us move on quickly.

The key to MOVE WHEN THE SPIRIT SAYS MOVE

Jesus turns the word “tabernacle” from a noun to verb

John 1:14

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt [tabernacled] among us, and we have seen his glory”

God does not want a TEMPLE he wants to TABERNACLE