Make My Dwelling
Notes
Transcript
Reading:
16 What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, “I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
17 Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you,
18 and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty.”
Introduction:
Israel coming out from Egypt wasn’t on their own accord.
It was all of God!
He called a leader to follow and obey His directions.
He brought the cloud for the day and the fire for the night.
In doing those things He revealed that He was always with them.
For 400 years even though it didn’t seem like it God was there.
Some must have believed, since the Lord states that He heard their cries when He was talking with Moses from the burning bush.
God was always there, He always knew what was happening, He always provided for them.
Similar to right now.
It would be easy to believe or accept that God was distant or worse: Wasn’t real.
How many times do people say: “show me God and I would believe”.
People justify their lack of faith in Jesus because they couldn’t see “God’.
In the N.T. people struggled with the same thing:
27 Then He said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.”
28 Thomas answered Him, “My Lord and my God!”
29 Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
All of us here cannot say that we’ve physically touched Jesus or physically seen Him.
Yet we believe!
There is a trap that we could still fall into because we have an adversary and he is crafty.
He deceives by suggesting the idea that Christ wasn’t real, God isn’t real, Religion is for weak minded people; blah, blah, blah...
We believe and continue believing because we have that relationship with Him.
Because people desire a “spiritual” experience look at what people are willing to accept as fake imitations:
Drugs
Camping
Meditation
Hoping in “karma”
Crystals
Spiritualism
There are tons of things that Satan has deceived people into believing is their encounter with God.
The desire people have can only be filled when you do all that God offers:
Prayer.
Reading.
Meditating as being in His presence.
Humans desire a connection with their creator.
Unfortunately they decide to settle for an false imitation when they could have the real thing.
Believers have access to Him anytime they want.
In Exodus 25 God reveals how the people will have access to Him.
Whether they need to speak with Him
Get truth from Him
Or just need revival in their hearts He is there for them.
Exodus 25 is God’s direction or blueprints for Israel to make a dwelling so He will be available to them.
He begins by requesting an offering.
Israel must:
Sacrifice for God:
Sacrifice for God:
1 The Lord said to Moses,
2 “Speak to the people of Israel, that they take for me a contribution. From every man whose heart moves him you shall receive the contribution for me.
3 And this is the contribution that you shall receive from them: gold, silver, and bronze,
4 blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen, goats’ hair,
5 tanned rams’ skins, goatskins, acacia wood,
6 oil for the lamps, spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense,
7 onyx stones, and stones for setting, for the ephod and for the breastpiece.
God asks of the things in their care.
I wonder what Israel thought about those things?
All people are silly and fall into this belief that everything in our names, or all we could liquidate of our possessions, is ours!
It isn’t true.
The Israelites only possessed these physical things or had wealth because God told them to ask it of their Egyptian neighbors as they left Egypt.
God made them plunder Egypt.
They had these things because God gave it to them.
Ok, pastor; but I have a job and all I have I earned.
Correct, partially.
Who made it possible for you to acquire that job and keep your physical body going to fulfill your duties?
God did; but you did obey and provide.
God knows exactly what we need, when we need it, and how much of it we need.
Sometimes we get “extra” for the ability to help others.
Israel shouldn’t have had an issue with it.
Remember: all they had as slaves before God was zilch.
He isn’t asking for it all, He is asking they sacrifice of their excess to provide for access to His presence!
God provides a detailed list for what He needs.
He is placing a call on each person, and they respond by faith and give of what He gave them.
We are also have been given gifts.
Ephesians teaches that everyone is given a gift and why:
11 And He gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers,
12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,
13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,
14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.
15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into Him who is the head, into Christ,
16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.
1 Corinthians 12 also outlines the gifts designed in men and women for the church..
Connection:
These gifts should be treated no different than the possessions He’s given us.
Use them as He directs.
It is our sacrifice; but for what reason?
To fulfill our calling by using the gifts He gave us to build up the body to a worthy testimony of the Lord.
What are we sacrificing?
Time, possibility of more finances, brain power, sleep, etc..
Many of those things we already sacrifice in pursuit for “success”, does God deserve less than that?
Notice what sparks the gift in the individual as the Lord says:
2 “Speak to the people of Israel, that they take for me a contribution. From every man whose heart moves him you shall receive the contribution for me.
Not all hearts will have the same desire.
That means each person is obligated not to compare each person’s gift.
It also means you don’t lift up those who do give more than others.
Each and every person has an intimate connection to the Lord and their relationship has nothing to do with anyone else!
Point:
What will you do with the gifts God gave you?
Have you ever realized what they are?
Don’t sell yourself short of what you bring to the body of Christ.
The body needs you and your gifts to function as whole, instead of handicapped.
Give into the Lord’s stirring your heart.
Fulfill what He has designed you to do!
As your heart moves you:
Give of what God has provided to you.
Connection:
God is revealing how much He cares for our lives.
He asks Israel for the fine linen in a certain color.
The “fine twined linen” wasn’t a phrase that was loosely used.
It was an Egyptian word which paid homage to Egypt’s excellency in the production of linen, especially twined linen.
The Hebrews learned the best trades and some probably made it their craft which they would continue doing and teach to their children.
The Hebrews understood what the dress attire of the Noble class and priests were made of: Fine twined linen.
The goats hair would last and was cooler and stayed clean, and most importantly resistant to rain.
The people would also provide the stable materials for the furniture.
The stones for the representation of each tribe of Israel.
What the people would get from the High Priest was representation; the stones in the Ephod would represent each tribe
The people would be an act of worship.
He is worthy of our best that we can give.
That isn’t any different than what He asks of you and I, is it?
All of what we do for Him, is reasonable worship; but when we offer up our best that we could possibly offer; that is our full worship!
Similar to the parable Jesus taught in Mark 12:41-44
41 And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums.
42 And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny.
43 And he called his disciples to him and said to them, “Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box.
44 For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”
The woman was worshipping Him fully and the rest of the people gave their reasonable worship, and some worshiped themselves.
Worship Him with your best!
God instructs Moses about the:
Furniture:
Furniture:
God already asked for materials for the construction and He is going to give specific instructions about the furniture.
He starts with what He will sit on:
The Ark of the Covenant:
10 “They shall make an ark of acacia wood. Two cubits and a half shall be its length, a cubit and a half its breadth, and a cubit and a half its height.
11 You shall overlay it with pure gold, inside and outside shall you overlay it, and you shall make on it a molding of gold around it.
12 You shall cast four rings of gold for it and put them on its four feet, two rings on the one side of it, and two rings on the other side of it.
13 You shall make poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold.
14 And you shall put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark to carry the ark by them.
15 The poles shall remain in the rings of the ark; they shall not be taken from it.
The instructions for a rectangular box.
Made of the acacia wood.
Acacia wood has characteristics that would be best for many different reasons.
One is it’s ability to resist bugs and decay.
Acacia wood is stable and strong which would provide the perfect material to overlay with gold.
He describes the size: 2 and a half for the length (45”), 1 and a half in depth (24”), and 1 and a half for it’s height (24”).
A rectangular box to hold and preserve the testimony of Israel and God’s contract.
Forever to be preserved.
This box was to be overlaid in gold
It was used on anything closely connected with God’s immediate presence.
Like:
The mercy seat which will sit atop the box and where His presence will rest.
Also since He sits on this piece of furniture it would need to be carried no one could touch it.
Hence the poles.
12 You shall cast four rings of gold for it and put them on its four feet, two rings on the one side of it, and two rings on the other side of it.
13 You shall make poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold.
14 And you shall put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark to carry the ark by them.
15 The poles shall remain in the rings of the ark; they shall not be taken from it.
The Ark, once it was constructed could not be touched by human hands, the poles would always remain in the rings and always ready to be lifted and moved.
It needed a top:
Which was the Mercy Seat.
17 “You shall make a mercy seat of pure gold. Two cubits and a half shall be its length, and a cubit and a half its breadth.
18 And you shall make two cherubim of gold; of hammered work shall you make them, on the two ends of the mercy seat.
19 Make one cherub on the one end, and one cherub on the other end. Of one piece with the mercy seat shall you make the cherubim on its two ends.
20 The cherubim shall spread out their wings above, overshadowing the mercy seat with their wings, their faces one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubim be.
21 And you shall put the mercy seat on the top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the testimony that I shall give you.
The word here that describes the lid is
translated into Greek as hilastērion, “propitiatory,”
Kind of awesome how we see the word propitiatory to describe the covering for the testimony of the covenant.
Not much different than what we hear from Romans 3:25
25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by His blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in His divine forbearance He had passed over former sins.
That mercy seat is a physical covering of our sin; but Jesus’ blood was a permanent one!
On the mercy seat the sacrificial blood was sprinkled out once a year; but Jesus’ was once and never needed again.
The sin of Israel was with the blood on the mercy seat, obliterated between God and man.
The angels would possibly represent the bowing in reverence to worship a majestic God and serve as a sign for the presence of God working.
Often times he angels presence among men indicated the Lord working.
18 And you shall make two cherubim of gold; of hammered work shall you make them, on the two ends of the mercy seat.
19 Make one cherub on the one end, and one cherub on the other end. Of one piece with the mercy seat shall you make the cherubim on its two ends.
20 The cherubim shall spread out their wings above, overshadowing the mercy seat with their wings, their faces one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubim be.
21 And you shall put the mercy seat on the top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the testimony that I shall give you.
22 There I will meet with you, and from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim that are on the ark of the testimony, I will speak with you about all that I will give you in commandment for the people of Israel.
God will speak from between the angels, above the testimony of His covenant giving His commands as a King from His throne to His subjects.
The construction of the Table for bread is similar to the Ark.
23 “You shall make a table of acacia wood. Two cubits shall be its length, a cubit its breadth, and a cubit and a half its height.
24 You shall overlay it with pure gold and make a molding of gold around it.
25 And you shall make a rim around it a handbreadth wide, and a molding of gold around the rim.
26 And you shall make for it four rings of gold, and fasten the rings to the four corners at its four legs.
27 Close to the frame the rings shall lie, as holders for the poles to carry the table.
28 You shall make the poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold, and the table shall be carried with these.
It will always be a place of display.
With it there needs to be proper utensils for worship and use.
29 And you shall make its plates and dishes for incense, and its flagons and bowls with which to pour drink offerings; you shall make them of pure gold.
There are Plates, Spoons, Bowls, and cups.
All of which would be made from pure gold.
Not to be acacia overlaid with gold.
All had their purpose; but the minute detail wasn’t for it’s function, the overall point for them was to be objects of worship!
The table was not to be empty dishes; but incense.
There was to be ever present bread.
30 And you shall set the bread of the Presence on the table before me regularly.
There were to be 12 loaves which were unleavened that represent the 12 tribes of Israel.
The point would show:
There is full and never failing provisions from God.
To our church, this body of believers, God provides us the spiritual sustenance through:
Our gathering together
The opening of His word
The feeding on it for our spiritual strength
God fulfills His promise to supply for their needs.
God explains the last piece of furniture:
The Golden Lampstand
31 “You shall make a lampstand of pure gold. The lampstand shall be made of hammered work: its base, its stem, its cups, its calyxes, and its flowers shall be of one piece with it.
32 And there shall be six branches going out of its sides, three branches of the lampstand out of one side of it and three branches of the lampstand out of the other side of it;
33 three cups made like almond blossoms, each with calyx and flower, on one branch, and three cups made like almond blossoms, each with calyx and flower, on the other branch—so for the six branches going out of the lampstand.
34 And on the lampstand itself there shall be four cups made like almond blossoms, with their calyxes and flowers,
35 and a calyx of one piece with it under each pair of the six branches going out from the lampstand.
36 Their calyxes and their branches shall be of one piece with it, the whole of it a single piece of hammered work of pure gold.
37 You shall make seven lamps for it. And the lamps shall be set up so as to give light on the space in front of it.
38 Its tongs and their trays shall be of pure gold.
39 It shall be made, with all these utensils, out of a talent of pure gold.
40 And see that you make them after the pattern for them, which is being shown you on the mountain.
The lampstand will be three arms on each side of a central and straight spire.
A top of each will be a flame.
The center one will be taller than the other six.
The center shaft was the only one that was self sustaining and the others branched off from it and could not sustain themselves.
Even though they are similar in appearance they fall short.
Starting to remind you of anything?
Maybe the “I Am” statement of Jesus:
I am the vine you are the branches...
Point:
All the arms are reliant upon the central shaft and God is who we depend on.
His glory is light.
Without His presence it would always be dark, spiritually and physically.
This is where the arms also have light, from the source of light: Jesus.
Conclusion:
All the furniture represented God, His promise, and His presence to His people.
In the new testament we have been given the task of being the light of the Lord to all the people.
The lampstands He lifts up to let His glory shine out the darkness.
Sacrificing to use the gifts He has given you shines His glory for all the world to see.
-Pray!
