Learning to Take a Risk

Exodus 40 NASB95

1 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “On the first day of the first month you shall set up the tabernacle of the tent of meeting. 3 “You shall place the ark of the testimony there, and you shall screen the ark with the veil. 4 “You shall bring in the table and arrange what belongs on it; and you shall bring in the lampstand and mount its lamps. 5 “Moreover, you shall set the gold altar of incense before the ark of the testimony, and set up the veil for the doorway to the tabernacle. 6 “You shall set the altar of burnt offering in front of the doorway of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting. 7 “You shall set the laver between the tent of meeting and the altar and put water in it. 8 “You shall set up the court all around and hang up the veil for the gateway of the court. 9 “Then you shall take the anointing oil and anoint the tabernacle and all that is in it, and shall consecrate it and all its furnishings; and it shall be holy. 10 “You shall anoint the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and consecrate the altar, and the altar shall be most holy. 11 “You shall anoint the laver and its stand, and consecrate it. 12 “Then you shall bring Aaron and his sons to the doorway of the tent of meeting and wash them with water. 13 “You shall put the holy garments on Aaron and anoint him and consecrate him, that he may minister as a priest to Me. 14 “You shall bring his sons and put tunics on them; 15 and you shall anoint them even as you have anointed their father, that they may minister as priests to Me; and their anointing will qualify them for a perpetual priesthood throughout their generations.” 16 Thus Moses did; according to all that the Lord had commanded him, so he did. 17 Now in the first month of the second year, on the first day of the month, the tabernacle was erected. 18 Moses erected the tabernacle and laid its sockets, and set up its boards, and inserted its bars and erected its pillars. 19 He spread the tent over the tabernacle and put the covering of the tent on top of it, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. 20 Then he took the testimony and put it into the ark, and attached the poles to the ark, and put the mercy seat on top of the ark. 21 He brought the ark into the tabernacle, and set up a veil for the screen, and screened off the ark of the testimony, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. 22 Then he put the table in the tent of meeting on the north side of the tabernacle, outside the veil. 23 He set the arrangement of bread in order on it before the Lord, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. 24 Then he placed the lampstand in the tent of meeting, opposite the table, on the south side of the tabernacle. 25 He lighted the lamps before the Lord, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. 26 Then he placed the gold altar in the tent of meeting in front of the veil; 27 and he burned fragrant incense on it, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. 28 Then he set up the veil for the doorway of the tabernacle. 29 He set the altar of burnt offering before the doorway of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting, and offered on it the burnt offering and the meal offering, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. 30 He placed the laver between the tent of meeting and the altar and put water in it for washing. 31 From it Moses and Aaron and his sons washed their hands and their feet. 32 When they entered the tent of meeting, and when they approached the altar, they washed, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. 33 He erected the court all around the tabernacle and the altar, and hung up the veil for the gateway of the court. Thus Moses finished the work. 34 Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. 35 Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud had settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. 36 Throughout all their journeys whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the sons of Israel would set out; 37 but if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not set out until the day when it was taken up. 38 For throughout all their journeys, the cloud of the Lord was on the tabernacle by day, and there was fire in it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel.

INTRO: When I was in grade school, I was taught that every story had three parts: and introduction, a climax, and a conclusion. Sometimes, there are events that foreshadow the climax- hints along the way of what is to come that build the anticipation and excitement.

And as we near the climax of a story, there are big implications.

ILL: Have you ever watched the movie, The Lion King? It’s an animated movie about a lion who was king and his son, the heir to the throne. In this movie, the king is killed by his brother, Scar, who in turn blames the king’s son, Simba, forcing him to flee before wrongfully taking the throne. Now, the climax of the movie happens when Simba returns to challenge Scar and set things straight.

On the surface, the risk is obvious: if he fails, he dies and the kingdom crumbles. But the truth is, the real risk wasn’t fighting Scar — the real risk was staying comfortable in exile, eating bugs with Timon and Pumbaa, and never stepping into who he was meant to be.

I wonder though, if you were Simba, would you have taken the risk? Or would you remain comfortably ineffective bumming around with a smelly warthog and meercat?

And isn’t that how it often feels with God? Trusting Him looks risky. It feels safer to stay put, keep control, and play it safe. But the irony is this: the “safe” path is actually the dangerous one. The only safe place is where God is.

That’s why Proverbs 3:5–6 tells us to trust in the Lord and not in ourselves — because what feels risky to us is actually the safest step when God is leading.

Now let’s step back into Scripture, because Israel found themselves in that exact same place — facing a decision that looked risky but was really their only hope.

Today, we come to a climactic point in the saga of Moses and the Israelites. Now, you might think that this, being the final chapter in Exodus is more likely a conclusion than a climax, but there is much more to the story, fleshed out in Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.

There are major implications of this event- implications that we can observe for Israel, for the world, and for the church. And its a bit ironic. Israel has followed God’s strange instructions, they’ve built this mobile tent — a tabernacle — and they’re waiting to see if God will really show up. It feels risky. But what we’ll see is that God’s glory fills the tent, His presence leads His people, and His promise is secure.

So here’s our question today: Will we trust God, even when it feels risky?

The sermon this morning is titled, Learning to Take a Risk We are going to look at this passage in three parts: As it relates to Israel, as it relates to the world, and as it relates to the church. If you have a bulletin, I invite you to use the enclosed sermon guide as we learn together.

Now, this text was written to describe what actually happened when Moses and the Israelites assembled the tabernacle. Therefore, the primary aspect of this passage is:

A Picture of Israel’s Progress

When we began the study in Exodus, the nation of Israel were slaves living under the thumb of Pharaoh in Egypt. They were oppressed and crying out to God. God heard them and rescued them.

He led them out of Egypt, revealed His strength and glory, provided in merciful abundance, and brought them to Mt. Sinai to consecrate them and covenant with them.

As we know, they responded by doing things the way they were comfortable: By crafting an idol and worshiping it as god.

Still, God in His great mercy invited them to build a tabernacle through which they could commune with God- where heaven and earth would meet as God promised His very presence upon the tabernacle.

As we saw, God poured His Holy Spirit out upon them, giving the Israelites the desire to obey Him, the abilities to accomplish the work, and a generous spirit to ensure the work was completed.

The Israelites longed to see God among them- not god in a box, like the idols of Egypt, but God’s very presence at the center of their lives. They longed to be His and so they meticulously followed God’s instructions and presented the many parts of the tabernacle to Moses, who inspected them and affirmed their work.

Now, as we look to the 40th chapter, we see the tabernacle assembled according to God’s instructions, and situated according to God’s instructions. V.33 says that “Moses finished the work...” - he built the tabernacle as God commanded, and all eyes are on what God was going to do.

This seems risky, but the only real risk was disobedience.

Because Israel was God’s chosen people, and they obeyed His commands, God’s presence - visible as a cloud, covered the tabernacle the glory of the Lord filled it!

All the hope and anticipation could not have imagined what this was like- the manifest glory of Almighty God filling the tabernacle- a sign that God was near, that the people were His, that life took on a fresh new meaning.

NOTE: This tabernacle was erected in the first day of the first month- A new year, a new identity for Israel, a new chapter of life. No longer slaves, now sons and daughters! No longer was Moses the god-figure leading them, Now God’s presence was visible! A cloud by day, fire by night.

But don’t miss this: this was not the end. You see, God was in charge- he would determine when they moved or stayed. That’s also a good reminder of why God had them build a tabernacle that was mobile! You see, he wasn’t done!! The adventure was just beginning! The promised land lies ahead, and if you follow the history of Israel, you’ll see when they trusted God and when they trusted themselves.

So it seemed risky to trust God in the wilderness, but this picture of Israel’s progress is a beacon of God’s faithfulness. What seemed like a gamble was actually their safest step.

But this wasn’t just about Israel. The glory in the tabernacle was pointing forward to something — or rather, Someone — greater. If the people thought it was risky to trust God in the wilderness, imagine what it looked like to follow a crucified carpenter from Nazareth.

You see, Exodus 40 is also somewhat of:

A Parallel of Christ’s Redemptive Work

I love how there are so many instances where the Old Testament points us to Jesus!

We are more like the Israelites than we care to admit sometimes. In our sin, we are slaves. We find ourselves longing for God, but more often than not, we want to do things our way instead of God’s.

So it was also with the Jews and Gentiles in the first century. Israel had become religious, but not godly. Generations had passed since Israel had a king- they became comfortable being under the rule of others, satisfied and playing it safe according to their rules.

Many priests and Pharisees had turned worship into an opportunity to boast in their personal holiness, not seeing that even in our best attempts, we are sinners who need God’s merciful salvation. They had not paid attention to the prophets who called them to repent.

But in pages of the NT, we see that God felt compassion on the earth.

John 1:14 NASB95

14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.

The word, “dwelt” literally means that He tabernacled among us. The Word became flesh and tabernacled among us.” The glory that once filled a tent in the wilderness walked the streets of Galilee. Jesus, the eternal Son of God, became man and lived among His people, shining the glory of the Almighty. BTW- He is also called Immanuel which means God with us!

And get this, just as God invited Israel to commune with Him, Jesus invited the people, including generations to come, to “Come to Me, and I will give you rest” and “Follow Me!”

It’s no wonder that crowds followed him everywhere he went- not only because of his teaching and miracles, but because he shone forth the overwhelming hope of God with us. Just as the tabernacle had to be erected for God’s glory to fill it, Jesus taught that he would be glorified when he was lifted up on a cross to atone for the sins of the world.

On the 3rd day, he was resurrected. He ascended into heaven, sent His Holy Spirit to indwell believers, convict of sin, and guide in righteousness. The hope of communion with God- the redemption that purchased me from death and hell is a climax that changed everything!

But let me tell you something, that’s not the end! You might get lulled into thinking that the story is over, but friend you need to know that there is more! Jesus is coming back! He has made the way of salvation. For those that are His, He has given a fresh start! A new name!

Perhaps this morning, you are here and you have seen the evidence of God’s goodness and faithfulness, but you are clinging to your comfort in your old ways.

You might think that it sounds pretty risky to follow a carpenter from Nazareth who was rejected and crucified. The cross looked like defeat, but it was victory! You see the real danger is in rejecting Him. In fact, Jesus said that there is no other path to eternal life..

And here’s the good news — just as God led Israel, just as Jesus led his disciples, that same God still leads His church today. Let’s look at how Exodus 40 is:

A Promise of God’s Guidance

Look at v. 36-38 again. (READ)

For Israel, they were going to be journeying to the promised land. And in this text, we see that God promised not only to be with them, but to lead them. There was purpose in the staying and going, and so long as Israel kept their eyes on God, they knew they were in His will.

Again and again in Scripture, God called His people to take what looked like a risk, yet every time, He proved faithful.

When Moses died and Joshua was called to lead Israel across the Jordan to take the land..

The river was a flood level. I can almost hear them, “Ok, God- aren’t you going to part the waters?” And God said, “Yes, but first the priests and levites must take the arc and step into the water.”

IOW- Trust me. This is my command, I’m leading you. And you know what happened [EXPLAIN]

Then there was Jericho [EXPLAIN]

When David went to fight Goliath, it was God’s faithfulness that he trusted!

When he wrote Ps. 23, “Though I walk in the valley of the shadow of death… “

Jesus told his disciples that if they ask anything according to His will, it would be given them....

And that same God is still proving faithful today. Churches are springing up in places where Christianity is outlawed. Revivals are breaking out in prisons and on college campuses. What looks risky to us becomes the very stage for God’s glory.

It looks risky to follow where the Spirit leads. It might cost you your job, your control, etc. But the real danger is staying put when God is on the move!

We don’t have a pillar of cloud today — we have something better: the Spirit of God in us and the Word of God before us. But the question is the same — will you move when He moves?

Friend, let me tell you- God does not intend for us to be stagnant or idol. Instead, He has called us to “FOLLOW HIM!” Church, just as God promised Israel that He would be with them, Jesus promised us that as we GO make disciples of all the earth, He is with us, even until the end of the age.

God has laid before us a mission field- our neighbors and our friends need the Gospel! They need to see God working in you, to hear the hope that changes everything… And He will guide us to reach every household as we trust Him and follow Him.

Church, the glory of God filled the tabernacle. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. And now, His Spirit dwells in us and leads us.

So let me ask: What “risk” is God calling you to take? Maybe it’s stepping out in obedience where you’ve been holding back. Maybe it’s speaking the gospel to a friend. Maybe it’s letting go of control and trusting Him with your future.

From the world’s perspective, it will feel risky. From your perspective, it might feel scary. But here’s the truth: the only real risk is refusing to follow Him.

Trusting God isn’t risky — it’s secure. Following His lead isn’t reckless — it’s safe. The greatest danger isn’t in obedience — it’s in disobedience.

Church, imagine what God could do through us if we stopped playing it safe and simply followed His lead. The only real risk is not trusting Him.

So will you remain comfortably idle, or will you follow the God whose glory leads the way?

[PRAY]

Discuss: In Exodus 40, God’s glory filled the tabernacle after it was assembled exactly as He commanded. What does this moment show us about God’s character?

Discuss: How can we keep from becoming “comfortably ineffective” in our walk with Christ?

Discuss: In what ways do we still tend to trust our own ways instead of God’s, even after experiencing His faithfulness?