According To His instructions
The Going Forth - From Slavery To Freedom • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Reading:
20 an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of children, having in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth—
21 you then who teach others, do you not teach yourself? While you preach against stealing, do you steal?
22 You who say that one must not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples?
23 You who boast in the law dishonor God by breaking the law.
Introduction:
Place yourselves in the Israelites position:
(Walk through the picture as if you were an Israelite coming to the Tabernacle, bringing a sacrifice to make atonement for you and your family)
Begin at the entrance to the outer courts, to the Bronze Altar, to the Laver for washing before entering the holy place.
The Table of showbread, the Lampstand, The altar of Incense before entering the Holy of Holies.
The Ark of the Testimony and the Mercy Seat.
Key: As you approach the Lord you recognize there was a right way to enter and a wrong way.
Boldly: With your own authority and merit; dirty and shameful.
Humbly: With no authority by a sacrifice for payment of your trespasses taking away your shame.
John 4:24 highlights what proper worship is for us.
24 God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
The main principal is: authentic or “proper” worship involves an inward change, not just the outward observance.
If we follow the Lord, He demands nothing less than complete sincerity.
Illustration:
While working we can see a couple different types of workers:
Those who love their jobs and those who do it for a paycheck.
We can take an example from farmers.
It is my understanding that farmers rely on good science when choosing what seeds they plant in the ground.
There are seeds from scientist who just collects a paychecks that engineer them to meet the bare minimum requirement for a “passing” grade.
Compared to a person who really enjoys what they do and works to get the best seed for the highest yield, a minimum passing grade isn’t good enough.
Connection:
As we worship the Lord are we doing it because we are expected to or because we deeply desire to honor Him?
Worship isn’t a ritual, it’s a life fully surrendered to Him.
Transition:
Chapter 25 gave the outline for the proper way to build everything, chapter 37 shows that it was meticulously adhered to.
Last week in 36 the Israelites gave enough materials to build everything and Bezalel was given the abilities for the crafting and oversight of all the pieces.
The outer coverings and barriers were made, today we get to the furniture.
Exodus 37:1-9 tells us about the Ark and the Mercy seat.
The Ark (1-9)
The Ark (1-9)
1 Bezalel made the ark of acacia wood. Two cubits and a half was its length, a cubit and a half its breadth, and a cubit and a half its height.
2 And he overlaid it with pure gold inside and outside, and made a molding of gold around it.
Bezalel constructed the box according to God’s measurements and material specifications.
This box wasn’t to remain empty, it was specifically made to carry something important.
The testimony of the covenant between God and man.
The stones with the 10 words inscribed on them.
It would continually be in the presence of the people, reminding them of the grace extended to them by the Lord.
That moment God came to man and made a way for them to be in His presence.
It was a covenant that God would uphold and if it was broken He would have to pay the penalty not man.
Which is exactly what He did.
Of course we couldn’t keep that covenant, and He knew that; but it remained as a teacher to show us what was holy and what was unholy.
Teaching the impending punishment for each soul.
10 For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it.
Because of the Law I can know what is right and what is wrong; but the disappointing part is that if we offend in one we earn the full punishment.
Thankfully we find hope in what Paul explains to the Galatians.
24 So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith.
25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian,
26 for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.
The guardian points the way to for justification: Faith in Jesus Christ.
Because were justified we have hope that wasn’t there before.
Connection:
As we read this construction of the box holding the covenant between God and Israel it is a symbol of hope for them.
It shows their constant need for God’s presence, grace, and mercy.
No different than what we need every day!
The ark would be that constant reminder to the Israelites of the covenant and the constant reliance upon Him.
This box is missing something: a lid.
The lid for this special box had a name.
The Mercy Seat.
6 And he made a mercy seat of pure gold. Two cubits and a half was its length, and a cubit and a half its breadth.
7 And he made two cherubim of gold. He made them of hammered work on the two ends of the mercy seat,
8 one cherub on the one end, and one cherub on the other end. Of one piece with the mercy seat he made the cherubim on its two ends.
9 The cherubim spread out their wings above, overshadowing the mercy seat with their wings, with their faces one to another; toward the mercy seat were the faces of the cherubim.
God’s instructions for the place He would sit needed to be pure and guarded!
It would be of pure gold, as opposed to the wooden overlaid with gold like the box.
There is also the Cherubs on each side shading where He sits.
If you remember Cherubs were introduced back in Genesis 3:24
24 He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden He placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.
They symbolized that first separation between God and man.
Also showing a protection of Holiness where God dwells.
We can find this reminder at the entrance of the Holy of Holies and here atop the Mercy seat.
Providing a barrier between God and man.
A constant reminder of being unworthy to be in His presence!
Exemplifying God’s grace and mercy.
Point:
Where God dwells demands holiness, purity, and a separation from those things that can compromise those things.
Connection:
God is the same in the Old Testament and the New Testament: His dwelling will be no different.
13 Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
14 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance,
15 but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct,
16 since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”
He expects holiness from us, even though we can’t be holy on our own.
How did He fix the problem of dwelling in an unholy vessel?
Jesus fixed it.
20 and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of His cross.
21 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds,
22 He has now reconciled in His body of flesh by His death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before Him,
Jesus’ blood cleansed you from the impurity that separated you from God.
We have become the new tabernacle for His spirit to dwell, and He continues cleaning it from the inside out.
Jesus stands in His power reconciling us to Himself!
Bezalel constructed the furniture that God would sit on while accessible to the people, sitting atop of the agreement between them and Him.
Jesus crafted you and I to be His dwelling place and to be accessible at any point making us Holy and pure!
Transition:
At any point we think He is far from us or that He isn’t hearing us, we may want to remember a Table that Bezalel crafted:
The Table (10-16)
The Table (10-16)
10 He also made the table of acacia wood. Two cubits was its length, a cubit its breadth, and a cubit and a half its height.
11 And he overlaid it with pure gold, and made a molding of gold around it.
12 And he made a rim around it a handbreadth wide, and made a molding of gold around the rim.
Bezalel constructs the Table to the expectations God gave in Exodus 25.
From Acacia wood and overlaid with gold.
This table was in the holy place, across from the next piece of furniture the lamp stand and adjacent to the altar of incense.
It would hold the showbread.
The reminder of how the Lord provided for them in the desert when they had no food.
Reminding them that He can and does provide in miraculous ways by His power!
Connection:
Look at your moment of salvation.
I am willing to bet that the moment you accepted the grace offered to you, there were a lot of things leading up to that point in your life.
Even if you accepted salvation at a young age, maybe there were people praying for you, for your family, for etc...
Maybe you asked Christ forgiveness of your sins at a later point in your life and hadn’t seen the many people He brought into your life to challenge your beliefs or even show love without any expectation in return.
Illustration:
Last year we were blessed with a lot of toys to use for outreaches.
One of those outreaches was the mistletoe market here at the middle school.
We gave away nerf guns, squirt guns, transformers, match games, etc...
People asked why we would give these things away for free asking nothing.
We took the opportunity to give the gospel to any who would listen and sent them with a gift without any expectation of anything in return.
Some said they were going to give the toys as Christmas gifts which took away the burden of buying toys.
We were illustrating what Jesus did: He offers forgiveness for all eternity for free.
Acknowledge those moments God does something amazing in your life, Praise Him for it and write it down to be reminded of His provisions.
Find comfort believing that He always provides, and praise Him when He does.
Transition:
We move from the table of showbread, across the room in the Holy place to:
The Lampstand (17-24)
The Lampstand (17-24)
17 He also made the lampstand of pure gold. He made the lampstand of hammered work. Its base, its stem, its cups, its calyxes, and its flowers were of one piece with it.
18 And there were 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;
19 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.
20 And on the lampstand itself were four cups made like almond blossoms, with their calyxes and flowers,
21 and a calyx of one piece with it under each pair of the six branches going out of it.
22 Their calyxes and their branches were of one piece with it. The whole of it was a single piece of hammered work of pure gold.
I want to highlight a question here regarding the construction method Bezalel chose for the lampstand.
It says that He hammered it out of a solid piece of Gold.
Why didn’t he make a cast and pour the gold into a cast for the lampstand?
Wouldn’t that have been easier?
It would have been less labor and quicker; but I think it points to what the lampstand was crafted for.
To light an area (the Holy place) in contrast to the Glory of God which lit up the Holy of Holies.
An image of what was beyond the barrier, the Glory of God held by purity portraying holiness.
Connection:
Bezalel didn’t just pour gold into a mold.
He hammered it out, shaping it with intentional care.
This method of crafting the lampstand reminds us of how the Holy Spirit works in our lives—sometimes through a difficult, refining processes.
God doesn't simply shape us with ease; He often uses the 'hammering' of trials to refine us into His image.
What people see of us, testifies of the faith we say we have.
It shows the works with out faith part of James:
18 But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.
19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!
20 Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless?
21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar?
22 You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works;
Working out our salvation is no different than Bezalel hammering out and stretching the solid piece of gold to the pure and holy reflection of the Glory of God.
We are constantly stretched to reveal the Lord to others and to be crafted into His image.
Point:
The stretching of your faith and the hammering it out isn’t comfortable and often times it hurts; faith teaches us to trust the process He’s using to make us into what He desires.
If He crafted an beautiful lampstand from a solid piece of gold, imagine what He will do with you if you let him?
His plans for you are great, and big.
Let Him work!
Through that uncomfortable process we are pointed to the next piece of furniture which we use constantly:
The Altar of Incense (25-29)
The Altar of Incense (25-29)
25 He made the altar of incense of acacia wood. Its length was a cubit, and its breadth was a cubit. It was square, and two cubits was its height. Its horns were of one piece with it.
26 He overlaid it with pure gold, its top and around its sides and its horns. And he made a molding of gold around it,
27 and made two rings of gold on it under its molding, on two opposite sides of it, as holders for the poles with which to carry it.
28 And he made the poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with gold.
29 He made the holy anointing oil also, and the pure fragrant incense, blended as by the perfumer.
The altar would hold incense to burn.
Incense provided an pleasing aroma, and it was placed as the last point right before the veil between the holy place and the Holy of Holies.
It would be smoky and would also fill the whole tabernacle with a smell that pleased the Lord.
There altar casts a shadow into the future about the incense.
The teaches that the incense is our prayers.
David makes a plea to the Lord, and by what he says believes that our personal prayers and personal worship is on par with sacrifice and incense as a means of approaching Yahweh.
1 O Lord, I call upon you; hasten to me! Give ear to my voice when I call to you!
2 Let my prayer be counted as incense before you, and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice!
This is confirmed in Revelation as it states our prayers are being stored up into bowls, awaiting to be poured out!
8 And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.
3 And another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer, and he was given much incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar before the throne,
4 and the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the hand of the angel.
The altar of incense housed the pleasing aroma for the Lord to smell, which in the dispensation of grace that we live in now are being stored up to please the Lord with later.
Connection:
Every prayer, whether a prayer of thankfulness, forgiveness, confession, intercession, lamenting, they are all pleasing to the Lord!
When you pray, your prayers fill the whole room and is pleasing to the Lord.
Think through this point:
Praying to the Lord is being completely dependent upon Him.
The emotions of your heart offered to His will
Laying down your will to adopt His.
Your prayers matter!
Keep Praying.
Conclusion
Here is a neat fact about Bezalel that might bring perspective on who God will use:
In the Talmud (Sanhedrin 69b) we find the age of Bezalel when he began the work of the Tabernacle.
It was about 13 years old.
That sure places a new perspective to him being called by name, by God through Moses, to be the one given all wisdom in craftsmanship.
Imagine people receiving direction from a 13year old? That’s a miracle in itself.
The whole thing is an testimony to the Lord.
As we reflect on the Tabernacle and all its intricate details, we are reminded that God desires us to approach Him with reverence, sincerity, and holiness.
Just as Bezalel followed God's detailed instructions to craft the Tabernacle, we, too, are called to follow His Word with precision and care.
God has made a way for us to enter His presence—through the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
As we live in obedience, let's remember that we are not just building something with our hands; we are becoming the Tabernacle of God, His dwelling place, where His glory resides.
Our calling is clear: to go and make disciples, living as lights in a dark world, offering our lives as living sacrifices of worship.
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
We are called to do it together as the body of Christ, with excellence and paying attention to each detail as He instructed.
-Pray!
