Exodus 35-37
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Exodus 35-37
Exodus 35-37
Coming into the homestretch of Exodus, and since we’ve gone into quite some depth on the symbolism of what Moses was shown on the mountain, we’re going to close out Exodus in about 2 more messages. These days will be more reading of the Word and reminding you all of what we went over for the past few months.
We’re going to take communion today together, could we please pass out the elements? If anyone comes in late, could someone in the back make sure everyone else gets theirs as they enter?
What’s most important, is the fact that the Tabernacle, the Tabernacle Complex, all of the pieces, the garments for Aaron and his son’s, all of it points to Jesus. We’ll point that out with a wide brush today as we dive into God’s Word, amen?
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.”
The Sabbath day is designed first and foremost so we remember the Lord. It’s for us to have a day of rest, BUT, it’s mainly so we make special time to remember Him.
I was reading an article this week about the mistakes pastors make that lead them to falling. One of the reasons they gave is not to make your devo time your sermon prep time. I’m guilty of that...not setting time aside for the Lord specifically for Him and me. Don’t do that.
Remember the Lord, give Him the time He wants from you. You need it, He gives it. Your problems won’t melt away, but you’ll see them more clearly. Give the Lord His time, and He will bless you.
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.
The people had just sinned greatly against the Lord, right? Those opportunities when He brings you to your knees, they make you re-evaluate your priorities, don’t they? What kind of heart does the Lord want? One that is humble, and contrite. What do those words mean?
Humble means to esteem others over yourself. Contrite means you look upon what you’ve done and have changed. The people saw God as their priority now. This 2nd 40 days of Moses on the mountain were waiting with baited breath, not a cry for self exaltation.
Remember, we talked at length too about these materials and colors. What do they represent?
Metals:
Gold - God/Deity
Silver - Redemption
Bronze - Judgement
Colors:
Fine Linen - White - Purity/Holiness
Blue - Heaven
Purple - Royalty
Scarlet - Sacrifice
Acacia wood - Man
The skins were the coverings of the Tabernacle. The Acacia wood was from a thorny, hearty tree that grows in that region. Probably from the same tree that the branches were twisted together to make the crown for our Lord’s head. The wood symbolizes humanity.
The incense represented our prayers, and our tears thru trials. The stones represented God’s precious people.
God was setting up a visual representation of the savior that would come off of His throne in Heaven and rescue us. He’s the only King who would abandon His throne to become a peasant, to work to save His people.
The construction would tell a story also.
(2 SLIDES)
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.’ ”
Moses is having a ministry fair here, isn’t he? Here’s the stuff we need to do, we need people who are willing to serve and use their talents.
Did you know there are things here we could use help with? Not just cleaning. How can you serve? Worship team? Can you make a joyful noise? Nursery? Outreach? We know many of you are involved outside our church, do you think other people might want to join you? Spend some time in fellowship?
Did you know I’m going on a mission trip to the UK with the Keystone project at the end of next month? Did you know that we’re planning a missions trip to Tijuana? Do any of you want to go to Israel? Do we need a men’s breakfast?
This church is not our leadership team. This church body is you all. What is the Lord calling you to? If you don’t know, come speak to me and we’ll pray over it and see what shakes out.
How do the people respond to Moses?
(3 SLIDES)
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.
Is your heart willing to serve? Do you work out your gifts? I am talking exercise. Yes, coming from the plump one speaking to you. I exercise in the Spirit, I need to keep my heart healthy, though too.
Do your kids have a heart to serve? Let them serve. Let them serve wherever they want to serve. Unleash the spirit in them. Lead them to, teach them to.
I’m not saying we need you to buck up and do something here. I’m saying get on the playing field. Each of you have been given beautiful and wonderful gifts. Some of you think they are terrible gifts...those gifts become some of the most beautiful things in the Kingdom of Heaven.
How do you make a ring or necklace of a pure metal? Thousands of degrees of heat, right? Then a beating! How do you make a diamond or other precious stones? Immense pressure. How do you make anything out of clay into something beautiful or useful? You have to beat it and stretch it into submission.
Those of you who have been purified by the crucible, by the hammer, or by the hands of the Lord. You are so special in the eyes of our Savior. He saved you from the fate of death so you could be used. Like Jesus said: “Look at these scars.” He did that to show us He’s been where we tread.
Some of you house scars that need to be used to bring hope, to bring peace and strength. Bring honor to the one who saved you from the ultimate price so you can be the one to save lives into eternity.
Moses calls out 2 men now:
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.
Be mobilized, church. Don’t hide your light. Like I showed you last week, I’m training my army. I know what they’re good at, what they love...and I know their dark side too. Help your kids shine their lights too.
This is a way you can be like Bezalel and Aholiab.
(2 SLIDES)
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.” 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.
The people gave more than enough. Bless the Lord and watch what He does in your life.
The coverings of the Tabernacle are described here next. If you’re a note taker, and you write in your Bibles, I would suggest you underline moving forward any color or metal described here Fine Linen is white. Also, the loops, clasps, sockets, and boards, and any number.
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.
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.
We went thru these all in better detail in Exodus 26, you can pull that up on YouTube and listen to it again, but we again have those colors, metals, numbers, they all mean something. They all point to Jesus.
Most of that is underlined, isn’t it? Let’s read it again, with the meaning of some of these words replacing them.
Do you see? Could you tell this story to someone to help them see Christ in the Old Testament?
Continue with your underlining if you’d like...and replace the meanings as we read. I’m going to read the words on the page.
1 Then Bezalel made the ark of acacia wood; two and a half cubits was its length, a cubit and a half its width, and a cubit and a half its height. 2 He overlaid it with pure gold inside and outside, and made a molding of gold all around it. 3 And he cast for it four rings of gold to be set in its four corners: two rings on one side, and two rings on the other side of it. 4 He made poles of acacia wood, and overlaid them with gold. 5 And he put the poles into the rings at the sides of the ark, to bear the ark. 6 He also made the mercy seat of pure gold; two and a half cubits was its length and a cubit and a half its width. 7 He made two cherubim of beaten gold; he made them of one piece at the two ends of the mercy seat: 8 one cherub at one end on this side, and the other cherub at the other end on that side. He made the cherubim at the two ends of one piece with the mercy seat. 9 The cherubim spread out their wings above, and covered the mercy seat with their wings. They faced one another; the faces of the cherubim were toward the mercy seat.
We talked about the fact that this points to Revelation, where God and Jesus sit on the throne with the angels on either side of them. The Mercy Seat is where the Lord said He would meet with man. In the end of this book, that’s where He meets us.
Look for me, He’s saying. I’m here, I’ve come, I’m coming again!
10 He made the table of acacia wood; two cubits was its length, a cubit its width, and a cubit and a half its height. 11 And he overlaid it with pure gold, and made a molding of gold all around it. 12 Also he made a frame of a handbreadth all around it, and made a molding of gold for the frame all around it. 13 And he cast for it four rings of gold, and put the rings on the four corners that were at its four legs. 14 The rings were close to the frame, as holders for the poles to bear the table. 15 And he made the poles of acacia wood to bear the table, and overlaid them with gold. 16 He made of pure gold the utensils which were on the table: its dishes, its cups, its bowls, and its pitchers for pouring.
The table, God will commune with us. He wants to have intimate time with us. There is no better time get to know people than by sharing a meal with them. Acacia wood, overlaid with Gold - the God Man wants to dine with us.
Let’s take of communion here together:
17 He also made the lampstand of pure gold; of hammered work he made the lampstand. Its shaft, its branches, its bowls, its ornamental knobs, and its flowers were of the same piece. 18 And six branches came out of its sides: three branches of the lampstand out of one side, and three branches of the lampstand out of the other side. 19 There were three bowls 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 coming out of the lampstand. 20 And on the lampstand itself were four bowls made like almond blossoms, each with its ornamental knob and flower.
21 There was 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 extending from it. 22 Their knobs and their branches were of one piece; all of it was one hammered piece of pure gold. 23 And he made its seven lamps, its wick-trimmers, and its trays of pure gold. 24 Of a talent of pure gold he made it, with all its utensils.
Pure gold lampstand - no wood here. This represents the Holy Spirit. The only thing that gives light in the Tabernacle, and it’s to never go out.
25 He made the incense altar of acacia wood. Its length was a cubit and its width a cubit—it was square—and two cubits was its height. Its horns were of one piece with it. 26 And he overlaid it with pure gold: its top, its sides all around, and its horns. He also made for it a molding of gold all around it. 27 He made two rings of gold for it under its molding, by its two corners on both sides, as holders for the poles with which to bear it. 28 And he made the poles of acacia wood, and overlaid them with gold.
The incense that would raise from there stinks to us. If you’ve ever burned the fat of a steak before, you know...but to the Lord, that is sweet.
The spiritual fat that we burn off when we are doing His will, when we are tried like Job, or Steven, or Peter, or anyone thruout scripture. The tears you shed thru those times, they are bottled up and kept before the Ancient of Days - Believers will see that when we all stand before the Lord in the Revelation when we live that.
Last verse for today. 3 chapters, good job church.
29 He also made the holy anointing oil and the pure incense of sweet spices, according to the work of the perfumer.
The anointing oil was used for what? Dedication. Dedication of a king or a priest into the work the Lord had called them to.
If you have accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you are kings, queens, and priests in the Lord’s family. YOU have the power to speak into the lives of the people around you with authority. To lead them out of captivity into the Light.
The washing of baptism is akin to receiving an anointing. An anointed one is a chosen one. The Lord has chosen you, do you chose Him back? He’s set apart a ministry for you, specifically for you. If you haven’t found it yet, He may be stirring that up in you today.
The great question we face in this world is what? What on earth am I here for?
That’s the athiest dilema. If we’re just chemical reactions, then there is no purpose for our existence. No need for a God, let alone a creator who fearfully and wonderfully made us.
WORSHIP TEAM
What on earth are you here for? What are YOU here to do? I can tell you, it’s not to keep sitting in those chairs, working your day-to-day job, going home and wasting the air you’re ALLOWED to breathe (that mysteriously gets regenerated by a chemical process that just happens to sustain all life on earth...HMM?)
What on earth are you here for? Only you and the Lord can answer that? Have you prayed that dangerous prayer yet? The most dangerous prayer? The one that won’t let you hide in your comfort zone anymore? The one that will stretch you to your limit? The one that will FILL HEAVEN with people?
Are you ready? Are you ready for the fight of your life? Are you ready for the reward awaiting you? There could be our next pastor in this room right now. Our next missionary leader. You have a name awaiting, a story to tell, It’s yours, and it’s beautiful. It’s uncomfortable, but it’s worth it, I promise you...because you were worth it to Him.
