Exodus II Notes Week 15
Thoughts
Obedience leads to blessing
Christ’s Perfect Obedience
The gate to the nations
Into the Trinity
Hebrews
This is because Hebrews 3:1–4:13 is an explicit and relatively extensive “commentary” on the Exodus, at least more so than any other portion of the New Testament.
Exod 29:44-46
Portable Mt. Sinai
Leviticus
Commentary
Central Theme
This central thrust to his conclusion, I think is this: The God who brought the Israelites out of Egypt is at the same time both holy and near.
When?
This made a clear connection between what happened at the Red Sea and what happened at the tabernacle. The erection of the tabernacle was the culmination of everything that God had been working for since he first brought his people out of Egypt.
Consecrate it” is literally “sanctify it” in the sense of setting it apart for the service of the Lord.
Obedience
Either way the presence of the cloud was the result of the successful, obedient completion of the tabernacle, which was therefore ready for the presence of Yahweh to inhabit it symbolically through his glory cloud.
Glory of the Lord
7 The כְּבוֹד יהוה (kebôd yhwh, “glory of the LORD”) is the sheer weight, gravity (kābēd, “to be heavy,” then “to glorify”) of his divine presence. The presence of the Lord is so central and significant in the Mosaic era that four other forms speak of it besides the glory of the Lord: the face (pānîm) of the Lord, the angel (malʾak) of the Lord, the name (šēm) of the Lord, and the tabernacle in which God will dwell (šākan) among them.
The Cloud
The meaning of this symbol of the real presence of God connected with the splendor of this cloud and fire will be clarified in 24:15–17. Once again, as in vv. 6 and 12, Israel “will know that I am the LORD your God” (see comment on 7:4–5).
This was the divine seal of approval on all the work that Moses and the Israelites had done: God came down in glory.
The Pill of Cloud & Fire
The pillar of the cloud and fire is another name for “the angel of God,” for 14:19 equates the two (see also 23:20–23). In fact, God’s Name is “in” this angel who goes before his people to bring them into Canaan (23:20–23). He is the “angel of his presence” (Isa 63:8–9). According to Malachi 3:1, this angel is the “messenger of the covenant,” who is the Lord, the owner of the temple. Obviously, then, the Christ of the NT is the shekinah glory, or Yahweh of the OT. Through this cloudy pillar the Lord speaks to Moses (33:9–11) and to the people (Ps 99:6–7). We have seen such easy movement from the pillar of cloud and fire to the angel and back to the Lord himself in the interchange between the burning bush, the angel, and the Lord in ch. 3 (see Notes on 3:2).
The people had seen glimpses of his glory before. They had seen it in the pillar of cloud and fire that protected them from Pharaoh’s army and guided them through the wilderness (Exod. 13:21, 22; 14:19, 20; 16:10). They had seen it in the miracle at the Red Sea, when God was glorified in the deliverance of Israel and the destruction of Egypt. They had seen glory in the fire and smoke on the distant heights of Mount Sinai (Exod. 24:15–17). Moses had seen the glory too (or at least the back of it) when he met with God on the mountain (Exod. 33:21–23; 34:5). But neither Moses nor the Israelites had seen the glory come down to earth in all its radiant splendor, as it did when it hovered over the tabernacle, filling that sacred space with glory.
All to Know the Lord
God did this for Israel’s good and for his glory. All through Exodus we see him working to save his people, and whenever he explains why he is saving them, he says it is for his own glory. Why did God meet with Moses at the burning bush? So the Israelites would know that he is the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Exod. 3:14, 15). Why did God tell Pharaoh to let his people go? So his people could go out in the desert and worship him, giving him the glory of their praise (e.g., Exod. 7:16). Why did he cast the armies of Egypt into the depths of the sea? Because, he said, “I will gain glory through Pharaoh and all his army, through his chariots and his horsemen. The Egyptians will know that I am the LORD when I gain glory through Pharaoh, his chariots and his horsemen” (Exod. 14:17b, 18).
This was all in keeping with God’s plan, by which his people would be saved for his glory. The exodus was all to the glory of God.
Setting up and anointing the tabernacle
Once he had set up the tabernacle, Moses was to set it apart, anointing it for the sacred service of God. God said: “Take the anointing oil and anoint the tabernacle and everything in it; consecrate it and all its furnishings, and it will be holy. Then anoint the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils; consecrate the altar, and it will be most holy. Anoint the basin and its stand and consecrate them” (vv. 9–11; cf. 30:22–29). In this way, the tabernacle and all its furnishings were dedicated to God.
Moses also needed to consecrate the men who served at the tabernacle.
The Bread
This was the bread of the Presence, which was set out as an offering for God, and which the priests ate at the end of each week. It was a reminder of God’s provision and a sign of the fellowship that he shared with his people.
This was a table of communion, where God offered himself to his people, and his people offered themselves to him. So Moses put the bread on the table, but the glory did not come down.
The Lampstand
The lampstand flickered with light, showing that in both creation and redemption God is the source of all light. With all its buds and blossoms, the lampstand looked like a tree of life, and thus it was a reminder that God is the origin of life as well as the source of light. So Moses put the lights on the lampstand of life, but the glory did not come down.
Incense
This was Israel’s sweet altar of prayer, where intercession ascended to God’s throne. On it Moses offered the first incense and the first prayers,
The Alter
By making these offerings, Moses inaugurated the system of sacrifice that would atone for Israel’s sin and give praise to God.
The Basin
So the basin was ready. The priests had a place to wash, symbolizing the cleansing power of God’s grace and the purity that is required for his service.
The Courtyard
This curtain separated the tabernacle from the rest of the camp, and thus it showed that the God who lived there was holy—set apart from sinners. But because the curtain formed an entrance, it also showed that there was a way for sinners to approach his holiness.
Glory Comes Down
With the right instructions, he could put the tabernacle together, but only God could fill it with glory.
The cloud of God’s glory was a theophany—a visible manifestation of the invisible God. God’s glory is the weightiness of his divine being, the infinite perfection of his triune deity. Glory is the whole God-ness of God. But on occasion God has made his glory visible in a resplendent cloud of radiant light.
Filling
The form of the verb that the Bible uses for filling (maleʿ) is significant because it “reflects a dynamic, ongoing situation.”
The Shechinah Glory
The tabernacle was pulsing with radiation. F. B. Meyer says that this “brilliant light, of surpassing glory, here spoken of as ‘the glory of the Lord,’ which was undoubtedly the Divine Shechinah, shone from within the Tabernacle itself, so much so that the very curtains were transfigured by its glow and the whole place was transfigured and rendered resplendent with glory.”
The glory that filled the tabernacle was a spectacular display of the radiance of God’s being. The God of the exodus—the God of power, who made the heavens and the earth; the God of justice, who plagued the Egyptians; the God of love, who kept his covenant with Israel; the God of providence, who led his people through the wilderness; the God of truth, who gave them his law; the God of mercy, who atoned for their sins; the God of holiness, who set them apart for service—this great God was present in glory. When the people looked at the tabernacle, they could see that God was in the house.
Access & Entrance to the Tent
It was the house where God lived, and because God is holy, it had to be separated from the place where the Israelites lived. But there was a way to enter. There was a courtyard where sinners could make the bloody sacrifices that would bring them into a right relationship with God. And the Tent of Meeting had an entrance—a curtain that allowed the priests to go inside the Holy Place. The tabernacle was designed to give people access. It was a place to meet with the living God.
But when the glory came down, access was denied. Even Moses couldn’t get inside!
The answer is that the tabernacle was now Yahweh’s house and no one else’s. It was no more appropriate now for Moses to enter the tabernacle, even though he had been all through it as its building supervisor, than it would be for a house builder in modern times to retain a key and enter at will a house that he had built once it was sold to its occupying owner.
Later Moses and Aaron would be able to enter the tabernacle, and provision would be made for the high priest to enter it, even the holy of holies, periodically. This was possible because the glory cloud did not continue to stay inside the tabernacle but mainly hovered on top of it, as vv. 36–38 state overtly.
Atonement Needed for entrance
From this we learn how necessary it is for anyone who wants to meet with God to come with a blood sacrifice for sin. Exodus leads right into Leviticus, which begins with God giving Moses a long list of instructions for making sacrifices at the tabernacle. The only way to approach the God of all glory is to come with a sacrifice of blood. By initially denying Moses entrance, God once again taught his people the necessity of atonement.
He guides them
But then comes another surprise: The great and glorious God of the exodus, “who lives in unapproachable light” (1 Tim. 6:16), was with his people to save them. The same glorious cloud that kept them away would also stay with them to guide them. This is why God came down in glory—so he could be close to them.
These words gave the Israelites assurance that the God of all glory would be present to grant them all the blessings of his saving grace.
Exodus 40:36–38, in other words, prepare us for what will become a dominant element in Numbers and Deuteronomy, the relentless push toward the land of Canaan. The purpose of these closing verses of Exodus is to explain how this will happen. When God moves, the people move. When he stays put, so do they. It is, after all, God’s plan and purpose that are being fulfilled. Israel’s eventual arrival in the Promised Land will be solely by God’s guidance and direction, by his will and in his time.
Immanence & Transcendence
Here we see both God’s immanence and his transcendence, his nearness as well as the greatness of his glory.
For a Relationship
He wanted to do something more than simply save them; he wanted to have a relationship with them. This was the great comfort that gave them confidence for the future. In all their travels and through all their troubles, God would be with them every step of the way. He would guide them by his glorious light and defend them by his glorious power, leading them night and day until they reached the Promised Land. God saved his people for his glory; and by the glory of his presence, he would lead them to the goal of their salvation.
Forgiveness
Nevertheless, the fact that God is still present with his people, and in such an intense way, reminds the people of something else: All is forgiven.
Jesus is....
The book of Exodus really is his story. Jesus is the Moses of our salvation, the mediator who goes for us before God. Jesus is the Lamb of our Passover, the sacrifice for our sins. Jesus is our way out of Egypt, the deliverer who baptizes us in the sea of his grace. Jesus is our bread in the wilderness, the provider who gives us what we need for daily life. Jesus is our voice from the mountain, declaring his law for our lives. Jesus is the altar of our burning, through whom we offer praise up to God. Jesus is the light on our lampstand, the source of our life and light. Jesus is the basin of our cleansing, the sanctifier of our souls. Jesus is our great High Priest, who prays for us at the altar of incense. And Jesus is the blood on the mercy seat, the atonement that reconciles us to God. The great God of the exodus has saved us in Jesus Christ.
Not simply a new Moses
Christ is not simply a “new Moses,” in the sense that he does the same things only better. He is more. Yet Christ also does what Moses could not do and is thus a better mediator.
He is the final mediator of the covenant and the glory of God fills him. There is never a question whether he is able to enter fully into the Father’s presence.
post resurrection...
Then Jesus was fully revealed in all the glory of God. His disciples could see outwardly what had always been true inwardly—namely, that Jesus radiated the resplendent glory of God.
Our response: Worship
And when he saw Jesus Christ, risen and glorified, he was filled with such amazement and awe that he began to worship him as his Lord and his God. This is what we do as well. As soon as we see that Jesus is the Lord of glory, we are compelled to worship him.
Our Guide: The Holy Spirit
He is guardian and our guide, our help and comfort for the road that lies ahead. In all our travels, and through all our troubles, the God of glory will be with us.
The end of Exodus is not just the end of the story but the beginning of many others.
Everlasting Glory
And one day soon Jesus will come down in glory to take us up into the glory that will never end. Everyone who trusts in him will be saved for the glory of God.
I am reminded of how Lewis ends his series, on the final page of The Last Battle:
Now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story, which no one on earth has read; which goes on forever; and which every chapter is better than the one before.
This is the message of Exodus. This is the message of the gospel.