Entering Before God's Presence
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Introduction: Sacrifices in different cultures around the world point to man’s attempts to please God, to get right with God.
And according to the Law, one may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.
The Bronze Altar, 38:1-7.
The Bronze Altar, 38:1-7.
Just as the Ark of the Covenant was the first piece of furniture -- and the most important -- which was constructed for the tabernacle interior, the altar for burnt offering is the most important item constructed for placement in the courtyard before the tabernacle. When people entered the courtyard to God, the large bronze altar was the first thing they saw. It was designed to be portable, even though it was nearly eight feet square and five feet tall. it was complete with all the utensils that were needed to tend the fire, remove the ashes and cook the meat of the sacrifice.
When the altar was completed and the tabernacle dedicated, then it was in almost constant use. The priests were given instructions to make sure that its fire was always burning.
‘The fire on the altar shall be kept burning on it. It shall not go out, but the priest shall burn wood on it every morning; and he shall lay out the burnt offering on it, and offer up in smoke the fat portions of the peace offerings on it.
‘Fire shall be kept burning continually on the altar; it is not to go out.
Why? The Israelites had so many sacrifices to offer. Here is where they presented their:
whole burnt offerings (Lev. 1), both morning and evening. It was the sacrifice of atonement, in which the worshipper offered an animal as a substitute for his sins.
fellowship offerings (Lev. 3). This was the celebration of covenant friendship, the fat parts being offered to God, and the rest of the animal eaten in His presence.
sin offerings (Lev. 4:1-5:13). this made purification for ritual uncleanness and atonement for specific sins.
guilt offerings (Lev. 5:14-6:7). Offerings for inadvertent offenses against God’s law for holiness.
Day of Atonement (Lev. 16). On this day, the high priest offered sacrifices on the altar--first for his own sins, then for the sins of all God’s people.
All of these were necessary to atone for Israel’s sin. Many of them began with the worshipper placing his hand on the animal’s head. By placing his hand on the animal to be sacrificed, the sinner imputed his guilt to the sacrifice, which then died as his substitute.
The altar of burnt offering is where God provided substitutionary atonement through a sacrifice in blood.
Israel learned from all this that in order to come to God, they first needed to present a sacrifice for their sins. This great bronze altar dominated the courtyard in front of the tabernacle, reminding them of the wages of their sin and also offering them a way to get right with God . . . It was only through the blood sacrifice that they could be saved.
This is how God commanded Israel to make atonement. But it was only temporary. The Bible says...
For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
Hence the altar of burnt offering was only a temporary arrangement; the full and final atonement that only God could provide was to come. Israelites were saved by believing in the Savior to come, as he was given to them in the sacrifices they offered at the tabernacle.
That full and final atonement came in the person of Jesus Christ, who died on the cross for sinners. The amazing fact of our salvation is that the debt for our sins needs to be paid in blood, but God does not make us pay the price. He was willing to pay it Himself!
The Tabernacle with its ordinances was only “a figure for the time then present”(Heb. 9:9) but looked toward Christ’s sacrificial death, which was to mediate a new covenant by means of His shed blood for the redemption of mankind (Heb. 9:11-22). . . . The brazen altar stood in the outer court just inside the gate facing the Tabernacle (Ex. 40:6). The sacrificial animals were offered on this altar, and their blood was shed for the sins of the people. The brazen altar typifies Christ’s redemptive work on the cross on our behalf, whereby all who put their faith in His shed blood are justified and receive remission of sins (Rom. 3:24-25).
being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;
whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed;
Just as it was impossible for the Israelites to come into God’s presence without sacrificing at the brazen altar, so it is impossible today for people to come into the presence of God except by the ministry of the cross. [Levy, D. M. (1993). The tabernacle: shadows of the Messiah: its sacrifices, services, and priesthood. Bellmawr, NJ: Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry.]
The Bible says we are sinners and that the wages of our sin is death -- the debt of our sin must be paid in blood. It also says that Jesus did an amazing thing for us:
Otherwise, He would have needed to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now once at the consummation of the ages He has been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.
Jesus’ blood opens up the way to God. Jesus offered on the cross the powerful blood of God as God the Son. It alone was sufficient to atone for all our sins and bring us home to God. Do you want the sacrifice of Jesus to count for you? All you need do is lay your hands on Him by faith, saying, “This is my sacrifice, O God, let Him be offered in my place. Accept Jesus’ death as the wages of my sin, and may His blood open up the way for me to come to You.”
The Bronze Basin, 38:8.
The Bronze Basin, 38:8.
The bronze basin symbolized the cleansing power of God’s grace in washing away sin. The priests needed constant cleansing because they were engaged in holy service to God. For them it was a matter of life and death. God said, “Whenever they enter the Tent of Meeting, they shall wash with water so that they will not die. Also, when they approach the altar to minister by presenting an offering made to the LORD by fire, they shall wash their hands and feet so that they will not die” (Exod. 30:20, 21a). It was either wash or be killed. Every time the priests offered a sacrifice on the altar, and every time they entered the Holy Place, they needed cleansing.
“The laver speaks of Christ as our sanctification. As believer-priests, we are reminded that Christ has sanctified us for His service and is sanctifying us by cleansing us from the daily defilement of sin ‘with the washing of water by the word’ (Eph. 5:26).” [Levy, The Tabernacle: Shadows of the Messiah, p. 20.]
The Bible often describes our salvation in Christ in terms of cleansing from sin. There is a sense in which we receive this cleansing when we first trust in Christ for our salvation. The Bible calls this “the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:5). When God gives us new life in Christ, he washes us clean. This is absolutely necessary. We need to be purified from the pollution of sin. As Jesus said to Peter, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me” (John 13:8). This is part of the symbolism of Christian baptism, in which water signifies the blood of Jesus that washes away our sin. Yet we are still sinners, and even after coming to Christ, we have an ongoing need for God’s cleansing work in our lives. Like the Old Testament priests, we are called to serve a holy God. In order to serve him in real holiness, we need to be cleansed from the corruption of the sin that we continue to commit. In a word, we need to be sanctified. We have been justified by the sacrifice Jesus made for us on the cross. Now we need to be sanctified. We need to be purified. We need God the Holy Spirit to make us holy. [Ryken, P. G., & Hughes, R. K. (2005). Exodus: saved for God’s glory (p. 1129). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books.]
Illustration: Women who gave up their mirrors for the LORD.
Example to men to see the true beauty of a Christian woman, not her outward appearance, but the beauty of a life sanctified by grace. Do you see what God sees?
Example to women: when you look into a mirror what do you see? Features you wish you could replace, flaws that you wish you could alter, wrinkles and gray hair you wish you could remove? Or do you see a woman loved by God, justified by the blood Jesus offered on the cross and is being cleansed by the sanctifying work of the Spirit? What beauty do you desire? Do you wish to look like someone else or do you say, “Lord Jesus, when people look at me, I don’t care how beautiful they think I am; I want them to see how beautiful You are?”
The Courtyard Fence, 38:9-20.
The Courtyard Fence, 38:9-20.
Finally we have the description of the construction of the tall fence made of fine linen fabric stretched across wooden fenceposts that surrounded the courtyard of the tabernacle and the one gateway to enter. This large rectangular enclosure measured roughly seventy-five feet by 150 feet.
All of this that has been described in the construction of the tabernacle, its furnishings, the fence surrounding the courtyard of the tabernacle with the brazen altar and the laver was made possible by the freewill offerings of Israel.
It was with gratitude to God for their deliverance from Egypt that they used their wealth to build God’s home.
The entrance to the courtyard provided the one way to enter. It was an opening about 30 feet wide covered with a special curtain to show that it was the entrance to God’s house. The fabric was identical to the fabric used for the Tabernacle itself, and pointed the people to the way to God. If people wanted to meet with God they had to enter the way He invited them to enter.
God operates the same way today. There is only one way to salvation, which is by faith in Jesus Christ.
“Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it.
“For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.
“I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.
Jesus Christ is the only way to God.
The Richness of the Tabernacle, 38:21-31.
The Richness of the Tabernacle, 38:21-31.
We have here a list not only of the materials used but of their weights. This list is recorded by the priests under the direction of Ithamar, one of Aaron’s four sons. It takes 3000 shekels to make one talent.
Gold was used inside the tabernacle
Talent - weight about 75 #; shekel - weight is 0.4 oz.
in gold, valued at 1,250,000 usd per talent; 480 usd per shekel
29 talents, 730 shekels - $36,600,400
weight approx. 2,193 lbs.
Silver was used to make the bases for the sanctuary, the hooks and the clasps to secure the courtyard fence. The silver came from the price that the men of Israel paid for their redemption (Exodus 30:1-11)
In silver, valued at $15,000 USD per talent; $6 usd per shekel
100 talents, 1,775 shekels - $1,515,000
Price of silver and gold over $38.1 million usd
weight approx. 7,544 lbs.
Bronze was used for the outer fence and for all the sacred objects that were in the courtyard. it was made into the bases for the entrance to the Tabernacle, the bronze altar, grating and its utensils, the laver, the bases for the courtyard fence and entrance and all the tent pegs for both the tabernacle and the fence.
Bronze weight of 70 Talents, 2,300 shekels - 5,310 lbs.
Total weight carried out of Egypt was about 15,000 lbs. for every adult male Israelite that was counted, it would be per person .025 pounds--pocket change.