Bible study, Tuesday, April8, 2008
The Tabernacle Series

We have been looking at the subject of the Tabernacle since sometime last September and we have only scratched the surface. This is an inexhaustible
subject, especially for a group of lay people like we are.
Before we go further into the study of the Tabernacle, I think it would be good to go back and read the 24th. Chapter of Exodus to see the setting where God met with Moses and where He gave him the commandments and the pattern for the Tabernacle. And to see or at least understand the spiritual condition of the nation of Israel at that time and realize a parallel, if you will to the spiritual condition of the church today. Israel is often referred to as the church in the wilderness. We have studied the furnishings and the utensils somewhat and we need to go on from there and study the construction of the Tabernacle itself but firstly I would like us to observe several points here in ch. 24…reading from the KJV. I’m backtracking a little.
Exodus 24
1And he said unto Moses, Come up unto the LORD, thou, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel; and worship ye afar off.
2And Moses alone shall come near the LORD: but they shall not come nigh; neither shall the people go up with him.
3And Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD, and all the judgments: and all the people answered with one voice, and said, All the words which the LORD hath said will we do.
4And Moses wrote all the words of the LORD, and rose up early in the morning, and builded an altar under the hill, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel.
5And he sent young men of the children of Israel, which offered burnt offerings, and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen unto the LORD.
6And Moses took half of the blood, and put it in basons; and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar.
7And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that the LORD hath said will we do, and be obedient. (You had better believe it…you will do what God wants..one way or the other.) This is where they refused the grace of God and chose the Law…rules and regulations. Man has always tried to work out his own salvation, hasn’t he?
8And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which the LORD hath made with you concerning all these words.
9Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel:
10And they saw the God of Israel: and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in his clearness. …”they saw the God of Israel
11And upon the nobles of the children of Israel he laid not his hand: also they saw God, and did eat and drink.
12And the LORD said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and be there: and I will give thee tables of stone, and a law, and commandments which I have written; that thou mayest teach them.
13And Moses rose up, and his minister Joshua: and Moses went up into the mount of God. (note here that Joshua went with him)
14And he said unto the elders, Tarry ye here for us, until we come again unto you: and, behold, Aaron and Hur are with you: if any man have any matters to do, let him come unto them.
15And Moses went up into the mount, and a cloud covered the mount.
16And the glory of the LORD abode upon mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days: and the seventh day he called unto Moses out of the midst of the cloud.
17And the sight of the glory of the LORD was like devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel.
18And Moses went into the midst of the cloud, and gat him up into the mount: and Moses was in the mount forty days and forty nights.
Here we see the ratifying or the confirmation of the Mosaic covenant in this chapter and also we see here the Glory of God revealed there on the mountain called Mt. Sinai. Notice also that the nobles of the children of Israel saw God. These men saw God and lived. They saw His glory and lived. John saw His glory in Revelation ch. 1
10I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,
11Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.
12And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks;
13And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.
14His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire;
15And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.
16And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.
Was this One whom John saw the same One whom the nobles of Israel saw on the top of Mt. Sinai? John saw the risen and glorified Christ, amen? Who was the One on Mt. Sinai that the nobles of Israel saw? I believe they saw God and I believe that John saw the Son of God and put another way he saw God as well. In the first letter from John to the church verse #7, the fifth chapter we read For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one.
Who better qualified than John to make that statement and he goes on to report the words of Jesus further here in Revelation 1:
17And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:
18I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.
19Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter;
20The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches. Remember when we were talking about the Candlestick; the golden Lamp stand in the Tabernacle that I said it represents Christ? The church is the body of Christ in this world; the only Christ the world will ever see is the life that we live in front of them…today we are the temple of God in this earth, amen? And we are the light…didn’t Jesus say that…you are the light of the world?
Who but God could reveal Himself in this manner? And who but God in the risen Savior is speaking with John on the Isle of Patmos? How then can men say that Jesus is not God? That is heresy in its purest form, if it can be called purest. Perhaps I should say its rankest form.
Look for a moment to the 13th. Verse of 1 John 5: 13 These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life,[a] and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.
That is the most important thing we can do…”continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.” It does not say that as long as you once accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior that you can do what you want to do and live any kind of life that you want to…commit sin and live in sin, but we are to continue to believe in the name of the Son of God and that word believe in this context means to adhere to, trust in, and rely on. From the Amplified Bible it reads this way:13I write this to you who believe in (adhere to, trust in, and rely on) the name of the Son of God [in [a]the peculiar services and blessings conferred by Him on men], so that you may know [with settled and absolute knowledge] that you [already] have life, [b]yes, eternal life. And I want to tell you tonight that it is all by His grace but that does not mean that we can continue in sin.
So the nobles saw God. And note here what the people said when Moses told them he was heading up the mountain and he told them what God had said to him. They said in verse 3 “All the words which the LORD has said we will do.” And again they repeated it in verse 7, “All that the LORD has said we will do, and be obedient “ That didn’t last long…it did not last long enough for Moses to come down from the mountain. In a moment we will look at chapter 32. We’ll read it in a minute or two. I am sure that satan had a plan in all of this and he certainly did not want the Tabernacle to go ahead…he did not want the message of the cross to be shown in typology nor any other way, so he was delighted I’m sure with the way the Israelites were carrying on. God gave Moses the ten commandments (which are still in force today) and He gave Moses all the pattern for the building of the Tabernacle as well as the Tabernacle worship, furnishings, ordination of the priests, all that… and while He was doing that, they were lusting in their hearts and preparing to commit adultery while Moses had the tablets tucked under his arm getting ready to come down to them. And God said “step aside Moses and let Me consume them” He said “I will make of you a great nation”
What would we have said if we were in Moses place? Do you think God might have been testing Moses at the same time? And do we take the commandments of God too lightly, do we frustrate the grace of God in our own lives and is our walk with Him taken too lightly? Do we repent of our sin because we are convicted or because we are caught?
Real conviction leads to real repentance and we must be truly sorry for sin to have real repentance. David was caught in his sin before he repented however his repentance was real just the same. Look at psalm 51To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David; when Nathan the prophet came to him after he had sinned with Bathsheba.
From the Amp. Bible:
1HAVE MERCY upon me, O God, according to Your steadfast love; according to the multitude of Your tender mercy and loving-kindness blot out my transgressions.
2Wash me thoroughly [and repeatedly] from my iniquity and guilt and cleanse me and make me wholly pure from my sin!
3For I am conscious of my transgressions and I acknowledge them; my sin is ever before me.
4Against You, You only, have I sinned and done that which is evil in Your sight, so that You are justified in Your sentence and faultless in Your judgment.(A)
5Behold, I was brought forth in [a state of] iniquity; my mother was sinful who conceived me [and I too am sinful].(B)
6Behold, You desire truth in the inner being; make me therefore to know wisdom in my inmost heart.
7Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean [ceremonially]; wash me, and I shall [in reality] be whiter than snow.
8Make me to hear joy and gladness and be satisfied; let the bones which You have broken rejoice.
9Hide Your face from my sins and blot out all my guilt and iniquities.
10Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right, persevering, and steadfast spirit within me.
11Cast me not away from Your presence and take not Your Holy Spirit from me.
12Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and uphold me with a willing spirit.
13Then will I teach transgressors Your ways, and sinners shall be converted and return to You.
14Deliver me from bloodguiltiness and death, O God, the God of my salvation, and my tongue shall sing aloud of Your righteousness (Your rightness and Your justice).
15O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall show forth Your praise.
16For You delight not in sacrifice, or else would I give it; You find no pleasure in burnt offering.(C)
17My sacrifice [the sacrifice acceptable] to God is a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart [broken down with sorrow for sin and humbly and thoroughly penitent], such, O God, You will not despise.
18Do good in Your good pleasure to Zion; rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.
19Then will You delight in the sacrifices of righteousness, justice, and right, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering; then bullocks will be offered upon Your altar.
This portion here in Exodus 32 that we are about to look at and again in Psalms shows two things #1 God is merciful and #2 He is also just but if we come in true repentance as David did “IN wrath , God remembers mercy”
The children of Jacob said “we will do all that you command us to do.
Moses did not get down off the mountain before they were engaged in all kinds of immoral acts. Exodus 32 (Amplified Bible)
Amplified Bible (AMP)
Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation

Exodus 32
1WHEN THE people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, [they] gathered together to Aaron, and said to him, Up, make us gods to go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.
2So Aaron replied, Take the gold rings from the ears of your wives, your sons, and daughters, and bring them to me.
3So all the people took the gold rings from their ears and brought them to Aaron.
4And he received the gold at their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and made it a molten calf; and they said, These are your gods, O Israel, which brought you up out of the land of Egypt!
5And when Aaron saw the molten calf, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, Tomorrow shall be a feast to the Lord.
6And they rose up early the next day and offered burnt offerings and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.
7The Lord said to Moses, Go down, for your people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves;
8They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them; they have made them a molten calf and have worshiped it and sacrificed to it, and said, These are your gods, O Israel, that brought you up out of the land of Egypt!
9And the Lord said to Moses, I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stiff-necked people;
10Now therefore let Me alone, that My wrath may burn hot against them and that I may destroy them; but I will make of you a great nation.
11But Moses besought the Lord his God, and said, Lord, why does Your wrath blaze hot against Your people, whom You have brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand?
12Why should the Egyptians say, For evil He brought them forth, to slay them in the mountains and consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from Your fierce wrath, and change Your mind concerning this evil against Your people.
13[Earnestly] remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants, to whom You swore by Your own self and said to them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give to your seed, and they shall inherit it forever.
14Then the Lord turned from the evil which He had thought to do to His people.
15And Moses turned and went down from the mountain with the two tables of the Testimony in his hand, tables or tablets that were written on both sides.
16The tables were the work of God; the writing was the writing of God, graven upon the tables.
17And when Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said to Moses, There is a noise of war in the camp.
18But Moses said, It is not the sound of shouting for victory, neither is it the sound of the cry of the defeated, but the sound of singing that I hear.
19And as soon as he came near to the camp he saw the calf and the dancing. And Moses' anger blazed hot and he cast the tables out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain.
20And he took the calf they had made and burned it in the fire, and ground it to powder and scattered it on the water and made the Israelites drink it. (Moses was blistering hot mad!) Talk about hot under the collar
21And Moses said to Aaron, What did this people do to you, that you have brought so great a sin upon them?
22And Aaron said, Let not the anger of my lord blaze hot; you know the people, that they are set on evil.
23For they said to me, Make us gods which shall go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.
24I said to them, Those who have any gold, let them take it off. So they gave it to me; then I cast it into the fire, and there came out this calf. (imagine that!)
25And when Moses saw that the people were unruly and unrestrained (for Aaron had let them get out of control, so that they were a derision and object of shame among their enemies),
26Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Whoever is on the Lord's side, let him come to me. And all the Levites [the priestly tribe] gathered together to him.
27And he said to them, Thus says the Lord God of Israel, Every man put his sword on his side and go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbor.
28And the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses; and there fell of the people that day about 3000 men.
29And Moses said [to the Levites, By your obedience to God's command] you have consecrated yourselves today [as priests] to the Lord, each man [at the cost of being] against his own son and his own brother, that the Lord may restore and bestow His blessing upon you this day.
30The next day Moses said to the people, You have sinned a great sin. And now I will go up to the Lord; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.
31So Moses returned to the Lord, and said, Oh, these people have sinned a great sin and have made themselves gods of gold!
32Yet now, if You will forgive their sin--and if not, blot me, I pray You, out of Your book which You have written!
33But the Lord said to Moses, Whoever has sinned against Me, I will blot him [not you] out of My book.(A)
34But now go, lead the people to the place of which I have told you. Behold, My [a]Angel shall go before you. Nevertheless, in the day when I punish I will visit their sin upon them!(B)
35And the Lord sent a plague upon the people because they made the calf which Aaron fashioned for them. Sin is not without consequence is it?
Sin is serious business and we need not take it lightly…we need not think it will be without consequence. Look at the spread of aids in the world tonight. While there are innocent victims and we know that is true we also know that the primary cause of aids is people’s lifestyle and it is a lifestyle of sin. Babies are always innocent victims…children are always hurt the most. Our society is where it is tonight because of sin, because we take sin so lightly. The Bible says “the wages of sin is death” and that is so true. Is aids a judgment from God? I’m saying tonight that it is the natural outcome of breaking God’s moral law whether you want to call it judgment or not. “But the gift of God is eternal life” and that comes with true repentance and it is “through Jesus Christ our Lord”. Yes, God will judge sin. Abortion will be judged…Morgentaler will be judged…it is God’s Word. Adultery and every other form of sin will be judged. Whether it is the very act or whether of the mind. But I am so grateful that there is mercy…the Bible says that His mercy endures forever. Thank God for His mercy and if Moses had not stood in the gap and interceded on behalf of the children of Israel…there would not be a nation called Israel today.
What a price we pay for our sin…the tribe of Levi were consecrated before the Lord that day but what a cost to them. They had to kill their brothers and sons in order for God to restore them to a place that they should have been. We don’t read where they made any kind of a protest when Aaron made the calf or when the people engaged in debautchery. Are we serious about revival? “It will cost you something to follow, but you’ll get far more than you gave. You’ll give up a life of sorrow, forever with Jesus to reign.” Anyone remember that old song? What truth in these simple lines. Yes, revival may cost us something…we may have to give up television, or some other waste of time…but the rewards far outweigh the costs. There’s a message here in these few lines…”it will cost you something to follow…”
We have read, looked at quite a lot of scripture tonight, for which I make no apology; I felt that I should go back to Ex. 24 tonight to set the scene and look at the spiritual condition of the nation of Israel at the time of God’s order to Moses to build a dwelling place for Him. Hebrews tells that Moses was faithful in all his house. I wonder if there are some similarities in the church today? It is not a time to be pointing fingers at someone else….it rather is time to re-examine our own hearts.