The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, "On the first day of the first month you shall erect the tabernacle of the tent of meeting. And you shall put in it the ark of the testimony, and you shall screen the ark with the veil. And you shall bring in the table and arrange it, and you shall bring in the lampstand and set up its lamps. And you shall put the golden altar for incense before the ark of the testimony, and set up the screen for the door of the tabernacle. You shall set the altar of burnt offering before the door of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting, and place the basin between the tent of meeting and the altar, and put water in it. And you shall set up the court all around, and hang up the screen for the gate of the court.
"Then you shall take the anointing oil and anoint the tabernacle and all that is in it, and consecrate it and all its furniture, so that it may become holy. You shall also anoint the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and consecrate the altar, so that the altar may become most holy. You shall also anoint the basin and its stand, and consecrate it. Then you shall bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the tent of meeting and shall wash them with water and put on Aaron the holy garments. And you shall anoint him and consecrate him, that he may serve me as priest. You shall bring his sons also and put coats on them, and anoint them, as you anointed their father, that they may serve me as priests. And their anointing shall admit them to a perpetual priesthood throughout their generations."
This Moses did; according to all that the LORD commanded him, so he did. In the first month in the second year, on the first day of the month, the tabernacle was erected. Moses erected the tabernacle. He laid its bases, and set up its frames, and put in its poles, and raised up its pillars. And he spread the tent over the tabernacle and put the covering of the tent over it, as the LORD had commanded Moses. He took the testimony and put it into the ark, and put the poles on the ark and set the mercy seat above on the ark. And he brought the ark into the tabernacle and set up the veil of the screen, and screened the ark of the testimony, as the LORD had commanded Moses. He put the table in the tent of meeting, on the north side of the tabernacle, outside the veil, and arranged the bread on it before the LORD, as the LORD had commanded Moses. He put the lampstand in the tent of meeting, opposite the table on the south side of the tabernacle, and set up the lamps before the LORD, as the LORD had commanded Moses. He put the golden altar in the tent of meeting before the veil, and burned fragrant incense on it, as the LORD had commanded Moses. He put in place the screen for the door of the tabernacle. And he set the altar of burnt offering at the entrance of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting, and offered on it the burnt offering and the grain offering, as the LORD had commanded Moses. He set the basin between the tent of meeting and the altar, and put water in it for washing, with which Moses and Aaron and his sons washed their hands and their feet. When they went into the tent of meeting, and when they approached the altar, they washed, as the LORD commanded Moses. And he erected the court around the tabernacle and the altar, and set up the screen of the gate of the court. So Moses finished the work.
Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled on it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. Throughout all their journeys, whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the people of Israel would set out. But if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not set out till the day that it was taken up. For the cloud of the LORD was on the tabernacle by day, and fire was in it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel throughout all their journeys.
{Rev. Dwight Yoo}
This will be the wrap-up for this series.
After reading the passage, some things could come to mind. It's strange, it's archaic. Maybe we are uninterested and we skip over these sections. How do these passages apply to our lives? Another thought, how about how the end is so anti-climatic. Exodus is so action packed and so many dramatic things are happening. And then it ends with the building of the tabernacle. Actually, one third of the book of Exodus is dedicated to the specification of the tabernacle. My hope is that we will see how this is a good ending to the book.
What is the tabernacle?
It was basically a portable rectangular tent thing.
What does the tabernacle shows us?
It shows us the heart of God. The God of the universe tells them that He will put His presence in this tent-like thing. It's shocking. The closest thing would be for the President to leave the White House and move into a freshmen dorm room at the University of Pennsylvania. It's absurd. To trade a in-house chef for a box of Ramen noodles. It's all that and more.
This is the heart of God. He says that He wants to be with us and among us. He could have just commanded the people of Israel through Moses. But no, God wants to move in right next to us. He wants to be in our midst. He wants an intimate relationship with His people.
The tension of the tabernacle.
But notice that even though God wanted to be close to His people, God's presence was so gigantic that even Moses could not enter the tabernacle. Notice that the people had to use the most expensive of materials. And there were so many rules & regulations. And God could not be among His people. He was in the holy of holies... and only the high priest could go there and only once a year at that.
So there's a tension between a loving God who wants an intimate relationship with His people AND God's perfect holiness. God is not only loving, but He is also a just judge. He cannot simply overlook the people's sins.
The resolution of the tabernacle.
Luckily, there is a sacrificial system. Animals would be sacrificed for the sins of the people. But isn't this strange? Can an animal really take our spiritual guilt away?
"For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins." - Hebrews 10:4
God did not command animal sacrifices to take away the guilt. He did this to foreshadow the sacrifice of Jesus. Jesus was the perfect sacrifice to resolve this tension. He is the one who brings back Eden. The place where God & man can walk together again.
Our Response.
Since God has so pursued us,
so we could be in an intimate relationship...
Make the most of the intimate relationship with God.
Don't believe the lies of the garden of Eden: "God is holding back."
Find our joy and fulfillment in God.
No comments:
Post a Comment