Day 38: Exodus 25-27

Welcome to five -minute Bible your daily guide for your daily reading today's February the 7th

And we'll be looking at Exodus 25 through 27 Now today's reading moves us from covenant words into covenant spaces

Exodus 25 through 27 records God's Instructions for the tabernacle the place where the

Holy God will live among a redeemed people What God thundered from Mount Sinai now is becoming visible touchable and even walkable

God does not remain at a distance from his people He comes to dwell with his people

But he makes one thing very clear from the start if sinful people are going to live in the presence of a holy

God It must be on God's terms and not theirs now with that Exodus 25 begins with the

Furnishings that are gonna sit at the heart of the tabernacle and God starts from the inside and he works his way outward

Teaching Israel what life is gonna look like with him at the center of this tabernacle is the

Ark of the Covenant It's a small chest containing the law and it's topped by this thing called a mercy seat which is where two cherubim angels wings are touching one another and just above this mercy seat is where the

White hot presence of God is gonna dwell among his people and this is where the blood is gonna be

Sprinkled on top of the mercy seat as an act of atonement for the people this is where God is gonna promise to meet with the high priest once every year on the day of atonement and the

Message, of course is simple, but it's super weighty before anything else happens before God covenants to dwell with his people before he ever

Promises that he's gonna meet with the high priest the sins of the people must be covered

Relationship with God begins not with effort But it has to begin with atonement and then next comes the table of the bread of the presence

There's 12 loaves that are gonna sit before the Lord continually Representing the 12 tribes of Israel and God is teaching

Israel in this that he's not only the God who forgives them But he's the God who feeds them and sustains them life with God is not just about survival

But it's about him providing for and caring for and fellowshipping with his people and then comes the lampstand which is fashioned and it looks like a living tree of life and it gives light inside of the holy place and It tells us that God is not gonna leave his people in darkness

He's gonna provide light so that they can see and move and live rightly in his presence

And it's a clear illusion to things that are to come now Exodus 26 describes the structure of the tabernacle itself curtains and coverings and chambers all

Create space that move the people of God from common to holy and then even to the most holy where God himself dwells and Israel is learning in all of this that access to God is real and Tangible, but it's not casual.

God is near but he's still transcendent. He is close, but he's still holy

Exodus 27 then brings us outside of the tabernacle and into the courtyard and this is where the bronze altar stands which is placed directly at the entrance of the tabernacle and and what it tells us is before anyone can approach

God a Sacrifice needs to be made blood needs to be shed God is teaching his people that worship always begins with with his grace

Through the shedding of blood and not through our human striving now as you read today

I want you to ask the following question how can a holy God live among the sinful people without his holiness breaking out against them and destroying them and Exodus 25 through 27 is gonna give us that answer

You see the central pattern in Exodus 25 through 27 is God is gonna draw near but he's not gonna compromise his standards

God is gonna move towards his people, but he's never going to lower his holiness in order to do it

Instead he's gonna build a pathway into his presence step -by -step sacrifice by sacrifice

Boundary by boundary God is gonna teach Israel that sin is deadly

But his grace is deliberate and this matters deeply Especially in our lives today as well because we want a

God who's close We want a God who's gonna meet with us and who's gonna love us and who's gonna comfort us and who's going to and Who's going to feed us and nourish us?

But unfortunately, we often want a God that is close but compromises We often want a

God who comforts us, but it doesn't confront us We often want the blessing but we don't want the transformation

Exodus doesn't allow that category to exist Because God's nearness is a gift

It's not a right and when he draws near he reshapes how his people actually worship and how they repent and how they obey and how they live before his presence and all of this points unmistakably to Jesus Because every piece of furniture in that tabernacle is a shadow of him the mercy seat points to Christ where God and sinners meet

Through his atoning blood the bread of the presence points to Christ Who's the true bread of life who?

sustains his people daily the lamp points to Christ because he tells us that he's the light of the world who's gonna drive out all

Of the darkness the altar prepares us for the cross where his blood is shed once and for all for sinners the tabernacle itself points

Us to Christ who said he came in order to tabernacle among us not to dwell behind curtains

But to take on flesh and live among his people in order to bring them into the presence of God in Jesus God's presence is no longer regulated by layers and barriers and boundaries and walls in Jesus the veil is torn that wall of partition has been torn down for ever

What the tabernacle taught in symbols Jesus has now accomplished perfectly in Reality, so as you read

Exodus 25 through 27 I want you to notice how carefully that God is preparing a place for him to dwell with his people

I want you to notice how careful the people have to be in order to be in the presence of this

Holy God and I want you to remember how grateful we ought to be for what Jesus has done

Because furniture alone is not gonna solve the problem of sin only through Jesus Christ Are we made whole and are we made well and tomorrow?

We're gonna see how God prepares his people Especially his priests in order to serve in this new holy space, but until then read your

Bible carefully Devotionally and joyfully and may the Lord use his word to sanctify you completely and we will continue our journey tomorrow