The Tabernacle and The Means of Worship

Grace Covenant Reformed Church

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In our text this morning, we've got word that we're waiting for the 25th chapter of this morning.

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In his commentary on the Book of Exodus, specifically regarding Matthew Henry, noted the following.

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Scripture is designed to direct us in our duty, not to fill our heads with speculations that Matthew Henry wrote that particular quote or made that particular statement, is that as we come out of the 24th chapter, as we have been exposed to the glory of God through the ratification of the covenant on Mount Sinai, we see this event unfolding and Moses entering into the cloud surrounding the mountain.

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It says, in fact, that after the glory of Yahweh dwelt on Mount Sinai, the cloud covered it for six days, and on the seventh day he called

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Moses from the midst of the cloud. And then we see in verse 18 that Moses enters the midst of the cloud and then literally stays and heard as he experienced this occurrence on the mountain.

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But what we've got to remain focused on is not speculation, not wonderings, not thoughts of what did it look like, but the glory of God being displayed like a consuming fire to see that Moses continued the civil law of the sum of the ceremonial law.

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We have received basic instructions in worship.

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What we will begin to see, starting in chapter 25, is very detailed, very specific instructions and principles regarding the worship of God as he instructs his people.

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Worship is one that we need to explore. A lot of this terms, everything that we will see recorded from giving you an idea or an understanding of exactly how important this is, is this entire body of the text of God is devoted in the primary worship of a holy

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God, of Christ coming and redeeming his people in a final sense of paying the price.

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Our view of this is a little different, but one of the things that unfortunately happens so often in churches is that we get this distorted view of the worship of God because we take our eyes off of what

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God instructs us regarding his worship. We'll see and we will go over this.

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We should go out and begin sacrifices and build a tower of accolades and construct an ark that are necessary for us to understand.

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Really, God is teaching his people through his word whom worship should be done, with whom worship should be done, and with what.

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Worship literally means the medium or method or instruments that are used.

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So the medium, so you have three different things. You have medium, right? You have methods, and then you have instruments.

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And all three of these will come together to would be the substance or the intervening in their worship.

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For example, sacrifices or incense, blood, bread, all of these things we will see as being intervening, directs the

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Israelites to do. The methods would be the procedures or the techniques. So when you think about methodology or when you think about the acts as God will describe them for us, so the things that should be done, the preparation, the preparing of the, even making the sacrifice, all of these things are the methods that are used or the tools, which

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I think about as passages. These passages are scriptural.

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The things like the ark of the covenant, the table of the showbread, the altar of sacrifice, those things are the, but several weeks or months is the, to the origin and profitability of all scripture when he says in 2

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Timothy 17 that all scripture is God -given and profitable for teaching, for training in righteousness so that the man of God may be equipped, having been thoroughly equipped.

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But the second principle we have to remember, the second truth that we have to keep in mind as we look at this is that we are, well, it's important because if we take this to be instructional to us as it was to the ancient

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Israelites, that we need to go find a patch of land. We need to build a 75 by 150 foot curtain wall.

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In the midst of that, we need to construct a tent of being according to the directions given here by God to Moses.

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We need to construct an ark of the testament. Nutriments that we find in the tabernacle so that we can properly worship

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God. But the reality is, these things teach us principle commands.

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Deal with the tabernacle. What we are truly dealing with is a type or shadow, the one that John and dwelt among us, beheld his glory.

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Glory is the only begotten son from the father full of grace. That word dwelt in the original language, can and is in some versions.

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They got literally in the form of Christ, tabernacles with man.

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And he came to be amongst his people. And so as we work this morning through our, we will be introduced to the next section of the book of Exodus that has the sole purpose of constructing the first tabernacle.

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And that the true tabernacle was so that God could dwell among his people. And that as his people went and gave, so let us stand for the renewal of God's holy.

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Beginning in the 25th chapter in the first verse, Moses writes, then

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Yahweh spoke to Moses saying, speak with the sons of Israel so that they may take a contribution for me.

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From every man whose heart is willing, you shall take mine.

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And this is the contribution which you shall take from them. Gold, silver, blue, purple, and scarlet material, fine linen, goat hair, ram skins, dyed red, porpoise skins, acacia wood, oil for lighting, spices for the anointing of the

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Lord, onyx stones and setting stones for the ephod and for the breast piece.

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And let them make a sanctuary according to all that I am going.

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As the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furniture. Just so you shall make it, let us pray.

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Father, as we enter this time of worship together, we thank you for your faithful word. We praise you that we can see, we can gather together and we can seek from the one who is true.

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May you be faithfully proclaimed and your glory is magnified above all.

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We ask all of this in the name of your precious son, Jesus Christ. Please be seated.

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In the preceding chapter in the book of Exodus, we encountered Moses and the people of God coming together around and on the slopes and ultimately

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Moses on the peak of Mount Sinai in Asia. And you may remember, you may recall that this worship service teaches us principles surrounding our types of corporate worship, specifically as the people of the

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Lord gathering on the Lord's day for the purpose of praising, honoring and glorifying him.

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We saw that this worship service contained the elements of worship services that we are supposed to contain within ours.

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A call to worship, the reading of the word of God, a confession of our faith and then a consummation of a sacramental performance.

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However, noticeably absent from this first worship service is a concept that many feel is absolutely in the interest of God and that is a giving by the people of God to support the work of God.

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I contend that this was intentionally left out of that service.

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I think that God wanted his people to know and understand that their true reliance was upon him and that it was not about this giving and coming and that it was not that God depended on them.

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In fact, if you really study and understand the text, the offering will not even come until another 40 days from the day we talk to the people about the offering.

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So it's not that God was in a situation where he said, listen, in order for me to accomplish my work,

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I need you to give. It's not what was going on. But nevertheless,

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God does come to his people and the giving of an offering is a command of God to his people or to obey.

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But interestingly enough, there is a condition or stipulation regarding the obedience of this command.

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Note to begin with, in Exodus 25 verse one, Moses again reminds us that this is not

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Moses' command. This is not the ordination of an individual.

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These are literally the words of the living God. If you remember back when we introduced the

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Ten Commandments that Moses began that section much the same way. This is what

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God said, literally here. He says, then Yahweh spoke to Moses saying, in other words, all that will follow carries the full weight and authority of God himself speaking directly to the people.

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Remember, the people no longer desire for God to speak to them. They've asked Moses specifically to go and talk to God because if they talk to God, they will perish.

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So God is delivering, or Moses is delivering the word of God to them. So in verse two, he begins by saying that he is to speak with the sons of Israel.

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So go in and talk with the sons of Israel and as you go talk to the sons of Israel, what I want you to do,

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Moses, is tell them to take an offering or a contribution from me.

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Now, within this context, within this understanding of this verse, we see in the second clause here that this is to be a willing offering, meaning that there is to be a desire on the part of the individual to give.

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The action of giving to God is commanded, but it is also dependent on the condition of the heart.

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They're the same thing and they're not. So as we study, we'll talk about that better, but the danger in this teaching, motivation regarding giving, tithing, is something that was a command that did not carry this willingness.

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It was a command to give a 10, period. You did that. Free will giving, this type of offering, is one that is done out of the condition, requirement as a, hey, listen, all

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I've gotta do is give that much. Ask ourselves two questions.

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First, we have to ask, what did it mean for the Israelites in the wilderness, surrounding

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Mount Sinai, for this command to be given? And secondly, we need to understand the implications of this command on the church.

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If we begin to kind of, we note that this is a command, again, with a stipulation that God commands

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Moses to speak to the sons of Israel, so that original language, the root word, one of the root words that make up this word, means to raise up, to exalt.

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With it, the understanding that the contribution to be made was to be offered up to God for him, specifically being taken up for the purpose of building the tabernacle.

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God said to Moses, talk to the people, take up a contribution for me. He didn't elaborate at this point.

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Now, later, he's gonna tell Moses, hey, this is what I'm gonna do with it. The conversation that Moses is to have with the people is that this offering is for God.

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It is for his purposes. It is of building the tabernacle.

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It is to be formed. That's a lot longer to get here than it did then.

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It's not been like years since they've gone through this. It's been months.

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So over the last few months, they have gone from enslavement in Egypt to being delivered, brought out of Egypt, given a command that they were to be obedient to.

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In fact, we see in Exodus 12, 35 through 36 that they are obedient to this command, that as they come out of Egypt, 12, 35 through 36, now the sons of Israel had done according to the word of Moses.

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They had asked the Egyptians for articles of silver and articles of gold and clothing. And Yahweh had given the people favor in the sight of the

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Egyptians so that he literally plundered the

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Egyptians simply because God's command was to go and ask the

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Red Sea and the army of Pharaoh. God answers, he delivers, he splits the

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Red Sea, leads the people through on dry land, closes the sea on the

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Egyptians, finally and fully separating his people from the Egyptians. He leads them through the wilderness.

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He provides water when they ask for water. He provides sustenance when they ask for sustenance.

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He leads them to this very point, gives them to be their

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God and for them to be his people. And all he does in return is he is now asking, he is now requiring that they simply return a portion of what they had received from him for him.

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What it means when it says that this is to be done from a study or learned to find sources.

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When we hear this word willing, our understanding of it or our, if we go and look it up, consent, that's what willing means.

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Literally how we would interpret this is that somebody told us they were willing to do something, we would interpret that to mean that they were doing it simply because it actually uses a word that is voluntary.

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This idea of being impelled in what you were doing in a place that you willingly, you desire to do it, you are compelled.

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Don't think of a soldier volunteering to fight out of duty and responsibility to his country.

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You have this gut desire, not just a,

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I wanna go do it, not just a, talking about, we're talking about something that they could not.

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Well, terms, think about Jeremiah, Jeremiah's message. Jeremiah's message was so intense in his life that it had to come out, it was literally painful if he didn't get it.

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The word desire, exactly, and just as it comes, that your heart is so transformed but to desire to give.

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Now, a few moments ago, I read 2 Corinthians chapter nine, verse seven, but in the surrounding text, regarding a promise, blessing, or generous give, that's how the

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New Testament, this is an offering that they have promised to give and Paul is exhorting them around this specific offering.

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In verse five, he says, so I regarded it as necessary to encourage the brothers that they would go on ahead of you and arrange beforehand your previously promised that the people were going to give, so that the same would be ready as a blessing and not as a regretting obligation.

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We should give and we should give generously to God, not out of the need to desire to just say, we did that thing over this week, but out of a heart that had been changed from the heart of stone to the one of flesh, one that desires to give simply.

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In verse six of that same chapter, 2 Corinthians, I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly.

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Blessing will also reap with blessing. Now first, unfortunately, in the church today to qualify this verse because dangerous and false teaching, a heretical teaching out there that literally teaches you that the more you give, the more you receive.

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That if you want to have a big house, that's not what this verse is dealing with.

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That's not what Paul is talking about. The interpretation of this verse is somehow used to imply that God owes us more just because we give more, but the truth is that God has already given all more and to say that just because we return a larger portion of what he gives back to him in order to get more goes against the clear teaching.

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Secondly, if we understand what Paul, what ultimately happens regarding this specific offering ahead for just a moment to Exodus, in fact, 10 chapters ahead in verse 29 of Exodus 35, it says, the sons of Israel, all the men and women whose heart was willing to bring material for all the world, which

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Yahweh commanded through the hand of Moses to do, brought a freewill offering to Yahweh.

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So we know that the people of God, Israel, ultimately responds to God's command in obedience.

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Now, when the people of God responded to God in obedience, we get down to verse four of chapter 36, and it says this, and all the wise men who were doing all the work of the sanctuary came, each from the work he was doing, and they said to Moses, the people are bringing much more than enough for the service of the work which

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Yahweh commanded us to do. So Moses commanded, and a proclamation was passed throughout the camp, saying, let no man or woman any longer do the work for the contribution of the sanctuary.

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Thus, the people were restrained, for the material they had was sufficient and more than enough for all the work.

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This is what is happening when we see Paul's statement in 2

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Corinthians. It helps us to understand that when people respond to God according to how he has worked in their hearts, he will provide more than the provision, and the people will be blessed through his provision.

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This is not necessarily a monetary thing. This is not talking about a physical, necessarily, blessing.

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These are spiritual blessings. This is us being blessed with everything in the heavens, as God has already told us.

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Israel, with God's presence among his people in the tabernacle of the wilderness, and us with a deeper understanding and awareness of communion with God, through the work of Christ on the cross of Calvary, and that is what...

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It is in the growth of the understanding...

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And there's one final observation. Although it is...

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I believe that it is implicitly implied. And I believe that just as it is an imperative that our giving is done, even more so, our worship must be done with a willing heart.

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When we understand to be worshiped, it is a lifestyle of living before God in such a way when that happens, it becomes clear that it's gotta be done.

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But then we've got another problem. So many do not have.

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And so we've gotta understand where... Because you see, you can't get up in the morning and as an individual, just muster it to have a willing heart.

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You can't, as an individual, just simply all of a sudden decide that your heart is going to be willing.

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Your heart is only willing because of the change that is wrong in the life of the believer by the power and work of the

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Holy Spirit and the application of the work of Christ. The heart that has been regenerated, has been made new, has a desire to please and obey

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God, and what a better way to obey God than by willingly worshiping him. In verses three through 70,

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God outlines the various materials. Obviously, we know that these materials will then go into the craftsmanship and the building of some important things that we talk about.

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Now, as we go through and we talk about the different components, we will talk about materials in more depth, but what we do want to give kind of an overview.

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We want to address them briefly first, and to not address them, to simply move along, but the major divisions of the earth all contribute.

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Minerals provides the metals. The division of plants provides the yarns and the fabric, the dye and the skin and the leathers and the sacrifice.

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Literally, all of the earth contributes to construction. Well, A .W.

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Pink said in his book, Gleanings in Exodus, each of these articles tells forth one of the manifold profanities, his divine glory.

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The silver, the redemption, which he wrought and bought for us. Cassidy, to endure the wrath of God.

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Origin, the purple, his royal majesty. The scarlet, his earthly glory in a coming day.

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The fine linen, his holiness, made manifest by his righteous walk. Skins, his devotedness to God.

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The badgers' skins or porpoise skin would, his incorruptible humanity.

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The oil for the light, his divine wisdom. The spices, his fragrance unto God. The precious stones, his priestly work through these next chapters.

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Each of these elements or each of these materials has been provided to us by God, provided to the people of God by the provision of God.

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The gold, the silver, the brass, came from what was given to the

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Israelites as they left Egypt. The cloth, either through trade, through the skills learned in captivity, or also through what they received as they left captivity.

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The dyes, the skins, the other leather goods throughout the world, trade or farming.

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The wood in that part of the world was plentiful for that particular kind. All the spices, the salt, these things that came to be in the possession of the people, it was accomplished.

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Notice the listing of many of these things is done in an order that reveals to Moses his specific intentions.

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Those that have been gathered, our sheep's brood, was now to be appropriately recognized by the building of our team over Israel.

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Literally, he wants to be in the midst of his people.

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Notice, this dwelling, this action does not take place until at first his people had been delivered from the bondage of Egypt.

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Much like the Holy Spirit does not dwell in an individual until they have been regenerated and released from the bondage of sin.

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And until the covenant, the government of God, through the ratification of the covenant had begun.

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This is not a place where he would dwell, lives, but he wanted to be able to dwell among his people in a visible, outward sight.

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Solomon, you probably know, was a much bigger structure than the tabernacle in, he observed, 1

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Kings 8, 27. But, look, God truly dwelt on the earth. Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you.

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How much less this house was so much less had the ability to contain

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God than how this symbolic dwelling place with God amongst his people, where he would meet his people through the mediation of Moses during his life.

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And mercy seat on the Ark of the Covenant would be how important to God that in chapters of material,

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AWP, for a record of God's work, to tell us about the tabernacle surrounding, seen as though they wouldn't need another sign or reminder.

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But reminders, this is why we should devote ourselves to the study of the word, devote ourselves to prayer.

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As we walk through the instructions, through the next 10 chapters, we need to remain acutely aware of what the great, again,

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John 1, 14, and the word became flesh. That word ends, translated from the

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Greek, is the same as the sense as tabernacle of God. John has literally described the actions of the, according to Olympians, empty himself by taking on the form of a slave, by being made in the likeness of man, being found in the appearance as man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on the cross.

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Therefore, God has also highly exalted him so that in the name of Jesus, every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven, as Christ is

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Lord to the glory. As we move through, we'll notice that the instruction, the very first thing, we'll talk about it next week, but the very first thing that God commands

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Moses is the Ark of the Testament. Blessed himself in holiness, and then it moves outward much the same way, and in the same order as the sovereign grace of God moves, working from the inside.

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You need to note is that as we study the actual construction of the tabernacle, we move from the outside in.

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We move from the walls, from the curtains, to the inner parts, or the order of the experiential nature of a believer.

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One other little tidbit. It's interesting that to get into the tabernacle, one had to pass through the tribe of Judah.

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This is one of those things that's not necessarily specifically stated. It's not like a full camp to the east, and there was only one door to each side.

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The east, there are no less than 14 ways in which the tabernacle foreshadows

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Christ. Now, I'm gonna go through them. I'm not gonna go into any detail. I'm just gonna kind of give you a one -liner on each before, but just to give you an idea of exactly how tremendous this piece of the word of God is, the tabernacle was a temporary appointment.

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Much like Christ was only in this earth for a short amount of time.

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The tabernacle was for use in the wilderness. The tabernacle was a mean, humble, and unattractive, but serving a mighty purpose.

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The tabernacle was a place where God met with man through the mediator of Moses.

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Christ, the one mediator between God and man, spans the gulf between deity and man.

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The tabernacle was in the center of the camp of Israel. Christ is to be at the center of the life of his people.

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The tabernacle was a place where the law was preserved. Jesus said, I did not come to destroy the law.

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The tabernacle was a place where sacrifice was made. Christ was the sacrifice.

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The tabernacle was a place where the priestly family was. Now Christ is the food, the bread, the royal priesthood.

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As Peter describes it, 1 Peter 2. The tabernacle was a place of worship.

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It is by Christ and Christ alone that we can. The tabernacle had,

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Christ said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father but by me.

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John 10, he tells me, sheep, hear me. One availability.

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The tabernacle came to the universal lordship of Christ. Again, all of the earthly, the silver is mine, the gold is mine.

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Psalm 50, verse 10, the cattle upon a thousand fields. And then finally, an interesting one that a lot of people.

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The tabernacle was ministered unto by women, much as Christ was ministered through the loving devotion of those women mentioned in the doctrine of Christ, of their substance.

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We have an exciting journey ahead of us as we walk through this record of the building of the tabernacle.

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As we do so, the journey from the tabernacle in the wilderness to Christ's incarnation to ultimately the new

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Jerusalem will unveil or reflect God's unfolding plan to dwell internally.

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You see, this is the epitome of good news. So the good news is that Christ is a better tabernacle.

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The best news is that God has made a plan to dwell eternally with his people in new

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Jerusalem. The tabernacle was a temporary place where God's presence would be, with Israel foreshadowing

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Christ, the true tabernacle who came to dwell among us. The bridge, the gap between humanity and God, for his perfect life, his sacrificial death, and his victorious resurrection.

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But this progression does not end with Christ's earthly ministry. It culminates in the promise of a new eternal dwelling.

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Listen to the words found in Revelation's chapter. Then I saw a new heaven, a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any seed in Jerusalem coming down out of heaven.

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And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and he will dwell among them, and they shall be his people, and God himself will be.

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The forms of the past are transformed into a perfect, everlasting communion where God's presence fills.

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He will gather and worship his four -taste offering of the fullness we will experience in new

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Jerusalem. Where we will forever dwell. Perfection by which you brought from the land of Egypt is redeemed as your people.

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They're foreshadowing for us what we know. Stay not for tomorrow, not for tomorrow.

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That moment when so many are called home, that we are in your presence, that we stand face to face.