Day 43: Exodus 39-40

Welcome to 5 -Minute Bible, your daily guide for your daily reading. Today is

February the 12th, and we'll be looking at Exodus 39 -40. Now, today's reading brings the book of Exodus to its true and final climax.

Exodus 39 -40 records the completion of the priestly garments, the assembly of the tabernacle, and the return of God's visible glory to dwell among His redeemed people.

The question that's hovered over the narrative since the golden calf is finally answered. Not with words, but with presence.

Now, Exodus 39 completes the priestly garments crafted exactly as the Lord commanded, and the repetition in these chapters is intentional.

Israel is not going to innovate anymore, they're just going to obey. The garments are finished for the glory and for the beauty of the project, signaling that the mediation between God and man is now fully prepared and Israel has obeyed.

Exodus 40 then moves to the assembly. Moses erects the tabernacle and places every single furnishing inside of it in its proper place and then he anoints it with oil and he consecrates the priest and everything is done precisely according to the word of the

Lord. And then the moment arrives. The cloud descends, the glory of the

Lord fills the tabernacle so powerfully, in fact, that not even Moses can enter in.

And then the God who's been thundering at the top of Mount Sinai now takes up his residence in the midst of his people at the foot of the mountain inside the camp and Exodus ends not with Israel moving forward, but with God moving in.

Now, as you read today's narrative, I want you to ask the following question. What is the ultimate goal of redemption?

And Exodus 39 answers this clearly, not just freedom, not just salvation, but communion with God.

Now, the central pattern in Exodus 39 through 40 is the presence of God that follows after their obedience.

God's glory doesn't fill the tabernacle because the people are impressive, but because they're faithful and this intersects immediately with our everyday life.

We often want God's presence without submission, without intimacy, without obedience, and Exodus insists that God doesn't dwell with a people who'd refuse to take his word seriously.

God's grace doesn't eliminate our need for obedience, it actually produces it.

And where repentance is real, God's presence is welcome. And in this sense,

Exodus 39 through 40 points unmistakably to Jesus Christ. The tabernacle is the dwelling place of God among his people, and Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of that.

In him, God does not hide behind veils and curtains, but takes on human flesh and lives among us.

The glory that fills the tabernacle now shines in the face of Jesus Christ. Where Moses is barred from entering because of the glory of God, believers are now invited to draw near through Christ with confidence because of his finished work.

And in this way, Exodus ends with God dwelling among his people, just as he does in the gospel where he dwells with his people forever by the spirit of God.

Now as you read Exodus 39 through 40, I want you to pause and take in this final scene. God has rescued his people, he's forgiven their rebellion, he's chosen to dwell among them.

And tomorrow, we're going to move into the book of Leviticus, where God teaches his people how to live continually in the holy presence that he has given them.

And with that, 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.