THROUGH THE BIBLE - Exodus 2..

Welcome to Cornerstone Reformed Baptist Church. Thank you for using and sharing our resources. What you're about to hear is God's Word from one of our teaching elders. We trust that God's Word will inspire, instruct, and bless you. For further teachings or information on our ministry, please visit us on our website at cornerstonerbc.

com. That's cornerstonerbc.com. So Exodus chapter 25 from verse one. The Lord said to Moses, speak to the people of Israel that they take for me a contribution from every man whose heart moves him, you shall receive the contribution for me.

And this is the contribution that you shall receive from them. Gold, silver and bronze, blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and fine twined linen, goat's hair, tan ram skins, goat skins, acacia wood, oil for the lamb, spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense, onyx stones and stones for setting, for the ephod and for the breastplate or breastpiece. and let them make me a sanctuary that I may dwell in their midst, exactly as I show you concerning the pattern of the tabernacle and of all its furniture, so you shall make it. Verse 10. They shall make an ark of acacia wood.

Two cubits and a half shall be its length, a cubit and a half its breadth, and a cubit and a half its height. You shall overlay it with pure gold, inside and outside you shall overlay it, and you shall make on it a moulding of gold around it. You shall cast four rings of gold for it and put them on its four feet, two rings on the one side of it and two rings on the other side of it. You shall make poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. And you shall put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark and carry the ark by them.

The poles shall remain in the rings on the ark. They shall not be taken off it. And you shall put into the ark the testimony that I shall give you. You shall make a mercy seat of pure gold. Two cubits and a half shall be its length and a cubit and a half its breadth.

You shall make two cherubim of gold, of hammered work shall you make them on the two ends of the mercy seat. Make one cherub on the one end and one cherub on the other end. Of one piece with the mercy seat shall you make the cherubim on its two ends. The cherubim shall spread out their wings above, overshadowing the mercy seat with their wings. Their faces one to the other towards the mercy seat shall their faces of the cherubim be.

And you shall put the mercy seat on top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the testimony that I shall give you. There I will meet with you, and from above this mercy seat, from between the two cherubims that are on the ark of the testimony, I will speak with you about all that I will give you in the commandment for the people of Israel. Verse 23, You shall make a table of acacia wood, two cubits shall it be its length, and a cubit its breadth, and a cubit and a half its height. You shall overlay it with pure gold, and make a moulding of gold around it. And you shall make a rim around it a handbreadth wide, and a moulding of gold around the rim.

And you shall make for it four rings of gold, and fasten the rings to the four corners at its four legs. close to the frame the ring shall lie as holders for the poles to carry the table you shall make the poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold and the table shall be carried with these and you shall make its plates make its plates and dishes for incense and its flagons and bowels with which to pour drink offerings you shall make them of pure gold and you shall set the bread of the presents on the table before me regularly. You shall make a lampstand of pure gold. The lampstand shall be made of hammered work, its base, its stem, its cups, its calyxes, and its flowers shall be of one piece with it. And there shall be six branches going out of its side, and three branches of the lampstand out of one side of it, and three branches of the lampstand out of the other side of it.

Three cups made like almond blossoms, each with calyx and flower and one branch. and three cups made like almond blossoms, each with calyx and flower on the other branch, so for the six branches going out of the lampstand. And on the lampstand itself shall be four cups made like almond blossoms with their calyxes and flowers, and a calyx on one piece, and it's under each pair of the six branches going out from the lampstand. their calyxes and their branches shall be of one piece with it, the whole of it a single piece of hammered work of pure gold. You shall make seven lamps for it, and the lamps shall be set up so as to give light on the space in front of it.

Its tongs and their trays shall be of pure gold. It shall be made with all these utensils out of a talent of pure gold. And see that you make them, hear this, after the pattern for them, which is being shown you. on the mountain. Amen.

This is the word of the Lord. Well we've, as a church community, we've been working our way through the book of Exodus and so we've been following the the people of Israel as they came out of Egypt through the wilderness. And then they came across, or they came to the base of Mount Sinai or Mount Horeb. And in chapter 20, we're told that they were given the law of God in chapter 20. Then we saw from chapter 21 through chapter 23, we saw that law being applied in everyday circumstances.

So the application of the law throughout the lives of these Israelites as they are to live before the Lord. Practical examples given to them. And then last week, our brother took us through a very important chapter, chapter 24. Chapter 24 is important because the law or the covenant was ratified in that chapter. Although the people of God had already, in chapter 19, said that they will do all that is demanded of God, whatever He calls us to do, that we shall do.

They said we will be obedient. That was before the law was given. But in chapter 24, Moses is asked by God to write the law. to write the law it's called the book of the covenant and in chapter 24 he reads the book of the covenant to the people of israel and upon hearing the book upon hearing the statutes and the rules and the commandments of god the people declare this million plus strong people in the wilderness declare we will obey All the Lord has spoken we will do and we will be obedient. So what does Moses do at that point?

He had sacrificed oxen and so he brings a portion of that blood and he sprays it and sprinkles the people because that covenant was ratified in the blood of oxen. Now the emphasis here in chapter 25 takes a change. It takes a turn. The book of Exodus is 40 chapters in length. So 25 through 40, 25 inclusive is 16 chapters.

But beloved, 13 of the 16 chapters is exclusively dedicated to the tabernacle. So it's an important facet that we ought to, as God's people, examine. And so as we're told it is a tabernacle, or in verse 8 we're told it is a sanctuary, and literally the word sanctuary really means a place where holiness is. and the attention to detail. As we progress through these chapters, we'll recognize the immense attention to detail that Yahweh gives for this sanctuary.

It's precise. Not an ounce of liberty or an ounce of creative license is given to those who are involved in its construction. So Yahweh stipulated every single detail for this tabernacle and everyone who is going to be working on the tabernacle is to follow those details to a T and Moses is responsible. You see in verse 9 he says to Moses exactly as I show you concerning the pattern of the tabernacle and all its furnishing so you shall make it. Nothing's left a chance.

Everything is prescribed by the Lord, from the material used for the furniture to the stitching on the fabric. All of it is elaborate and precise, even to the point we're told in chapter 31 that the craftsman used to construct and build and design the tabernacle and the woodwork and the carving of stone were filled by the Holy Spirit and enabled by Yahweh to do the work with surgical precision. Why? Why is that so? Why so much detail about this sanctuary, this tabernacle?

You see, because the book of Hebrews tells us because it served as a copy and a shadow of heavenly things. Does that mean that there's an exact duplicate in heaven? I don't know. But I do know this. I do know this.

It is to say that every physical element in this tabernacle has a higher heavenly purpose, a spiritual purpose. It all points to something greater than itself. It prefigures or foreshadows what is to come in God's grand plan of redemption for his people. There is so much in this chapter, even just chapter 25, that we could spend a lot of time discussing. But we don't have the time.

By God's grace, in a few weeks' time, in our Bible studies, we will examine the tabernacle over one full study, and we'll have more time to look at it then. But this evening, there are so many facets. We can look at the first few verses. The first few verses that speak about only those whose hearts have been moved are the ones who are to give a contribution to the Lord. The contributions, some are expensive, gold, silver, and bronze, and others are common everyday things.

But the Lord is only concerned with having those who love Him, those whose hearts are predisposed and inclined towards Him, to give the contribution. Because, beloved, what we give to God is a form of worship. And God doesn't want you to worship if your heart's not engaged in that worship. It's very consistent with 2 Corinthians, isn't it? 2 Corinthians 9, where we're told God loves a cheerful giver.

We can spend time on that, or we can go ahead and spend some more time on the different typological elements, the physical pictures of the furnishings in the tabernacle that had a purpose for the people in the wilderness, for this generation of Israel, but also pointed to something greater, a reality to come. They pointed to Christ. We know that. as the New Testament is so clear to explain that for us, and it's pretty much spelled out for us in the apostolic writings. Think of the section from verse 23 to 30, for example.

We can meditate on why God instructed the table of presents to be constructed from pure gold. Now, as we understand, as we think of the tabernacle, and we think of the holy of holies, and we think of the holy place here, and we think of the extension of the tabernacle, as we get closer to the immediate presence of God, which is found in the holy of holies, the materials used are greater in value. So you see, around the holy of holies, it's gold, and as you get further outside, it's bronze, labours, and so forth, and that is to show that there is an infinite worth to God. He is of infinite worth. And we can look at the table of presents and we can be reminded why was that given?

See, only the priests would be in that area and they would eat in their presence of God. And it was a reminder of the covenant. Because in the previous chapter, in chapter 24, Moses, Nadab and Abihu, as well as 70 of the elders went before the Lord and they had a meal the day the covenant was ratified. So it's a reminder of the covenant. Beyond that, the bread is also a reminder that bread is a staple in man's diet.

It is a need to keep ourselves sustained. It is essential for life insofar as it being a staple. And it's a reminder that God is the one who provides for His people. The people of Israel came out of Egypt. It wasn't long.

It was only a few days in when they began to complain, moan and grumble. We're hungry, they said to Moses. And God provided for them. He gave them manna from heaven until the day they came out into the promised land. God, Yahweh, is their provider.

And He's the one who provides for all their physical needs. However, it points to Yahweh also being the provider that provides for all their spiritual needs also. Because moving forward into the New Testament, we see that Jesus Christ indeed is a fulfillment of that. We as a church congregation have been going through chapter 5 of the gospel according to John. We've just finished it.

We're just about to begin chapter 6. And the beginning of chapter 6 is when Jesus feeds the 5,000, probably 20,000 men, women, and children. And he feeds them. He makes a miracle with the two pieces of fish and five loaves of bread and feeds all these people. And that's a platform for Christ to speak about him being the bread of life.

At that point, Jesus proclaims the first of seven great I AM statements. He says, I AM the bread of life. Whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall not thirst. He is the true bread of heaven, the source of life for the soul, for everyone who believes. The bread of presence prefigures the true bread from heaven, Jesus Christ.

We can go on and look at verses 31 through 40, and have a look at that section which speaks of the golden lampstand, the menorah lamp. We could discuss why it looks like a tree with seven branches, or on a more basic level, we can have a look at what does a lampstand do? It produces light. It produces light, and that was the only source of light in the tabernacle. The priests, going upon their daily duties inside the temple or the tabernacle, were relying on that light to see what they were doing.

This picture is how Yahweh is the light of the world. and in him there is no darkness. He is the sole light unto the truth for his people, and they are to look to him as the light to their path. But of course we can look forward to Christ, who is the fulfillment of all the glorious truths in the tabernacle. And there we find in John chapter 8, the second of the great I Am statements, where Jesus says, I am the light of the world.

Whoever follows me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life. So as the priests without the light from the menorah lampstand would be in pitch darkness, those who are apart from Christ are in pitch darkness. They are still in the darkness of sin. But brothers and sisters, we cannot understand this passage. We cannot see how profound this passage is if we go beyond verse 8.

Because verse 8 tells us, "...and let them make me a sanctuary, a place where holiness is. It is that I may dwell in their midst." You see, that's God's purpose for His people. That He would dwell in and amongst His people.

Chapter 29, verse 46. makes it really clear. Listen to what he says. He says, I will consecrate the tent of meeting and the altar, Aaron also his sons. I will consecrate to serve me as priest.

That's in a tabernacle. I will dwell among the people of Israel and will be their God. And they shall know that I am the Lord, their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt that, that, so that for this reason, I might dwell among them. I am the Lord their God. What an incredible privilege for the people of Israel But what an incredible condescension by Yahweh.

You see, as we read this passage, in that verse in particular, we should stop in our tracks and ask the question, how? How can a righteous, holy God who lives in unapproachable light, a God who cannot look upon sin, dwelled in and among a sinful people, how can that be? And therein lies the reason we have so much text dedicated to the precise detail of the tabernacle. It's because it is this place we see Yahweh's provision in dealing with the sin problem. The massive chasm that stands between a holy God and his sinful people is dealt with in the tabernacle, making it possible for a righteous God to dwell in and amongst, or amongst, a sinful people.

And the first item Yahweh commands Moses to build is the key to all our understanding of how this provision is made for Yahweh to dwell among his people. And it's the Ark of the Covenant, or literally, the Box of the Covenant. And it has, with the testimony of God within, that is, the Law of God within. Unlike the Table of Showbread, or the Menorah, the Golden Lambstand, This, the Ark of the Covenant, will be in the immediate manifest presence of God. It will be one of the pieces of furniture that is bound in the Holy of Holies.

And beloved, we know the Holy of Holies is a place where only the High Priest, and only once a year can he enter into that place, and only with blood in his hands, on behalf of the people of God. For the sake of time, I only want to address quickly one element of the ark. The cover. The lid. Also called in verse 17, the mercy seat.

On either side of this mercy seat is cherubim, holy angels that minister to God. One on the left and one on the right and the mercy seat in between. What's so significant about the mercy seat? Well, the Hebrew term mercy seat is kippureth. which literally means to make atonement for.

The Greek rendering of the Hebrew text called the Septuagint, which most would agree that Jesus and the disciples, that's the scripture they referenced, the Greek copy of the Septuagint. In there, the word is translated, hilaesteron. Hilaesteron. You and I know that as propitiation. Big word meaning to turn away anger.

In the context it's God making provision in the mercy seat to turn away his wrath from his people who have broken what is in the ark, his law. You see the mercy seat stands in between the law. the law of Yahweh, the good and holy law, and the sinful people who continually break His law. It is a mediator in between God's law and the sinful people. And scripture is clear.

Sin is transgression of God's law, and the soul that sins shall die. But God made a provision to dwell amongst His people without completely destroying them for their sins. a high priest once a year, on a day of atonement would enter into the manifest presence of God and he would sprinkle the blood on the mercy seat, the blood of an animal without spot or blemish that he'd sacrificed. And he'd bring that blood and he'd sprinkle on the mercy seat. That animal would act as a sacrifice because the soul that sin shall die is a sacrifice on behalf of the people who deserve death.

And then by doing so, he would turn away God's wrath from being poured upon Israel, making it possible for God to dwell amongst a sinful people. But beloved, a sincere Jew would have known, as the author of Hebrews tells us, that the blood of goats and bulls is not worthy, it's not a worthy substitute to atone for the offense of human sin before an infinitely holy God. And the fact that the priest had to come in year after year after year after year and sprinkle that blood on the mercy seat. That mercy seat was stained, never clean, year after year with blood that's collecting and collecting. That repetition would tell them, we need something more permanent.

We need something more permanent and God will provide. However, Although God had made provision in that sacrificial system for Israel in that time, it would only be a temporary or temporal picture of the mercy seat, the true mercy seat that He prefigures. Because it's not the gold cover or the blood of animals that propitiates for sin, but Christ who is to come. Jesus Christ is the true mercy seed, and it's His blood that makes the atonement. Listen to Romans 3, 21 through 26.

But now, the righteousness of God has been manifest apart from the law, although the law and the prophets bear witness to it, the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe, for there is no distinction. For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God and are justified by His grace as a gift, Though through the redemption that is in Jesus Christ, whom God put forward as a propitiation, heliosteron in Greek, the mercy seat, Jesus is the mercy seat, by His blood to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. Jesus is the mercy seat.

And the Apostle John takes that on board as well when he writes in 1 John. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ. What? The righteous. He is the propitiation.

for our sins, and not only ours, but for the sins of the world. And again in chapter four, in this is love, not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his son to be the propitiation of our sins. Jesus Christ is the mercy seat. The imagery is so clear that Jesus is the only acceptable wrath satisfying sacrifice on behalf of sinful people. like us.

He is our propitiation. The true mercy seat for which the one on the ark of the covenant was but a shadow. And I believe the Apostle John may have been alluding to that exact point when he described Mary when she saw the empty tomb. Do you remember that? She went to the empty tomb, she saw, she began weeping because the tomb was empty.

Listen to what John says in chapter 20 verse 11. But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb. And then she saw two angels in white. One sitting where the body of Jesus had lain. Hear this, one on the head and one on the feet.

And who was in the middle? Christ. Christ is the mercy seat. But He has risen, unlike the animals who were sacrificed and their blood spilt and sprinkled on the mercy seat. They remained dead because they weren't the sacrifice that could atone for sins.

But Jesus Christ, He's the only wrath satisfying sacrifice that could atone for the sin of everyone who believed, and He is risen because God has vindicated Christ. For He is the mercy seat that we, beloved, hope in and we trust in. And if we trust in Him, then God's dwelling, rather than being a temporal place in the wilderness, in a tabernacle, rather than that, He is now dwelling inside every believer because we're trusting in Christ, in whom we are united, because He is the true tabernacle. He is the true mercy seat, and in Him, We trust. Amen.

Let's pray.