THROUGH THE BIBLE - Exodus 3..

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com. That's cornerstonerbc.com. Bezalel made the ark of the acacia wood. Two cubits and a half was its length, a cubit and a half its breadth, and a cubit and a half its height, and he overlaid it with pure gold.

Inside and outside he made a moulding of gold around it and he cast for it four rings of gold for its four feet. Two rings on the one side and two rings on the other. And he made poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with gold and put the poles into the rings of the sides of the ark to carry the ark and he made a mercy seat of pure gold. Two cubits and a half was its length and a cubit and a half its breadth. And he made two cherubim of gold.

He made them of hammered work on the two ends of the mercy seat. One cherub on the one end and one cherub on the other end. of one piece with the mercy seat he made the cherubim on its two ends the cherubim spread out their wings above overshadowing the mercy seat with their wings with their faces one to the other towards the mercy seat where their faces or the faces of the cherubim He also made the table of acacia wood. Two cubits was its length, a cubit its breadth, and a cubit and a half its height. And he overlaid it with pure gold, and made a moulding of gold around it.

And he made a rim around it, a hand-width, and made a moulding of gold around the rim. He cast for it four four rings of gold and fastened the rings to the four corners at its four legs. Close to the frame were the rings as holders for poles to carry the table. He made the poles of acacia wood to carry the table and overlaid them with gold. And he made the vessel of pure gold that were to be on the table, its plates.

dishes for incense and its bowls and flagons with which to pour drink offerings. He also made the lampstand of pure gold. He made the lampstand of hammered work. Its base, its stem, its cups, its calyxes, and its flowers were of one piece with it. And there were six branches going out of its sides, 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 on one branch, and three cups made like almond blossom, each with calyx and flower on the other branch, so for the six branches going out of the lampstand. And on the lampstand itself were four cups made like almond blossoms with their calyxes and flowers, and a calyx of one piece with it under each pair of the six branches going out of it. Their calyxes and their branches were of one piece with it. The whole of it was a single piece of hammered work of pure gold. And he made it seven lamps.

and its tongs and its trays of pure gold. He made it and all its utensils out of a talent of pure gold. He made the altar of incense of acacia wood. Its length was a cubit and its breadth was a cubit. It was square and two cubits was its height.

its horns were of one piece with it. He overlaid it with pure gold, its top and around its sides and its horns. And he made the moulding of gold around it and made two rings of gold on it under its moulding on two opposite sides of it as holders for the poles with which to carry it. And he made the poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with gold. He made the holy anointing oil also and the pure fragrant incense blended as by the perfumer.

Amen. This is the word of God. Beloved, Yeah, we're here in chapter 37. I'm sure as I've been reading this chapter, many of us are probably thinking this seems a little bit like deja vu. It seems like we've heard these words read for us during the corporate reading of God's word that we do here every Lord's Day.

And if you're thinking that way, you are right indeed, because only a few months ago, back in chapter 25, we read the same detail, at least for three of the furnitures that we see here this evening. Back then we read the same detail of the Ark of the Covenant, the table of showbread, and the menorah lampstand, or the golden lampstand. And not so far back, back in chapter 30, we read the detail of the altar of incense. back in chapter 30. So we have read the details of these furnishings that will be placed in the tabernacle.

But back then, those details were given as blueprints to Moses, who was standing before the Lord on Mount Sinai. But now from chapter 36, as our brother told us the other week, We see that it's no longer just a blueprint of instructions given, but now we're actually seeing the construction. Now we're actually seeing these things being put together, the craftsmen that the Lord has inspired by His or filled with His Holy Spirit, because perfectly, the instructions are to be obeyed perfectly. And we know that fallible human beings cannot obey the instructions of the Lord perfectly unless He fills them with His Holy Spirit, which He does do for Beziel and Oholiab. the craftsman that he fills with his Holy Spirit and gives them the wisdom and the skill to do exactly according to his plan.

The details are exact. And brothers and sisters, we've said on many occasions, and we know this already, that every facet in the tabernacle, that we have the instructions for the building before us, every facet has its purpose in the original, for the original, people of Israel back three and a half thousand years ago. We know it had its purpose in the wilderness people. But we also know that every facet of the tabernacle and its furnishings and the details are all pointing to something greater than the physical thing itself. We know, we know that these furnishings are pointing to someone, someone greater to fulfill the very function that they were designed designed to fulfill.

And beloved, even the people back then, because of the repetitive nature of the priests, those who are working in the tabernacle, and the temporary nature of the tabernacle, surely they would have known also that they would have been anticipating something greater, greater of a more permanent thing they're looking forward to, a spiritual reality, the substance of which will last forever and ever and ever. of which they have only but a picture of in the Old Testament tabernacle. And as New Testament Christians, we always have that privilege of being able to look back. They were looking forward, we look back. With the lens of the New Testament, we are able to look back and know beyond a shadow of a doubt that that person, That greater spiritual reality that speaks of, that fulfills everything that we see in these texts, is Jesus Christ Himself.

John makes it so clear to us, or for us, in John chapter 1, when he says, And the Word became flesh, the Word is the eternal Son of God, became flesh in the incarnation, and He dwelled among us. The original word is, and He tabernacled. among us. In other words, that tabernacle is pointing towards He who fulfills everything in that tabernacle and all that it stands for, that is Christ. And so the presence of God amongst His people made possible in and through the workings of that tabernacle means that the presence of God now for the New Testament Christian is found only in Jesus Christ, who is the true fulfilling of the tabernacle.

Now, we've touched on, or at least briefly, we touched on all the furnishings, all the utensils and the furnishings that are found in the tabernacle in previous weeks. But by way of reminder, what I want to do this evening is quickly and briefly touch on the furnitures that we have before us and just maybe build a little on why they're there, what they mean, and how they're fulfilled in Christ. But then I want us to spend the rest of our time on one detail that we find in this chapter. One detail that we find in this chapter. The first thing we find before us is, in chapter 37, is the making of the Ark of the Covenant.

and the mercy seat. Now, we know the Ark of the Covenant was a rectangular box with two cherubs, their winged angels, looking towards the mercy seat, the cover of that Ark. Now, it's also called sometimes the Ark of the Testimony, and that's because it houses the two stone tablets of the law of God. This is the only peace found in the most holy place. It's the only piece found in the Holy of Holies and therefore he makes it the most important piece in the tabernacle for which it stands for.

We know, beloved, that there is only the High Priest who enters into that place. And he enters into that place only once a year with blood in his hand, the blood of the sacrifice. And he comes before Yahweh in the Holy of Holies on the Day of Atonement, and he sprinkles that blood upon the mercy seat. And it's there that He's making atonement for those, the people of God who drew near, the people of God who had faith in Yahweh. Because there on that mercy seat is the place of propitiation.

That is, it's where God's wrath upon unrighteousness, where His wrath and His fury upon sin and rebellion and lawlessness is dealt with. Because that blood is symbol of an animal who has given its, who has died and shed its blood. Because the Bible tells us that the soul that sins shall die. That is the wages of sin. And so that's where the propitiation is taking place.

But we know again, as New Testament Christians, looking back, that the book of Hebrews is so clear to tell us it's impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. Because the blood of the sacrifice was but a shadow. It was a shadow of the perfect, sinless, spotless, blemishless Lamb of God who would come, who has come, and has died and given His life willingly upon that cross to shed His blood for those who would trust in Him. Bearing the wrath of God, He brought about propitiation on behalf of His people. And then outside that room, outside the Holy of Holies, you have a curtain from top to bottom.

It conceals the contents of that room. That room is a third of the size of the whole tabernacle. So outside in the holy place, you have the other three furnishings that we have before us, or the other three pieces of furniture that we have before us. We have the table of the Bread of Presence. or the table of the showbread as otherwise known.

And we know if we, as we'll continue to read and study in the book of Leviticus, we know that it was the priest's duty to place fresh bread once a week on that table, 12 loaves in fact, in two piles. And no doubt those loaves are symbolic of every tribe of Israel. And that bread really is. It's both a symbol of fellowship, because Aaron and his sons would eat before the Lord. But beyond that, it's also a symbol of God's abundant and continuous provision to sustain the life of all his people.

12 tribes. That's all of Israel, all His people. He's the sustainer of life. He sustains their physical life and their spiritual life. He's the one who gives life.

And we know that the symbol that He was symbolizing, or the shadow that it was, or the type that it was pointing towards, the antitype, is Jesus Christ. We're still in John chapter 6, aren't we? And in John chapter 6, the theme of that whole chapter is that Jesus Christ is the The bread of life. He's the bread from heaven. He says that great I am statement.

I am the bread of life. Eternal life can be found in Christ, in Christ alone. The golden lampstand comes next and it's the only source of light. for the priests. You take that away and they're in darkness.

God provides light for his people. It's without that light, as I said, and it's a symbol of spiritual light, the substance that is found only in Jesus Christ once again. In one of his other great I am statements, Jesus says, I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but have the light of life. And finally, the last piece of the furniture is the altar of incense.

Now, at first glance, we may look at this and think this is a little bit different in nature to the other two pieces. Because the other two pieces, we see that God's blessing, God's blessing with the abundant supply for their life. God's blessing with the abundant supply of light because he is the light for these priests. Here we see that the altar of incense is very much an altar that symbolizes as the incense is burned and that smoke rises. The smoke rises before Yahweh into sweet aroma into his nostrils because it's a symbol of the prayers of the people.

So you have the people's prayer, but we must not overlook a very important fact. And that is back when Moses was prescribed to build this altar of incense. Back in Exodus chapter 30, we're told that Aaron is to tell Aaron, on the day of atonement, he is to take of the sacrificial blood and he is to sprinkle the horns of that altar of incense. Beloved, the prayers that go up before the Lord The prayers that go up and are before him, a sweet aroma to his nostrils, is only possible because of the sacrificial blood of Jesus Christ. If it were not for his mediatory role, if it were not for his intercessory role, if he is not the sacrifice and also the sacrificer, then our prayers, how can they reach the heavens?

How can they be pleasing to God apart from the sacrificial lamb? of God who gave his life for the sake of his people. That's a brief recap of what we've already considered in the previous chapters of this book, in particular pertaining to these pieces of furniture. So I want to just spend a few moments looking at one detail of this passage, one detail that is found five times through the text, and that is the golden rings. the golden rings that are found on the Ark of the Covenant, the golden rings that are found on the Table of Presence, and the altar of incense.

Of course, these rings are accompanied by the poles made from acacia wood that are laced or overlaid with gold. And God has prescribed these things for a reason, and we know what that reason is, I'm sure. It's so that the utensils or the furnishings would be transported by the carrying of these poles. It's so that the defiled hands of man, the unclean hands of man would not touch that which is holy, would not touch that which is consecrated to God. as holy, because beloved our hands are defiled, they're dirty, and they have in and of themselves no business being in the presence of a holy God.

So whenever the furnishings were moved, from one place to another, when the camp would pack up and go from one place to another in the wilderness, then they would be carried along with these poles so that hands would not touch them in there. And the picture and the lesson for the people of Israel and for us here this evening is this, that God is infinitely holy. He's righteous. He's pure. And we are not.

People are defiled by sin. But Yahweh has made a way. He's made a way in His grace to dwell among His people. He's made a way where the righteous God of the universe, the one who is thrice holy, can dwell among His people without destroying them. But this is the lesson that needs to be taught.

Just because Yahweh has condescended and is dwelling among His people in His manifest presence, it doesn't mean that these people have become His equal. He is still infinitely holy, and people in and of themselves, because we're defiled by sin, then we are unholy. How serious is God about this? How serious is God about His holiness? I tell you, beloved, He is very serious about His holiness.

Let's open our Bibles to Numbers chapter 4 to see how serious indeed He is about His holiness. Numbers chapter 4, we'll be reading from verses 1 through 15. This is about the Kohathites. The Kohathites are part of the clan of Levi. And God had instructed that these are the people who transport the goods once it's packed, the tabernacle and the furnishings from one place to another.

Now listen from verse one. The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron saying, take a census of the sons of Kohath from among the sons of Levi, by their clans and their father's houses. From 30 years old up to 50 years old, who who come on duty to do the work in the tent of meeting. This is the service of the sons of Kohath in the tent of meeting, the most holy things, when the camp is to set out. Aaron and his sons shall go in and take down the veil of the screen and cover the ark of the testimony with it.

Then they shall put on it a covering of goat skin and spread on top of that a cloth of all of blue and shall put in its poles. And over the table of the bread of the presence, they should spread a cloth of blue and put on it the plates and the dishes and incense, the bowls and the flagons for the drink offering. The regular showbread also shall be in it. Then they shall spread over them a cloth of scarlet and cover the same with a covering of goat skin and shall put in its poles. And they shall take a cloth of blue and cover the lampstand for the light with its lamps, its tongs, its trays, and all the vessels for oil with which it is supplied.

And they shall put it with all the utensils in a covering of goat skin and put it on a carrying frame. Now if you remember back in Exodus chapter 37 it was the lampstand which was the only piece of furniture that didn't have those rings on it. But here it sits on a frame so it should not be touched also. Continuing in verse 11. And over the golden altar they shall spread a cloth of blue and cover it with covering of goatskin and shall put in it it in its poles.

12 And they shall take all the vessels of the service that are used in the sanctuary and put them in a cloth of blue and cover them with covering of goatskin and put on them their carrying frame. And they shall take away the ashes from the altar and spread a purple cloth over it and they shall put on it all the utensils of the altar which are used for the service there, and firepans, and the forks, and the shovels, and the basins, all the utensils of the altar. And they shall spread on it a covering of goatskin, and they shall put it in its poles. And when Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the furnishings of the sanctuary as the camp sets out after the sons of Kohath shall come to carry these but they must not touch the holy things lest they die. How serious is God about His holiness?

Are He serious? Because He is holy, holy, holy. And everything that is consecrated to Him is to be treated holy. If we are to approach God, we approach Him as the holy God of the universe and He's approached only as He is prescribing those to approach Him to approach. Approach Him with awe.

Approach Him with reverence. But beloved, as awesome as that is, as awesome a lesson as that is, that God is indeed holy, holy beyond comprehension, righteous beyond comprehension, is that all these rings stand for? Is that all God is trying to teach us here? Is that all God is trying to teach these people in Israel? to come before Him in awe and recognize His holiness.

Brothers and sisters, if that's all we see here, then we may be missing part of the picture. He is indeed holy. He is indeed righteous. He is indeed pure, undefiled. That is so true.

And He is awe-inspiring. But beloved, those rings speak to more than this. Listen to what the Lord says to Moses back in Exodus chapter 29, speaking of the tabernacle. There he reads, there he says, there I will meet with the people of Israel, speaking of the tabernacle, and it shall be sanctified by my glory. 44, I will consecrate the tent of meeting and the altar.

Aaron also and his sons I will consecrate to serve me as priests. I will dwell among the people of Israel and will be their God. And they shall know that I am their God who brought them out of the land of Egypt. Hear this, that, in other words, so that, that I might dwell among them. I am the Lord their God.

He brought them out of Egypt, beloved. He rescued His people from that land and from the slavery, not simply just to rescue them from slavery, not simply to bring them out of that land and to take them to a land flowing with milk and honey. The omnipresent God of the universe brought His people out of Egypt so that He would bless them with His special presence, that He would dwell among them. Yes, those rings speak to the untouchable holiness of God. Uzzah will find that out the hard way.

Yes, he will. But the rings are also precisely there to make the tabernacle portable. What does that mean? That is because the thrice holy God is always purposed and is always intended to be with his people wherever they are. Wherever his people are, he will be with them.

Those rings are a reminder of that incredible grace. It's not the land flowing with milk and honey that is the true treasure. The true treasure is God's special presence among His people, no matter where they go. That's awesome, brothers and sisters. What a blessing it is for us New Testament Christians to acknowledge that reality, to look back and understand the tabernacle, understand what it stood for, and to be able to recognize that the acacia wood poles and those gold rings, there's no need for them anymore because Jesus Christ has fulfilled everything that tabernacle stands for.

It was the old. It was a shadow. It was a type. Now the sum and the substance is here. The anti-type is here.

And beloved, that means that Jesus is indeed the tabernacle of God. That means that we are His body, that we are the dwelling place of the Spirit of God, we're told in 1 Corinthians. Beloved, God is being pleased or has been pleased to dwell among His people through Jesus Christ because of what He has done. and because what He has fulfilled, and that which the tabernacle only pointed towards, Jesus fulfilled in His perfect life, in His death, in His resurrection. He is the true tabernacle of God.

I hope and I pray that these truths will bring unspeakable joy to our souls. I hope that we can find rest in the final words of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, in the book of all the gospel, according to Matthew, when he said, And behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. No matter where you are, Christian, God is with you. Let's pray.