THROUGH THE BIBLE - Exodus 3..

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com. That's cornerstonerbc.com. Exodus chapter 30. He made the altar of burnt offering of the acacia wood.

Five cubits was its length and five cubits its breadth. It was square and three cubits was its height. He made the horns for it on its four corners. Its horns were of one piece with it, and he overlaid it with bronze. And he made all the utensils of the altar, the pots, the shovels, the basins, the forks, and the firepans.

He made all its utensils of bronze. And he made for the altar a grating, a network of bronze under its ledge extending halfway down. He cast four rings on the four corners of the bronze grating as holders for the poles. He made the poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with bronze. And he put the poles through the rings of the sides of the altar to carry it with them.

He made it hollow with boards. He made the basin of bronze and stand of bronze from the mirrors of the ministering women who ministered in the entrance of the tent of meeting. And he made the court for the south side. The hangings of the court were of fine twine linen, 100 cubits 20 pillars and their 20 bases were of bronze, and the hooks of the pillars and their fillets were of silver. And for the north side, there were hangings of a hundred cupids, their 20 pillars their 20 bases, their fillets were of silver, and for the west side were hangings of 50 cubits, their 10 pillars and their 10 bases, the hooks of the pillars and their fillets were of silver.

And for the front of the east, 50 cubits. The hangings for one side of the gate were 15 cubits with their three pillars and three bases. And so for the other side, on both sides of the gate of the court were hangings of 15 cubits with their three pillars and their three bases. 16. And the hangings around the court were of fine twine linen.

And the bases for the pillars were of bronze. But the hooks of the pillars and their fillets were of silver. The overlaying of their capitals was also silver. And all the pillars of the court were filleted with silver. And the screen for the gate of the court was embroidered with needlework in blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twine linen.

It was 20 cubits long and five cubits high in its breadth and corresponding to the hangings of the court. And their pillars were four in number. Their four bases were of bronze, their hooks of silver, and their overlaying of their capitals and their fillets of silver. And all the pegs for the tabernacle and for the court all around were of bronze. These are the records of the tabernacle.

The tabernacle of the testimony as they were recorded at the commandment of Moses, the responsibility of the Levites under the direction of Ithamar, the son of Aaron, the priest. Bezalel, the son of Uriah, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made all that the Lord commanded Moses. And with him was Oholiab, the son of Ahasuerim, of the tribe of Dan, an engraver and designer and embroiderer in blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen. All the gold that was used for the work in all the construction of the sanctuary. The gold from the offering was 29 talents and 730 shekels by the shekel of the sanctuary.

The silver of those of the congregation who were recorded was 100 talents and 1,775 shekels by the shekel of the sanctuary. a beka, a head, that is, half a shekel by the shekel of the sanctuary for everyone who was listed in the records from 20 years old and upwards for 603,550 men. The hundred talents of silver were for casting the bases of the sanctuary and the bases of the veil, a hundred bases for the hundred talents. A talent, a base. And of the 1,775 shekels, he made hooks for the pillars and overlaid the capitals and made fillets for them.

The bronze that was offered was 70 talents and 2,400 shekels with it. He made the bases for the entrance of the tent, meaning the bronze altar and the bronze grating for it and all the utensils of that altar, the bases around the court and the bases of the gates of the court, all the pegs and the tabernacle and all the pegs around the court. Amen. This is the word of the Lord. Well, brothers, sisters and friends, we're drawing near to the end of this book, this book of Exodus.

Now we're in the 38th chapter. The book will take us to chapter 14. Two more chapters to go, but in fact, when we're talking about the construction of the pieces and the furnishings of the tabernacle, this is it. And this is where it comes to an end, because in chapter 39, we'll see the garments of Aaron and his sons, the priest's garments. We've already meditated upon that and considered that back in chapter 29.

But then in chapter 40, we'll see that the tabernacle, with all its pieces and all its fabric, all its materials, all finished now. will be erected. And once erected, we have that glorious, glorious scene with the God of the universe, the omnipresent God of the universe. will come down and descend in his manifest presence in that place and show his glory among these people. What an awesome sight that will be, but that will leave to our brother over the next two weeks in his capable hands.

But for this afternoon, we'll come to the stage where the final pieces of the dwelling are prepared and completed before us. So what we have is we have the altar of the burned offering, the bronze basin, and the making of the courts. The making of the actual court and the surrounding of the court which holds the tabernacle in. And of course we have a manifest as well of how much precious gold and silver and bronze were used. And if you're following with these old measurements, some of our Bibles on the bottom will actually tell us and translate what they equate to.

And there's a lot of gold there, and there's a lot of silver, and there's a lot of bronze. But I felt fitting for us this evening because we've been through about 12 or 11 or 12 of the chapters in Exodus which are finer details, quite fine details about the workings of the pieces for the tabernacle. They're the blueprints that were given by God to Moses and they were to be followed exactly. So sometimes we can get lost in the finer details, and sometimes it's actually good for us to withdraw just a little to have a look at the big picture, to envisage or look at or visualize the big picture, what the tabernacle is as a whole. And so by God's grace, in the few moments that we have together, that's That's what we'll do.

Because as we see this, as we step back and look at what the Lord had done for the people in Israel back then in the wilderness generation some three and a half thousand years ago, we will see evidence that His mercy and His grace and His outright goodness all over it. In His dealings with a people, a people who are indeed unworthy of His grace, a people who are sinners, a people who have already broken covenant with Him, We remember that back in chapter 32 when they made a golden calf and bent their knee to eat. But we also can see in this text and throughout the book of Exodus that everything, every facet of this tabernacle was always pointing to something greater than itself. Everything was pointing to Jesus Christ. The culmination is found, the zenith is found in our Lord and our Savior, Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

And here's the thing, the core of this tabernacle If we stand back and just think about what will go on, we already know what the priest duties will be in this place. And if we stand back and just envisage what's going to be happening in that place, you must admit, there's going to be the smell of death in the air. Because countless bellowing and bleating healthy animals will enter into that court. behind the linen curtains that we read about this evening. And in a moment, their lives will come to an abrupt end.

Their bodies will be burnt on the altar and their blood, their blood will be scattered on the side of the altar, and as well as on the beautiful gold furnishings inside the holy place. And of course, the mercy seat, once a year in the Holy of Holies. So although it seems from maybe a superficial point of view that the priest's work seemingly stamped and defined by death, the structure of the tabernacle itself stands as a monument of absolute and undeniable grace. Beloved, the lesson that's taught here to the people of Israel and by God's grace to us also is this, that through death, They, the people of God, will be gifted the gift of life through death. And so from the beginning of our journey as we've been walking through the book of Exodus, we've said on many, many occasions that this tabernacle for the people of Israel had its function and its physical purpose back then, but it was also a teaching tool for the then people who had been rescued from the slavery in Egypt.

It was a teaching tool. Every facet was to teach them something about Yahweh and about His plan of redemption to come. But we, as New Testament Christians, we have the aid of the completed canon of Scripture. So we're able, with hindsight, read the revelation that God's given us in the Old and the New Testament, and look back, and without a shadow of a doubt, we can see that what has taken place in the Old Testament, in the tabernacle, every facet, every part, every part of that structure, What is standing in the wilderness or will be standing in the wilderness is all pointing to our Savior. It's all pointing to Jesus.

So what do we have before us here this evening? Well, let's have a look. From verses 9 through 20, we see the outer court in this place. If you're looking from the outside, all you could see, if you're one of the Israelites in the wilderness, all you could see is this large rectangular enclosure. It's closed off from the rest of the world.

It's completely closed off as a rectangle. Chapter 27 tells us the measurements, the dimensions. 45 on the north side, 45 metres on the north side, that is 100 cubits in the old measurements. A cubit is from the elbow to the tip of the finger, so it's about 45 centimetres. And on the south, it's the same.

But being a rectangle, the sides, the east and the west, is half that. So on the west, we have 25 and a half metres. And we have this white, white, this pure white curtain, this finely twined linen that surrounds the north and the south and the west. But when you get to the eastern side, something changes. Because on the eastern side, it's no longer just pure white.

There's some colour there. And what we're told here in our verse, in verse 15 before us, is we find that there is a gate into the court. Now previously we were told in previous chapters that that is a colourful gate. It's a gate that is made from blue and purple and scarlet red. Beloved, this gate, this door into the courtyard It's about nine meters wide, but it's the only way in.

It's the only entrance into the court of the tabernacle. It's the only way by which one can draw near to Yahweh through that gate. But beyond this, There was only one way also into the holy place. If you remember the tabernacle, you have the court with the curtains that are on the outside, and then you have the actual structure on the inside. And the actual structure, you had two-thirds and one-third.

The first portion of the tabernacle was the holy place, and the inner sanctum was the most holy place. The gate from the outside, was on the east side. And as you go in, you have also only one way into the holy place, and that is also through the same material, the same fabric, and the same colours. And as one would go in further again, that curtain that disclosed or that closed off the most holy place from the holy place was also A curtain from top to bottom that was made from the exact same material and same colors, but that curtain had also a cherubim on it. Beloved, what's being taught here?

What's being taught to these people is that there's not three ways to get to God. but only one. There's only one way one can come before God the Father. How profound is that? I am the way, the truth, and the life.

No one comes to the Father except through me. They're the words of our Savior in John 14, chapter 14, verse 6. And in John 10, verse 9, our Savior says, I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved. Beloved, this gate, this door, is a type of Jesus Christ, our Lord.

But once one is on the inside, once one goes into this gate, the only way you go into the court of the tabernacle, on the eastern side, there is a straight line to the Holy of Holies. There's only one way. piece that you see in front of you is what we read here before us from verses 1 through 7. It's the bronze altar. Why is that there?

Well it's clear that when the people came into this place and they were allowed to come in, the outer court When they would come in, they would see this bronze altar. And why is that? It's because it's telling them that one cannot approach God except through one date, and also one cannot approach God without sacrifice. Sin needs to be dealt with. It requires the innocent, clean, blemishless animal to be slaughtered by the priest before the very eyes of the people.

You see, sin is a serious offense before God Almighty. And when this animal is slaughtered, what a picture it is for the Israelites. to come in and to lead this animal in, this animal that he or she has nurtured. And they bring him in and they give it to the priest. And the priest, before their very eyes, slaughters the animal, slits its throat, casts the blood upon the altar, and then puts the body or the flesh on the altar itself and burns that flesh to a crisp.

That's a visual picture for these people. Visual picture of the seriousness of sin and unrighteousness before our holy God. That the animal would serve as a substitute. That these people would be looking at that sacrifice and thinking, that animal is dying in my stead. That animal is dying in my behalf.

Yahweh has made a way for simple people to dwell in and amongst him, amongst his presence. But this would be required, a substitute, an animal to give its life for the sake of mine. The innocent for the guilty. sinless for the sinful. But ultimately, ultimately, the righteous for the unrighteous.

This was the picture. This was the picture. You can only approach God through one gate, through one door. You can only approach God through the shedding of blood, through sacrifice. But also, it's not the Israelite that comes in and slits the throat of the animal and puts him on the altar, but the priest.

approach God, not in and of yourself, but through a mediator. And that was through the Levitical priesthood that God had ordained to be the mediators of the people of Israel. So the people could not go beyond this point, really, because from this point, you go to the next instrument or next piece, which we read about here this evening, which is in verse 9, which is the bronze basin. That wasn't for the common folk. That was for the priest.

But here it is. There's a problem in that. What's in that basin? Water. And what's it used for?

Cleansing. Why? Because one needs to recognise that these priests that were working and servicing in the tabernacle were unclean. They were sinners. They were corrupted with sin.

And nothing but perfection, nothing but purity and righteousness is fitting to stand before a holy God. So it is the case that the Israelite is in need, that God's people are in need for a mediator. But is it these Levitical priests that will fulfill that mediatory role? Now, we know ultimately it's not the Levitical priests. Because not only does that bronze labour show that they are unclean, they cannot enter into the tabernacle unless they've cleansed themselves and washed themselves.

Every time they enter, they are to wash themselves before they partake in their duty and the services in that place. But also, the sacrifice that is offered for the sins of the people is as much for the priest as it is for the people themselves. Beloved, the people would look at this, and they would know by mere fact of the repetition of sacrifices, the repetition of the fact that the priest would need to wash himself every time he entered into that place. They would know that their hope ultimately does not lie in the Levitical priesthood, that their hope does not lie in a priest who is a sinner, but rather in someone greater, greater priest to come. A better mediator is to come.

The picture would give the reality that the temporal would give way to the permanent. The repetition would give way to a single event of a perfect and a holy and a faultless righteous high priest to come. A high priest, beloved, who needs no sacrifice for his own sin. A righteous priest who doesn't need to wash himself with the water in the basement because it's a symbol of his uncleanliness and his need to be cleansed from sin and unrighteousness. No, a high priest that is needed for the people of God is a high priest who is perfect, spotless, undefiled by sin, and one who is worthy in and of his own merit to walk into the very throne room of God and mediate on behalf of his people.

Beloved, that high priest is Jesus. He's the one who enters into the throne room of God on his own merit, on behalf of his people. But he does take the blood of a sacrifice with him. It's not for the cleansing of his own sins, no. But not only is he the priest, but that blood is his own blood.

the blood of the sacrifice that He shed, the sacrifice that He shed on that cross of Calvary. He brings that before the Father, and the Father is eternally pleased. The book of Hebrews tells us that the blood of bulls and goats cannot take away sin, but the blood of Jesus is the perfect righteous Lamb of God. He alone, He alone can take away sin. He alone can be the substitute for sinners like us.

He alone is able to come before the Father and mediate on behalf of His people. So he enters into the holy place. And everything in the holy place, as we said earlier, speaks of Jesus. The menorah lampstand, the golden lampstand. He is the light of the world, and in Him there is no darkness.

When we think about the table of showbread, Jesus Christ himself is the bread from heaven. He's the bread of life, and those who trust in this Jesus and this Jesus alone, they have eternal life. That table, that altar of incense. Beloved, our prayers, that when the incense is burned and the prayers rise up, or the symbol of prayers rising up to the Lord, the only reason our prayers can be risen to the Father is because Jesus Christ is the one who intercedes for us. And beloved, as He goes into the Holy of Holy, behind that curtain that none of these priests could go in except the high priest, and only once a year when He goes in, The Levitical priesthood would go in and come out, and the veil would remain.

But when Jesus goes in, that veil is torn from top to bottom. Why? Because the repetition comes to an end. The substance is here. The sum of the shadow, what the shadows were pointing to, the types were pointing to, the anti-type, the substance, the reality that is found in Jesus Christ.

His sacrifice is once and for all. And when He offers that sacrifice on behalf of His people as a substitute, which is all these sacrifices that we see are all pointing towards Him, then there is no more need for animal sacrifice. Because Jesus Christ is our great high priest. And that is the only sacrifice that God accepts. So how do we come to the Father?

Beloved, we can only come to the Father through this Jesus. There is no other way. And because the anti-type has come, The old has gone. There is no need for a human-made tabernacle. There's no need for a man-made temple later on as we see in the land of Jerusalem.

How come? Why? Why is that the case? Where will God dwell? You may ask.

I'm going to leave the last word to the Apostle Paul. Ephesians chapter 2 verse 19. Speaking to the Ephesian Christians, listen to what he says. So then, You are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. It is Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, and this is the point, in whom, that's in Christ, the whole structure.

being joined together grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you are also being built together into the dwelling place of God by the Spirit. Praise God. Those who are found in this Jesus, those who are found and have put their trust in Jesus Christ, beloved, they are the ones who dwell with God and God dwells in them. Let's pray.