We looked at the instructions concerning the tabernacle, just dealt with that in sort of an overview fashion. So from 25 to 31, we took most of that material in terms of an overview and we'll do the same thing tonight. So basically we left off at the end of chapter 34. Chapter 35, verse 1 to the end of the book deals with the construction. And so basically the book of Exodus breaks down to three simple sections. First, there is deliverance. So in chapters 1 to 18, you have God deliver his people out of bondage from Egypt. And then you have the second section, which is 19 to 24, which is demand. God gives his law. to the children of Israel. And then chapters 25 to 40 deal with dwelling. So you've got deliverance, you've got demand, and then you've got dwelling. And much of the book deals with dwelling. So God had purpose to be with his people. And so he gives this instruction concerning the tabernacle in chapters 25 to 31. There's that interruption with the sort of anti-tabernacle conduct of the children of Israel in terms of their idolatry in chapter 32. We get back on track in chapter 35. And then the tabernacle is finished or completed here in chapter 39. And then we have it erected. It's set up and in place for worship according to chapter 40. So I'll read the chapter. And then, as I said, we'll do a bit of an overview of the preceding chapters. So then the Lord spoke to Moses saying, on the first day of the first month you shall set up the tabernacle of the tent of meeting. You shall put in it the ark of the testimony and partition off the ark with the veil. You shall bring in the table and arrange the things that are to be set in order on it. And you shall bring in the lampstand and light its lamps. You shall also set the altar of gold for the incense before the ark of the testimony and put up the screen for the door of the tabernacle. Then you shall set the altar of the burnt offering before the door of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting, and you shall set the laver between the tabernacle of meeting and the altar, and put water in it. You shall set up the court all around, and hang up the screen at the court gate. And you shall take the anointing oil and anoint the tabernacle and all that is in it, and you shall hallow it and all its utensils, and it shall be holy. You shall anoint the altar of the burnt offering and all its utensils and consecrate the altar. The altar shall be most holy, and you shall anoint the laver and its base, and consecrate it. Then you shall bring Aaron and his sons to the door of the tabernacle of meeting, and wash them with water. You shall put the holy garments on Aaron, and anoint him, and consecrate him, that he may minister to me as priest. and you shall bring his sons and clothe them with tunics. You shall anoint them as you anointed their father, that they may minister to me as priests, for their anointing shall surely be an everlasting priesthood throughout their generations." Thus Moses did according to all that the Lord had commanded him, so he did. And it came to pass in the first month of the second year, on the first day of the month, that the tabernacle was raised up. So Moses raised up the tabernacle, fastened its sockets, set up its boards, put in its bars, and raised up its pillars. And he spread out the tent over the tabernacle, and put the covering of the tent on top of it, as the Lord had commanded Moses. He took the testimony and put it into the ark, inserted the poles through the rings of the ark, and put the mercy seat on top of the ark. And he brought the ark into the tabernacle, hung up the veil of the covering, and partitioned off the ark of the testimony, as the Lord had commanded Moses. He put the table in the tabernacle of meeting, on the north side of the tabernacle, outside the veil. And he set the bread in order upon it before the Lord, as the Lord had commanded Moses. He put the lampstand in the tabernacle of meeting, across from the table, on the south side of the tabernacle. And he lit the lamps before the Lord, as the Lord had commanded Moses. He put the gold altar in the Tabernacle of Meeting in front of the veil, and he burned sweet incense on it, as the Lord had commanded Moses. He hung up the screen at the door of the Tabernacle, and he put the altar of burnt offering before the door of the Tabernacle of the Tent of Meeting, and offered upon it the burnt offering and the grain offering, as the Lord had commanded Moses. He set the laver between the tabernacle of meeting and the altar, and put water there for washing. And Moses, Aaron, and his sons would wash their hands and their feet with water from it. Whenever they went into the tabernacle of meeting, and when they came near the altar, they washed, as the Lord had commanded Moses. And he raised up the court all around the tabernacle and the altar, and hung up the screen of the court gate. So Moses finished the work. Then the cloud covered the tabernacle of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter the tabernacle of meeting, because the cloud rested above it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. Whenever the cloud was taken up from above the tabernacle, the children of Israel would go onward in all their journeys. But if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not journey till the day that it was taken up. For the cloud of the Lord was above the tabernacle by day, and fire was over it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel throughout all their journeys. Amen. Well, as we have considered in this particular book, I emphasize that last section as dwelling. So chapters 25 to 40. Now that's a theme not only in the book of Exodus, but it's a theme replete throughout scripture. When you go to the book of Genesis, specifically the Garden of Eden, and we look at Adam's task in the garden, typically we interpret it in an agrarian fashion. He was a farmer, he was given a task to expand or to cultivate and deal with the garden. But we should view Eden as a sanctuary. It is a temple. It is a place where God met with his people. And Adam's task primarily was priestly. He was given that task to meet with God and to mediate the blessings of God to creation. He was to extend or expand that garden sanctuary to encompass the earth. Now we know he forfeited that by his sin and fall away from God. So when we get here now to the book of Exodus, we see that God calls for the children of Israel to make a tabernacle. Tabernacle simply means dwelling, dwelling place. You've got the tabernacle, which is temporary, while the children of Israel wander in the wilderness until they get to their final destination in the land of promise. Now when they get to their destination in the land of promise, then comes the instruction concerning the temple. So the tabernacle was a mobile. You can see they were able to put it up in a day. They were able to take it down so that when they traveled they had access to that or God was with that. So they put that tabernacle up wherever they would be and then they would take it down when they would embark on their travels. So when they get back or get established in the land, and you see this emphasized in 2 Samuel chapter 7 when David wants to build a house for God. God says, no it's not going to be you David, it's going to be your son Solomon. And essentially Solomon is the one who builds the temple when they have stability in the land. And then as we move forward in redemptive history, we see they forfeit that. We see that ultimately the Babylonians sacked the southern kingdom in the 6th century BC. They sacrificed that. They reaped the benefit, or the curses rather, of the covenant when they had sinned against God. And yet, when we come to the New Testament, we see this theme of tabernacle or temple or dwelling. The Word became flesh and did what? He tabernacled among us. And in the New Covenant, we see this high emphasis on access or presence to the very location of God. We see it in Ephesians 2, 18 and 22. The church comes to the Father through the Son in and through the power of the Holy Spirit. And in the last book of the Bible, we see this new Jerusalem descend out of heaven. Well, it's described in a manner of temple. It's described in the manner of a place where God and his people meet together. So this theme or this idea of the dwelling of God with his people, it's not an afterthought. That's one of the primary emphases that we find all throughout scripture. And that's one of the things that the Exodus, or the book of Exodus, describes for us in great detail. Now, as I said, there's a lot of material that we just sort of bypassed. There are Abler commentators on the specific furnishings within the tabernacle and all of the spiritual significance involved. I would suggest John Gill's commentary is very good. He's not too far off the beaten path. I think he does spiritualize quite a bit. but not quite perhaps as much as some others and other sort of reformed traditions. But for our time, I just want to give an overview of the chapters previous to this. Now, you'll notice when the temple or when the instructions are given for the tabernacle in chapters 25 to 31, the flow or the particulars differ from the actual construction. And I think this commentator, Stewart, makes a good observation. He says in chapters 25 to 31, the call for Israelites to bring as donations materials out of which the tabernacle and its furnishings can be made, followed by a description of the objects themselves in the order of their importance and holiness. I think that's the emphasis that you see when the instructions are given in terms of the building of the tabernacle. He says, that is moving from the most sacred, for instance, the ark, a direct representation of Yahweh and the place of his contact with his people, to the least sacred, which is the courtyard perimeter. He says in chapters 35 to 40, by contrast, the objects are described in the order they were actually constructed, an order dictated by common sense and necessity. So the same material is covered in terms of the instructions given and the actual execution of the plan and the building of the tabernacle and its several components. But in the giving of the instructions, as he says, the emphasis begins with the Ark of the Covenant and then we see it go out from there. When it comes to the actual building, it's a bit of a different story. Now, when we look at the last few chapters, you can go back to chapter 35. Basically, the section begins with the importance of the Sabbath in chapter 35, verses 1 to 3. I'm going to give you the overview now. Secondly, you have the offerings for the tabernacle in chapter 35, verses 4 to 29. Third, you've got the artisans for the work on the tabernacle in 3530 to 367. If you're not able to write all this down, you can email me and I will send you the notes if you're so inclined. Fourth, you've got the construction of the tabernacle proper, and that's 368 to 3931. And then fifth, you've got the garments for the priests in 39, I'm sorry, 391 to 31. And then you've got the completion of the work in 32 to 42. And then the assembly that we read here in chapter 40 in verses 1 to 33. And then you've got the glory of the Lord in the tabernacle in chapter 40, verses 34 to 38. So that's an overview of the several chapters. But let's look at a few of these things in a bit more detail. Look at the importance of the Sabbath in 35. So verses 1 to 3, then Moses gathered all the congregation of the children of Israel together and said to them, these are the words which the Lord has commanded you to do. Work shall be done for six days, but the seventh day shall be a holy day for you, a Sabbath of rest to the Lord. Whoever does any work on it shall be put to death. You shall kindle no fire throughout your dwellings on the Sabbath day. This is a pretty consistent law that is repeated several times. You see the giving of the law in the Ten Commandments in chapter 20. at verses 8 to 11. You see it repeated again in chapter 23 at verse 12, chapter 31 at verse 15, chapter 34 at verse 21, chapter 35 here at verse 2, you'll see it in Leviticus chapter 23, and then again in Deuteronomy 5 when the commandments, the 10 commandments are repeated. So, why the emphasis on Sabbath? I would suggest, first of all, it is the sign of the covenant. In chapter 31 of Exodus, verses 16 and 17, God says as much. The Sabbath was not the only aspect of their covenant, but it was good shorthand to demonstrate that agreement, or that covenantal arrangement between God and Israel. as well with reference to the occasion for worship. It seems appropriate and fitting in a block of data that's given in terms of instructions on the place of worship and then the actual building of that place of worship. It is a good reminder for the time of worship. Israel was regulated by a calendar. They were supposed to be a Sabbath-keeping people. And then also the warning concerning work. They're going to build the tabernacle. Well, don't violate the Sabbath command in the building of the tabernacle. You need to abide by this. You need to respect this aspect of the covenant. And you need to realize that God ultimately has given you Sabbath for your good. And when there is that cessation of labor, it's a time for refreshment, it's a time for rest in the presence of God Almighty, it's a time for worship, it's a time for rejuvenation. So then secondly, the offerings for the tabernacle. Remember in chapter 25, that's how it starts off. And the emphasis is upon the free will of the people. The emphasis is upon the cheerfulness of the people. You see that over and over again. Notice in chapter 35 at verse 5. Whoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it as an offering to the Lord. Again, this willingness is emphasized in verses 21 and 22. Then everyone came whose heart was stirred, and everyone whose spirit was willing. And they brought the Lord's offering for the work of the tabernacle of meeting, for all its service, and for the holy garments. They came, both men and women, as many as had a willing heart, and brought earrings and nose rings, rings and necklaces, all jewelry of gold. That is, every man who made an offering of gold to the Lord. And then again that's repeated in verse 29. The children of Israel brought a free will offering to the Lord. That same emphasis is in the New Testament. Yeah, there is an ought to, or rather a must-ness in terms of giving unto the Lord, but there's a get to-ness as well. It is a blessed privilege for the people of God to return back to God what he has entrusted to them, or given them stewardship over. And then notice the artisans for the work on the tabernacle. I think this really explodes the myth that has often attached itself to the Christian church, this sort of sacred-secular dichotomy. If you're a priest, or you're a pastor, or you're a missionary, or you have some sort of special gifting for the sacred aspect in terms of church service, you're held up on a pedestal. And all the rest of the people, all the rest of the rabble, they're just not as important. Well, notice that these men, these artisans, these craftsmen, were filled with the Spirit of God Almighty. Whatever the Lord gives you to do in terms of the extension of Christ's kingdom here on earth, it's a blessed thing. It's a good thing. It's a noble thing. You can't say, well, I'm not a pastor. I'm not a missionary. All I can do is this. Well, God has gifted his people to serve in a whole myriad of ways, and you see that. This whole idea of, if I can't be a pastor, I can't do anything. That's simply not biblical. It is simply not reflective of what scripture teaches. In fact, with reference to these men, again, notice in chapter 35, verse 30, Moses said to the children of Israel, See, the Lord has called by name, Bezalel, the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. And He has filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom and understanding, in knowledge and all manner of workmanship, to design artistic works, to work in gold and silver and bronze, in cutting jewels for setting, in carving wood, and to work in all manner of artistic workmanship. God doesn't want you to cheap out. God doesn't want you to get the guy who doesn't know how to swing a hammer. God is going to fill a man with the Spirit of God so that he has the knowledge and the wisdom and the capability to not only build but to teach others as well. To have other apprentices that he can educate and instruct so that they can function in the context of building this particular tabernacle. Notice in verse 34, he has put in his heart the ability to teach in him and Aholiab the son of Ahissamach of the tribe of Dan. He has filled them with skill to do all manner of work of the engraver and the designer and the tapestry maker. So God not only calls the people of Israel to do this task of building a tabernacle that is functional, but it also reflects who God is. When you get to the temple under Solomon, it's not only functional, but it's glorious. It is absolutely incredible. The amount of gold and silver that are used in terms of building that, it was to reflect the glory of God Almighty. This was a civilization or a people, not just the Israelites, but they would build temples to their gods. They would build temples and tabernacles to their gods. So are we going to put Yahweh in the worst? Put him in a hut? Are we going to give him what is truly honorable with reference to his greatness? So when we see this emphasis on craftsmanship and on ability, it reflects God's glory and it reflects the fact that He is a God of aesthetics, beauty, and those sorts of things honor Him and please Him. So it shouldn't surprise us that Bezalel and Aholiab are gifted artisans in whom the Lord had put wisdom and understanding. and then dropping down to the actual construction of the tabernacle. Just give you the heads. So the tabernacle proper in 36, 8 to 38. It's talked about in chapter 26, 1 to 37. You've got the Ark of the Testimony. Remember, that is the Ark of the Covenant where they deposited the two tablets. The one tablet represented Yahweh's covenant obligation, the other tablet represented Israel's covenant obligation. Again, this was a practice amongst the ancient Near Eastern peoples. You had covenant documents, you put them in sacred spaces for safekeeping as a testimony of the obligation that was between the God and between the people. And so the arc of the testimony functioned in that capacity. So 37, 1 to 9, it's spoken of in terms of instruction in 25, 10 to 22. Then you had the table of showbread. And essentially that indicated, again, it was a tabernacle, a dwelling place for God. God doesn't eat bread. God doesn't need candles. God doesn't need all those sorts of things, but when he comes, to call his children to make a dwelling place for him, he uses things that they know, he uses things that they understand, he uses things that bespeaks dwelling, that bespeaks a house, that bespeaks God's occupation in that particular place along with them. And then you have the gold lamp stand in chapter 37, verses 17 to 24. That's in chapter 25 by way of instruction. You have the altar of incense in 37, 25 to 29. That was spoken of in chapter 30. The bronze altar in chapter 38, 1 to 7. The bronze laver in chapter 38, verse 8. And then the court of the tabernacle in chapter 38, verses 9 to 31. Again, a lot of material, a lot of text, a lot of things in terms of, you know, we're just overviewing here. As I said, there's commentaries that go into every jot and tittle. I think it would cause us to probably never end the book of Exodus if we did it that way. So this is kind of my attempt to get us through to the end. And then there's probably going to be a break before we pick up on Leviticus. Leviticus is going to be a bit of a challenge. Certain chapters for sure, but it's probably going to be more of a thematic treatment, at least at the beginning. So we'll probably need a couple weeks to figure that out. But that doesn't mean we won't have Bible study. We will still have Bible study. It will just be other material. And then the garments for the priest, that's in chapter 39, verses 1 to 31. Now consider this. God is building, or God is having them build his house. dwelling. He's also having them get priests. Priests are those who mediate on behalf of the people to God. Now they already know that God is holy. They already know that they are sinful. So they already know why they need priests. Now, it's going to get more detailed when we turn over to the book of Leviticus in terms of priests and sacrifice and that legislation. But already they know, based on what happened in chapter 32, dancing around the golden calf, you know, the tablets being broken, signifying the rupture of the covenant. God has brought them back. He's restored them. But they need a way of access into the presence of this God. And in fact, the book of Exodus, as we'll see, ends on the emphasis of God's dwelling, but it's still not a meeting place. It's a dwelling place for God, the tabernacle, but it's not yet a meeting place. And that's the connection between Exodus and Leviticus, and we'll explore that as we move through the material. So you've got garments for the priests. And again, they were supposed to reflect the glory of God. They would wear those garments. They would be decked with that. regalia except for the day of atonement. Again, Leviticus chapter 16 is going to deal with that. They would take off all the garments except for the linen, the linen that they wore on their bodies. It was on that time alone that they would enter into the Holy of Holies in terms of the sacrifice of atonement for Israel, that one time out of the year. And then chapter 39, 32-42 is the completion of the work. You've got the obedience of Israel, and then you've got the work presented to Moses. So verses 33-41, they do, or they take all that they had built, they brought the tabernacle, according to 39-33, They brought the tabernacle to Moses, the tent, and all its furnishings, its clasps, its boards, its bars, its pillars, and its sockets. So everything that they had constructed under the supervision of Bezalel and Aholiab, it's been completed in accordance with the instruction. And that's one of the emphases that you'll find as you move through this section, especially in chapter 40. You see it in verse 16. You see it in verse 21. You see it in verse 23, verse 25, verse 27, verse 29, and verse 32. There is this obedience. Moses obeyed God. And what do we glean from that? Well, as people that adhere to what's called the regulative principle of worship, we see that in here. We're not free to develop our own thoughts on worship. Moses couldn't say, well, you know, the Lord said the table should go there, but I kind of have a hankering to put it over here. No, you're not supposed to be a thinker. You're not supposed to be an innovator. chapters 40 at the beginning you've got the assembly of the tabernacle again instructions concerning tabernacle and priesthood and you've got the compliance concerning tabernacle and priesthood and then you've got this theological summary and this theological summary in verse 33 connects us to the book of Genesis notice what it says in verse all around the tabernacle and the altar, and hung up the screen of the court gate. So Moses finished the work. If you go back to Genesis chapter 2, after the work of creation, we see something similar that God does. Chapter 2, the book of Genesis, thus the heavens and the earth, and all the hosts of them were finished. And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had done. blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it he rested from all his work which God had created and made." So the building of the tabernacle is completed, Moses is finished with it, and there's this musing over it. Same thing with the Garden Temple in Eden. God completes it, God rests from, with a complacency in terms of the approval or approbation of his work. So the Lord created all things, the Lord establishes Eden as a temple, and then the Lord finishes the work. I think this is a connection. Moses finished the work, reminds us of what God did after building Eden, building that sort of temple, garden temple. Now that brings us to the last section. We're gonna spend a good time here. The glory of the Lord in the tabernacle. So notice in verse 34, then the cloud covered the tabernacle immediately, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. Go back to chapter 25. Chapter 25, after the demand portion, we move into the dwelling portion. And in chapter 25, specifically at verse 8, you have something of a, sort of a key text in the book of Exodus. Notice in 25a, and let them make me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them. according to all that I show you, that is, the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furnishings, just so you shall make it." And then again in chapter 29, we see that emphasis in verses 45 and 46. Verse 45, I will dwell among the children of Israel and will be their God. and they shall know that I am the Lord their God, and brought them up out of the land of Egypt, that I may dwell among them. I am the Lord their God." You see that trajectory that does see parallel in New Covenant. God delivers us, not so we can lay around on our couch and enjoy the blessings that he's given. and that we can have communion with him. He saves us so that he can dwell among us, and we have access to his presence through our Lord Jesus Christ. And then again in chapter 30, at verse 6, and you shall put it before the veil that is before the ark of the testimony, before the mercy seat that is over the testimony, where I will meet with you. Now, I should make this qualification that when God dwells in the tabernacle, that is not doesn't mean that he's nowhere else. Theologians speak of God's omnipresence, we know what that means, he's everywhere present, or his immensity, that means he fills all things. So when it talks about the glory of the Lord filling the tabernacle, it is a metaphor among the people of God. So it's not that God leaves heaven and is now presently local in this place. In fact, turn to 1 Kings chapter 8 where you see something parallel to this. 1 Kings chapter 8, this is the dedication of the temple under Solomon. and then the art is brought to the temple, and then Solomon dedicates this temple to the Lord. You notice 1 Kings 8, 27. But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain you, how much less this temple which I have built. So the theologians in Israel, which should have been all of them, but some of them didn't probably care, but the remnant and people like Solomon understood at that particular time. Now, the worshipers of Danon would have thought that. The worshipers of Molech would have thought that. But not the worshipers of Yahweh. They understood that God is transcendent. That means he's removed from the creation. He's also imminent. That means he's present with his creation. But he's not locally present. In one spot, and then he moves to another spot. So Solomon recognizes this. He says, yet regard the prayer of your servant in his supplication, O Lord my God, and listen to the cry and the prayer which your servant is praying before you today, that your eyes may be open toward this temple night and day, toward the place of which you said, my name shall be there, that you may hear the prayer which your servant makes toward this place. So what we have in tabernacle and temple of movement from heaven, now God's gonna come down and hang out in the tabernacle for a while, then he's gonna go back to heaven. Now God never ceases being God. God is always omnipresent, God is always immense. Now when we come back to chapter 40, verse 34, basically what this statement is, it's a statement of approbation, it's approval. The things are going according to plan. Here's the instructions. For the tabernacle, they successfully carried out those instructions, and now the glory cloud fills this tabernacle. Stuart makes the observation, the cloud was none other than that which first appeared in chapter 13, 21 to 22, and guided and protected the Israelites thereafter in the wilderness as described in chapter 14, and then again in chapter 16. It was the same cloud the Israelites had seen atop Mount Sinai since their arrival at the mountain, and the same cloud that indicated the presence of Yahweh at the entrance to the little tent of meeting that Moses had set up outside the camp. That was in chapter 33, verses 9 to 10. Again, it's the representation or an emblem or a symbol of God's presence. You see the same thing when you go to 1 Peter, if we went back there, verse 11, the cloud fills. They call it the shekinah. covers the tabernacle, the cloud represents the presence of God, but then notice that the book ends on a note of tension. Notice in verse 35, Moses was not able to enter the tabernacle of meeting because the cloud rested above it and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. on the top of the mountain. He was invited and he was bidden to come and he went. So in chapter 19 Moses ascends to Sinai, chapter 24 Moses ascends to Sinai, and then again in chapter 34 he ascends to Sinai. And there he communes with God in such a way that in chapter 34, when he comes down from the mountain, his face is shining so brightly that the children of Israel, including Aaron, can't even look upon him. He's gotta veil his face when he stands around him. So what's happening here? Moses was not able to enter the tabernacle of Eden because the cloud rested above it and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. Well, the present inability. So one commentator, Stuart, makes the suggestion that the fact that this is now God's dwelling. Let's just say I was a contractor and I built your house. If I completed your house, I give you the keys to your house. I don't get to come into the kitchen and get a pop or go make coffee and have a piece of cake. It's not my house. This is God's house. So Moses is not allowed in the house. I kind of get that, but I think there's a better explanation. I think that verse 35 connects to the book of Leviticus, and verses 36 to 38 connect to the book of Numbers. Let's just drop down to verses 36 to 38 for a moment, then we'll get back to verse 35. Notice, whenever the cloud was taken up from above the tabernacle, the children of Israel would go onward in all their journeys. But if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not journey till the day that it was taken up. For the cloud of the Lord was above the tabernacle by day, and fire was over it by night in the sight of all the house of Israel throughout all their journeys. So we've already alluded to previous instances of God's presence in leading Israel. So chapter 13, chapter 14, chapter 16. But when you get to the book of Numbers, They actually depart from Sinai at 10, 11. So chapter 10, verse 11, they leave Sinai. They're there for, I think the time is about 11 months. Let me just see here. Where is it? No, that's not it. Yeah, I think it's, yeah, 11 months total. So from 19, Exodus 19 to Numbers 10, they're at Sinai. But whenever they had any movement, they would have this pillar of cloud and this fire to lead them and direct them. And so you'll see that later in the book of Numbers. But back to verse 35 and its connection with Leviticus. So now we've got God dwelling in the midst of Israel. But verse 35 tells us that Moses can't meet with God. So the dwelling place has not yet become a meeting place. That's a tension. That's an issue. That's a problem. That sets the stage for the book of Leviticus. If you look at Leviticus chapter one, verse one, it says, now the Lord called to Moses and spoke to him from the tabernacle of meeting. So God is there and God addresses Moses and he gives him specific legislation concerning sacrifice. Now if you look at chapter nine, you'll see that the glowing place becomes the meeting place. Chapter 9, specifically at verse 22. Then Aaron lifted his hand toward the people, blessed them, and came down from offering the sin offering, the burnt offering, and peace offerings. And Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle of meeting and came out and blessed the people. Then the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people, and fire came out from before the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the fat on the altar. When all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces. So here's what I suspect is going on. So in Exodus, they build the house of God. It's a dwelling place. Moses tries to go in, but he can't because of the glory cloud. Because of the fact that he's not been bidden. He's not been invited. He has not been called by Yahweh into that sacred place. Rather, Yahweh calls to him from that sacred place and gives him detailed instructions in chapters 1 to 8 in the book of Leviticus on sacrifice. So the message is simple. If you, sinful man, want to enter into the presence of a holy God, you must do so through what? You don't just wander into the meeting place of God. You don't just get bidden in. You don't just get invited. You don't get to go to the kitchen and take out a piece of chicken from the fridge. You have to go through a particular structure, a system, and you have to approach God in the manner that is consistent with His holiness. So the book of Leviticus addresses the tension at the end of the book of Exodus. Our holy God is accessible. there is a condition. And that condition is a bloody knife and a smoking altar. That condition is atonement. That condition is that that God must be appeased through sacrifice by the priesthood. So notice the flow, then, in Leviticus 9. So you've got this statement. They offer up the sacrifices properly. They're given the detailed legislation from chapters 1 to 7, primarily, chapters 8 and 9. Chapter 9, verses 22 to 24, it's successful. They obey. They do what they're supposed to do. They now have access into the presence of God Most High in the tabernacle. So the dwelling place has become a meeting place. Now, notice in verse 1 of chapter 10 that Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it, put incense on it, and offered profane fire before the Lord, which he had not commanded them. Brethren, if you ever doubt the sinfulness or the foolishness of man, may I suggest you just read the Bible and probably keep an eye on your own heart? Detailed legislation on how to approach Yahweh, an actual successful attempt on approaching Yahweh, and then these two offer up profane fire before the Lord at the end of verse 3, which He had not commanded them. Now notice, just like fire came out from before the Lord in chapter 9, but there it consumed the burned offering, here fire comes out from the Lord and devoured them. And they died before the Lord. And Moses said to Aaron, this is what the Lord spoke, saying, by those who come near me, I must be regarded as holy. And before all the people, I must be glorified. So at the end of Exodus, in chapter God speaks to him from the tabernacle to prepare not only Moses and Aaron, but the entirety of Israel. And much of the legislation in the book of Leviticus is on how to maintain not only forgiveness of sin for this approach to God, but also ceremonial cleanliness. There's a lot of law that the book of Leviticus is going to go through in terms of being able to relate to God and to one another. In fact, look at Leviticus chapter 16. Leviticus 16, I mentioned earlier, this is the day of atonement. And this is pretty much the central, I mean, literally, theologically, thematically, Leviticus 16 is central to the book of Leviticus. Some would argue that Leviticus 16 is central to the entirety of the Pentateuch. It is the day of atonement. But notice in verse one, now the Lord spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they offered profane fire before the Lord and died." You see, this is the occasion for the introduction of the legislation concerning the Day of Atonement. The wrath of God must be appeased. The wrath of God must be dealt with. You don't wander into the presence of a holy God in all your sin and depravity. You must be clamped down. you must be purified, and in this instance it would be the legislation on the Day of Atonement. So going back to the Book of Exodus in chapter 40, the glory of the Lord fills the tabernacle. Moses himself, who is the holiest in the group, I mean let's not Not saying, he's obviously the holiest one, he's the godliest one, he's the most faithful one, he is the one who has had intimacy with Yahweh, but Moses was not able to enter the tabernacle of meeting because the cloud rested above him. We get the legislation concerning the sacrifices, the end of chapter nine in Leviticus, we see the offering up of the sacrifices, and then we see that access granted to Moses and to Herod to go into the midst of the tabernacle. So Leviticus is a vital component in terms of the Pentateuch relative to how does sinful man enter into the presence of a holy God. So that's the conclusion in terms of exposition. Just a couple of thoughts, and then I'll close. And if anybody has any questions, we can deal with that. First, the recurring emphasis on the regular principle of worship. Again, don't miss this. In our day and age, in the New Covenant, we think it's a free-for-all. We think that we can do whatever we want in the Church of God. I don't mean we specifically. I don't, again, think we do everything right, but I think we at least know there's a pattern as to what we are supposed to be pursuing in terms of doing things right. But in much of evangelicalism, sometimes even in the Reform world, you see strange fires. This is where that language comes from. Nadab and Abiod in Leviticus chapter 10, they offered up profane fire or strange fire. What do we make of the new covenant church that introduces all manner of strange things in the public worship of God? It ought not to be the case that we do anything other than pray the word preach the Word, read the Word, sing the Word, speak the Word, be about those things that God has commanded in New Covenant worship. Over and over and over again, they did as the Lord had commanded them. Why do we think in the New Covenant that doesn't apply to us? We can innovate, we can create, we can introduce all kinds of profane fire and just throw it up to God, and of course He'll bless us, So there are regulations concerning the approach to God and worship of God. Another passage that speaks to this in the New Covenant setting is Hebrews chapter 12. Hebrews chapter 12. The apostle says, see that you do not refuse him who speaks. 12.5. For if they did not escape who refused him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from him who speaks from heaven. whose voice then shook the earth, but now he is promising, yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also heaven. Now this yet once more indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain. Then he says, therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear, for our God is a consuming fire. We don't have an Exodus 25 to 40. We don't have detailed legislation on how to build the tabernacle, on how to function in terms of priesthood and sacrifice. But we have the same God who commands us in the new covenant how we're to approach Him. And when Paul says here, let us have grace by which we may serve God acceptably, that acceptability is not only on the part of the worshiper, It's on the part of the worshipped. Who gets to define what acceptable worship is? Sinful wretches like us that would prefer a Metallica-type band in our Sunday morning services, or the God who is absolutely holy and glorious and wondrous? Acceptable worship is defined by God, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear, And intriguingly, the Apostle cites a verse that's in Deuteronomy 4.24. For our God is a consuming fire. Positive law in the Old Covenant dictated the way of approach in terms of worship. Positive law in the New Covenant dictates the way of approach in terms of worship. That differs. Again, no sacrifice, no central sacrifice. but the same sorts of things apply in the new covenant. The overarching principle is our God is a consuming fire. If you're a nabab and a badu and you offer up profane fire to the Lord, God may send fire out and kill you. What happens in our day when people offer up profane... I mean, talk about the long-suffering of God. If I was God, And I was the author of the New Covenant. And I was the one who said, this is the way you worship. And I saw some of these guys doing the things they did. I mean, come on. Repelling pastors and, you know, the motorcycle pastors. And Isaac always says, I need to update my repertoire. When I was younger, it was puppets, ponies, and programs that Mark Crowe feigned fire. If it was only that tame nowadays, again, we've got pastors who repel that. The point is, we engage in acceptable worship, and that acceptable worship is defined by God. As well, please appreciate the connection with Leviticus. You see, Exodus and Leviticus underscore the absolute holiness of God, the comprehensive sinfulness of man, and the necessity of blood atonement for us to enter into the presence of God. To go from a dwelling place of God to a meeting place with God requires blood sacrifice. Thirdly, the typological significance of the tabernacle. I'm just going to quote Gilead. I think he's bang on. This tabernacle was an emblem of Christ, the brightness of his father's glory, dwelling in and filling the tabernacle of the human nature, where the Godhead, the Shekinah, the divine majesty, dwells bodily. Beautiful. So we've got the typology involved in the tabernacle and temple pointing us forward to the Lord Jesus Christ. Remember Jesus in John 2 destroyed this temple, and in three days I will build it again. Dave isn't being subversive against the temple. He's simply saying the temple stood to point to Jesus. He's the reality behind the temple. We don't go backwards in redemptive history vis-a-vis, say, for instance, Christ is the purpose for which the temple was initially built. Christ has come. That means no going back in the Testament history, building physical structures and waiting for Jesus to come again. And then finally, we need to appreciate the goodness of God in the book of Exodus as a whole. And I remember quoting Davis. You probably remember this as well. He mentions the God of 3-5 and 19-21 is also the God of 25-8. So in 3.5, he reveals himself in the burning bush. Doesn't mean it's always a burning bush. It's a theophany, a manifestation of God. And 19.21, he reveals himself from Mount Sinai. So the God of 3.5 and 19.21 is also the God of 25.8. I said that is one of those passages that's kind of primary in the Book of Exodus. It's the sanctuary and not mulling with his people. He says, that is, the God of the bush, who will rescue his people from slavery, and the God of the hill, who declares to his people his law, is also the God of the tent, who dwells in the midst of his people, with his tent among their tents. Indeed, the climax of the book of Exodus is not at the sea, chapter 14, nor on the mountain, chapter 19, but in the tent, chapters 25 and following. The pinnacle of Exodus is Well, I will pray and then if there's any questions on that, then we'll deal with that. Father in heaven, we thank you for this book of Exodus. We thank you for all that it contains concerning your glory and your majesty and your power. We see it in the redemption of your people out of Egypt. We see it in the glory of the law given at Sinai. And we see it in that blessed, wonderful emphasis in your intimacy with your people. You are our God and we are your people and we see that fleshed out in this book so beautifully. We thank you for the new covenant. We thank you for the Lord Jesus Christ, the word who became flesh and dwelt among us. We thank you that in him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of your grace. And we praise you for the access that we have to the father through the son in the spirit. And we pray in Jesus' name, amen. It feels good anticlimactic to do that many chapters sort of that quick, but again, we've been here for a long time. I just don't think I'm competent enough to go through every job in the middle, so. Any questions or comments on any of that? Yes, sir. So, and you were just right about the blood of goats, and I guess members of Hoisin, but so why is it that Well, I would suggest there's a couple of reasons. First, typologically, those things point to Jesus. So I mention it often in the preaching on John. Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. So Israel in the Old Covenant is being taught something concerning Messiah when they bring these bulls and goats, and they come to the tabernacle, and they cut the throat, and they hand it over to the priest. They're being tutored. They're learning. As well, there's an outward sort of, the old covenant, there was an external sort of connection to the community. And in order to maintain cleanliness, in order to maintain access to the tabernacle, there needed to be those certain blood rites that were engaged in. So it was typological pointing to Jesus and the redemption through Messiah. But it was also practical in terms of the old covenant situation, so that they could maintain that connection to the people, that connection to God. So, as I said, when we go through Leviticus, we'll see that. You'll see not only blood rites for access to, you know, offering up sacrifice and that sort of thing, but again, just to maintain your connection to God and the people. And it was, you know, sort of a system that was super regulated and highly detail-oriented because it was a means to sort of keep the people in check. It was to keep them from going to Baal and going to Asherah and going to Moloch and going to the gods around them. So it was a very regulated covenant. I mean, if you compare covenants old and new, The new doesn't have, like I said, 25 to 40 in terms of how you get up on Sunday and go to church. I mean, it dealt with the food. It dealt with clothes. It dealt with everything. So that the people would be kept in check, not compromise their status as covenant citizens by going after the other gods, but as well maintaining the nation so that the seed to Christ, or the seed to God, which is Christ. You get to Ezra and Nehemiah, and they marry pagans. And God calls them, or the reformers do, but God tells them to put away those pagans. Well, it's not based on ethnicity. It wasn't an ethnic issue. It was a spiritual issue. If you go out and marry pagans, you're going to compromise the seed, and we're not going to get our Messiah. So the old covenant was heavy on detail, heavy on legislation, very restrictive, so that the people could be kept in check. Anyone else? No? Sophia? Okay. You just like the blood of the goat in his mother's milk, right? Alright, well we will have theater next Wednesday. It probably won't be on Leviticus 1, so I'll probably do a free series on something until we get into Leviticus.