SERIES: 02 Exodus - 2011
MESSAGE: Exodus 30-31
SPEAKER: Skip Heitzig
SCRIPTURE: Exodus 30-31

MESSAGE SUMMARY
It is easier for us to grasp and remember what we see and experience. For example, if you watch a chef on television prepare a cake, or better yet if you actually get out the ingredients, bake it yourself, and eat it, you have a greater appreciation for the food than if you just read a recipe. The tabernacle is God's picture of Christ, His ministry, and our home in heaven. Let's continue our careful study of Exodus, beginning in chapter 30, and uncover the significant truths revealed in the furnishings of the tabernacle.

DETAILED NOTES

  1. Introduction
    1. Tabernacle is God's picture of Jesus Christ
      1. The acting out of His ministry in the Old Testament
      2. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God… And the Word became flesh and dwelt [tabernacle] among us," (John 1:1; John 1:14)
      3. The Courtyard
        1. 150' long, narrow – "Narrow is the gate" (Matthew 7:14)
        2. One gate to enter – "I am the door." (John 10:9)
      4. The Bronze Altar
        1. Approach God through sacrifice
        2. Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." (John 14:6)
      5. Laver
        1. Cleansing
        2. "Washing of water by the word," (Ephesians 5:26)
      6. Table of Showbread – "And Jesus said to them, 'I am the bread of life.'" (John 6:35)
      7. Lampstand (Candelabra)
        1. "Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, 'I am the light of the world.'" (John 8:12)
        2. One stem, six branches – "I am the vine, you are the branches." (John 15:5)
      8. The Veil
        1. Separated the people from God; no access for the people
        2. When Jesus died, split from top to bottom; total access
      9. Jesus fulfills the meaning of the tabernacle
      10. The two Altars
        1. Outer Altar (Bronze Altar)
          1. Made of bronze
          2. Approach by sacrifice
          3. You must pass through the first altar to get to the second - Unless your sins have been atoned for,  you cannot approach God
          4. Sin hinders fellowship with God
            1. We confess our sin and fellowship is restored
            2. "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9)
            3. While we are always children of God, we don't always enjoy intimacy with Him
          5. Signifies the work Christ did on the earth
        2. Inner Altar (Altar of Incense)
          1. Made of wood, covered with gold
          2. Approach God in worship
          3. Signifies the work Christ does for us in heaven
          4. "Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them." (Hebrews 7:25)
  2. Exodus 30
    1. Altar of Incense
      1. Size and location
        1. 18" x 18" x 36"
        2. In front of the veil
        3. Rings and poles to carry it
      2. Morning and evening devotion (vv. 7,8)
      3. All senses engaged in the tabernacle ­– sense of smell
        1. Roasted lamb at the Bronze altar
        2. Incense
      4. Only incense burned here
        1. No sacrifice
        2. Only an exact, God-given recipe
        3. The worship that God accepts is the worship that God prescribes
          1. Cannot "wing it"
          2. Not what man invents
          3. "God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." (John 4:24)
          4. Not all ways lead to God
          5. I.e., going to the doctor: go home and follow your heart
          6. "There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death." (Proverbs 14:12)
    2. Atonement
      1. At one ment: makes you "at one" with God
      2. Literally, to cover: כִּפֻּרִים; kippur - to cover
      3. Yom Kippur
        1. Day of Atonement
        2. Sin was covered with blood
          1. Horns of the Altar of Incense
          2. Mercy Seat
    3. Incense: a symbol of the prayers of God's people
      1. Like the smell of sweet incense in God's nostrils
      2. "Let my prayer be set before You as incense, the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice." (Psalm 141:2)
      3. Zacharias in the temple  (See Luke 1)
      4. "Then another angel, having a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. 4 And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, ascended before God from the angel's hand." (Revelation 8:3-4)
        1. The tabernacle is a picture of Christ
        2. The tabernacle is also a picture of heaven
    4. Personal Involvement
      1. The census
        1. God numbered the people: "Take a census of all the congregation of the children of Israel," (Numbers 1:2)
        2. Counting people is a privilege for God
          1. Don't do it unless there is a direct command
          2. It is God's prerogative
          3. Trust in the Lord instead of the number of people
      2. The temple tax
        1. 1/2 shekel (1/5 oz. of Silver = $8.25 today)
        2. Everyone 20 years old and up
          1. Age to join the military
          2. Age of accountability in the wilderness
        3. Basis for the annual upkeep of the temple
        4. Jesus paid the temple tax; coin in fish's mouth (See Matthew 17:24-27)
      3. Invest the whole self in the work of God
        1. Time
        2. Talent
        3. Treasure
    5. Bronze Laver: Wash Basin
      1. Ceremonial washing
      2. No dimensions given here (by the time of Solomon's temple it had become a several-thousand gallon laver, called the Molten Sea [See 1 Kings 7])
      3. Bronze came from women's bronze mirrors: God values purity over vanity
      4. Wash between each of the sacrifices: regular cleansing
        1. We become polluted by the world
        2. Jesus washed the feet of His disciples: "Then He came to Simon Peter. And Peter said to Him, Lord, are You washing my feet?'  Jesus answered and said to him, 'What I am doing you do not understand now, but you will know after this.' Peter said to Him, 'You shall never wash my feet!' Jesus answered him, 'If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.' Simon Peter said to Him, 'Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head!'  Jesus said to him, 'He who is bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you.' For He knew who would betray Him; therefore He said, 'You are not all clean.'" (John 13:6-11)
        3. We are already clean, but we need a daily cleansing
        4. "Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; nor His ear heavy, that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear." (Isaiah 59:1-2)
    6. The tabernacle: a picture of heaven
      1. The throne of God; not the ark
      2. Four living creatures; not two model cherubim
      3. Altar
      4. 7 lampstands
      5. Laver: not liquid but solid
        1. "Before the throne there was a sea of glass, like crystal." (Revelation 4:6)
        2. No need for cleansing in heaven
        3. We stand on the finished work of Christ
    7. The anointing oil
      1. Myrrh: sap; Cassia green tree with yellow flowers and aromatic bark (like buttered popcorn)
      2. Forbidden for personal use
        1. No counterfeit anointing
        2. No imitation of the Spirit's work; (like Simon the magician in Acts 8)
    8. Recipe for Incense
      1. Emissions form plants which burn readily
        1. Stacte: resin droplets
        2. Onycha: mollusk scent
        3. Galbanum: aromatic gum resin
        4. Frankincense :sap from Boswelia tree
      2. Holy
        1. Worship is not meant for personal pleasure
        2. Worship not meant to appeal to the natural man
        3. "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek." (Romans 1:16)
  3. Exodus 31
    1. Bezalel - the artist
      1. Natural ability
      2. Supernatural capability
      3. What do you like to do? What do you want to do for God's glory? "Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart." (Psalm 37:4-5)
      4. Called by name
        1. Personal calling
        2. Names of father and grandfather also given
          1. Signifies he was chosen before he was born
          2. "Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world," (Ephesians 1:4)
      5. Jewish tradition: God never gives the gift unless there is already natural endowment in that skill
      6. He gives the desire and the aptitude
      7. Art, jewelry, carpentry: "Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith;" (Romans 12:6)
      8. God's callings are His enabling
        1. "I have called" (v. 2)
        2. "I have filled" (v. 3)
        3. "I, indeed I, have appointed" (v. 6)
    2. Team work: work together to glorify God
      1. Like a flight: pilot, stewardess, air-traffic controller, ground crew, security
      2. At a church: pastors, assistant pastors, ushers, etc.
    3. Signs of Covenants
      1. Rainbow: Noahic
      2. Circumcision: Abrahamic
      3. Sabbath: Mosaic
        1. Mentioned in Exodus 16 and Exodus 20
        2. Possibly mentioned here so workers know they are not exempt
      4. "For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope." (Romans 15:4)

 

Hebrew terms: כִּפֻּרִים; kippur - to cover
Cross References: Numbers 1:2; 1 Kings 7; Psalm 37:4-5; Psalm 141:2; Proverbs 14:12; Isaiah 59:1-2; Matthew 7:14; Matthew 17:24-27; Luke 1; John 1:1; John 1:14; John 4:24; John 6:35; John 8:12; John 10:9; John 13:6-11; John 14:6; John 15:5; Acts 8; Romans 1:16; Romans 12:6; Romans 15:4; Ephesians 1:4; Ephesians 5:26; Hebrews 7:25; 1 John 1:9; Revelation 4:6; Revelation 8:3-4;

Topic: The tabernacle

Keywords: Tabernacle, Altar of Incense, Bronze Laver, Bezalel, art, incense, heaven


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