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Exodus
26
December 29, 2004
Reading through
the Bible in one Year: Revelation 18-22
Weekly Memory
Verse: Hebrews 13:8
Good Evening
Brothers and Sisters,
Exodus 26 (NASB95)
1 “Moreover you shall make the tabernacle with ten curtains of
fine twisted linen and blue and purple and scarlet material; you
shall make them with cherubim, the work of a skillful workman. 2
“The length of each curtain shall be twenty-eight cubits, and the width of
each curtain four cubits; all the curtains shall have the same measurements.
3 “Five curtains shall be joined to one another, and the other
five curtains shall be joined to one another. 4 “You
shall make loops of blue on the edge of the outermost curtain in the
first set, and likewise you shall make them on the edge of the
curtain that is outermost in the second set. 5 “You shall make
fifty loops in the one curtain, and you shall make fifty loops on the edge
of the curtain that is in the second set; the loops shall be opposite each
other. 6 “You shall make fifty clasps of gold, and join the
curtains to one another with the clasps so that the tabernacle will be a
unit. 7 “Then you shall make curtains of goats’ hair for a
tent over the tabernacle; you shall make eleven curtains in all. 8
“The length of each curtain shall be thirty cubits, and the
width of each curtain four cubits; the eleven curtains shall have the same
measurements. 9 “You shall join five curtains by themselves and
the other six curtains by themselves, and you shall double over the
sixth curtain at the front of the tent. 10 “You shall make fifty
loops on the edge of the curtain that is outermost in the first set,
and fifty loops on the edge of the curtain that is outermost in the
second set. 11 “You shall make fifty clasps of bronze, and you
shall put the clasps into the loops and join the tent together so that it
will be a unit. 12 “The overlapping part that is left over in the
curtains of the tent, the half curtain that is left over, shall lap over the
back of the tabernacle. 13 “The cubit on one side and the cubit
on the other, of what is left over in the length of the curtains of the
tent, shall lap over the sides of the tabernacle on one side and on the
other, to cover it. 14 “You shall make a covering for the tent of
rams’ skins dyed red and a covering of porpoise skins above. 15
“Then you shall make the boards for the tabernacle of acacia wood, standing
upright. 16 “Ten cubits shall be the length of each board
and one and a half cubits the width of each board. 17 “There
shall be two tenons for each board, fitted to one another; thus you
shall do for all the boards of the tabernacle. 18 “You shall make
the boards for the tabernacle: twenty boards for the south side. 19
“You shall make forty sockets of silver under the twenty boards, two
sockets under one board for its two tenons and two sockets under another
board for its two tenons; 20 and for the second side of the
tabernacle, on the north side, twenty boards, 21 and their forty
sockets of silver; two sockets under one board and two sockets under another
board. 22 “For the rear of the tabernacle, to the west, you shall
make six boards. 23 “You shall make two boards for the corners of
the tabernacle at the rear. 24 “They shall be double beneath, and
together they shall be complete to its top to the first ring; thus it shall
be with both of them: they shall form the two corners. 25 “There
shall be eight boards with their sockets of silver, sixteen sockets; two
sockets under one board and two sockets under another board. 26
“Then you shall make bars of acacia wood, five for the boards of one side of
the tabernacle, 27 and five bars for the boards of the other side
of the tabernacle, and five bars for the boards of the side of the
tabernacle for the rear side to the west. 28 “The middle
bar in the center of the boards shall pass through from end to end. 29
“You shall overlay the boards with gold and make their rings of gold
as holders for the bars; and you shall overlay the bars with gold.
30 “Then you shall erect the tabernacle according to its plan
which you have been shown in the mountain. 31 “You shall make a
veil of blue and purple and scarlet material and fine twisted linen;
it shall be made with cherubim, the work of a skillful workman. 32
“You shall hang it on four pillars of acacia overlaid with gold, their
hooks also being of gold, on four sockets of silver. 33
“You shall hang up the veil under the clasps, and shall bring in the ark of
the testimony there within the veil; and the veil shall serve for you as a
partition between the holy place and the holy of holies. 34 “You
shall put the mercy seat on the ark of the testimony in the holy of holies.
35 “You shall set the table outside the veil, and the lampstand
opposite the table on the side of the tabernacle toward the south; and you
shall put the table on the north side. 36 “You shall make a
screen for the doorway of the tent of blue and purple and scarlet
material and fine twisted linen, the work of a weaver. 37
“You shall make five pillars of acacia for the screen and overlay them with
gold, their hooks also being of gold; and you shall cast five sockets
of bronze for them.[1]
I realize that
the details of the curtains are extremely tedious. It is interesting that
the size of the temple was huge. The curtains did not only protect the
tabernacle from people seeing in, it also protected it from the elements.
In that land a lot of the nomadic people still use the same type of
materials today.
One important
thing that is applicable to our lives is the veil and the screen. This veil
separated the priest from the Holy of Holies where the ark of the Covenant
was kept. If a person were to enter the Holy of Holies, even accidentally
he was struck dead. The important thing about this is that the priest had
to enter the Holy of Holies in order to sprinkle the blood of the lamb on
the Mercy Seat to cover the sin of the people.
Matthew 27:51 (NASB95)
51 And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to
bottom; and the earth shook and the rocks were split.
Mark 15:38 (NASB95)
38 And the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.
Luke 23:45 (NASB95)
45 because the sun was obscured; and the veil of the temple was
torn in two.
[2]
When Jesus died
on the cross, this veil that separated the priest from the Holy of Holies
was ripped in two pieces, ending the need for the priest to go before God to
offer sacrifices for the people. Jesus was the final sacrifice and His
blood was shed to cover sin forever. It is also significant that the veil
was torn from top to bottom, signifying that God ripped it in two, not man.
Hebrews 10:15-25 (NASB95)
15 And the Holy Spirit also testifies to us; for after saying,
16 “This is the covenant that I will make with them After those
days, says the Lord: I will put My laws upon their heart, And on their mind
I will write them,” He then says, 17 “And their sins and
their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” 18 Now where there
is forgiveness of these things, there is no longer any offering for
sin. 19 Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter
the holy place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way
which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, 21
and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22
let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith,
having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our
bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast the confession
of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; 24
and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds,
25 not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of
some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the
day drawing near.[3]
Jesus took the
place of the High priest in our lives, purifying us forever. It is time
that we live like it.
As we consider
the closing of 2004 and the ushering in of 2005, it is time that we consider
the significance of the way that Jesus made all of us righteous in Him. By
making us righteous through His shed blood, we are now able to enter
directly into the Holy of Holies, into the very presence of God Himself,
boldly standing before His throne. We have a privilege like none other in
the history of the earth, we have the privilege to enter into the presence
of God. How many of us are doing this? How many of us are taking advantage
of our standing in God by making it a point of taking things before Him? I
would wager that most of us are so busy with our lives, making money, paying
the bills, and simply doing the day to day menial chores that we forget to
walk into God's presence.
Hebrews 4:14-16 (NASB95)
14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed
through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.
15 For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with
our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet
without sin. 16 Therefore let us draw near with confidence to
the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in
time of need.[4]
As we consider
God's word today, I hope that each one of you have had your thinking tweaked
a little bit. All comments are welcomed, please feel free to write in.
Father as we
consider Your word today, remind each of us of the tremendous salvation that
we have through Jesus our Lord.
In Him,
Joe Turner.
[1]
[2]
[3]
[4]
New American Standard Bible : 1995 update. 1995. LaHabra, CA:
The Lockman Foundation.
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