January 27, 2005

Reading through the Bible in one Year: Exodus 4:1-6:13; Matthew 16:24-17:13

Weekly Memory Verse: Galatians 5:25

Good Evening Brothers and Sisters,

Exodus 39 (NASB95)
¹ Moreover, from the blue and purple and scarlet material, they made finely woven garments for ministering in the holy place as well as the holy garments which were for Aaron, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. ² He made the ephod of gold, and of blue and purple and scarlet material, and fine twisted linen. ³ Then they hammered out gold sheets and cut them into threads to be woven in with the blue and the purple and the scarlet material, and the fine linen, the work of a skillful workman. ⁴ They made attaching shoulder pieces for the ephod; it was attached at its two upper ends. ⁵ The skillfully woven band which was on it was like its workmanship, of the same material: of gold and of blue and purple and scarlet material, and fine twisted linen, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. ⁶ They made the onyx stones, set in gold filigree settings; they were engraved like the engravings of a signet, according to the names of the sons of Israel. ⁷ And he placed them on the shoulder pieces of the ephod, as memorial stones for the sons of Israel, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. ⁸ He made the breastpiece, the work of a skillful workman, like the workmanship of the ephod: of gold and of blue and purple and scarlet material and fine twisted linen. ⁹ It was square; they made the breastpiece folded double, a span long and a span wide when folded double. ¹⁰ And they mounted four rows of stones on it. The first row was a row of ruby, topaz, and emerald; ¹¹ and the second row, a turquoise, a sapphire and a diamond; ¹² and the third row, a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst; ¹³ and the fourth row, a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper. They were set in gold filigree settings when they were mounted. ¹⁴ The stones were corresponding to the names of the sons of Israel; they were twelve, corresponding to their names, engraved with the engravings of a signet, each with its name for the twelve tribes. ¹⁵ They made on the breastpiece chains like cords, of twisted cordage work in pure gold. ¹⁶ They made two gold filigree settings and two gold rings, and put the two rings on the two ends of the breastpiece. ¹⁷ Then they put the two gold cords in the two rings at the ends of the breastpiece. ¹⁸ They put the other two ends of the two cords on the two filigree settings, and put them on the shoulder pieces of the ephod at the front of it. ¹⁹ They made two gold rings and placed them on the two ends of the breastpiece, on its inner edge which was next to the ephod. ²⁰ Furthermore, they made two gold rings and placed them on the bottom of the two shoulder pieces of the ephod, on the front of it, close to the place where it joined, above the woven band of the ephod. ²¹ They bound the breastpiece by its rings to the rings of the ephod with a blue cord, so that it would be on the woven band of the ephod, and that the breastpiece would not come loose from the ephod, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. ²² Then he made the robe of the ephod of woven work, all of blue; ²³ and the opening of the robe was at the top in the center, as the opening of a coat of mail, with a binding all around its opening, so that it would not be torn. ²⁴ They made pomegranates of blue and purple and scarlet material and twisted linen on the hem of the robe. ²⁵ They also made bells of pure gold, and put the bells between the pomegranates all around on the hem of the robe, ²⁶ alternating a bell and a pomegranate all around on the hem of the robe for the service, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. ²⁷ They made the tunics of finely woven linen for Aaron and his sons, ²⁸ and the turban of fine linen, and the decorated caps of fine linen, and the linen breeches of fine twisted linen, ²⁹ and the sash of fine twisted linen, and blue and purple and scarlet material, the work of the weaver, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. ³⁰ They made the plate of the holy crown of pure gold, and inscribed it like the engravings of a signet, “Holy to the Lord.” ³¹ They fastened a blue cord to it, to fasten it on the turban above, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. ³² Thus all the work of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting was completed; and the sons of Israel did according to all that the Lord had commanded Moses; so they did. ³³ They brought the tabernacle to Moses, the tent and all its furnishings: its clasps, its boards, its bars, and its pillars and its sockets; ³⁴ and the covering of rams’ skins dyed red, and the covering of porpoise skins, and the screening veil; ³⁵ the ark of the testimony and its poles and the mercy seat; ³⁶ the table, all its utensils, and the bread of the Presence; ³⁷ the pure gold lampstand, with its arrangement of lamps and all its utensils, and the oil for the light; ³⁸ and the gold altar, and the anointing oil and the fragrant incense, and the veil for the doorway of the tent; ³⁹ the bronze altar and its bronze grating, its poles and all its utensils, the laver and its stand; ⁴⁰ the hangings for the court, its pillars and its sockets, and the screen for the gate of the court, its cords and its pegs and all the equipment for the service of the tabernacle, for the tent of meeting; ⁴¹ the woven garments for ministering in the holy place and the holy garments for Aaron the priest and the garments of his sons, to minister as priests. ⁴² So the sons of Israel did all the work according to all that the Lord had commanded Moses. ⁴³ And Moses examined all the work and behold, they had done it; just as the Lord had commanded, this they had done. So Moses blessed them.^[1]

This chapter is a repeat of Exodus 28, with a few changes.  This chapter records the final steps in finishing the garments and the finishing touches on the tabernacle.  Notice that the phrase "just as the Lord had commanded Moses" is repeated in 1, 5, 7, 21, 26, 29, 31, 32, 42 and 43.  The Tabernacle was completed according to the instructions given to Moses by the Lord. 

Think back for a moment at all that Israel had been through up to this point.  They were slaves in Egypt where God seemed to have forgotten them for four hundred years.  Then Moses was sent to speak to Pharaoh, and God displayed His power in their lives for the first time in four hundred years.  Try to put that in perspective by considering that just over 200 years ago America fought for their freedom.  That is only half of the time that Israel was slaves in Egypt.  Also consider that God had displayed enormous power in their lives through miraculous events, tremendous displays of power, and by destroying their enemies before their eyes.  They had turned from God and returned to idols, bringing the wrath of God on themselves.  Now Israel finally had the picture of how Holy and Righteous that God was, and they made every effort to put all the skills that they learned in the land of Egypt into practice.  They followed the blueprint that God had given them for the tabernacle to the letter.  They created a magnificent Tabernacle just as the Lord had commanded them.

We aren't told much about that 400 years of slavery, I wonder how long it took them to forget God and to turn to a form of religion.  I wonder how long it took for them to forget how to listen and believe in God.  It is obvious from their track record after being delivered from Egypt that they had a hard time learning the lesson and putting it into practice.  Yet in this chapter it is noted that they were careful to perform every task exactly according to the word of the Lord. 

Today we face a similar dilemma, America has forgotten the Lord.  We have been given instructions via the Bible to remind our brothers and sisters who are asleep about the mission and the tremendous promises of God.  I wonder, are we going to be exacting in our message as Israel was in their construction, or are we going to play church and ignore those around us?  Look around, speak with people and find out how much that they know about the Bible and about Jesus.  You will be amazed at the spiritual ignorance that is around us today.  Not very many years ago, most people went to church, and they made it a point to teach their children the basic Bible stories.  Today, many of the parents don't go to church, and don't see a point in teaching their children Biblical things.  As a result of this attitude, and the "separation of church and state", our children today are growing up spiritually ignorant of any Bible stories.  The next generation will consider Jesus like we consider Buddha or Confucius; He will be a legend and treated as a total myth.  I ran across a young man at Starbucks yesterday who knew absolutely nothing about the Bible, his only thought on Christianity was that some evangelist was asking for donations.  In other words, to him Christians are money hungry religious nuts.  I realize that this has absolutely nothing to do with the study today, and apologize for the deviation.

One thing that does have to do with the study is the end result.  Israel had to go through four hundred years of slavery before they were at a place to listen to the Lord.  What will it take for us?  Israel waited for total deliverance, and total dependence before they were willing to follow the instruction of the Lord.  What will it take for us?  We have the great commission, and as a result of our negligence, the great commission has moved into our back yards, our workplaces, and our churches.  Each of you are teachers and mentors of those around you.  We can swing the tide and return people back to the Lord, one at a time. 

Israel built the tabernacle as a shadow and symbol of the redemption of Christ that was to come in the future.  We can look back upon the life of Christ, and understand how that He fulfilled the mission of the tabernacle.  We understand how that He has abolished the tabernacle and moved into the tabernacle that exists in each of our hearts.  God completed the work through Jesus so that we will be able to see and fellowship with Him.  The purpose of the tabernacle was not just to cover sin.  It was so that God would be able to dwell with man on earth.  That task was ultimately completed on the cross. 

I've gabbed and deviated enough today from the text.  Lots on my mind as I read through this passage today.  If you would like to add to the study, please feel free to write in.  We have one more day in Exodus, then will be moving to another book, I am open to suggestions on that. 

Father, as we consider Your word today, give each of us the passion to learn Your word and to put it into practice in our lives, just as You have commanded us.

In Him,

Joe Turner.