After God instructed Israel to craft all of the specialty, custom items for the tent of meeting, He reveals that He has gifted certain individuals by His Spirit for the purpose of crafting these pieces artistically. God takes the credit for gifting His people for craftsmanship according to His own plans for the production of... Continue Reading →
Exodus 30:22-38
v. 22-33 God instructs Moses to have the perfumers create a special anointing oil. With this oil, the tent of meeting and its furnishings were to be consecrated along with the priests. The application of the oil signified that these things were to be holy, set apart from common use for the purpose of ministry.... Continue Reading →
Exodus 30:1-21
Aaron and his sons are to burn incense perpetually at the tent of meeting, make an annual atoning sacrifice for Israel because of the nation’s sin, and wash themselves so that they will be pure before the Lord and will not die. I think some of this is practical. Incense would cover the stench of... Continue Reading →
Food and Drink- Exodus 29:31-46
Earlier, we saw the table of presence given as a reminder that God intended to eat and drink with His people. With the sacrifice of Christ, God would pull His own mercy seat up to the table because the veil would be torn. This eating and drinking imagery permeates all of the religious practices God... Continue Reading →
The Sacrificial System- Exodus 29:10-30
Today, we think of animal sacrifices as somewhat barbaric, but they were meant to depict the unrighteousness of people and remind us of God’s sacrifice in Genesis 3—when He covered the shame of Adam and Eve and promised that Eve’s descendants would receive life even though all people earned death by sinning in the way... Continue Reading →
Ordination- Exodus 29:1-9
Aaron and his sons are ordained for their priestly ministry. The phrase translated as ordain, here (ומלאת יד–אהרן ייד–בניו), literally means to fill the hand of Aaron and his sons. The earliest mention of a type of ordination by the people of anyone to any kind of ministry in Scripture literally means that through ordination,... Continue Reading →
The Bride of Christ- Exodus 28
God instructs Israel to make special garments for the priests. They are to be adorned for beauty and glory. The priests are to be fully covered, exposing none of their shame—in line with the imagery of nakedness in Genesis 3. The garments of the priests were meant to depict two truths. First God is holy.... Continue Reading →
The Accessibility of God- Exodus 27
God instructs Israel to build the bronze altar for sacrifices and the outer court of the Tabernacle. When He finishes instructing them how to build those things, He instructs Aaron and his sons to keep the tent of meeting in order from evening to morning. He instructs the people to bring oil so that the... Continue Reading →
Being Made Complete- Exodus 25:32-40
God instructs Israel to craft a menorah for the Tabernacle. It and all of its utensils are to be made from a talent of gold. Menorahs have six branches with seven lamps. Both six and seven are important symbolic numbers in the world since the creation of humankind. People were created on the sixth day... Continue Reading →
Second Commandment Violations- Exodus 25:10-22
God instructs Moses to instruct Israel to build an Ark which will carry the tablets of the Law and serve as God’s mercy seat—the seat from which He will instruct Moses during the years they use the Tabernacle. The Ark of the Covenant represents the presence of God before the people so that the people... Continue Reading →