Exodus 40 (selected verses) *
In the name of Christ Jesus, dear friends:
Let’s begin this evening with a one question quiz. Multiple choice: When I picture God, I am most likely to see…A) a picture of Jesus; B) a white cloud; C) a bright light; D) a tent. Now for a show of hands, how many of you answered…(A,B,C and D in succession)?
I expected the first choice to be the overwhelming favorite, and you did not disappoint. Whether we were influenced by a stained glass window or a Sunday School felt board or a Warner Sallman painting, most of us have a mental picture of Jesus in our minds. And because Jesus is God, “A” is the right answer. But it is not the only right answer.
Before Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount, before Jesus changed water into wine, long before the Son of God was conceived by the Holy Spirit or born of the virgin Mary, God had already revealed himself to his people. And in the text before us tonight, we will see how.
Exodus is a fascinating book. Here are just some of the amazing events
recorded in the first twenty chapters: God appeared to Moses in a burning bush,
God sent ten plagues down on
With so much packed into the first half of the book, the rest of Exodus is sometimes neglected, maybe even forgotten. In the remaining chapters Moses describes in great detail the construction of the tabernacle and it furnishings. And in the final chapter, he reports that the Lord took up residence in his new home.
When the children of
WE SEE JESUS BRINGING US INTO GOD’S
PRESENCE
I. That presence is real
II.
That presence is hidden
Long before Moses drove the first tent stake into the ground, the Israelites were well aware that the God they worshiped was real. He had spoken with their forefather Abraham. He had wrestled with their forefather Jacob.
And the people didn’t have to look very hard to find
evidence that God was still among them as they made their way through the
wilderness. The Lord led them in a
pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire at night (Exodus
God led his people. God sustained his people. God loved his people. God loved his people so much that he wanted them to know him and worship him in a special way. And so he directed Moses to oversee the construction of the tabernacle.
The tabernacle looked like a large rectangular box,
approximately forty five feet long and fifteen feet wide. This relatively small area was subdivided
into two rooms, the
As you pull back the embroidered curtain to enter the
As you walk between the golden table and the golden lamp
stand, there is a sweet aroma in the air.
It is coming from the altar of incense which stands directly ahead of
you in front of another curtain. Like
the other furnishings in the
Beyond the second curtain lies the Holy of Holies, and
inside the Holy of Holies rests the ark of the covenant. The ark contains two stone tablets, the
tablets God handed down to Moses on
All of the furnishings in the tabernacle served a sacred
purpose, but the atonement cover was special.
The Lord designated it to be a place of divine communication, a place
where God spoke with his people. He said
to Moses: “There, above the cover
between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the Testimony, I will meet
with you and give you all my commands for the Israelites” (Exodus 25:22).
After the tabernacle was set up, after Moses had completed a
thorough inspection, the Lord gave his approval in a most unusual way: “Then the cloud covered the Tent of
Meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. Moses could not enter the Tent of Meeting
because the cloud had settled upon it, and the glory of the Lord filled the
tabernacle”
(40:34, 35).
Other nations worshiped gods. Other nations built shrines and temples to
honor their gods. So what made
Now take away the curtains. Take away the gold. Take away the smoke. Take away all of the ceremony and ritual of Old Testament worship, and this truth remains. God still reveals himself. God still communicates with his people.
He says: “Where two
or three come together in my name, there I am with them” (Matthew
He says: “Never will
I leave you; never will I forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5). He says: “Go and baptize all nations in
my name.” He says: “Take and eat. This is my body. Take and drink. This is my blood.”
A number of years ago Coca Cola promoted its product with this slogan: “Coke…the real thing.” What kind of message did the advertisers want to convey with this slogan? When it comes to soft drinks, nothing else measures up. In the battle for cola supremacy, everything else is only a cheap imitation.
The Lord doesn’t need a slogan to promote himself. And he doesn’t have to prove that he exists. But God also wants us to give us the assurance that he is here. He knows when we are hurting. He listens when we pray. Maybe we can’t see him. Maybe we can’t touch him. But he is very real.
The tabernacle was God’s way of saying to his Old Testament people: “You are never alone. When you move, I will go with you. When you settle down, I will pitch my tent among you.” This temporary sanctuary reminded them that their God was real.
But the dimensions of the tabernacle and the restrictions associated with worship in the tabernacle communicated something else, something very different. As real as their God was, it was evident that his presence was hidden.
The tabernacle wasn’t like a church. It wasn’t open to the public. The average Israelite couldn’t just walk in
and sit down. Only the priests were
allowed to enter the
Why? Why couldn’t the people enter the tabernacle? Why couldn’t the people pray in the tabernacle? Because of sin. Sin was a barrier that stood between God and his people. Sin was a high wall that kept sinful people out. The Lord could not and would not allow sinful people to enter his sanctuary because sinful people could never stand in his presence…and live
Once a year the high priest was allowed to enter the Holy of Holies with blood to atone for his sins and the sins of the people. This animal blood wasn’t mystical or magical, and by itself it didn’t have the power to forgive a single sin. Still, this sacrifice was important because it anticipated and pointed to coming of Jesus.
Jesus was uniquely qualified to remove the wall that separates people from God. He was a man. He ate and drank. He laughed and cried. He faced temptation and frustration just like we do. And he lived a perfect life on earth.
But Jesus was more than a perfect man. He was also true God. And for most of his life, he kept his divine power hidden. He didn’t turn stones into bread when the devil tempted him. He didn’t call upon legions of angels when the authorities arrested him. He didn’t put up a fight when the Roman soldier scourged him. He didn’t come down from the cross when his enemies mocked him.
Instead he died. The sinless Son of God willingly poured out his lifeblood on the cross and died because the Son of God was also the Lamb of God. He sacrificed himself to take away our sin. He died on the cross to take away every sin. His sacrifice has removed the barrier of sin.
Because of Jesus, God is no longer hidden from us. Because of Jesus, we can call God our Father. Because of Jesus, we can approach God with freedom and confidence. Because Jesus has brought us into God’s presence, we stand before him without sin, without guilt, without fear.
And we look forward to the day when we will “see him as he is” (I John 3:2), when
we will see him “face to face” (I
Corinthians