Exodus 30-40
Ch.30
1-6. {Note:
Most of items in the tabernacle are made from acacia wood, as well as the beams used to support its structure and outer courtyard.
Renowned for its sturdiness, flexibility and durability, acacia wood was widely used for building and construction, being not only weather resistant, but also having a strong resilience, against corrosion from insects and fungi}
This will be our final stop: This is the final item before the Holy of Holies…directly in front of the Ark.
Continue reading Exodus 30:7-9…
Aaron stands before the altar as a foreshadowing of Jesus Christ, who as our Great High Priest who finished the work, stands continually before the Presence of the Lord, as our advocate.
This is why, just like the lamps, the altar must always be active, so the incense can continually arise before the Lord. A perpetual reminder of the pure and holy sacrifice of His Son!
Read Isaiah 6:1-7…
This is the finished work of the cross….a summation of everything covered so far.
Picture these live coals burning red…
This is all that remains of the wrath of God, for those who have put their trust in His Son: (what a contrast to the Fire of the Altar of Sacrifice!)
Because His Son finished the work! (John19:20)
Oh death where is your sting? Oh grave where is your victory? …
Indeed, Death has now been swallowed up in Victory…
1Cor 15:51-57
From this Place, the perfect Sacrifice arises before the veil - an aroma pleasing to the LORD (Ephesians 5:2). Jesus the Messiah - The Great High Priest who offers the perfect sacrifice, has Himself become the Sacrifice. (John 17:19) ~O the unsearchable mysteries of the Lord~.
It is from this place that our prayers…our worship will also arise:
We know who we are in Christ…but the live coals (along with the burnished feet of Jesus in Revelation 1:15) are solemn and humbling reminders of where we have come from…and Who redeemed us!
***When we pray “Your Will be done, not mine” - Luke 22:42…
***When we deny ourselves, come to HIS table…eat of HIS flesh…drink of HIS blood -
(Remember the Table)
Luke 9:23-24
***When we remain grafted into Him, trusting Him as our only source of Life -
(Remember the Lamp Stand)
John15:1-20
This is the Altar of Incense:
Our prayers, our worship, our lives becoming one with His, rise up as a fragrant offering to our Father in Heaven.
(Galatians 2:18-20)
Because…Divinity and redeemed humanity are finally reconciled…and God saw that it was good! (Genesis 2:2)
Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar.
And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.” Isaiah 6:6-7
This is where our Great High Priest meets us, and from there, he will lead us, by Hisperfect sacrifice (the incense)…His finished work, into the Holy of Holies.
Aaron is a foreshadowing of this.
See: 1Peter 1:1-9
…so let our trials be the thing that leads us into the holy of Holies…
So, Compare this altar, where Jesus the Great High Priest makes continual intercession for us…to the bronze altar of sacrifice…where Jesus Christ the Son of God became both the sin and the sacrifice on our behalf.
What a victory…One that only God Himself could possibly achieve!
9. This altar symbolizes the finished work if atonement through Messiah’s sacrifice: No further “sacrifice” is required of us - except: “a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.” Psalm 51:17
“Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.” Hebrews 13:15
And “present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” Romans 12:1
These are the sacrifices the Lord now requires of us.
Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.
Hebrews 7:24-25
11-12. A remembrance of what the Lord has delivered them from; and a small price to pay compared to the yolk of slavery they were under, in Egypt.
After all, the Redemption of humanity from Death and Hell...the ransom He paid for us...cost Him everything! John 3:16
Censuses in Israel are to be taken for this reason: Remembrance of the Lord...lest from generation to generation, they forget who it was who saved them...and lose their salvation. They will all learn this hard lesson, in 2Samuel 24
Whenever Israel begin to think that they are our own “saviors” and forget that the Lord is their Salvation: “Yeshua” - it never ended well.
Vs.16 The offerings that they give, will go back to the upkeep of the tabernacle, so that the sacrificial system (which atones for them) can continue. So, as they remember, they give...and as they give, they once again remember. Because this sacrificial system is for them!
15-16. This is the only type of pole tax that we see in Israel:
Symbolic of everyone’s equal standing as sinners before a Holy God. Our debt to God is entirely the same (there is no such thing in God’s eyes as a “bad sin” and a “not so bad sin”). All sin is the same to God, in that it separates his Creation from Him. Therefore, the debt we each owe to God is exactly the same...and the Price he will pay to ransom us, is exactly the same for each of us. John 3:16, Ephesians 1:7, Romans 5:8, 6:23, 1Peter 1:18-19, 1Corinthians 6:19-20, Revelation 5:9, Titus 2:14, 1John 2:2
“Atonement” Kippur: to cover, appease or pay for a debt.
19. See John 13:10
“The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but is completely clean.”
The initial Salvation - cleansing from sin, having taken place at the altar of sacrifice, in the entrance (the Door) pointing towards Yeshua on the cross. See 1Corinthians 6:11 & note on Exodus 29:4
21. John 13:12-17
Do you understand what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.
So the initial redemption and cleansing at the altar (the Cross) is for one time - we do not get saved over and over again. But here at the wash basin, begins the process of sanctification - and Jesus makes this clear: This is not a process that we go through alone: Through the process of sanctification, we serve and help one another!
“Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed.”See James 5:13-16
And:
“My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back,
et him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.” James 5:19-20
“So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.”
Philippians 2:1-4
“but that the members may have the same care for one another. 26 If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.”
1Corinthians 12:21-13:13
“...love one another earnestly from a pure heart, since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God.”
1Peter 1:22-25
These are just a few scriptures out of so many - that exhort and command us - to wash one of the not so please part of the body: One another’s feet.
“They shall wash their hands and their feet, so that they may not die.”
John 13:8 Peter said to him, “You shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.”
22-24. Having just instigated the half shekel temple tax, we are now glimpse as to why it is needed.
This was a unique anointing oil, with a unique structure and fragrance.
The anointing of the Holy Spirit is not of this world - there is nothing like it, in any flesh.
There is no indication that the oil or the ingredients had any supernatural power. Rather, the strictness of the guidelines for creating the oil was a test of the obedience of the Israelites and a demonstration of the absolute holiness of God. Got Questions
26-29. Isaiah 61:1-3 Luke 4:18
The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me,
because the LORD has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor;
he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
to proclaim the year of the LORD’S favor,
and the day of vengeance of our God;
to comfort all who mourn;
to grant to those who mourn in Zion—
to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit;
that they may be called oaks of righteousness,
the planting of the LORD, that he may be glorified.
The Tabernacle and everything within it, points to Jesus the Messiah and His work of redemption: The anointing of the Tabernacle is a foreshadowing of this:
John 1:32-34
And John bore witness: “I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.”
And this:
John 12:3 Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.
And
Matthew 26:6-7 Now when Jesus was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, a woman came up to him with an alabaster flask of very expensive ointment, and she poured it on his head as he reclined at table.
32. i. ‘Very solemn are the injunctions that neither the sacred oil nor the holy incense was to be used in any way for personal gratification.” (Morgan)
34-37. This is the incense that will be burned on the altar that stands before the Mercy Seat of God. Why? Because it symbolizes the perfect and complete sacrifice of Christ, and our perfect Redemption through his blood. For those of us who draw near, there is no longer any wrath: Jesus took our judgement...now there is only the sweet aroma of mercy...for those who follow Him...
...“Even in Thessalonica you sent me help for my needs once and again. Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that increases to your credit. I have received full payment, and more. I am well supplied, having received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God.”Read Philippians 4:14-20
The Philippians gave out of gratitude because Christ had given to them first:
“And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” Read
Ephesians 5:1-2
“For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life.”
Read 2Corinthians 2:15
Why would this aroma be “life” to some and “death” to others?
Read Matthew 16:25-26
“Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?””
And:
“You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!”” Read Mark 10:21-25
“seasoned with salt” - to preserve the spices and the aroma. See Matthew 5:13, Colossians 4:6
Salt is vital for the body - in nerve and muscle function, and in keeping blood fluids balanced.
Salt is also a preserver and flavorer of food.
So when we look at this scripture, through this light, and taking the words of Jesus into consideration, we can see why salt was added into the incense.
“You shall beat some of it very small”, symbolic of the brutal beating and crucifixion that Jesus will endure, so that we - through Jesus, our sacrifice and High Priest - can also meet with him, where he is.
“...and put part of it before the testimony in the tent of meeting where I shall meet with you.”
37-38. This is the incense of the Sacrifice - the Cross of Christ: It is not for the pride of humanity - that which nailed Jesus to the Cross,
It is for the humbling of humility - snatched from the jaws of Death and Hell, through sacrifice, repentance and forgiveness.
To use this incense any other way, is an offense to the Sacrifice of the Cross, and the highest blasphemy.
Ch.31
2-5. See Jeremiah 1:4-5
Now the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
and before you were born I consecrated you;
I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”
So, it is not only the prophet, who is “called by name” and anointed and appointed by the Lord to serve him. Bezalel’s job as a craftsman is about to become vital in the setting up of the sacrificial system, for the forgiveness of sins. Through this system, the judgement of God will be averted again and again, as the way is paved for Jesus Christ of Nazareth - the perfect Lamb of God, who will offer himself up for the sins of the whole world.
6. The Lord shows Moses once again, that he will not have to shoulder this task alone: This is about to become a “community project” and on a massive scale.
It is the Lord who appoints; and it is the Lord who gives to different people, the skills, knowledge and strength required, to carry out his will. (See Exodus 18:21-23)
This is the same for the Ecclesia today: Each of us possessing varying gifts and abilities given by the Lord, to edify the Whole: And the Lord designed us this way deliberately: a community - a family- a Body.
13-17. We know that every Sabbath (where the Lord Finished his work) looks forward to the finished work of redeeming humanity - sanctified and holy to the Lord, so that we can once more walk with him and fellowship with him, as Adam and Eve did in the beginning. See Hebrews 4
This is why it must kept from generation to generation - because the Lord’s Salvation is for EVERY GENERATION - from beginning to end. Revelation 22:13.
There is no other way to Heaven except through the Way the Christ Jesus will provide: to profane the Sabbath is to profane his Way to Salvation: and the only the way leads to death.
“The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.
So the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.” Read Mark 2:23-28
“Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day shall be put to death.” (Vs.15)
Because, we cannot, by any effort of our own, ever attain to God’s perfect standard; we have all inherited Adam’s sin (Romans 5:12-21)...we are all fallen.
But God...
“For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” See Romans 5:6-8
17. What could this sign be - after six days?
Knowing what we do concerning the mystery of the Sabbath in Hebrews 4, could this final “seventh day” be pointing to the final return of Christ to Jerusalem, where - after the work and toil of “six days”, climaxing with the Great Tribulation, the anti- christ and the fleeing of Israel from the city - the veil will finally be removed from God’s people: Here, finally, on the “Seventh Day”, they will recognize that their Messiah is the Sabbath Rest - and will enter in to it.
See Zechariah 12:1-13:1, 14:1-9, Revelation 19:11-21
According to Exodus 24:18, Moses was gone up the mountain for forty days (Matthew 4:1-2). This was apparently a long time for the Hebrews - but for Moses, who had spent forty years in the desert, “waiting on the Lord”, this time spent now, is nothing.
See Matthew 25
Through their journeying in the wilderness, the Lord is teaching them:
Patience: To wait (1Samuel 13:8-13)
Faith: To Trust (Deuteronomy 8:1-5) - and it has already become clear: The Sacrificial system for the forgiveness of sins, is desperately needed, must be established immediately, and will be put to good use!
The Israelites’ journey through the
wilderness, is symbolizing, and foreshadowing our walk through this life with Jesus Christ.
We are not supposed to make ourselves at home here; this is why the Israelites - following the Presence of the Lord- moved from place to place, and set up camp. They did not build fine houses of stone, with foundations.
It is this way when we follow the Lord.
Matthew 6:19-34
Colossians 3:1-17
1. The clause, ‘as for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt’ is deliberately cast in coarse language, thus revealing the attitude of the people who had relegated God’s works to a mere mortal.” (Kaiser)
4. Almost immediately after the Lord issues Moses with his instructions for Worship and the Sacrificial system, Satan attempts a counterfeit - using some of the free will offerings intended for the sanctuary - and the hands of the very person the Lord is about to anoint as priest - the forerunner of His Only Begotten Son!
4. Jeroboam borrowed this statement when he installed the two golden calves at the division of the kingdom in 931 B.C. (1 Kings 12:28).” (Kaiser)
This is already a violation of the first and second of the Ten Commandments, before Moses has even given them; and this will immediately set a pattern of perpetual sin and iniquity - committed by Israel, but representative of all of us!
As the Scripture says:
“Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, as it is written:
“None is righteous, no, not one;
no one understands;
no one seeks for God.
All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;
no one does good,
not even one.”
Read Romans 3:9-18
Also Psalm 14:1-3, 53:1-3
5. Aaron has fashioned from his own hand, something that he now refers to as the LORD- YHWH! This brings a sobering scripture to mind:
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.”
Read Matthew 7:21-23
To call him LORD is not the same as to KNOW him as such.
Aaron apparently knows his Name...but Moses knows HIM!
7-8.Until Aaron is anointed as high priest, Moses is the one who stands in the gap for the people - taking their sins upon his garments (see notes on Exodus 29) - in a direct foreshadowing of Jesus Christ...and this is why the Lord is referring to them as “Moses’s people”: If it was his will to completely wipe the people out, he would not have sent Moses (whom he knew would cry out for mercy on their behalf) back down;
In the same way, if it was his will to destroy all of humanity, he would not have sent down his only Son, Jesus Christ, to cry mercy, with his own blood, on our behalf.
The Israelites, before the Commandment was even issued, have already broken two of them...
We are destined to break them all!
“All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned—every one—to his own way;
and the LORD has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.”
Isaiah 53:6
8. The Apostle Paul tells us, in Romans 1, that to worship the creature rather than its creator, was common place - not just among the pagan peoples, but among God’s own people: Here is the first example for this.
Because it is our fallen nature, to satisfy our flesh, by worshiping what we can see, hear, touch, taste and smell.
The Lord however (through a Remnant of Old Testament servants like Abraham & Moses, spanning through generation after generation), will demonstrate to humanity, that following and obeying an invisible God, is not only possible - but will be made fully available - to all; through the Sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
10. “and I may consume them, in order that I may make a great nation of you.” (Vs.10)
Compare this statement to what the Lord declared to Abraham in Genesis 12:2 & then in Genesis 22:18
Abraham knew that the Lord was not referring solely about him: He was looking towards a future time - towards Messiah. Moses, by his words, is of exactly the same mind and heart: “Don’t make me great...Remember your people...YOUR promise, Lord.”
This is the heart and nature of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, as eloquently expressed in Philippians 2:5-8 - and reflected by the Apostle Paul - showing the great transformative work that the Lord had done in his heart: “For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh.” Read Romans 9:2-3
And finally, we hear Jesus Christ himself sum everything up with this statement: “If anyone would come after me, let him DENY HIMSELF and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” Matthew 16:24-25
“...in order that I may make a great nation of you.”
If the Lord was testing Moses’s heart here, he passed - as, of course, the Lord knew he would.
11. Think back to Genesis 18:22-33 - where a very similar conversation takes place, between the Lord and another one of His Remnant foreshadowers of Christ - Abraham.
In both these instances (Moses and Abraham) the Lord, quite rightly, warns of his inevitable judgment because of escalating and willful iniquity.
In both instances, his chosen remnant will stand in the gap, and plead - not judgment - but Mercy.
And in both instances, because of their pleas, the Lord will grant it.
Because the Lord’s heart is always Mercy; whether it be to rescue a family of four (as in Lot’s case) or to stay his hand over an entire community of people. Because, from the foundations of the world (before the fall of mankind) the Lord had already made provision for our sin (Revelation 13:8), through the greatest possible act of mercy: He sent his Son...John 3;16-17
1John 4:9-12
This is why, in the Old Testament, he raises up people like Abraham and Moses: to demonstrate his heart of compassion - although the people quite rightly tremble at his judgments - and to point the Way, towards the One who will “come down” to, not only dwell among us, but become one of us:-
“Go down, for YOUR people, whom YOU brought up out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves.” (Vs.7)
And, as both the High Priest and the Sacrifice, will take the full punishment for our iniquities upon himself. Amazing Love!
Some other examples of the Lord showing his heart of mercy, through his Remnant include:
Numbers 16:44-48, Job 42:7-9, 2Samuel 24:16-25, Romans 9:1-3
And
Luke 22:31-34
“I tell you, Peter, the rooster will not crow this day, until you deny three times that you know me.” ...
“But I have PRAYED for you.”
This is the heart of the Lord, for his wayward creation...for all of us - “...that your faith may not fail.”
“Mercy triumphs over judgment.” James 2:13
“Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them,”(vs.10)
The Lord knew exactly what Moses was going to do:
Exactly what He had raised him up to do... exactly what He WANTED Moses to do: Plead for mercy.
Here, God’s character - of both justice and mercy - is on full display. And because of Moses - God’s foreshadowing of Jesus Christ - His mercy will ultimately triumph over his justice...but not without a price!
11-14. Compare Moses’s words in vs.11, to the Lord’s words of vs.7:
Moses - now standing in the gap for the people - turns the Lord’s statement back around...referring to Israel as: “Not my people, but yours, Lord...because if your Promise.)
Just as Jesus Christ, the Son of God - having made full atonement for the sins of the world, says this: “Go to my brothers and say to them, I am ascending to my Father and YOUR FATHER, to my God and your God.’”
John 20:17
We now, not only belong to Jesus the High Priest: Through his intervention, we now belong to our Father in Heaven - we are HIS children and HIS possession.
12. Now Moses appeals to the honor of the Lord’s Name...again, showing his earnest zeal for the Lord.
Every facet of character displayed by Moses, in the face of God’s impending wrath, is a reflection of Jesus Christ, and is pleasing to God. We know this, because of the Lord’s subsequent actions in vs.14
He will NEVER go back on his Promises (see vs.13) - but look who the Lord uses to stay his hand if judgement, so that his Promise (The coming of the Messiah, the Son of God, taking away the sins of the world) would be fulfilled: He uses mere people, flawed like all of us...but foreshadowing One who is much greater.
The Lord ALWAYS has a Remnant: His Elect, serving as his high priests - in EVERY generation...so that the Lord’s hand of wrath would be stayed - in every generation; until the coming of the One who will take the full wrath of God upon Himself - for ALL generations, passed, present and future.
Who were some of these Elect...these “high priests of God”, who from generation to generation, stayed God’s hand of wrath through their godly faith and actions?
Read Hebrews 11:4-40
15-16. This could be likened to Ezekiel 36:26: “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.”
Our hearts are likened almost to tablets of stone, where the Law is engraved, but is getting broken, over and over again (vs19): Because stone, once broken, cannot be molded into something else - and God’s broken Law, chiseled into our stoney hearts, cannot be altered or erased.
Something clearly has to be done...and it will be. This is why the Lord goes on in Ezekiel, to say: “And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.” Ezekiel 36:27
Following his resurrection from the dead, the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ, will do this:- “And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”
John 20:22, Acts 2:1-4
And again, in Jeremiah 31:33 (Hebrews 8:10)
“I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”
This again, he will do through Christ’s vicarious death and miraculous resurrection:-
“... that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.”
Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures,
and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead,
and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.(2Samuel 24:16)
You are witnesses of these things.
And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”
Luke 24:44-49
19-20. Jesus Christ will also “come down” from the Presence of God, bearing in his hands the broken tablets of the Law - and deal swiftly with those who were left supposedly, to guard it. See Matthew 21:12-13, Mark 11:15-17, Luke 19:45-46 & John 2:13-17. - If nothing else, this is a warning - a precursor of Malachi 3:1-5
Jesus’s first coming was as a lamb to the slaughter (Isaiah 53:7, Zechariah 9:9) - to take the sins of the world upon himself, and offer God’s mercy and forgiveness to all who would receive it;
His second coming will not be so. (Revelation 19:11-21, Zechariah 9:10)
19-20. Here, we see the vast chasm between the Mountain top - symbolizing the Presence of God; and the foot of the mountain- where humanity dwells, fallen and separated from God, by sin.
And it is here, at the foot of the mountain, where it begins: the first “breaking” of the Law of God...where the people of Israel will be made to drink of the bitterness of their transgressions. (See note on Exodus 15:22) Their water - once pure for drinking - is now contaminated with their own transgressions (a picture of what sin does to the souls of the people it ensnares.)
The wages of sin is Death (Romans 6:23), and they are surely tasting it...but, thanks to the mercy of God, Death will lose its sting- this bitterness will not remain. Jesus Christ will eventually drink from this cup of the bitterness of death, for all of us. Matthew 26:39
24. See Genesis 3:12
Part of our fallen nature is , when confronted by our sin, to immediately shift the blame elsewhere, or, in Aaron’s case, deny any knowledge of it! What we fail to understand is that God is all seeing...hearing...KNOWING. It is futile to hide in any way, from him. When God called to Adam in the garden, it wasn’t for information - He knew exactly where Adam was: It was for CONFESSION. See 1John 1:5-8. He wanted Adam to come out if darkness into his Light, so that Adam could repent and the Lord could FORGIVE. Aaron now finds himself in exactly the same situation.
25-27. Moses’s actions here, demonstrate his zeal - for the Lord and his Name. Again, compare to Jesus’s actions in John 2:13-17. He will now do as he has been doing from the beginning. Give a warning, and at the same time, an appeal: “The Lord is about to bring judgment: Come to me, that you may be saved.” As a foreshadowing of Jesus Christ, Moses acts as mediator: See John 3:17-21. Now, Jesus Christ stands as our mediator, as the only Safe Place, as we move swiftly towards God’s final judgment.
Compare Moses actions also to Genesis 19:12-13
“Have you anyone else here? Sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or anyone you have in the city, bring them out of the place. For we are about to destroy this place, because the outcry against its people has become great before the LORD, and the LORD has sent us to destroy it.”
Genesis 7:1-5 (Hebrews 11:7), Joshua 2:8-21 & Revelation 18:4-5.
Sometimes the Lord will use nature to judge; sometimes angels, and sometimes - as in this instance - righteous men - from Moses’s own tribe: the Tribe of Levi.
“then Moses stood in the gate of the camp and said, “Who is on the LORD’S side? Come to me.””(vs.26) - compare to John 10:9: “I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved...”
And
John 6:37: “All that the Father gives me will come to me...”
30. When Jesus came down as the propitiation for our sin (the one who would turn away the wrath of God), there was no “perhaps” about his making atonement: He made full Atonement by his own blood, for the sins of the entire human race; from Adam, to the last human ever destined to be born. (1John 2:1-2, 4:10, Hebrews 9:12)
He is able to do this, because he is the Son of God, who IS God (John 1:1-5, 10-14, 18, 34; 8:58; 20:28)
But, not only is he able - he is also willing: John 10:17-18
32.This is again, the greater love, that will ultimately be demonstrated by Christ Jesus, as he gives his life as a sacrifice, for the sins of humanity - the majority of whom do not know or care about God or his Son. And yet: “God so loved the world, that he GAVE his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16. This is the greatest love of all - that a person lay down his life - not just for those who love him - but for those who don’t! As Paul writes in Romans 5:7-10:
“For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.
For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.”
This is the greater Love that Jesus prayed his disciples would have, in John 13:34-35
Moses was willing (as was Paul in Romans 9) to forfeit his own soul, for the sake of his undeserving people. This is the heart of the Lord - and the role of the High Priest. But, just as he did with Abraham in Genesis 22:10-12, the Lord will say “No” - because another “Way” has been provided; Someone else will give their lives - so that Moses doesn’t have to. (Genesis 22:13) - see note on Genesis 22
People like Moses - foreshadowers of Jesus Christ in the Old Testament - point out the Way for us, who are living in the New.
See note on Exodus 32:10
35. This shows the great mercy of God: Aaron (by whose hand the image was made) has not been punished with the rest; and we can assume, because he acted out if ignorance and/or confusion as a result of pressure: Those who are being punished are the ones who didn’t act out of ignorance, but willfully sinned.
Ch.33
1-3. In spite of Israel’s grievous sin, the Lord will not go back in his Promise to them through Abraham. He will no longer travel with them, but will not leave them alone.
“I will send an angel before you,
and I will drive out the Canaanites, the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.” (Vs.2)
This is likely not the Angel in Exodus 23:20-23, who carried the Name and Presence of God. The Lord is not present among them, but through his angel, he will perform his mighty acts of driving out the nations.
4-5. “To be given every other blessing is of no value if God is not with you. What is the value of Canaan? What is the value of milk and honey? What is the value of having possessions, if God was not with them? They saw that the realization of the presence of God, having this fellowship and company, was infinitely more important than everything else.” (Lloyd-Jones)
“I will not go up among you, lest I consume you on the way,” (vs.3)
From the beginning, the Lord in his mercy, has had to place a barrier of separation between himself and humanity, lest he consume us; until the coming of Jesus Christ, who will take this “separation” upon himself. (Matthew 27:45-46)
6. Exodus 35:22 describes how these ornaments went to the building of the tabernacle. “The very ornaments that could make a golden idol in the past could now be dedicated to God for the use of His sanctuary.” (Cole)
7. The Presence of the Lord can no longer remain among the people because of their continued iniquity.
So Moses sets up “the House of the Lord” outside the camp. So that all who are hungry and thirsty for him, can separate themselves and come. (Isaiah 55:1)
Moses also, separates himself from the people, in the same way that Jesus would frequently climb a mountain to pray and commune with the Lord. (Matthew 14:23-25). This is necessary, to maintain a hunger for his presence, that his presence and power may flow freely through us, and that we would not be corrupted by the carnal ways of humanity.
At this point - with the possible exception Joshua - Moses is the only one who truly KNOWS the Lord, and who has allowed himself to be KNOWN by Him. In this way - as a type and shadow of Jesus the Messiah, the Son of Man, who is also the Son of God - he stands in the gap for the whole community; in the same way that Jesus the Messiah stands in the gap, before God, on behalf of all of us. (Romans 8:34) Now, the Lord - the Righteous Judge - does not see our wretchedness: He see the Righteousness of His Son...and all of us who have been born again through Him, are now also righteous in Him. 2Corinthians 5:21, Romans 3:21-26
So, we as believers, must also take this Way of separation; not that we can or should physically separate ourselves from this world, but that we abstain from evil and live for Jesus Christ, through the power of His Spirit within us: We are in this world - but we are not if it.
Read John 17
8-11. Here again, is a picture of Jesus Christ, the Son of Man & the Son of God, who is fully KNOWN by God (John 1:18)
And through his sacrifice as the Lamb of God (John 1:29) and his intercession as the Great High Priest (Romans 8:3, Hebrews 9:11-15) we who, like the Israelites, were once far off, can now draw near to God, to worship, through Him. Ephesians 2:13
11. The LORD spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend: Numbers 12:8 clarifies what this meant. There God contrasted how He spoke to Moses with how He spoke to other prophets; Moses heard clearly and plainly, and other prophets heard in dreams and visions.
(Enduring Word Commentary.)
This is clarified by the Apostle John, in
John 15:14-15:
“You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.”
One day, because of what Christ our Lord has done, we will ALL (followers of Jesus) speak with Him face to face. 1John 3:1-2,
“Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.”
1Corinthians 13:12
“For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.”
11. We know from Numbers 11:28, that Joshua was Moses’s servant - and had been from birth. This says something about his parents: They literally dedicated their son to the Lord, in a similar way to that of Hannah. See 1Samuel 1:11,20-28.
Because of Hannah’ sacrifice, Samuel would dwell in the House of the Lord forever. In Joshua, we see this desire for God taken even further: Psalm 84:10:
“For a day in your courts is better
than a thousand elsewhere.
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of wickedness.”
12-13. See how Moses converses with the Lord - how the Lord ALLOWS him to...and even seems to encourage it: Like a son speaking with his Father. It seems that we are truly getting a glimpse into the relationship of the Trinity...
The relationship that the Lord, in his fullness, desires to have with all of us: full of the wisdom of the Fear of the Lord...full of the Love of the Sacrifice of the Son.
For another example of an intimate relationship with the Lord, read Genesis 18 (esp. vs.22-33)
13. He revealed his deeds to Israel - but his Way to Moses (John 14:6)
See Psalm 42:1-2
“...show me now your ways, that I may know you...”
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” See John 14:5-7.
This is the ultimate Way of the Lord; a mystery, only partly revealed to the Patriarchs and Prophets of the Old Covenant; now fulfilled and revealed to we who live in the New.
Moses realizes that knowing the Way of God (ultimately, Yeshua the Messiah, the Son of God) is the only Way to KNOW God!
“Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.”” Read John 14:9-11
13. Consider too that this nation is your people.”
Again, Moses steps into the gap of the High Priest, to make intercession for the people. “Don’t forget your Promise, Lord”
Consider this: Moses did not grow up among them; he was not a part of their community, was never under their yolk of bondage, and was persecuted by them, when he attempted to help them. (See Hebrews 11:25-27) And now he intercedes once again for them.
“A Prophet like unto Moses”
Jesus Christ too, was not one of us, although being born and brought up like us.
“For he grew up before him like a young plant,
and like a root out of dry ground;
he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,
and no beauty that we should desire him.” Isaiah 53:2
“...though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” Philippians 2:5-8
He was never under the yolk of slavery to sin, as we were; and yet: “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” 2Corinthians 5:21
And he was persecuted to the point of death - in order to Save us. Isaiah 53:3-6
John 19
And Hebrews 4
“Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:14-16)
“If your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here.” (Vs.15)
“I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:5
Not only does Moses understand that they need the Presence of God, but he actually WANTS the Presence of God.
“For how shall it be known that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people?”(vs.15)
“If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. John 15:7-8
Moses’s concern is that the Lord’s Name may continue to be glorified, through his continued mercy to deliver, protect and provide for Israel.
18-20. Moses takes his hunger for God to a new level, in asking to actually SEE Him. His desire for him is so great.
Lessons from the desert:
“The LORD.” The Name by which He originally introduced Himself to Moses, (Exodus 3:14) when Moses cowered away and trembled in fear at His voice, he now uses again: To remind Moses how far he has come - how far the Lord has brought him, in this relationship.
For Israel, this has simply been a physical journey; but for Moses, it has been so much more...
Vs.20“...man shall not see me and live.”
...Until the New Covenant, when the Lord will not only be seen, but KNOWN: John 1:14 “we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
21-23. And the LORD said, “Behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock,
What is this “safe place in the Rock”? Who is it pointing towards?
1Corinthians 10:4: “and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ.” (Remember Exodus 17:6-7)
And he will be “cleft” - struck - that we can stand before God and not perish because of our sin.
(Also 1Peter 2:8, Matthew 7:24-29, 16:18) The Lord will be referred to as “the Rock” a number of times throughout the Old Testament.
“I WILL put you in the cleft of the Rock...”? “I WILL cover you...”
The Love and Mercy of God: With His own Hand He will cover Moses, from His own face, to protect him from His Own Glory...until, in the fullness of time, He sends His Own Son, to bring down the barrier of Death forever!
Now, we believers stand beside the Lord (our Father) upon the Rock who is Christ.
Psalm 40:1-2
““I waited patiently for the LORD;
he inclined to me and heard my cry.
He drew me up from the pit of destruction,
out of the miry bog,
and set my feet upon a rock,
making my steps secure.”
Ch.34
1-2. The tablets of the Law have already been broken once, but the Law will be broken over and over...again and again.
So now Moses will make himself ready, to once again present himself before the Lord, on behalf of the people, and the Law they will continue to break - as a type and shadow of Jesus Christ, who will present himself before the Lord, on behalf of ALL people, and of the Law they will continue to break: As the High Priest who makes the perfect offering; and as the Lamb, who IS the Perfect Offering:-
See Hebrews 10:5-7 (concerning Jesus)
“Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired,
but a body have you prepared for me;
in burnt offerings and sin offerings
you have taken no pleasure.
Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come to do your will, O God,
as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.’”
3. John 13:36
Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, where are you going?” Jesus answered him, “Where I am going you cannot follow me now, but you will follow afterward.”
As a foreshadowing of Christ, no one can accompany Moses up the mountain to the Presence of God - because:
No one can accompany Jesus as he fulfills Hebrews 10:5-7;
No one can stand before the Lord, to receive the Law without breaking it - except Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
No one can stand in the gap, as the scapegoat of mankind, for breaking the Law - except Jesus Christ, the One who will perfectly fulfill it!
6-7. Again, proclaiming the mystery of his name of Exodus 3:14 - but this time, some of this mystery is unraveled and revealed:
“The LORD, the LORD...a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin.”
This is a perfect description of Jesus Christ:
Who He is: “merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness”;
And what he will do: “forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin.”
So, the Lord is unveiling Himself to Moses, through the mystery of His Name. See Note on Exodus 3:14
But there is another side to that Name, just as there is another side to God’s character: there can be no perfect love without also perfect justice: Sin and iniquity must be punished: -
“...who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.”
Jesus Christ will take that punishment!
John 3:18 “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.”
So, to believe on Jesus Christ, is to be forgiven and acquitted of all violations of the Law;
To refuse him, is to stand condemned by the broken Law.
9. The Lord will continue to dwell amongst them, because of Moses.
He will choose to dwell with us and in us, because of Jesus Christ.
Moses stands in the gap for the people, just like Jesus: The Lord will not go back on his Promise, and will not destroy them, because of this.
10-11. So here marks an iconic moment:
For the first time, the Law is decreed; for the first time, the Law is broken; and for the first time, someone stands in between the Lord and the sinner, to beg for mercy.
It will be this way, for the next 1400 years: Israel will sin - and someone will stand in the gap - whether it be the priests from Aaron’s line, or the prophets from the place of exile; there will be a remnant who will continually stand before God, humbling themselves, seeking his face and turning from their wicked ways (2Chronicles 7:14)
Until, in the fullness of time, the Lord answers their prayers: John 1:1-34
The Covenant is renewed - because, regardless of how far Israel will fall, the Lord will fulfill his Promise of Salvation, which he swore by his Own Name. See Genesis 15 (see note on that chapter)
He did not make this Covenant in agreement with us - he knew we would immediately fail to uphold our end, and the Covenant would fail...
No, he cut this Covenant with Himself - and IT WILL NOT FAIL!
11.The Lord himself will do this; they need simply trust him, believe and OBEY.
12. The Lord has made the Covenant in their behalf: He knows they will fall; he knows - once they are comfortable in the Land - that they will do exactly what he is telling not to do. This is why this Covenant of Salvation from Genesis 15, is not dependent at all upon them: It is dépendant entirely upon Him!
2Timothy 2:13
“if we are faithless, he remains faithful—for he cannot deny himself.”
13-16
It is vital that they are obedient to the Lord here, so that they will not violate his commandments again. See John 2:13-17: Israel are in the world, but they must not be of it...they must be separate to the Lord.
The Lord has already promised to go ahead of them and drive out their enemies before them.
Israel’s job is to purify the Land, leaving no trace of the wickedness of those who once inhabited it - and to make a place fit for the Holy habitation of the Lord. All temptation - the lust of the yes (remember Exodus 32) must be utterly destroyed.
See Exodus 23:24
14. This is not jealousy as we would think of it: Wanting something that someone else has;
No, God is jealous for what is already his - and always has been...humanity.
Under the Old Covenant it was Israel;
In the New Covenant, it is Israel and the entire world.
His zeal (jealousy) for us, is summed up - not in hate (as would be the case with us - Genesis 4:1-8) - but in the ultimate act of Love: John 3:16, 10:17-18
His zeal is for us - that we would CHOOSE Him.
15-16. The zeal of the Lord (his jealousy) becomes yet more evident in this verse - apparent by his strong choice of words:
“and when they whore after their gods”...
“whore after their gods and make your sons whore after their gods.”
The Lord is reviled by sin, and more so for Israel’s sake. The lineage must be kept pure (meaning, they must stay out of trouble enough that the Lord isn’t forced to completely destroy them - as with Sodom and Gomorrah).
Why? Because from Israel will come the fulfillment of the Promise made to Abraham: Remember Genesis 12:1-3 “I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.
Genesis 13:14-16
“I will make your offspring as the dust of the earth,
so that if one can count the dust of the earth, your offspring also can be counted.”
Through the Sacrifice of Messiah, the Way will be open for ALL (every nation) to return to the Presence of the Lord; and in Revelation 7:9-17, we are given a profoundly clear picture of what the fulfillment of this Promise looks like.
“After this I looked, and behold,
a great multitude that no one could number, (Abraham’s descendants)
from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!””
How can this be?
“...just as Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”?
Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.” So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.” Galatians 3:5-9
16. The Lord is tragically describing what he knows the Israelites will do exactly.
This is why he made the Covenant of Salvation with Himself and not with Abraham. If it had in any way been dependent upon any man, John 3:16 would not have occurred. As it is, Israel will suffer drought, disease, persecution; they will be taken into exile and invaded again and again, through their own iniquities. But in every generation, the Lord preserves a Remnant - who will separate themselves to Him and not bow to any other god. Those who are predestined by Him and set apart for Him, that Israel will survive and the Promise will come. This is the awesomeness of God’s sovereignty.
18. See Note on Exodus 12:14-20
19. See Note on Exodus 13:1-2, 11-16, 22:29-30
It was a donkey who carried Jesus, not once, but twice. How fitting that this same animal is redeemed through the sacrifice of a lamb.
21. None shall appear before Me empty-handed: God gave this command in the context of daily work (Six days you shall work) and festival observance (you shall observe the feast). The idea is that everyone should have some work and something to give unto the LORD.
i. It is simply appropriate for the creature to honor the Creator by giving unto Him. It is even more appropriate for the redeemed to honor their Redeemer this way.
Enduring Word Commentary
22-24. The feast of Pentecost
And the feast of Tabernacles
The spiritual identities of these feasts are deeply profound; pointing towards the Lord’s plan of Salvation and redemption - to be covered shortly.
This is why all males (representing their households) MUST appear before the Lord. The feasts are representing the whole plan of the Lord, from start(Passover) to finish (Tabernacles)
And as long as the people will honor this, the Lord will preserve both them, and the Land upon which His plan will come to pass.
The sacrifice MUST be kept pure - as Jesus Christ was.
It must be eaten that same night: see John 6:51-58: To accept Jesus Christ as the Sacrifice for our redemption, we must accept ALL of Him - everything he said...and did - WHO HE IS!
Matthew 16:15-17,
John 1:1-5, 10-18, 29-34
John 8:56-58,
John 20:26-29
...with nothing left over. John 3:18
26. Again, pointing towards the sacrifice of Messiah: He was the utmost and very best...
John 10:17-18
26. See Exodus 23:19
It is barbaric, the notion that a mother in any way, could be a party to the slaughter of her offspring. Yet, this seemed to be the custom of the surrounding pagan nations (who willingly sacrificed their children to their “gods” and didn’t think twice about this bizarre custom)
Israel must not be led astray here: What begins with a goat, will inevitably end with a child. This is why the Commandments of God are so imperative to Israel’s survival: They MUST be different; set apart from the world, for the plan of salvation for the world.
So the Lord is gives Israel a direct command:
This practice is against the laws of nature...but more importantly: It is utterly and completely against the Law, will and nature of God!
28. These forty days of fasting mark the renewal of the Covenant and the Commandments.
The commandments must remain in place, because without knowledge of sin, there can be no sacrifice for sin and no forgiveness from God:- the Covenant.
“He neither ate bread nor drank water.”
Read
Matthew 4:1-11
Mark 1:12-13
Luke 4:1-13
Not only will Jesus renew the Covenant - he will fulfill it - and the Commandments - perfectly and completely; and through this, he will birth a brand New Covenant!
During his sojourn on earth, Jesus Christ (the last Adam) did what the first Adam couldn’t do: He walked PERFECTLY before God - obeying the Commandments to the last jot and tittle; and for forty days and nights, He demonstrated this to Satan...
that there is in effect “a new sheriff in town”...here is an altogether different kind of “man” - who will not be overthrown, as Adam was. Here is the fulfillment of Genesis 3:15: -
he shall bruise your head,
and you shall bruise his heel.”
29. Moses carries the Commandments of God, down the mountain-
See Deuteronomy 28:15-19
In the same Way, Jesus Christ will carry the Commandments of God, all the Way to the Place of Sacrifice...where He will give Himself as the offering for all of humanity - who have broken them!
Moses is walking out, ahead of time, the Perfect Plan of the Lord, which will be accomplished by “the prophet who is like Moses” - the Messiah...the Son of the Living God! - No wonder his face shone...
See
Matthew 17:1-9 (and note)
Mark 9:1-9
Luke 9:28-36
32-35. See Matthew 17:7-8
Mark 9:8
Luke 9:36
For a brief moment, these few disciples saw the “veil” come away from the Son of God, and the unveiled glory of His countenance shine through.
Sinful man cannot look upon the face of God and live (Exodus 33:20).
But now:
Read 2Corinthians 3:12-18:-
“Since we have such a hope, we are very bold, not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome of what was being brought to an end.
But their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted,
because only through Christ is it taken away.
Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts.
But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed.
Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”
So now, on the Salvation side of the cross, with the Sacrifice for sin having been made, we too, with unveiled faces, can approach the Throne of God. And one day, having been fully resurrected into a new body, we will, each believer, behold the fullness of this glory with our own eyes.
See:
1Corinthians 15:51-57
“We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.”
1Thessalonians 4:13-18
“And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.”
1John 3:2-3
“Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.”
And finally, in Matthew 27:50-54, we see all of this coming together magnificently!
“And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many.”
34. “Whenever Moses went in before the LORD to speak with him, he would remove the veil, until he came out.”(vs34) Moses again, foreshadowing Messiah, who as the Son of God, needs no veil to approach His own glory.
...But Messiah in turn, will also pave the Way, through His Redemptive Sacrifice, for all of us to come with unveiled faces, before the Throne...the Presence...of God.
Ch.35
2-3.Again, a solemn “remembrance” of the Sacrifice of Messiah (although it has not yet happened) who will fulfill the Sabbath, so that ALL can enter His Rest.
Matthew 11:28-30
Mark 2:27-28
Hebrews 4
This is why the punishment for breaking the Sabbath was death: We either choose Life: the Rest that Jesus, through His atoning Sacrifice, gives us;
Or we stubbornly continue in our own “labors”, which, because of our sin nature, can never please God - and will inevitably end in Death.
Hebrews 11:6
It is our Faith, in the finished work of Jesus Christ, that pleases God; our own works count for nothing.
5-9. “Whoever is of a generous heart...”
The Lord is leaving the giving down yo the consciences of the people: The Tabernacle and everything pertaining to it - including the clothing for the priests - will be brought about by the free-will offers from the people: A deliberate act on the Lord’s part - because this Tabernacle system is for them...to atone for their sins: They are free to choose to give...just as we are free to choose to worship and follow the One to who this entire Tabernacle system is pointing towards.
The Lord allowed them to “plunder the Egyptians” of their gold, silver and all their fine expensive things - not for Israel to consume upon themselves...who needs such things as these in the desert?
These things were to build a Place for Him that he may dwell among them, but not consume them.
10-11. We do not know for sure if this was a command or request; we do know that the same God who created these people and anointed them with the skills needed to do what was required, also moved upon their hearts- that they would come and offer themselves freely for the instigation of this new system.
Here is a picture of the mystery of Election: We are given the freedom to offer our lives to follow Christ or not - and yet the Bible clearly says in Romans 8:29:- “For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.”
Vs.21 “And they came, everyone whose heart stirred him, and everyone whose spirit moved him, and brought the LORD’S contribution to be used for the tent of meeting, and for all its service, and for the holy garments.”
Vs.22. “So they came, both men and women. All who were of a willing heart...””
11-19. Lest we the reader forget, the Lord takes us through every detail of the list again; of such vital importance is this Tabernacle system, in his plan of Redemption.
It is all for us!
22. All who were of a willing heart; This brings to mind the parable of the unfaithful servant in Matthew Ch. 25
Maybe it wasn’t really that he was afraid - he was simply unwilling.
See note on Matthew 25:14-30
24-26. “EVERYONE”
Everyone who had...
Everyone who could...
This is an amazing time of “awakening”.
They are building His House!;
coming together, giving whatever they have...whatever they can...to establish this Place of Sacrifice, Redemption and Mercy...because this Place is for them! Where THEIR sins will be atoned for; and it points towards the Place where the Lord Himself will offer the Perfect Sacrifice...to end all others...and atone for the sins of all humanity...forever.
25-26. Surely this is why the Lord gives us gifts...skills...possessions: It is not for ourselves, but to serve one another - for HIS glory!
Ephesians 4:16
27-29. Whether it was goat’s hair, acacia wood, onyx stones or gold and silver, the Lord made sure that everyone had something to give...that everyone had a part to play; male and female, rich and poor, smithy, mason, carpenter, weaver, farmer, spinner, smelter, father and mother, son and daughter:
All played their part in establishing this part of history: the substitutionary blood for the forgiveness of sins.
And to what end?
John 1:29, Hebrews 9
30. This is a special and specific calling, where this individual is not only mentioned by name, tribe and lineage, by the Lord, but filled with the Spirit. This is extremely rare and reserved usually only for prophets: (Eg: Exodus 3:4, 1Samuel 3:4-10, Jeremiah 1:5
34. As he has been blessed and anointed to do- he has also been anointed to teach others, so that he does not work alone.
Ch.36
1. James 1:17
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.
It is the Lord who gives us the gifts; and the strength, skill and wisdom to operate in them.
Our role is to surrender to his service and be obedient to his calling. Apart from him, we can do no good thing; but within his perfect will, we can do ANYTHING he requires of us!
2Corinthians 12:9
Philippians 4:12-13
Psalm 18
John 15:4-5
2. A lesson for the Church: The Lord has already given us the gifts and skills necessary for what he has called us to do: We must be obedient to respond when he stirs our hearts to action.
3-5. His mercies are new every morning...his steadfast love never ceases...but goes on and on. Lamentations 3:22-23
The people keep giving because the Lord keeps moving on their hearts; Such is HIS heart, for the mercy and forgiveness that will flow from His House.
As it is, whenever the Lord provides, he does so with plenty to spare. See Matthew 14:14-21, “And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces left over.”
Matthew 15:32-38. “And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up seven baskets full of the broken pieces left over.”
- so much so that the people had to be restrained from giving - as if the Lord were turning off a tap, or placing a cap over a water spout, that he had removed for that purpose.
***and, if he can turn off the tap, and cap the water, he can in his time, uncap the water and turn the tap back on.***
3-7. And once the Lord has equipped and called, he will provide, through stirring the hearts of others, whom he has also equipped and called. This is how the Lord has designed us (the Ecclesia) to function.
Here is the most beautiful picture of Israel’s zeal for building the House of the Lord...into which will come the holy and perfect Sacrifice of the Lord (Matthew 21:1-11).
If only this zeal had continued from generation to generation...but tragically, from what we read in the following verses of Matthew 21, the only one with zeal for the House of the Lord, is the Lord Himself. See Matthew 21:12-13 (compare with John 2:13-17 - a different occurrence, but undoubtedly the same ZEAL.)
8-9. Once again, we are taken through every detail of inventory and instruction - And we know it will all be done - to perfection:
To show the faithfulness of God, to do exactly what he said he would, using the people of his choosing, whom he has gifted and skilled, who will do exactly as he requires.
Again, this is both unique and significant: They are building the Tabernacle for the remission of sins, through substitution...the Tabernacle that is pointing towards the Sacrifice of Jesus the Messiah!
8. The craftsmen, anointed by God to makes the Tabernacle, can only do so because of the women anointed by God to spin the yarns together to make the curtains: This is a powerful picture of one Body, each component functioning in its role, so that the whole Body can function as one. Ephesians 4:16
Ch.37
1-6. Bezalel, in building the Ark - and everything required for the ordinances of the Tabernacle, was obedient to the letter on the Lord’s instruction; because the Spirit of God had filled him - not only to do what was required. but to do so WILLINGLY.
15-16. The gold - representing purity and royalty: Symbolic of the Lord God, overlays an earthly substance: wood. Everything within the Holy of Holies is either pure hammered gold or wood overlayed with gold; an unusual and beautiful combination: because within the Holy Place, the Lord will come down to commune with man. Heaven will meet with earth...deity with humanity: an unusual and beautiful combination and a foreshadowing of Jesus Christ
29. See note on Exodus 30-22-33
Ch.38
1. When God anoints, it is not only to do - it us to do exactly as instructed: It is to obey!
The horns represented power - but also mercy...the right of sanctuary. (See 1Kings 1:50-53) How - and where does this right for mercy in the midst of judgment, come from?
From the very place from which the horns are projecting...which they are one peace with: the altar of Sacrifice...for the remission of sins, through the shedding of the blood of a substitute. In the Old Testament these substitutes were animals; Under the New Covenant the Substitute will be Jesus Christ, the Son of God...the Lamb of God.
There was a horn on each corner; pointing to the north, south, east and west.
So the horns are God’s way of inviting people (from the four corners of the world) to come and find sanctuary...mercy...Rest, through the sacrificial blood of His Son...
For it will be the Son who will eventually tie himself to the horns of the altar (Psalm 118:27)...he will give up his hands and stretch forth his arms on a cross...shedding his own perfect blood: The atoning sacrifice for the sins of the entire world - whosever would believe.
Here, is what - and where- this altar ultimately points to.
8. This was highly polished bronze- and formally used by women to edify and beautify themselves - it will now be used by God, for his ministers...Symbolic of not only cleanliness - but refinement. Nothing is polished without it being first refined and purified; other wise it would be no better than a whitewashed tomb (see Matthew 23:27-28)
This refining and purification is symbolized by the altar of Sacrifice: This is what Jesus did for us in the Cross: When he died, he took our old sinful selves with him. Now, on the other side of the Sacrifice, we are born again; and when we - like the priests, cleanse ourselves in the waters of the Word, and see ourselves through the beautiful, untarnished, polished bronze of the laver - through the Sacrifice of the Altar.
Remember it was no ordinary women who donated these mirrors: It was women who were already ministering to God - who were glad to give up something used for vanity, to be used by God for sanctity.
10. Remember: the bronze bases symbolize Judgement;
The silver hocks - redemption (the price of a slave)
When we picture these bronze bases, we also remember the feet of Jesus in Revelation 1:15 - burnished bronze: Judgement fully satisfied, with sin - and its orchestrator - now firmly under Jesus’s feet, in preparation for the final judgment (see Genesis 3:15 & Romans 16:20)
The redemption of humanity hinges on the Judgement of its iniquities, as the curtains of the tabernacle hinge on their silver hooks. Jesus Christ will satisfy this judgement and pay a price much higher than silver for our redemption.
Throughout the outer courtyard, we see a mixture of bronze and silver - judgement and redemption.
19-20. So, the base of this tabernacle - upon which it stands - is bronze, symbolizing judgment: The Tabernacle (the sacrifice system) would not be needed were it not because of transgression and judgment...Which leads us to the silver - overlaying the tops of the pillars and forming the hinges for the curtains: Because the tabernacle and sacrificial system will also be of no use or value were it not for the Lord’s plan, will and purpose, to redeem.
Looking again at the bronze bases, and remembering the feet of Jesus, in Revelation 1:15 - no we are no longer under God’s judgment; Jesus has paid the price for our redemption, and we have been raised up and are seated with him in heavenly places. Ephesians 2:5-6
21. The Tabernacle of Testimony (or ordinance) of God.
That humanity has broken the Lord’s commandments, the sentence is Death; but for each person a substitute will be accepted in their place:
The ultimate fulfillment of this being Jesus Christ the Lamb of God.
24. Twenty-nine talents: Some estimate a talent to equal about 70 pounds (32 kilograms). This means there was something like 2,030 pounds (920 kilograms) of gold used in the tabernacle. (Enduring Word Commentary)
We know from Exodus 12:36, that before Israel’s departure, the Lord allowed them to literally “plunder” the Egyptians - and it is from out of this abundance of wealth and resources, from a sinful nation - that the Tabernacle of the Testimony: of man’s sin, the Lord Judgement and substitutionary atonement, that this Tabernacle - and everything pertaining to it - will be raised. Just as with the Altar of Sacrifice, the Tabernacle itself, would not be necessary were it not for the sins of humanity.
Ch.39
3. Always, the picture of Jesus Christ comes to mind - as his hands and feet are hammered into the cross of our iniquities...
Although he was already pure and refined more than gold, he laid all of that aside (Philippians 2:5-8) - to be pierced and crushed in our place (Isaiah 53:5) - like the gold leaf interwoven into the blue, purple and scarlet yarns of Aaron’s garments - these colors also, pointing toward Jesus Christ and the Gospel: - see note on Exodus 26:31-33
6-7. See Exodus 28:9-14 and attached notes
9. Just like the two square altars of the tabernacle: in a square, all sides and corners are absolutely equal - but all face or point in different and opposite directions - implying the individuality of each tribe, where they will be positioned, and with each also having their own unique stone.
Referencing this breast piece, no one tribe can claim to be better or more significant than another, because in the fullness of time, the Great High Priest (Jesus Christ) will bear the transgressions of all twelve tribes without exception.
With regard to their positioning on the breast piece: Can the tribes at the top claim they are in any way superior to those at the bottom?; just as a tower, no matter how ornate its penthouse, will not stand long without its foundation: *note Judah’s positioning here (Ephesians 2:20)*
- and, as to the tribes in the middle- this doesn’t need explaining...except that, if there were no middle, there would be no square, and no equality in the eyes of the Lord.
As it is - just like the twelve tribes - when we (the thirteenth tribe - the gentiles) approach the Cross of Sacrifice, we do so as absolute equals: Sinners...all in need of a Savior...of which, there is only one. Matthew 1:21 “She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins .
Psalm 118:14 “The LORD is my strength and my song;
he has become my salvation.”
No matter who we are (rich or poor, skilled or unskilled, learned or unlearned) and no matter where we have come from (north, south, east or west-thinking back to the square)...no matter how much better we think we are than the next person - The Cross is everyone’s equalizer!
13. See Revelation 3:18
“I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich,”
1Peter 1:6-7
“In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire —may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”
There is no other Way of Salvation, except the Narrow Way...where suffering and hatred by this world is inevitable. John 15:18-25
But, as we look at this breast piece, we can rest assured that we are encompassed all around and woven tightly within the Love of the Lord - just as each one of these stones is encompassed by, and woven intricately into, the beautiful gold filigree of the breast piece.
Pure gold can only be produced through refining - and the type used as filigree, even more so; but we can rest assured of this: Jesus had already gone before us and paved this Way for us. It is as He is: beautiful and glorious (Exodus 28:2)
14. A signet - marking the delegation of authority: in this way Aaron carries the authority and responsibility for Israel and their transgressions - as a foreshadowing of Jesus Christ, who will do the same - for Israel and the entire world.
16-20. There is nothing covered up or kept hidden about any of this: It is meant to be visualized...described...drawn...remembered! - long after the Tabernacle system itself has been fulfilled by Jesus Christ; because every part of it points towards and tells us the story of the Gospel: Pure gold... precious stones... blue purple and scarlet yarn... intricately woven...beautiful designs... filigree...expensive oil...holy and fragrant incense - never to be used outside of Tabernacle purposes -
Alongside:
Sacrifices, substitutionary animals, the flow of blood...the smell of burning carcasses.
The great chasm between the glory of God, and the degeneracy of humanity; that the Lord, the Son of God will one day, permanently breach.
24. Pomegranate: a plant indigenous to Israel containing many seeds: John 12:24
Jesus Christ, as both the Lamb of God and the great High priest, will be the Seed that falls to the ground, dies and produces much fruit.
But we also, who choose to follow Jesus, are required also to “fall to the ground like a seed” - to die to our our sinful lives and live for Christ, so in that sense, we too are like seeds. The pomegranate had a hard case - our sin; but once broken - through repentance, its many seeds are then able to fall to the ground, die and produce more of their kind. This is an effective picture of the Church. Aaron - representing Jesus the High Priest- wears pomegranates all around the hem of his priestly robe; and the Lamp stand - symbolizing the union of Christ to his Church - also contains, within its hammered gold, numerous pomegranates.
25. Bells of pure gold; symbolizing the pure and perfect Law of God: see note on Exodus 28:35
But the pomegranates, symbolizing Christ and his Ecclesia - are acting almost like a buffer...or a muffler, to the clashing of the bells: As if Jesus is saying: “The Law has been broken; but I have taken the Judgment and satisfied its requirements.”
Ch.40
1-2. This will give them ten days to prepare for the Passover. See Exodus 12
9. In the same way that we are anointed by the Holy Spirit, through the atoning blood of the Son, and we too become holy.
15. See Hebrews 7
38. Isaiah 4:4-5
It could be that we are reading here, of a foreshadowing of this future event - the millennial reign of Christ (See Revelation 20:4-6, Matthew 19:28
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