Can I pray for you in any way?
Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.
In Christ, Mark
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk
** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn
** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
Then the Lord said to Moses: "Set up the tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting, on the first day of the first month. Place the ark of the Testimony in it and shield the ark with the curtain. Bring in the table and set out what belongs on it. Then bring in the lampstand and set up its lamps. Place the gold altar of incense in front of the ark of the Testimony and put the curtain at the entrance to the tabernacle.”
"Place the altar of burnt offering in front of the entrance to the tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting; place the basin between the Tent of Meeting and the altar and put water in it. Set up the courtyard around it and put the curtain at the entrance to the courtyard.”
"Take the anointing oil and anoint the tabernacle and everything in it; consecrate it and all its furnishings, and it will be holy. Then anoint the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils; consecrate the altar, and it will be most holy. Anoint the basin and its stand and consecrate them.”
"Bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and wash them with water. Then dress Aaron in the sacred garments, anoint him and consecrate him so he may serve Me as priest. Bring his sons and dress them in tunics. Anoint them just as you anointed their father, so they may serve Me as priests. Their anointing will be to a priesthood that will continue for all generations to come."
Moses did everything just as the Lord commanded him.
So the tabernacle was set up on the first day of the first month in the second year.
When Moses set up the tabernacle, he put the bases in place, erected the frames, inserted the crossbars and set up the posts. Then he spread the tent over the tabernacle and put the covering over the tent, as the Lord commanded him. He took the Testimony and placed it in the ark, attached the poles to the ark and put the atonement cover over it. Then he brought the ark into the tabernacle and hung the shielding curtain and shielded the ark of the Testimony, as the Lord commanded him.
Moses placed the table in the Tent of Meeting on the north side of the tabernacle outside the curtain and set out the bread on it before the Lord, as the Lord commanded him. He placed the lampstand in the Tent of Meeting opposite the table on the south side of the tabernacle and set up the lamps before the Lord, as the Lord commanded him. Moses placed the gold altar in the Tent of Meeting in front of the curtain and burned fragrant incense on it, as the Lord commanded him.
Then he put up the curtain at the entrance to the tabernacle. He set the altar of burnt offering near the entrance to the tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting, and offered on it burnt offerings and grain offerings, as the Lord commanded him. He placed the basin between the Tent of Meeting and the altar and put water in it for washing, and Moses and Aaron and his sons used it to wash their hands and feet. They washed whenever they entered the Tent of Meeting or approached the altar, as the Lord commanded Moses.
Then Moses set up the courtyard around the tabernacle and altar and put up the curtain at the entrance to the courtyard. And so Moses finished the work.
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.
In all the travels of the Israelites, whenever the cloud lifted from above the tabernacle, they would set out; but if the cloud did not lift, they did not set out—until the day it lifted. So the cloud of the Lord was over the tabernacle by day, and fire was in the cloud by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel during all their travels.
Exodus 40:1-38
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
Today, we have reached the end of the Book of Exodus and what a Bible-study exodus it has been as we’ve journeyed with Moses from his birth through his ascension into Egyptian national leadership under Pharaoh to his falling out with Egypt’s supreme leader and his encounter with God at the burning bush.
We then followed him through his Egyptian return, God’s unleashing of the ten plagues on Egypt, and his leading of the Israelites out of bondage by passing through the God-parted Red Sea.
After this, we traveled with Moses and the people of Israel through the desert wilderness where water would flow from a rock, manna and quail would come down from Heaven, and victory would be gained over the enemy Amalekites. We walked with them to Mount Sinai where Moses went up the mountain to meet with God and received the Ten Commandments as well as other instruction, as well as directions for building the tabernacle. Meanwhile at the foot of the mountain, the people of Israel, under the shoddy leadership of Aaron, sinned by worshipping a golden calf that was fashioned from the jewelry they had been wearing. You’ll remember that when Moses came down from his time with the Lord, he smashed the two stone tablets which God had written on with His finger, all over the transgressions of the Israelites. Their sinfulness led to the eventual slaying of 3,000 of them who decided to not be for God.
Moses then returned back to the top of Mount Sinai for another meeting with God that lasted forty days and nights, after which he returned to the Israelite camp so the construction of the tabernacle, courtyard, and all the items began in earnest. After everything was built, Moses blessed the people after inspecting their work and finding that all was done in accordance with the Lord’s specifications.
Indeed, we have traveled many days and nights through this book with Moses and the Israelites and it has been a rich experience for me. I pray you feel the same way.
As we finish this study with chapter 40, we see that the tabernacle is put together as God directed and we should note that although the people had donated materials and did the handiwork, it was Moses who got the honor to oversee the set up and when he had completed that task, the scriptures tell is that the Lord’s glory filled the tabernacle as He dwelled with His people as He promised.
What an awesome blessing and assurance this must have been to the people of Israel for they knew that their God was present and with them, ready to lead them to the Promised Land as He promised to do.
How did He lead?
The answer is found in the closing verses of this book.
"In all the travels of the Israelites, whenever the cloud lifted from above the tabernacle, they would set out; but if the cloud did not lift, they did not set out—until the day it lifted. So the cloud of the Lord was over the tabernacle by day, and fire was in the cloud by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel during all their travels."
Here, we see where it was God dictating everything. For when the cloud of the Lord lifted, the people knew it was time to get up and move, and so they did. While on the go, the Lord was present within the cloud during the day, always in sight of His people and when darkness fell, there was His fire within the cloud that pierced the night and kept them on course.
Indeed, God was always with them and it is still so with us today. For there is never anywhere that we journey through life that our God is not present and with us, keeping us in His care, watching over us in good and bad times, rejoicing in the successes He delivers, bringing strength when we’re weak, mending our brokenness, comforting us in our sorrows, and lamenting the times when we fail and fall, convicting and disciplining us when needed.
Yes, our Lord does these things and so much more, ultimately bringing us hope and joy in our respective journeys as we head to our own Promised Land, the eternity of Heaven through our belief and trust in Jesus as Savior.
In the end translation, our God is with us now, abiding with now as much as He will forever. Let us take time today to give Him our deepest thanks and praise, echoing these words from David in the sixteenth Psalm:
You make known to me the path of life; You will fill me with joy in Your presence, with eternal pleasures at Your right hand. v.11
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment