Exodus 26
Ten inner curtains that make up the Tabernacleverses 1-6
Moreover you shall make the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine twined
linen – blue – purple – scarlet with cherubim of cunning work
shall you make them
The length of one curtain shall be eight and twenty cubits (42 feet)
and the breadth of one curtain four cubits (15 feet)
and every one of the curtains shall have one measure
The five curtains shall be coupled together one to another
and other five curtains shall be coupled one to another
And you shall make loops of blue upon the edge of the one curtain
from the selvedge in the coupling
and likewise shalt thou make in the uttermost edge of
another curtain – in the coupling of the second
Fifty loops shall you make in the one curtain
and fifty loops shall you make in the edge of the curtain
that is in the coupling of the second
that the loops may take hold one of another
And you shall make fifty taches of gold
and couple the curtains together with the taches
and it shall be one tabernacle
Eleven outer curtains on top of Tabernacleverses 7-14
And you shall make curtains of goats’ hair [weather resistant material]
to be a covering upon the tabernacle
eleven curtains shall you make
The length of one curtain shall be thirty cubits (45 feet)
and the breadth of one curtain four cubits (15 feet)
the eleven curtains shall be all of one measure
And you shall couple five curtains by themselves
and six curtains by themselves – and shall double the sixth curtain
in the forefront of the tabernacle
And you shall make fifty loops on the edge of the one curtain that is outmost
in the coupling – and fifty loops in the edge of the curtain which
couple the second
And you shall make fifty taches of brass – and put the taches into the loops
and couple the tent together – that it may be one
And the remnant that remains of the curtains of the tent
the half curtain that remains – shall hang over the
backside of the tabernacle
and a cubit on the one side
and a cubit on the other side of that which remains in the
length of the curtains of the tent
it shall hang over the sides of the tabernacle
on this side and on that side to cover it
And you shall make a covering for the tent of rams’ skins dyed red
and a covering above of badgers’ skins
Wooden frame of the Tabernacleverses 15-25
You shall make boards for the tabernacle of shittim wood standing up
ten cubits shall be the length of a board
and a cubit and a half shall be the breadth of one board
two tenons shall there be in one board
set in order one against another
thus shall you make for all the boards of the tabernacle
And you shall make the boards for the tabernacle
twenty boards on the south side southward
You shall make forty sockets of silver under the twenty boards
two sockets under one board for his two tenons
and two sockets under another board for his two tenons
and for the second side of the tabernacle on the
north side there shall be twenty boards
and their forty sockets of silver
two sockets under one board
and two sockets under another board
And for the sides of the tabernacle westward you shall make six boards
and two boards shall you make for the corners of the tabernacle
in the two sides – and they shall be coupled together beneath
and they shall be coupled together above the
head of it to one ring – thus shall it be
for them both
they shall be for the two corners
And they shall be eight boards – and their sockets of silver – sixteen sockets
two sockets under one board – and two sockets under another board
Wooden crossbars that hook the frame togetherverses 26-29
And you shall make bars of shittim wood
five for the boards of the one side of the tabernacle
five bars for the boards of the other side of the tabernacle
five bars for the boards of the side of the tabernacle
for the two sides westward
And the middle bar in the midst of the boards shall reach
from end to end
And you shall overlay the boards with gold
and make their rings of gold for places for the bars
and you shall overlay the bars with gold
All work done according to Pattern on the Mountainverse 30
And you shall rear up the tabernacle according to the fashion
thereof which was SHOWED you in the MOUNT
Inside finely woven linen curtains: veilverses 31-33
And you shall make a VEIL of blue – purple – scarlet
and fine twined linen of cunning work
with CHERUBIM shall it be made
And you shall hang it upon four pillars of shittim wood
overlaid with gold – their hooks shall be of gold
upon the four sockets of silver
And you shall hang up the veil under the taches
that you may bring in thither within the veil the
ARK of the testimony
and the veil shall DIVIDE to you
between the HOLY place
and the MOST HOLY
Placement of furniture inside the Tabernacleverses 34-35
And you shall put the MERCY SEAT upon the ARK of the testimony
in the MOST HOLY place
And you shall set the TABLE without the veil
and the CANDLESTICK over against the TABLE on the side of
the tabernacle toward the south
and you shall put the TABLE on the north side
Curtain at the entrance of the Tabernacleverses 36-37
And you shall make an hanging for the door of the tent of blue
purple – scarlet – fine twined linen – wrought with needlework
And you shall make for the hanging five pillars of shittim wood
and overlay them with gold – and their hooks shall be of gold
and you shall cast five sockets of brass for them
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 6 And you shall make fifty taches of gold, and couple the curtains together with the taches: and it shall be one tabernacle. (7165 “taches” [qerec] means hook, or clasp.)
DEVOTION: The LORD gave instructions in great detail. HE even describes the hardware HE wanted on the curtains that covered the inside of the Tabernacle.
They had to be made of gold. Now remember where the children of Israel got the gold?
When they were leaving Egypt they were told to go to their Egyptian neighbors and borrow all the jewelry they would give them. So they took millions of dollars’ worth of gold out of Egypt with them.
God had them borrow the jewelry because HE knew they were going to build a place of worship for HIM. HE gave Moses the instructions regarding the building of the Tabernacle. The LORD had given him a eye witness account of the Tabernacle in heaven. So Moses had a pattern to follow in his head.
Now it was time to build it. They had to collect all the jewelry for the building of the Tabernacle. The people gave it back to the LORD. So they were melting down the jewelry which probably was mostly in the forms of false gods of Egypt. So this was the second defeat of the gods of Egypt.
God always wants HIS people to give when there is a special need above their normal offerings to the LORD. The feasts required offerings. The LORD had established a tithe with Abraham which had continued to this day. Giving willingly to the LORD of our tithe is a measure of our loyalty to HIM. It has nothing to do with our salvation. It has everything to do with our obedience to HIS command.
The LORD’S work needs the support of the LORD’S people to move forward. Our goal is to reach our world for Christ. We can’t do it without enough money for the mission. Remember Malachi accused the children of Israel of stealing from God because they were not bring their tithes into the storehouse for the support of the priests and the Temple.
It is been proven that the average believer gives only about two percent (2.0) of their income to the LORD. Imagine how much more could be done if it was at least doubled. What would happen if every genuine believer gave ten percent of their gold to the LORD annually?
CHALLENGE: Our gold comes from our world. Our home is not this earth. Heaven is our home and we need to lay up treasures in heaven. One way is our giving of our tithe to the LORD’S work NOW!!
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
: 11 And you shall make fifty taches of brass, and put the taches into the loops, and couple the tent together, that it may be one. (168 “tent” [‘ohel] means tabernacle, dwelling, home, dwelling, the sacred tent of Jehovah, or a portable shelter.)
DEVOTION: The LORD has unity in mind all the time when it comes to HIS place of worship. The Tabernacle was to be put up and taken down many times in the wilderness wanderings of the children of Israel. Every time they stopped it was to be set up. The place of worship was a type of the place of worship in heaven. It was given to show them that they were in the presence of the LORD every time they stopped.
It took the clasps to keep everything together.
They were made of bronze. These are the curtains that keep the world out of the Tabernacle. They protected it from the elements of rain and other things. They held the Tabernacle together to make one continuous curtain of privacy from the outside world.
Only the priests were allowed in the holy place. And only the High Priest was allowed in the holy of holies once a year on the Day of Atonement. These two places were divided by a veil that they had to make.
Only a certain group of people were allowed in the Tabernacle and only a certain group of people are going to enter heaven for eternity. The New Testament group is made of those who have made a commitment to the LORD and have shown by their actions that they were genuine believers. There salvation is a gift and their service is a thank offering to the LORD.
It takes every believer working together to hold the church together today. Satan wants division in the church. The LORD wants no division but unity in HIS church today.
CHALLENGE: Are you one of the clasps that are holding the church together? Are you helping to keep the world or worldliness out of the church?
: 30 And you shall rear up the tabernacle according to the fashion thereof which was shown you in the mount. (4941 “fashion” [mistpat] means a verdict, ceremony, form, manner, measure, ordinance, or sentence.)
DEVOTION: There are at least two types of people in the world. There are people who like to work with all the details of a project and those who like to see the big picture and let others work on the details. I had a secretary at my last church who was a detail person. She would organize all the names and addresses for all those who attended and visited the church and give me the list. My wife is a detail person. I am a big picture type of guy. My board members are detail people. I like to make sure that the details of my messages are right. However, most of the time, I like others to work with the details.
God is a God of details. There was a tabernacle in heaven. God brought Moses up to see the tabernacle. Moses was on the mountain and saw the tabernacle in heaven. He was told to copy the pattern of the one he saw in heaven. The one on earth was in the same form as the one in heaven. Moses remembered the details.
When we read these chapters, we wonder why all the details are recorded in Scripture. The tabernacle was a golden tent where the presence of the LORD was said to dwell. HIS presence symbolized HIS care for HIS people.
In the description of the tabernacle I wished I had learned more from Deacon George, who was a carpenter in my second church. The tabernacle [15 feet by 45 feet] was carried throughout their wilderness wanderings in separate pieces that were taken down and set up as they left and settled in a new location. God’s presence was with the people while they were obedient and while they were sinning. When they were sinning judgment came. When they were obedient blessings came.
The ten curtains were only seen by the priests that worked in the Tabernacle. The outside of the Tabernacle was covered with goat-skins to protect it from the weather. There were two rooms in this tent: the holy place and the holy of holies. In the Holy of Holies were the Ark of the Covenant and the Mercy Seat. In the outer room was the table of showbread and the golden six branch candlestick. There were two veils. One veil was on the outside of the Tabernacle so no one could look into the Tabernacle. The second veil was between the holy place and the holy of holies. The second veil was torn apart when Christ died on the cross to give all those who are followers of Christ access into the presence of God daily.
The high priest was only allowed in the Holy of Holies once a year. If he didn’t offer blood for his own sins before he offered blood for the sins of the people, he could die. If he entered unclean, he could die. He was entering into the presence of God.
One of the reasons we have all the details is so that we realize that God is concerned with every detail in HIS tabernacle and HE is concerned with every detail in our lives. HE wanted Moses to follow the pattern showed him on the mountain. HE wants us to follow the pattern of the Christian live that Christ manifested while HE lived in this world. This pattern is recorded in the Word of God, the Bible.
In the New Testament we are told that our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit once we repent of our sins and become a follower of Jesus Christ. God dwells in us. God works in us. God cares about every detail of our life. If we sin, we need to confess it to HIM. HE is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and restore us to fellowship with HIM. Only those in HIS family can do this.
We are HIS representative to our world. HE loves us so much that HE wants us to know that we should bring every decision to HIM. HE is interested. Are we interested in HIS opinion?
CHALLENGE: What details or areas of our lives are we not bringing to HIM? These are the areas that we need change in. We have to get to the point that every detail of our lives is covered with prayer. Then as the LORD directs we follow HIS leading.
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
: 31 And you shall make a veil of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and find twined linen of cunning work: with cherubims shall it be made. (2803 “cunning” [chashab] means cloth-worker, technician, a skilled worker who practices some trade or handicraft, skilled craftsman or inventive workman)
DEVOTION: Each of the colors mean something but the most important point is that there was a division that had to be maintained during the worship of the LORD. The cherubim were representative of those angels that guarded the holiness of God. Now we know that God didn’t need any protection but HE established a class of angels that were to guard HIS presence.
When the High Priest went through the veil with the blood offering for the children of Israel, he had a rope tied around his one leg. If he didn’t offer an offering for himself first he would die. If he came in with a wrong attitude he could die. If he didn’t anything wrong he could die. The rope was used to pull him out of the holy of holies because no one else was allowed to enter through the veil.
Now when Christ died on the cross the veil of the Temple was torn from top to bottom. That means that today any believer can enter into the presence of God. We have access to God through the ministry of the Holy Spirit because of the blood of Christ that was spilled for our sin.
There is no separation between us and the LORD. We have continual access to HIM. That should make us happy. We can go into HIS presence and talk with HIM without fear of being killed if we understand our standing in Christ and are obedient to HIS Word.
CHALLENGE: There is no vail today!!!! Let’s go into HIS presence on a regular basis. HE enjoys talking with us!
:34 And you shall put the mercy seat upon the ark of the testimony in the most holy place. (3727 “mercy seat” [kapporeth] means 1 mercy-seat, place of atonement. 1a the golden plate of propitiation on which the High Priest sprinkled the seat 7 times on the Day of Atonement symbolically reconciling Jehovah and His chosen people. 1a1 the slab of gold on top of the ark of the covenant which measured 2.5 by 1.5 cubits; on it and part of it were the two golden cherubim facing each other whose outstretched wings came together above and constituted the throne of God. [Strong, J. (1995). Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon. Woodside Bible Fellowship])
DEVOTION: God had the children of Israel craft an Ark of the Covenant in order to remind them of the covenant that He had made with them, and how He expected them to carry out their responsibilities under it. However, it is interesting that God already anticipated that they would fail in doing so, and so provided an opportunity for them to approach Him even when they had failed His covenant. That was through sprinkling blood on the mercy seat of the Ark of the Covenant.
We too need to come to the point where we recognize our ongoing need to seek God’s mercy. We need to become more aware of our own sins and sinfulness before Almighty God. Only then will we humble ourselves and seek out His mercy. That is what led Jeremiah to exclaim that God’s mercies were new every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23). God’s mercy is an essential part of His character (associated with the word “lovingkindness” in both Hebrew and Greek).
As a result, we are to continually seek for, and praise God for, His mercy toward us. There is nothing according to the Bible that we can do to earn or deserve His salvation. Instead, He pours out His unmerited favor upon us, even while we were still sinners (Romans 5:8). We need to implement a process where we compare ourselves with a holy God, not simply other unrighteous men.
CHALLENGE: God’s desire is that we come to Him daily to seek His mercy. There should be a special place of worship in your home where you go to seek Him every morning! (MW)
DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:
BODY
Chastity (Purity in living)
Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)
Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)
Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)
Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)
SOUL
Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)
Frugality (wise use of resources)
Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)
Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)
Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)
SPIRIT
Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)
Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)
Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
Tabernacleverses 1-37
Ten curtains
Fifty taches of gold
Covering of shall be goats hair
Eleven curtains
Fifty taches of brass
Boards of shittim wood
Fashion showed on the mount
Veil of blue, purple and scarlet with cherubims
Ark of the testimony
Holy place
Most holy place
Table
Candlesticks
DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead – God/man, Messiah)
God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)
Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)
Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)
Cherubimverses 1, 31
Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
Church (New Testament people of God)
Last Things (Future Events)
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QUOTES regarding passage
30 Once more we are reminded of the typological nature of this material, for all was to be done “according to plan” (cf. comment on 25:40; cf. also 25:9; 27:8; Acts 7:44). Hebrews 8:5 comments that since the tabernacle was intended to be a “copy and shadow of what is in heaven.… Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: ‘See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.’ ” (Kaiser, W. C., Jr. (1990). Exodus. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers (Vol. 2, p. 461). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.)
Whenever God does a work, He has a plan for that work, whether it’s building the tabernacle or the temple (1 Chron. 28:11–12, 18–19), a local church (Phil. 2:12–13), or the individual Christian life and ministry (Eph. 2:10). God warned Moses to make everything according to the pattern revealed to him on the mount (Ex. 25:40; Heb. 8:5).
The earthly tabernacle was a copy of the heavenly tabernacle where our Lord now ministers to and for His people (Heb. 8:1–5; 9:1). The Book of Revelation mentions a brazen altar (6:9–11), an altar of incense (8:3–5), a throne (4:2), elders/priests (vv. 4–5), lamps (v. 5), a “sea” (v. 6), and cherubim (vv. 6–7), all of which parallel the main furnishings of the earthly tabernacle. It’s a basic principle of ministry that we follow the pattern given from heaven, not the pattern of this world (Rom. 12:2). (Wiersbe, W. W. (1998). Be delivered (pp. 133–134). Colorado Springs, CO: Chariot Victor Pub.)
Ver. 30. And thou shalt rear up the tabernacle, &c.] When thus finished, and all the furniture belonging to it completed: according to the fashion thereof, which was shewed thee in the mount; this is the third time that this is observed to Moses in the account of the tabernacle; which shews how punctually God would have the pattern observed he had given him, and that all things might be particularly and exactly done according to it, see Heb. 8:5. (Gill, J. (1810). An Exposition of the Old Testament (Vol. 1, p. 473). London: Mathews and Leigh.)
26:30 according to its plan. Again (cf. 25:40) the warning was sounded that the blueprint must be carefully followed. Nothing was to be left to human guesswork, no matter how skilled the craftsmen might have been. (MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2006). The MacArthur study Bible: New American Standard Bible. (Ex 26:30). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers.)
FROM MY READING:
(Remember the only author that I totally agree with is the HOLY SPIRIT in the inerrant WORD OF GOD called THE BIBLE! All other I try to gleam what I can to help me grow in the LORD!!)
JONATHAN EDWARDS for Armchair Theologians by James P. Byrd
Edwards set out to refute the prevailing modern idea of free will as a sovereign human ability, an independent, self-creating power that could resist the strongest motive and even defy the will of God. In Edwards’s view, we can believe in either a sovereign human will or a sovereign God, but not both. (p. 100)
The only cure was Christ’s salvation, but the treatment was effective only when those infected recognized their disease and sought treatment. (p. 108)
The problem was that Northampton’s practice of open communion implied that unconverted people were good enough to be church members. (p. 110)
Those who consider all people basically good despite a natural tendency toward sin in Edward’s view do not understand the seriousness of human depravity. (p. 115)
THE CREATION OF THE WORLD
Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.
Hebrews 11:3
We are not given a fully detailed account or philosophy of creation, and yet we claim that the account that we are given is wholly accurate. The Bible claims that it is from God. We read in Hebrews 11:3, “Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.” God gave an account of the creation to Moses or someone else; so it is not man’s ideas or theories. The biblical account does not, however, claim to explain everything.
Second, we must be clear about what creation means. It has been defined as “that free act of God whereby He…in the beginning brought forth the whole visible and invisible universe without the use of pre-existing materials, and thus gave it an existence distinct from His own and yet always dependent on Him” (Berkhof).
Now, we hold to that as against other theories that have been put forward. There are those who believe that matter itself is eternal, while others believe in the spontaneous generation of matter and its spontaneous development. Other views are that God simply worked to form matter that already existed or that matter is just an emanation of the divine substance. Pantheism teaches that matter is but a form of God–that it is God. On the other hand, those who believe in dualism say that God and matter are eternal, while some teach that the world was produced by an antagonistic spirit, another god or demiurge.
But the biblical doctrine is clear: God made everything out of nothing. The world has a distinct existence, but it is always dependent upon God. “By him,” says Paul, “all things consist” (Colossians 1:17).
A Thought to Ponder
The biblical doctrine is clear: God made everything out of nothing.
(From God the Father, God the Son, pp. 127-128, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
Jonah 1
Jonah suffers the consequences of refusing to obey God’s call.
INSIGHT Jonah is mentioned in 2 Kings 14:25 and is very likely a strong patriot of the nation Israel. As a result, he finds it an odious task to preach repentance to Nineveh, the capital city of Assyria, the country which is one day to conquer Israel. Rather than go on this errand of mercy, Jonah chooses to hurry to the seaport at Joppa for the fastest transit in the opposite direction. This is a commission that will not be denied, however, and God causes him to be swallowed by a great fish in which Jonah wisely repents and subsequently carries the warning message to Nineveh. The people of Nineveh repent—as Jonah feared—and the nation is preserved as an instrument of judgment for Israel almost 100 years later. (Quiet Walk)
The Great Divider
“Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division.” (Luke 12:51)
From the very beginning, God has been a great divider. On the first day of creation, “God divided the light from the darkness”; on the second day, He “divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament” (Genesis 1:4, 7). When God first created humans, they walked together in sweet fellowship, but then sin came in and made a great division between humans and God. Nevertheless, “when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son” (Romans 5:10).
The price has been paid for full reconciliation with our Creator, but “men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil” (John 3:19), so Christ Himself is now the One who divides. “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him” (John 3:36).
Jesus Christ divides all history and all chronology. Things either happened “Before Christ” (BC) or “in the Year of our Lord” (AD). People are either under the Old Covenant or the New Covenant. Most of all, He divides humanity. “There was a division among the people because of him” (John 7:43; see also John 9:16; 10:19). These divisions because of Him can cut very deep. “The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against the father; the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother” (Luke 12:53).
Finally, when He comes to judge all nations, “he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:…And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal” (Matthew 25:32, 46). The division is life or death, light or darkness, heaven or hell, Christ or antichrist—and the choice is ours!
(HMM, The Institute for Creation Research)
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