A SURVEY OF THE BIBLE
(“The Book of Exodus”) (III)
Exodus 25:1-9; 26:31-34; 39:32-43; 40:34-35 (NASU)
8“(Tell the sons of Israel to) construct a sanctuary for Me, that I may dwell among them. 9According to all that I am going to show you, as the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furniture, just so you shall construct it.”
(Exodus 25:8-9)
33“You shall hang up the veil … (and) bring in the ark of the testimony there within the veil; and the veil shall serve for you as a partition between the holy place and the holy of holies.” (Exodus 26:33)
32“Thus all the work of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting was completed; and the sons of Israel did according to all that the Lord had commanded Moses; so they did.”
(Exodus 39:32)
34“Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.” (Exodus 40:34)
MAJOR (AND “MINOR”) EVENTS IN THE BOOK OF EXODUS
(1) The Book of Exodus is built around two major events – the redemption of God’s covenant people from Egypt, after four hundred years of enslavement (c.f. Exodus 1-18) – and the giving of God’s Law to those same people at Mount Sinai (c.f. Exodus 19-40).
(2) Each event is surrounded by, and supported by other historical happenings, that contribute to the flow of the storyline – some of which are of no less importance than the two major events themselves.
(3) For example, in chapter three, prior to the people’s exodus from Egypt, Moses has an encounter with God at a burning bush – that is, to be more precise, a bush that was burning but not being consumed (or burned up) (c.f. Exodus 3:2).
(a) During this encounter, God revealed something NEW about Himself – i.e. His “memorial name to all generations” (v. 15). Specifically, that His name is “I AM WHO I AM” (v. 14) – which is then shortened to “I AM” – and finally (in verse fifteen) to, “the LORD, the God of your fathers (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob)” (or literally, “I AM1 the God of your fathers”)2 (c.f. Exodus 3:14-15).
That this was something new is emphasized later (in chapter six), when God tells Moses: “I appeared (in the past) to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as God Almighty (c.f. Genesis 17:1), but by My name, Lord (or, literally, by My name “I AM”), I did not make Myself known to them” (c.f. Exodus 6:3).
(b) God’s revelation of His “memorial name” (c.f. Exodus 3:15) is best understood against the cultural backdrop of those times, in which it was believed that a person’s name revealed significant information about who they were, or what they were like2 (c.f. I Samuel 25:25). Hence, God’s “memorial name” (in all its forms) proclaims (or reveals), among other things, His eternal, self-sustaining, self-determining, self-existence – an existence that is unlike any other – even an existence illustrated by the bush that burned, but was not consumed.2
In the same way, God IS – He has always BEEN – and He will never cease TO BE (which is what the Hebrew word for “I AM” literally means [“to be”] – although the name itself comes across to us as “Yahweh” or “Jehovah”).3 (Some bible translations, like the NIV, have a way of rendering this particular name for God so we can quickly recognize when it’s being used – i.e. “LORD”.)
(c) The significance of God’s “memorial name” (c.f. Exodus 3:15) for Moses and the people of Israel consists of this – that even though some five hundred years separated them from the time of the patriarchs, the same God who was with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is now with them! The God who was, still IS! The God whose name is “I AM” (c.f. Exodus 3:14), still IS! The same God who worked in the lives of their fathers is now at work in their lives! The same God who led their forefathers into Egypt, is now preparing to lead them out!
(d) Beyond that, and from this point on, Scripture frequently celebrates God’s revelation of His name (in part) by encouraging His covenant people to praise Him for it – saying, for example: “O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth” (c.f. Psalm 8:1, NIV) – literally, “O Yahweh (or, I AM), our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth.” And again: 1“I will extol You, my God, O King, and I will bless Your name forever and ever. 2Every day I will bless You, and I will praise Your name forever and ever. 3Great is the LORD, and highly to be praised …” (c.f. Psalm 145:1-3) – once again, the word “Lord” is “Yahweh”, or “I AM”.
(e) Finally, Jesus applied this name to Himself when He told some unbelieving Jews: “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am” (c.f. John 8:58). It should be noted that the word Jesus used here is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew phrase “to be”, and literally means, “I exist”4 – at which point the Jews started picking up stones to stone Him to death (c.f. John 5:59), because they rightly understood (though they didn’t believe it) that Jesus had just claimed to be the ever-living, self-existent God! Even the same God (or, LORD) Moses encountered at the burning bush!
(4) The second major section of the Book of Exodus (c.f. Exodus 19-40) has to do with the giving of God’s Law at Mount Sinai – a Law that includes, but is not confined to the Ten Commandments (c.f. Exodus 20-24). Part of that Law includes specific instructions regarding the building of the tabernacle. In fact, these instructions (along with the actual completion of this tent of meeting) take up thirteen of the last twenty-two chapters (c.f. Exodus 25-31, 35-40) – which means more space is devoted the building of the tabernacle than any other event (major or “minor”) within the Book of Exodus.
For that reason alone, then, we need to spend some time looking at these instructions, and how they were carried out, before we move on to the next book in the Pentateuch.
(B) THE TABERNACLE (OR TENT OF MEETING)
(1) The tabernacle (also known as “the tent of meeting”, or “the sanctuary”) (c.f. Exodus 27:21; 36:1) served several purposes. However, the primary one is found in chapter twenty-five verse eight, where God tells Moses: “Let (the people) construct a sanctuary for Me, that I MAY DWELL AMONG THEM” (c.f. Exodus 25:8).
(a) Now, keep in mind that the Hebrew word for “tabernacle” (“mishkan”) literally means “dwelling place”5 – while a related word (“shakan”) means “to dwell”.6 Hence, what God literally said was: “Let the people build a sanctuary for Me, that I may ‘tabernacle’ among them”). Hence, the primary purpose of the tent of meeting was to give God a special place where He could “tabernacle” among His covenant people – where He could “dwell” in the midst of those He had redeemed7 – where He could live among His chosen people in a unique fashion.
(b) This in no way contradicts the attribute of God’s omnipresence – the idea that He is equally present in every place at every moment (c.f. Psalm 139:7-10). As a matter of fact, later on, at the dedication of the temple in Jerusalem – which was much larger than the tabernacle, but still based on it’s design – King Solomon will pray to God, and say: “But will (You) indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain You, how much less this house which I have built!” (c.f. I Kings 8:27).
So, it’s not that God was confining His presence to one physical location (i.e. the tabernacle). On the other hand, however, the tabernacle would become the place where God would be present among His covenant people in a special way – a way that would be different from (and more intimate than) His presence with any other people.
(c) An analogy would be, that two people are sitting beside one another on an airplane. One of them is a Christian, and one is not. Although God is present with both of them in a general way, due to the attribute of His omnipresence – it’s also true that He is present with the Christian in a way that He is not present with that other person sitting right next to him – because the Holy Spirit dwells (or tabernacles) inside the Christian (c.f. John 14:17; I Corinthians 3:16), but not inside the non-Christian.
(d) The tabernacle spoken of in the Book of Exodus served a similar function among the people of Israel in Old Testament times – in that it was the place where God’s presence dwelt among them in a way that was different from that of any other people. Indeed, it foreshadowed God’s presence among Christians (both individually and collectively), by virtue of the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit (c.f. I Corinthians 6:19). Today, we no longer need a physical tabernacle – in part, because in Christ, there is a sense in which we are the tabernacle! (Hence, Paul says in the Book of Ephesians that we Christians are “growing into a holy temple in the Lord” [c.f. Ephesians 2:21]).
(2) You may have noticed that God gave VERY PRECISE instructions regarding the building of the tabernacle – including the kind of materials that were to be used (c.f. Exodus 25:3-7) – how the various pieces of furniture (like the ark of the covenant, the mercy seat, and lampstand) were to be made (c.f. Exodus 25:10-39) – as well as how the tent as a whole was to be put together. God also gave VERY SPECIFIC instructions regarding the clothing of the priests (c.f. Exodus 28) – how they were to be consecrated (or ordained) for their work (c.f. Exodus 29:1-9) – and how certain sacrifices were to be offered (c.f. Exodus 29:10-42) (all of which were things that pertained to how God was to be worshipped).
(a) A common refrain8 throughout these chapters is that everything associated with the tabernacle and its worship was to be done EXACTLY as God commanded Moses. For example, in chapter twenty-five, God says (in verse nine): “According to all that I am going to show you, as the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furniture, JUST SO YOU SHALL CONSTRUCT IT” (c.f. Exodus 25:9) – and again, at the end of that same chapter (in verse forty): “See that you make (everything) after the pattern … which was shown to you on the mountain” (c.f. Exodus 25:40).
(b) I don’t need to remind you that many of that first generation of Abraham’s descendants coming out of Egypt were stubborn and rebellious people – despite all the mighty things God had done for them in delivering them from Egyptian slavery (c.f. Exodus 5-14). Indeed, they frequently complained against God and broke His commandments. For example, just between the Red Sea and Mount Sinai, the Book of Exodus records three separate occasions when they “grumbled” against Moses (and through him, against God!) over something they didn’t have, or didn’t like (c.f. Exodus 15:23-24; 16:1-3; 17:1-3).
Not only that, but while Moses was on Mount Sinai receiving God’s Law – the first of which said, “You shall have no other gods before Me”, and the second, “You shall not make for yourself an idol … (nor worship any idol)” (c.f. Exodus 20:3-5) – the people were busy building a golden calf and worshipping it (c.f. Exodus 32:1-6).
(c) For all their sin and rebellion at other times, however, by God’s grace, the people got at least one thing right – i.e. they built the tabernacle exactly the way God told them to. Hence, we read that: “all the work of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting was completed … ACCORDING TO ALL THAT THE LORD HAD COMMANDED MOSES …” (c.f. Exodus 39:32) – and again: “So the sons of Israel did all the work ACCORDING TO ALL THAT THE LORD HAD COMMANDED MOSES” (c.f. Exodus 39:42) – and once more: “… Moses examined all the work and behold, they had done it; JUST AS THE LORD HAD COMMANDED …” (c.f. Exodus 39:43).
(3) Why was God so precise about the construction of the tabernacle? Why does the Book of Exodus put so much emphasis on God’s covenant people building the tabernacle (and carrying out the worship practices associated with it) exactly the way He said?
(a) First of all, this is Almighty God we’re talking about – even the great, eternal “I AM” (c.f. Exodus 3:14)! This is our Creator and Redeemer – this is our Shepherd and King! All of which means that He deserves to be obeyed, regardless of what we may think! Hence, if He says He wants His tabernacle to built a certain way – that’s the way it should be built! And if He says He wants to be worshipped a certain way – that’s the way His covenant people should worship Him!
(b) Second, the tabernacle pointed to a greater reality beyond itself.9 In Exodus chapter twenty-five, verse forty, God tells Moses to make everything “after the pattern” he was shown on Mount Sinai (c.f. Exodus 25:40). The question then arises, what was the tabernacle “patterned” after? – for which the Book of Exodus supplies no answer (that I’m aware of). Later, however, the Book of Hebrews tells us that it was a “copy and shadow of heavenly things” (c.f. Hebrews 8:5).
John MacArthur says, this doesn’t mean there is an actual tent or building in heaven, with pieces of furniture that look just like the altar of incense and the bronze laver, for example (c.f. Exodus 30:1-10, 17-21) – but only that these earthly things adequately symbolize (or point to) heavenly realities10 – realities that ultimately have to do with our redemption through the Person and Work of Jesus Christ.11 And, since that’s the case, it was vitally important that these “copies and shadows” be made precisely as God instructed, so they would not misrepresent the things (or, to be more accurate, the Person) to which they pointed!
(c) As an aside, the Westminster Confession of Faith says: “the acceptable way of worshipping the true God is instituted by Himself, and so limited by His own revealed will, that He may not be worshipped according to the imaginations and devices of men … or (in) any … way not prescribed in the Holy Scriptures.”12 Sometimes called “the Regulative Principle of Worship” – this idea that God is only to be worshipped as He prescribes, and not as we see fit, finds support here in the Book of Exodus with God’s PRECISE instructions regarding the building of the tabernacle and the worship associated with it.
(4) All God’s covenants have a sign associated with them. (a) For example, the sign of God’s covenant with Noah and every living creature on the face of the earth, following the Flood, was (and still is!) the rainbow (c.f. Genesis 9:8-17) – while the sign of His covenant with Abraham and his descendants was circumcision (c.f. Genesis 17:1-14). (Today, we Reformed Christians believe the sign of the new covenant, inaugurated by Christ [Luke 22:20; Hebrews 9:15], is baptism – which corresponds to circumcision in several ways, especially in regard to the imagery of removing or washing away sin [c.f. I Peter 3:21]. Hence, today, we baptize God’s covenant people instead of circumcising them [c.f. Acts 2:38].)
(b) Although the covenant God established with His people at Mount Sinai was not a new one – but rather, an expansion (or extension) of His original covenant with Abraham and his descendants13 – it was significant enough that in chapter thirty-one (starting at verse twelve), 12“the Lord (literally, “I AM”)1 said “to Moses … 13‘(tell) the sons of Israel … “You shall surely observe My sabbaths; for (it) is A SIGN between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the Lord who sanctifies you (or, has set you apart from all other people on the earth). 14Therefore (i.e. because you have been set apart) you are to observe the sabbath (meaning, the Sabbath day), for it is holy to you …” … 16So the sons of Israel shall observe the Sabbath … throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant’” (c.f. Exodus 31:12-17). In other words, keeping the Sabbath day holy (c.f. Exodus 20:8) became another sign of God’s covenant with His redeemed people – and therefore, a sign of the special relationship that existed between Him and them.14
(c) There are those (including some men I highly respect) who believe the Fourth Commandment regarding the Sabbath no longer applies to Christians living today (for reasons we don’t have time to go into this evening).15 Hence, they would not consider keeping the sabbath to be a covenant obligation of obedience for us.
If we’re talking about the seventh day of the week (i.e. Saturday), then I certainly agree (at least, up to a point). However, I think the first day of the week (i.e. Sunday) (c.f. Acts 20:7; I Corinthians 16:2) has replaced the seventh day as a day of rest and worship – and that the basic commands regarding keeping the Sabbath holy now apply to it. Which would then mean that worship on the Lord’s day (as it’s called in the New Testament) (c.f. Revelation 1:10) should still be viewed as a covenant obligation – albeit, one we are to fulfill with joy and delight, as God says in the Book of Isaiah (c.f. Isaiah 58:13-14). Indeed, it should be viewed as a sign of God’s covenant with us – even a sign that generally sets us apart from other people – especially those who find something else to do on Sunday, instead of worship!
(5) Having strayed off topic just a little, let’s get back to the tabernacle – and note that this tent, along with its furnishings and sacrifices, all foreshadow our need for Christ, as well as His redemptive work on our behalf.9
(a) There are those, I’m sure, who have (supposedly) figured out what every bronze peg (c.f. Exodus 38:20) and silver socket (c.f. Exodus 38:27) mean – how every board of acacia wood (c.f. Exodus 26:15) and every porpoise skin (c.f. Exodus 26:5) points to Christ. I am not one of those people. Indeed, I am more inclined to take the attitude that, unless Scripture makes the connection for us, we need to be very cautious, lest we read too much into the various details of the tabernacle – and end up “seeing” things that aren’t there.
(b) Having said that, however, we ought not miss the things that are there (of which we only have time to speak of a one)! For example, the “veil of blue and purple and scarlet”, with the image of a “cherubim” woven into it – that served as a “partition between the holy place and the holy of holies” (c.f. Exodus 26:31-33) – inside which only the high priest could enter once a year, to make atonement for the sins of the people (c.f. Hebrews 9:7) – (that veil) signified that the way was not yet open into God’s presence (c.f. Hebrews 9:8). That even though they were God’s covenant people, they still did not have free access into God’s presence – because the ultimate sacrifice for sins had not yet been made.
Indeed, just as God stationed a cherubim with a flaming sword to block the way of man back into the Garden of Eden (following the Fall) (c.f. Genesis 3:24), so that embroidered cherubim on the veil served as a constant reminder that the way was still blocked – that the kind of fellowship man had with God prior to the Fall had not yet been restored in any full and complete sense.
HOWEVER, the moment Jesus died on the cross, Scripture says: “the veil (in) the temple was torn in two from top to bottom” (c.f. Matthew 27:51) – which implies God did the tearing! Hence, the Book of Hebrews (which explains many of the details of the tabernacle and its worship) says, in chapter ten, that “we (now) have confidence to enter the holy place (meaning the holy of holies) by the blood of Jesus” (c.f. Hebrews 10:19) – and, that we can now “DRAW NEAR (TO GOD) … in full assurance of faith, (because, thanks to Jesus) our hearts (have been) sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water” (c.f. Hebrews 10:22)!
In other words, thanks to Christ, there is no longer any veil separating us from God! Thanks to Christ, that wall of separation, represented by the veil, has now been torn down once and for all, and forever!
(C) WHAT DO WE LEARN ABOUT GOD?
(1) Finally, then, (and quickly) what do we learn about God from the Book of Exodus? For one thing, we learn that He has great power16 – even sovereign power. (a) Power to control nature – power over frogs and flies (c.f. Exodus 8) – power over light and darkness (c.f. Exodus 10) – power over the sea (c.f. Exodus 14) – even the power to provide His people with food and water in the wilderness (c.f. Exodus 16-17).
(b) We also learn that He has power to control men and nations – power to subdue the most stubborn and hard-hearted ruler (c.f. Exodus 5-14) – power to destroy entire armies (c.f. Exodus 14) – power to cause one nation to rise, and another to fall – and power to direct any people to the precise place where He wants them to be, at the precise moment He wants them to be there (c.f. Exodus 19).
(2) We also learn that He is both a God of wrath and a God of mercy. Pouring out His wrath, first on the Egyptians (c.f. Exodus 5-14) – and later on His own people, after they worshipped the golden calf (c.f. Exodus 32). But also showing mercy to His people – first, by freeing them from slavery – and then by not destroying them completely, or breaking His covenant with them, after they fell into idolatry.
(3) Perhaps the most important things we learn about God, however (aside from His “memorial name” in chapter three) (c.f. Exodus 3:14-15) are found in chapter thirty-four, where He proclaims His basic character to Moses, saying: 6“The Lord (i.e. I AM),1 the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; 7who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin; yet (I) will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations” (c.f. Exodus 34:6-7).
(a) Just look at all the things we’re told in these two verses – that God is compassionate – that He is gracious – that He is slow to anger – that He abounds in (or overflows with) lovingkindness (the Hebrew word used here is “hesed”17, which is the word for God’s covenant love – i.e. He overflows with a special love for His chosen people) – we’re also told that He abounds in truth – that He is a God of forgiveness – but also a God from whom the wicked will not escape!
(b) This is the first time in Scripture that God has made such a declaration regarding Himself – or revealed these specific things about Himself in such a clear and concise manner. BUT, it is not the last – for this great proclamation of God’s character (or portions thereof) is repeated several times throughout the rest of Scripture (c.f. Numbers 14:18; Nehemiah 9:17; Psalm 86:15). In fact, we even ran across portions of this declaration in our study of the books of Jonah and Nahum (c.f. Jonah 4:2; Nahum 1:3).
(c) My final point, however, is this – that after hearing this great declaration of God’s character, the Book of Exodus says: “Moses made hast to bow low … and worship” (c.f. Exodus 34:8) – and so should we!
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1BCS: Strong’s Concordance; Word #3068.
2The New Geneva Study Bible: “This Is My Name”: God’s
Self-Disclosure; p. 98.
3IBID; Footnote on Exodus 3:15; p. 97.
4BCS: Strong’s Concordance; Word #1510.
5IBID; Word #4908.
6IBID; Word #7931.
7Mathison: From Age to Age (The Unfolding of Biblical
Eschatology); p. 59.
8IBID; p. 62.
9IBID; p. 60.
10MacArthur: The MacArthur Bible Commentary; p. 1855.
11The New Geneva Study Bible: Footnote on Hebrews 8:5;
p. 1945.
12The Westminster Confession of Faith: Chapter XXI – Of
Religious Worship, and the Sabbath Day; paragraph 1.
13http://www.wpcpca.org/Archive/08-30-09-pm.html
14The New Geneva Study Bible: Footnote on Exodus 31:12-17;
p. 139.
15MacArthur: Ibid; p. 114.
16MacArthur: The MacArthur Bible Handbook; p. 23.
17BCS: Strong’s Concordance; Word #2617.