Tag: The tabernacle

Morning Musing: Exodus 25:31, 36, 39-40

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“You are to make a lampstand out of pure, hammered gold. It is to be made of one piece; it’s base and shaft, its ornamental cups, and its buds and petals. . .Their buds and branches are to be of one piece. All of it is to be a single hammered piece of pure gold. . .The lampstand with all these utensils is to be made from seventy-five pounds of pure gold. Be careful to make them according to the pattern you have been shown on the mountain.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Light is necessary for life. Okay, I know that’s not strictly true. There are certain plants and animals that have evolved and adapted to thrive in the dark. But for human life, light is a must. We were made to live in the light both literally and metaphorically. Speaking of the metaphorical sense of light, it has been possessed of a rich spiritual meaning in nearly every human religion. The religion God was directing the Israelites to build around their worship of Him was no exception. Let’s talk about the lampstand God told the people to build.

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Morning Musing: Exodus 25:23-24, 29-30

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“You are to construct a table of acacia wood, thirty-six inches long, eighteen inches wide, and twenty-seven inches high. Overlay it with pure gold and make a gold molding all around it. . .You are also to make its plates and cups, as well as its pitchers and bowls for pouring drink offerings. Make them out of pure gold. Put the Bread of the Presence on the table before me at all times.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

In the summer between my junior and senior years of high school, I had the privilege of spending three weeks in Japan as part of a sister-city exchange program. Before going we took several classes to learn about Japanese culture so we didn’t embarrass ourselves or our hosts. One of the most important customs they drilled into our heads was gift giving. Anytime anyone does anything for you in Japan, it is appropriate to respond by giving a gift. The bigger the favor, the bigger the gift. Because of this, they almost never go anywhere empty-handed. In a similar way, Israelites were never to appear before God empty-handed. To help facilitate this, God told them to build a table to leave gifts on. Let’s talk about it.

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Morning Musing: Exodus 25:10-22

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“They are to make an ark of acacia wood, forty-five inches long, twenty-seven inches wide, and twenty-seven inches high. . .Set the mercy seat on top of the ark and put the tablets of the testimony that I will give you into the ark. I will meet with you there above the mercy seat, between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the testimony; I will speak with you from there about all that I command you regarding the Israelites.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Over the never several posts we are going to be taking a look at the various parts and pieces of the tabernacle. I’ve long since prepared you for the fact that this section doesn’t make for the most compelling reading. And, I’m not going to include every single verse here for you to read, but rather will hit some highlights with the regular link for you to go and read the rest for yourself. Even if you don’t do that, though, don’t skip out on these posts. The apostle Paul said that every word of the Scriptures are useful for shaping us more into the kinds of people God made us to be. “Every word” includes the parts we’d rather skip because they aren’t very exciting. Stay with me in this next part of the story as we explore the wonders of the Gospel in the instructions for how Israel was to build their original place of worship.

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Morning Musing: Exodus 25:8-9

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“They are to make a sanctuary for me so that I may dwell among them. You must make it according to all that I show you – the pattern of the Tabernacle as well as the pattern of all its furnishings.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

What is God’s plan for His world? That’s an awfully big question for which there are more answers than we could hope to address in a single blog post. But when we begin to take stock of some big patterns we find in the Scriptures, we find ourselves able to say some things with a little more clarity and confidence than others. What we see here as God prepares to start giving Israel instructions for constructing a place for them to worship gives us a clue as to what at least one of God’s big goals is. Let’s explore what’s going on here together.

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Morning Musing: Exodus 25:1-7

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“The Lord spoke to Moses: ‘Tell the Israelites to take an offering for me. You are to take my offering from everyone who is willing to give. This is the offering you are to receive from them: gold, silver, and bronze; blue, purple, and scarlet yarn; fine linen and goat hair; ram skins dyed red and fine leather; acacia wood; oil for the light; spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense; and onyx along with other gemstones for mounting on the ephod and breastpiece.'” (CSB – Read the chapter)

There’s a difference between supporting a cause generally, and supporting a cause when you’ve got some skin in the game. The same thing goes with building a relationship. If you don’t actually invest something of yourself into a relationship, it’s not ever going to be very significant to you. It’ll never really move beyond being much more than a convenience. God was inviting the people of Israel into a relationship with Him. Because He didn’t want them to take this relationship with less than the seriousness with which it was due, He asked them to put some skin in the game. As we get into a whole new section of our journey, let’s talk about what’s going on here as well as what we will encounter over the next few weeks.

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