March 2-6

When the people heard the thunder and the loud blast of the ram’s horn, and when they saw the flashes of lightening and the smoke billowing from the mountain, they stood at a distance, trembling with fear. And they said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen. But don’t let God speak directly to us, or we will die!”

Exodus 10:22-26

Hope you got your mountain-climbing shoes on, because we are going to be up and down this rocky slope a time or two this week. How different was the people’s response to God’s manifestation on Mt. Sinai than Moses’. They would much rather be told what God said, than hear His voice for themselves. The closer they got to God, the more they perceived that He was not a being to be trifled with. Moses had come to know that YHWH, although He could be severe, was very patient and long-suffering. As we have already seen, Moses had argued with God on more than one occasion and lived to tell about it. But the children of Israel had seen enough of God’s wrath poured out on the Egyptians who blatantly rejected Him that they weren’t going to take any chances. Unfortunately, when Moses wasn’t there every minute to tell them what God was saying, they quickly forgot the powerful sight they had witnesses and influenced Aaron to give them a god that they could touch and feel. They were eager to worship something they were familiar with and the golden calf fit the bill. Aaron tried to legitimize the whole mess by saying, “Tomorrow will be a festival to the Lord, YHWH!” Did I hear him right?!?!? Did he just give this lifeless, spiritless, soulless piece of metal God’s covenant name? YIKES!!!!!!!!! When God says He is merciful, patient and longsuffering He certainly has every right to claim them as His attributes.

We may want to stand back and look at the Israelites and wonder at their unfaithfulness. How could they so quickly turn from the powerful God they just witnessed and feared forty days earlier? But reality is, when the smoke cleared, the miracles stopped, the hype was gone and they weren’t hearing God’s voice for themselves, it was easy to forget who had delivered them. Isn’t that what happened in the Garden of Eden? As long Adam and Eve heard God’s voice and walked with Him in the “cool of the day,” “the spirit of light, or revelation” they remained true to Him. But when God wasn’t there and another voice clouded their reasoning, they quickly fell. For Moses, hearing God’s voice was not just a periodic ritual; it was a way of life. And Joshua, although he didn’t always understand everything he saw and heard, yet he was protected from the influence of evil as he waited for Moses on the mountain in the presence of God. My prayer is that these “Through The Bible” journeys that we take together, will cause us to experience God’s presence in our lives on an everyday basis. That we know the One we call God and are careful not to fashion Him into what we want Him to be, into an image different than who He is.

While the people were down in the camp, forgetting the promise they had just made, “All that YHWH has spoken, we will do,” Moses was in the mountain receiving instructions to lead them. As we listen in on the words God speaks to Moses, pay special attention to the conditions God put on the promise of His blessing. “You must serve only the Lord your God. IF YOU DO, I will bless you …” How ironic!!! Although God spoke about several topics to Moses, the one that takes the greatest amount of ink to relay is the pattern of the Tabernacle. So many details!!! God told Moses to be careful that he constructed it exactly as God revealed it to him on the mountain. But why is every detail so important; why must it be built so precisely?

Since we are going to be spending so much time with the Israelites in the wilderness and the Tabernacle, we would be wise to become familiar with it. The Tabernacle is far more than an elaborate tent. To understand the heart of the Tabernacle, we need look at Revelation 21:3 (emphasis mine):

And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold the tabernacle of God is among men AND HE shall dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be among them.

This becomes even clearer when we add II Corinthians 5:1 & 4 to the equation:

For we know that if the earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.

For indeed while we are in this tent, we groan, being burdened, because we do not want to be unclothed, but to be clothed in order that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.

Through Paul, the Spirit of God refers to our body as a tent. When John received the Revelation, he saw a tent, a tabernacle coming down from heaven. Then he refers to the tent as “He.” Hopefully, you are connecting the dots! The Tabernacle in the wilderness is an allegoric representation of Christ Himself! No wonder it is filled with such detail! Each piece of furniture holds a description of a part of who Jesus is. To understand His mind, look at the Ark of the Covenant, to understand His heart, look at the Altar of Incense. His left hand is represented by the Table of Bread, while His right hand is understood through the Lampstand. His loins include the place from which life issues and the lower back, the place of a man’s strength. And if you want to gain greater insight of Jesus’ walk, look at the Brazen Altar with its sacrifice and stripping away of the flesh on a daily basis. (See diagram below.) There is more than a lifetime of study in the Tabernacle!!! Believe me, I know!!!!!!!!!!! As a result, every detail has meaning, so take your time and savor the words. There is no way we will glean all that is hidden in them, but at least we can get the pattern ingrained in our thoughts. We will be seeing this patter over and over for the next couple of weeks. Then, as we continue our journey with Israel, we will continually see glimpses of the Tabernacle, even when we cross over the Jordan into the Promised Land.

There is a great web site that has beautiful pictures of a full-scale model of the Tabernacle. It is located in the desert near Eilat, which is in the southern part of Israel. It is well worth checking out! http://www.bibleplaces.com/tabernacle.htm

I always enjoy stopping by and visiting Bezalel as I journey through the Word. Being a bit of an artist and a crafty kind of person (in the creative sense), I am always struck by the fact that Bezalel’s creativity was a gift of God. He is a real inspiration to all of us. He was a man whose gift brought God glory. He wasn’t a teacher or a preacher; he was an artisan. He was able to take words and concepts and fashion them in such a way that, what God saw in His mind became evident to all who beheld his work. Creativity will always be a characteristic of YHWH. What Moses became to the people of God through words, Bezalel was with artistic creation. As we journey on, we will have more time to admire Bezalel’s handiwork under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

Whew! So much to see!!! So much to learn!!! God, how I love this place, but I’d better keep us moving or I may camp here longer than I should. Like the fragrance of the orange blossoms that fills our desert air at this time of year, may the unseen truths held in these passages intoxicate you with the knowledge that great revelation awaits those who will spend time in God’s presence on a daily basis. Enjoy the journey!

CHRIST IN THE TABERNACLE

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WEEKLY QUESTIONS

Monday – On whom does God promise to lavish with His unfailing love?

Tuesday – What are the three annual feasts that God told the Israelites to observe?

Wednesday – How many articles of clothing made up Aaron’s priestly garments?

Thursday – Three pieces of Aaron’s garments had writing on them. Which ones were they and what was the purpose for each one?

Friday – We know what the golden calf was made of, but what was it made from?


Here's a map to aid us through our journey with the Israelites in the wilderness. You will need to enlarge it, or get a mighty powerful magnifying glass!