Exodus 25:1–9

Hey, hey, good morning, good morning. Welcome to Coffee and Devotions. This is where every day you and I, we get together, we have a little bit of coffee, we get into God's word, and we grow in our love for the Lord together. And this year, 2023, we'll make it from Genesis through Leviticus. I'm so glad to be with you today. We start an amazing section of the book of Exodus, one that is replete with hope for us.
Why don't we have some coffee, we'll pray, and we'll get into God's word. Let's pray. Father, you are amazing, generous, gracious. We pray that you would please help us. Father, we know that your Holy Spirit is with us. And we pray that you would teach us now. We pray that you would bring us into all truth and let us cling to that truth as you have shown us in your word. In Jesus's name. Amen.
Well, last time we got together, we looked at that ratification of the covenant in Exodus chapter 24. Now, with that ratification of the covenant being made, and that covenant supper being had, now we find ourselves in Exodus chapter 25, where God is going to make a dwelling place on earth. There's meant to be a picture of him dwelling with his people as their covenant king. And so let's go ahead and open up our Bibles to Exodus chapter 25. Exodus chapter 25.
Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to the children of Israel that they may bring me an offering. From everyone who gives it willingly, with his heart you shall take my offering. And this is the offering which you shall take from them, gold, silver, and bronze, blue, purple, and scarlet thread, fine linen and goat's hair, ram skins dyed red, badger skins and acacia wood, oil for the light and spices for the anointing oil and for the sweet incense, onyx stones and stones to be set in the ephod and in the breastplate. And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them. According to all that I show you, that is, the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furnishing, just so you shall make it. All right, God is telling him here, you're gonna let the people bring you all this, their free will offerings, right? Their gold, their silver, their bronze, their fine linens, their badger skins, their acacia wood, right? People are gonna bring you all the most royal and noble things they can because your king is making a home in your midst.
I'm just going to jump right into it and say the best verse I think is verse 8. This is the place where God is going to show his presence. It is meant to be a sign that he is with his people, that the covenant king is in the midst of his people. This sanctuary we're going to find is going to be surrounded by the camps of the 12 tribes of Israel in the center of the life of Israel. is the dwelling place of the most high God. He is the one in their midst. He is their light. He is their life. He is their protector. He is their provider. He is their king and their God is their covenant keeper.
And so we find in this passage, this institution, this priming, the pump, I'm going to do these things are going to need material. So go ahead and bring it all together. Where'd they get this stuff? Most likely from the Egyptians, right? They plundered the Egyptians when they left.
But I do want to point out. that the book of Hebrews picks up on this. And I think I'm going to say a few things here, right? The first is we're going to be getting into all the different pieces and articles and stuff with the tabernacle. I would highly encourage you actually, uh, Exodus chapter 25 is one of those that lends itself to pictures. I hope I'm not violating any copyright laws, but I'm just going to encourage you, right? Pick up something like the ESV study Bible. Maybe the NIV study Bible might have stuff like this.
All right, it's got different pictures of the articles that are going to be in the tabernacle. If you use Logos, I love the interactives on Logos, but they'll show you, you know, this is what the tabernacle is going to look like, and here's the different things, and here's where the different articles are.
This was meant to be visually seen by the people. We have it in literary form. We don't have it in visual form anymore, but I think it's helpful, right? So that's number one. I'd highly encourage you go pick up a study Bible and find one that's got the pictures of what this stuff may have looked like. I think it will be helpful to you as you go along here.
Secondly, we need to keep in mind what the book of Hebrews says about the tabernacle. Specifically Hebrews chapter 9. I'm jumping in the middle of a flow of argument about Jesus being greater than everything in the Old Testament. Greater than the priests and greater than the tabernacle.
And so here in Hebrews chapter 9 he says, then indeed even the first covenant had ordinances of divine service and the earthly sanctuary. for a tabernacle was prepared the first part in which was the lampstand the table and the showbread which is called the sanctuary and behind the second veil the part of the tabernacle which is called the holiest of all which had the golden censer and the ark of the covenant overlaid on all sides with gold in which were the golden pot that had the manna erin's rod the budded and the tablets of the covenant And above it were the cherubim of glory, overshadowing the mercy seat, all these things we cannot speak now in detail. We'll get to talk more in detail over the next few days about this stuff. But this is the point, right? Verse six.
Now when these things had been thus prepared, the priest always went into the first part of the tabernacle performing the services. But into the second part, the high priest went alone once a year, not without blood, which he offered for himself and for the people's sins committed in ignorance. The Holy Spirit indicating this, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest while the first tabernacle was still standing. It was symbolic for the present time in which both gifts and sacrifices are offered, which cannot make him who performed the service perfect in regard to the conscience, considered only with food, concerned only with food and drinks, various washings and flesterly ordinances imposed until the time of reformation. But Christ came as high priest of the good things to come with the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is, not of this creation, not with the blood of bulls, of goats and calves, but with his own blood.
He entered the most holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. For if the blood of bulls and goats and ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal spirit offered himself without spot to God, Cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God. And for this reason he is the mediator of the new covenant. by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance. I want to remind you again and again and again, as we go through the tabernacle, that this is pointing us to the heavenly realities, to the new covenant and our new high priest, Jesus Christ, who has truly redeemed us by his blood. We may not have the picture anymore of a tabernacle in the midst of us, but we have a covenant meal of the Lord's supper. We have the sacrament of baptism with the sign of the washing of water and the remission of sins.
We have the assembly of the saints, the gathering of the nation of priests, But we have a heavenly tabernacle where our most high priest intercedes for us continually. And so we have a better reality. This stuff is cool, right? We're going to get the cool stuff of the tabernacle, but the tabernacle was not a means and end to itself, but it pointed to something better. And we live in that better age and we long for that day when all things will be made new again. when we will even see the true heavenly tabernacle.
Have hope, Christian, and thank God for Jesus Christ. Let's pray. Father, we thank you so much for this day and we thank you for our King Jesus Christ, our prophet and our priest. We pray that as we look through the different parts of the tabernacle over the upcoming week, that it would be a blessing to us, that it would encourage us to fix our eyes upon Jesus Christ, the author and perfecter of our faith, our high priest and our King. In Jesus's name. Amen. May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ wash over your heart and give you peace. May your eyes be lifted up to heaven. And may you take comfort that He loves you. I'll see you next time. Bye.
Thanks for listening to this week's message from God's Word for You, a ministry of Sharon R.P. Church in rural southeast Iowa. We pray that the message would be used by God to transform your faith and your life this week. If you'd like to get more information about us, feel free to go to the website, SharonRPC.org. We'd love to invite you to worship with us. Our worship time is 10 a.m. every Sunday at 25204 160th Avenue. Morning Sun, Iowa, 52640. May God richly bless you this week.