Read Exodus 28:15-30

How do we know God’s Will? Do we consult with a couple of people then go with our gut? Roll dice? Allow circumstances to lead the way? There are lots of events in our life that require us to consider how our actions should align with God’s Will, and that was just as true in Moses’ day. 

On the High Priest’s outfit was a breastpiece of judgement, which bore Israel’s names close to his heart. Inside that breastpiece were two items called Urim and Thummim, used in special situations to determine God’s Will. While we do not have access to these items today, the general principles still apply. Our actions should line up with God’s Will, and God still guides us today.

The High Priest was the only person who came directly into the special presence of God, in the Most Holy Place in the Tabernacle. Because the High Priest had special access, his clothes were of a higher quality.

On top of his linen robes and an ephod, was a “breastpiece of judgement” made in a similar style and fashion to the ephod (v.15). This was a piece of fabric which made a square, about 23 centimetres square (v.16).

Because it was worn in the special presence of God, dwelling above the Ark of the Covenant, it was lined with special jewels which dazzled in different colours, all woven together into the breastpiece along with gold filigree (vv.17-20). Interestingly, these jewels were found in the Garden of Eden (Ezekiel 28:13) and will decorate the New Jerusalem (Rev. 21:19-20) when God returns to make all things new.

As with the shoulder of the Ephod, the breastpiece contained the names of the Twelve Tribes of Israel, inscribed onto each of the precious stones (v.21).

The breastpiece was securely fastened to the Ephod with golden rings and chains, which held it to his chest (vv.22-8) and not swinging around loosely, casually knocking over the Lampstand with its burning oil lamps, or brushing the Bread of the Presence to the floor on his way into the Most Holy Place.

Holding the breastpiece close to his chest not only ensured the continued orderly arrangement of the items within the tabernacle, but also served a symbolic purpose. The engraved stones ensured that when the High Priest wore the breastpiece he would “bear the names of the sons of Israel in the breastpiece of judgment on his heart” (v.29). Close to his heart, he would recall the needs of Israel, just as he also bore them upon his shoulders (v.12).

Not only would the High Priest bear Israel close to heart, but when he went into the tabernacle it would “bring them to regular remembrance before the Lord” (v.29). Since God knows all things, this is a symbolic remembrance rather than literal. It is similar to prayer: God already knows what we want or need, but still has us ask anyway.

Inside the breastpiece of judgement sat the Urim and Thummim, which were objects for determining God’s Will (v.30). We know little of them today, except that the names meant Light and Perfection. However they were used, they allowed Israel’s leader to discern God’s Will, likely on important decisions affecting God’s People.

These items were borne close to the High Priest’s heart, because discerning God’s Will was an important part of being God’s People. For the decisions that really counted, where they needed to be in “lockstep” with God, God provided the Urim and Thummim to enlighten and reveal God’s perfect will.

We do not have the Urim and Thummim today, and so the Church or a Christian political leader cannot consult them on matters of great importance. Like the everyday Israelite, they and we have to rely on leading from other sources.

As with much of the ceremonies in the Old Testament, they were provided as a teaching tool to Israel to encourage them to rely on God and to look forward to Jesus, their and our Messiah.

How can we discern God’s Will? We can pattern our life and behaviour through growing in our knowledge of God’s Word, which reveals God’s character to us to reflect back. And when we pray and submit ourselves to the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we are more likely to act on the big things (and by pattern of behaviour, the little things) after God’s Will.

Christ demonstrated this in his prayerful submission to God, and his reliance on God’s Word. And Jesus bore our names and God’s Will close to heart in all his thoughts and deeds, saving us from our sins as our deliverer.

Enabled by Christ’s sacrifice to enjoy God’s presence and guidance, we too can seek to live in a way that bears God’s Will close to our hearts. Whether in the big questions of life, or the little ones, when we seek to pattern our lives after God’s revelation and Christ’s example in reliance on the Holy Spirit, we will find ourselves truly acting in the lights and perfections of God’s Will.

Read Exodus 27:20-28:14

Up until now the instructions given to Moses have focused on the construction of the tabernacle, its contents, and the surrounds. But houses do not keep themselves; they need someone to maintain it. For most of us, that person looks back in the mirror. Those with wealth or inclination outsource some or all of it. For God, that duty of service was set aside for the priests.

In this section of text, we transition to a discussion of the various priestly duties in God’s House. After touching briefly on the task of keeping oil in the tabernacle lamp, an important role of the priesthood, God explains the necessary clothing requirements for the priests. For the High Priest, an additional garment is described. In these roles and garments, we see a picture of Christ and his work for us and our salvation.

In chapter 24, God described the creation of a lampstand which housed various lamps to cast light inside what would otherwise be a very dark tent. But lamps need something to provide light, and since electricity was not readily available as a power source, God commanded the use of oil lamps to provide light.

The Israelites were commanded to continually bring olive oil to the priests for the tabernacle light (v.20). Olive oil burns cleanly, so there would be very little smoke to obscure vision.

The lamps would need regular tending, to ensure the light did not go out. So in the “tent of meeting” (the tabernacle where God met the priests who represented Israel), priests would have to tend the lamp through the night to keep the light going (v.21). 

Since this represented God’s presence, it was an extremely important job. It was a “statute forever” (v.21) not only because it was an ongoing duty, but because it pointed forward to Jesus who is the true light of the world.

Since it was priests who were responsible for keeping the tabernacle well lit, they needed to be dressed for the role. Chapter 28 elaborates on these garments.

The role of priest was not an everyday role which was advertised in the local news, but a calling. For this role, God set apart Moses’ brother Aaron and his sons to serve as priests (v.1).

Since the priests were set apart for God’s service, would come into contact with holy items, and would come closer to God’s presence than their fellow Israelites, their garments needed to meet a much higher standard. They were to wear garments that were holy, for glory and for beauty (v.2).

Skilled artisans were to make beautiful linen robes, which for Aaron as High Priest were to be accompanied by additional garments, which set Aaron and his son’s apart from the common people to serve as God’s priests (vv.3-5).

The first of the additional garments for Aaron was an ephod, which seems to have looked like a tunic worn over his priestly clothes. Expensive yarns of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet were woven into it, making a bright and beautiful appearance (vv.6-8).

It did not end there. Precious onyx stones were selected to have engraved on them the tribes of Israel, enclosed in gold embellishments and with golden twisted chains (vv.9-11, 13-14). These stones were set on the shoulders of Aaron’s ephod, “for remembrance” (v.12).

In effect, these stones were symbolic reminders to Israel that the High Priest served God on their behalf. He literally and figuratively bore the twelve tribes of Israel on his shoulders, as he served in the Tabernacle and once a year entered the Most Holy Place where God’s presence with his people dwelt, to make intercession for their sins.

These garments portrayed a beautiful message to the Israelites, and likewise they portray a beautiful message to us through the connection between these garments and Christ, our great High Priest. Like Aaron and the priests, Jesus too needed to be robed in holiness, beauty, and glory. 

But Jesus’ robes were not symbolic, they were of his very nature as truly God, becoming truly Man that he might serve us before God. And they were proved as holy through Jesus’ perfect, sinless life, fulfilling all righteousness and continually doing God’s will.

And like Aaron bore an ephod with the names of Israel’s sons as a remembrance before God, Jesus bore us before God too when he took our sins upon his shoulders upon the Cross, to bear a perfect and once for all sacrifice for our sins. After rising from the dead and ascending to Heaven, Christ continues to bear us up as he intercedes for us at God’s right hand, until he returns one day in power and glory.

Jesus, the true light of the world, bears witness to God’s love in a dark world. And Jesus’ intercession cleanses us from the sins which separate us from God’s presence. His righteousness, given to us, clothes us in holy, glorious, beautiful garments that we too may serve as priests for God’s glory, witnessing to the light of Christ in a dark and sinful world.

Read Exodus 27:1-19

Watching television shows like The Crown, it is hard not to be caught by the grand entrances that royalty and nobility have to their palaces and households. Brick or crushed stone driveways from a front gate, leading into a courtyard area with some sort of fountain or sculpture. It screams MONEY and lets you know you are not approaching my more humble estate, with its stately concrete drive and a letterbox.

The area surrounding God’s tabernacle, his palace amongst his people, also made clear that you were not entering any ordinary household. The expansive, walled off courtyard surrounding the tabernacle, reminded God’s people they were coming closer to the special presence of God. The altar reminded them of the means of access – God’s forgiveness. As we enter God’s presence, we too must remember that our privileged access is through the same.

The first item which God instructs Moses to construct for outside the tabernacle itself is the altar. As with many of the other items described, this was to be made of acacia wood (v.1). It was approximately 2.25 metres square by 1.35 metres high (v.1).

The altar had horns on the four corners, possibly symbolic of strength and power (v.2). Horns were associated with such in these days, and we see horns used figuratively to describe strength and power (eg, Daniel 7).

The altar was overlaid with bronze, as were the utensils needed (vv.2-3). A bronze grill on which the sacrificial meat cooked was also needed (v.4). As with other equipment, poles and rings were used to transport the altar, though this time, made or overlaid with bronze (vv.5-8)

Note that in previous chapters, the tabernacle’s contents were gold while the feet that the tabernacle poles rested on were silver. Outside the tabernacle, bronze is used.

While more practical from a heat perspective – bronze is more resistant to melting than gold, there is also symbolic significance in the use of precious metals. Those closest to God, to a symbolic heaven on earth, are gold. That which touched the earth in the tabernacle (the feet of the poles) are silver; the altar, outside the tabernacle, is bronze.

The altar sat inside a courtyard which was created by a fabric fence, made of fine linen held up by poles overlaid with bronze (v.9ff). The hooks for the fabric were silver (v.10). Even though this was a fence, it was still a high quality (if portable) one. The courtyard created by the fabric was about 45 metres long by 23 metres wide, a substantial size.

The courtyard needed a gated entrance, and the design accommodated this need. A nine metre wide gate with a screen allowed access into the courtyard, from the east side (v.16). While there may be symbolic importance in this width, it would also be pragmatic as bringing sacrificial animals, let alone all the people coming with those animals, into the courtyard would need a wide entrance!

The effect of this courtyard was to draw attention to two items within it: the altar, and the Tabernacle. The Israelites entering the courtyard were left in no illusions as to whose grounds they had entered. They were entering into the grounds of the Great King, the earthly home of the thrice holy God who had saved them for himself. This access was graciously given to them rather than any other people on earth.

They would also have recognised the limitations in how far they could enter. Any Israelite (and any Gentile willing to become part of God’s covenant community by faith) could enter into the courtyard area, but no further. The priests, who offered their sacrifices for them, could enter into the outer room of the tent, but no further. Only the High Priest, once a year, could enter the inner room (Most Holy Place) of the tent. The closer to God, the more ceremonially cleansed and holy you had to be.

Presented with that reminder of their sinfulness, the altar would have spoken volumes too. Through various sacrifices offered there (see Leviticus) the Israelites acknowledged their sinfulness, received forgiveness from God, and gave thanks to him for his saving deeds, past and present. Without that altar, burning the offerings which God accepted as tokens of sacrifice for their sin, they could not remain part of God’s People or enter into the grounds of his presence with them.

While we do not have a physical tabernacle with a physical altar and courtyard, the same is true for us. Our access into God’s presence is secured through the once for all perfect sacrifice of Jesus for our sins (Hebrews 9:11-14). The altar of bronze no longer burns, because Jesus’ blood has satisfied God’s anger at our sin. This sacrifice gives us the confidence to enter the holy places previously barred to most of us (Hebrews 10:19-22), to enjoy God’s presence.

Through Christ, we can join the psalmist in enjoying that privilege of presence in God’s courts, not just for one day but for thousands more still to come.

Read Exodus 26

Buckingham Palace. The White House. Both of these buildings have something in common; they are a place for the leader of their nation to live in. Given their symbolic place and their occupant, these places are well kept, well protected, and well appointed.

If this is true of a place for the Queen, then it is even more so true for God. If God was going to dwell with his people, he needed a residence “fit for a king”. And so in Exodus 26, instructions are given about the construction of God’s House, the Tabernacle. Yet these instructions are valuable beyond the architectural information for what it teaches us about the relationship of God with his people, and especially now that Jesus has come.

The Tabernacle was a tent, in keeping with the Israelites own tents in the wilderness, made with ten sheets of fabric about 2 metres by 13 metres (vv.1-2). They were made of linen dyed and decorated with cherubim, the angels that guard God’s throne. The ten sheets were sewed together into two sets of five sheets, which together formed the tent (v.3). Fifty golden loops and clasps allowed the two sets of sheets to be connected, forming a tent (vv.4-6).

The layer of linen was then covered with a layer of goat’s hair, and then two layers of animal skins to provide waterproofing (vv.7-14). It also covered the contents of the tent inside, making it difficult to “slip in” for a peek at God’s holy presence.

Like any tent, the fabric needed something to hold it up. This was through sturdy acacia wood poles, overlaid with gold and resting on silver pedestals, connected by golden crossbars and double columns (for extra strength) at the corners (vv.15-29). 

This frame was what the fabric was draped over, then pegged down to provide a complete portable house for God. Moses was to ensure all these parts were made as described, and then erect the tabernacle “according to the plan for it that you were shown on the mountain” (v.30).

Within the tent were various contents to make things fit for a Great King. Firstly, a veil of similar colour and with Cherubim decorations was to be made, and hung on a frame made the same as the tent frame (vv.31-2). This created a separate, cube shaped room called the Most Holy Place within the tent, with the outer portion of the tent being the Holy Place (v.33).

Within the Most Holy Place, Moses was to place the Ark of the Covenant, above which God’s presence would dwell (v.34). In the Holy Place, the Table of the Presence and the Lampstand were placed (v.35).

Finally, Moses was to build a second screen of linen, as with the inner tent fabric and the veil into the Most Holy Place, to help screen the inside of the tent from view by the common worshiper (vv.36-7).

For the Israelites, this tent was the place in which God dwelled with them and by which they could access God in a special, covenantal way. That access was restricted, due to their sin, but real. That was why the tent had many layers, and the entrances to the tent and the Most Holy Place were screened.

All of Israel’s camp would revolve around God’s tent. They would approach it with sacrifices, which priests would offer on their behalf, entering the outer part of the tent. And once a year, the High Priest would enter the Most Holy inner room to offer sacrifices on their behalf.

The tent represented the cosmos, and God’s Plan for his presence to come down from Heaven to earth, and to ultimately spread through all Creation.

But this Plan could only happen through the sacrifice of the true dwelling-place of God with man, Jesus, who John the Apostle says dwelt (in Greek, literally, tabernacled; John 1:14) with us. Jesus’ death on the Cross ripped the veil limiting access to the Most Holy Place (Mark 15:38), because his death allows all people access into God’s presence.

Now that the veil is torn, we are able to more freely enjoy God’s presence. Through Jesus we “have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh” (Hebrews 10:19-20).

While the Israelites had access to God through the ministry of the priests, we have direct access by the blood of Jesus to God’s presence through the Holy Spirit dwelling within us. Not just when we first come to faith, or once a year, but every day.

Nor must our lives be perfect for us to come into God’s presence, because Jesus’ blood cleanses us of any unholiness which keeps us from God’s side. Instead, we can enter God’s presence through prayer and praise, confessing our sins and receiving God’s assurance of pardon and his continued presence with us. Not just today, but tomorrow, and on into eternity in the New Jerusalem.

Read Exodus 25:31-40

This week the weather and the seasons have conspired to make our house quite dark at times. While it’s normal that during night time we have the lights on, we have needed them in the daytime too because of the gloomy weather. In God’s tent, which was multiple layers of fabric made of animal skin, it was quite dark and gloomy as well. Light was needed.

Not surprisingly then, God gave Moses instructions for the construction of a lampstand for the tent. After all, it is difficult to serve God in the Tent of Meeting when you stumble into the Table of the Presence! But as with the other items in the tent, their use went beyond the practical, to help teach the Israelites and us that God is the true source of light and life in the darkness of a sinful world.

Moses was told to “make a lampstand of pure gold. The lampstand shall be made of hammered work: its base, its stem, its cups, its calyxes, and its flowers shall be of one piece with it” (v.31). Rather than casting the whole piece, they were to heat the gold until soft and then hammer it into shape; something requiring a great deal of artistic talent.

What is also notable in the description is that this lampstand is to resemble a tree, with stems and flowers on it. This is also clear in the structure of the lamp, with “six branches going out of its sides, three branches of the lampstand out of one side of it and three branches of the lampstand out of the other side of it” (v.32).

The visual idea conveyed here is a growing plant, with a total of six branches and a trunk, perhaps symbolising the perfect light conveyed (seven is a number often associated with perfection). 

Each of the six branches contained “three cups made like almond blossoms, each with calyx and flower” (v.33), thus making the tree resemble in some way an almond tree which was common in that part of the world.

The stem contained “four cups made like almond blossoms, with their calyxes and flowers, and a calyx of one piece with it under each pair of the six branches going out from the lampstand” (vv.34-5). The buds and branches were all part of the one stand, hammered out of one sheet of gold (v.36).

The lamps were separate to the lampstand, and rested on each of the branches. They were set up so that they lit up “the space in front of it” (v.37) which contained the Table of the Presence and cast a shadow on the wall. When these lamps were adjusted every day, they could be removed from the stand to ease this process.

Unlike electric lamps with a bulb which you replace occasionally, the lamps of Moses’ day required a wax or fluid, and a wick which required adjusting or occasional replacing (similar to a kerosene or white spirits lamp). The utensils for trimming the wicks or trays for removing them were also made of pure gold (v.38), in keeping with the other elements of the Tabernacle which were coming into closer presence with a holy God.

Not surprisingly, this was a lot of gold. In verse 39, we learn that the weight of gold to use for the lampstand and accessories was “a talent of pure gold”, roughly equivalent to about 35 kilograms.

Finally, Moses was warned to ensure that the lampstand, along with the Table of the Presence and the Ark of the Covenant, were made “after the pattern for them, which is being shown you on the mountain” (v.40).

The lampstand served as the source of light in the Tabernacle, and reminded them that God was the true source of light. God provided light at Creation, initially from himself. Here in God’s restored dwelling with his people, he provides light to Israel.

This light is symbolic of the light in a dark world God provides. As Psalm 27:1 poetically describes, God is our light and salvation. In a world of dark sinfulness, God is a shining beacon of light who reveals the way through his Word.

The lampstand is also symbolic of God as the source of life. The lampstand was explicitly formed like a tree. This imagery points back to the Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden, which God provided to give continued life to Adam and Eve. In this fallen world, God is the source of eternal life, given to those who trust in him.

Ultimately, Jesus is the greatest fulfillment of the lampstand’s light and life. Jesus is the Way, the truth, and the life, and the light of the world, providing the light of life in the dark, sinful world (John 8:12). 

It is in Jesus that we are called out of darkness and into God’s marvellous light, in which God illuminates his provision for us through his eternal presence with us. And this light still draws sinners from darkness to light and life today.

Read Exodus 25:23-30

At my office desk are various pieces of artwork from my children, and two photographs; one of my wife and I, and one of my two children. They sit there as visual reminders, because while my memory is not so bad that I completely forget them the moment I walk out of the house, pictures of my wife and children bring them to the front of my mind. In a sense, they become “present” in my thoughts as I am hopefully present in theirs, even though absent.

In Exodus 25, we see another picture of presence. Moses receives instructions to build a table, which will belong in the outer room of God’s tent. This table serves as the home for the bread of presence, which symbolised God’s presence and provision for his people. Not surprisingly then, this bread pointed forward to the true bread, Jesus, who is God present with us but also God’s provision for us.

In verse 23, Moses is instructed to “make a table of acacia wood. Two cubits shall be its length, a cubit its breadth, and a cubit and a half its height” (v.23). These dimensions equate to approximately 900mm long, 450mm wide, and 670mm high. As with the Ark of the Covenant, the table was to be overlaid with gold, along with a rim which stopped items from accidentally falling off (v.24). The table, as with the Ark, was a holy item, not common.

In addition, the table was to have “a rim around it a handbreadth wide, and a molding of gold around the rim” (v.25). This was probably a frame which went around the legs halfway down, about 75mm wide, giving extra strength and rigidity to the table. The Arch of Titus in Rome depicts a version of this table as part of the loot taken when the Romans destroyed Jerusalem in AD70.

Again, as with the Ark, the table was to have gold rings attached to its legs to ensure that it could be carried with poles (vv.26-7). The table was holy; it was improper for it to be picked up casually by the local moving company. 

Instead, as with the Ark, acacia wood poles overlaid with gold were to be used for carrying the table (v.28). Perhaps as a concession to its lesser proximity to God’s presence, sitting in the outer part of the tabernacle, the poles were not permanently attached.

The table itself, while holy, was functional. It had no symbolic purpose except for what it held up off the floor. These items were typical items you might expect on a table at home; plates, a jug for liquid, bowls (v.29). These items were used for burning incense (which helped to shroud God’s presence from unholy gaze), and for pouring out drink offerings before God.

But the most significant item which the table upheld was loaves of bread. On this table, God told the Israelites to “set the bread of the Presence on the table before me regularly” (v.30). In Leviticus, this bread is described as twelve loaves of bread replaced every Sabbath, laid out in two rows on the table (Leviticus 24:5-9).

The significance of the bread is in what it represents: presence and provision. God does not need to eat, because He is eternal, uncreated, and unchanging. Rather, the loaves of bread spoke of what God was doing for His people.

There were twelve loaves, representing the twelve tribes of Israel which sat in God’s tent; the place of God’s special presence with Israel. Secondly, the loaves were constantly refreshed, demonstrating God’s continual provision for Israel.

The bread of presence reminds us of the same two things. The bread reminds us of God’s provision for us. Ultimately everything we have comes from God, whether it comes from others or from our labour which uses the gifts God gave us.

The bread of presence, continually refreshed, speaks to us as it did to Old Testament Israel of God’s continuing provision for us. Every breath we take and every move we make, God is watching over us. 

No wonder then that Jesus, in teaching us how to pray, told us to ask God for our daily bread (Matt. 6:11). Our prayers draw us to remember the source of all our provision.

We can expect God to hear these prayers because he is not absent but present with us, or perhaps we could say he has made us present with him. 

God did this through Jesus, who is the true bread of life. Jesus’ did not just miraculously provide for his people (John 6:1-15) as a picture of his provision, but truly is the bread which comes from heaven to give eternal life (John 6:22-35).

As God with us, Jesus is present with us just as the bread in the tent was near to God’s presence. Jesus is the bread of life, providing us with more than our daily bread but eternal life also through the Cross.

Let us eat of that bread of life, present with us daily.

Read Exodus 25:10-22

As some of you may be aware, I dabble in woodworking as a hobby. I enjoy the process of taking raw timber, cutting and putting it together, then sanding and finishing it. To succeed requires attention to detail, and a set of plans which indicate not only the process of assembly and the end result, but indicate why each piece (sometimes hidden pieces in the end product) is required.

In the first verses of chapter 25, God instructed the people to provide materials for the building of God’s Tabernacle, his dwelling place with them. In verses ten to twenty-two, God instructs Moses on the construction of the Ark of the Covenant. But he does not just ask for a box, he explains the finish and decorative elements to go with it, and why they are there. Because the Ark of the Covenant is more than a box; it is a picture of God’s relationship and presence with his people, recognised most fully in Jesus.

The first thing to note about the plans for the Ark is that it provides a place for God’s covenant. The Israelites were to make an ark (literally a box) of acacia wood that was approximately 1,100mm long by 670mm deep and wide (v.10). 

The box was to have an overlay of pure, refined gold inside and out, with a moulding which would have helped keep the lid on (v.11). They were to attach four golden rings to feet on the bottom of the box (so it did not sit flat on the ground), and make gold overlaid poles from acacia wood which were permanently strung through the rings to carry the ark (vv.12-14). This allowed the ark to be moved without being touched, because of its holiness.

In fact, the poles were never to be removed from the rings (v.15), unlike other objects. This perhaps indicated God’s readiness to move at a moment’s notice with his people.

Finally, the ark was the place in which “the testimony that I shall give you” was to be placed, rather than remaining an empty symbol (v.16). The testimony referred to the written copies of the covenant, which enabled and set out the terms of the relationship which God had with his Covenant People.

However, the testimony also made clear to God’s People their unworthiness of relationship with God due to sinfulness. Therefore, the instructions also provided a place for God’s mercy. They were to “make a mercy seat of pure gold” (v.17), that is, a cover which sat over the ark carrying the testimony. It was of the same length and width dimensions as the ark on which it sat. The mercy seat was emplaced on top of the ark (v.21).

The mercy seat symbolised that the requirements of the Law were fulfilled completely by God’s mercy. The sins of the people could be completely covered by the appointed sacrifices God accepted.

At the same time, the mercy seat’s pure gold make reminded God’s People that holiness was the required standard for communion with God, and so only a sacrifice which met the standard of holiness required would suffice.

Thirdly, the ark provided a place for God’s presence. On the two ends of the mercy seat, they were to create two Cherubim of gold which were to be attached to the mercy seat as one piece (vv. 18-19). The Cherubim were to face each other, with their wings covering the mercy seat (v.20).

The Cherubim were important because they were a symbolic representation of the Heavenly throne room, where Cherubim circle God’s throne proclaiming his praise (Isaiah 6). Likewise, God would appear above the mercy seat, between the Cherubim, to speak to Moses (v.22) and be present with his people. No idolatrous image was necessary; inside the tent God would appear above the ark to speak to Moses, the Mediator between God and the People.

Gold, symbolising God’s purity and holiness, plays an essential part in the finish and decoration applied to the ark. The poles (so nobody touched the ark and died as Uzziah later did, 2 Sam. 6) symbolised the separation between God and the People.

This reminds us that God is holy, and that our worship of him should not be superficial entertainment but should take his holiness and glory seriously and reverently. We make a terrible mistake as believers today when we turn a Church service, where we encounter God through Jesus, into some concert or festival.

But the ark also reminds us of God’s mercy. It is built into the plans. The mercy seat covered all the sins of God’s People, when it was splashed with the blood of the atoning sacrifices offered. How much greater is Jesus’ sacrifice, his blood splashed on the Heavenly mercy seat which was used to make the plans for Moses’ copy, in covering over our sins and failures to keep God’s Law.

That mercy allowed a Holy God to dwell with sinful people. So, too, Jesus’ blood allows us, sinful people, to enjoy fellowship with God today.

Read Exodus 25:1-9

Here it comes – the money talk! Money is very dear to our hearts, and drives fear into many a Bible Teacher’s heart when such a passage arrives. Too many people in positions of authority, many of them supposedly religious teachers, major on the money and minor on the Gospel. But because of the importance of possessions to people, it is an important topic in the Bible.

After freeing the Israelites from slavery in Egypt and entering into a covenant relationship with them at Sinai, God begins to explain to Moses the requirements for his dwelling-place with them, which they would construct from their own contributions. This giving was to be freely given, generously contributed from their wealth, and dedicated for God’s glory. Our giving to building Christ’s Church should be the same.

On Mount Sinai, surrounded and shrouded by God’s presence from the Israelites below, God explained to Moses his requirements for building a portable sanctuary or dwelling-place with his people (v.1).

Moses was to “Speak to the people of Israel, that they take for me a contribution” (v.2). While God could have chosen to miraculously create a sanctuary for himself, or miraculously provided the raw materials, he did not choose to do so. Instead, God ordained that the Israelites were to construct it themselves, and contribute to it themselves.

But unlike earthly kings and rulers whose contributions were requested with the threat of force, God’s request for contributions sought that they were freely given. “From every man whose heart moves him you shall receive the contribution for me” (v.2), rather than extracting through threat of punishment.

Their contributions were also to be from their wealth. The Almighty God, Maker of Heaven and Earth, was worthy of more than a shanty shack from some spare cardboard and timber offcuts. Instead, they were to contribute to God of the very finest and richest of their possessions to make a house fitting for a Divine King.

Firstly, they were to give “gold, silver, and bronze” (v.3), precious metals which still hold great value to us today.

Secondly, they were to give expensive fabrics: “blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen” (v.4). These coloured yarns were expensive because they were coloured through an expensive process involving shellfish and insects, and so these colours were associated with royalty.

Thirdly, they were to give practical items. They were to provide “goats’ hair, tanned rams’ skins, goatskins” (vv.4-5) which provided protection from rain and tough padding for precious items.

Fourthly, they were to source “acacia wood” for constructing various parts of the dwelling, and “oil for the lamps, spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense” (vv.5-6) to enable lighting and pleasing sacrifices to God.

Fifthly, they were to contribute “onyx stones, and stones for setting, for the ephod and for the breastpiece” (v.7) to enable the priests to dress appropriately for their sacrificial service in God’s House.

Where were these riches from? From the wealth that the Israelites plundered from the Egyptians when god rescued them from Egypt (cf. Exodus 12:35-6).

The riches given were not for the enrichment of Moses and Aaron but for God’s Glory. With the contributions of their possessions they were to “make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst” (v.8).

What God proposed was building a portable temple, a house for God to dwell specially with his covenant people. The riches were given to ensure God’s House was suitable to reflect his glory to the Israelites and any foreigners who saw it.

This temple was not based on earthly designs from Egypt or an architectural competition, but “exactly as I show you concerning the pattern of the tabernacle, and of all its furniture, so you shall make it” (v.9).

God would provide the design of the house befitting his glory, according to a heavenly pattern he had already established (Heb. 8:5).

Like the Israelites, we too are called by God to give freely (2 Cor. 9:7). God could miraculously raise the finances and provide the possessions to pay for his preachers, the worship spaces, the relief of the poor, and the extension of the Kingdom through the preaching of the Gospel. But he has chosen to use us as his hands, his feet, and his providers.

Nobody should feel compelled by a Preacher’s words to give, but we should desire to freely give. If we do not, then we should pray for God to give us the heart to freely give, having freely received.

And while we should not give ourselves into bankruptcy, nor should we be stingy toward God. Ultimately we give to God, not a church or the preacher. Like Israel, we should give generously from our wealth and sacrifice some luxury for God.

When we give generously to God we are giving the means which God uses to build his Temple on earth, the Church. While ordinary people labour, it is God who gives the growth; building his sanctuary here on earth with us, his people.

Read Exodus 24:9-18

If Lockdowns taught us anything, it is that while online presence with others is better than nothing, physical presence is far better. Being cut off from each other taught us to yearn for each other’s presence. But how much better than presence with each other must presence with God be like?

In this passage, the covenant ratification ceremony is completed by Israel’s representatives enjoying fellowship with God. Then, following their return down the mountain, Moses ascends again to commune further with God, enjoying his presence. In these events, we see not only the mirror of the sacrament of communion, but also the great and glorious presence of God we will all enjoy in eternity.

After sprinkling the people of Israel with blood, Moses and the representatives of Israel fulfil God’s command in verse one to go up on Mount Sinai to worship God. There, they see God (vv.9-10).

The description given is not of God as he is, but rather of the area around, reflecting his glory and majesty. “There was under his feet as it were a pavement of sapphire stone, like the very heaven for clearness” (v.10). 

What they saw, little as it was, was beyond ability to properly explain. Beneath the anthropomorphic feet of God (God is spirit and does not have a body like us), the ground looked like it was paved with beautiful bright stones, reflecting God’s glory. At the same time, it was so pure as to be like heaven itself, reflecting God’s purity.

Perhaps they never even saw more of God than this. Experiencing his majesty and awe, they fell to the ground worshiping God and studied the floor rather intently!

Gathered on the mountain, the representatives of Israel completed the covenant ratification ceremony by communing with God. 

Ordinarily, as sinners like us, the representatives of Israel were subject to judgement from God. But this was not their fate, because God had entered into a relationship of mercy and forgiveness with them. 

Instead, God “did not lay his hand on the chief men of the people of Israel” (v.11). God did not strike them down where they knelt. He accepted their presence, and their worship of him, as part of his chosen people.

The representatives “beheld God, and ate and drank” (v.11). They shared a meal, which ratified the covenant relationship between God and Israel. This was an important custom of covenant ceremonies at that time. After this, we infer, they descended from the mountain back to God’s People.

After the ceremony, Moses once again enters God’s presence. This time, Moses ascends to receive the stone tablets of the covenant, and further instructions on building the tabernacle (v.12).

Anticipating that he would be with God for some time, Moses placed Aaron and Hur in charge with the elders (v.14), and ascended the mountain with his assistant Joshua (v.13). At this point the mountain was obscured by clouds (v.15), and God’s glory covered the mountain (v.16).

God’s glory settled on the mountain for six days, mirroring the creation story where God’s spirit hovered over the earth for six days, making everything (v.16; Gen. 1). A new creation is occurring; God is making a people for himself.

Viewed from down below, “the appearance of the glory of the LORD was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain” (v.17). We do not know what Moses and Joshua observed at the edge of the glory cloud, but Moses responded to God’s call to go into the cloud (v.16) and entered into God’s intimate presence (v.18). There he stayed for forty days and nights (v.18), seeing God and communing with him.

The communion meal which the elders and leaders of Israel shared with God on Sinai is repeated at the Last Supper, where Jesus instituted what we call Communion or the Lord’s Table (Matt. 26:28-9). There, he announced the New Covenant (in comparison to the Covenant at Sinai), the new administration by which God relates to his people.

Whenever we gather together as a Church and take Communion together, we are entering into the same type of ceremony as the elders of Israel. We are identifying ourselves as part of God’s covenant people, against whom God does not lay a hand in judgement but extends his arms in loving mercy.

While we do not see God with our eyes in Communion, but enjoy his presence by the Holy Spirit, one day we will see God in fuller measure. 

Revelation teaches that one day, not just the elders of our congregation but we all will gather at God’s feet, offering praise and worship to him (Rev. 7). There, in the new heaven and earth which God will make, we will commune with God in the marriage supper of the Lamb (Rev 19:6-9, cf. Isaiah 25:6-9) and enjoy his presence more fully than now, more fully even than the representatives of Israel on the slopes of Mount Sinai.

Because of Christ, we will see God and enjoy his glorious presence.

Read Exodus 24:1-8

Any major agreement has a ceremony to confirm it. Marriages begin with a wedding ceremony where husband and wife exchange public vows. Treaties have ceremonies where leaders take credit for their officials’ work, sign agreements, and swap pens. Large contracts may involve speeches, spades in the ground, novelty cheques, and large banners. All of these modern symbols show both parties’ commitment to their obligations.

The Covenant at Sinai was similar. God had provided an historical context for their relationship, expressed his terms, and highlighted the benefits and curses of obedience (or not). All that was left was the ceremony, which begins in Exodus 24:1-8 with a call to ascend, recording the covenant, and a ritual confirming the covenant. In this event, we have a picture of our own covenant relationship with God, in Christ.

The passage begins with a call to ascend Mount Sinai issued to Moses and representatives of Israel. God commands Moses to “Come up to the LORD” along with his brother Aaron, Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu, “and seventy of the elders of Israel, and worship from afar” (v.1). These men represented the tribes of Israel, the head priests of Israel, and their mediator.

However, only Moses was to come near to God, while the others were to stay at various distances, and the Israelite populace were to remain at a distance (v.2). This distance was required to remind them of God’s holiness, and their sinfulness.

Following this call we see Moses recording the Covenant. Moses went to the people, and announced everything God had told him in the previous chapters (20:12-23:33). All the people eagerly respond “All the words that the LORD has spoken we will do” (v.3).

The next step was to make it official. Moses wrote down everything which God had told him, which certainly involved at a minimum everything we have examined from chapter 19 onwards (v.4). Later this would involve all of the first five books of the Bible.

This step was important, as it provided a key legal source. Children needed to know the terms of the Covenant they had with their God. Elders and leaders needed to refer to it, to judge on cases and to lead the people in worshiping and obeying God’s commands. It served as written proof of the relationship, much like a treaty or a contract serves today.

This led to the third step, which was confirming the Covenant. The people had already said they would sign up, but a ritual still needed to happen. Moses eagerly got up in the morning and built an altar at the foot of Mount Sinai, with twelve pillars symbolising the twelve tribes (totality) of Israel (v.4).

Next, the young men (likely firstborn, who belonged to God, Ex. 13:2) were sent to arrange animal sacrifices to God (v.5). God’s acceptance of these sacrifices was necessary for the confirmation process to continue.

The blood of these sacrifices then took prominence. Firstly, half of the blood was thrown onto the altar as an offering to God (v.6). This symbolised God’s part in the covenant, as a party to the agreement. If God did not keep his part (as if that were possible), then his blood would be shed.

In the same way, after reading the covenant and again hearing Israel again commit to its terms (v.7), Moses sprinkled the other half of the blood on the people, as parties to the covenant (v.8). They too were sealed into the covenant by blood.

But the blood served another purpose. In the sacrifices God commanded, the blood represented the cleansing and forgiveness of sins through the substitute of another life for the sinner’s. Thus, the blood on the altar symbolised forgiveness for failing to keep the covenant perfectly, while the blood sprinkled on the people set them apart as made holy and cleansed. The blood turned aside God’s wrath, and allowed a covenant relationship between God and his chosen people.

The same occurs for us, though not through repeated sacrifices but through the blood of Jesus (Rom. 3:25, Eph. 2:13). Jesus’ sacrifice was offered once for all, cleansing perfectly and completely (Heb. 9:12-14). Through Jesus’ sacrifice and the shedding of his blood, we are forgiven.

Just as we enter a relationship with God in a similar way to that between God and the Israelites at Sinai, so too God’s Word, written for us, helps us to love and obey God, and to teach our children of God’s holy standard and God’s saving acts. God’s Word confirms God’s love for us, and confirms the promises made by God, given by covenant, and sealed by Christ’s blood.

Jesus’ blood inaugurated the new covenant (in relation to this covenant, Heb. 9:15-28), so that we may all enjoy the forgiveness offered through God’s covenant of grace revealed from Eden through Sinai to the Cross. It is only through the forgiveness received in Christ, and the release from God’s wrath through Christ’s blood, that we can enter into a relationship with God.