Read Exodus 30:17-33

My childhood church had a poster in its kitchen with the popular phrase “cleanliness is next to godliness”, encouraging us all to wash our hands and our dishes. Implied in the meaning is that clean hands get us closer to God (though most of us do not mean that when we use the phrase). Still, it is not hard to see the similarity between washing dirt off our hands and the washing away of sins needed to draw close to God.

That link is explored in this section of Exodus, where instructions are given on a bronze basin for cleansing, and anointing items with oil. While the priests were symbolically justified by the altar sacrifices, they still had to be cleansed to come into God’s presence. Also, they and the items needed to be anointed as holy for God’s service. Through this, we are reminded of the importance of our continued cleansing from sin and how we are set apart for God’s service.

The pictures of salvation liberally scattered throughout the Mosaic Law continue with the instruction to build a basin for washing. Like everything else outside of the tabernacle (in the courtyard), the basin was made entirely of bronze and placed “between the tent of meeting and the altar” (vv.17-18).

The basin served a particular purpose. They were to put water into it “with which Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet” (vv.18-19). The hands and feet symbolised the whole, as these were the parts of the body used to serve God: the hands for doing things, the feet to take them there.

The location of the basin, like anything involving the tabernacle, mattered. It served as a reminder to the priests to wash as they entered and left the tabernacle. This was required every time they did so, and every time they offered sacrifices on the altar (v.20).

This requirement was more than a moral imperative, it was literally life or death. They were to wash “so that they may not die” (v.20). Verse 21 repeats the ongoing instruction to be crystal clear: “they shall wash their hands and their feet, so that they may not die” (v.21).

Why was this so important? When they were ordained, animal sacrifices cleansed them ritually of sin and made them ritually clean and pure for God’s service. But they still sinned, and sin’s effects still dirtied them. They still needed ongoing cleansing to make them holy and fit for God’s service.

The holiness required was reinforced by the anointing oil described in the last part of chapter 30. Everything set apart for God’s service had to be anointed with a special oil, mixed from a variety of fine spices and olive oil (vv.22-5).

With the anointing oil, Moses was to anoint everything in the tabernacle, from the tent itself to the ark of the covenant, the altars inside and out, the furniture, and all the utensils too (vv.26-8). Only holy equipment was allowed to come into touch with the most holy (v.29).

In addition, the oil was applied to the priests. Moses was to “anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, that they may serve me as priests” (v.30). Because they were holy and anointed, they could touch the holy items and serve in God’s presence.

Because of its significance, the oil use was restricted to the priests, and imitations were not permitted for others (vv.31-33). Nobody else was allowed to use it or wear it, for fear of excommunication or even death. Only those specifically set apart for God’s service.

Both of these pictures teach us about our salvation. Through Christ’s sacrifice, we are forgiven of our sins and declared right with God. But that does not mean that sin and sins’ effects completely disappear immediately (sadly).

Instead, we still do battle every day with sin. And we live in a sinful world, which affects the way we behave, act, and think. All of these things need continual cleansing from our lives, as we turn away from sin and turn towards holiness. All of these things need continual cleansing from our lives each day, as Jesus’ blood washes us clean again when we seek forgiveness of our sins.

The priests needed to be cleansed because their task was important; they came regularly into contact with God and things close to him. The anointing oil, sprinkled over them and the tabernacle items, reinforced the holy realm in which they worked.

We too as believers, justified by God’s grace in Christ and daily washed clean and renewed through the washing of Jesus’ blood, are anointed and set apart by the Holy Spirit for God’s service. So everything we do and everything we have is set apart for God’s service. It does not matter what our role or what our possessions, all are an opportunity to glorify God as we daily come close to him.

Washing your hands will not save you, but Jesus does. And Jesus’ blood continually cleanses us, so we are free to serve God.

Read Exodus 30:11-16

Every few years our government takes a census. It helps with understanding data about our population, and things like possible health needs and projecting where they need to invest in more infrastructure. I suppose it also gives useful data for working out how much extra tax they can collect…

The census was a useful tool in centuries past as well. In this passage, we see an example of a census taken of Israel’s men, and the specific requirements that came with it. The census taught three things – that God was the ultimate source of authority, that God values all people equally, and that atonement is needed for God’s people.

After instructing on the altar of incense, God moves to another aspect of the sanctuary’s upkeep. God instructed Moses on the requirements for every male in Israel when a census was taken.

When a census occurred, “each shall give a ransom for his life to the LORD when you number them, that there be no plague among them when you number them” (v.12). The phrase to number them literally meant to “lift the head” or “do a headcount”.

There were definite military overtones. Censuses were often completed to find out how many men could be called up as soldiers. For instance, in Numbers 1, Moses and Aaron are instructed to count all the males aged 20 and over – those who would fight in Israel’s battles.

A ransom was required when a census was taken. Likely, this was because counting something implies some degree of ownership or authority over it. Everyone who was counted ultimately belonged to God, and so only God had the authority to count his people. When King David demanded a census in 1 Samuel 24, the lack of a ransom and command from God resulted in a terrible plague on Israel.

While the word ransom to us brings to mind images of duffel bags filled with unmarked $100 notes, the ransom was a payment which atoned for their life. Everyone owed their life to God, and the payment of the ransom recognised that God owned their life and destiny, especially as they were counted for war.

When the Israelites were numbered, they were to give “half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel is twenty gerahs), half a shekel as an offering to the LORD” (v.13). Half a shekel was not a lot of money, but a big number of a little amount is still a big number!

The counting and ransom payment process (according to the underlying Hebrew) appears to be that everyone who was counted stood in one group, and passed the counters to another group (the counted). As they passed, they would drop their half shekel in a pile. 

The half shekel was a standardised value, according to a “sanctuary shekel”. That meant that if there was some divergence in currency across Israel over time, there was a common standard against which the currency was weighed.

There were no exceptions to paying the ransom. “Everyone who is numbered in the census, from twenty years old and upward, shall give the LORD’s offering” (v.14). Often laws exclude certain people, like the wealthy and privileged, or at least they feel exempt from the law! But everyone was required to pay.

In the same way, it did not matter what your position of wealth or status was in society. “The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less, than the half shekel, when you give the LORD’s offering to make atonement for your lives” (v.15). You paid, and you paid the same amount, because rich or poor, your life was worth the same to God.

But what happened to the atonement money once it was taken? It was given “for the service of the tent of meeting, that it may bring the people of Israel to remembrance before the LORD, so as to make atonement for your lives” (v.16). The atonement money helped pay for the ongoing expenses of the sanctuary and its continued maintenance.

The Census rules and the ransom payment remind us that God is the ultimate authority over everything. Numbers are not the be all and end all when it comes to the Church. What matters is faithfulness to God, whether 5, 50, or 5,000 people. 

We should not measure success by attendance or giving. What God gives in a time and place is what God chooses to give, because the numbers are under God’s command.

Secondly, the ransom payment reminds us that everyone is valued equally in God’s sight. We have a tendency to value some people over others, for instance rich over poor (or poor over rich); powerful over powerless. But we are all worth the same to God.

And that value comes not from a monetary payment but from a ransom payment. We cannot meet the shekel value for a lifetime of sin, but Christ could, and gave his life as a ransom for many.

Through Christ’s blood, God numbers us among his people, ransomed to serve him.

Read Exodus 30:1-10,34-38

We all have smells that we enjoy. Perhaps it is the smell of a flower, or a wood fire, or a perfume. Maybe you love the smell of freshly mown grass, or of sawdust, or engine oil.

While God does not have a literal nose and sense of smell like us, he does enjoy the fragrant smells of prayer lifted up to him. In Exodus 30, we are introduced to another piece of furniture in God’s House, which the now-ordained priests were to maintain and serve. This altar of incense raised pleasing smells to their Divine King, which accompanied the prayer they offered.

In the previous chapter, Moses ordained the priests and his brother Aaron the High Priest to serve in God’s sanctuary. The priests offered sacrifices on the altar, and kept the lamps on the lampstand burning. They replaced the Bread of the Presence. There was plenty to keep them busy.

In addition to this, God instructed Moses to build a further piece of furniture for the Tabernacle, an altar on which to burn incense (v.1). As with the other furniture items in the Tabernacle, the altar was made of acacia wood and covered in gold, because of its proximity to God’s presence (vv.1, 3). 

Much like the altar for animal sacrifices outside in the sanctuary grounds, the altar had four horns (symbolising strength and power) on it (v.3). It had golden rings with which to carry it on poles of gold-laced acacia wood (vv.4-5).

The altar for burning incense was smaller than the animal altar outside. It was a cubit “square, and two cubits shall be its height” (v.2). This equates to about 890mm high (about my waist height, I built a workbench that high), and about 450mm square. This size would have fit with the dimensions of the tent and the other pieces of furniture within it.

As with the other items in the Tabernacle, the altar had a specific place to sit. They were to put it “in front of the veil that is above the ark of the testimony, in front of the mercy seat that is above the testimony, where I will meet with you” (v.6). This placed it in the Holy Place, as the closest item to the veil in the tent which separated this room from the Most Holy Place, where the Ark of the Covenant sat and God’s presence dwelt. From this location, the incense would flow into the Most Holy Place.

The priests were to burn incense on the altar morning and night, as a regular offering (vv.7-8). This offering was to continue daily as an ongoing routine. At the same time as the daily burnt offerings on the altar, there would be an incense offering offered inside the Tabernacle. 

It was important to keep the altar for its intended purpose. The altar was only for burning incense, and not for any other sort of offering (v.9). The only time in which the altar was to be ritually cleansed from the effects of sin was on the Day of Atonement, when the High Priest would cleanse it with a sprinkling of blood on his way into the Most Holy Place, which he entered but once a year (v.10).

Just as it was important the altar was used correctly, it was also important that the incense offered was as required. Aaron was to take specific spices (some of which we cannot specifically identify) and blend them together in equal proportion, blended with salt (vv.34-5). A measure was then taken and beaten into a fine powder for offering (v.36). None of this incense was for personal use, but belonged exclusively to God with a penalty of death for wrongful use (vv.37-8).

The symbolic importance of the incense is never explicitly stated, but it appears from other parts of the Bible it was associated with prayer. For instance, King David sings “Let my prayer be counted as incense before you, and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice!” (Ps. 141:2).

Also, Luke’s Gospel records how an angel appeared to Zechariah the priest as he served in the Temple, offering the incense while praying, with people gathered outside at the same time to pray (Luke 1:8-11). The rising incense symbolised those prayers ascending to God in his heavenly throne room.

The altar of incense then was a symbol of how our prayers ascend to God’s presence. The offerings morning and night show that prayer is meant to be a regular part of our lives, bathing every day, morning and night. 

The exclusivity of the incense reminds of how important it is that our prayer is exclusively to God, and not shared with any other thing, created or imagined. Only God is the rightful hearer of our prayers, not anyone or anything else.

God will hear our prayers because we are cleansed by Christ’s blood. Cleansed and made most holy, our prayers ascend today to God’s heavenly throne, like the sweet fragrance burning on the altar of incense.

Read Exodus 29:22-46

Life is full of little routines: cleaning, brushing teeth, washing dishes. These repetitive tasks remove dirt, grime, germs, and plaque from our bodies and homes. Then they return, for cleansing again.

In our passage this week we see the ongoing requirements that continued the ordination process, and were repeated whenever there was a new High Priest. And we see the repeated sacrifices offered to cleanse the altar of ritual decay, and cleanse God’s People of their sins. All these rituals show the importance of Christ’s once-for-all sacrifice, that continually cleanses us anew.

After sprinkling the ordination ram’s blood on the priests’ garments to cleanse them, the priests still had duties to perform with the remains of the animal. Moses was to take the best and tastiest parts of the ram – the fat, the liver lobe and kidneys, and the right thigh – and along with the assorted breads (cf. v.2), place them in Aaron and his sons’ hands (vv.22-4). 

They were then to wave these food offerings, perhaps up to the sky, or perhaps back and forth to represent the giving from and giving back to God, before casting these on the altar as a burnt offering (vv.24-5).

After this, Moses (acting as a temporary priest) and the newly ordained priests were allowed to take the meat of the breast and thigh (that not currently consumed by fire) as their own provision from God, via the people, for their share of the offerings given to God (vv.26-7). This was not a special one-off, but a perpetual rule that helped ensure the priests were well fed in their service of God and his people (vv.28-9). It was also a “good cut” of the meat, not the best, but not the worst either. On a scale of beaten-up Corolla to Tesla, it was a Leaf or an Outlander.

While these ordination rituals were lavish and extensive, they were also a repeated ritual. When Aaron died, his son as successor was to wear the same High Priestly clothes his father wore, and his sons after him (v.29). This ritual, which lasted seven days, would also last seven days for each successor (v.30).

Following the ordination ceremony, the priests cooked and feasted in their share of the offerings in an ordination meal, which was held in the sanctuary to ensure they remained ritually holy (vv.31-2). They were not to share the food with anyone else, and any leftovers were burnt the next morning, because they were sacred items (vv.33-4).

The ordination ritual extended seven days, and every day Moses was to sacrifice a bull as a sin offering for atonement for their sins, and to purify the altar of the “pollution” of sins effects (vv.35-6). This would set the altar apart as most holy, and anything which touched it (that is, sacrifices) would also be made holy through contact (v.37).

While the sacrifices of the ordination ritual were confined to the ordaining of a new High Priest, the altar was not left untouched. Each day, a lamb would be offered both morning and evening, marking the entire day as belonging to God (vv.38-9). These sacrifices were accompanied by other sacrifices which made the sacrifices resemble a meal (vv.40-41).

The daily sacrifices were to continue every day, as a perpetual reminder of the need to continually cleanse God’s People of their sins to enjoy God’s presence (v.42). All of the sacrifices, and the tabernacle, the altar, the lampstand, the ceremonies were directed towards this purpose. 

When Moses constructed these items, and the priests did their part too, God promised to treat these as holy, and dwell there (vv.43-5). Through this, God’s People would come to know and enjoy the presence of their saviour from slavery in Egypt, their God.

Despite the uniqueness of this first ordination of the priests and High Priests, it was only the first of many more to come, as one High Priest died and a new one took their place. Even that ritual, conducted over seven days, involved repeated sacrifice for sin. And these ceremonies allowed for the daily sacrifices to continue in a way which God accepted, because they were offered in the way he demanded.

This repetition of events, daily and occasionally, reminded Israel that they needed continual cleansing from sin and its effects. We too, though redeemed, cleansed, and forgiven, also need daily forgiveness and cleansing from sin’s guilt and power in our lives.

Ultimately, the daily sacrifices of lambs could not truly cleanse God’s People of their sins. (Heb 10:3-4, Heb 10:11) Nor that of the bull, offered multiple times during the ordination of the High Priest. Only Jesus’ blood, the blood of one perfect human sacrificed in the place of many, can once for all satisfy the blood guilt we all bear because of Adam’s sin, and our sin.

That perfect sacrifice cleanses us anew every morning and evening, as we confess our sins to God. It allows us to enjoy what the tabernacle and priestly garments prefigured: God’s presence with us, his continually cleansed people.

Read Exodus 29:1-21

When people take on a new role, there are sometimes ceremonies involved. Vows are made, sometimes special clothes are worn, and then there is cake. This happens when a new Governor-General is appointed, or in the Church when pastors and elders are installed (except we probably go for sausage rolls rather than cake).

The same ceremonies were needed for Aaron and his sons as they took on the office of Priest for God’s People. Standing as their representatives before God, and serving in holy places, the priests needed to be properly ordained. In this passage we see the materials needed, the ceremony, and the cleansing offerings which were associated with their role. Through this, we see a picture of Christ’s priestly ministry, and our own ministry as priests in the New Covenant.

Firstly God instructed Moses on the materials he would need for the ceremony. Sacrifices were required (v.1), along with “unleavened bread, unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers smeared with oil. You shall make them of fine wheat flour” (v.2). 

The animals were in their prime of life, without blemish, and represented the very best of what Israel had to give to God. These animals and the unleavened bread (perhaps referring back to the Exodus, or the “corrupting” effect of leaven) were offerings for God as part of the ordination ritual.

The actual ordination required an elaborate series of steps to separate Aaron and his sons symbolically from their old lives, and prepare them for the new. Firstly, Moses was to take “Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the tent of meeting and wash them with water” (v.4). This ritually cleansed them of all unclean things which made them unfit to enter into, and touch, the holy things of God.

Next, they were to put on new clothes in keeping with their office. Moses was to “take the garments, and put on Aaron the coat and the robe of the ephod, and the ephod, and the breastpiece, and gird him with the skillfully woven band of the ephod… [and] set the turban on his head and put the holy crown on the turban” (vv.5-6). These clothes, discussed previously, set Aaron apart as the High Priest.

Then Moses was to “take the anointing oil and pour it on [Aaron’s] head and anoint him” (v.7). The anointing oil was reserved only for Aaron as High Priest because of the special tasks set for him, such as entering into the Most Holy Place once a year.

Following this, Aaron’s sons were clothed with their own priestly robes, and thus they were ordained for the priesthood, as would be their sons after them (vv.8-9).

However, the process did not end there. Three sacrifices were still required to complete the ceremony. 

Firstly, after Aaron and his sons laid hands on it, a bull was sacrificed at the entrance to the Tabernacle (vv.10-11). Moses dabbed  the bull’s blood on the horns of the altar and poured more blood at the base (v.13). The fat and tastiest parts of the bull were burned on the altar as God’s portion, while the remains were burnt outside the Israelite camp (v.14).

This sacrifice was a sin offering, where the sins were transferred through the laying of hands and the beast sacrificed for them. As it burned on the altar, it represented the punishment due to them for their sins.

Next was a ram, which after laying on of hands was killed, with the blood splashed on the altar and the whole animal after being cut up and cleaned was burnt as an offering to God (vv.15-18). This animal served as a sin offering for Aaron and the priests.

Thirdly, the remaining ram was sacrificed (vv.19-20). This time, some of the blood was applied to Aaron and the priests’ right ear, thumb, and toe. Finally, some of the ram’s blood thrown into the altar was mixed with anointing oil and sprinkled on the priestly garments, to ritually purify them all for holy service (v.21). This was the ram of ordination.

These sacrifices ordained Aaron and the priesthood for God’s service. Jesus too was ordained a priest, after the order of Melchizedek (Heb. 7:17). Though sinless, Jesus still submitted to the cleansing ritual of John’s Baptism, anointed by the Holy Spirit descending on him like a dove (Matt. 3:13-17). Through his own blood, he ransomed us from our sins (1 Pet. 1:18-19), once for all and without the need for sacrifices for his own sins first (Heb. 7:27).

Because of Jesus’ High Priestly ministry and sacrifices, God has made all of us as members of the New Covenant administration of Grace his priests (1 Pet. 2:9). He has washed us clean through the washing of regeneration (sacramentally signalled in Baptism), clothed us in new robes of Christ’s righteousness, and cleansed us through Christ’s atoning sacrifices. Established as priests, we are all called to serve God in his Holy Sanctuary, the Church, through offering our lives as a living sacrifice.

Read Exodus 28:31-43

People often wear clothes that are considered appropriate for their roles. Mechanics wear overalls, office workers wear professional attire, surgeons wear scrubs, and road workers wear high visibility gear. Clothed for God’s Service, the priesthood and especially the High Priest wore clothes that set them apart for their roles.

Throughout chapter 28 of Exodus, God has instructed Moses on the proper clothing fit for those serving in his house. In these final verses, further instructions are given on the clothes they wear, including a robe under the High Priest’s ephod, what covered his head, the clothes of his sons (the priests), and even the underclothes they wore! The detailed instructions remind us of the importance of our holiness in God’s presence; a holiness we only have because it has been given to us.

Along with the ephod and the breastpiece which the High Priest wore, God required a “robe of the ephod all of blue” (v.31). This robe was likely worn immediately underneath the ephod. It would have highlighted the beauty of the ephod and breastpiece, and was woven in such a way as it was pulled on over the head, reinforced to avoid tearing (v.32).

The bottom of the robe held decorations of pomegranates and bells, which would have tinkled as the High Priest went about his duties (vv.33-4). The purpose of this tinkling was to announce to God (figuratively, since God is All-Knowing) that it was the High Priest was entering the Holy Place to perform his duties, as otherwise the entrant was an intruder subject to death for entering unworthily into the Holy Place (v.35). 

It also would have practically told the other priests where the High Priest was, and that he was still alive!

The next garment was a turban which the High Priest wore in his duties (vv.36-8). This turban had a gold plate on it, inscribed with “Holy to the LORD” (v.36). Aaron represented Israel in his duties; this reminded everyone of his representative role as the High Priest of a holy nation set apart by God, but also that Aaron was responsible for ensuring the intent of the sacrifices offered was to provide an acceptable sacrifice to God.

In addition, the coat (v.4) under the robe was to be made of fine linen, and a special sash was worn to highlight that the High Priest was an important position (v.39).

The priests also wore coats, sashes, and capes (v.40). They were all to wear these because they were set apart by God for ordination as priests (v.41). Amid a holy people, Aaron and his sons were singled out to serve as representatives of all God’s People in the service of God. They were to make offerings, and wait upon God in the place of his special presence with them.

For this reason, because of their privileged position of access and their representative role, even their underclothes were prescribed by God. Unlike the pagan priests whose clothing would not look that out of place in a modern music video, the priests were to be modestly dressed, in linen undergarments of a nature similar to boxer shorts (v.42). 

Serving God required modesty, not flaunting their bodies. They were to be modestly and appropriately dressed whenever they served God in the Tabernacle grounds or the Holy Place. Not doing so was an offense to God, with the punishment of death (v.43).

While beautiful and elaborate, these instructions are not to provide designs for the pastor’s next outfit, but to point out the seriousness of their role. These men served God and represented God’s People before him; what they did and even what they wore was important because of where and whom they served.

The reality is that the robes did not make them holy. If anything, to the spiritually awake in their midst, it only highlighted just how far short of the standard they fell.

Years ago I preached on Zechariah 3, where the High Priest in Zechariah’s vision is made painfully aware of his sinfulness, represented by dung covered robes (making him ritually unclean, and unfit for God’s presence). But instead of being burnt up, the priest is given new, pure robes by God as a substitute for his unholy garments, making him fit for God’s presence and his service.

The same was true in Moses’ day, and true in ours too. Clothes do not make us holy before God, nor our works. God makes us holy, by clothing us in new and righteous clothes.

Those new and righteous clothes come from Jesus, who became sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God…and wear it.

Those new robes make us fit to serve as priests in God’s presence, serving in the Temple of the Holy Spirit which is the Church, where God dwells with his People. The dapper new clothes we wear make us truly what the clothes of the priests figuratively taught: set apart servants of God, dressed up right from top to bottom, holy to the LORD.

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.