The Tabernacle – Part 2

The Tabernacle, the tent of meeting, is a key part of the story of the Children of Israel. God designed it to be a visible sign of his presence with his people and as a focus for worship. Every detail was significant and looks beyond the Children of Israel to Jesus Christ, the more perfect tent (Hebrews 9:11). In part 2 we look at Exodus 35 and learn what God required from his people to build the Tabernacle. He invited the people to contribute their precious items and their skills. But most of all he wanted their hearts to be focused on him.

Transcript

So part two this evening, we’re thinking about  the next stage in what helps us to understand the tabernacle and that is what it would take to build the tabernacle. That’s where we left off last week. Week one or part one was very much looking at what was the reason for a tabernacle?

Why did there need to be one? What was God’s design for it? And ultimately at the heart of it was his desire.  He would draw near to them and he demonstrated that because we looked at the historical background to it, we looked at the children of Israel coming out of Egypt and being brought into the wilderness.

Of course they’d be 40 years there before they’d get to the promised land because of their unfaithfulness. We saw what happened at Sinai and so the history of the children of Israel is very much one of peaks and troughs.  At one moment, they’re close to God. Next minute, they’re far away from him.

And what the tabernacle was to do was to show God’s keeping  of the covenant, God’s promise to be with them and to never leave them.  You did have a little bit of homework last week. You had a few questions there to think about. How can we learn from this story?  So I hope those questions were helpful as you thought through some of them about what it means to know God with us.

So we’re moving into part two this evening, and thinking about generosity of heart.

Generosity of heart, what it meant for the people to respond to God. As he led them to the construction of this tabernacle.  One of the things we were always told in Union College was you never want a building project.  And if you read the 17 chapters of Exodus that talk about the tabernacle, you can understand why.

Because your ministry can very quickly get bogged down into the detail of what should go where. Should the door go here? Should the door go there?  You have the concern about raising the money and how is this going to happen? And so all of a sudden a building project can consume life for not just one, but maybe two or three years from the first inception of the idea through to the finished product.

And that’s how we perhaps approach it. There’s all fancy computer programs out there that can tell you when to do things and you can set it all up that it will keep you right on track for dates and how much you need to buy and what money you need to bring in.  God’s design for the tabernacle was very different.

It was essential,  but God was the chief foreman.  He was the one that was going to make sure that everything was done exactly as he wanted because as we thought last week, he is the one who invites us into worship of him. And we come to worship him on his terms. Not ours.  And the Tabernacle makes that very clear  how, by how God designs it.

But as we’ll see in the later chapters, but how he designs the role for his people,  either as worshippers, or those who will facilitate the worship of God’s people through the actions of the Levites and the priests and the high priest.  So for tonight we’re going to be turning to one passage this evening really to help us think about this.

It’s actually a little bit further. It’s towards the end of Exodus. We’re not even going back to the very start of Exodus where we’re thinking about Sinai and God giving the instruction. So we’re turning to Exodus 35.  We’re going to read it in two parts.  We’re going to start at verse four. We’re going to read verses 4 to 19, and then we’ll, later on, read verses 20 to 29.

So we’ll start with chapter 35 and verses 4 to 19. So do follow along there as I read.  And the text says, Moses said to all the congregation of the people of Israel,  This is the thing that the Lord has commanded.  Take from among you a contribution to the Lord. Whoever is of a generous heart, let him bring the Lord’s contribution.

Gold, silver and bronze, blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and fine twined linen, goat’s hair, tanned ram skins and goat skins, acacia wood, oil for the light, spices for the anointing oil, and for the fragrant incense.  And onyx stones and stones for setting for the ephod and for the breastplate.  Let every skillful craftsman among you come and make all that the Lord has commanded.

The tabernacle, its tent and its covering, its hooks and its frames, its bars, its pillars and its bases, the ark with its poles, the mercy seat and the veil of the screen, the table with its poles and all its utensils and the bread of the presence. The lamps stand also for the light, with its utensils and its lamps.

and the oil for the light, and the altar of incense with its poles, and the anointing oil, and the fragrant incense, and the screen for the door at the door of the tabernacle,  the altar of burnt offerings with its grating of bronze, its poles and all its utensils, the basins and its stands, the hangings of the court, its pillars and its bases, and the screen for the gate of that of the court, the pegs of the tabernacle and the pegs of the court, and their cords.

The finely worked garments for ministering in the holy place. The holy garments for Aaron and the priest, and the garments of his sons for their service as priests.  So those first verses 4 to 19, some of you are just thinking this is fantastic. I’ve got a bill of quantity in front of me and this is great.

I know exactly what I need now to build my own tabernacle, not just a model. And for some of you, you’ll love the detail. For others of you, you’ll think, why is there so much detail? And that’s where we’ll take us next week. We’ll start to look at that detail and what it means  for the construction of the tabernacle.

But for now we’re going to think about the question, how was the tabernacle going to be built?  The tabernacle, as we know, was going to be the holy place where God would dwell.  So  it was going to be built in a way that I’ve already said was God’s design, because it was for God’s purpose.  The tabernacle and the temple that would follow, then of course the fulfillment of all of that in Christ, all goes back to the covenant promises of God.

The tabernacle doesn’t simply come on a whim.  It’s about showing the people God’s ability to keep the covenant.  That he will be with them. Remember, the whole purpose of it is to dwell.  And that’s covenant promise keeping.  God would be their God, and they would be his people.  God is never going to break that.

And so how the tabernacle is going to be designed is going to assure the people of that, and every detail is going to be important.  And I’ve given you some images again there in your handout. Nothing new I haven’t included this one you can look at it on the screen there. But this is the cutaway of the actual tent itself.

And that’s simply there, so it’s not in your handout I’ve given a bigger one, I’ve given the court in your handout, but just look at this for a minute.  Because whenever we read that passage, and it spoke of the colours, and it spoke of everything that was needed, down to the very peg, and as we’ll discover, the very curtain reels that were going to be needed.

I’ve read this, and I’ve read books on this.  But it’s still a picture.  Whether truly representative or not, but still.  I’m in awe of how every detail was given by God.  for this tent.  This is the nature of God. It’s beautiful.  And one of the books I was reading this week is, was about that the tabernacle and the temple were also about, it’s not just about restoring the people,  but it was about restoring creation.

And as we look at the embroidery and things that hearken to that restoration, that spiritual restoration back to Eden, not the physical Eden, but that idea of Eden, of that relationship between God not only keeping his promise, but the tabernacle is about restoration.  It’s about bringing the people back to see God and how,  and to know him as the God that they would worship.

And so in this, nothing’s going to be left to chance, nothing’s going to be left to accident, nothing is going to be given over to humanity to design itself.  And they’re in the middle of the wilderness, how are they going to do this?  There’s no B& Q down the road or other hardware store that you might go to.

How are they going to do this?  And so God says to Moses in Exodus 35 verse 5,  Take from among you a contribution to the Lord. Whoever is of a generous heart, let him bring the Lord’s contribution gold. silver and bronze. Now the passage obviously continues but we’re looking at what else is needed. But we’re looking at those first really two verses, or the two sentences of that verse  about what the Lord requires.

Not just the physical elements, but actually what he requires of his people.  So building the tabernacle was going to be difficult for the people.  They’re in the wilderness. You heard it read there’s going to be poles. The poles aren’t necessarily just for holding things up. It’s going to be for carrying things as well.

And remember where they are. There are people who are now wandering in the wilderness. This of course is going to take them way up here, the long way home as it were. But they leave Egypt. They go to Mara, they go to Elam, and of course they’re disgruntled there. But they make it to Mount Sinai, and now they’re somewhere heading north from Sinai.

Getting everything they need, and not only would they bring what they had, but the Lord would place them in certain parts of the wilderness where they could get what they needed. They didn’t bring wood with them, but they would find the wood that was needed all around them.  And this is what they were to do, to bring what they had.

But, of course, they fled from Egypt.  They didn’t even have time for their bread to rise. So what could they bring with them? Surely the last thing they thought about was all the things like, that have been asked for. I’m sure the women didn’t bring their wool and whatever else with them. They just took with them what they could carry.

But we actually go back a little bit. And we read in Exodus chapter 12, the night that they left Egypt. Because in verses 35 to 36, we’re told that the people of Israel had also done as Moses told them. For they had asked the Egyptians for silver and gold jewelry,  and for clothing.  And the Lord had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they let, so that they let them have what they asked.

Thus, they plundered.

We often talk about the providence of God. Here you’re seeing it.  The people didn’t know they were going to need to build a tabernacle, but God did.  And what he  had said through Moses before they left Egypt was actually, plunder. Take with you.  Take with you what you’re owed for all of the years of work that you’ve done.

Take it out.  And, of course, we know what did they do. They brought their gold. It was melted down. It was made into that idol of the calf. But they still had more, so that there was enough for the tabernacle. In fact, as we’ll see in chapter 36, there was actually an overabundance of what was given.  These were not poor nomad people.

They had brought with them the wealth of Egypt. And that wealth was going to be used for God’s glory.  So God would provide everything that was needed for these people to build the tabernacle. And it is a long list. Here’s your bills of quantity. They’re in the middle of page one and on the screen. You’d gold, you’d silver, you’d bronze, there’s scarlet yarns, blue and purple as well.

Then would need be for linen, goat’s hair, tanned ram skin, goat skin, acacia wood, oil for the light. Spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense and then onyx stones and stones for setting for the ephod and for the breast piece That would be used by the high priest.  All of this was needed and through God’s providence It was all there.

They had exactly what they needed to complete this work of God  But going back to the top of the page, and to that verse 5 of chapter 35,  look at what God is looking for.  He only wants to receive this long list of things from people whose hearts are ready to give it.  If someone’s heart was not to give, then they shouldn’t give.

We read later in the New Testament, in 2 Corinthians, chapter 9, verse 7, the standard that God requires. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart. I think I’ve told you this before, I can’t remember, but there was a church that I attended in Malawi. It was a Baptist church, and it was a Southern Baptist pastor, so someone from the States. And they had a lectern, and he would lean over it at a certain point, and he’d have a wee glint in his eye, and he’d simply say into the microphone, It’s giving time.

And everyone would whoop and everyone would cheer  because they were trying to live out a joyful giver.  Of course, that was all very outward.  Anyone can whoop and anyone can cheer and any pastor can lean on a pulpit and say in a deep southern voice, It’s giving time.  But the Lord wants the heart to be right.

Not the outward actions,  but the heart.  And the reason why God has set this invitation Not a command, but an invitation to the people,  is that he wants them to truly love him  and not feel obligated to him. I

wonder,  do you get that difference?  Because sometimes in how we approach God, We feel that it is duty and obligation.  It’s part of what we do, rather than actually desiring to do it because of a joy filled heart.  In this context, the Lord is asking, inviting people to give physical things.  But as we know, Paul writes in Romans 12 and verse 1, that everything we do is our spiritual act of worship.

Worship comes from the heart. Comes from our very innermost being  and so as we worship God then we are invited  to give everything of ourselves  Not to come begrudgingly Not to come before him not to give to him begrudgingly not to do things begrudgingly But with a joyful and cheerful heart  To come before the Lord.

And this has been the standard that God has set here in the coming to the tabernacle and it’s what is required. But throughout  the history of the children of Israel and throughout the history of the church,  God has desired our hearts  to be in the right place.  So that everything we offer to him will  be correct.

Will be right  and will be pure  and you see sometimes it can be easy to say I’ll just give  I’ll just give and that’s easy in many ways  But as we move through this passage, we see that God simply didn’t want items  He wanted people  because in Exodus there 35, in verse 10,  it says, let every skillful craftsman among you come and make all that the Lord has commanded.

See, probably these craftsmen could have brought their own gold. They could have just left it all at the foot of Moses and said, get on with it. But.  God wants the things, but he also wants the people  to work and to fashion, because  we have to look at this from God’s perspective. God knows our abilities, because he’s the one who’s given us the abilities.

And he wants us to use them, just like Eric Liddell said that when he runs for God.  When I turn wood for God.  When I put mortar between bricks,  I’m doing it for God. When I plant that flower and pull that weed, I’m doing it for God. When I’m cleaning those toilets and brushing that floor, I’m doing it for God.

When I’m singing my heart out,  either as a nightingale or a gale in the night, as a colleague of mine once said, you’re doing it for the Lord.  This is what the Lord requires, not simply what we give,  but he wants what we give.  And again, we have a long list there that at this time I haven’t put, but you can see what it’s going to construct.

And there’s that image in the middle of your page to see the wider picture of what was being made here.  It was going to take craftsmen for two reasons. First of all, simply the practicality of doing this, of making this and fashioning this. It was going to take craftsmen and craftswomen to do what was needed.

Whoever could do whatever they could,  bring, but also craft your metals, craft your wood, and craft your precious stones, as well as spin the wool and weave the cloth, so that not only could you have the outer boundary of the court, but as we get into the intricate detail, craftsmen were needed, because these were items of worship unto the Lord.

These were to be done, not only exactly, but to be done well. Because they all were symbols and icons of what it was to worship God. God was communicating through them to his people.  And so the skills and the crafts of the people were needed for this. And again, just like the first image we saw, look at this, the size, the importance, the outer view of worship, anywhere in the camp you would have seen the smoke going up from the sacrifices, the very public declaration of the atonement of sins.

But then into the private where the priests and the high priest would go on behalf of the people to offer what was to be brought before God so that he would receive the people, forgive their sins, but also accept their worship.  This was to be done well  because God was dwelling with his people at the heart.

So that’s what God asks of his people.  It’s not a command, it’s an invitation. And what is the response of the people? The verses we’re going to read now are going to be in Exodus 35 and those 20 through to 29.  And this tells us exactly what happens next.  And verse 20 says, then all the congregation of the people of Israel departed from the presence of Moses.

So he’s told them what the Lord’s asking them, so they, now they’ve gone away,  and they came however many days later, everyone whose heart stirred him and everyone who spurred, moved him and brought the Lord’s contribution to be used for the tent of meeting and for all its service and for the holy garments.

So they came, both men and women, all who were of a willing heart, brought brooches, and earrings, and signet rings, and armlets, all sorts of gold objects. Every man dedicating an offering of gold to the Lord. And everyone who possessed blue, or purple, or scarlet yarns, or fine linen, or goat’s hair, or tanned ram skins, or goat skins, brought them.

Everyone who could make a contribution of silver or bronze brought it as the Lord’s contribution. And everyone who possessed acacia wood of any use in the work brought it. And every skillful woman spun with her hands, and they all brought what they had, spun in blue, and purple, and scarlet yarns, and fine twined  linen.

All the women whose hearts stirred them to use their skills spun the goat’s hair. And the leaders brought onyx stones, and stones to be set for the ephod, and for the breastplate, and spices and oil for the light, and for the anointing oil, and for the fragrant incense.  All the men and women, the people of Israel, whose heart moved them to bring anything for the work that the Lord had commanded by Moses to be done, brought it as a freewill offering.

To the Lord  on two occasions in these verses. We read the same thing at the start in verse 21, and they came, everyone whose heart stirred him and everyone whose spirit moved him and brought the Lord’s contribution to be used for the tent of meeting and for all its service. And for the holy garments.

And then right at the end, the bookends of this section, all the men and women, the people at Israel whose heart moved them to bring anything for the work that the Lord had commanded by Moses to be done, brought it as a free will offering to the Lord,  the people desired to do this. We’re seeing one of these peak moments, again, of the people’s relationship with God.

He hasn’t commanded them, he has asked them. And they have responded out of worship and out of love for God, because they know the significance of what this place will be.  As I said in chapter 36, we’re going to see that, that they actually brought more than was needed,  which just showed the overflowing of blessing that the people knew.

And so they offered it to God. Remember what’s happened here?  They’ve seen God at work in rescuing them. They complained about  food. They complained about water. They grumbled.  Then of course they have the Sinai moment where they’re waiting but get impatient and they have the idol.  And so they fall away from God again and their punishment is of course to drink the crushed up idol and the dust.

But now we’re seeing them again recognizing what they’ve done,  coming before God with intention to worship.  See they’re willing,  and they’re actually quite wise, because they finally figured out that everything they own is not theirs. It’s all given by God, so that we can be blessed, but that we, in return, can bless Him.

John Calvin, in his commentary on this passage, highlights what the Israelites being willing to give says about human free will. Calvin writes,  Those, therefore, whom the Spirit rules, He does not drag unwillingly by a violent hand. For extrinsic impulse, as it is called, but he so works within them upon their will that believers stir up themselves and they voluntarily follow his leadings.

Calvin’s using it’s actually originally in French the old English has been translated, but think of it like this it’s Valentine’s Day in a couple of weeks, just in case you were, counting the days. Why do we ever do anything kind for other people in our families?  In our homes or in our extended family, why do we do anything?

It’s not because we’re commanded to, it’s not because we’re told to, we do it out of an expression of love. It’s  We think it’s our choice and free will, but actually it’s love  that really commands it off us to demonstrate.  And that’s what Calvin is saying here, that when the Spirit of God is in a person, then we will want to live for him.

We will be controlled by the Spirit. And even though we will humanly have the choice to do A or to do B, the determination will come from a life that’s lived in the Spirit.  And this is what brings us back  to that generosity of heart.  The people were being drawn closer to God, and there was no other way for them to respond but generously to the God who shows.

generosity.  And this is really where we go for our application as we finish this evening. What does it mean for us today? When God desired to dwell with his people, he wasn’t doing it by imposing himself upon them. Remember, this is a covenant agreement.  God entered into it, and the people entered into it.

It’s more than a promise. It’s more, more akin to a legal transaction,  but of course a covenant is so much more than a legal transaction.  The people would pull themselves away from it, but God would never break his part of the covenant.  And so as he comes to dwell with his people to be their God, at Sinai, that terrible moment at Sinai, with the worship of the idol, the covenant is renewed and so the people are again brought close to God.

But the standard that God requires is their heart.  He wants their hearts to be fully for him.  Now actions are an outward expression of what is in the heart. But it all begins in the heart because we can all say things, we can all do things that give an appearance.  But God doesn’t look at the appearance.

God looks at the heart.  That’s why in a few weeks time, whenever we come to it in 1st Samuel 16, God says to Samuel,  Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees. Man looks on the outward appearance. But the Lord looks at the heart.

And if you were with us, or you were able to catch up on Sunday night, you know exactly Saul was given because he was the appearance that men wanted. He was tall. He looked like a leader. He looked like a fighter. He looked like a king, just like the other nations.  But for Israel’s second king, they were going to get the man after God’s own heart.

He was rugged,  he was small, he was the runt of the litter.  But yet God knew his heart.  And that’s what God calls us to do.  Because we can be easily taken by outward appearances  and we can forget about the heart.  We can forget about the heart that has been transformed by God that should  have outward appearances that match.

Amen. Amen. Doesn’t always happen because we still live in a fallen and a broken world where we are still influenced by sin  But we’re not held by sin.  And so the response to this evening as to what is God’s standard we must match that standard as we live among each others  Among each other because the beautiful thing about Sinai was that God was doing two things at Sinai  He was forming a people.

He was structuring the people about how they were to live together socially, but also live together spiritually.  How they were going to work together, and how they were going to worship together. And that’s one of the things that Paul teaches the church. He says, forbear with one another. Have patience with one another.

Don’t look at the outward burst of three seconds and allow that to consume you. But look to the heart as God looks at the heart  so that we can know true transformation there  and that we trust in due course.  The actions will follow. God continues to look at our hearts today.  And he looks to see if they’re fully set on him.

And this will be displayed in our actions, such as giving and service, and in our words, how we speak to people and what we say.  And he is looking for renewal and transformation that can only come through Jesus Christ. And that’s why Jesus says in John chapter 3 and verse 6, that larger section that will take us up to John 3, 16, that which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the spirit  is spirit.

If we have been truly transformed by Christ, then we live in the spirit.  We don’t live in the flesh.  And if someone on profession of faith  professes life in that spirit, then that’s how they’re viewed. Not as those who are in the life of the flesh. God’s people  were to understand what it meant to live together  in worship of him.

And that’s what the church is, that’s what Acts is teaching us.  That’s why Ananias and Sapphira were punished so suddenly so that sin wouldn’t be allowed to creep in and taint and split and divide, that Satan wouldn’t get a foothold.  Because God’s design for his people has been that as they worship him, so they will do it together  and not allow Satan to enter in.

So we are to live as people born of the Spirit of God. Our words are to be true, and our words are to be sincere.  Our actions are to be kind and charitable, and our thoughts are to be pure and to be focused. on God. That’s what we’re called to do. That’s what the tabernacle at the center of the life of the people in the wilderness was to point them to.

That’s what the temple would show sitting on the mount in Jerusalem as those pilgrimages were made and people would go physically go up to the house of the Lord.  They were being reminded of God’s standard and as we look to Christ in the new covenant through his blood.  It is Christ’s standard  that we are to follow, one where we are born of the Spirit, as he says in these words in John chapter 3,  that being born of the Spirit so we will live  as people of the Spirit.

So some questions for you for further study.  Seeing in Exodus 35 what God requires of his people, how are you matching up to what he asks?  Sometimes it’s good to have a spiritual health check where we ask ourselves the questions  Is there any opportunity to grow in love with christ more?  Secondly god wants those who worship him to do so from a genuine heart  So how do you prepare for worship of him each day?

And as you approach sunday worship  thinking of sunday worship, do you pray for those services? Do you pray for me? Because, trust me, I need that prayer.  Do you pray for our music group?  Do you pray for the choir?  Do you pray for those who will be involved at different levels, teaching our children in Children’s Church, those looking after our younger children in Creche?

Do you pray for what builds up to the service in our Sunday schools?  Do you prepare by reading through the hymns? And you’re going, but we don’t know the hymns. Actually, they’re there. You can read them either on the YouTube link. It’s in the description. Or if you go onto the front page of the website, you’ll see a little icon that’ll take you to the service and it’ll list the hymns.

One of the things I’ve been challenged about screens is that what’s good about a hymn book?  You get to see the whole hymn.  You get to see it in its entirety. Yes, screens are very convenient and good for us, but we do lose something for everything else that we gain about seeing everything. And that’s why we, whenever we put the slides together, they’re done in a way that at least you get to see the majority of the verse in one go, so that you can see how it flows without just two lines here and two lines there.

How do you prepare for Sunday? Because everything we do on a Sunday in terms of public worship. needs to be prepared for so that we will hear from God and be expectant about how his spirit will work in us individually. but us as a people?  And then thirdly, how can greater understanding, this is the standard question, maybe tweaked ever so much week to week, but how can greater understanding of the invitation to provide for the building of the tabernacle draw you closer to God as you live for him?

In other words, what God invites us or invited the people to do with the tabernacle,  what does that mean for us today as we understand what God’s standard is for us?  The Tabernacle, it’s an interesting thing,  it’s a challenging thing.  And why would you expect anything less?  Because for God’s people, it was the physical presence of Him dwelling with them.

And as we will see, every detail was going to be covered so that people would know how to worship Him well.  And so the Tabernacle  challenges us  and speaks to us today about how we live for God, how we worship Him. All through Jesus Christ, of course, which the Tabernacle points to. So let’s pray as we finish this part of our evening this evening.

Our Father God, we do thank you for what we’ve looked at this evening. This one chunk of Scripture from Exodus 35.  One part that encourages us of the generosity of heart as the people drew closer to God.  So as we think about these things, help us to understand what it means To learn of this,  but also to live it today.

Father, we want to be people whose hearts are set on you. We want to be people who are generous towards you, because we know your generosity and salvation. Father, be near us and be with us.  Help us to think through these things. Help us to be prepared to worship you every day that we live.  And as we think of Sundays, particularly this Sunday in our Fisherman’s Services, we do pray for Andrew and Owen as they make ready themselves for how they will lead us through your Word.

We pray for the music group and the choir, how they will lead us as well.  We ask that through every element of the service together, we will know you and we will be drawn closer to you.  And Father, may this not just be something we’ll do this week,  but may we get into the holy habit of making ourselves ready for how we worship you.

as you draw us closer to yourself, so met by your spirit, the spirit that we claim to be born into on profession and confession of faith.  So Father help us to live in the spirit  as we continue to worship, to seek, and to serve you in Jesus name.  Amen.