Tag Archives: Exodus

Exodus 40- The Glory of God

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Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.And Moses was not able to enter into the tent of the congregation, because the cloud abode thereon, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. And when the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the children of Israel went onward in all their journeys: But if the cloud were not taken up, then they journeyed not till the day that it was taken up. Exodus 40:34-37

Now that the construction of the tabernacle is complete, we find out why God instructed the Israelites to build it. Besides the fact , we know that everything in the Tabernacle including the Tabernacle is a foreshadow of Christ, there is a bigger reason. The glory of God can now make its dwelling on Earth in the Tabernacle

Notice the Glory of God was with the Israelites, God was with them through the journey of the Wilderness, and God is with them wherever they go. Also notice Moses couldn’t enter the Tabernacle when God filled its presence, why? Because we are sinful people and would be consumed by the holiness and glory of God

For the cloud of the LORD was upon the tabernacle by day, and fire was on it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys.  Exodus 40:38

God was with the Israelites day and night, throughout their journeys. What a comfort it must of been for Moses and the Israelites to see that presence of God and know He is with them. The same God is with us today, the Holy Spirit lives inside of us (Romans 8:11) As the Apostle Paul taught our bodies are now the Temple of God and the Holy Spirit lives inside of us (1 Corinthians 3:16, 6:10)

And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. John 1:14

The word dwelling in the Bible is the same as Tabernacle. Jesus made his dwelling or tabernacle with us. Just as God instructed the Israelites to construct a Tabernacle so He could live with them, Jesus became Human to live with us. Immanuel , God is with us

The tabernacle is another foreshadow of Christ incarnate. God becoming human to live with us and eventually die for our sins as the atoning sacrifice. Jesus is our Tabernacle , who lives with us forever Amen!

Exodus 37- Altar of Incense

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And he made the incense altar of shittim wood: the length of it was a cubit, and the breadth of it a cubit; it was foursquare; and two cubits was the height of it; the horns thereof were of the same. And he overlaid it with pure gold, both the top of it, and the sides thereof round about, and the horns of it: also he made unto it a crown of gold round about. And he made two rings of gold for it under the crown thereof, by the two corners of it, upon the two sides thereof, to be places for the staves to bear it withal. And he made the staves of shittim wood, and overlaid them with gold. And he made the holy anointing oil, and the pure incense of sweet spices, according to the work of the apothecary. Exodus 37:25-29

Today we look at the altar of incense , that was another commandment God gave to Moses to build, but what was the significance or meaning? I believe, as it reveals to us in the New Testament, that  this was a foreshadow of our prayers. When we study the “Altar of Incense” we can learn alot about our prayer life

First there is the altar, we must come before The Lord with a repetitive heart before we pray. The incense was to burn continually, which is what we should do , pray without ceasing. As the smoke of the incense goes to Heaven, so do our prayers. They are like sweet fragrance of incense to God 

Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. Revelation 5:8 (NKJV)

We see in the New Testament , the prayers of Gods people are incense. Notice the bowls are full of them, God hears your prayers and is collecting them! Offer your prayers as a sweet sacrifice to God, and keep praying them continually!

Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice. Psalm 141:2

David said ,” Let My Prayers be like incense for God and the lifting us his hands like a sacrifice” David is revealing shadows of the New Covenant, may we pray without ceasing to be like burning incense before our God, and may we lift our hands in worship and offer our praise as a Living Sacrifice (Romans 12) to The Lord Amen!

Exodus 36- The Church

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Then wrought Bezaleel and Aholiab, and every wise hearted man, in whom the LORD put wisdom and understanding to know how to work all manner of work for the service of the sanctuary, according to all that the LORD had commanded. And Moses called Bezaleel and Aholiab, and every wise hearted man, in whose heart the LORD had put wisdom, even every one whose heart stirred him up to come unto the work to do it: And they received of Moses all the offering, which the children of Israel had brought for the work of the service of the sanctuary, to make it withal. And they brought yet unto him free offerings every morning. Exodus 36:1-3

As we look at the Israelites building the Tabernacle, ect it reminds me of The Church. Notice God gave specific people different skills and talents and commanded them to use them to serve His people. This is the same as the Church today, we are given many different gifts and talents by God (Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12)and we are to use these gift and talents to serve Gods people, The Church

Also notice they brought free offerings every morning, meaning the Israelites provided for the needs of the Israelites, Gods people took care of each other. This is the same for the Church today, the Church is to provide for the Church (Acts 5)

And all the wise men, that wrought all the work of the sanctuary, came every man from his work which they made; And they spake unto Moses, saying, The people bring much more than enough for the service of the work, which the LORD commanded to make. And Moses gave commandment, and they caused it to be proclaimed throughout the camp, saying, Let neither man nor woman make any more work for the offering of the sanctuary. So the people were restrained from bringing.For the stuff they had was sufficient for all the work to make it, and too much. Exodus 36:4-6-7

We see here that the Israelites were bringing so many offerings that Moses had to put a stop to it “The people were restrained from bringing”. Imagine that! Imagine if a Church today the people were so generous the Pastor had to say “Stop bringing your offerings”!

This is the sense of community the Israelites had, they were not a corporation or a non profit group, they were a family brought together by God to care and love for one another. This is how the Church should be today, nobody in a Church should be going hungry or lonely, the Church should be taking care of one another as a family!

And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common. And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all.Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold,And laid them down at the apostles’ feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.Acts 4:32-35

When I read about the Israelites in this Chapter it immediately reminds me of the Early Church in Acts 4. They were a community and everyone loved and took care of each other. If the Church is going to be effective and powerful today, we need to get back to our roots in the Bible Amen!

Exodus 35- Service to God

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And all the congregation of the children of Israel departed from the presence of Moses. And they came, every one whose heart stirred him up, and every one whom his spirit made willing, and they brought the LORD’S offering to the work of the tabernacle of the congregation, and for all his service, and for the holy garments. Exodus 35:20-21

After Moses gave the Israelites all the instructions and teachings he received from God, their hearts were stirred. They immediately had a desire to serve God and perform their skills and duties that were required of them and that they were capable of. This is exactly what the Church should be today

The Israelites were a community, trusting in God as their provider and Lord, this is the same the Church community should be today. Nobody should need to force you into service for God, your heart should be stirred to serve Him. An offering to God is not just about giving tithes, its about giving of yourself (Romans 12) your talents and skills to be used for Gods Kingdom

And they came, both men and women, as many as were willing hearted, and brought bracelets, and earrings, and rings, and tablets, all jewels of gold: and every man that offered offered an offering of gold unto the LORD. And every man, with whom was found blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats’ hair, and red skins of rams, and badgers’ skins, brought them. Every one that did offer an offering of silver and brass brought the LORD’S offering: and every man, with whom was found shittim wood for any work of the service, brought it. Exodus 35:22-24

Everyone came, men and woman, with a willing heart! Nobody had to force them to server God. This is not “works based salvation” Nobody believed they would be saved beacuse of their works performed for God. They served God because they loved God and because God loved us first!

And all the women that were wise hearted did spin with their hands, and brought that which they had spun, both of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, and of fine linen. And all the women whose heart stirred them up in wisdom spun goats’ hair. And the rulers brought onyx stones, and stones to be set, for the ephod, and for the breastplate; And spice, and oil for the light, and for the anointing oil, and for the sweet incense. Exodus 25:25-28

The Men and Woman gave and performed the services based on their skills and talents. Just as we are the Body of Christ, and each of us have a specific gift of the Holy Spirit, each part performs a role or function within the whole Body, (Romans 12) This is exactly what we are seeing here, a community of God serving and loving one another

The children of Israel brought a willing offering unto the LORD, every man and woman, whose heart made them willing to bring for all manner of work, which the LORD had commanded to be made by the hand of Moses. Exodus 35:29

The community, Men and Women, whose heart were willing! Nobody had to force them into serving God, they had a heart for God. This is a foreshadow of The Church, we serve God because our hearts are willing and because He loves us in Jesus Name Amen!

Exodus 34- The New Covenant

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And the LORD said unto Moses, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first: and I will write upon these tables the words that were in the first tables, which thou brakest. And be ready in the morning, and come up in the morning unto mount Sinai, and present thyself there to me in the top of the mount. Exodus 34:1-2

If we remember previously, God wrote the Ten Commandments on the stone tablets, and when Moses saw his people already committing idolatry, in his anger he slammed the stone tablets to the ground and broke them. 

Now as we analyze this, we know nothing is a coincidence with God. I believe God now wanting to write the stone tablets again is a foreshadow of the New Covenant to come! The breaking of the old tablets, is us breaking Gods moral laws. Because we are unable to fulfill Gods Law, He had to make a better covenant, the New Covenant of Christ!

And no man shall come up with thee, neither let any man be seen throughout all the mount; neither let the flocks nor herds feed before that mount. And he hewed two tables of stone like unto the first; and Moses rose up early in the morning, and went up unto mount Sinai, as the LORD had commanded him, and took in his hand the two tables of stone. Exodus 34:3-4

Notice Gods command, nobody can come up to the mountain except Moses, why? Because remember as sinners we cant come into the presence of our Holy God. We need a Mediator, the Israelites had Moses as their Mediator between God and Man. Our Mediator is Jesus Christ, who fulfilled the Law in our place

And the LORD descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation. Exodus 34:5-7

God stood with Moses and proclaimed the name of Yahweh, now think about this, would why would God proclaim his own name when He was right in front of Moses? Because I believe this is Jesus Christ, God incarnate proclaiming the name of The Father Yahweh

Even after all the rebellion and sin of the Israelites, God reminded Moses, He is  merciful, gracious, patient, full of love and truth! And also he is forgiving of our sin! This is our loving God we serve! Christ through the New Covenant has written these laws on our hearts and mind, and the Holy Spirit lives inside of us forever! Amen!

Exodus 33- God Is With Us

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And Moses said unto the LORD, See, thou sayest unto me, Bring up this people: and thou hast not let me know whom thou wilt send with me. Yet thou hast said, I know thee by name, and thou hast also found grace in my sight. Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, shew me now thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find grace in thy sight: and consider that this nation is thy people. Exodus 33:12-13

Moses is having an open conversation with God, during this conversation Moses is a straight shooter. Moses asks God “You said you were going help me lead these people, so where is my help”? Of course this is a paraphrase but Moses is basically having a heart to heart talk with God

Another question Moses asks is “How will these people know I have received your grace”? This same question can be asked about ourselves, how do people know we have the grace of God through Jesus Christ? Its by the way we live, its by our faith we display, its by our fruit we produce!  

And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest. And he said unto him, If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence Exodus 33:14-15

God answers Moses directly, He says “I will Go With You” , imagine that God was the answer to the Israelites problems all along. Just as God is still our answer today. Stop looking around for solutions and start looking up! God is with You!

For wherein shall it be known here that I and thy people have found grace in thy sight? is it not in that thou goest with us? so shall we be separated, I and thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth. And the LORD said unto Moses, I will do this thing also that thou hast spoken: for thou hast found grace in my sight, and I know thee by name. Exodus 33:16-17

Moses asks again, “How will anyone know I have received your Grace”? What will set us apart from the rest of the world? Jesus Christ sets us apart by the Holy Spirit, the word Holy in the Bible means Set Apart. You are set apart by God through Christ, and the world knows you are different

The same was with the Israelites, they were set apart from the rest of the pagan nations. Those who truly followed God were not worshipping false idols and practicing abominations, they were set apart by the Sabbath and they worshipped the True Living God

Notice God tells Moses “ You have found Grace and I know You By Name”! Imagine that not only did Moses receive Grace from God but He knows him personally. The same is with us today through Christ. We have the Grace of God through Jesus Christ and He has called us by name Amen!

Exodus 32- Golden Calf Part 2

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And the LORD said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people: Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make of thee a great nation. Exodus 32:9-10

As we continue to look at The Golden Calf, we see Gods anger against the Israelites is Hot! God hates Idolatry! So what is Idolatry? Anything you make or put ahead of God, in this case the Israelites decided they were going to make a Golden Calf their God to worship. 

Thats why God told Moses, go down and take care of your people! After everything God has done for the Israelites, freed them from slavery, perfomed miracles in the Wilderness, they forgot about Him after a few days. 

And Moses besought the LORD his God, and said, LORD, why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people, which thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power, and with a mighty hand? Wherefore should the Egyptians speak, and say, For mischief did he bring them out, to slay them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from thy fierce wrath, and repent of this evil against thy people. Exodus 32:11-12

God is asking “Why did he save these people when they are not going to listen to him anyways”? That is my own paraphrase of course, however the same can be said about Christians. Why did Jesus save us, when you wont obey his voice? Faith is about obedience!

Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou swarest by thine own self, and saidst unto them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it for ever. And the LORD repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people. Exodus 32:13-14

Notice God had mercy on His people, just as God has mercy on us. Some will ask “How can a good God send people to Hell?” The reality is we all deserve Hell , we are all rebellious and disobedient to God, however because of Gods mercy he choose to save us! God doesnt send anyone to Hell, we choose Hell over God

And it came to pass, as soon as he came nigh unto the camp, that he saw the calf, and the dancing: and Moses’ anger waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands, and brake them beneath the mount.  And he took the calf which they had made, and burnt it in the fire, and ground it to powder, and strawed it upon the water, and made the children of Israel drink of it. Exodus 32:19-20

Moses came down from the mountain and he was hot with anger also. He destroyed the Golden Calf and forced the Israelites to drink the ashes of the idol in water. This is what we need to do also, we need to destroy the Idols in our lives that are ruining our relationship with God

Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Who is on the LORD’S side? let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him. And he said unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Put every man his sword by his side, and go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbour. Exodus 32:26-27

Then Moses made a proclamation “Whoever is for The Lord, take your side” Notice there was a separation between those who are worshipping Yahweh and those who worship false idols. Then the Israelites for God , killed those who rejected him. Sounds harsh, but this is reality, without God your condemned.

Remove the idols from your life! Our God is a jealous God and he wants a committed relationship with You, which only can be possible through the Lord Jesus Christ Amen!

Exodus 32- Golden Calf Part 1

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And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him. Exodus 32:1

Its amazing how rebellious we are as people, here we see the Israelites, who were just led through the Wilderness by God Almighty, who parted the Red Sea, who fed them Bread from Heaven , forgot instantly about God after 40 days

Moses was up on the Mountain for 40 days to commune with God, while the Israelites were committing idolatry with a Golden Calf. What happened? Why did the Israelites fall away so quickly? Its our sinful nature, its our disobedience, its our lack of true faith in God

And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden earrings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me. And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron. And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. Exodus 32:2-4

Whats even more shocking, is Aaron, the man who God ordained as the High Priest, listened to the people, and built the Golden Calf for the people to worship. How can this happen? Aaron is the High Priest, hes a righteous man, right? His faith and obedience failed , just like all of us at times. He sought the approval of people rather than God

And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, To morrow is a feast to the LORD. And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play. Exodus 32:5-6

It got even worse, not only did they build a Golden statue to worship, but Aaron then built an altar and proclaimed a Holy Day. This is paganism, just as their surrounding nations have practiced. Israel has become corrupt even before they reached the Promised Land

And the LORD said unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves: They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them. They have made themselves a molded calf, and worshiped it and sacrificed to it, and said, ‘This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!’ ” Exodus 32:7-8

God warns Moses, your people have already corrupted themselves! The Israelites have already forgotten about Yahweh, forgot about his miracles He performed for them, forgot about His commandments that He gave them.

Many people today are still worshipping The Golden Calf instead of the true Living God. People make their own gods, out of their own image and their own desires. But there is only One God and He was revealed by Jesus Christ (John 14:6) Amen!

Exodus 31- The Sabbath Part 2

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And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the LORD that doth sanctify you. Exodus 31:12-13

One of the great questions and debates that still goes on today, is what was the purpose of The Sabbath? God makes it clear here, “The Sabbath was a sign between You and Me” So think about it, God is trying to establish his people, The Israelites, that are set apart from the rest of the pagan nations. 

How will people know the Israelites are followers of the One true living God Yahweh, because the Sabbath was a sign they were the Israelites. When your in a covenant, there has to be a sign or symbol that your committed to it. For example, the covenant of marriage, we wear a wedding ring to show a sign of the covenant of Marriage. The wedding ring doesnt actually make you married, but its a sign between husband and wife

Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you: every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death: for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD: whosoever doeth any work in the sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death. Exodus 31:14-15

The word Holy in the Bible means “Set Apart” The Sabbath is setting the Israelites apart from the other pagan nations. Notice God references Creation into the Sabbath, 6 days your work and the 7th day rest. The same is when God created the world, 6 days of creation and the 7th day God rested. The word Sabbath means Rest

Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed. Exodus 31:16-17

Again scripture says “Its a sign between God and the Israelites” The sign of the Old Covenant was the Sabbath. As I said, every covenant has a sign, Jesus instituted a sign of the New Covenant.

And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance. Hebrews 9:15 (NKJV)

So what is the sign of the New Covenant? Its Jesus Christ, Jesus is the Sabbath, which I talked about in my previous posts. But Jesus is our sign, Communion (the blood and body of Christ) Baptism (The death and resurrection of Christ) These are all sacraments to remember the sign of the New Covenant Jesus 

The Sabbath was a foreshadow of Christ , Gods eternal Rest can only be found in Christ alone Amen!

Exodus 30- The Holy Spirit

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Moreover the LORD spake unto Moses, saying Take thou also unto thee principal spices, of pure myrrh five hundred shekels, and of sweet cinnamon half so much, even two hundred and fifty shekels, and of sweet calamus two hundred and fifty shekels, And of cassia five hundred shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary, and of oil olive an hin:And thou shalt make it an oil of holy ointment, an ointment compound after the art of the apothecary: it shall be an holy anointing oil. Exodus 30:22-25

The past few days we were looking at foreshadows of the New Covenant, today is no different. The anointing of oil , is a total foreshadow of the anointing of the Holy Spirit. We see this practice throughout the Old Testament, when someone was becoming a King or Priest, they were anointed with the Holy Oil as a seal of Gods favor

When Jesus began his Ministry, He declared that He was anointed to preach the Gospel (Luke 4:18) Does that mean Jesus was anointed with oil , no as He stated earlier “The Spirit of Yahweh was upon Me” Meaning he was anointed with the Holy Spirit

Being “Anointed” meant you have been set apart (Consecrated) and You have been ordained or selected for a position of authority. 

And thou shalt anoint the tabernacle of the congregation therewith, and the ark of the testimony, And the table and all his vessels, and the candlestick and his vessels, and the altar of incense, And the altar of burnt offering with all his vessels, and the laver and his foot.And thou shalt sanctify them, that they may be most holy: whatsoever toucheth them shall be holy Exodus 30:26-29

Notice the anointing of oil was to sanctify and make everything holy. This is the same the Holy Spirit does for us today, He sanctifies us and anoints us , to set us apart and lead us to Christ.  Without the Holy Spirit , we can’t become Born Again

The anointing of the sanctuary, we are now Temple of God and the Holy Spirit lives inside of us. (1 Corinthians 6:19) These are all foreshadows of the New Covenant, these are the foreshadows of Christ Amen!