Exodus In His Presence ~ Part 4 Chapter 30:22-31:18 As we have been looking at the Tabernacle, the Priesthood and all tied to the sacrificial system, we have been doing so in light of God s instructions to Moses and the consecration of all. Dr. McGee notes the following when discussing the consecration services: Consecration is what God does rather than what we do. I hear so much today about consecration services where people promise to do something. I have promised God big things in the past and have never quite made good. I do not like to think of that as being consecration. It is not what I promise Him. Rather, consecration is coming to God with empty hands, confessing our weakness and our inability to do anything, then letting God do the rest. If you read the prayers of Moses, Elijah, David, and Samuel in the Old Testament, and Paul in the New Testament, you will find that these men never came to God on the basis of what they were, who they were, or what they promised God that they would do. I have attended fagot services for years. I have watched people put a little chip or limb on the fire and then give a testimony about the things they were going to do for God. I have heard enough promises at those fagot services to turn the world upside down for God. Unfortunately, many of those promises are never kept because we really do not have much to offer God, do we? Maybe you have something to offer Him, but I do not. The thing is that we need to come to Him with empty hands and allow Him to fill them. 1 Here s a specific example of a prayer from Elijah When it was time to present the meal offering, the prophet Elijah came forward and said, O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel! Let it be known today that You are God in Israel and that I am Your servant, and that I have done all these things at Your bidding. Answer me, O LORD, answer me, that this people may know that You, O LORD, are God; for You have turned their hearts backward. (1 Kings 18:36 37 JPS). Like Elijah, when we serve God, we do so not with what we bring to Him, but with what He gives and does through us. Remember all we have, even our service comes from the gifts that God provides to carry out His work, to bring Him glory, and to our blessing. We are priests because we have been consecrated/sealed into His body by the power of the Spirit, not because of our worthiness. In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our in- 1 McGee, J. Vernon, Thru the Bible with J. Vernon McGee, Vol. 1, Genesis Deuteronomy, Thomas Nelson, Inc., Nashville, TN, 1981, p. 292.
heritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory (Ephesians 1:11 14 ESV). XII The Priestly Service Chapter 30:1-38 D. The Act of Anointing and Consecrating Verses 22-33 XIII The National Service Chapter 31:1-18 A. The Call for Service through Construction Verses 1-11 B. The Call for Service through Sabbath Observance Verses 12-18 Introduction: For the last few sessions we have been examining the responsibilities of the priesthood as it relates to the priestly service. In conjunction with the responsibilities of the Aaronic Priesthood, we have been seeing how we, as members of the spiritual priesthood of believers are also called to service. In this chapter we identified the following areas as ones that really should be factors in our own lives. One of the main steps in our walk is to be in prayer, represented by the incense burning continually before God. As we noted, prayer is to be our conversation with the Lord, including requests for forgiveness, praise, worship, intercession for the needs of others, etc. If we are not in communication with the Father, how do we expect Him to be able to use us? Dr. McGee identifies all three as related to the worship responsibilities that go with the priesthood. Again quoting Dr. McGee: Only incense, and only a certain kind of incense, was to be placed upon this altar. The priests would go in and burn incense every time they would light the lamps of the lampstand. This altar speaks of prayer, and we know this because the Bible uses incense as s symbol of prayer and praise in many places. David, for example, in Psalm 141:2 says, 2 Let my prayer be counted as incense before you, (Psalms 141:2 ESV). The second that needs to be taken into consideration is the recognition of the price paid for our salvation. With the Atonement money we saw the one price required for all men. Without Christ there is no access to God, therefore no way to have prayer or give worship that is acceptable to the Father. This is the second requirement of worship. Everyone that worship had to be redeemed. We hear a great deal today about public worship. Actually there is no such thing. Only the redeemed can worship, but the way is open to whosoever will for redemption. 3 The third point we saw was the need for cleansing. We need to take off the daily accumulated dirt or sin that occurs in our lives. Again, without forgiveness for our sins we have no communication with God. To serve, we must be in ongoing fellowship with The Lord and filled and empowered by His Spirit. We get dirty in this world, and we cannot worship until we are cleansed. You are to confess your sin to Jesus Christ.I think that every Sunday, before we ever go inside the church, we should confess our sins for the week. Do not tell me that you don't get dirty. Your 2 Ibid., p. 294. 3 Ibid., p. 295-296. ) 450 (
eyes get dirty. Your mind gets dirty. Your hands get dirty. Your feet get dirty. You get dirty all right. One of the big troubles in our churches today is that there is too much spiritual B. O. We need to confess our sins to Him and was before we go in to worship. God does not accept worship until it comes from a cleansed heart nor will he accept service except from a cleansed heart. 4 As we have stated, we are concerned that the product of our understanding of God s word is our being a adequate tool for His use as fully committed priests. Let s repeat the verses that are the underpinning of this study you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light (1 Peter 2:5, 9 ESV). This brings us up to the next section in the chapter. D. The Act of Anointing and Consecrating: As with the incense, we have here the instructions for the manufacture of a special oil God directs to be used for the anointing of the Tabernacle and the Priesthood. This oil was to be used for no other purpose, and failure to obey this injunction could lead to the death of the one who disobeys. ADONAI said to Moshe, Take the best spices 500 shekels of myrrh [12 pounds], half this amount (250 shekels) of aromatic cinnamon [6 pounds], 250 shekels of aromatic cane, 500 shekels of cassia (use the sanctuary standard), and one gallon of olive oil and make them into a holy anointing oil; blend it and perfume it as would an expert perfume-maker; it will be a holy anointing oil. Use it to anoint the tent of meeting, the ark for the testimony, the table and all its utensils, the menorah and all its utensils, the incense altar, the altar for burnt offerings and all its utensils, and the basin with its base. You are to consecrate them they will be especially holy, and whatever touches them will be holy. Then you are to anoint Aharon and his sons you are to consecrate them to serve me in the office of cohen. Tell the people of Isra el, This is to be a holy anointing oil for me through all your generations. It is not to be used for anointing a person s body; and you are not to make any like it, with the same composition of ingredients it is holy, and you are to treat it as holy. Whoever makes any like it or uses it on any unauthorized person is to be cut off from his people. (Exodus 30:22 33 CJB). Just as the Tabernacle and Priesthood are anointed to service of God, so are we through the work of the Holy Spirit. But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie just as it has taught you, abide in him (1 Jo 2:27 ESV). 4 Ibid., p. 296-297. ) 451 (
Again, the focus is on the fact we are called to service. God provides all that we need to carry it out. We are called to the priesthood through the blood of Christ. We are cleansed from sin through His shed blood and we are empowered through the gift of the Holy Spirit, whom we receive into our life at the time we accept Christ as our Savior. Symbolically the Incense and Altar, the Tabernacle Tax, and the washing and the anointing make clear the importance of obedience in our relationship with God. This is especially true as it relates to the recognition of Christ as the only way to God; the importance of the quality of our worship; and accuracy in the handling of the word. I think as you read the epistles we often see the early churches problem was they were offering strange incense. XII The National Service: A. The Call for Service through Construction: Now we enter a new chapter that expands the number of those who were involved with Tabernacle related service. Here we will look at those building it and the responsibility of the nation as a whole in keeping the Sabbath. ADONAI said to Moshe, I have singled out B tzal el the son of Uri the son of Hur, of the tribe of Y hudah. I have filled him with the Spirit of God with wisdom, understanding and knowledge concerning every kind of artisanry. He is a master of design in gold, silver, bronze, cutting precious stones to be set, woodcarving and every other craft. I have also appointed as his assistant Oholi av the son of Achisamakh, of the tribe of Dan. Moreover, I have endowed all the craftsmen with the wisdom to make everything I have ordered you the tent of meeting, the ark for the testimony, the ark-cover above it, all the furnishings of the tent, the table and its utensils, the pure menorah and all its utensils, the incense altar, the altar for burnt offerings and all its utensils, the basin and its base, the garments for officiating, the holy garments for Aharon the cohen and the garments for his sons, so that they can serve in the office of cohen, the anointing oil and the incense of aromatic spices for the Holy Place: they are to make everything just as I have ordered you. (Ex 31:1 11 CJB) God identified the individual He had given special gifts for the construction of the Tabernacle. This individual was Bezalel, one of the forebears of Ben Hur. Notice even those abilities we normally identify as skills are gifts from the Lord to carry out His specific purposes. God also called out one other individual, named Oholiab, as well as unnamed persons, all who had gifts needed in the construction of the Tabernacle. These artisans were to be responsible for all work needed to build the Tabernacle, it s furniture, and garments worn by the priesthood. This concept is similar to Paul s teaching on the body using the example of body parts as the various gifts of individual believers. God provides the individuals with the abilities to do the jobs that He as identified as necessary. This passage can also serve as a warning. God has given each of us specific gifts. We should not lust after the function of another because it is more spiritual or more in the eye of the body. We all are needed and we all are needed in specific areas that God has chosen. For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body, that would not make it any ) 452 (
less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body, that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose (1 Cor. 12:14 18 ESV). You might want to continue reading in this passage. Anyway, the point is, if we are all expected to serve, then God gives us the appropriate gifts needed. That certainly has become clear with the diverse kinds of gifts and abilities God has provided in our body to deal with the diverse situations He puts us in. B. The Call for Service through Sabbath Observance: The last section expands on the issue of the keeping of the Sabbath. As we have discussed before, along with circumcision, Sabbath keeping was a unique gift from God to ratify the peculiar relationship of the nation Israel with Himself. Now as we spent quite a bit of time discussing the Sabbath during the series on the Decalogue I just want to touch on it here. ADONAI said to Moshe, Tell the people of Isra el, You are to observe my Shabbats; for this is a sign between me and you through all your generations; so that you will know that I am ADONAI, who sets you apart for me. Therefore you are to keep my Shabbat, because it is set apart for you. Everyone who treats it as ordinary must be put to death; for whoever does any work on it is to be cut off from his people. On six days work will get done; but the seventh day is Shabbat, for complete rest, set apart for ADONAI. Whoever does any work on the day of Shabbat must be put to death. The people of Isra el are to keep the Shabbat, to observe Shabbat through all their generations as a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between me and the people of Isra el forever; for in six days ADONAI made heaven and earth, but on the seventh day he stopped working and rested. When he had finished speaking with Moshe on Mount Sinai, ADONAI gave him the two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone inscribed by the finger of God (Exodus 31:12 18 CJB) God makes it clear to the nation it was their keeping of the Sabbath that was to be a sign for the nation of their relationship to Him. This meant, aside from the issue of keeping the first day of the week because it is the day of Christ s resurrection, the Sabbath was intended by God only for Israel as a sign for only them. Others who insist on Sabbath worship don t understand what is being taught here. Keep in mind the principle of a day of rest is still valid for all, but this is dealing with Sabbath observation. It is important to note that failure to observe the Sabbath lead to the death penalty. Think how church attendance would improve if we took that same position today. God s own Sabbath was to be the model and the reason behind the Sabbath for Israel and it was to be kept in perpetuity. Today, the religious Jew still keeps the Sabbath, and it has become a real burden for the orthodox. It s to bad they don t follow the direction of the Lord that He gave to the legalists, the Pharisees, of His day, ) 453 (
And he said to them, The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath (Mark 2:27 ESV). The passage ends with the Lord giving the Tablets of the Law to Moses. We will see next time what is going on back in the camp while Moses has been up on the mount with the Lord. We will ask the question Why would Moses break the Tablets the Lord had just given him prior to entering in to the camp of the nation? As we have seen, if God has expectations of us He also blesses us by meeting all our needs and gives us the joy of the opportunities to serve Him and to see Him work through us. It amazing in deed, that God, the creator of the universe is willing to let us serve as His instrument, to trust us to authority over His creation Psalm 8 For the director of music. According to gittith. A psalm of David. O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. Out of the mouth of babies and infants, you have established strength because of your foes, to still the enemy and the avenger. When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet, all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas. O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! (Psalms 8:1 9 ESV). ) 454 (
Exodus In His Presence ~ Part 4 Chapter 30:22-31:18 XII The Priestly Service Chapter 30:1-38 D. The Act of Anointing and Consecrating Verses 22-33 XIII The National Service Chapter 31:1-18 A. The Call for Service through Construction Verses 1-11 B. The Call for Service through Sabbath Observance Verses 12-18 Introduction: (1 Kings 18:36 37; Ephesians 1:11 14; Psalms 141:2; 1 Peter 2:5, 9) D. The Act of Anointing and Consecrating: (Exodus 30:22 33; 1 John 2:27)
XII The National Service: A. The Call for Service through Construction: (Exodus 31:1 11; 1 Corinthians 12:14-18) B. The Call for Service through Sabbath Observance: (Exodus 31:12 18; Mark 2:27; Psalm 8) Personal Application: For one last time, because of its importance, thinking about your daily walk how can you integrate your priestly role more completely into your everyday tasks? How can this impact your testimony? Prayer for the Week: Lord, may we be a blessing to others as we walk in our role as a member of the priesthood of believers. Amen.