God is honoured and worshipped through our generosity. In Exodus 35, the people of God responded out of hearts of generosity bringing their gold, silver, bronze, onyx, precious jewels, acacia wood, fine linens and all the other materials needed to build the Tabernacle. In fact, they brought so much that they had to be commanded not to bring anymore. In the same way, God stirs in the hearts of the people and those who He had blessed with gifting and skills to offer their service in the building of the Tabernacle. It is by means of the generosity of God’s people that the place of God’s dwelling comes to be.
God is honoured and worshipped through our generosity. In Exodus 35, the people of God responded out of hearts of generosity bringing their gold, silver, bronze, onyx, precious jewels, acacia wood, fine linens and all the other materials needed to build the Tabernacle. In fact, they brought so much that they had to be commanded not to bring anymore. In the same way, God stirs in the hearts of the people and those who He had blessed with gifting and skills to offer their service in the building of the Tabernacle. It is by means of the generosity of God’s people that the place of God’s dwelling comes to be.
As we look at the last chapter and these two chapters, we see the fundamental dilemma we face as human beings. God is holy, and because of His Holiness, we cannot enter His presence. His glory is too much for us. Yet, at the same time, life apart from His presence is no life. A life, even one where we receive all the blessings of God, but do not have God Himself is hollow and empty. Moses and the people of Israel recognize that the promised land without the One who promised it, is not worth living in.
A Holy God can only live amongst a sinful people by grace, and by that grace, God’s glory shines even brighter.
Even as Moses is up on Sinai receiving instructions for how the people are to worship God, Israel begins the construction of and worship of an idol. As the Psalmist says in Psalm 106. They exchanged their Glory, for an image of a bull, which eats grass.. They forgot the God who saved them, who had done great things in Egypt, miracles in the land of Ham and awesome deeds by the Red Sea. Just like Israel in moments of uncertainty our faith can get wobbly and we can so easily fall back into worshipping the old gods we thought we had left behind.
In Exodus 31:3, Bezalel who is filled with the Spirit of God with regards to wisdom, insight and knowledge in order that he might worship and serve God through overseeing the construction of the tabernacle and all its articles and elements. He would oversee a team of skilled artisans and craftsman all using their work for God’s worship. Work is a good thing, it’s meant to be a God honouring thing. Human beings were created for work, but God’s people are also called to rest. God has commanded that we rest and He’s serious about it. A failure to rest marks a failure to trust and a failure to obey. As the people of God, we work from our rest not for our rest.
In Chapters 28-29 we see the institution of the priesthood, with Aaron installed as the first high priest. The priesthood will be the mediators between God’s people and God. It is only through the priest that the people of God can meet God. It is only through the priest that the sins of the people can be atoned for through the death of a sacrifice. The holiness of God and the sinfulness of man means that in order for God to dwell with his people a mediator is necessary. The issue of course is that every priest themselves is sinful, they themselves are in need of sacrifice and atonement. All of this points towards our need for a better mediator, it points to our need for Jesus.
In Exodus 25:8 God says “And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst.” God is going to make His “home” amongst His people. God gives instructions for building His home that echo and recall Eden where God and man dwelt together. It also meant to create a longing for more. In Matthew 1:23, Jesus is accorded the title of Immanuel which means “God with us”. He came down as Immanuel so that one day we could experience the promise given to us by God through John in Revelation 21:3 “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and He will dwell with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God.” The tabernacle and it’s architecture point us towards home, they point us towards our deep desire to be in communion with the God who created to live in His presence.
Here, we see the principles laid out in the ten commandments fleshed out. One of the things that becomes obvious is that, for God’s people, the covenant they are making with God will impact every aspect and area of their life. One of the questions this passage should raise for us is, what it means to recognize the Lordship of Christ over every area of our lives.
Here we find one of the most famous sections of Scripture in the whole Bible. The 10 commandments, which are better referred to as the ten words, form the foundation of the covenant which God is making with His people. Each commandment is not merely a law but comprises a moral principle which reveals to us the character of God and what He expects from His people. The first 4 principles deal with the relationship between people and God, the next 6 deal primarily with the horizontal relationships we have with others. What becomes painfully obvious as we walk through all 10 of the commandments is that, each of us fall short of keeping not only some of them but of failing to keep all of them. Ultimately, the commandments not only lay a moral framework that shows us the character of God and creates a foundation for a just and moral society but it also shows us our need for the forgiveness and redemption that comes through Christ alone.
In Exodus 19 the people of Israel have finally arrived at the location God had appointed for them to worship Him. As they arrive at Sinai God makes it clear, through Moses, that only a holy People can encounter a holy God. Given all the preparations that the people needed to take part in to hear from and worship God, we should be even more astounded by the access that we have to God through Christ, through the imputation of His holiness and righteousness to us.