Gold for the heart - Exodus 24-26

Exodus 24

God called them to worship

1And he said to Moses, Come up to the LORD, you, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel; and worship from far away. 2Only Moses will come near the LORD: but they will not come near; and the people will not go up with him. 3So Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD, and all the judgments: and all the people answered with one voice and said, We will do all the words that the LORD has said. 4And Moses wrote all the words of the LORD, and rose up early in the morning, and built an altar under the hill, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel.

It is right that we worship God and love Him with all our hearts.
Our life and breath and all that we have is from Him.
The appearance of the Lord is wondrous.

Romans 11:36For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory forever. Amen.

Revelation 4:2immediately I was in the spirit: behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne. 3 And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardius stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like an emerald.

Psalm 4:3But know that the LORD has set apart the godly for himself: the LORD will hear when I call to him.

5 And he sent young men of the children of Israel who offered burnt offerings and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen to the LORD. 6And Moses took half of the blood, and put it in basins; and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar. 7And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, We will do all that the LORD has said, and be obedient. 8 And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which the LORD has made with you concerning all these words.

Each sacrifice displayed God’s love, His ultimate sacrifice for us.

John 1:29The next day John saw Jesus coming unto him, and said, Behold the Lamb of God, which takes away the sin of the world.

Hebrews 13:20Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant…

God is awesome in beauty

9Then Moses went up, and Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel: 10And they saw the God of Israel: and under his feet a pavement of sapphire stone, as clear as the heavens. 11And he did not lay his hand on the nobles of the children of Israel: they saw God, and ate and drank.

Ezekiel 1:26And above the expanse that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone: and on the throne was the likeness of a man above upon it. 27 And I saw as the color of amber, as the appearance of fire round about within it, from his loins upward, and from his loins downward, I saw the appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about. 28Like the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD.

The Lord appeared as a devouring fire

12And the LORD said to Moses, Come up the mountain to me, and be there: and I will give you tablets of stone, and a law, and commandments which I have written; that you may teach them. 13So Moses got up, and his minister Joshua: and Moses went up into the mountain of God. 14And he said to the elders, Wait here for us until we come to you again: look, Aaron and Hur are with you: if any man has any matters to do, let him come to them. 15And Moses went up into the mount, and a cloud covered the mountain. 16And the glory of the LORD stayed on mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days: and the seventh day he called to Moses out of the midst of the cloud. 17And the sight of the glory of the LORD was like devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the sight of the children of Israel. 18And Moses went into the midst of the cloud, and went up into the mount: and Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.

Deuteronomy 4:24the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.

Psalm 96:5For all the gods of the nations are idols: but the LORD made the heavens.

Jeremiah 10:10But the LORD is the true God, he is the living God, and an everlasting king: at his wrath the earth will tremble, and the nations will not be able to abide his indignation.

Isaiah 48:11…I will not give my glory unto another.

Exodus 25

The LORD desires to live among His people

1Andthe LORD spoke to Moses saying, 2Speak to the children of Israel, that they bring me an offering: you will take my offering from every man that gives willingly with his heart. 3And this is the offering that you will take of them; gold, silver, brass, 4blue, purple, scarlet, fine linen, goats’ hair, 5rams’ skins dyed red, badgers’ skins, acacia wood, 6Oil for the light, spices for anointing oil, and for sweet incense, 7Onyx stones, and stones to be set in the ephod and in the breastplate. 8And let them make me a sanctuary so that I may dwell among them.

Moses was on Mt. Sinai in the presence of the Almighty and only God.
He was with the utter calm of absolute power.
He was with the vortex of infinite perfect exquisite knowledge.
His was with the soul of absolute righteous holiness.
His was with utterly and infinitely unselfish love.
Moses was awed speechless for 40 days wondering, ‘how can I show the people what You are?’
Then God gave Moses the pattern of the tabernacle that described Almighty God in terms they could understand.
The silver spoke of redemption.
The brass spoke of judgment.
The candlestick spoke of the light of the world.
The golden altar spoke of prayer as sweet incense to God.
The laver spoke of the believers cleansing by 1 John 1:9 and John 15:3.
The gold spoke to them of deity.

9You will make it according to all that I show you, the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all its instruments. 10They will make an ark of acacia wood: make it 3’ 9” long and 2’ 3” wide and 2’ 3” high. 11Overlay it with pure gold, inside and out; and make a crown of gold encircling it.

The Ark of the Covenant was the center of the tabernacle and center of the nation physically and spiritually.
The gold covering the wood was a picture of Jesus Christ who is Deity and humanity in one person forever.

12Cast four rings of gold for it, and put them in its four corners; two rings on one side of it, and two rings on the other side. 13And make poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. 14And put the poles into the rings by the sides of the ark so that the ark may be carried with them. 15The poles will stay in the rings of the ark: they will not be taken from it. 16And you are to put the testimony that I give you into the ark. 17And make a mercy seat of pure gold: 3’9” long and 2’3” wide.

Man needs God’s mercy.
God is holy. Man is not holy.
The only way we can enjoy God’s blessings is by His great mercy.

Psalm 57:10For your mercy is great unto the heavens, and your truth unto the clouds.

18 And make two cherubim of gold on the two ends of the mercy seat, make them of beaten work, 19Make one cherub on the one end, and the other cherub on the other end: for the mercy seat you will make cherubim on the its two ends. 20And the cherubim will stretch their wings on high, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and their faces will look toward one another; the faces of the cherubim will be toward the mercy seat. 21And you will put the mercy seat above upon the ark; and you will put the testimony that I will give you inside the ark.

Cherubim are living beings, not human, having four wings (Hebrews 1 and 2 speak of the difference).
They attend God in heaven and are described in Ezekiel 1.

He communes with us

22And there I will meet with you, and I will commune with you from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim that are on the ark of the testimony about all things that I will give you in commandment unto the children of Israel.

He met with Moses and communed with him from the mercy seat. Today He knocks at the door of our hearts.

Revelation 3:20Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hears my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.

23You will also make a table of acacia wood. Make it 3’ long and 1 ½ feet wide and 2 ¼ feet high. 24And overlay it with pure gold, and make a crown of gold encircling it. 25And make it a border a handbreadth wide all around, and you will make a golden crown to its border all around. 26And you will make four rings of gold for it, and put the rings in the four corners that are on its four feet. 27The rings will be near its border to house the poles to carry the table. 28Make poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold so that the table may be carried with them. 29And you will make its dishes, its spoons, its covers, its bowls to cover them all: you will make them of pure gold. 30And you will set the table of showbread before me always.

The showbread was the ‘bread of the face of His presence.’
The presence of God is the best food for the heart that we will ever know.
Each day when we awake our souls begin thinking about something, feeding on what we are thinking about.
What we take into our minds through radio, TV, newspaper, or being with other people feeds our thought life.

Proverbs 23:7For as he thinks in his heart, so is he:

Psalm 23:5You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies: you anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over.

John 6:35And Jesus said to them, I am the bread of life: he that comes to me will never hunger; and he that believes on me will never thirst.

31And you will make a lampstand of pure gold: the candlestick will be made of beaten work: its shaft, its branches, its bowls, its knops, and its flowers will be of the same. 32And six branches will come out of its sides; three branches of the candlestick out of the one side, and three branches of the candlestick out of the other side: 33There will be three bowls made like almond blossoms with a bulb and a flower in one branch; and three bowls made like almonds in the other branch, with a bulb and a flower: this in the six branches that come out of the candlestick. 34 And in the candlestick will be four bowls made like almond blossoms with their bulbs and their flowers. 35And there will be a bulb under two branches of the same, and a bulb under two branches of the same, and a bulb under two branches of the same, according to the six branches that proceed out of the candlestick. 36Their bulbs and their branches will be of the same: all of it will be one beaten work of pure gold. 37And you will make the seven lamps: and they will light its lamps to give light on its face. 38And its tongs and its snuff dishes will be of pure gold. 39 From a hundred pounds of pure gold he will make it with all these vessels. 40See that you make them like their pattern that was shown you in the mount.

The purpose of the tabernacle was to bring mankind into fellowship with his Creator.
All of Christ’s I AM statements of the New Testament match the symbols of the tabernacle.
The seven lamps represent the seven spirits of God before His throne.

John 8:12Then spoke Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.

Revelation 4:5And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.

Psalm 23:6I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

Ephesians 3:16That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; 17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; 19 And to know the love of Christ, which passes knowledge, that you might be filled with all the fullness of God.

Exodus 26

God’s mercies are great

1Moreover you are to make the tabernacle with ten curtains of finely twisted linen, blue, purple, and scarlet: make them with cherubim of skillful embroidery. 2Each curtain must be forty-two feet long and six feet wide. All ten curtains must be exactly the same size. 3Five curtains will be joined together to one another; and another five curtains will be joined to one another. 4And you will make loops of blue on the edge of one curtain from the selvedge in the joining; and in the same way you are to make in the outermost edge of another curtain, in the joining of the second. 5Make fifty loops in one curtain, and make fifty loops in the edge of the curtain that is joining the second so that the loops may take hold of one another. 6And you will make fifty clasps of gold, and join the curtains together with the clasps: and it will be one tabernacle.

The tabernacle was the tent God’s lived in when He dwelt with His people as they traveled toward the promised land.
It foreshadowed the church, the body of Christ.

Ephesians 4:15 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: 16 From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by what every joint supplies…

7 Make heavy curtains of cloth from goat hair to cover the Tabernacle. There must be eleven of these sheets, 8each forty-five feet long and six feet wide. All eleven of these curtains must be exactly the same size. 9And you will join five curtains by themselves, and six curtains by themselves, and will double the sixth curtain in the front of the tabernacle. 10And make fifty loops on the edge of one curtain that is outermost in the joining, and fifty loops in the edge of the curtain that joins the second. 11And make fifty clasps of brass, and put the clasps into the loops, and join the tent together, that it may be one.

Ephesians 4:3 …endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 13 Until we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ: 17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; 19 And to know the love of Christ, which passes knowledge, that you might be filled with all the fullness of God.

12And the remnant that remains of the curtains of the tent, the half curtain that remains, will hang over the backside of the tabernacle. 13An extra half curtain of this roof covering will be left to hang over the back of the Tabernacle, 13and the covering will hang down an extra eighteen inches on each side.. 14And you will make a covering for the tent of rams’ skins dyed red, and a covering above that of badgers’ skins. 15And you will make boards for the tabernacle of acacia wood standing up. 16The height of a board will be fifteen and a half feet, and two and a quarter feet wide. 17Two pins will there be in one board, set in order one against another: you will make this for all the boards of the tabernacle. 18And you will make the boards for the tabernacle, twenty boards on the south side southward. 19And you will make forty sockets of silver under the twenty boards; two sockets under one board for its two pins, and two sockets under another board for its two pins. 20And for the second side of the tabernacle on the north side there will be twenty boards: 21And their forty sockets of silver; two sockets under one board, and two sockets under another board. 22And for the sides of the tabernacle westward you will make six boards. 23And you will make two boards for the corners of the tabernacle in the two sides. 24And they will be joined together beneath, and they will be joined together above the head of it unto one ring: it will be like this for both of them; they will be for the two corners. 25And they will be eight boards, and their sockets of silver, sixteen sockets; two sockets under one board, and two sockets under another board. 26And you will make bars of acacia wood; five for the boards of the one side of the tabernacle,

Acacia wood was a hardwood of the wilderness that resisted disease.
It was a fitting picture of our God because of His infinite strength and resistance to sin and evil.

27And five bars for the boards of the other side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the boards of the side of the tabernacle, for the two sides westward. 28And the middle bar in the midst of the boards will reach from end to end. 29And you will overlay the boards with gold, and make their rings of gold for places for the bars: and you will overlay the bars with gold. 30And you will raise up the tabernacle according to its design that was shown you in the mountain. 31And you will make a veil of blue, purple, scarlet, and finely twisted linen of skillful work: it will be made with cherubim: 32And you will hang it on four pillars of acacia wood overlaid with gold: their hooks will be of gold, on the four sockets of silver. 33And you will hang up the veil under the clasps, that you may bring the ark of the testimony inside the veil: and the veil will divide for you between the holy place and the most holy.

The tabernacle was a stunning work of master craftsmen following God’s instructions and by His Holy Spirit.
The holiest place was the Holy of Holies.
The outer court of the tabernacle had lots of brass.
Brass was a symbol of judgment.
The innermost part had pure gold.
Gold represents the value and perfection of deity.
What Christ did for us was so astonishing and all encompassing that all believers can now enter boldly into the very presence of our infinitely holy God.

Matthew 27:51 And, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from the top to the bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks tore;

God’s mercy is great

34 And you will put the mercy seat on the ark of the testimony in the most holy place. 35And you will set the table outside the veil, and the candlestick opposite the table on the side of the tabernacle toward the south: and put the table on the north side. 36And make a hanging for the door of the tent of blue, purple, scarlet, and finely twisted linen, made with embroidery. 37And you will make five pillars of acacia wood for the hanging, and overlay them with gold, and their hooks will be of gold: and you will cast five sockets of brass for them.

The mercy seat was the throne God sat on in the holy of holies.
It was made of 29 talents of purest gold. A talent is a 100 pounds.
The mercy seat by itself was worth $37,120,000 (2008).
A seat of mercy was needed because we cannot enter God’s presence without His mercy.
We are not and will never be worthy to enter the presence of One who is infinite knowledge, infinite power, infinite righteousness, infinite goodness, and infinite love.

Psalm 57:10 For Your mercy is great unto the heavens, and Your truth to the clouds.

John 17:21 That they all may be one; as You, Father, are in me, and I in You, that they also may be one in us…

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SUMMARY: Exodus 24-26

God called them to worship
He is awesome in beauty
The Lord appeared as a devouring fire
The Lord desires to live among His people
He communes with us
His mercy is great