Text: Exodus 25:1-9; 29:42-46 Title: Enter His Presence Pt.1 INTRODUCTION

Text: Exodus 25:1-9; 29:42-46 Title: Enter His Presence Pt.1 INTRODUCTION ILLUSTRATION - I want to take you on an imaginary plane ride this morning. The plane we re on is a very unusual plane. It can travel a great distance, but it can also travel back in time. We are traveling all the way over to the Sinai Peninsular in the Middle East. And we re traveling all the way back to the time of Moses. We fly over Mount Sinai, look down the plains below, and see an amazing sight. Spreading before is the largest tent city you have ever seen tents as far as the eye can see. These are the tents of the children of Israel. They have recently come out of the land of Egypt. They passed through the Red Sea. God did a miracle, opened up the Red Sea and the children of Israel crossed over on dry ground. They are on their way to the Promised Land. Well over a million of the children of Israel are in those tents down below. Now as we look at those tents, we notice that they are in a kind of formation. They seem to be circled around a very interesting object. As we fly closer we that at the center of the Israelites massive camp is an unusual building of sorts. There s an enclosure that is 45' long, 15' wide, 15' high, with a single entrance. We can see from our bird s-eye perspective that inside the enclosure there is a courtyard with some items in it, and then there is another tent. From above we cannot see what s inside that tent, but we sense that from the layout, it obviously something very important. This remarkable structure we ve been looking is called the Tabernacle. Over the next few weeks I hope to show you just how very special this building is, and vital is the function it performs for the people of God in the Old and New Testaments. Open your Bibles with me Exodus 25. Over a year ago I interrupted our study in Exodus. We watched how God delivered Israel from the grip of slavery in the land of Egypt. God brought His people, Israel out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. One of the great acts of deliverance in the Bible comes when the Egyptian army is chasing the Israelites out in the desert. Israel is camped before the Red Sea. There is no where to turn; and God parts the waters and allows the Israelites to safely pass through the sea. Then God brought the waters crashing in on the Egyptian army that was pursuing them, destroying the mightiest army in the world. After about a year, Israel is now camped at the foot of Mt. Sinai. God summons Moses up on the mountain and gives him what? The Ten Commandments. We see that recorded in Exodus 19-24. This is the basis for a covenant that God is making with the nation of Israel a covenant by which God would take Israel to be His very own people. But what is often overlooked is that God revealed something else to Moses besides the Ten Commandments. God revealed to Moses the plan for a portable worship facility called the Tabernacle that would serve a very important function. I ve been waiting for the right time to bring us back to study the last part of Exodus. And this is a perfect time because we are just about six weeks away from Easter. And the things we re going to learn as we study the Tabernacle will help us better understand what God did on that fateful weekend

when His One and Only Son, Jesus Christ died for the sins of the world, that we might be able to enter into the presence of God. Now we come to Exodus 25. With the exception of four chapters, the remaining sixteen chapters of the book of Exodus give us the details of Tabernacle and the worship that was to go on in the Tabernacle. And that s just in Exodus. There s much more information in the remainder of the Pentateuch. And we have provided for you a brochure that has some important details in it to help you see what we re talking about. In the Old Testament we have the description of a special, portable worship facility called the Tabernacle. Its design and furnishings show us the way by which we may enter the presence of Almighty God. So with that little bit of introduction, let s get into this. I want you to see first of all 1. THE MANDATE (Exodus 25:1-8) Moses has gone up on the mountain, and there the Lord speaks to him. Read Exodus 25:1-8. Exodus 25:8 (NIV) - Then have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them. Now it s very important that you see this. The Lord has taken Israel as His very own people. This starts all the way back in Genesis with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. And we see that God walked with His people and appeared to His people. But now when we come to Exodus, and the new covenant that God is making with His people, He desires to do more than walk with and appear to His people. Now God will dwell among them. His presence will be among them. What an amazing thing. No other nation would ever enjoy this privilege. But pay careful attention, because as believers we get in on this privilege as well. Now for a holy God to dwell among unholy people would require that He have a sanctuary (v.8). A sanctuary is a sacred place or a place that is set apart. So God mandates this building. Next I want you to see 2. THE MOTIVE (Exodus 25:9; 29:42-26) So what is the purpose behind all of this? Exodus 25:9 (NIV) - Make this tabernacle and all its furnishings exactly like the pattern I will show you. And we see here that this building is called a tabernacle. And the word there means dwelling place. God wants to be among His people.

I ve entitled this series Enter His Presence. God wants to dwell with us so we can dwell with Him. But the big thing about the Tabernacle is that it helps us understand that we cannot just barge into the presence of a holy God. And everything we re going to learn about the Tabernacle in the next few weeks will underscore this. God wants to have a connection with us, but it will be on His terms. Now let s look at some other details included here in Exodus related to God s motive in all this. Exodus 29:42 (NIV) - For the generations to come this burnt offering is to be made regularly at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting before the LORD. There I will meet you and speak to you; We re going to see this as we go through the study that sacrifices are made at the Tabernacle. Now we ve seen that it is called a sanctuary and the tabernacle. And here we see another name that is given to this place the Tent of Meeting. This was a place where God met with His people through Moses. This was the connecting point between God and His people. Incidentally, this facility is also sometimes called the Tabernacle of the Testimony. This was not just a place of worship, but it was also a place of witness. And as we study this it will speak to us of a Holy God and how it is possible for sinners like us to enter His presence. Exodus 29:43 (NIV) - there also I will meet with the Israelites, and the place will be consecrated by my glory. Remember from our study in Exodus that the Lord led His people with the glory cloud was a visible, outward symbol of the presence of God. And when the Tabernacle was finally set up, God came down in that glory cloud and settled there and dwelled among his people. Exodus 29:44-46 (NIV) - So I will consecrate the Tent of Meeting and the altar and will consecrate Aaron and his sons to serve me as priests. Then I will dwell among the Israelites and be their God. They will know that I am the LORD their God, who brought them out of Egypt so that I might dwell among them. I am the LORD their God. So there is the mandate and the motive. Next I want you to see 3. THE MATERIALS (Exodus 25:1-7) Let s go back to Exodus 25. We read earlier how Moses is to tell the people to bring certain materials for the construction of this building. Exodus 25:2 (NIV) - Tell the Israelites to bring me an offering. You are to receive the offering for me from each man whose heart prompts him to give. Now here we learn some interesting things there about giving, and about the way the Lord wants His work to go on and be supported. It shows us how God intends for His work to be financed. The

Lord says the people are to bring me an offering. We offer our offerings unto the Lord. We give our tithes and our offerings to our local church, but we do it as unto the Lord. He says, Bring me an offering They were to everyone bring this offering. They were to do it willingly. It was to be a matter of the heart. By the way, we re told later that the people bring much more than enough for the work on the tabernacle which the Lord commanded to make. And Moses had to tell the people to stop bringing their gifts; they had more than enough. Now we ve had suspicions that Moses was not Baptist, and here is part of the evidence. You ve probably never heard a Baptist pastor say, People, you can stop giving now; you ve given more than enough. But stop to think about this. The reason that happened is because the Israelites gave out of a sense of worship to the Lord. And these offerings came in the form of materials that were brought for the construction of the Tabernacle. Just look at it: Exodus 25:3 (NIV) - These are the offerings you are to receive from them: gold, silver and bronze; Exodus 25:4 (NIV) - blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen; goat hair; Exodus 25:5 (NIV) - ram skins dyed red and hides of sea cows; acacia wood; Exodus 25:6 (NIV) - olive oil for the light; spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense; Exodus 25:7 (NIV) - and onyx stones and other gems to be mounted on the ephod and breastpiece. Now think about this for a moment. These were the Israelites travelling through the wilderness. Where did they get these materials? They were slave people who had been recently set free. How did they have these materials? Well, it was grace. Remember that when Israel left Egypt on the night of the Passover that the Moses told the Israelites to ask the Egyptians for gifts of gold, silver and other things. And the Scripture tells us that the Egyptians were favorably disposed to give them these things. Imagine that slave people being given such costly gifts as they were escaping. It was a miracle. And it was out of the abundance of this grace that the Israelites were now to give these materials. But these materials were to be used in a particular way. The next thing I want you to see is 4. THE MAKERS (Exodus 36:1)

Now we don t have time to spend on this, but we re told in Exodus 36:1 (NIV) - So Bezalel, Oholiab and every skilled person to whom the LORD has given skill and ability to know how to carry out all the work of constructing the sanctuary are to do the work just as the LORD has commanded. And here we get another lesson as to how the work of the Lord is to go on. God gives His people certain skills, talents and gifts that He wants to use for His glory and for the good of His people. Are you allowing God to use you? Next I want you to see 5. THE MINISTERS (Exodus 28:1) Now if you were to get to look inside a typical day inside the Tabernacle you would see that there were special people who were set apart to help people enter the presence of God with their offerings and their worship. Exodus 28:1 (NIV) Have Aaron your brother brought to you from among the Israelites, along with his sons Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, so they may serve me as priests. You would see priests walking around. You would see animals tied. You would see pieces of animals cut and laid on that altar. You would see a fire burning. You would see smoke ascending. You would see blood in bowls and you would see a washbasin and the priests washing their hands and their feet. What are they doing? They are worshiping God. It s really a messy scene blood everywhere. Why? Because there s a big problem that we humans have in entering God s presence. We are sinners. And so sacrifices have to be made by priests. Now you need to know that that were three enclosures in the Tabernacle. There was the outer court, and we ll see next week what was in the outer court. And then there was a 15 x15 x15 tent inside the outer court. And that tent was divided in two. The first part was called the Holy Place, and there was a veil and beyond that was the Holy of Holies. The important thing to notice here is that no one but priests were ever allowed in there to enter the presence of God. Just the priests. One time a year, the High Priest would enter in to the Holy of Holies in behalf of all the people. And that leads me to the last thing I want you to see 6. THE MYSTERY (Hebrews 8:1-6)

Now turn with me to the book of Hebrews in the NT. In many ways, Hebrews is a companion volume to Exodus, Leviticus and Deuteronomy. And we see there is a mysterious thing about the Tabernacle. It s pointing to Jesus. Hebrews 8:1 (NIV) - The point of what we are saying is this: We do have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, Hebrews 8:2 (NIV) - and who serves in the sanctuary, the true tabernacle set up by the Lord, not by man. Hebrews 8:3 (NIV) - Every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices, and so it was necessary for this one also to have something to offer. Hebrews 8:4 (NIV) - If he were on earth, he would not be a priest, for there are already men who offer the gifts prescribed by the law. Hebrews 8:5 (NIV) - They serve at a sanctuary that is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain. In verse 5 he also uses the word "copy". It means a pattern. So the Tabernacle is an Old Testament type or picture of New Testament reality. I carry around with me a picture of Nan. I look at that picture all the time. The picture is great, but the reality is much better. I don t care for kissing the picture, but I like kissing the real thing. It s also called a shadow. On the stage here there are shadows everywhere. I m looking at a shadow of myself. But you can t have a relationship with a shadow. You can have a relationship with the real person. Hebrews 8:6 (NIV) - But the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, and it is founded on better promises. So friends, all this work on and in the Tabernacle all points to the finished work of Christ on the Cross. He is our great High Priest who has gone through into the Holy of Holies and made the final and ultimate sacrifice for our sins.