Exodus - Chapters 35-40

In this transcription, Julie Callio discusses the final chapters of the book of Exodus. She highlights the importance of the Sabbath and the significance of the people's obedience in building the tabernacle. Julie notes that both men and women contributed their skills and talents to the construction. She also mentions the use of mirrors from the women who served at the entrance of the tent of meeting. Moses sets up the tabernacle according to God's command, and the glory of the Lord fills the tabernacle. The transcription ends with the idea that when we align ourselves with God's will, we find rest and see His glory. I am Julie Callio, your host, and thanks so much for taking time out of your busy schedules to tune in with me today. If, by chance, you want to contact me, you can do that at dab.bc.pc at gmail.com. Today we are finishing up Exodus with chapters 35 through 40. Exodus began with the people of Israel enslaved in Egypt. After God called Moses, the Lord sent ten plagues to show the Egyptians, Pharaoh, the Egyptian gods, and the Israelites themselves that the Lord He is God. God led the children of Israel out of Egypt across the Red Sea to the mountain of God. While there, they made a covenant with the Lord that they would do what the Lord said. They even committed to it three times, and around 40 days later they broke the covenant while Moses was on top of the mountain receiving the Ten Commandments. When Moses came down and saw that through Aaron's leadership the people had made a golden calf and were worshiping it and partying in an ungodly way, Moses was so angry that he threw down the engraved stones of the Lord's covenant. This symbolized that the people had broken that covenant. Some people died because of their sin, but we also see God's mercy. Moses went back up and received a second set of stones and they got to try again. This leads us to the last section of Exodus. Exodus chapter 35 verses 1 through 3. Moses assembled the whole Israelite community and said to them, These are the things the Lord has commanded you to do. For six days work is to be done, but the seventh day shall be your holy day, a Sabbath of rest to the Lord. Whoever does any work on it must be put to death. Do not light a fire in any of your dwellings on the Sabbath day. Most Bibles have this labeled Sabbath regulations, and I agree that the Lord finds the Sabbath extremely important, and that is shown by the severity of the punishment if someone does not observe it, but as I have re-read these chapters I am beginning to see that this section starts with this for two reasons, at least. The first is when the Sabbath day is mentioned, what does that make you think of in the Bible? The first time the Sabbath is mentioned is in Genesis chapter 2 verses 2 and 3 after God created the world. Could there be some parallelism in these chapters and God's creation? Then the Sabbath happened after the six days of work. We find that the next few chapters all have to do with the people and Moses doing the work of putting together the tabernacle. It's funny to me that sometimes I skip over the part that says for six days work is to be done. If you remember in the creation story, work is a gift from God and it was given before the fall of humanity. God worked in creation and we are to be like He is. We also are called to work. Chapter 35 asks the people to bring a free will offering to the Lord in order to build the tabernacle and all the items needed within it. Along with that, all that were skilled among the people were to come and make everything which the Lord had commanded, verse 10. What I love about this is only Levites were called to be priests, but everyone has a gift or skill to use for the building up of his house and for the glory of God. Verse 22a says all who were willing, men and women alike, came and brought. Verses 25 and 26 say every skilled woman spun with her hands and brought what she had spun, blue, purple or scarlet yarn or fine linen, and all the women who were willing and had the skill spun the goat hair. Verse 29, all the Israelite men and women who were willing brought to the Lord free will offerings for all the work the Lord through Moses had commanded them to do. Then Bezalel from the tribe of Judah and Aholiab from the tribe of Dan were mentioned again because they are gifted by God as craftsmen for the building of the tabernacle. But then verse 34 added that they have the ability to teach others as well. In chapter 36 verse 2 it says then Moses summoned Bezalel and Aholiab and every skilled person to whom the Lord had given ability and who was willing to come and do the work. One of the words that is used a lot in this section is that people were willing to give of their finances and their talents. They gave so much that in verses 6 and 7 it said they had so much that Moses had to give an order not to bring anything else. Then starting in verse 8 of chapter 36 through chapter 38 we have the building of the items for the tabernacle and this order makes sense. It starts with the tabernacle, the tent first, then the ark which would be placed in the most holy place, then the items that went into the holy place were mentioned, the table of showbread, the lamp stand and the altar of incense. The list moved on to the items found in the courtyard, the altar of burnt offering and the basin for washing. One thing that is interesting with this item is found in chapter 38 verse 8 which says they made the bronze basin and its bronze stand from the mirrors of the women who served at the entrance to the tent of meeting. Now according to my ESV study bible the mirrors would have been good quality and made of highly polished pieces of bronze that were most likely brought out of Egypt. The role of the women who ministered in the entrance of the tent of meeting would have been clear to the initial audience but it is not explained anywhere else in the Old Testament and is referred to elsewhere only in connection with the sin of Eli's sons. See 1 Samuel chapter 2 verse 22 as I have shared before most of the time women are insignificant to the story line of the bible but not insignificant to God so when they are mentioned like when they use their gifts or their talents for the Lord it means something. I also love that here it shows that women had some part to play in the ministry of the tabernacle even if we don't know what. Even the last part of the tabernacle was the courtyard or the fence around it. Chapter 38 ends with how much material was used to build all of this. With chapters 39 and 40 we see a pattern emerging first the sacred garment needed for Aaron the high priest was being created verse 1b says as the Lord commanded Moses. The ephod was created verse 7b as the Lord commanded Moses. The breast piece was created verse 21b as the Lord commanded Moses. The robe of the ephod verse 26b as the Lord commanded Moses. The tunics for Aaron and his sons verse 29b as the Lord commanded Moses. The turban for the high priest with the gold plate is called in verse 30 as the sacred diadem or crown which was inscribed holy to the Lord and then in verse 31b as the Lord commanded Moses. Then verse 32 says so all the work on the tabernacle the tent of meeting was completed. The Israelites did everything just as the Lord commanded Moses. The Israelites presented to Moses all the items needed to build the tabernacle. Then verses 42-43 read the Israelites had done all the work just as the Lord had commanded Moses. Moses looked at the work and saw that they had done it just as the Lord had commanded so Moses blessed them. What we see here is that the people are actually doing what the Lord had said through Moses. They are obeying as they said they would. Now that Moses had all the items and they created them perfectly now it was time for Moses to set up the tabernacle. The Lord commanded him to set it up on the first day of the first month. Verses 1-16 is the Lord's command to Moses and then verses 17-33 is Moses setting it up. Verse 16 says Moses did everything just as the Lord commanded him. In verse 17 we learn that the tabernacle was set up on the first day of the first month in the second year. Moses set up the tabernacle with the bases, frames, crossbars, posts and coverings. Verse 19b as the Lord commanded Moses. He took the testimony and placed it in the ark and placed the atonement cover over it and placed it in the most holy place and hung the curtain to separate it from the holy place. Verse 21b as the Lord commanded Moses. He placed the table on the north side of the holy place with the bread. Verse 22b as the Lord commanded Moses. He placed the lampstand on the south side of the tabernacle and lit them. Verse 25b as the Lord commanded Moses. He placed the gold altar of incense before the curtain and burnt incense on it. Verse 27b as the Lord commanded Moses. He put the curtain at the entrance of the tabernacle. Then he set up the altar of burnt offering and offered burnt sacrifices. Verse 29b as the Lord commanded Moses. He placed the basin between the tabernacle and the altar and put water in it and Moses and Aaron and his sons washed their hands and feet. Verse 32b as the Lord commanded Moses. Then Moses set up the courtyard around the tabernacle and altar and put up the curtain at the entrance to the courtyard. Then verse 33b and so Moses finished the work. Woohoo! The pattern is now broken. Moses finished it. It is done. In Genesis God made everything. He saw it and it was good. God finished his work and rested with the Sabbath. This story started with the Sabbath. Then the people worked at the command of God through Moses. And now Moses has finished the work. What came next? It doesn't say they put their feet up and took a nap. It says in verses 34 and 35. Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. Moses could not enter the tent of meeting because the cloud had settled upon it and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. When we obey, when we align ourselves up with the Lord's will and His ways we see His glory and it is in the glory of the Lord that we find rest. We find our Sabbath. The last two verses of Exodus tell us that when the cloud stayed the people stayed and when it lifted up they set out to go. The cloud by day and the fire by night was in the sight of all the house of Israel during all their travels. The end of Exodus gives us hope. We see God's people working together as they obey the Lord and they are blessed because of it. We see the Lord's presence with the people and we see they are traveling toward the promised land. We see the leadership of Moses and that he too obeyed. So let me ask you, what has the Lord asked you to do? What gifts or skills can you freely offer to the Lord? Also keep in mind He does not want you to give grudgingly but willfully. Is there something you need to finish? Have you heard His voice today? If so, please don't harden your heart, that never ends well. But let's be women who hear and obey and are blessed with the presence and the glory of God because of it. Until next time and thank you so very much for listening.