Exodus 33:18
“And he said, ‘Please, show me Your glory.’”
While most of Israel seemed satisfied with their present experience of God, Moses had a longing for more. His past experiences of being commissioned directly by God at the burning bush, seeing the miraculous hand of God work through the plagues, watching the Red Sea part, tasting Manna from heaven and water from a rock, hearing the voice of God from the mountain, and seeing the Shikinah glory abide in his own tent, were not enough to satisfy the longing in Moses’s heart for more of God.
He desired a deeper and fuller experience of God than he ever had. He is illustrating the words of Jesus when He declared, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled” (Matthew 5:6). Moses is not alone in his desire for more of God. We read that Joshua did not depart from the Tabernacle. Later, David would cry out, “One thing I desire of the Lord and that will I seek; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord forever. . .” (Psalm 27:4). And again, “As the deer pants for the water so my so longs after You, oh God.” (Psalm 42:1). Elisha would cry out for a double portion of the Spirit of God that was on his predecessor (2 Kings 2:9), and Paul declared that his greatest desire was to know Christ, even if that meant great suffering (Philippians 3:10).
Oh, that our hearts would long to know Christ better. That the experiences of the past would only work as fuel to drive us closer to Him, that we might see His glory. For Moses, the longing to experience the glory of God, began with a desire expressed in prayer, but it did not stop there. To truly encounter the Lord, he must go from prayer, to the Word. It was through His Word that God revealed Himself to Moses. He did not see Him, but heard Him. The same will be true of us. If you are yearning for more of God, the place to go is His Word. There He reveals Himself as the merciful, gracious, patient, true, good, forgiving and just, Lord of all.
Pastor Jim
When the time came to make the articles for the Tabernacle, God selected two men, and filled them with the Spirit of God. Under their leadership, this vast and elaborate project was completed. Normally, we associate the need for the Holy Spirit with intrinsically spiritual tasks, like leading worship, teaching the Bible, or witnessing to the lost. However, here, we discover that the empowering of the Spirit is required for designing the facility and making the building. It seems a pattern develops within Scripture, where God chooses common men, fills them with the Spirit of God, and accomplishes uncommon works. Instead of focussing on what makes us common, we should fix our attention on being filled with the Spirit.
The stones that formed the Temple were massive. Their sheer size represented permanence. For the disciples, it would be difficult to imagine them ever being destroyed. When Jesus declared that a time was coming when the Temple would be leveled, the minds of the disciples jumped to the future. They asked;
More than a month before this event, Moses had ascended Mount Sinai, disappearing into the thick smoke. As the weeks passed, the people began to believe Moses must have died. In their fear and confusion, they approached Aaron, seeking spiritual counsel. They realized they needed a worship service. However, their time in Egypt had left them very confused about who God really is. Aaron instructed them to bring financial gifts, then he made a god they could worship. The cost of their sinful activity was great.
The book of Exodus not only tells the story of the building of the Tabernacle and it’s furnishing, it also serves as a wonderfully detailed illustration of the New Testament work of salvation. The altar serves as a portrait of the cross, which provides atonement for sin and access to God. Each of the remaining articles illustrate some aspect of our walk with God.
The world is fascinated with love. Innumerable songs, books, plays and poetry have been written on the subject. Love is the favorite theme of Hollywood movies, gossip rags and television shows. We even have Valentine’s Day, where we celebrate love with flowers, candy and romantic sentiments. I grew up hearing the words “all we need is love” heralded through the airwaves. Love was an important subject in the times of Christ as well. When Jesus was asked what was the most important of all the commandments He responded, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:30 The scribes understood exactly what Jesus was saying and agreed with Him fully. They said “to love God and to love others is more than all the offerings and sacrifices.” We have taken the greatest commandment and put it through the word processor of modern times and reduced it to one word: love. Even those who do not follow Jesus (and a few who do not even believe in Him) will quote Him as saying the greatest commandment is love. They will go on to espouse, that if we want to live and die right, all we need to do is be loving toward one another. Since Jesus declares that this is the most important of all commandments, it is vital that we understand that the command not only states love is the greatest responsibility of man, but also declares who we are to love. Just to love our family, or be compassionate toward those less fortunate than us, or to be kind to our fellow man, does not satisfy this commandment. We are only fulfilling the great commandment when we are loving God first, and loving others as an expression of our love for God. Ask yourself this morning, do I love God first? If you do, He should have first place in your life, which means He will have first place in your living. If you love Him, you will spend time with Him, in His Word and in prayer. You will seek to please Him with your actions and express your love to Him in worship. Just to love, or to herald the importance of love, does not satisfy the greatest commandment. Instead, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. ’ This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself. ’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
The Lord went to great detail to explain the garments that the High Priest would wear. He referred to them as holy garments, designed for glory and for beauty. In other words, they were designed to both look beautiful and to reveal some aspect of the Lord’s glory. These garments included a breastplate, an ephod, a robe, a skillfully woven tunic, a turban, and a sash. The most highly skilled artisans in all Israel were commissioned to create them. Once the day of consecration arrived, Aaron and his sons were dressed in the most beautiful and highly technical attire the world had ever seen, but as they approached the altar, something quite striking took place. An innocent ram was killed, it’s flesh offered upon the altar, it’s blood mixed with anointing oil, and this mixture placed upon the Priest. Imagine how shocking to see the High Priest all dressed up, then have blood splattered upon his garments. No longer would our attention be drawn to his beautiful turban, breastplate or sash, now all we would notice was the stain.
When I am deciding on what to wear, one of the key factors is comfort. I have owned clothing that fit and might even have looked nice, but I rarely ever wore, because it simply was not comfortable. I imagine if I had a coat with two large stone shoulder pads, it would not be my first choice for a Sunday service.
Journeying through the gospels, we have many glimpses into the emotions of Christ. We see His compassion upon the multitudes and the sick, His love toward the rich young ruler, His sadness at the death of Lazarus, His tenderness toward the children, and so much more. As we encounter Him at the Temple, it is His anger that becomes evident to us. We read of Him turning tables over and driving people out of the Temple. Whatever we do not understand about this event, it is clear to all that Jesus is very upset with what is going on in the Temple courts. The key to unlocking the meaning of this event is in the words of Jesus Himself. He said,
One of the key furnishings for the Tabernacle was the Altar. It was a large wooden structure overlaid with bronze. It was located within the gate of the courtyard, and outside the entrance of the Tabernacle, itself. It was on the Altar, where all of Israel’s sacrifices were offered. After the construction of the Tabernacle was completed, the nation gathered around and dedicated it to the Lord; concentrating on the Altar, with its sin offerings.
Jim Gallagher 