Exodus 40

¹ The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “On the first day of the first month you shall erect the tabernacle of the tent of meeting. ³ And you shall put in it the ark of the testimony, and you shall screen the ark with the veil. ⁴ And you shall bring in the table and arrange it, and you shall bring in the lampstand and set up its lamps.⁵ And you shall put the golden altar for incense before the ark of the testimony, and set up the screen for the door of the tabernacle. ⁶ You shall set the altar of burnt offering before the door of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting, ⁷ and place the basin between the tent of meeting and the altar, and put water in it. ⁸ And you shall set up the court all around, and hang up the screen for the gate of the court. ⁹ “Then you shall take the anointing oil and anoint the tabernacle and all that is in it, and consecrate it and all its furniture, so that it may become holy. ¹⁰ You shall also anoint the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and consecrate the altar, so that the altar may become most holy. ¹¹ You shall also anoint the basin and its stand, and consecrate it. ¹² Then you shall bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the tent of meeting and shall wash them with water ¹³ and put on Aaron the holy garments. And you shall anoint him and consecrate him, that he may serve me as priest. ¹⁴ You shall bring his sons also and put coats on them,¹⁵ and anoint them, as you anointed their father, that they may serve me as priests. And their anointing shall admit them to a perpetual priesthood throughout their generations.” ¹⁶ This Moses did; according to all that the Lord commanded him, so he did. ¹⁷ In the first month in the second year, on the first day of the month, the tabernacle was erected. ¹⁸ Moses erected the tabernacle. He laid its bases, and set up its frames, and put in its poles, and raised up its pillars. ¹⁹ And he spread the tent over the tabernacle and put the covering of the tent over it, as the Lord had commanded Moses. ²⁰ He took the testimony and put it into the ark, and put the poles on the ark and set the mercy seat above on the ark. ²¹ And he brought the ark into the tabernacle and set up the veil of the screen, and screened the ark of the testimony, as the Lord had commanded Moses. ²² He put the table in the tent of meeting, on the north side of the tabernacle, outside the veil, ²³ and arranged the bread on it before the Lord, as the Lord had commanded Moses. ²⁴ He put the lampstand in the tent of meeting, opposite the table on the south side of the tabernacle, ²⁵ and set up the lamps before the Lord, as the Lord had commanded Moses. ²⁶ He put the golden altar in the tent of meeting before the veil, ²⁷ and burned fragrant incense on it, as the Lord had commanded Moses. ²⁸ He put in place the screen for the door of the tabernacle. ²⁹ And he set the altar of burnt offering at the entrance of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting, and offered on it the burnt offering and the grain offering, as the Lord had commanded Moses.³⁰ He set the basin between the tent of meeting and the altar, and put water in it for washing, ³¹ with which Moses and Aaron and his sons washed their hands and their feet. ³² When they went into the tent of meeting, and when they approached the altar, they washed, as the Lord commanded Moses. ³³ And he erected the court around the tabernacle and the altar, and set up the screen of the gate of the court. So Moses finished the work. ³⁴ Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. ³⁵ And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. ³⁶ Throughout all their journeys, whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the people of Israel would set out. ³⁷ But if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not set out till the day that it was taken up. ³⁸ For the cloud of the Lord was on the tabernacle by day, and fire was in it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel throughout all their journeys.

David Seamands has quoted a “God-is-dead” theologian’s answer to a reporter’s question,“What do you mean by God?” “God?” the theologian answered, “God, to me, is that little inner voice that always says, ‘That’s not quite good enough.’”[1]

That is an interesting and sad definition, especially given the conclusion of the book of Exodus. The book of Exodus concludes with the children of Israel’s (and Moses’) obedience and God’s blessing of them in the aftermath. The point of the conclusion of Exodus, to be sure, is not the greatness of the people. It is the greatness and goodness of God. But we certainly do find here a beautiful picture of God living in relationship with His children and God’s pleasure at their obedience.

Indeed, we can live in a relationship with God that is situated high above such “That’s not quite good enough” scolding, and this is because of the grace and love of God toward us. The completion of the tabernacle and God’s response to this gives us a wonderful picture of that truth.

The tabernacle is consecrated as holy.

The final chapter of Exodus ends with (a) God’s instructions for the consecration of the tabernacle, (b) Moses’ consecration of the tabernacle, and (c) God’s presence in the tabernacle. We begin with the first two of these: God’s instructions and Moses’ obedience.

¹ The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “On the first day of the first month you shall erect the tabernacle of the tent of meeting. ³ And you shall put in it the ark of the testimony, and you shall screen the ark with the veil. ⁴ And you shall bring in the table and arrange it, and you shall bring in the lampstand and set up its lamps.⁵ And you shall put the golden altar for incense before the ark of the testimony, and set up the screen for the door of the tabernacle. ⁶ You shall set the altar of burnt offering before the door of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting, ⁷ and place the basin between the tent of meeting and the altar, and put water in it. ⁸ And you shall set up the court all around, and hang up the screen for the gate of the court. ⁹ “Then you shall take the anointing oil and anoint the tabernacle and all that is in it, and consecrate it and all its furniture, so that it may become holy. ¹⁰ You shall also anoint the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and consecrate the altar, so that the altar may become most holy. ¹¹ You shall also anoint the basin and its stand, and consecrate it. ¹² Then you shall bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the tent of meeting and shall wash them with water ¹³ and put on Aaron the holy garments. And you shall anoint him and consecrate him, that he may serve me as priest. ¹⁴ You shall bring his sons also and put coats on them,¹⁵ and anoint them, as you anointed their father, that they may serve me as priests. And their anointing shall admit them to a perpetual priesthood throughout their generations.” ¹⁶ This Moses did; according to all that the Lord commanded him, so he did. ¹⁷ In the first month in the second year, on the first day of the month, the tabernacle was erected. ¹⁸ Moses erected the tabernacle. He laid its bases, and set up its frames, and put in its poles, and raised up its pillars. ¹⁹ And he spread the tent over the tabernacle and put the covering of the tent over it, as the Lord had commanded Moses. ²⁰ He took the testimony and put it into the ark, and put the poles on the ark and set the mercy seat above on the ark. ²¹ And he brought the ark into the tabernacle and set up the veil of the screen, and screened the ark of the testimony, as the Lord had commanded Moses. ²² He put the table in the tent of meeting, on the north side of the tabernacle, outside the veil, ²³ and arranged the bread on it before the Lord, as the Lord had commanded Moses. ²⁴ He put the lampstand in the tent of meeting, opposite the table on the south side of the tabernacle, ²⁵ and set up the lamps before the Lord, as the Lord had commanded Moses. ²⁶ He put the golden altar in the tent of meeting before the veil, ²⁷ and burned fragrant incense on it, as the Lord had commanded Moses. ²⁸ He put in place the screen for the door of the tabernacle. ²⁹ And he set the altar of burnt offering at the entrance of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting, and offered on it the burnt offering and the grain offering, as the Lord had commanded Moses.³⁰ He set the basin between the tent of meeting and the altar, and put water in it for washing, ³¹ with which Moses and Aaron and his sons washed their hands and their feet. ³² When they went into the tent of meeting, and when they approached the altar, they washed, as the Lord commanded Moses. ³³ And he erected the court around the tabernacle and the altar, and set up the screen of the gate of the court. So Moses finished the work.

Verses 1-15 list the detailed steps for consecration. Verses 16-33 describe Moses’ detailed obedience. Let us first observe the timing of these instructions. In the 5^thcentury, Theodoret of Cyr argued that the reason God wanted the tabernacle erected “on the first day of the first month” was for the following reasons:

• “Because at that time he created the world.”

• “in this very season God set Israel free from slavery under the Egyptians…”

• “…and the archangel Gabriel brought the holy virgin the good news of her mysterious childbearing.”

• “In this same season the Lord Christ underwent his saving passion.”

• “because it was the image of the entire world”

• “and also so that the people would prepare for the feast of Passover, which the law commanded the Jews to celebrate as the first feast”[2]

The IVP Bible Background Commentary observes that “the tabernacle was erected on New Year’s Day, two weeks short of the anniversary of the exodus event and exactly nine months after the people arrived at Mount Sinai.”[3]Regardless of the exact reasons for this (and whether or not Theodoret of Cyr was accurate in all of his calculations), the first day of the first month is surely a powerful time that signifies renewal and newness and, indeed, creation. Indeed, it would seem to point to creation itself and the breaking forth of the first day. The specific steps of consecration included:

• The building of the tabernacle;

• The placing and screening of the ark;

• The placement of the table, the lampstand, the lamps;

• The placement of the altar for incense;

• The placement of the door screen;

• The placement of the altar of burnt offering;

• The placement of the basin and water;

• The building of the court and its gate and screen;

• The anointing of the tabernacle and its furniture with oil;

• The washing and dressing of Aaron and his sons for the priesthood.

Verse 16 begins with the wonderfully understated, “This Moses did.” The verses that follow appear, at first reading, to speak of Moses doing all of this himself. While noting that “the implication of the narrative is that Moses did this alone,” Roy Honeycutt points out that “the metal alone weighted 7½ tons” and observed that this fact “would cause one to suppose that Moses simply took the lead in erecting the tabernacle.”[4]That is likely the case. Moses built it in the sense that he obeyed, took the initiative, and led others in doing so while, no doubt, participating himself.

The list of consecration requirements is meticulous and detailed. Interestingly, verses 16-33 revealed Moses’ obedience to be the same, just as Israel’s corporate obedience in preparing the materials for the tabernacle was meticulous and detailed. The reason for this was because Israel finally saw and understand the significance of God’s holiness and God’s love. Indeed, they finally understood the significance of God’s presence in their midst.

They had experienced life under God’s wrath. Now they yearned for God’s favor. Therefore, they finally obeyed!

The exhaustive nature of Israel’s obedience must not be missed. They clearly sought to obey completely and down to the last detail of God’s instructions. They did not cut corners. They did not obey halfway. They obeyed completely!

I recall once going to our washing machine with a load of dirty clothes. To my great frustration I opened the washing machine door and there were wet clothes still in there. I asked our daughter, Hannah, if they were her’s. She said yes and that she had washed the clothes earlier in the day but had failed to put them in the dryer. I told her that she really needed to learn to finish her tasks and that, given the period of time that had elapsed, we would have to rewash her clothes. Her response was gloriously teenager. She said, “But at least I washed them!”

We laugh about it now, but there is an important point that needs to be made: halfway obedience is not obedience. How often do we treat God’s commandments in this way, going halfway, obeying halfway?

This is precisely what Moses and Israel did not do at the end of Exodus. They obeyed God completely! They consecrated, or set apart as holy, the tabernacle in keeping with God’s instructions.

God resides in the midst of His people.

God’s response, in turn, was certainly not, “That’s not quite good enough.” Rather, God blessed Israel by residing in their midst in glory.

³⁴ Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. ³⁵ And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. ³⁶ Throughout all their journeys, whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the people of Israel would set out. ³⁷ But if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not set out till the day that it was taken up. ³⁸ For the cloud of the Lord was on the tabernacle by day, and fire was in it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel throughout all their journeys.

Once again, God is present in cloud and in fire. It is telling that Moses was unable to enter the tent of meeting when the cloud was on it. It is a picture of God’s otherness, God’s sole sovereignty over His people. God is God and we are not. He alone is God. We cannot share His space unless He allows us to.

Furthermore, as long as the cloud covered the tent of meeting, Israel did not move. When it was taken up, they moved. The cloud was a visible manifestation of the presence of God in Israel’s midst. Thus, God’s indwelling of the tabernacle was a sign of His Lordship over time and history. He set the agenda. He set the pace. He determined when they would go and when they would stop. This is a picture of a relationship restored and of Israel’s acknowledgment of God’s rule and reign in their midst.

Terence Fretheim makes the interesting observation that:

The tabernacle may thus be said to be a kind of material “body” for God. It is no wonder that the New Testament can pick up this language of fullness and use it for God’s bodily dwelling in Jesus (Col. 1:19; 2:9; Eph. 1:23; John 1:14-16).[5]

His second statement is most telling, and it reveals that the tent of meeting and, indeed, that the tabernacle itself was a type for the coming of Christ. Consider how Young’s Literal Translation renders three of the verses Fretheim mentions:

Colossians 1:19, “because in him it did please all the fulness to tabernacle”

Colossians 2:9, “because in him doth tabernacle all the fulness of the Godhead bodily”

John 1:14, “And the Word became flesh, and did tabernacle among us, and we beheld his glory, glory as of an only begotten of a father, full of grace and truth.”

We have seen throughout the book of Exodus how various components of it point to Christ. The Exodus itself was a type, or picture, of Christ’s deliverance of humanity out of sin, death, and hell. Moses is a type of Christ. And the tabernacle itself is a type of Christ. Thus, Paul and John use tabernacle language to describe the incarnation itself.

Jesus Christ is our tabernacle. In Him, the fullness of God dwells! But there is more. Jesus is the tabernacle, the priest, the tent of meeting, and the sacrifice!

We go to Christ the tabernacle because we want to see and be in relationship with God.

We go to Christ the priest because He mediates between us and God.

We go to Christ because the sacrifice because He atones for our sins.

The whole of Exodus points to Jesus. All of it! Christ is our Exodus…and Christ is our Promised Land! And through Him, we have been grafted into the vine. We are now partakers of Israel’s story. We are now the recipients of the promises, and the promises find their fulfillment in Christ.

Let us praise God for the greater Moses!

Let us praise God for the greater Exodus!

Let us praise God for the greater manna in the wilderness!

Let us praise God for the greater tabernacle!

Let us praise God for the greater Promised Land!

All through Jesus.

All because of Jesus.

All for Jesus.

 

[1]Seamands, David A. (2010-11-01). Healing for Damaged Emotions (Kindle Locations 218-221). David C Cook. Kindle Edition.

[2]Joseph T. Lienhard, ed., Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture. Gen. Ed., Thomas C. Oden. Old Testament, Vol. III (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2001), p.161-162.

[3]John H. Walton, Victor H. Matthews and Mark W. Chavalas, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament. (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2000), p.119.

[4]Roy L. Honeycutt, Jr. “Exodus.” The Broadman Bible Commentary. Vol.1, Revised (Nashville, TN: Broadman Press, 1969), p.453.

[5]Terence E. Fretheim, Exodus. Interpretation (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2010), p.315.