God in a Tent (Exodus 40:1-38) 

If you know anything at all about the Bible, you are probably familiar with the story Jesus told, of  the parable of the prodigal son. But if I were to say to you, 'What is the point of the prodigal son?' What would you say? 'The son came home, and the father accepted him, right?' 

But when you read the txt you will notice that the point of a joke is not given until the end. If you want to ruin a good joke, give the punchline before you give the whole story. I've messed up enough jokes in my time by getting ahead of myself and telling the punchline before I got to the end of the story. Well, before you jump to conclusions about the meaning of the prodigal son, you need to read the whole parable. Because the whole parable does not end with the prodigal coming home and the father accepting him and throwing a party. The end of the story has nothing to do with the prodigal son per se. Some have thought that was a great illustration of the love of the father, and no doubt that's there. But that's not the point of the story. The real point of that story is the elder brother. Because at the end of the story, the elder brother starts complaining that the father threw a party for the prodigal brother, and he's been there all the time and never gotten such treatment. The real point is at the end of the story, and in that case, has to do with the elder brother.

As a matter of fact, if you read the whole chapter, you will see that what's going on is it begins with Jesus eating with publicans and sinners, and the Pharisees complaining that he's eating with publicans and sinners. And he starts telling stories. He tells three parables, one immediately after the other, bam, bam, bam, and in each case, the idea is that something was lost, and it got found, like a lost coin, a lost sheep, and a lost son.  So, then the idea is, 'I'm eating with these sinners because they're lost.' And you would walk away thinking, 'Well, he answered the story.' But oh no, the point is at the end. And the point is, 'And you Pharisees criticising me are like the older brother that doesn't understand what's going on, and you're complaining about it.' You really need to see that passage in its total context, particularly the end, to get the punchline.

Now, we've been going through the Book of Exodus, and so far, we've seen a lot of detail, but the real point of that book is like any good story the reveal, the punchline is at the end.So, you really don't get the point of the Book of Exodus until you get to the last chapter, which is where we are today in Exodus Chapter 40. You've heard me say this before in this series, and you'll no doubt hear me say it again. There is a lot of repetition beginning in Chapter 25 and going all the way through Chapter 40. So, one more time, we're going to repeat the Tabernacle.

With that in mind, we're going to rapidly survey Exodus Chapter 40 and get to the point of all of this. Look at verse one. Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

“Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: “On the first day of the first month you shall set up the tabernacle of the tent of meeting.”

(Exodus 40: 1-2)

What's given to us in this verse is the time of setting it up, and he simply says it was the first day of the first month. What happens next is he gives us, the Lord gives Moses, instruction on setting up the furniture and the verse 3-8 gives us the various items of furniture. 

You shall put in it the ark of the Testimony, and partition off the ark with the veil. You shall bring in the table and arrange the things that are to be set in order on it; and you shall bring in the lampstand and light its lamps. You shall also set the altar of gold for the incense before the ark of the Testimony and put up the screen for the door of the tabernacle. Then you shall set the altar of the burnt offering before the door of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting. And you shall set the laver between the tabernacle of meeting and the altar and put water in it. You shall set up the court all around and hang up the screen at the court gate.

(Exodus 40: 3-8)

Verse three to five look at the furniture, verses 5-8  and we are now, moving out to the courtyard, and the first thing you encountered was the burnt offering, so he set that up. And then, in verse seven, he says, 'You shall set up the laver between the Tabernacle of meeting and the altar and put water in it.' 

So, between the door to the courtyard, the gate of the courtyard, and the tent at the back of the courtyard, there is to be the brazen altar. And just before the tent, believer, where the priests would ceremoniously wash before they entered the tent. Then, he says in verse eight, 'You shall set up all the court used to set up the court all around and hang up the screen at the court gate.' 

This is nothing more than the fence which was made out of linen cloth. So, what happens next? The second part of this passage is he gives instructions concerning anointing all of these pieces of furniture.

9 “And you shall take the anointing oil, and anoint the tabernacle and all that is in it; and you shall hallow it and all its utensils, and it shall be holy. 10 You shall anoint the altar of the burnt offering and all its utensils, and consecrate the altar. The altar shall be most holy. 11 And you shall anoint the laver and its base, and consecrate it. 12 “Then you shall bring Aaron and his sons to the door of the tabernacle of meeting and wash them with water. 13 You shall put the holy garments on Aaron, and anoint him and consecrate him, that he may minister to Me as priest. 14 And you shall bring his sons and clothe them with tunics. 15 You shall anoint them, as you anointed their father, that they may minister to Me as priests; for their anointing shall surely be an everlasting priesthood throughout their generations.”.

(Exodus 40: 9-15)

Now, beginning at verse nine and going through verse 15, he says, 'I want you to go around and anoint each of these pieces of furniture.' Then he says in verse 12, 'You shall bring Aaron and his sons to the door of the Tabernacle and wash them with water.' Now, he doesn't specify, but that was the point of the laver — ceremonial washing with water. So,  He's consecrating, anointing, dedicating the sons of Aaron to the priesthood. Then he puts the holy garments on Aaron and anoints him also .And that simply means we're setting you apart for this particular ministry in the Tabernacle. Period. End of report. One author said these instructions dealt with three matters: the physical arrangement of the sanctuary from the interior to the exterior parts and the courtyard curtains, to the consecration set aside for the holy use of the Tabernacle and everything in it, and three, the washing, dressing, and anointing of the priesthood — Aaron and his sons — to serve God and the people in the sanctuary. That sums up the first 15 verses of this chapter. We are simply setting up and anointing the physical pieces of furniture, the physical arrangement of the Tabernacle. Then, dedicating the pieces of furniture and anointing and setting apart Aaron and his sons for the same. 

When John Calvin was alive, it was the beginning of the Reformation. Martin Luther lived before him, and most would say actually initiated it. John Calvin was sort of the second-generation reformer, and they were reacting against the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church had taken this passage and others like it, and they anointed their priests. What Roman Catholicism did was it went to the Old Testament, and they picked up all this anointing of the priest and they applied it to the priest of the Roman Catholic Church. So, Martin Luther, John Calvin, Zwingli, others reacted against that. So, when John Calvin was writing a commentary on this passage and he came to it, this is what he said: 'This ceremony of anointing belonged as it did to the ancient shadows of the law, ceasing at the coming of Christ.'  I just thought that was really fascinating, that he says they've applied this, but that's the law. It doesn't apply to us. And in that, I believe John Calvin is right.

The other thing I would say is this: there is no office of priest in the New Testament in the church. Ironically according to Peter in 1 Peter chapter 2, all believers are priests. Also, John says in the little epistle, 1 John chapter 2, we all believers have received an anointing, so that we now are washed. They washed them at the laver. We are set apart. We are dedicated by the Lord for sacred service as a priest. So, on this matter I believe the reformers are right and we don't need to follow this literally by doing what they did in the Old Testament. 

We are all priests in that we are set apart and washed with forgiveness so as to do service to the Lord.

So, all we've had so far are instructions — instructions about setting up the furniture and instructions about anointing and dedicating it, setting it apart to the Lord. The next thing is the implementation of those instructions. So, beginning in verse 16 and going all the way through verse 33, the Lord tells us that Moses did everything the Lord told him to do. 

'Thus, Moses did according to all that the Lord commanded him.' So, he did. And it came to pass in the first month of the second year, on the first day of the month, that the Tabernacle was raised up.

(Exodus 40: 16-17)

By the way, does that strike you as interesting? The first month of the second year. Second year of what? And the answer is, from the Exodus, everything is now measured, gauged from the Exodus. So, by the first month of the first day of the first month of the second year, they had erected the Tabernacle. By the way, some ingenious little student of Scripture has calculated they built all of this in six months.

18 So Moses raised up the tabernacle, fastened its sockets, set up its boards, put in its bars, and raised up its pillars. 19 And he spread out the tent over the tabernacle and put the covering of the tent on top of it, as the Lord had commanded Moses. 20 He took the Testimony and put it into the ark, inserted the poles through the rings of the ark, and put the mercy seat on top of the ark. 21 And he brought the ark into the tabernacle, hung up the veil of the covering, and partitioned off the ark of the Testimony, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

22 He put the table in the tabernacle of meeting, on the north side of the tabernacle, outside the veil; 23 and he set the bread in order upon it before the Lord, as the Lord had commanded Moses. 24 He put the lampstand in the tabernacle of meeting, across from the table, on the south side of the tabernacle; 25 and he lit the lamps before the Lord, as the Lord had commanded Moses. 26 He put the gold altar in the tabernacle of meeting in front of the veil; 27 and he burned sweet incense on it, as the Lord had commanded Moses. 28 He hung up the screen at the door of the tabernacle. 29 And he put the altar of burnt offering before the door of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting, and offered upon it the burnt offering and the grain offering, as the Lord had commanded Moses. 30 He set the laver between the tabernacle of meeting and the altar, and put water there for washing; 31 and Moses, Aaron, and his sons would wash their hands and their feet with water from it. 32 Whenever they went into the tabernacle of meeting, and when they came near the altar, they washed, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

(Exodus 40: 18-32)

Verse 18. Shows how they erected it and put the covering of the tent on top of it. Then it goes on to say they take the Ten Commandments and put them in the ark and put the mercy seat on top of it. And they hang the veil of the covering, and partitioned the tent, the veil divided the two parts of the tent. The table is set the lamps are lit and they begin to burn sweet incense, as the Lord had commanded Moses. By, verse 29 they have hung up the screen at the door of the Tabernacle.' And he put the altar of burnt offering before the door of the Tabernacle of meeting. And offered upon it the burnt offering and the grain offering, as the Lord had commanded Moses.Top of Form

 Moses followed the Lord's instructions meticulously. 

The order of the rituals was significant. First, a blood sacrifice was offered at the altar of burnt offering. Then, the priests would proceed to the laver to cleanse themselves. This sequence represented the importance of approaching the Lord through sacrifice and confession. We see a beautiful illustration of this in John 13, where Jesus washes the feet of His disciples.

Now, let's look at verse 33. Moses raised up the court around the Tabernacle and finished all the work as instructed. This marked the completion of the construction. However, the story doesn't end there. We still have a few more verses to explore.

Verse 34 reveals the climax of the narrative. The cloud covered the Tabernacle, and the glory of the Lord filled it. This is the culmination of God's presence descending upon the Tabernacle, making it a dwelling place for Him. It is crucial to understand that the purpose of the Tabernacle was for God to dwell among His people.

35 And Moses was not able to enter the tabernacle of meeting, because the cloud rested above it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. 36 Whenever the cloud was taken up from above the tabernacle, the children of Israel would [d]go onward in all their journeys. 37 But if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not journey till the day that it was taken up. 38 For the cloud of the Lord was above the tabernacle by day, and fire was over it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys.

(Exodus 40: 35-38)

As we move forward, we learn that Moses, who had previously seen the glory of God, was not permitted to enter the Tabernacle at this point. This indicates that God is about to establish new provisions for approaching Him. The priests would need to go through the burnt offering and the laver, passing through the holy place to even come close to the Holy of Holies. Only the high priest could enter there, and that too only once a year.

Verse 36 reveals that the cloud served as a guide for the Israelites during their journey. When the cloud was taken up, the people would advance. If it remained above the Tabernacle, they would stay put. The cloud symbolized the Lord's presence leading them through the wilderness towards the promised land.

The final verse, 37, emphasizes that the cloud of the Lord was with the Tabernacle by day, and a fire was over it by night, visible to all the House of Israel throughout their journey. This shows that God was present among His people, leading and guiding them towards the promised land.

In summary, the book of Exodus showcases the journey of the Israelites from slavery to becoming a theocratic nation under God. The Tabernacle served as a symbol of God's dwelling among His people. The cloud and the fire represented His guidance and presence throughout their journey. It’s awe-inspiring to think that the Almighty God chose to dwell in a tent, demonstrating His desire to have a close relationship with His people. This should remind us of the privilege we have through Jesus Christ, who cleanses us from sin and allows us to approach God. Incredible! God says, “I want to be with you in the tent of meeting. This is where we meet together. I want to fellowship together. This is incredible, it's simply incredible. One author says, 'Finally, God was dwelling among His people. His redemption of them was now complete. He had liberated them from the slavery in Egypt and adopted them as His special treasure, made a covenant with them, and now blessed them with His presence. He would now guide them throughout all of their journey.'The descent of God to take up residence in the midst of His people is therefore the fitting climax with which this book closes. 

That is the end of the story, the punchline. The point of the book is the last chapter. God wants to dwell among His people, to fellowship with them, to meet with them. That's it. Just to meet. And God teach. But not just by giving His law, but by coming down and dwelling with them in Shekinah glory.But God is not done yet.

Get this, turn to John chapter one. We're not done. John chapter one, look at verse one,

'In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.'

(John 1:1)

Another name for God is Word/Logos and in John 1: 13 we are told, “The Word became flesh.'  His Word and God became flesh. And the Word dwelt among us. God dwelt among us. This, of course, is talking about Jesus. And we beheld His glory, the glory of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. John says that we were the original apostles to behold His glory. He was full of grace and truth.

But what I want you to focus on is a little word: 'dwelt.' See that little word 'dwelt'? That word means He tabernacled among us. In the Greek translation of the Old Testament, the Greek word that's here translated 'dwelt' is largely confined to a reference to the Tabernacle. It means to Tabernacle. In the Old Testament, when it was translated into Greek, this is the word. God came down in the Old Testament and dwelt, Jesus came and tabernacled among us. God in the flesh tabernacled among us. We're not done. 

Final scripture: First Corinthians chapter 6, verse 19. 

'Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? You have been bought with a price, therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's.'

Wow! God dwelt in the Tabernacle. God took on flesh in the person of Christ. God now dwells on this earth in those who trust His Son as their Savior. God dwells in believers. We are the Tabernacle; we are the temple. We are the residence and dwelling place of Almighty God. Why would God want to take up dwelling in this sin-cursed earth? I mean why would God want to come down and dwell in this polluted place when He's got all kinds of places He could dwell in?  What's the point? It's not just that He wants a place to live. His glory, the place of meeting, it's the end goal of his meeting. It's the end goal of fellowship. 

God wants to dwell among us so that He can have fellowship with us. He wants us to meet with Him. So, He ultimately decided, 'I can best do that by just living inside you. Be with you all the time, just talk to me, pray without ceasing, just talk to fellowship with me, just, I want to share with you what I have to say.' Now, why would God want to do that? The answer is, the amazing answer is it is because God loves you. And therefore, He wants to be with us. Let me put it like this: When people fall in love, what is it they want to do? Real simple. Be with each other. Period. End of report. I think God wants to meet with us, and He's gone to all kinds of extremes to get it done just because He loves us and wants to be with us