March 30, 2026 - Exodus 26 & Psalm 71

God’s detailed design for the tabernacle in Exodus 26 shows His order and His desire to dwell with His people as they journey. Psalm 71 offers encouraging words of endurance and praise, especially as we ask God to keep us close from youth to old age. 

For more information about Compass Bible Church South Valley, visit compassbiblesv.org. Keep reading. Keep growing. God’s Word is a lamp to your feet, and a light to your path. 

Transcript

Welcome And Exodus 26 Overview

SPEAKER_00 0:01

Welcome to the Lamp and Light Bible Reading Plan, where we are seeking to love the Lord our God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength with God's word lighting the way. I'm Tyler Sanborn, Student Ministry Director at Compass Bible Church South Valley. Today is Monday, March 30th, 2026. Here's a quick summary of Exodus 26. Now Moses is receiving directions on how to construct the tabernacle with specific dimensions, specific details, how wide things are to be, how long things are to be, the different animals that will be required to make the covering, uh, and so on. Now, this is a step-by-step direction on how things are to be attached, how the internal structures of the tabernacle were to be arranged for support, and also where uh the different locations and and rooms of this tent shall be arranged, most specifically the most holy place or the holy of holies, and how things are to be arranged in this specific place as well. So this is a God who has in creation designed specifically with high levels of order the world as we know it, and the same God is giving his people instructions to con to build the the tent that he will dwell in, and the tent that they will pack up and set up and pack up and set up time and time again as they sojourn through the wilderness. Listen intently to God's written word. Psalm seventy-one. In you, O Lord, do I take refuge, let me never be put to shame. In your righteousness deliver me and rescue me. Incline your ear to me and save me. Be to me a rock of refuge, to which I may continually come. You have given the command to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress. Rescue me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked, from the grasp of the unjust and cruel man, for you, O Lord, are my hope, my trust, O Lord, from my youth. Upon you I have leaned from before my birth. You are he who took me from my mother's womb, my praise is continually of you. I have been as a portent to many, but you are my strong refuge, my mouth is filled with your praise, and with your glory all the day. Do not cast me off in the time of old age. Forsake me not when my strength is spent, for my enemies speak concerning me. Those who watch for my life consult together and say, God has forsaken him. Pursue and seize him, for there is none to deliver him. O God, be not far from me. O my God, make haste to help me. May my accusers be put to shame and consumed. With scorn and disgrace may they be covered who seek my hurt, but I will hope continually and will praise you yet more and more. My mouth will tell of your righteous acts, of your deeds of salvation all the day, for their number is past my knowledge, with the mighty deeds of the Lord God I will come. I will remind them of your righteousness, yours alone. O God, from my youth you have taught me, and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds, so even to old age and grey hairs, O God, do not forsake me, until I proclaim your might to another generation, your power to all those to come. Your righteousness, O God, reaches the high heavens. You who have done great things, O God, who is like you? You who have made me see many troubles and calamities will revive me again. From the depths of the earth you will bring me up again. You will increase my greatness and comfort me again. I will also praise you with the harp, for your faithfulness, O my God, I will sing praises to you with the lyre, O holy One of Israel, my lips will shout for joy when I sing praises to you, my soul also, which you have redeemed, and my tongue will talk of your righteous help all the day long, for they have been put to shame and disappointed, who sought to do me hurt. Now as I was reading our text in Exodus today, I couldn't help but think about the setup and teardown team at Compass Bible Church, South Valley. It has been such a joy and such a privilege to be serving along the many, many servants that it takes to set up church at Cuna High School week after week after week. And as we think about the different events we're doing in the community and all the efforts it takes to put on an event like extravaganza, like we just had this past Saturday, I'm thinking about this text today and how much effort, the number of artisans it took to make all the materials needed, uh the different tapestries displaying the cherubim and the different threads and colors that were utilized to make these vibrant curtains, uh, the different metal workers and the the different carpenters that it took to build the structure and uh and put this whole tabernacle together. This is where God would dwell with his people, and it's such an encouragement here. The highlight isn't the people uh that it took to construct this. The highlight is this is where God chose to dwell with his people, and Moses is receiving these instructions, and this is an exciting time for the people of Israel. God would be with them, and God would continue to be with them as a sojourned, and we also see what is going on inside the holy of holies. In verse 34, we see you shall put the mercy seat on the ark of the testimony in the most holy place, and you shall set the table outside the veil, and the lamp stand on the south side of the tabernacle opposite the table, and ye shall put the table on the north side. Very specific instructions. These aren't the vague instructions that you'd be getting uh if you ordered some kind of furniture online that would require a tiny allen wrench and a bunch of wooden pegs and screws uh that are maybe probably missing at least one uh in the bunch. Now, this is this is God's design for his dwelling place. And though you might be thinking, well, it's just a tent, that's that's what tabernacle means, it's a tent. I want to encourage you to think about the fact that God is choosing to dwell with his people, and he is going to meet with his people, and he's going to instruct and direct his people as they are making their way to the promised land. Now, as we look over to our text in the wisdom literature, as we look to Psalm 71, uh, I'm I'm thinking about people who are finishing strong. I'm thinking about people who are calling out to God and asking Him to help them endure to the end. As I look to verses 17 and 18, I can't help but reflect back to my childhood and think about all the people that were investing into putting the scriptures before me in hopes that I would respond to the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Verse 17 says, Oh God, from my youth you have taught me, and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds. And verse 18, so even to old age and gray hairs, oh God, do not forsake me until I proclaim your might to another generation, your power to all those to come. And I'm thinking about my parents and and their their thoughts potentially towards my kids and the hope of my parents seeing uh along with Sadie and I looking to their grandchildren and and praying and hoping that that they would come to know the Lord in a salvivic way. Um this is an exciting verse to read as we see the psalmist calling out to God uh in in weakness. We see the calamities. Uh I just can't help but think of a title or a prize fighter or someone who has um endured great conflict or great struggle in their life, whether that's a physical opponent or health concerns, uh health challenges, or I'm thinking about people that seem to endure more trials than the average person. Um, I'm thinking about these people in my that I know in my life and just how God helps them get back on their feet time and time and time again. And I I can just speak from experience as I've heard the testimony of uh friends uh over the past handful of years, it's so encouraging to hear how God has been their comfort, how God has been their strength, and how the the common denominator is this God was always there, he never left. I was I was tempted to think that. I was tempted to doubt God at times, but his faithfulness is evident, and his faithfulness is proven over and over again, and as a result, I can't help but praise him. I can't help but sing and shout for joy. Um, I love how verse 23 says that my lips will shout for joy when I sing praises to you, my soul also, which you have redeemed. Uh going on to verse 24, and my tongue will talk of your righteous help all the day long. What an encouragement for believers, what a what an opportunity believers have as they're approaching their final lap, so to speak, of their life. They have a great opportunity to pour into the lives of the younger generations and tell of God's steadfast love in their life, how God has helped them overcome, how God has been there from even younger years until until now. Though the prayer, help me to stay close, and the psalmist here is saying, Don't cast me off in the time of old age. I think it's a continual prayer that every Christian should say is, Lord, don't let me wander, don't let me drift, keep me close, uh, keep me by your side, don't let me leave you. Um, the psalmist is, I think this is the heart of the psalmist here. Um, knowing as we have the full canon of scripture, it's easy for us to look and say, God will never leave me or forsake me. We look to Hebrews 13, 5 and think about the truths of God's faithfulness and how his steadfast love, um, how his mercy and grace are chasing after us. We we have this full canon, but the the psalmist here is has been through it. And the the words shared here are, oh God, be not far from me, stay close, make haste to help me. And that that should be just a humbling refrain for for us today as we think about how faithful God has been as we approach um Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday. We know that our refuge is in the living God. Our refuge, our hope, our help is in our Redeemer who lives. Well, thanks so much for joining us today on the Lamp and Light Bible Reading Podcast. For more information about Compass Bible Church South Valley, visit compass Bible SV.org. Keep reading, keep growing. God's word is a lamp to your feet and a light to your path.