SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the Preaching of the Cross Radio Podcast, featuring the radio ministry of Pastor James W.
SPEAKER_00: Knox of the Bible Baptist Church of Delant, Florida.
SPEAKER_00: Our prayer is that these half-hour Bible study programs will bring the lost to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ and enable the saved to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Savior.
SPEAKER_00: Now here's your host, Pastor James W.
SPEAKER_00: Knox.
SPEAKER_01: I believe God will bless your heart if you can stay with us.
SPEAKER_01: We're going to study the Bible.
SPEAKER_01: That's always a blessing.
SPEAKER_01: We're going to teach just exactly what the Word of God says.
SPEAKER_01: We're not going to correct or change or amend or cast doubt upon a single word in the pages of the pure holy Bible.
SPEAKER_01: We are studying together the Bible book of Exodus.
SPEAKER_01: We have come to a portion of that book which deals with the pattern and instructions for the building of the tabernacle, the place where God would meet with man and fellowship together with his people, the nation of Israel.
SPEAKER_01: And let's read, starting at verse number 16, Exodus 25, verse number 16.
SPEAKER_01: And the Bible says, And thou shalt put into the ark, we talked about that Ark of the Covenant last time, the testimony which I shall give thee.
SPEAKER_01: That's the written words of God upon the tables of stone.
SPEAKER_01: And thou shalt make a mercy seat of pure gold.
SPEAKER_01: Two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof.
SPEAKER_01: And thou shalt make two cherubims of gold.
SPEAKER_01: These are winged creatures.
SPEAKER_01: Of beaten work shalt thou make them in the two ends of the mercy seat, and make one cherubim on one end, and the other cherub on the other end, even of the mercy seat, uh shall ye make the cherubims on the two ends thereof.
SPEAKER_01: And the cherubim shall stretch forth their wings on high, covering the mercy seat, where their wings and their faces shall look one to another toward the mercy seat, shall be the faces of the cherubim.
SPEAKER_01: Thou shalt put the mercy seat above upon the ark, and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee, and there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims, which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel.
SPEAKER_01: Now, think with me for a few minutes about this picture.
SPEAKER_01: Just try and picture this in your mind, and then we will rejoice in that which it symbolizes.
SPEAKER_01: A wooden box, rectangular in shape, made of wood, covered over with gold.
SPEAKER_01: Inside that box, that arc, inside that are the laws, commandments, statutes, and ordinances of God written, written to instruct man to show this nation how God wants them to live.
SPEAKER_01: That nation as a whole, and every individual within that nation is incapable of keeping all those commandments all the time.
SPEAKER_01: Not one of them, not one of them can keep every commandment, not one of them can keep every commandment every day.
SPEAKER_01: Can't be done.
SPEAKER_01: So God, God places on top of that box over those laws, over those commandments, God places a mercy seat, a mercy seat.
SPEAKER_01: Do you know what a lawbreaker needs?
SPEAKER_01: Mercy.
SPEAKER_01: Do you know what a sinner requires?
SPEAKER_01: Mercy.
SPEAKER_01: Do you know what God willingly, lovingly, graciously provides?
SPEAKER_01: Mercy.
SPEAKER_01: Now think of this.
SPEAKER_01: Not only did God put the mercy seat above the law, greater, greater is mercy than law.
SPEAKER_01: Greater is God's grace than man's sin.
SPEAKER_01: Hallelujah.
SPEAKER_01: Not only has God placed the mercy seat above the law, but he didn't say, I will meet with you inside the ark where the law resides.
SPEAKER_01: He said, I will meet with you on the mercy seat.
SPEAKER_01: Praise God.
SPEAKER_01: My friend, I'm not, I'm not trying to pick a fight with you, but the Bible says every one of us has sinned often.
SPEAKER_01: And the Bible says that because every one of us have sinned, every one of us is under condemnation and is deserving of the wrath and judgment of God.
SPEAKER_01: That's just the facts from the Bible.
SPEAKER_01: However, the God we've sinned against is a merciful God, the God whose laws and commandments we have broken is a merciful God, and his mercy, his mercy sits above his law, so that you may find forgiveness if you will come to God humbly as a lawbreaker, and put your faith and your trust in the one, the one who paid for your transgressions, the Lord Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_01: Now, this tabernacle is a remarkable thing, not only in its simplicity, but in the attention to which God gives it.
SPEAKER_01: Over fifty chapters in the Bible are devoted to the tabernacle.
SPEAKER_01: During forty days and forty nights on the mountain, the Lord revealed to Moses the pattern of the tabernacle, which would be central to the life of Israel up to the days of David the king.
SPEAKER_01: There was a gap of over a hundred years when the ark was absent, and after which, in the reign of Solomon, the temple took its place.
SPEAKER_01: And associated with the tabernacle, there was a priesthood and a sacrificial system which was appointed by God.
SPEAKER_01: And any who regard this as a merely historical development, which has been superseded and has no value for today, you're going to miss out on a lot of truth.
SPEAKER_01: You see, as we mentioned, 50 chapters in the Bible devoted to the tabernacle, 13 in Exodus, chapter 25 to 31, and chapter 35 to 40, 17 chapters in Leviticus, 13 chapters in Numbers, three chapters in Deuteronomy, and in the New Testament, eight chapters of Hebrews have the tabernacle as their central idea or point of comparison.
SPEAKER_01: Now, this far exceeds the chapters dealing with the temple and reflects the value of the teaching that is associated with the tabernacle.
SPEAKER_01: So great is this truth that although the creation of the universe is covered in two chapters in Genesis, the construction of the tabernacle occupies, well, as we said, fifty chapters, because it shows the great purposes of God in redemption.
SPEAKER_01: And God is in the Bible far more concerned with redeeming man than he is with man knowing how things were made.
SPEAKER_01: Now, the scripture contains a number of titles given to the tabernacle.
SPEAKER_01: Let's consider some of the main ones.
SPEAKER_01: In Exodus 25, 8, the tabernacle is called a sanctuary.
SPEAKER_01: As we mentioned last time, the desire of the Lord is to have a place in which he could dwell and meet together with his people.
SPEAKER_01: Looking forward to the day when there would be the place that God had made.
SPEAKER_01: That was in chapter 15, verse 17.
SPEAKER_01: Sanctuary means a separated, a set apart, sanctified place, holy, hallowed.
SPEAKER_01: It's not for common use.
SPEAKER_01: We used to call our church buildings sanctuaries.
SPEAKER_01: But since they become entertainment centers, that word is no longer fitting in most places.
SPEAKER_01: Then the tabernacle is called the tabernacle of the Lord.
SPEAKER_01: This title is used five or six times in the Pentateuch, indicating that the tabernacle was the possession, not of the Hebrew people, but of the Lord.
SPEAKER_01: This title emphasizes the holiness which marked the place.
SPEAKER_01: It was the Lord's house, and he ordered all that was in it.
SPEAKER_01: The running of it, the conditions for entrance and service, everything was his.
SPEAKER_01: Man didn't decide who went in, who didn't go in, what furniture was there, what activities took place there.
SPEAKER_01: It's the Lord's.
SPEAKER_01: It's also called the tabernacle of testimony.
SPEAKER_01: This sanctuary was a testimony to Israel, that God was present.
SPEAKER_01: It testified of the means of approach to God and the way one could enjoy fellowship with Him.
SPEAKER_01: The tabernacle was also a testimony to the nations that the Lord was with Israel and dwelt among them.
SPEAKER_01: This designation, the tabernacle of the testimony, is found, I think, nine times in various forms.
SPEAKER_01: Exodus 38, 21, Numbers 1, 50 and 53, Numbers 10, 11.
SPEAKER_01: It's the tabernacle of the testimony, Numbers 9, 15 calls it the tent of the testimony, and so forth.
SPEAKER_01: It's tabernacle of witness.
SPEAKER_01: So all this has the idea of God showing something about himself to man by means of this tabernacle.
SPEAKER_01: It's significant that it was the tabernacle of testimony over which the Levites were appointed, including the responsibility of camping around it and taking it down and bearing it on the journey and setting it up again.
SPEAKER_01: As they marched through the wilderness, they carried with them the symbols of God's presence and power.
SPEAKER_01: It's also important to note that when the cloud of God's glory came down, covered this very place, and when the tabernacle was reared up, the glory of the Lord abode there.
SPEAKER_01: His presence is an essential part of his testimony.
SPEAKER_01: It was the tabernacle of witness.
SPEAKER_01: And subsequent to the rebellion of Korah, the rods were laid up.
SPEAKER_01: The testimony being given to Israel that it was Aaron.
SPEAKER_01: Now, testimony today should have these same features.
SPEAKER_01: When God's people gather and God meets with them, the person of God, the ways of God, the mind of God, the character of God should all be on display.
SPEAKER_01: This tabernacle showed that God met with his people, and that the people came and met with God.
SPEAKER_01: How would anyone know they were meeting with God?
SPEAKER_01: Because they observed the due order and the explicit commands, as a mortal would obey God.
SPEAKER_01: And so today, when we gather together, let's make certain that we're not just a bunch of people meeting in a building.
SPEAKER_01: But that as far as our hearts are concerned, we understand we're meeting with God.
SPEAKER_01: And as far as the world is concerned, they see us approach a holy God in humble obedience.
SPEAKER_01: The place was also called the tabernacle of the congregation.
SPEAKER_01: This was a great honor for Israel.
SPEAKER_01: The congregation were linked with the tent, which was the tabernacle of the Lord.
SPEAKER_01: The term is used more than any other.
SPEAKER_01: Found 115 times in the King James Bible, Tabernacle of Congregation.
SPEAKER_01: Thirteen times is tent of the congregation.
SPEAKER_01: First appearing, that's just in the Pentateuch.
SPEAKER_01: Genesis, well, Exodus through Deuteronomy.
SPEAKER_01: The first appearing or use of this is Exodus 27, 21, where the people were instructed to prepare oil for the lamp, which was to burn in the tabernacle of the congregation without the veil, which is before the testimony.
SPEAKER_01: It signifies that this was the gathering place of the people, the place where they or their representatives were summoned to appear before the Lord, who was the center of their lives, the place where their spiritual needs were met, where they offered their worship, the place uh where they the uh the way they maintained the, let me say it that way, the way they maintained the place, which was their responsibility, also showed much about its importance and thus God's importance to the people.
SPEAKER_01: Now, reference has been made to the fact that the tabernacle is sometimes referred to a tent, and the words are often used by uh preachers and Bible teachers somewhat interchangeably, and that's because quite obviously this was a temporary, movable uh bit of construction.
SPEAKER_01: Unlike the temple, with its solid foundations that could not be moved or transported about, the tabernacle was a transportable, if that's a word, uh dwelling place, a mobile home, if you will, as opposed to uh one set upon firm foundations.
SPEAKER_01: Now, the general plan of the tabernacle, it wasn't a grand thing, wasn't uh immense and beautiful as the temple would be.
SPEAKER_01: It was of modest proportions.
SPEAKER_01: The central structure was surrounded by a court measuring a hundred cubits by fifty cubits, it's about 150 feet by 75 feet.
SPEAKER_01: The longer side was placed from east to west, and the shorter from north to south.
SPEAKER_01: A white curtain or hanging was supported on pillars, surrounded the court.
SPEAKER_01: On the east side, there was a gate measuring twenty cubits, about uh thirty feet wide.
SPEAKER_01: The central structure was thirty cubits long, ten cubits broad, ten cubits high, situated in the courtyard with the entrance door facing eastward, and was divided into two compartments the holy place, twenty cubits long, and the holy of holies, ten cubits long, making this latter compartment a perfect cube.
SPEAKER_01: Ten by ten by ten.
SPEAKER_01: Outwardly, this central structure had little of attraction and beauty, as the covering scene was of badger skins, giving a somewhat, well, drab or dull appearance.
SPEAKER_01: That's because the beauty was all to be found on the inside of Jesus Christ, the Bible said, when the word was made flesh and dwelt among us, he had no form nor comliness.
SPEAKER_01: When we see him, there's no beauty that we should desire him.
SPEAKER_01: You know, if God, if God, think about this.
SPEAKER_01: If when God was manifest in the flesh, Jesus Christ, that body in which he was manifest, was not beautiful, so that the inward beauty of the holiness and righteousness of God would stand out more in more stark contrast.
SPEAKER_01: What I I wonder if the heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament showeth his handiwork, what if what if even this awe-inspiring creation is not beautiful compared to what lies beyond?
SPEAKER_01: Why our minds can't even take that in.
SPEAKER_01: Now, the general plan of the tabernacle, uh, the courtyard, so we continue with this idea, the courtyard.
SPEAKER_01: Nearest to the gate, there was the brazen altar.
SPEAKER_01: That's the place where sacrifices were offered.
SPEAKER_01: Between the brazen altar and the door of the central structure was found the laver, where the priests washed their hands and their feet before entering the holy place.
SPEAKER_01: Passing through the door into the holy place, the priests, for only priests were permitted to enter.
SPEAKER_01: There they saw before them the table of showbread, the lamp stand, and the golden altar of incense.
SPEAKER_01: We'll read all about these things as we move on through Exodus.
SPEAKER_01: Then the holiest of all was entered only by the high priest, and that only once a year on the Day of Atonement.
SPEAKER_01: In there were the ark and the mercy seat, the two cherubim's wings spread.
SPEAKER_01: Over it.
SPEAKER_01: In the holy place the only light was that of the lampstand.
SPEAKER_01: In the holiest of all, the only light was the glory of God.
SPEAKER_01: Now the tabernacle was pitched in the center of the camp of Israel, with all the other tents surrounding it.
SPEAKER_01: On the north, Dan, Asher, Naphtali.
SPEAKER_01: On the west, Ephraim, Manasseh, Benjamin.
SPEAKER_01: On the south, Reuben, Simeon, Gad.
SPEAKER_01: On the east, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, and the families of the Levites were also camped round about it, were closest to it, on the north, those of Merari, on the west, those of Gershon, on the south, those of Koath, on the east, before the gate, Moses, Aaron, and his sons.
SPEAKER_01: Now what this means, what this means, is that the priests were central to the people.
SPEAKER_01: The tabernacle was central to the priests.
SPEAKER_01: The Holy of Holies was central to the tabernacle.
SPEAKER_01: The Ark of the Covenant was central to the Holy of Holies.
SPEAKER_01: And the mercy seat of God and the Word of God were central to all.
SPEAKER_01: How is it in your life?
SPEAKER_01: What's the central thing in your life?
SPEAKER_01: What does everything in your life center around?
SPEAKER_01: What would that be?
SPEAKER_01: What is the central thing in your life?
SPEAKER_01: If it's your children, you're off.
SPEAKER_01: If it's your marriage, you're off.
SPEAKER_01: If it's your job, you're off.
SPEAKER_01: If it's your money, you're off.
SPEAKER_01: If it's your religion, you're off.
SPEAKER_01: Pleasure, entertainment?
SPEAKER_01: Come on, God set this thing up.
SPEAKER_01: An earth within a universe.
SPEAKER_01: A nation within the earth?
SPEAKER_01: A tribe within a nation?
SPEAKER_01: A tabernacle within a tribe?
SPEAKER_01: A holy of holies within a tabernacle?
SPEAKER_01: An ark with a mercy seat in the word in the Holy of Holies.
SPEAKER_01: What's what's central to you, my friend?
SPEAKER_01: What's in the midst of your life?
SPEAKER_01: What does everything in your world revolve around?
SPEAKER_01: You know, you go in the average home, walk in the living room, all the seats point to what?
SPEAKER_01: You go into a man's heart, all thought, all thoughts, all energy, all effort, all desire points to what?
SPEAKER_01: I'm just asking.
SPEAKER_01: Would you examine yourself?
SPEAKER_01: Would you evaluate?
SPEAKER_01: Would you consider?
SPEAKER_01: What is your focal point?
SPEAKER_01: What is your center?
SPEAKER_01: What is the object of your desire?
SPEAKER_01: Now the Bible says in verse 23, Exodus 25, 23, thou shalt also make a table of shit'em wood, two cubits shall be the length thereof, a cubit the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof, and thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, and make thereunto a crown of gold roundabout.
SPEAKER_01: We talked about that a little bit last time.
SPEAKER_01: And thou shalt make unto it a border of an hand breadth round about.
SPEAKER_01: Thou shalt make a golden crown to the border thereof roundabout, and thou shalt make for it four rings of gold, and put the rings in the four corners that are on the four feet thereof, over against the border shall the rings be for the places of the staves to bear the table, and thou shalt make the staves of shit and wood and overlay them with gold, that the table may be borne with them, and thou shalt make the dishes thereof, and the spoons thereof, and the covers thereof, and the bowls thereof to cover with all of pure gold shalt thou make them, and thou shalt set upon the table the showbread before me always.
SPEAKER_01: So this table it was to be holy, special, beautiful, properly adorned.
SPEAKER_01: So the objects and items, the tools for the table, in like manner.
SPEAKER_01: Beautiful, holy, precious, valuable.
SPEAKER_01: You see, in this place where God was worshipped, nothing was insignificant.
SPEAKER_01: In this place where God was worshipped, nothing was to be considered profane or vile or meaningless or unimportant?
SPEAKER_01: With all my heart I believe that God intends it to be so today.
SPEAKER_01: Whether I am worshiping the Lord in my private life, or whether I am worshiping the Lord in the assembly of his people, should not all my thoughts be as pure and beautiful as I could make them?
SPEAKER_01: Should not all of my desires be as pure and beautiful as I could make them?
SPEAKER_01: Should not all of my actions, all of my responses, all of my interactions be as pure and beautiful as I could make them?
SPEAKER_01: You see, it would be the tendency of man to say, well, who cares about the spoons?
SPEAKER_01: It would be the tendency of man to say the table is not as big a deal as the Ark of the Covenant.
SPEAKER_01: It would be the tendency of man to cut a corner here, to downplay there, to lack precision in this area or that.
SPEAKER_01: And yet, what we see in these chapters in Exodus is that God is as concerned with the small details as he is the large ones.
SPEAKER_01: Because everything pertaining to our lives is important to God, and everything about our worship of God should be important to us.
SPEAKER_01: Everything about our relationship to and our fellowship with God should be carefully considered, well attended, overlaid with gold, if you will, that is, made just as fine as we can make it.
SPEAKER_01: Because he is worthy of that.
SPEAKER_01: He is deserving of that.
SPEAKER_01: He certainly merits our very, very best in everything.
SPEAKER_01: I believe that, don't you?
SPEAKER_01: This is the preaching of the cross radio broadcast.
SPEAKER_01: As we make our way through this book, let me remind you that we have done so with uh, well, for for years, since 1981.
SPEAKER_01: And these uh studies have been recorded and preserved, and they're available to you over 5,000 hours now, I believe, of recorded sermons and Bible studies.
SPEAKER_01: It's all listed in our catalog, and we'd be glad to send you a copy of that, or you may uh view it on our website.
SPEAKER_01: In either case, uh, we would love for you to avail yourself of these helpful materials and many, many books as well that are in print for your uh spiritual growth and edification.
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SPEAKER_01: That's in D-Land, D-E-L-A-N-D, D-Land, Florida.
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SPEAKER_01: Jamesnox.com.
SPEAKER_01: Hope you'll come by for a visit as soon as you possibly can.
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SPEAKER_01: Until then, I'm Brother James.
SPEAKER_01: May the Lord richly bless you, and good day.
SPEAKER_00: Thanks for tuning in today.
SPEAKER_00: Join us every weekday for another episode of the Preaching of the Cross Radio Podcast.
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SPEAKER_00: Until next time and throughout eternity, may Jesus Christ be praised.