Review Of Exodus 25

— by Victor Fawole

I welcome everyone back to our “No Bible, No Breakfast” spiritual exercise. We resume with Exodus 25 – a worship-centered chapter. After God entered into the law-based covenant relationship with Israel, He then began to reveal the purpose for which He had delivered His people. Remember (as noted in previous reviews), the essence of redemption is relationship, the essence of freedom is fellowship, the fruit of salvation is service. God loves us because He wants to make us His beloved. Permit me to begin this review with an excerpt from Pastor Dammy’s sermon titled: You Are God’s Beloved Part 5

There are two basic levels of the revelation of God’s love to mankind. First is the ACCESSING level. This level talks about the HABIT of God’s love. This is God throwing up His love for mankind in order to reach man and make it easy for man to reach Him. The love of God is universal in nature (Psa. 8:4, 1Tim. 2:4). So, what we have in this level is an experiment of God’s love, a call to taste of God’s love (Psa. 34:8) – in order to enter the second level of the revelation, which is the real level.

The second level is the ACCEPTING level. This level talks about the HABITAT of God’s love. It is one thing for God to access you with His love and it is another thing for God to enclose you in His love. While the first is an experiment, the second is an environment. This is God loving you so much to put you in His love! In the first scenario, God is loving you because of who you are – helpless. So He extends His love your way so He can enclose you in His love. Now, while God is loving you because of who you are in the first case, God is loving you because of where you are in the second stage. In the first stage, you need to be loved but in the second stage, you can’t but be loved! Actually, God is trying to access you in order to accept you (Eph 1:6).

Under the law, God wanted His people to be in fellowship with Him, through worship. He gave Moses the instructions for the Tabernacle to show how He wanted to be worshipped. Proper worship is important to God.

Let us review:

1. PERSONAL FINANCIAL DEVOTION

Exo. 25:1-2 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: “Speak to the children of Israel, that they bring Me an offering. From everyone who gives it willingly with his heart you shall take My offering.

As rich as God is (actually, He is self-sufficient), He usually uses the willing hearts of His people as the way to fund His work here on earth. This is a principle we see all through scriptures. One of the things that grace teaches us is “giving”. Cheerful giving. Sacrificial giving. Willing giving. It is an act motivated by love and devotion to God. It is uncompelled. It is valuable. The items God requested are items of significant value, reflecting the Virtue code, the Value code, and the Vantage code of excellent giving. To understand these three codes of excellent giving, listen to this sermon by Pastor Dammy: Excelling In The Grace Of Giving — Part 1

I tried to research the present day value of the tabernacle and the items needed for it. It has an estimated value of $23million (₦38.5 billion). Wow!

Let us check out the spiritual significance of the items they contributed:

• Gold:
  This symbolises God’s eternally unchanging divine nature, holiness, perfection and glory.
• Silver:
  This symbolises redemption, atonement, and cleansing (Exo. 30:11-16).
• Bronze:
  This symbolises God’s judgement / justice and righteousness
• Blue Thread:
  This symbolises heaven, God’s throne, and divine revelation.
• Purple Thread:
  This symbolises royalty, majesty, and power. It points to Jesus as King.
• Scarlet Thread:
  This symbolises sacrifice and the shedding of blood. It points to Christ’s sacrificial death.
• Fine Linen:
  This symbolises purity and righteousness (Rev. 19:8). It points to our garments of salvation (Isa. 61:10).
• Goat Hair:
  This symbolises protection, covering, and atonement. It points to the sacrificial system and forgiveness.
• Ram Skins Dyed Red:
  This symbolizes sacrifice, atonement, and cleansing. It speaks of the protective covering of righteousness. It ultimately points to Christ’s blood shed for the forgiveness of sins, as the Ultimate Sacrifice (Heb. 9:11-14)
• Badger Skins:
  This is a form of protective covering. Badger skin (durable leather) is strong and durable, and it indicates God’s solid protection and care for His people.
• Acacia Wood:
  This symbolises the permanent nature of God’s promises. It points to the strength and stability of God’s covenant with His people.
• Olive Oil:
  This represents the Holy Spirit.
• Spices for Anointing Oil and Incense:
  Anointing oil is used for consecration, symbolising the setting apart of people and things for God’s service. It points to the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit. Incense symbolises the prayers of the people rising to God (Psa. 141:2; Rev. 5:8). The sweet aroma of incense is symbolic of the pleasing nature of the prayers of the saints and their communion with God. I am reminded of one of Pastor Dammy’s quotes: When it comes to service, only incense makes sense!
• Onyx Stones and Other Gems:
  These stones symbolise the beauty and glory of God. They also represent the 12 tribes of Israel, who are precious to Him.

I love that God wanted them to build a tabernacle so that He could dwell among them. After signing the wedding contract (Ten Commandments), God wanted to dwell with His people the way a husband dwells with his wife. Right from the days of Adam, God has loved to dwell among men. In fact, He eventually came in the flesh to dwell (John 1:14) among men. As believers, we are the ones who enjoy God’s most intimate dwelling (1Cor. 6:19-20). We should also note that the tabernacle is a “type and shadow” of our Temple – Christ – during the Millennial Reign (Rev. 21:22).

2. PATTERN FOR THE TABERNACLE

Exo. 25:9 According to all that I show you, that is, the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furnishings, just so you shall make it.

I love that God gave His own pattern that the Israelites must follow to build the tabernacle. It had to be based on God’s architectural specifications and not their own architectural imaginations. God did not just tell Moses the plans but actually showed them to him. Let us consider some elements here:

• a. The Ark of Testimony:
  This is probably the most important as it symbolises God’s presence in their midst. The ark is the central point of contact between heaven and the tabernacle. It was the most sacred object in the tabernacle. It was made with acacia wood – a kind of wood that does not decay. Insects cannot destroy it. It cannot be penetrated by water. Its sap has large amounts of “tannins” that are used as a pharmaceutical. Each aspect of the acacia points to Jesus Christ. Like the wood, His body was not corrupted so that it could be sacrificed for us (Psa. 16:10; Acts 13:35). Like the sap, His blood also heals and gives life (1Pet. 2:24; Isa. 53:5).

Although the ark was wooden, yet it was completely overlaid with pure gold (Exo. 25:13). This points to the divinity and perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ. The ark was 100% acacia wood, yet it was 100% gold. The wood represents Christ’s humanity, the gold represents His divinity. Hallelujah!

The ark of testimony (covenant) was to be placed in the inner room – the Holy of Holies – and it contained three things:

• the tablets of the Law,
• Aaron’s rod that budded (Heb 9:4), and
• a golden pot of manna (Exo. 16:33-34).

I was intrigued at my finding when I tried checking for the value of gold used on this ark. The gold used for the ark is estimated at around 178 pounds, and in today’s market, that is $7 million (₦11.7 billion). Wow!

• b. The Mercy Seat:
  The mercy seat was the site where the high priest would sprinkle blood once per year on the Day of Atonement (Lev 16:14-15). It speaks directly about propitiation of sins. This very unique place was made with solid gold. Two cherubim of gold were to be placed at the ends of the mercy seat. The cherubim are angelic heavenly beings who dwell in God’s presence and minister to Him. In the Old Testaments, they were closely linked to God’s throne (1Sam. 4:4, 2Sam. 6:2, 2Kgs. 19:15, Psa. 99:1).

Remember that after Adam sinned, the cherubim guarded him away from accessing the tree of life. Here, the cherubim guarded the place of propitiation by which man’s sin can now be atoned. Christ Himself is our “propitiation” (Rom. 3:24-25). He is the covering for sin – all thanks to His death. If anyone responds to Christ through faith, all his sins are covered (1John 2:1, 1John 4:10).

I love how this placement of cherubim at the mercy seat was practically displayed at Jesus’ tomb (John 20:12). Two angels sat on the empty tomb, one at each end. The sacrifice is accepted, and the atonement is perfected! Hallelujah!

Before I move on, I also love that the mercy seat was placed on top of the ark of covenant. This is a beautiful picture of God’s love. The mercy that Christ gives is greater than the condemnation under the Law. Whenever God looks down from His dwelling place between the cherubim, He sees the Law in the Ark — we are guilty of the Law. But once the blood of sacrifice is sprinkled on the mercy seat, God sees the blood and forgiveness is offered.

• c. The Table for the Showbread:
  This signifies that God is the Giver of daily bread. It was called the “presence bread” because it was set out in His presence. Acknowledging that God provides leads to thanksgiving. The mercy seat speaks of atonement, the table speaks of gratitude. It is interesting that bread is the only food that was placed on this table. This bread is a type of Christ – the bread of life (John 6:35). The purpose of the table was to show God’s desire for fellowship with His people (Rev. 3:20).

Note that there are no chairs in the Tabernacle – indicating the continual work of the priests, also helping us to appreciate the finished work of our Great High Priest. You can read more on this in Pastor Dammy’s article: Are You A Standing Believer Or A Sitting Believer?

• d. The Gold Lampstand:
  The gold lampstand has six branches and there would be a lamp on top of each branch. Then with one more lamp at the top of the centre beam, that makes seven lamps in total. The lamps were to always keep burning, being trimmed morning and evening so that light never went out (Lev. 24:2). The lampstand is the only source of light in the tabernacle. This points to Christ as the Light of the world (John 8:12; John 9:5). Jesus is the True Light that gives light to everyone (John 1:9) and the only way to salvation (John 14:6).

Dear Gogolights, it is true that we are not under the Old Covenant system of tabernacles, so we are to consider this chapter on three levels. First, we should understand its historic relevance to the Jews. Second, we should understand the Tabernacle is a “type and shadow” of Christ (Heb. 8:5). Each part of the Tabernacle foreshadowed different things He did for us. Third, the Tabernacle should be looked upon as a symbolic representation of the Holy Spirit, who dwells inside each believer (2Cor. 6:16). We are in now the hour when worship would no longer be centred around the earthly temple (John 4:21). Let us continue to worship God in spirit and in truth. It is all grace in here!

Tag five people and tell them: THE REDEMPTIVE WORK OF JESUS IS FINISHED IN MY FAVOUR!

God bless you for reading. We shall continue tomorrow.

Grace to you, Church!