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Exodus 26:30-37 Meeting with God

What does an ancient text written 4500 years ago, have to do with us today? Everything! The priest would not rush into the tabernacle and we should not rush into the presence of the Lord. If the priest wanted to live, they would not rush into the holy of holies. When we meet with the congregation we do so to fellowship, to serve and worship the Lord, though our Lord came from heaven and dwelt (tabernacled) among us. When Yeshua (Jesus) was crucified, the veil in the temple was torn in two, so that believers could enter God’s presence and be reconciled to God.

Do you ever stop for a while and consider how to prepare yourself before meeting with the Lord? How can you and I prepare our hearts and minds to be receptive and attentive to God’s word? Prayers would be offered at the altar of incense. Do you make time to prepare before meeting with God? We can pray along with the psalmist, “Open my eyes, that I may see wondrous things from Your law.” (Psalm 119:18)

The word of God is like a fire and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces (Jeremiah 23:29). The word of God is living and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword (Hebrews 4:12). Charles Spurgeon once read a single verse to test the sound before preaching to a large congregation at a slightly later time and a man came to trust in the Lord upon hearing that. Hence, even the reading of Scripture alone, does much good for our souls, since it is a holy book like none other.

How else can we prepare to meet with God and His people? Pray for the preacher that they would preach the full counsel of God’s word faithfully and accurately. Pray that you would be changed and shaped by God’s word and that the Lord would be glorified in your worship. It is good that we confess our sins often, not at a physical altar, but that we examine our hearts. Do you find it an effort to concentrate, or does your mind wander off? What can you do? Ask for the Lord’s help to enable you to focus when you meet with the Lord and His people.

We must renew our minds and turn our eyes to the Lord and look to Him. Have you noticed how quickly television images shift pictures, voices and the centre of attention? Words and images emerge and disappear within a fraction of a second. This is not God’s design for us. When we scroll on social media, we might access ten unrelated messages within less than a minute. If you play video games, there is an overloading of images at an ever-increasing speed. Should we copy the Amish and go back to the horse and cart and a slower pace of life? There are notably many distractions they avoid, but we are to be in this world, but not of it.

You may need to retrain yourself to think and focus properly. Do you struggle to read a few pages of a book and then lose concentration? Do you struggle to listen to a sermon for more than ten minutes? When I was studying for my A-Levels we were advised to revise for thirty minutes and then have a break, yet we were expected to sit a three-hour exam!

A leader of a mission helpfully explained to a few of us how he now attempts to be quiet for a minute before he prays. He candidly shared that when he first tried this and he looked up at his watch, only eighteen seconds had elapsed. What is my point? We cannot realistically, completely distance ourselves, from fast functioning technology. But we must be aware of the onslaught of high speed visual and auditory messages. We must have time alone with the Lord and make time to pray. If we fail to do so, we may well lose the ability to think and concentrate, let alone think biblically.

You may think that you do not have enough time to be alone with the Lord. Remember that God gave you your appointed time and you will give an account for how you spend it. You make time to eat and if you do not do so, you will eventually die, so make time for the Lord. Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. The great Puritan Jonathan Edwards resolved not to waste even a single minute. That is an extreme example, but the Lord has given us twenty-four hours in a day.

Let us now make a journey from the door of the tabernacle into the most holy place. The screen for the entrance was made from blue, purple, scarlet yarns and white linen. The blue speaks of the heavenly aspect (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:45-49). The red speaks of Messiah’s sacrificial blood and the blood of Jesus the Messiah cleanses the believer from all sin (1 John 1:7). The purple speaks of kingship. Consider that Yeshua was mocked with a purple rope, denoting kingship before crucifixion. The charge affixed on the cross read, “THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS”(Matthew 27:37). Fine linen is white and speaks of God’s holiness. Our Lord was transfigured with His clothing exceedingly white (Mark 9:3).

Various aspects of the Tabernacle were made of acacia wood overlaid with gold. But why mix the ordinary with something extraordinary? In Solomon’s kingdom, he could afford gold and silver for a whole range of objects. The wood speaks of humanity and the gold, the deity of the Lord. The Lord Jesus is like none other, fully God, yet fully Man, holy, yet knowable. An awesome God, yet a God that is nearby. An all-consuming fire but also a God of love. He was the only One able to make the journey for us and to offer Himself to make atonement for our sin through His shed blood. He knows us better than we know ourselves for He created us and tabernacled among us.

In Exodus 26:37, there are bases of bronze and in chapter 27 a bronze altar. The bronze speaks of God’s judgement. The Israelites spoke against the Lord and He made a bronze serpent that they were to gaze at and they would then live following the bite from the serpents (Numbers 21:4-9). That relates to Yeshua in John 3:14-15 who can spare us from the judgement, “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.”

In Exodus 26:30, they were instructed to set up the Tabernacle according to the plan on the mountain. They were reminded of this in Exodus 25:9, 40; 27:8 and Exodus 39:1 and Acts 7:44 confirms they did. Special instructions were given for the Ark of the Covenant to be carried using poles. In 2 Samuel 6, the Ark of the Covenant was brought to Jerusalem without using poles. On the way, Uzzah put out his hand to steady the Ark of God because the oxen stumbled. God struck him down since the Lord is holy and they failed to esteem Him as holy.

Now let us think about the veil of the Tabernacle and the Temple. Do you envisage a flimsy structure? Think again! In Matthew 27:51, the veil of the temple was rent from top to bottom and the earth quaked and the rocks were split. In early Jewish tradition the veil was known to be as thick as a man’s hand. That was a miracle in more ways than one since believers in Yeshua now have access to the Lord. We should never take close fellowship with the Lord for granted, but this will help. In that setting and era, if you had tried to go beyond the veil, you might have died.

There are cherubim mentioned in this small passage, but what image of cherubim comes into your mind? Did your mother ever smile at you and call you darling cherub? Think again. Cherubim are first mentioned in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:22-24). Cherubim are referred to fifty-eight times in the Bible in thirteen books, but would you like to meet one? The cherubim guarded the Garden of Eden with flaming swords which turned every way and noticeably cherubim were also woven into the veil.

The veil was hung upon four pillars of acacia wood overlaid with gold. Their hooks were made of gold upon four sockets of silver. What was the significance of silver? In Exodus 30:14-16 atonement money was collected for the service of the tent of meeting. Remember Joseph was betrayed for twenty shekels of silver and Jesus was betrayed for thirty shekels of silver. 1 Peter 1:18-19 brings all these things together, “knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.”

Messiah has paid the price for our ransom, but have you been set free? Are you living in Egypt and trying to please the world, or have you changed direction? Are you now a pilgrim on your way to heaven and merely passing through this world? Are you still trying to be ‘good’ and live a moral life by keeping God’s commandments? Or have you confessed your sin, that you have broken God’s Law, but asked Him to forgive you? Have you discovered that when you live for Him and serve Him, His commandments are not burdensome?

We have thought about the holiness of God, living for Him and serving Him. You know your birthdate but have you considered the day when you will leave this earth? Messiah has paid the ransom price through His atoning sacrifice. He is the Redeemer and has paid the price for your sin through His blood. When He was crucified, He cried out, “It is finished,” since the sacrifice was complete. That means that you must not rely upon what you are doing for salvation, but in Him and what He has done.

We have thought about preparing to meet God, praying and confessing our sin. Go to Him today, confess that you are a sinner and need His forgiveness as your Saviour. Forsake the world, turn from your sin and trust in Him. Make it your aim and priority in life to use your time wisely and meet with the Lord as often as you can. Seek to walk with Him, seek to live for Him and seek to live with Him. Finally, be assured of this. All that the Father gives Him, He shall by no means cast away (John 6:37). For whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved (Romans 10:13).