September 30th, 2014
Today’s reading from Encounter with God

Life’s Purpose

Please see the links to our EXTRA Bible Study notes at the bottom of the page.

Opening Prayer

Lord, I praise You for Your grace beyond deserving, love beyond imagining, patience beyond all reason.

Read Exodus 40:1-38

[1] Then the LORD said to Moses: [2] “Set up the tabernacle, the tent of meeting, on the first day of the first month. [3] Place the ark of the covenant law in it and shield the ark with the curtain. [4] Bring in the table and set out what belongs on it. Then bring in the lampstand and set up its lamps. [5] Place the gold altar of incense in front of the ark of the covenant law and put the curtain at the entrance to the tabernacle. [6] “Place the altar of burnt offering in front of the entrance to the tabernacle, the tent of meeting; [7] place the basin between the tent of meeting and the altar and put water in it. [8] Set up the courtyard around it and put the curtain at the entrance to the courtyard. [9] “Take the anointing oil and anoint the tabernacle and everything in it; consecrate it and all its furnishings, and it will be holy. [10] Then anoint the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils; consecrate the altar, and it will be most holy. [11] Anoint the basin and its stand and consecrate them. [12] “Bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance to the tent of meeting and wash them with water. [13] Then dress Aaron in the sacred garments, anoint him and consecrate him so he may serve me as priest. [14] Bring his sons and dress them in tunics. [15] Anoint them just as you anointed their father, so they may serve me as priests. Their anointing will be to a priesthood that will continue throughout their generations.” [16] Moses did everything just as the LORD commanded him. [17] So the tabernacle was set up on the first day of the first month in the second year. [18] When Moses set up the tabernacle, he put the bases in place, erected the frames, inserted the crossbars and set up the posts. [19] Then he spread the tent over the tabernacle and put the covering over the tent, as the LORD commanded him. [20] He took the tablets of the covenant law and placed them in the ark, attached the poles to the ark and put the atonement cover over it. [21] Then he brought the ark into the tabernacle and hung the shielding curtain and shielded the ark of the covenant law, as the LORD commanded him. [22] Moses placed the table in the tent of meeting on the north side of the tabernacle outside the curtain [23] and set out the bread on it before the LORD, as the LORD commanded him. [24] He placed the lampstand in the tent of meeting opposite the table on the south side of the tabernacle [25] and set up the lamps before the LORD, as the LORD commanded him. [26] Moses placed the gold altar in the tent of meeting in front of the curtain [27] and burned fragrant incense on it, as the LORD commanded him. [28] Then he put up the curtain at the entrance to the tabernacle. [29] He set the altar of burnt offering near the entrance to the tabernacle, the tent of meeting, and offered on it burnt offerings and grain offerings, as the LORD commanded him. [30] He placed the basin between the tent of meeting and the altar and put water in it for washing, [31] and Moses and Aaron and his sons used it to wash their hands and feet. [32] They washed whenever they entered the tent of meeting or approached the altar, as the LORD commanded Moses. [33] Then Moses set up the courtyard around the tabernacle and altar and put up the curtain at the entrance to the courtyard. And so Moses finished the work. [34] Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. [35] Moses could not enter the tent of meeting because the cloud had settled on it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. [36] In all the travels of the Israelites, whenever the cloud lifted from above the tabernacle, they would set out; [37] but if the cloud did not lift, they did not set out-until the day it lifted. [38] So the cloud of the LORD was over the tabernacle by day, and fire was in the cloud by night, in the sight of all the Israelites during all their travels.

Scripture taken from the THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Meditate

“Be still, for the presence of the Lord, the Holy One, is here; come bow before him now, with reverence and fear. In him no sound is found, we stand on holy ground. Be still, for the presence of the Lord, the Holy One is here” (David J. Evans).

Think Further

One year after the Exodus and nine months after arriving at Mount Sinai, the Tabernacle is now ready. As only Moses knows its appearance and use, he is charged with the final instructions about the placing of the sacred objects and the commissioning of the priests. These are the finishing touches to the grand design. From now on Israel will have a means of accessing the presence of God, coming before him in worship, receiving forgiveness for their sins and going forward with cleansing, healing and renewed faith.

J.I. Packer writes, “Once you become aware that the main business that you are here for is to know God, most of life’s problems fall into place of their own accord.” Knowing God is a lifelong pursuit that should embody our existence. All the design, construction and effort that has gone into the Tabernacle leads to this, the opportunity to know the presence, love and mercy of God, and respond to him in worship, gratitude and faithful obedience. Despite the Israelites’ many failures along the way, the book of Exodus ends on a high note as they are invited to behold God’s presence descending on the Tabernacle just as the cloud had covered Mount Sinai. This visible, tangible symbol will be with them when they move on from the wilderness and into the Promised Land. The “glory of the Lord” (kavod YHWH; vs. 34,35) is a shorthand expression for God’s glory, majesty, holiness, mercy and all the attributes that make him who he is, and show him to be wholly other to us, his creatures and his creation. His glory, his power and his love will be with Israel, in the midst of their camp and as they go about their daily lives.

Apply

God’s glory is now revealed to us in Jesus (John 1:14), incarnate and resurrected Son of God, our Messiah, Savior and coming King. How will this affect your life today?

Closing prayer

Heavenly Father, You are the God of the cosmos, yet You indwell me. I ask for a greater awareness of Your presence, a greater hunger to walk with You.

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