Since
my PC has been down and I have not been able to post weekly, I am trying to
catch up so I am combining lesson 12 and 13.
Then I should be on track for the next lesson. However lesson 14 will not be posted until
after the first of the year. BSF takes a
Christmas break and we will not return to class until January 2015. So enjoy your Christmas and have a blessed
holiday.
Exodus 33:7-34:1-35 – Lesson 12
Exodus 33:7-17 – God’s Presence
In the
last lesson we learned that God was not willing to live among the Israelites
since they had disobeyed and worshiped the golden calf. They had lost that privilege. Moses set up a temporary tent until a more permanent
one could be built. This Tent of Meeting
was outside the camp where he could go and worship God. The people stood at their tents and paid
attention and watched Moses when he went into the tent. Each time Moses went into the tent the pillar
of cloud would come down and stay at the entrance. When they saw this, they bowed down and
worship. This showed the people were
sorry for their disobedience of worshiping the golden calf and they repented.
“The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with
his friend.” – Ex. 33:11. God spoke directly to Moses probably not
actually face to face, because the Bible says that no one can see God’s face
and live (Ex. 33:20). It was more mouth to mouth, maybe feeling His
presence and even seeing the form of the Lord.
Moses made an appointment with God regularly. God wanted a relationship with Him as He does
with us. He wants us to make an
appointment with Him and keep it. You
make hair appointments and you wouldn’t dare miss them, would you? So don’t miss your appointments with God. Set aside a time and a place and keep your
appointment.
Moses
yearned to know more of who God was. He
asked God to teach him God’s ways so he could please God (Ex. 33:13). Moses said if
He would go with them everyone would know that He was pleased with Moses and
the Israelites. Moses wanted him and the
people to be distinguished from other peoples of the earth (Ex. 33:16). Then the Lord
said He would do all the Moses asked.
Do you
know God? To know God we must
listen to Him, study our Bible, and stay on our knees in prayer.
Will
you commit to spend with time with God daily? Pray out loud and hear yourself worship Him.
Will
you ask God to partner with you?
Does
your character distinguish you from those who do not know God?
Principle: A believer’s greatest need is the awareness
and leading of God’s presence.
Exodus 33:18-34:28 – God’s Glory
Moses
got what he asked for and now he’s wanting more. He said show me your glory. The more you know about God the more you want
to know. God gives Moses something
better. The Lord then revealed Himself
to Moses. He showed Moses His goodness
by passing by him and protecting Moses by hiding him in the cleft of a rock as
He passed by.
Then
the Lord told Moses to chisel out 2 stone tables like the first ones and write
on them the same words. God then
revealed His attributes to Moses, “The Lord, the
compassionate and gracious God, slow anger, abounding in love and faithfulness,
maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and
sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty
unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the
fathers to the third and fourth generation.” – Ex. 34:6-7.
What
does it mean to punish children to the third and fourth generation? It means that there are consequences to
general sin. An example of this is when
a parent is arrested for murder or theft and serves time in prison. Their children suffer. They are deprived of their fathers love and
companionship.
Moses
bowed down and worshiped God and asked forgiveness for him and the people and
to take them as His inheritance. Then
God renewed His covenant with the people.
This reminded them of their faith and renewed their confidence for now
God would be with them again. This covenant
is known as the Ten Commandments.
Principle: God reveals His character and glory through
His Word.
Exodus 34:29-35 – God’s Radiance
Moses
was there on the mountain for 40 days and nights writing all the things the
Lord had told him. When he came down
from the mountain with the tablets, his face was radiant because he had spoken
with the Lord. Some of God’s radiance
was passed onto him. The people were
afraid when they saw him. Then he called
to them and gave them the commands of the Lord.
They
had a glimpse of God’s power. The golden
calf did not show any change, but God’s power showed on Moses face.
Principle: God’s glory is reflected in believers who
seek His presence.
Do
others see God’s character in you?
This
lesson teaches us about God’s character.
He is loving and merciful. He is
a forgiving God and is always ready to forgive when we ask Him. He wants to reveal Himself to us. He wants us to see His glory.
____________________________________________
Exodus 35-40 – Lesson 13
Exodus 35-40:16 –
God’s Instructions
Moses
received instruction for the work of the tabernacle. The first command of God given before the
people began their work was to work 6 days and rest on the 7th, the
Sabbath. God wanted the people to set
aside a day to worship Him. He wants us
to worship Him, not only on Sunday, but every day of the week and in everything
we do.
The
people supplied all the materials needed for the tabernacle. God said if they were willing to bring
offerings of gold, silver, bronze, blue, purple, scarlet yarn and fine line,
etc. (Ex. 35:4-9). They had so much offered that Moses had to
tell them to stop bringing anymore. (Ex.
36:5-7). They gave joyfully and out
of gratitude. “Each
man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under
compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” - 2 Cor. 9:7
Are you
a cheerful giver?
Principle: God’s forgiveness changes duty into joyful
obedience.
The
Lord chose Bezalel and Oholiab and filled them with His Spirit and with skills,
abilities, and knowledge in all kinds of crafts. He also filled Oholiab with the ability to
teach others. The Lord also filled
others who were willing with skills.
Every person had a part to play in building the tabernacle.
This is
a good lesson for us. God gives each one
of us skills and abilities and He wants us to not waste them, but use
them. When He calls, He also equips. God uses all kinds of people to do His work. If you think you are not sure just what your
abilities are, ask God to show them to you.
Then ask Him to show you how to put them to work for Him.
How do
you use the skills and talents God has given you?
God
repeats the details from Exodus 25-31. He does this to show the importance of the
tabernacle. The tabernacle is the
picture of Jesus’ work to come. He
repeats the phrase “as the Lord commanded”.
This phrase is repeated 8 times in these verses. The people had been ungrateful and
disobedient by making the golden calf, but now their hearts were willing and
they did what the Lord commanded and so Moses blessed them. Blessing always follows obedience.
In what
ways do you do as the Lord commands?
Exodus 40:17-33 –
Moses’ Inspection
Moses inspected
the work and blessed the people, because they did just as the Lord commanded. It must be done His way to receive a
blessing. It had to be done exactly His
way for Him to dwell with them. They
didn’t understand it, but Heb 8:5 says
- “They serve at a sanctuary that is a copy and shadow
of what is in heaven. This is why Moses
was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle; ‘See to it that you make
everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.’”.
They
were set it up on the first day of the first month in the second year. This was the anniversary of the Passover,
when the Israelites were delivered from slavery in Egypt. God told Moses to set up the Ark of Testimony
first. This was where God would dwell. God was fulfilling His plan. This is a picture of God’s design for
salvation. We don’t get that from
Exodus, but from Heb. 8-10.
What do
you need to change to do just as God commands?
Principle: God’s biggest work is done in the hearts of
people.
He
wants to dwell in your heart. You are
His tabernacle.
Exodus 40:34-38 –
God’s Dwelling
When
the tabernacle was fully assembled, the cloud covered it and was filled with
the glory of the Lord. Moses could not
enter the tabernacle, because God was so majestic and powerful that no man
could enter. God kept His promise. He promised He would dwell among them and He
did just that. Pentecost is equivalent
of this event. There at Pentecost the
Holy Spirit filled the early Christians.
The Holy Spirit fills Christians today. “Repent and be baptized every one of you, in
the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your fins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy
Spirit.” – Acts 2:38.
Has God
given you the Holy Spirit?
We
don’t have the cloud of glory, but we have something better. We have the Holy Spirit. God gives His Holy Spirit to each one who is
His child through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit is the very presence of God. He indwells in us. He guides and protects us. He is God’s voice. He gives us wisdom and understanding. He is God’s gracious gift to us.
The
Lord promised to guide and protect them and He did just that. When the cloud was lifted the people could
travel and when it did not lift they did not move. “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 house of Israel during all their t ravels.” Ex. 40:38. The cloud protected them from the harsh
desert conditions. It protected them for
their enemies by shielding them as they traveled. We need to Holy Spirit for our protection.
The
tabernacle points to the work of Jesus.
Jesus is our Moses, our salvation.
Jesus is our mediator before the Father.
Jesus is the lamb that was sacrificed for our sins. Jesus is our way out of Egypt. Jesus is our bread in the wilderness. Jesus is the light on the lampstand bringing
light to a dark world. Jesus is the
basin of our cleansing that cleanses us from our sins. Jesus is our great High Priest interceding
for us to the Father. Jesus is the blood
on the mercy seat, the atonement that reconciles us to God.
God
entered the finished work of the tabernacle.
When God sees the work of Jesus, His presence enters us through the Holy
Spirit. We are His tabernacle, the place
when God is dwelling.
Principle: The Holy Spirit lives in us and glorifies God
through us.
What
changes do you need to make to prepare your tabernacle?
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