Exodus Chapter 40

Exodus 40:1 And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying,

This is how it was in the Old Testament time period. Israel was chosen of God for His purposes. Yet only a few were able to communicate directly to God and intercede on behalf of the congregation. God chose them for that purpose. Moses was one of these chosen of God to lead the people to the land He promised Abraham.

Until the coming of the Messiah the only way to know the mind of God was to go to one of His true prophets. We are privileged in this day and age to have a way to God for young, old, rich, poor, male, female, Jew or Gentile. This was done when God sent His only Son into the world to become one of us. Yet He was different in one way. Except for young children under the age of accountability, this man was the only man who lived on the earth to the age of adulthood without sin.

In order for His death on the cross to pay the price for all of our sin, the person dying had to be spotless and without sin. This man was none other than Jesus Christ. When we dare to believe this and receive Jesus into our lives, we can have access to God the Father just like Moses did.

Now instead of going through a prophet or priest, we are all priests and saints awaiting the second coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ. Yeshua, the Messiah of Israel.

1Peter 2:5 Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.

How beautiful is the message of salvation. A way back to God our Father. Reconciliation, redemption and peace. God has great things for those that trust in Him. Maybe not in this life but in eternity there is peace and joy forever that no one past, present or future can take away from us.

Exodus 40:2 On the first day of the first month shalt thou set up the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation.
3 And thou shalt put therein the ark of the testimony, and cover the ark with the veil.
4 And thou shalt bring in the table, and set in order the things that are to be set in order upon it; and thou shalt bring in the candlestick, and light the lamps thereof.
5 And thou shalt set the altar of gold for the incense before the ark of the testimony, and put the hanging of the door to the tabernacle.
6 And thou shalt set the altar of the burnt offering before the door of the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation.
7 And thou shalt set the laver between the tent of the congregation and the altar, and shalt put water therein.
8 And thou shalt set up the court round about, and hang up the hanging at the court gate.
9 And thou shalt take the anointing oil, and anoint the tabernacle, and all that is therein, and shalt hallow it, and all the vessels thereof: and it shall be holy.
10 And thou shalt anoint the altar of the burnt offering, and all his vessels, and sanctify the altar: and it shall be an altar most holy.
11 And thou shalt anoint the laver and his foot, and sanctify it.
12 And thou shalt bring Aaron and his sons unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and wash them with water.
13 And thou shalt put upon Aaron the holy garments, and anoint him, and sanctify him; that he may minister unto me in the priest's office.
14 And thou shalt bring his sons, and clothe them with coats:
15 And thou shalt anoint them, as thou didst anoint their father, that they may minister unto me in the priest's office: for their anointing shall surely be an everlasting priesthood throughout their generations.

No person could decide in himself that he wanted to be a priest. He had to be called and anointed of God. This way of worship and service was good and showed them the way of holiness, how holy God was and how serious sin was. They was not to take this lightly. God was making plans to redeem a fallen world back to their creator. The law was a school master to bring us to Christ who at that time was in the future. These holy important ordinances was put in place until the time when God would send in the one Moses spoke of in Deuteronomy to make a permanent sacrifice for sin and usher in the gift of eternal life and reconciliation with God our Father.

Deuteronomy 18:15 The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken;

Hearken means to listen, to take heed, to follow and receive this prophet as a messenger and intercessor from God.

Deuteronomy 18:18 I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him.
19 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him.

A lot of men have claimed to be this prophet but only Jesus Christ fulfills all that was needed to bring salvation and bridge the gap between God and man that was caused by sin. Sin separates all of us from God and someone had to remove that sin before we can come to God and be reconciled to our creator. This Jesus did.

Isaiah 53 describes the suffering of the Messiah. It is a perfect description of the Messiah or Christ.

Exodus 40:16 Thus did Moses: according to all that the LORD commanded him, so did he.
17 And it came to pass in the first month in the second year, on the first day of the month, that the tabernacle was reared up.
18 And Moses reared up the tabernacle, and fastened his sockets, and set up the boards thereof, and put in the bars thereof, and reared up his pillars.
19 And he spread abroad the tent over the tabernacle, and put the covering of the tent above upon it; as the LORD commanded Moses.
20 And he took and put the testimony into the ark, and set the staves on the ark, and put the mercy seat above upon the ark:
21 And he brought the ark into the tabernacle, and set up the veil of the covering, and covered the ark of the testimony; as the LORD commanded Moses.
22 And he put the table in the tent of the congregation, upon the side of the tabernacle northward, without the veil.
23 And he set the bread in order upon it before the LORD; as the LORD had commanded Moses.
24 And he put the candlestick in the tent of the congregation, over against the table, on the side of the tabernacle southward.
25 And he lighted the lamps before the LORD; as the LORD commanded Moses.
26 And he put the golden altar in the tent of the congregation before the veil:
27 And he burnt sweet incense thereon; as the LORD commanded Moses.
28 And he set up the hanging at the door of the tabernacle.
29 And he put the altar of burnt offering by the door of the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation, and offered upon it the burnt offering and the meat offering; as the LORD commanded Moses.
30 And he set the laver between the tent of the congregation and the altar, and put water there, to wash withal.
31 And Moses and Aaron and his sons washed their hands and their feet thereat:
32 When they went into the tent of the congregation, and when they came near unto the altar, they washed; as the LORD commanded Moses.
33 And he reared up the court round about the tabernacle and the altar, and set up the hanging of the court gate. So Moses finished the work.
34 Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.
35 And Moses was not able to enter into the tent of the congregation, because the cloud abode thereon, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.
36 And when the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the children of Israel went onward in all their journeys:
37 But if the cloud were not taken up, then they journeyed not till the day that it was taken up.
38 For the cloud of the LORD was upon the tabernacle by day, and fire was on it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys.

God didn't leave them without direction. They followed the cloud. If the cloud remained where it was, they stayed where they were. If they cloud moved. They moved.

What an object lesson that is for us. Once we find God through faith in Jesus Christ, we follow Him. Where He leads, we follow. To get away from that path is to get into trouble.

God is wonderful and holy. He prepared a way for Him to dwell with these people He chose to bring the message of salvation to the world. They probably didn't realize who they had with them.

God wants to dwell with His creation. It is us that holds back, not God. As we study the children of Israel we do see that this was only temporary until the time when the temple was built by Solomon. Yet Solomon himself forsook the Lord and worshipped other gods and that temple was later destroyed.

God made a better plan in which He provides salvation for all mankind who will simply believe. To believe in Jesus Christ means to believe in what He came to do. We must believe that we are sinners in need of a savior. We must believe Jesus is that savior sent from God to save us from sin. We must believe to the point of being willing to turn away from sin and turn to God for salvation. We must believe Jesus is God that came into the flesh of man to save us from sin and reconcile us back to God. We must believe that Jesus died and was buried and rose again the third day. To simply believe like a little child will save the soul from eternal death and grant us eternal life.

Romans 10:9 says that if we confess with our mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in our heart that God has raised him from the dead, we will be saved.

It doesn't say, if we join the Mormon church, the Catholic church or if we live a good life doing a few good deeds. It says if we believe in the one God sent to save us. To be saved we must believe that we need to be saved. To be free from sin, we must believe that Jesus came to free us from sin. Simple child-like faith is enough to save. We don't have to be some great person doing some great thing. We must remember also that God wants to save. God wants us to make heaven. God loves us and it is never His will that any one of us should perish. DC

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