Exodus 26:1-30
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Let’s go to Nepal. “I came to faith in Jesus two years ago. I was a sorcerer. Although I engaged in a variety of ritualistic activities, I still struggled with anxiety and a lack of joy in my life. During that time, I heard the gospel from many sources. Later, a newcomer arrived in our village and started preaching the gospel. Many times, people beat him and threatened him so he would leave. But he persisted boldly and continued his work. Then I made the decision and mustered the courage to accept and adhere to the Truth. I found Christ thanks to him and the Heralds of Hope radio programs. Thank you.”
Wow! thank Jesus for His great salvation, we are humbled to partner with him and trust that He will continue to use this program to glorify Himself.
Again, we thank you for joining us and trust that you have been encouraged by hearing from our listeners. Now if you can open your Bibles to Exodus and let’s give our attention to Pastor J Mark as he shares today’s lesson with us.
Can you experience what you cannot see? Have you ever thought about that? There are some facts of life that are real, but they are not visible. Can you see the air you breathe? Of course not, but it is real. You can’t see the physical law of gravity, but you will see its effects if you drop something from your hand. So, you CAN experience what you cannot see. You can experience God too, although you cannot see Him. I want to help you experience God.
When God led Israel out of Egypt it was for the express reason that He wanted to reveal Himself to them, so He had to prepare them for that revelation. He wanted His presence to be real among them so He ordered Moses to build the tabernacle or the tent so that He could be among them. While the Tabernacle was not God, it was a tangible representation of His presence.
In the Book of Exodus, we have the description clearly given. The instructions on how to make the tent itself are found in Exodus 26:1-30. It was THE TENT TO MEET GOD. It was to teach Israel and all of us that God dwells among His people in a separate and holy place. Yet He is there in their midst.
1. Moreover thou shalt make the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet: with cherubim of cunning work shalt thou make them.
2. The length of one curtain shall be eight and twenty cubits, and the breadth of one curtain four cubits: and every one of the curtains shall have one measure.
3. The five curtains shall be coupled together one to another; and the other five curtains shall be coupled one to another.
7. And thou shalt make curtains of goats’ hair to be a covering upon the tabernacle: eleven curtains shalt thou make.
8. The length of one curtain shall be thirty cubits, and the breadth of one curtain four cubits: and the eleven curtains shall be all of one measure.
9. And thou shalt couple five curtains by themselves, and six curtains by themselves, and shalt double the sixth curtain in the forefront of the tabernacle.
12. And the remnant that remains of the curtains of the tent, the half curtain that remains, shall hang over the backside of the tabernacle.
13. And a cubit on the one side, and a cubit on the other side of that which remains in the length of the curtains of the tent, it shall hang over the sides of the tabernacle on this side and on that side, to cover it.
14. And thou shalt make a covering for the tent of rams’ skins dyed red, and a covering above of badgers’ skins.
15. And thou shalt make boards for the tabernacle of shittim wood standing up.
16. Ten cubits shall be the length of a beard, and a cubit and a half shall be the breadth of one board.
17. Two tenons shall there be in one board, set in order one against another: thus, shalt thou make for all the boards of the tabernacle.
18. And thou shalt make the boards for the tabernacle, twenty boards on the south side southward.
29. And thou shalt overlay the boards with gold and make their rings of gold for places for the bars: and thou shalt overlay the bars with gold.
30. And thou shalt rear up the tabernacle according to the fashion thereof which was showed thee in the mount.
In these verses we find the PARTICULARS for building the tabernacle carefully given.
The First PARTICULAR is,
The Materials.
Every detail was carefully given to Moses for the materials to be used to construct the tent. The inner curtains were to be made of fine twined linen. Much of this linen probably came from the garments of the Egyptians that they loaded on the Israelites as they left Egypt. The outer curtains were to be made of goats’ hair, of rams’ skins dyed red and badger skins. So, the materials were fine twined linen, goat hair, badger skins and ram skins. Notice that the curtains were to be arranged so that there would be loops and clasps and the whole unit was to be one.
The walls were to be made of wood, acacia wood. This was probably the only wood of any consequence that was available to Israel in the wilderness. It is a very dense and durable wood, resistant to rot and insects. The boards of acacia wood were to be covered with gold and set in sockets of silver. Then, long bars were inserted through the boards in some way, fastening the entire tabernacle together.
A careful outline was given for each material and each process. The particulars are carefully given. There could be no mistake. The materials were carefully outlined because each one had significance and God was instructing Moses how to build that tent where they could meet Him. Nothing was left to chance.
God has left nothing to chance in providing a place for us to meet Him. We meet Him through Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. We meet Him by faith at the foot of the Cross.
The Next PARTICULAR is,
The Measurements.
Each of the several curtains was carefully described. The curtains, which were made of fine twined linen, were fourteen meters long and two meters wide, or twenty-eight cubits and four cubits. They were coupled together to make one. There were ten curtains of linen.
The curtains of goats’ hair were to be longer, the same width but longer: fifteen meters long and two meters wide. There were to be eleven of these. So, the goats’ hair curtains were to be larger when they were put together, five in one part and six in another part.
The boards were five meters long and three-fourths of a meter wide. On the north side and south side there were to be twenty boards, so the south and north sides were fifteen meters long. On the west side there were to be six boards which would be five meters wide.
There were no boards given for the east side. That was to be covered with a curtain. It was to be open to the east. So, the tabernacle was three times as long as it was wide.
It was arranged so that it could be set up with sockets and tenons and bars. It could be taken apart, packed up, carried, and moved from place to place. The measurements were accurately given like the materials were carefully described.
God is the one who sets the standard for how we may approach Him.
The Third PARTICULAR is,
The Meaning.
What is the meaning of all this? I have said that it is the tent for meeting with God. It meant that God was living among them.
I was especially impressed with the colors. You notice the blue, purple, and scarlet. The blue would remind them of heaven, of course, for that was the color of the sky. Purple is the color of royalty. The king of all the earth was to be among them. Scarlet would certainly remind them of the blood that was shed in the sacrifices of the animals.
The meaning of the curtains and the coverings was that the divine presence must be approached with reverence. God’s presence was awesome. He must be approached with care. Yet He was truly among them.
Then the metals, the gold, silver, and the brass, each had meaning. The gold and silver are precious metals renowned for their purity and value. The brass, an alloy of copper and tin, a blending together, may represent God’s divine fellowship with mankind.
God was dwelling among His people in this tent of meeting. Thus, every part spoke of God’s presence with them. Every particular was important: the materials, the measurements, and the meaning. God wanted their worship and devotion.
You know something, God wants your worship and devotion, too. This record of the building of the Tabernacle speaks to us about the reality of God. He is real. You can experience what you cannot see if you come to Him in the way that He has outlined in His Word. Just as the particulars were important for Moses in building the tabernacle so they are important for you and me when we come to God.
Thanks J Mark for this teaching and thank you for being here for this teaching from God’s Word. As we are going through this section of Exodus, I am so thankful for the completed work of Jesus Christ, through Him we have confidence to enter God’s presence. He has opened for us a new and living way, no longer do we have to abide by the Old Testament standards. Hallelujah Jesus Christ is the way!
If you have any questions or if you’d like a copy of today’s teaching, here are a few ways you can contact us. The best way is via email. Our email is [email protected]. If you don’t have email, you could write to us, our address is Hope for Today, Box 3, Breezewood, Pennsylvania 15533. Or you can connect with us on our website. Our website is Heraldsofhope.org. On our website you will find other teaching similar to this and more helpful resources, please look around while you are there. And If you go to the connect tab you can message us directly. Again, the website is heraldsofhope.org.
Thank you so much for being with us. We look forward to next week and hope you will join us for more lessons from Exodus. I will finish with a verse from Hebrews 9 on Christ’s finished work, “But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come… 12 he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption.”
*This episode is an exposition of Exodus 26:1-30 by J. Otis Yoder, re-recorded by J. Mark Horst, with an opening and closing by Arlin Horst.