April 28, 2023

Completing the Tabernacle

Exodus 40

John Cimmerman
Friday's Devo

April 28, 2023

Friday's Devo

April 28, 2023

Friday's Devo

April 28, 2023

Friday's Devo

April 28, 2023

Big Idea

God reveals the way and His will through His Word.

Key Verse | Exodus 40:38

For the cloud of the LORD was on the tabernacle by day, and fire was in it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel throughout all their journeys.

Exodus 40

The Tabernacle Erected

1 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “On the first day of the first month you shall erect the tabernacle of the tent of meeting. 3 And you shall put in it the ark of the testimony, and you shall screen the ark with the veil. 4 And you shall bring in the table and arrange it, and you shall bring in the lampstand and set up its lamps. 5 And you shall put the golden altar for incense before the ark of the testimony, and set up the screen for the door of the tabernacle. 6 You shall set the altar of burnt offering before the door of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting, 7 and place the basin between the tent of meeting and the altar, and put water in it. 8 And you shall set up the court all around, and hang up the screen for the gate of the court.

9 Then you shall take the anointing oil and anoint the tabernacle and all that is in it, and consecrate it and all its furniture, so that it may become holy. 10 You shall also anoint the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and consecrate the altar, so that the altar may become most holy. 11 You shall also anoint the basin and its stand, and consecrate it. 12 Then you shall bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the tent of meeting and shall wash them with water 13 and put on Aaron the holy garments. And you shall anoint him and consecrate him, that he may serve me as priest. 14 You shall bring his sons also and put coats on them, 15 and anoint them, as you anointed their father, that they may serve me as priests. And their anointing shall admit them to a perpetual priesthood throughout their generations.”

16 This Moses did; according to all that the LORD commanded him, so he did. 17 In the first month in the second year, on the first day of the month, the tabernacle was erected. 18 Moses erected the tabernacle. He laid its bases, and set up its frames, and put in its poles, and raised up its pillars. 19 And he spread the tent over the tabernacle and put the covering of the tent over it, as the LORD had commanded Moses. 20 He took the testimony and put it into the ark, and put the poles on the ark and set the mercy seat above on the ark. 21 And he brought the ark into the tabernacle and set up the veil of the screen, and screened the ark of the testimony, as the LORD had commanded Moses. 22 He put the table in the tent of meeting, on the north side of the tabernacle, outside the veil, 23 and arranged the bread on it before the LORD, as the LORD had commanded Moses. 24 He put 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 had commanded Moses. 26 He put the golden altar in the tent of meeting before the veil, 27 and burned fragrant incense on it, as the LORD had commanded Moses. 28 He put in place the screen for the door of the tabernacle. 29 And he set the altar of burnt offering at the entrance of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting, and offered on it the burnt offering and the grain offering, as the LORD had commanded Moses. 30 He set the basin between the tent of meeting and the altar, and put water in it for washing, 31 with which Moses and Aaron and his sons washed their hands and their feet. 32 When they went into the tent of meeting, and when they approached the altar, they washed, as the LORD commanded Moses. 33 And he erected the court around the tabernacle and the altar, and set up the screen of the gate of the court. So Moses finished the work.

The Glory of the LORD

34 Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. 35 And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled on it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. 36 Throughout all their journeys, whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the people of Israel would set out. 37 But if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not set out till the day that it was taken up. 38 For the cloud of the LORD was on the tabernacle by day, and fire was in it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel throughout all their journeys.

S2:080 Exodus 40

Listen Now

Dive Deeper | Exodus 40

The tabernacle is one of the finest portraits of Jesus and His redemption in the Old Testament. Each of the furnishings in the tabernacle symbolize Jesus and are summarized below.

The Outer Court:

The Door of the Tabernacle (Exodus 26:36) symbolizes Jesus as the only way to God (John 10:9, 14:6).

The Altar of Burnt Offering/Sacrifice (Exodus 27:1-8) portrays the crucifixion of Jesus (Mark 15:21-39).

The Bronze Laver (Exodus 30:18-21) symbolizes Jesus providing cleansing of our sins (1 John 1:7).

The Holy Place:

The Table of Showbread (Exodus 25:23-30) contains twelve loaves of bread. Jesus is the bread of life (John 6:35). 

The golden Lampstand (Exodus 25:31-39) stood across from the table of showbread and was continually burning. Jesus is the light of the world (John 8:12).

The Altar of Incense (Exodus 30:1-10) stands before the veil of the Holy of Holies and symbolizes the prayers of believers ascending to God (Revelation 8:3-4).

The Holy of Holies:

A veil (Exodus 26:33-37) stood at its entrance. God tore this curtain in two when Jesus died (Matthew 27:50-51a).

The Ark of the Covenant (Exodus 25:10-22) stood as a continual reminder of God's willingness to live among His people and His great mercy. Jesus lived among people and demonstrated mercy (John 1:14).

The solid gold Mercy Seat (Exodus 25:17-22) served as a lid of the Ark of the Covenant. It symbolizes the sprinkled blood of Jesus being poured out for our sins (1 Peter 2:24).

We are God's Temple:

"Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore, honor God with your bodies." (1 Corinthians 6:19-20, NIV) "The Christian is a man who thinks not of his rights but of his debts. He can never do what he likes, because he never belongs to himself; he must always do what Christ likes, because Christ bought him at the cost of His life." (Commentary on 1 Corinthians  6:12-20, Daily Study Bible (https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/dsb/1-corinthians-6.html).

This month's memory verse

4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. 5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand;

– Philippians 4:4-5

Discussion Questions

1. Jesus is the door to salvation. Are you sharing this with the people in your world?

2. Jesus died on the cross for your sins. Do you surrender your life daily? (Romans 12:1-2)

3. The laver symbolizes Jesus cleansing your sins. Are you confessing your sins to God for forgiveness daily? (Psalm 51:2)

4. The Lampstand is symbolic that Jesus is the light of the world (Matthew 5:16). If you were arrested for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?

5. The veil separated God's presence from the people. When God tore the curtain of the Temple (Matthew 27:51), He made access through Christ available to everyone. How is your prayer life? (Hebrews 4:16; Matthew 7:7-11)

As we gear up to release even more features for Join The Journey in 2025, our staff team, unfortunately, no longer has the margin to continue to support the comment functionality. We have big things in store for Join The Journey 2025. Stay tuned!

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Hugh Stephenson

Good morning brother John! What an amazing devo. But it’s not a surprise coming from you. So glad we are on the same team fighting spiritual battles together with so many others. Q1. Amy and I carry Bridge Illustration foldouts and give them out. I love doing that and sharing a brief testimony. Q2. I was taught in re:gen leaders meetings to start every day with Luke 9:23. Most days I have to focus extra hard because dying to myself is not what my flesh wants to do. Q3. There is so much swirling around in my head that needs confessing that I wouldn’t blame God if he muted me. Q4. I sure hope so. Q5. I have zig zagged on different approaches to prayer. I like the approach Amy discovered in The Praying Life, https://a.co/d/1Imyj1X Got Qs has some great equipping on prayer, https://www.gotquestions.org/questions_prayer.html
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Hugh Stephenson

Among my favorite verses in all of Scripture is Exodus 40:34. “Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.” What a Hollywood moment! To me, this is the pinnacle and climax of the book. 430 years in Egypt hearing nothing. Favor turns to slavery. They don’t really know who God is. Then He rescues. But they’re in the desert and don’t know where to go and how to get there. “Who is He and how do I relate to Him?” These questions get answered. What a huge praise it must have been to hear this promise of God; Exodus 29:45-46. Matthew Henry comments- “Note, Those are truly happy that have a covenant-interest in God as theirs and the comfortable evidence of that interest. If we have this, we have enough, and need no more to make us happy.” In a recent retreat with the group from The Eden Project we learned about how our attachment figures form our understanding of who God is to us. For me, my parents were distant and not very involved unless I broke some rule. Therefore, to me, God was a cosmic referee with a striped shirt and a whistle. This short video is powerful. Please watch it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IeHcsFqK7So&t=63s For me, the baby in this video represents my expression of content/utopia and discontent/dystopia that is determined by my felt presence of God. The Eden Project guys have a great way to describe what we’re longing for- The Journey Home. Theedenproject.com Shane and Shane sing about HOME- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YyuYmVFObT4
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Hugh Stephenson

Yet…I seem to be more interested in hearing from His servants than hearing from Him. Devos and music are incredibly important. But no substitute for hearing from him. https://utmost.org/are-you-listening-to-god/ I’m convicted by Exodus 20:19. I understand the Israelites reluctance. I don’t want to be vaporized by Him either. But maybe I do if it gets me to Heaven sooner? If I truly value dwelling with him now and forever then I should deeply desire to hear from Him directly as well as hearing from His servants. Like many, my favorite psalm is Psalm 23. David opens with a testimony “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” And closes with a promise “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.” But the best is a reprise of the epic moment at the first Linger Conference. A panel was answering the question for the audience, “Should I expect to hear God speak to me audibly”. When the mic got to John Piper he picked it up and said, “If you want to hear God speak to you read the Bible out loud.”
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Michael Sisson

Re: Ex 40:9-15 Every part of the Mishkan (Tabernacle or Dwelling) was anointed with shemen ha-mishchah (anointing oil). Note that the word "mishchah" (מִשְׁחָה) comes from the same root as "Mashiach" (Messiah; מָשִׁיחַ), indicating that the Mishkan would foreshadow God's plan of redemption given in Yeshua haMashiach (Jesus Christ). Re: Ex 40:34 Ex 40:34 (NASB) Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and >>>the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.<<< See also Dt 26:15, Jn 1:14, 2Chr 6:18, Rev 19:13; 21:3, 2Cor 5:1-4, Heb 1:3. Re: Ex 40:38 Ex 40:38 (NASB) For >>>throughout all their journeys, the cloud of the LORD was on the tabernacle by day, and there was fire in it by night,<<< in the sight of all the house of Israel. For a deeper dive into how the Tabernacle points to Jesus Christ, click the sermon link below. Teaching from Hebrews 9, D. Thomas Lancaster, PhD explains how the Tabernacle illustrates the passage from this world, through Messiah, to the World to Come. https://www.bethimmanuel.org/sites/default/files/audio/protos_and_deuteros.mp3
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Shawn Foster

Terrific devotional John. Really sheds light on this chapter. Good to see you and Thank you very much for leading by example! Hope you and you all have a great day of worship.
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George Dalton

Awesome devotional John. Proud to be able to call you friend and brother. Love you brother.
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Sue Bohlin

BOFFO devo, John!! Bless you!!! Your last paragraph about us being a temple of the Holy Spirit sent me down a rabbit hole in search of what John Dyer (technology genius at Dallas Seminary) created as "The Y'all Version" (https://www.yallversion.com) that changes all the second person plurals in the Hebrew and Greek to the regional vernacular of your choice, so what Paul intended to say here was: "Or do y’all not know that y’all’s body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in y’all, whom y’all have from God, and that y’all are not y’all’s own? For y’all have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in y’all’s body." But before I got sidetracked by your last paragraph, when I was reading Exodus 40, what struck me was the parallel between Moses arranging the holy furniture and setting out the holy things, and how living out Romans 12:1 makes our everyday tasks a spiritual service of worship. Today I will speak to students at a Christian school in Mexico via Zoom, followed by cooking and preparing to welcome people to our home for dinner by setting the table, and all these elements of my day are worship. Just as much as Moses' activities in directing the setup of the tabernacle were worship.
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Michael Scaman

Reminds me of the time we build a tabernacle for VBC in NY, scaled down instead of 10 ft walls 3 ft . A retired AT&T man enjoyed building the temple with me and being the high priest. The little kids tried to pick up the heavy tablets but the weight of the law was too much. But just as John the Baptist said 'He must increase and I must decrease. The manna and Aaron's rod missing from the ark in the 1st temple, the ark missing in the 2nd temple, the temple taken away in 70AD , members of the church became like a mobile temple moving into the world and the spotlight on Jesus. In the spirit of 'open access', the veil was torn with no one disputing that, and in Ezekiel's temple in the future there is 'open access' with not 1 but 4 doors N S E W and people streaming through them in one door out the other and 'the prince will be with them'.
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Amy Lowther

1. Yes. 2. Yes. 3. Yes. 4. Yes. 5. It is good. Currently I am praying daily and I am especially praying for CLC which occurs next week.