103 - Indiana Jones and the Rest of the Story!

Survival is more you see on is there something you mean it's just words printed on paper may look like just print on the page but it's more than Inc. join us for the next half hour, as we explore God's word together as we learn how to explore it on around as we ask God to meet us there in its pages welcome to more than eight readers of the lost Ark remember that lots of times we may have that golden box in front of the ark.

Yeah, the ark of the covenant and opened it and stuff And cravings Avenue but not wonderfully know as much about the ark as we think we do. Let's read about today will do that today on more than Inc. will wonderful summer morning to you. I'm Jim and I'm Dorothy were delighted every time you really are delighted would like to just be able to do this but amazed here we sit every week. That's right. And I do have my cup of coffee and what did you have some clients in earlier water so were were already to go over it were an interesting turning point.

Exes are reading through Exodus and before we get into it too deeply. I want to set the context well because from this point on an exit is it's going to be dominated by talking up the tabernacle which is God's tentative itches, temporary dwelling it so as they are marching away from Egypt to Norway from Mount Sinai in the promised land.

You're all Libyan tents. Their intense right now in God's intention is that live in their midst. And so he's instructing Moses right here about how to make a tent to represent the presence of God in them in their midst.

And so that will dominate a lot and and what I really want to point to is the fact that God's going to give Moses for very specific instruction always so deep about this tent and what's inside this tent and these, and we can get distracted by looking at all those details, but what I want us to remember is for two things. Number one.

This is God's way of living amongst his people and allowing people access to him while not being near to him that that topic will come up a lot. He was to be in their midst, but they have a promising and the second thing is that I God is so specific about the design of the tabernacle and the stuff inside that it's meant to be a gigantic teaching illustration about something very profound like, for instance, if you walk into someone else's house, you know a lot about that family. When you walk there is are like you know when you watch Lord of the rings and you remember the first time we went to hovels in the ground you know with a hobby like that. Yeah, I remember seeing that scene think I know a lot about the person that's yeah well, God wants us to know a lot about who he is, by the way he's designing his house and asking to build it so there's nothing arbitrary here. Everything has teaching value so I would challenge you as your listenings are going through. This is a what is this telling me about God was telling me not only about God, but his desire to live amongst us and our access to him and all he said these things all have deep meaning and that we can all sit here in pushback from our Bibles after we read and say no wonder what that means. I wonder why he was like that and this is really for me the most fun part of Bible interpretation. Sit back and say what is God telling me in this very specific instruction about the tabernacle and that's really important to because that the level of detail here is a little bit overwhelmed in visitation and and it's important to just slow down and take each element by itself and just came on it for a little bit and think what you talked about last slow go slow selling tensions there and ask the Lord, you know what what do I need to understand we are trying to communicate to show me yeah I will probably bring this up a couple times but but it is referenced in the New Testament, all of these very specific aspects of the tabernacle reflect a larger Rio drying place of God so that Hebrews says that it says it right that that this is that this is a shadow pattern of the reality and greater spiritual reality. So ask what this is telling you about God in a relationship with him because it's meant to be a teaching tool.

So let's just dive and it's interesting that if the issue here now is to instruct Moses on how to build the tabernacle tent. This just means a portable dwelling. What is he first start off with and this is a fascinating thing. His first couple things will look at the today are the I do not my choices. Well, yes, in the order that in which they appear is important yet before we get into that, let's just remember that this comes immediately after the people have pledged their faithfulness to God right they have participated in that covenant ceremony in chapter 24 will do it.

Then there was the invitation to come up the mountain and the elders of Israel with Moses saw God is what chapter 24 types of right as they see they saw the pavement under his feet, and they had a meal.

As I recall a together in the presence of God and then God invites Moses now come up farther up the mountain and the last thing we read in chapter 24 is about how to the people on the ground and looked like a consuming fire.

Top of the mountain and Moses goes up into it and is up there 40 days and 40 nights, so that's important so the next few chapters are going to concern Moses on the mountain.

In this conversation where God gives them all this great detailed instruction and then were not can actually pick up the narrative of what's happening at the foot of the mountain until we get to chapter 32 and we all know about is right and Crazy but for the next few weeks will just be dealing with this detail between Moses and God on the mountain right and in specific this portable dwelling for God in their midst and God need to tent before the move away from Sinai and start marching across further deserts only interesting thing is, but we can talk about the furniture little bit is that tremendous emphasis on the portability yes rightists can remove and that all breaks down into pieces that human being or a pair of human beings can carry rough desert or wilderness journey is fascinating when you come to factor that into our meeting, we better just start removing are going to start with that specification were starting in chapter 20 fibers want to take it. Okay the Lord said to Moses, speak to the people of Israel, that they take for me a contribution from every man whose heart moves him, you shall receive the contribution for me this is the contribution that you shall receive from them, gold, silver and bronze, blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen goats hair, tanned RAM skins goat skins vacation would oil for the lamps spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense stones and gold for setting for the e-filing for the breast piece and let them make me a sanctuary that I may dwell in their midst exactly as I show you concerning the pattern of the tabernacle and all its furniture so you shall make it so this is where collecting all this valuable stuff. Lord of the stuff come from good question because we thought they ran away for their lives right right but remember when they came out of Egypt. God instructed them now ask the Egyptians for precious stuff in this stuff and I'll be on the list and so that they because they were not wealthy but they received from Egyptians who gladly gave them essentially ransom to go.

That's right.

And you know when we originally read that we thought that was virtually to make them rich and somewhere to give the right to start the nation but hear God saying you to contribute so we can write take a place right presence among you will he says from everyone whose heart moves him yeah that's a great love. This is not attack all the people have to pay to tie this was the notetaking offering because you have seen now what God is done for you give an offering is your heart moves he has your number these precious things so I can you can build a tent and by the way they're not giving this for Moses or Aaron to use basically the giving it to goddesses take for me right.

This is going to God, this is not you know I think lots of times in the Christian church would get we get deterred away single. Here's this needs to will you give toward this need and he doesn't even tell them what the need is here. You notice that he says you need to give these things the all they're doing is, is there giving to the Lord.

But then at the end of that he says is for this purpose. Well, let them make for me sanctuary right as sacred, set apart place that is devoted to the worship of me. Yeah, and I may dwell in their midst on what to settle down grade be in the middle. I they'll have tents. I have so that's the purpose were talking about why that's were put so much effort in the tabernacle it so they can dwell in their midst and they can visibly see him dwelling in their midst.

So that's what this is all about. I might mention to you know back to that point about giving whose heart moves him. That shows up again in Paul's talk in the Corinthian church and he says he says basically that let you give as each has decided in his heart right so there is no course of this in any of the stuff, assist, give and I were in a keenly enough stuff we can make this very important place. The sanctuary is holy place, or man can meet with God.

Interestingly contest so that I can dwell in their midst because up to this point in the book. The separation has been emphasized yet. Back in chapter 19 says now the mountain is only don't come near the mountain. You can die right come near the come near right, but he's no longer going to be just the God is out there.

He's the goddess in their midst, and you have point to his tent and say God is with us yet. What I mean.

What a great assurance to them that this is a guy who wants to actually be in their midst and travel with them was to be with them when there's adversaries out there when there's bad times and there's good times. He wants to be the God that shares life with them on the road as the movie was to be with them. That's his point. He wants to be with them so that that's just a great thing by the way, my point at this were Tabernacle here in verse nine. This is the first place. That word is used here in the Old Testament, but you're going to see it all hello show up in the new testament, and when John says in John Lennon that and the Word became flesh and have called justly us a temporary dwell temporary dwelling place like this. In fact, I was curious this time I looked up that word tabernacle. He comes from a very simple Hebrew. That just means to dwell.

It's the dwelling place of this were about okay so we got our materials being collected for all this. So instead of telling us directly now about the tabernacle. He's gonna tell us about something very important. That's going to be inside the tap. Indeed, it's probably the most important emails to so that's why it's top of the list. So here we go me to read. Okay, so the most important thing inside the tabernacle is the arc of the company. So verse 10 so you shall make an ark of acacia wood. Two cubits and 1/2 shall be its length, a cubit and 1/2 its breath and a cubit and 1/2 its height, and you shall overlay it with pure gold inside and outside show you overlay it, and you shall make it on a molding of gold around and you shall cast four rings of gold for them, put them on its 4 feet, two rings on the one side of it in two rings on the other side of it. There's the portability portability. Yeah. So how to use the rings verse 13 you shall make poles okay.

Make poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold and you shall put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark to carry the ark by them in the polls shall remain in the rings of the ark, they shall not be taken from and you shall put into the ark the testimony that I shall give you so talk about the box. Basically, yeah, that's what our cleats and chest strap a place in which you put something that contained something and it's a box so that raises the question what's in it right and told him that it either, but this is very right here in verse 16. Put into the ark the testimony that I shall give you what is that there's a right specific about that at all, the testimony, but by the way it's it's an interesting word uses because is the same word that we almost always use in courtroom tuitions were we say this is what a witness testifies. And so we do have a sneaky we know what's going in there right and what's going in there is in a sense a witness to words of God, okay God's testimony right God's statement of the truth right to his people about who he is, who they are and what you and and in a weaker and weaker connection. Our modern life. We talked about doing contract to the people you like gypsum on my word to do something you give me your do something take on it. But if we write it on the peeves piece of paper and sign it. You see that there is in print that there's substance to it right there.

I know we said words, but here's a content that's what's going to be in this ark is basically the hard copy of God's promises still cost. Yes, that Moses is going to bring back down the militant, which raises an interesting question. Since we know that's what's going to be inside the ark. How comes the ark is such an important thing in it and will talk about the Lodge going as I thought about this a lot over the years. I'm not sure there's any really right or wrong answers. But while the male yes there is a but I need in terms of any of his having the total take on. I continue to scan a new logo, but this is a fast anything that hears the embodiment of God's words to Israel. His promises, covenants, and his pistol is the living witness in the sense of those things in God's is there so precious I'm to put them in a box that's that's lined with gold. That is, that tells you something that is in the holiest of holy place rights will see that in the deepest central most part of the of the tabernacle. I'm giving you yeah and only to be accessed by the high priest and he better be carrying blood you get some of those details later on. But isn't it interesting the guy doesn't start with the entryway starts with the whole point deepest most precious thing this is the core is the focus of the tabernacle. This is the innermost place you can get to and it's dominated by a box that holds got well and then we need to read on because it's not just the box that holds God's testimony God's truth to himself that what goes in. Yeah, because this box is described it doesn't have a talk yet we do top and here comes the top you want to read it. Yeah so verse 17 you shall make a mercy seat of pure gold. Two cubits and 1/2 shall be its length in a cubit and 1/2 its breadth and you shall make two cherubim of gold of hammered work shouldn't make them in on the two ends of the mercy seat make one cherub on the one end and one cherub on the other end of one piece with the mercy seat shall you make the cherubim on its two ends, the cherubim shall spread out their wings above, overshadowing the mercy seat with their wings. Their faces to one another toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubim be, and you shall put the mercy seat on the top of the ark and in the ark you shall put the testimony that I shall give you their I will meet with you and from above the mercy seat between the two cherubim that are on the ark of the testimony, I will speak with you about all that I will give you an commandment for the people of Israel. Well there is serious stuff here. Lots of symbolism to know if you're thinking the ark looks like what you saw and ridge law start well certain that it sounds pretty right that was a pretty good approximation approximation.

So that's what you think in your head. That's pretty good went well and that probably came out Jewish tradition writing deep understanding. Historically, what it looks like you so here goddesses make a living by way the lid is not acacia wood coated with gold. It is solid gold. And you know the engineer me inside asked myself how heavy heavy is that lid going to be what we don't know the thickness of which you make a big deal but work were talking about something that would be impossible for one man to lift easily so I'm it's it's a pretty it's a pretty well-placed cover split them on in the simplest way of looking at it. It speaks to the heaviness of what's happening here. Yeah, this is an immovable or hard to move thing yeah and it's hard to move thing and it has integral to it because he says make it one piece those two sculptures of the cherubim part. That's one piece together and so they they look like with their bent forward arm show wings that there actually shadowing your in a way to protecting the thing you don't come passes you don't get inside. It was to come past us first, and cherubim of always been that kind of attendant sort of beings that do that kind of protection. Okay sent the first place.

Cherubim show up in Scripture is back in Genesis 324 when God places cherubim out the way into the garden after he has exiled Adam and their guard place the cherubim there to guard the way to the tree of life, so we know this is one of those places where your observation of the repetition of the connection of the cherubim and the mercy seat will pay off if you camp on that a little bit what I protecting their it's regarding what's so important inside holiness of the presence of God and what is happening here, and his mercy seat. A weird term.

That's a weird term right shows up seven times in this passage, and when you realized who that this this mercy seat on top of this box holding God's promises is sort of ship fashioned after threat throne and so and so. So you see that it's like you're coming to the king on his throne and the fact that the contents of this box, or so valuable, so important, God saying with these two statuettes in a sense he saying that all my power in heaven is protecting what's inside this box and the solid gold top is protecting what's inside this box me to remind you, Jesus saying that none of my words are going to go away. Will those words are written in stone. Inside this box and everything about the boxes saying what's inside is holy and precious and nobody can touch it. Nobody can do so in a way of saying visually.

God said I made promises to you. I made covenants with you if you be my people be your God. And there's no way anyone's breaking into this box and changing that that will always be one word will pass away, so the boxes saying that in a very holy and sanctified and yet powerful way with the images of these two cherubim, by the way, in the temple in the temple in the permanent structure temple gets built.

There's more cherubim yes inside to sit get some of that instruction later on in time, they are woven into the temple curtain. Yes there on the walls there. There is this very visible presence on the holiness of God guarded by these angelic actionable heaven. Yet how I was going to mention that the cherubim inside the temple that are on each side, and that holy holy dear Hugh, they're not just like little fig Solomon's Temple, yet gigantic, I think my memory says 15 feet but there just gigantic.

So if you want in there and saw this, you say well you know what, this is a pretty serious place and what's in this box is pretty important. I'm like a mess with okay so it's interesting that in ancient cultures in Babylon and Assyria also.

They also had cherubim room is the word not as heavenly guardian guardians to the holy places, even though their gods were idolatrous. This idea of there being angelic beings who guard the holiness is really interesting to me that that cross-cultural lines exactly. So here we got got God's covenant and the testimony that covenant in this box that's that's looks is about as holy as you can get by the way, just as a small side. If you look at this and see this goal box with this gold slab on top of the school Germans on top later on will find out that the high priest they go into the inner inner part of the temple. I see this box with the poles in it with your mom top what they are instructed to do is sprinkle blood on front of it and on the top of it.

Every time they quit and so and and never instructed to clean it off. So over the generations and generations that this box exists. It's going to be spattered with blood so this wonderful goal box is going be visibly tainted by blood.

There's huge symbolism. I agree and will get to that will have time, I was under one of the things that renders me thinking about this I think I worked out a reference if you just want to look at and get a sneak preview. It's in Leviticus 16, so it go go to Leviticus 16 you'll see what they have to do.

I just every time I envision this beautiful goal box and being splattered with blood on the front sight on the approach side as you come in.

That just staggers me that this thing of great value importance cost something its life and were talking that's Jesus revisit Leviticus 16. Next week we talk more about that the other furniture that's coming in the tabernacle, but we probably need to spend our last couple minutes talking about this verse 22. It's care I from above the mercy seat from between the two cherubim there on the ark of the testimony, I will speak with you the mercy seat is not called the judgment seat right it's not called anything else got the mercy as he sat place where the blood is applied where God meets with us in holiness is characterized by his mercy is mercy.

God himself is provided.

The way for us to meet with him so you know that just always stops me this inner most holiest of holy places God says I meet with you in holiness with you and meet with you on the basis of what I have said to you who I am and who you are.

According to my mercy yes yes and if you see this as a picture of ancient throne you would humbly come before the king to ask for mercy and this is the path you do it, and as the years would go on you see that this path of appealing to God's mercy is paved with the blood so that the imagery here is so incredibly powerful point. So immediately to the sacrifice of Jesus was our sacrifice Lamb and about the fact that got there and he's ruling know as a king because he is the King of Kings and he allows approach to his presence, but only on a restricted basis, but that that approach to God is all about his mercies and not about our ability to cleanse ourselves. This could have been if it was just a regular old kingly throne it could have been called not the mercy seat, but the power seat or the judgment seat.

It's not called that as you approach the into the nearness of God the issue that's attendant to that approach is his mercy and nothing else is mercy that is demonstrated in the blood of the sacrifice that he himself may right and if you we run across this big word propitiation. We have testament right assist in this mercy seat is the place where atonement is made. No propitiation means that easement satisfaction for a debt that's owed and so if you take your concordance and look up that word you to turn up some wonderful sleep issues in the New Testament propitiation where it says specifically that Jesus self is the propitiation for our sin, yell, and here's here's a here's a little love I was just off the references but got to admit is that propitiation that word in Greek when they translated the Old Testament Greek right they use that word to describe this in your reading rate or the router CC is that Greek word for propitiation were in Romans three, Paul says Jesus is our propitiation and in the Old Testament Greek version that's mercy seat so you could actually say from that connection mercy seat itself is Jesus talk about that in the coming weeks.

How all of these details point very specifically to the person of Jesus Christ and John in first John 22. He says that he himself is the propitiation for our sins so he is that place that mercy seat were God's mercy rests and not the propitiation for us only but also for those of the whole job for the whole world. So here we have a fascinating most internal focus of the tabernacle, the presence of God is a place where he rules in the reins and he affords mercy toward us who come to him in a humble way and we are faced with this trail of blood that has been paid for our behalf to come and at this imagery so just just encourage again. Take this imagery put in your head and ask yourself what is this telling me about the occupant of this test. What is this telling because it's meant to be such a liberated and overt picture of the heart of God toward us and our relationship together.

This God wants to dwell in our midst. The place where he wants to meet not just furniture in the summer really out of time. The imagery is a something, the more I marveled over my head. Next time you look at some other things that go inside and they have similar imagery and similar symbology until something about God's love. Jim is morning is a production of mainstream church is solely responsible for its content. To contact us with your questions or comments in the open. No