115 - Last Words, Pay Attention!

You pick up your Bible. Is there more here than meets the is something here for me. I 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 our as we ask God to meet us there in its pages welcome to more than one today Moses comes to the end of his dialogue with God at the top of Mount Sinai closing words is important, someone's last words are ringing your last and most would hear what is God going to say today on more than Inc. morning this is Jim and I were glad you're with us today as we work our way through Exodus, which I like to say were walking for one working and we are actually almost exactly 3/4 of the way through the gap because this is chapter 31 and 40 chapters of yeah and we have we have been most recently with the Moses at the top of Mount Sinai as God gives him instructions about God's tent to the tabernacle. How is content with them all the symbolism that's reflected in the specific instructions about how to make it an artist and read a bit about the whole thing better than spending our time and today we come down to God's last words to Moses on the top of the mountain is covered everything else and now he's going he's in a sense he's gonna let them know how we move forward from here on out. By the way, I one more very important thing to emphasize so that's what I look at today. God's last words with Moses at the top of Mount. Well it's interesting you know you been talking about the instructions for the tabernacle, but early on in this segment on the mountain. God gives Moses the 10 words) command in Sammamish so as part of the instruction of the tabernacle. Those are like the bedrock the foundation of having out here working at his last two words which are about work and about rest today so this is this is important stuff as we close out the style.

This is not trivial.

This is not small. So I'm I'm sure two and Moses mind before you jump into a Moses, wondering at his gun.

All of these instructions about all this artisan stuff that's gotta be happy know yeah how we going to do is how we as we have instructions but how do we do this will God solve that problem right off the bat today. I think it's the very important, so lovely, so chapter 31 followed with his read verse one of chapter 30 I love this out.

Read because I love the Lord said to Moses, see called by name best allow the son of glory, the scent of her.

Of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the spirit of God with ability and intelligence with knowledge and all craftsmanship, to devise artistic designs to work in gold, silver and bronze and cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood to work in every craft, and behold, I have appointed with him the holy, the son of whoever he is given to all men ability that they may take all that I have commanded you the tent of meeting, the ark of the testimony, the mercy seat that's on it and all the furnishings of the tent table and its utensils, and the pure lampstand with all its utensils, and the altar of incense in the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils in the basin and its stand, and finally worked garments, the holy garments for Aaron the priest and the garments of his sons for their services, priests, and the anointing oil and the fragrant incense for the holy place, according to all that I have commanded you. They shall do what a list of artistic endeavors. So that's all stuff been talking about the stone cutting and woodworking in carving and embroidery and fabric weaving metalworking all my God, it's a formidable task.

These are parts that take a lifetime to learn, and these are arts that it turns out here that God has skilled particular people and and so we look by name. This sign is alone best allow bezel and O holy up right does that was some stick to those guys for you and not going to all the work know like foreman in a way to write these guys will be in charge of the work, but what specific to them what God is given to them. He says in verse three God has filled them with the spirit of God that. That's interesting and with ability and intelligence and knowledge, and craftsmanship. Okay, so it's just that God says I have filled him with the spirit of God and then goes for following things are impressions of what being filled with the spirit, ability and intelligence, knowledge and craftsmanship, to devise artistic things. So it turns out that as foreman they're going to direct all this work right because they've got the smarts that got God's spirit. So even even as they're trying to interpret what God had told Moses and the Moses had told them about what supposed to look like the spirit of God has filled them and they can they can continue to refine exactly how to strictly express his ideas in all of this variety of material according to the giftedness of the spirit of God, and I think that that's a fact. That's just a fast anything right there and the second guy, a holy business is kind of physical form and the two of them together like you have Moses and it is a lot of work. It's a lot of work. So between the two of them there. They're going to represent how to direct the work is supposed be dumb because these are the guys that know how and that comes from a very important thing and really looked at the spirit gives gifts of artistry to those he's called to serve him in the way that's very important in our family because what are our children are artistic, but we have one daughter who actually is a qualified artist professional that she's a professional artist and so she needed this validation. This is an expression of the giftedness of God, yeah. And you know this is all going express something about got everything been instructed to make and so it's not a small thing to say that someone is gifted in being able to express the truth of the character of God in what they create with right hands. This is a really big deal.

This is what this is all about, because through the work of these guys hands at God's gift to spirit. They are going to communicate in a visual and profound and wide sense the character of God example last statement way. This is really this is a big big deal there there there work is going to last for generations, testifying is that nice to sign their work as a sickness are written in the Bible.

Well, I don't think I was going with this, this, this incense was made by a holy of himself when it comes to the actual construction of this stuff later on in the book to read lots of edits become involved and there were women involved to its coming but this is the framework. In fact, I turned to head just look at that to preview the interesting thing he adds in an X is 35 is still couple chapters down the road when this is actually happening. These guys are in charge and instructing the work.

It says actually in chapter 35 verse 34 that that God has inspired him to teach both him and Holly up the son of you so much or so so so there that she says explicitly. These guys are doing all the work they're capable of all work, but he also inspired them to teach others how to do is big stuff that some massive project.

Yes, I got assigned to them. So not only do they have the smarts and the ability and intelligence, the knowledge through the spirit of what to do and how to do it, but they've also been invested by God. The ability to teach others to do right that that's really powerful, really, really powerful and really see it happen just a couple chapters later on the seas. It was essential that this be done by by the power of the spirit of God's people were just slaves and shepherds had not a clue about how to do all this fine detailed work and how many times we read the work of a perfumer.

The work of a jeweler right right right, who had two errorless guys and this is you know if you if you reloaded the Bible including the New Testament. This should evoke a lot of thoughts in the New Testament about spiritual gifts that there's a variety of gifts that are given but all these gifts that are given for the benefit of helping the body of Christ in a certain one of the body of Christ there all enabled by the giving of the Holy Spirit. Same thing altogether and the and the gifts are different.

Paul emphasize that in Romans 12 and first Corinthians 12 Ephesians 4 and he says the fact that these gifts are all diverse and and they end together in the body of Christ that serve the body of Christ in the unified way. They're all essential and they're all essentially they're different, and they wear differently on different personalities and different genders so you know that's really important for us to remember this variety of gifts, but God empowers them all. He says bring one spirit, so that's not a new idea in the New Testament. It's right here in chapter 31 of Exodus.

It's right here, and these gifts are connected to the indwelling of the Spirit of God you what you would think this couple down the New Testament, but this is in the Old Testament friends is right so I I think is okay so we know that God has instructed Moses in building his tent, his house, and God himself is going to dwell in it.

Well, God is spirit. Yes, Scripture says over and over again no man has seen God, right because he's spirit so he's going to invest in these ones who built his house, his own spirit is own to direct them while I think it's great. This is great. It's interesting to before move on to the Sabbath comments coming up, which is a big peel piece of this but it is the idea that Moses has the literal words of God in terms of instruction about how to make stuff, but these guys who are filled with the spirit of God can interpret those words well enough to make what God intended.

And there's some parallels there with us as well.

Only read the word we read the words of God because his spirit indwells you he enables you to be able to see what's written in those words and get the just perfectly.

Which whiff you did not have the spirit of God wouldn't talk. I thought about this with guys like holy up and stuff like that. What a tragedy would be if they didn't have the spirit of God, and they try to interpret these few words that they got from Moses about say how to make the cherubim go well I'll make it like this in the creek train wreck, but because the spirit of God is in them, they can hear the words of God from Moses and get exactly they can interpret what God is a strong connection between the indwelling spirit in us and our ability to read his word and get it.

Then they get it that way was one of the Sabbath. Lisa I think we better better informed you that I just wanted to make note that this chapter falls very neatly into these two sections. The first one describes the work work the hassle out of the building of the tabernacle and the second one is all about the Sabbath so is not working work and rest work and not work and I just had never noticed that before back to very very clear spec says that this is the work and now the final word.

My final word to you is rest will make sense.

I mean if Moses up to get ready to leave and he's got all these instructions get this design manual for the tabernacle. You would think is is nearing the end of this discussion, is he okay got it got really good and really get right on time to go for this and got don't forget the rest. So that's where we get to first let me read this will please the Sabbath, so the Lord said to Moses you to speak to the people of Israel and say above all above all you shall keep my sepsis for this is the sign between me and you throughout your generations that you may know that I the Lord sanctifies you, you shall keep the Sabbath because it's holy for you. Everyone who profaned it shall be put to death. Whoever does. Does any work on it, that soul shall be cut off from among the people. Six days you shall shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the Lord.

Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day shall be put to death. Therefore, the people of Israel shall keep the Sabbath observing the Sabbath throughout their generations as a covenant for ever. It's a sign for ever between me and the people of Israel, that in six days the Lord made heaven and earth and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed.

The last verse of the end. So God's quite serious about the same facts keeping the Sabbath, which is guarding set a hedge around it protected regard it as special worth keeping.

Yet even if you're single Moses, we gotta work today because rebuilding addicts to get this done on a mission from God. Here we gotta get this done so and and got thinking and rest. This instruction on all who are doing important work, but keep this is why, because you're my people.

This is something your my people that you can rest in me and my presence in my provision, you can rest hold still not working you know in our culture, we have weekends off work five days a week. Some people have weekends off. Some people know we we have a built in our schedules but in the ancient world.

You know this is not normal in an agrarian culture milk a cow seven days a week do you work overtime work overtime if your grown plants in this pass out there you go out and you pull the Newport weeds idea. Everything you let a day going man. You know it's gonna go downhill real fast so there was there was quite a quite a chore called enslavement to your work of getting things done because you are afraid that if you neglected it for a little bit your harvest or your output. You may not be able to see urgency attached to it because if you neglected the work, then yes, your crop got eaten by bugs or your animals wondered where your so to dominated the frame from that work from attending your own stuff when dad of seven was a huge mark of identity yes with shoes and it was a demonstration. In reality, of trusting God will write it didn't work. So what were what the Sabbath really says is I can rest today and not work because I know that God's going to cover forms and if you remember I we read this back up earlier in Exodus the when they first came out into the wilderness, God said, now I'm going to feed you and he gave them manna every day for all the 40 years they were in the wilderness, except septic system Sabbath so he said don't go out and gather the Sabbath because on the day before the Sabbath when he went to gather you're going to gather twice as much.

He didn't tell him now try real hard to gather twice as much.

You said you're going to gather twice as rich because I'm not giving it to you tomorrow because I want you rest and trust me it is interesting he didn't say on one day you shall not gather and by the way, you fast, I think there's no food. Oh yeah, what he said was know the time I give to be plenty of food, so don't worry about that. So that's really the trust aspect of the Sabbath, you have plenty of food. Just take the time off man and rest and enjoy what I've given you executive thanks because you my people right and it's it's is literally that it's a time to enjoy what God's work is on your behalf and not your own work on your behalf. That's what it's all about.

Keep this because I'm keeping you so this is this is a remarkable again fingerprint on God's people from this point on is the fact is, is there heard about two other generations and other cultures will say what those the people that don't work one day a week. Are they crazy, they must be starving. No, actually there. God takes care of them through this time of this resting and enjoying what guys do on their behalf in God's got hold down the fort while the resting and enjoying the got is as result effect if you ever meet a farmer this this this push to constantly stay on top of things. As part of their mindset all the time but when you tell them want to take a day off. Okay I think I think I can take a day off one of the do on their day off what they do on their day off is the enjoy the family they enjoy the enjoy everything.

It's around the enjoy their circumstance and this is exactly what God saying to the farmers here in Israel take a day off and enjoy what I've done. Your behalf, I mean just enjoying life.

I mean who wouldn't go for that. But again, if you not to trust God. It's hard to do that is an active trust and act as throughout the working to meet your needs. Yeah that what you make of this.

In the end of it and this is this is an important point and won't get 70 because he says you know the Sabbath is like a sign sign winter so 17. It's a sign for ever between me and the people of Israel, that in here it is in six days the Lord made heaven and earth and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed. So God's tying this sign to a remembrance of the fact that God made the earth in six days and rested that that's the point of the sign that's the point now and he didn't rest because he was tired right right is is he reminding them hate the source of everything and when I had done it completely and made for you what you needed. I stopped working and I enjoyed I enjoyed what's there and if you read the Genesis account we get it's good it's good it's good Says it's good it's good it's good is good. And then after the creation of Eve.

It's very good this time and that's done is satisfied held still right stopped working and I love the way it says December 17 on the seventh day he rested.

He ceased work and was refreshed word refresh is translated, there is literally and he took a breath to the breast families all spun up to take a breath and slow down to stop and take a breath.

You and it's it gives you this wonderful visible reinforcement of God kind of this is not sacrilegious but kicks back in his lounge chair, puts his arms above his head behind his neck and takes deep breath and is satisfied with the satisfaction the set, especially his faction, having completed what he set out to do it right. And if we are God's people.

Then we take one day and kicked back in the lounge chair put her hands behind her neck and take a deep breath and say I'm satisfied with what God has done for me and I'm content in that state exactly what the Sabbath is supposed to be.

I'm content in God's work for me and I'm not going to let this domination of the bearing down the work just make me crazy. I'm a sit back and say it's not about my work. We sit here and satisfied in the completeness of God's work on my behalf. That is the Sabbath and a hard you know it's very interesting to me that by the time of Jesus. The keeping of the Sabbath had become a burden so very long to begin to try to figure out how to wiggle out from under that just take cast. Take a right and to find all these score little loopholes for things that they could do what you couldn't couldn't do, how you violate or not violate God's law. I and you going for our facility, simply hold still and enjoy God's press.

Jesus says you know you type min Dylan could you know you do on all the silly minute things.

Trying says I got and you miss the big stuff you miss the big stuff so resting on the Sabbath keeping the seventh doesn't mean.doing anything known as enjoying God. It means putting the work of God in the forefront rather than your rank and being satisfied and delighting in wisdom, which is why you going to come to the New Testament, Jesus says it is finished God to work for us through Christ is finishing done so in a real sense knowing the completeness and the satisfied completeness and contentment of what Christ is done for us his work for us. We can kick back like seven days a week and be content in what God has accomplished for us. Well, that's just a synopsis of the whole second half of the book of Hebrews is so I think we at we also I said because we get hung up in the Christian church to about so what day is left with day will all of life after you cry because there is the set right.

We entered the Sabbath and demanded God's rest because were satisfied and content with what he's done for us on our behalf. He's done this for a time before we do this unless our all and he gave to Moses when he had finished speaking with him on Mount Sinai that two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God who it's over it's over it's written in stone. You know, think about you that I say things that you know can be changed. Was it was not written in stone right this is Wells this is written in this work this out comes from right here.

It's lasting, it cannot be changed and will not be changed right right yeah it's it's there's a piece of paper that could burn its own stone. God himself wrote it on the stone, written with the finger of God. So now we get to the end of this discourse with God. He's got his two tablets of stone. He turned around and walked down the hill but he's got this the 10 Commandments for them and this is not so much about how to build the tabernacle back is nothing here about the tabernacle on the stone on the stone snow. It's all about the nature of Israel as God's people living with God and what that looks like in 10 simple statements. So go back to chapter 19, 20 and 20 Exodus and read them and look who God is and who we are. Consequently, God's people live and you'll find that observing, keeping the Sabbath right in. It's their right at the front part is all about who is God and what is that mean for us in the second part is all about. So how do we live when I know this glowing point in the middle is keeping the Sabbath, putting God's work on our behalf in the centerline appreciating who God is in our midst. That's with the Sabbath is all about us were supposed to do. Okay, so we have to talk about the tablets of stone for minute okay because again, if you take your concordance and look down. You'll turn up a whole bunch of references right here in Exodus viewing other places that Daniel find in the New Testament. Second Corinthians 3 where Paul talks about God writing the law, not on tablets of stone tablets of human hearts and he's going to then unpack this idea of this new covenant that comes out of Jeremiah 31. Do you want to read that I have. It's right over you. This will change that I let me read this to you before, this is Jeremiah 31 starting verse 31 behold, days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. Not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them in the land of Egypt, my covenant which they borrow groups although I was a husband to them, declares the Lord. This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord. I will put my law in their heart I will write and taste and I will be their God and they shall be my people, and they shall not teach again.

Each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying know the Lord, for they shall all know me the least of them to the greatest of them declares the Lord, for their iniquity and their sin.

I will remember what all and facet covenant is written on tablets of our living hearts by God's Holy Spirit. If you just heard and said we would wait. Where is that it's Jeremiah 31 go back and take a look at it it's version 31 to 34 yet I just just astonishing but here we have at the end of this chapter. In Exodus with these 10 Commandments on the stones in here and you're my intention is that instead of writing risings with the finger of God on stone he's going to write them on our hearts that again that's the new covenant. In fact that's what Jeremiah calls is the new covenant so no longer is the loss of external things will play stones in your life is something that she comes from the inside of us and works its way out and is chapter in written internally and flows way different same content different place different power different how well hey that's jumping forward a lot of money to get there but were glad you're with us and next time down off the mountain. Oh already selects not so much so will see what happens is really a stark contrast one Sinai. So come back and join us next time on more than anything is mainstream church is solely responsible to contact us with your questions or comments like