Exodus 40:1-38  The Setting up of the Tabernacle

[Study Aired March 6, 2023]

Exo 40:1  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 
Exo 40:2  On the first day of the first month shalt thou set up the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation.
Exo 40:3  And thou shalt put therein the ark of the testimony, and cover the ark with the vail. 
Exo 40:4  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. 
Exo 40:5  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. 
Exo 40:6  And thou shalt set the altar of the burnt offering before the door of the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation. 
Exo 40:7  And thou shalt set the laver between the tent of the congregation and the altar, and shalt put water therein. 
Exo 40:8  And thou shalt set up the court round about, and hang up the hanging at the court gate. 
Exo 40:9  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. 
Exo 40:10  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. 
Exo 40:11  And thou shalt anoint the laver and his foot, and sanctify it. 
Exo 40:12  And thou shalt bring Aaron and his sons unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and wash them with water. 
Exo 40:13  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. 
Exo 40:14  And thou shalt bring his sons, and clothe them with coats: 
Exo 40:15  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.
Exo 40:16  Thus did Moses: according to all that the LORD commanded him, so did he. 
Exo 40:17  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. 
Exo 40:18  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. 
Exo 40:19  And he spread abroad the tent over the tabernacle, and put the covering of the tent above upon it; as the LORD commanded Moses. 
Exo 40:20  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: 
Exo 40:21  And he brought the ark into the tabernacle, and set up the vail of the covering, and covered the ark of the testimony; as the LORD commanded Moses.
Exo 40:22  And he put the table in the tent of the congregation, upon the side of the tabernacle northward, without the vail. 
Exo 40:23  And he set the bread in order upon it before the LORD; as the LORD had commanded Moses. 
Exo 40:24  And he put the candlestick in the tent of the congregation, over against the table, on the side of the tabernacle southward. 
Exo 40:25  And he lighted the lamps before the LORD; as the LORD commanded Moses. 
Exo 40:26  And he put the golden altar in the tent of the congregation before the vail: 
Exo 40:27  And he burnt sweet incense thereon; as the LORD commanded Moses. 
Exo 40:28  And he set up the hanging at the door of the tabernacle. 
Exo 40:29  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. 
Exo 40:30  And he set the laver between the tent of the congregation and the altar, and put water there, to wash withal.
Exo 40:31  And Moses and Aaron and his sons washed their hands and their feet thereat: 
Exo 40:32  When they went into the tent of the congregation, and when they came near unto the altar, they washed; as the LORD commanded Moses. 
Exo 40:33  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. 
Exo 40:34  Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.
Exo 40:35  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.
Exo 40:36  And when the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the children of Israel went onward in all their journeys: 
Exo 40:37  But if the cloud were not taken up, then they journeyed not till the day that it was taken up.
Exo 40:38  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.

This last chapter of Exodus concludes the preparation and setting up of the tabernacle of the Lord. The setting up of the temple of the Lord within us is a lifelong process. As we are aware, we understand spiritual things by the things that are made. 

Rom 1:20  For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: 

When a house is being built, it is difficult to see the beauty of it until it is finished. For example, usually, when a huge office complex is being built in a city, it is draped in polythene materials, making it difficult for pedestrians to realize the beauty of it until it is finished. However, in the eyes of the architect who designed the office complex, everything is going according to plan, and he sees the beauty of the building before it is even started. Our architect is our Lord Jesus Christ who has designed us to reflect His beauty even before the foundations of the world. This is how He sees us, His elect – the perfection of beauty!! 

Psa 50:1  A Psalm of Asaph. The mighty God, even the LORD, hath spoken, and called the earth from the rising of the sun unto the going down thereof. 
Psa 50:2  Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath shined.

Our Lord Jesus Christ is building our temple as He takes away all that offends within us so that He can come and dwell in our hearts and mind – our temple. The devil is also aware of this, so he comes to wage a mental battle in our heavens, by questioning whether we are really obtaining Christ’s standard. However, just as Michael and his angels waged war against the devil and his angels in our heavens and defeated them, we are also assured of victory over the devil as we grow in His beauty. Indeed, what the Lord starts, He is able to finish!! 

Rev 12:7  And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,
Rev 12:8  And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.
Rev 12:9  And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

Php 1:6  Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:

What the whole world is looking for is Christ coming to dwell in us, the elect, but unfortunately, it is hidden from them. Christ coming to dwell in our heavens is what the Bible describes as the joy of the whole world. 

Psa 48:1  A Song and Psalm for the sons of Korah. Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in the mountain of his holiness. 
Psa 48:2  Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King. 

Rom 8:19  For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. 
Rom 8:20  For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope,
Rom 8:21  Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.

With this in mind, let us take a look at how the Lord, our Chief Architect, prepares us to become a habitation of the Lord, perfect in beauty and the joy of the whole earth!!

Rev 21:2  And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
Rev 21:3  And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. 
Rev 21:4  And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
Rev 21:5  And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.

Exo 40:1  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 
Exo 40:2  On the first day of the first month shalt thou set up the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation.

The first day of the first month spiritually signifies a new beginning in our walk with the Lord when we come to realize that we are sinners according to the law and that we need Christ to come into our lives to make our hearts and mind His dwelling place. That is the beginning of the setting up of the tabernacle within us when Christ comes with His judgment to deal with the beast within.

2Th 2:7  For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. 
2Th 2:8  And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:

Exo 40:3  And thou shalt put therein the ark of the testimony, and cover the ark with the vail. 
Exo 40:4  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. 
Exo 40:5  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. 

What is significant here is that the work of setting up the tabernacle started from the Holy of Holies before it ended up in the courtyard. The Lord starts His work of making us His temple for His habitation by focusing within us first before our outward righteousness becomes evident. The Holy of Holies and the Holy place and their items were all made first before the outer court with its items were made. This is in contrast to our life in Babylon or the churches of this world where we put emphasis on the outward to the detriment of inner cleansing. 

Mat 23:25  Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess.
Mat 23:26  Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.

In verse 3, the first item to be placed within the veil was the ark of the testimony, which signifies Christ coming within us (the veil) with the spirit of His mouth to deal with all that offends. The next item was the table and then the candlestick, resulting in the lighting of the lamps. The primary purpose of the table was to hold the showbread which was set before the Lord. Every Sabbath, the priests would replace the loaves from the previous week with a new batch of bread. Twelve loaves of bread were arranged into two rows of six, and these loaves represented the twelve tribes of Israel. 

Lev 24:5  And thou shalt take fine flour, and bake twelve cakes thereof: two tenth deals shall be in one cake. 
Lev 24:6  And thou shalt set them in two rows, six on a row, upon the pure table before the LORD. 
Lev 24:7  And thou shalt put pure frankincense upon each row, that it may be on the bread for a memorial, even an offering made by fire unto the LORD. 
Lev 24:8  Every sabbath he shall set it in order before the LORD continually, being taken from the children of Israel by an everlasting covenant.
Lev 24:9  And it shall be Aaron’s and his sons’; and they shall eat it in the holy place: for it is most holy unto him of the offerings of the LORD made by fire by a perpetual statute.

The showbread represents our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the bread of heaven or the heavenly manna. 

Joh 6:32  Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. 
Joh 6:33  For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world. 
Joh 6:34  Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread. 
Joh 6:35  And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. 

It is when Christ comes to us that we are given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. The golden candlestick signifies the church of the firstborn or the elect. 

Rev 1:12  And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks;

Rev 1:20  The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.

There was no natural light in the tabernacle, and therefore the light from the candlestick was what enabled the priest to perform his duties before God. This light is the word of the Lord which comes through what every joint supplies.

Psa 119:105  NUN. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

Eph 4:16  From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.

After the lighting of the lamps comes the altar of incense (verse 5). It is when we are given eyes to see and ears to hear through the light of the lamps that we can pray effectively in accordance to His will.

Rev 8:3  And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne.
Rev 8:4  And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel’s hand.

Exo 40:6  And thou shalt set the altar of the burnt offering before the door of the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation. 
Exo 40:7  And thou shalt set the laver between the tent of the congregation and the altar, and shalt put water therein. 
Exo 40:8  And thou shalt set up the court round about, and hang up the hanging at the court gate.

An essential part of building our temple for the Lord to dwell in is that we come to see where we came from – our Babylonian origin. We start our walk with Christ by recognizing the sacrifice He made for our sins as we encounter the altar of the burnt offering. That is the foundation upon which we can proceed to the laver, where we begin to be washed with the letter of the word before we enter the Holy place. That is when the Lord comes with His brightness to start the process of destroying the raging beast within us.

Isa 51:1  Hearken to me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye that seek the LORD: look unto the rock whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged.

Exo 40:9  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. 
Exo 40:10  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. 
Exo 40:11  And thou shalt anoint the laver and his foot, and sanctify it.

The question that comes to mind is, “Why are all these items anointed?” As we are aware, the anointing with oil is a symbol of the Holy Spirit. It is through the Holy Spirit that we are endowed with power to become a habitation for the Lord to dwell. We, His elect, represent the tabernacle and also the vessels in the tabernacle. Anointing the tabernacle and the vessels is therefore sanctifying us as we offer our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to the Lord.

Rom 12:1  I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
Rom 12:2  And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Anointing the altar of the burnt offering and its vessels is causing us to see the sacrifice the Lord made on our behalf. The anointing of the laver and its foot is to open our eyes to see and our ears to begin to hear the truth of the word of the Lord.

Joh 16:13  Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. 
Joh 16:14  He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.

Exo 40:12  And thou shalt bring Aaron and his sons unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and wash them with water. 
Exo 40:13  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. 
Exo 40:14  And thou shalt bring his sons, and clothe them with coats: 
Exo 40:15  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.

These verses show us the process we go through to put on the righteousness of Christ, which is symbolized by the holy garments worn by Aaron and His sons who represent the elect.  The process involves being washed with the water of the word. As our eyes are opened and our ears hear, we are cleansed by the truth of the word of the Lord.

Eph 5:26  That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, 
Eph 5:27  That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.

The process also involves being anointed with the Holy spirit to empower us as we are led into the truth of the word of the Lord. 

Act 1:8  But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. 

Joh 16:13  Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.
Joh 16:14  He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.

Exo 40:16  Thus did Moses: according to all that the LORD commanded him, so did he.

As we have indicated several times in the study of Exodus, Moses represents the elect. A key characteristic of the elect is to do all that which the Lord commands us through His words. That is, we are called to obey the Lord in everything and that is what shows that we really love Him. 

1Jn 5:2  By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments.
1Jn 5:3  For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.

Exo 40:17  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. 
Exo 40:18  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. 
Exo 40:19  And he spread abroad the tent over the tabernacle, and put the covering of the tent above upon it; as the LORD commanded Moses. 

The tabernacle became a visible presence in the midst of the Israelites when the structures were set up and was covered with the tent. This is a foretaste of the New Jerusalem where God himself shall be with His people and be their God.

Rev 21:2  And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 
Rev 21:3  And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. 
Rev 21:4  And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

Exo 40:20  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: 
Exo 40:21  And he brought the ark into the tabernacle, and set up the vail of the covering, and covered the ark of the testimony; as the LORD commanded Moses. 
Exo 40:22  And he put the table in the tent of the congregation, upon the side of the tabernacle northward, without the vail. 
Exo 40:23  And he set the bread in order upon it before the LORD; as the LORD had commanded Moses. 
Exo 40:24  And he put the candlestick in the tent of the congregation, over against the table, on the side of the tabernacle southward.
Exo 40:25  And he lighted the lamps before the LORD; as the LORD commanded Moses.
Exo 40:26  And he put the golden altar in the tent of the congregation before the vail:
Exo 40:27  And he burnt sweet incense thereon; as the LORD commanded Moses.

As we have indicated earlier, the Lord starts His work of building our temple by focusing on what happens within the veil (our hearts and mind) first. We are shown great mercy as the Lord comes to us with His brightness into our lives. This is represented by the ark of the testimony with the mercy seat. We are then given to eat in His presence as our eyes are opened and our ears hear the truth of the word of the Lord, which is symbolized by the table and the showbread. The church which is signified by the candlestick helps us in our walk to see the light of His words by what every joint supplies. It is at this point that our prayers become sweet incense to the Lord.

Jas 5:16  Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

Exo 40:28  And he set up the hanging at the door of the tabernacle. 
Exo 40:29  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. 
Exo 40:30  And he set the laver between the tent of the congregation and the altar, and put water there, to wash withal.
Exo 40:31  And Moses and Aaron and his sons washed their hands and their feet thereat: 
Exo 40:32  When they went into the tent of the congregation, and when they came near unto the altar, they washed; as the LORD commanded Moses. 

As His elect, we are the hanging at the door of the tabernacle through which all humanity must pass to worship the Lord. As indicated earlier, the altar of burnt offering is to remind us of the price paid by our Lord Jesus Christ, as He was sacrificed for our sins so that we can become a royal priesthood. The laver at the court of the tabernacle is where we are washed with the letter of the word of the Lord, which causes us to realize our hopelessness in overcoming sin as we are dominated by the beast and the need to leave Babylon.

Rev 18:4  And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.

Exo 40:33  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.

It is in resurrection that the Lord will complete our tabernacle for His habitation.

Luk 13:32  And he said unto them, Go ye, and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I shall be perfected.

We, His elect, are the first for the Lord to complete His tabernacle, as He dwells within us.

Rev 21:3  And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

Exo 40:34  Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.
Exo 40:35  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.

Here we are told that the cloud and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle such that Moses was not able to enter the tent of the congregation. The cloud represents the elect who have overcome and are in the presence of the Lord.  In the Book of Isaiah, when Isaiah saw the Lord sitting on His throne in His temple, there were the Seraphims who represented the elect. The fact that there is always a cloud in the presence of the Lord is to remind us of the elect who are represented by the elect or the Seraphims.

Heb 12:1  Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,

Isa 6:1  In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.
Isa 6:2  Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.

We need to know what the glory of the Lord signifies in order to understand verses 34 and 35. The following verses show us what the glory of the Lord means:

Num 14:10  But all the congregation bade stone them with stones. And the glory of the LORD appeared in the tabernacle of the congregation before all the children of Israel.
Num 14:11  And the LORD said unto Moses, How long will this people provoke me? and how long will it be ere they believe me, for all the signs which I have shewed among them? 

Num 16:19  And Korah gathered all the congregation against them unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: and the glory of the LORD appeared unto all the congregation. 
Num 16:20  And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,

Deu 5:24  And ye said, Behold, the LORD our God hath shewed us his glory and his greatness, and we have heard his voice out of the midst of the fire: we have seen this day that God doth talk with man, and he liveth.

We can see from these verses that anytime the glory of the Lord appears, we see the Lord speaking. In Deuteronomy 5:24, additional information is given to qualify the glory of the Lord and that is fire. Seeing His glory therefore means hearing the Lord’s voice out of the midst of the fire. This conclusion is affirmed in Exodus 24:16-17, where the sight of the glory of the Lord was likened to a devouring fire on the top of the Mount. So, in this age, those who are privileged to see the glory of the Lord are those who are hearing His words in the midst of the furnace of their affliction. When we are going through suffering, it is hard to rejoice, but afterwards it will yield the benefit of seeing the glory of the Lord!!

Exo 24:16  And the glory of the LORD abode upon mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days: and the seventh day he called unto Moses out of the midst of the cloud. 
Exo 24:17  And the sight of the glory of the LORD was like devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel.

What verse 35 means is that until we have gone through the complete fiery trials marked out for us, we cannot offer our bodies as living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to the Lord.  That is what it means to enter the temple to worship the Lord.

Rev 15:8  And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.

Exo 40:36  And when the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the children of Israel went onward in all their journeys: 
Exo 40:37  But if the cloud were not taken up, then they journeyed not till the day that it was taken up.
Exo 40:38  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. 

The movement of the people of Israel was dependent on whether the cloud had moved from the tabernacle or was stationary. Since the cloud represents the elect, it is therefore a symbol of the church of the firstborn. What these verses tell us is that it is through the counsel of the church (cloud of the Lord) together with our fiery trials (fire by night) which guide us through this wilderness of life.

Pro 11:14  Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counsellors there is safety. 

Gen 50:20  But as for you, ye thought evil against me (our fiery trials); but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.

May the Lord be merciful to us as He continues to work on our tabernacle until that day!! Amen!!

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Awesome Hands – part 124

The congregation shall go forward

November 3, 2017

As was seen with our last study, chapter 26 of Leviticus is pretty heavy material for our old man. There are many blessings and “punishments” given by the Lord especially for those that serve Him.

In our study today, we are going to see that along with blessings and punishments from the Lord, we are all, each and every one of us, given a job in His holy temple, for His kingdom and for His service.

The congregation shall go forward

We are going to cover several verses in this study which cover the next mentioning of the Hebrew word H3027 “yad”, and the three verses today go well together for the theme of this study.
The verses we will be covering are Numbers 2:17, 3:3 and 4:28.

Num 2:16  All that were numbered in the camp of Reuben were an hundred thousand and fifty and one thousand and four hundred and fifty, throughout their armies. And they shall set forth in the second rank.
Num 2:17  Then the tabernacle of the congregation shall set forward with the camp of the Levites in the midst of the camp: as they encamp, so shall they set forward, every man in his place ^H3027 by their standards.

In verse 2:17 the word in English used as 'place' is yad. Most translations have this word translated as 'place'. There are only a handful of times this Hebrew word is translated as 'place', so we will look at those seven times.

Deu 2:37  Only unto the land of the children of Ammon thou camest not, nor unto any place of the river Jabbok, nor unto the cities in the mountains, nor unto whatsoever the LORD our God forbad us.

1Sa 15:12  And when Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning, it was told Samuel, saying, Saul came to Carmel, and, behold, he set him up a place, and is gone about, and passed on, and gone down to Gilgal.

2Sa 18:18  Now Absalom in his lifetime had taken and reared up for himself a pillar, which is in the king's dale: for he said, I have no son to keep my name in remembrance: and he called the pillar after his own name: and it is called unto this day, Absalom's place.

Isa 56:5  Even unto them will I give in mine house and within my walls a place and a name better than of sons and of daughters: I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off.

Jer 6:3  The shepherds with their flocks shall come unto her; they shall pitch their tents against her round about; they shall feed every one in his place.

Eze 21:19  Also, thou son of man, appoint thee two ways, that the sword of the king of Babylon may come: both twain shall come forth out of one land: and choose thou a place, choose it at the head of the way to the city.

When we look at our original verse in Numbers 2:17, the CEV translation gives us a hint as to why this same Hebrew word translated mostly 'hand' or 'hands' is used now as “place”.

Num 2:17  Marching behind Reuben will be the Levites, arranged in groups, just as they are camped. They will carry the sacred tent and their own banners.

So the Levites “carry” the sacred tent and their own banners. We use our hands a lot when we carry things. However, that is only a hint as to the meaning, so what else are we being told?

Isa 56:5  Even unto them will I give in mine house and within my walls a place/hand and a name better than of sons and of daughters: I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off.

I have listed Isaiah 56:5 here again, but this time I have inserted 'hand' as another way to read it. With the verse now saying 'hand', it starts to become a slightly different meaning than when you read it as “place”.

“Will I give in mine house and within my walls a place and a name”

“Will I give in mine house and within my walls a hand and a name”

What am I getting at? As we will see with the other two times that 'hand' is mentioned within Numbers and within this study’s context, having a place or a hand in the holy temple is VERY important indeed, but it may not mean what it seems to mean initially.

Our next mentioning of the H3027 is Numbers 3:3.

Num 3:3  These are the names of the sons of Aaron, the priests which were anointed, whom he consecrated^H3027 to minister in the priest's office.

We have covered H3027 in the past as it pertains to “consecration,” so I will not go into depth with this study. However, this is a similar example of “yad” being used slightly differently than most of the time in scripture.

Review the Awesome Hands part 109 for a deeper dive into this translation as “consecrated”, but for this present study the connotation is that it means “to fill the hand”. Once your hand is filled, or consecrated, you are able to minister to the Lord in His temple.

So, the Lord will “give us a hand” or a place in His temple. He will fill our hands with what is needed to do the work of the tabernacle, so what is the next and last connection to Numbers 4:28 that is contained in our study today?

Num 4:28  This is the service of the families of the sons of Gershon in the tabernacle of the congregation: and their charge shall be under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.

Num 4:28  This^H2063 is the service^H5656 of the families^H4940 of the sons^H1121 of Gershon^H1649 in the tabernacle^H168 of the congregation:^H4150 and their charge^H4931 shall be under the hand^H3027 of Ithamar^H385 the son^H1121 of Aaron^H175 the priest.^H3548

To understand the connection of these three verses found in Numbers, we are going to need to look at little deeper into the context and background of Numbers 4.

The situation about which we are reading in Numbers 4 is dealing with the assignments that the Lord gave Moses and Aaron to give to the Levites. Each of the sons of Levi was given job roles that were to be distributed to the males in their families.

You might be thinking that we do not want to compare ourselves to the Levites since we are being trained as kings and priests, but we all can take away very valuable lessons on being a Levite and the services they perform for the tabernacle. Indeed, we must first be a Levite in spirit before the Lord creates in us the ability and calling to be a king and a priest. We all start off as Levites when we are called to be saints.

Num 4:1  And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,
Num 4:2  Take the sum of the sons of Kohath from among the sons of Levi, after their families, by the house of their fathers,
Num 4:3  From thirty years old and upward even until fifty years old, all that enter into the host, to do the work in the tabernacle of the congregation.
Num 4:4  This shall be the service of the sons of Kohath in the tabernacle of the congregation, about the most holy things:

The first thing to note is that the men being used for these services were to be between the ages of 30 and 50. This means to you were in service to the tabernacle for 20 years. Additionally, we read in Numbers 8:24 that the age is stated as starting at 25.

Num 8:23  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Num 8:24  This is it that belongeth unto the Levites: from twenty and five years old and upward they shall go in to wait upon the service of the tabernacle of the congregation:
Num 8:25  And from the age of fifty years they shall cease waiting upon the service thereof, and shall serve no more:
Num 8:26  But shall minister with their brethren in the tabernacle of the congregation, to keep the charge, and shall do no service. Thus shalt thou do unto the Levites touching their charge.

From the vast majority of the various commentaries that I have read, this difference in five years was supposed to indicate that an apprenticeship took place for five years leading up to full service of their tabernacle.

Initially, I was thinking that this seems like a long time to learn your job before actually starting your job until I realized just how important it was to do it right. After all, in many cases doing it wrong could end in certain death.

Even if we do not consider this viewpoint, we still must accept that the age to start was 25 or 30 years old. However, the end of your service was at the age of 50. You could continue to go to the sanctuary and perform in different offices from time to time “to keep the charge”, but you were generally retired.

Num 8:25  And from the age of fifty years they shall cease waiting upon the service thereof, and shall serve no more:
Num 8:26  But shall minister with their brethren in the tabernacle of the congregation, to keep the charge, and shall do no service. Thus shalt thou do unto the Levites touching their charge.

The Lord has enabled those among us to serve Him until our capacities no longer allow this to happen. I am sure we have all seen or witnessed someone who was well beyond the years of being vigorous in serving the Lord. This simply comes with age and has been provided acknowledgement by the Lord.

Of course, this is the old testament law, and the new testament law of Christ is a bit different.

This is a good thing because the law was ministry of death and of condemnation!

2Co 3:6  Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.
2Co 3:7  But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away:
2Co 3:8  How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious?
2Co 3:9  For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory.

The law worked wrath.

Rom 4:14  For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect:
Rom 4:15  Because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression.

It was a law of bondage and fear.

Rom 8:14  For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
Rom 8:15  For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.

The law “gendered to bondage”, and it was an unbearable yoke.

Gal 4:23  But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise.
Gal 4:24  Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar.

Act 15:10  Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?
Act 15:11  But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.

Yes, the law was full of fear, condemnation and wrath. Within the context of this study I ask, which of the Levites chose to be born to Kohath, Gershon or Merari?

Indeed, none of them willingly chose this birth; yet, when they were 25 to 30 years old they were indebted to serve the tabernacle.

Still, the Lord allowed and caused the entire situation with the nation of Israel so they could draw near to the Lord as a whole via the tabernacle and the services therein and in which He made His presence known.

Yet, the conditions that the Levites faced were quite burdensome. The priests were commanded to not cut off the tribe of Levi, which was quite small in comparison to the others, so that they didn’t die. They were told to make sure the Levites didn’t approach the holy things by appointing them to their service and burden.

Num 4:17  And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,
Num 4:18  Cut ye not off the tribe of the families of the Kohathites from among the Levites:
Num 4:19  But thus do unto them, that they may live, and not die, when they approach unto the most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall go in, and appoint them every one to his service and to his burden:
Num 4:20  But they shall not go in to see when the holy things are covered, lest they die.

For lack of time, I will not read all of Numbers 4 here, but there were very strict rules on what the Levites and the priests themselves could do as it pertained to serving the tabernacle. Even the high priest would die if he didn’t go in once and only once a year to the holy of holies.

What are our comparison and lessons to take away from this study of start of the of book of Numbers?

Jesus Christ has torn the veil (Mat 27:51, Mar 15:38). These old testament laws are abolished because we have received the spirit of adoption, and we have been called and chosen to go into the holy of holies.

We still must worship God the Father with reverence and godly fear.

Heb 12:27  And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.
Heb 12:28  Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:
Heb 12:29  For our God is a consuming fire.

Most importantly, we must realize that if the Lord took the time to have it completed and recorded that there would be a certain number of men from Kohath, Gershon or Merari to serve His physical tabernacle, how much important is it to realize that we have all been called and chosen to be SERVANTS to His SPIRITUAL TEMPLE?

Eph 4:1  I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,
Eph 4:2  With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;
Eph 4:3  Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
Eph 4:4  There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;

Eph 4:11  And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
Eph 4:12  For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
Eph 4:13  Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:

If we read 1 Corinthians 12, there is no other conclusion that can honestly be made than the conclusion that the Lord has one body with many VERY important members, all having very special spiritual gifts.

Each of these families of the tribe of Levi was assigned different services in the tabernacle, but Kohath was given the honor and duty to carry things on their shoulders… mainly the holy things of the temple that they could neither touch nor look upon or they would die. Does that mean that the servants from the families of Gershon and Merari didn’t have very important jobs as well?

Of course, they had important jobs! This tabernacle was torn down and built up again every time Israel moved. If one of these families had gone on strike, the whole of Israel would have been put on hold.

Had one of these families decided their job wasn’t that important, or certainly not as important as the next family over, then the whole of Israel would have paid for their actions.

If these things were considerations for the “law for a lawless and disobedient people,” how much more consideration we must give to our own roles and service to the spiritually temple of the Living God!

Jer 33:22  As the host of heaven cannot be numbered, neither the sand of the sea measured: so will I multiply the seed of David my servant, and the Levites that minister unto me.

If there are innumerable Levites doing the service of the tabernacle, how much more consideration we must give to the jobs that the Lord has given us as the kings and priests we are being raised to be in His kingdom!

I hope this study has briefly touched upon the importance that each of us are to the calling and choosing the Lord has called us to.

Without each of us realizing our roles in the body of Christ, and then performing our services faithfully, the entire church is put in a holding pattern. Find your calling, and do whatever it is that the Lord has called you to do to His eternal glory.

Many thanks to our Father and Christ for your reply, Mike! There are many things I would like to say and ask, but I will refrain for now.  It is very refreshing to receive a response from you.  As you know, dealing with the topics on your site is a solitary walk… most times.  What God has given you to share has me paused.  Paused in a good way.  I’ve read the story of many that you are assisting and their experiences are very similar to mine.   I understand what it means to compare spiritual with spiritual and yes, I am struggling a bit with some scriptures and others are much clearer.  I have read that no man is greater than John, but the least in the Kingdom is greater than John the Baptist.  To think that I am seeking a calling higher than patriarchs and prophets almost defies belief until I read the scriptures that support it.  So yes, some I struggle with, but it’s a good struggle.  Before I came to your site, God had given me a desire to understand the meaning behind the symbols in scripture such as those that you write about.  It seemed obvious that if one could understand the “code”, one’s understanding would increase exponentially.  That desire was placed on the back burner, probably by the Beast.  Finally, I was lead to your site and have been more thankful to God since. I have one comment from reading your lesson on metals.  I was covering with a friend some of the scriptues you emphasize regarding the difference between base metals and precious and how that can relate to Levites vs Priest; called vs chosen.  My friend is stuck on comparing physical with spiritual and rarely if ever will quote scripture in our conversations.  Nevertheless, he is someone that will give me the time of day when it comes to God’s word.  He pointed out something to me about metals as he at one time was a jeweler.  Most metals that are used by us are not 100% pure.  Pure metals are typically to soft to be used as building materials and another metal is added for strength.  This he pointed out to me as I was trying to relay what I had read of the Copper/ Brass items in the outer court vs the gold and silver in the Holy Place, etc. 
I thought about that and I believe that he is right, even though, he may be being to technical as in the case of Copper; only a small amount, comparatively, of another metal is added to any other to make an alloy such as Brass (copper and zinc) or Bronze (copper and tin).  What he pointed out does not change the spiritual significance, I don’t think.  Then I thought about the Gold and Silver being too soft and that they might need a small amount of a base metal in order to STRENGTHEN the Gold or Silver and make it more suitable for practical use.  I wondered about the whole conversation for awhile… Then I thought about this evil experience that we all go through and the purpose and end result of God’s plan.  I saw a correlation between having this fleshly/ earthly/ base metal experience as somehow necessary to STRENGTHEN us as we grow to Gold/ Saints or to strengthen our precious metals within us.  Maybe I am seeing what I want to see…. stretching? Thanks for listening! D____

Hi D____,
I just read your introduction over on the discussion board. It was very interesting, and it sounded so very familiar. As I have said to our conference attendees on more than one occasion, we all have the same story, just the details vary, but every story is the same “revelation of Jesus Christ” in each of us.
You ask about the need for alloys in gold and silver in order to make them practical for men’s uses. That really is the essence of your question or the question of your jeweler friend. In the court of the tabernacle there may be a need for copper, but not so in the holy place or the holy of holies. By the time we enter into the holy of holies and are in a position to “look behind us to see the seven golden candlesticks” and “the voice that speaks to us,”  all we need to be in that position is pure, soft and malleable gold and silver.
All the gold and silver do is to cover wooden boards and wooden furniture. In order to do that, the gold which covers everything must be very easy to work with and beat out and mold around all the furnishings of the tabernacle. That would be impossible if there were any impurities in that gold or that silver. The need in God’s tabernacle is to be easily molded by God, not to have impurities which give us strength within ourselves. Anything that strengthens us makes us useless to God.
I hope this helps you to see why your friend’s reasonings do not serve to make one fit for use in the holy place, nor in the holy of holies.

Psa 12:6  The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.

Your brother in the Christ,
Mike