Exodus 32:31-33

Exodus 32:31-33 And Moses returned unto the LORD, and said, Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold. Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin--; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written. And the LORD said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book. When Moses went up onto Mt. Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments on the tablets of stone, he was gone for a long time. Many of the Children of Israel were nervous and thought that Moses had died up on the mountain. So they started to go back to their old ways. They began to look for an idol to worship. So they talked Aaron into making them a golden calf to worship. Can you believe it!? Worshiping a thing that you had just made yourself! It makes no sense! But then again sin doesn’t make any sense either. So while Moses was talking to God, God interrupted him and said, “You’d better get back down the mountain because Israel is sinning and I am just about to wipe them out!” So Moses rushed down just in time to see everyone having a wild party before the golden calf. And wow was he mad at them! So Moses straightened them out and then went back up Mt. Sinai to apologize to God for the people. Moses said, “These people are sinful and have fallen back into idol worship. But if you will just forgive them one more time . . .” And then Moses just broke down and couldn’t finish what he was saying. This is the only unfinished sentence in the Bible! But then Moses went on and offered to let God destroy him if God would just forgive the Children of Israel. What love, Moses had for his people! But God wouldn’t hear any of it. God said, “Whoever sins, they will answer for themselves.” And that is as it should be. Or is it? Didn’t Jesus die for us? But wasn’t Jesus innocent? And I am so glad that Jesus died for our sins, aren’t you?

Exodus 29:38,39,43

Exodus 29:38,39,43 Now this is that which thou shalt offer upon the altar; two lambs of the first year day by day continually. The one lamb thou shalt offer in the morning; and the other lamb thou shalt offer at even: And there I will meet with the children of Israel, and the tabernacle shall be sanctified by my glory. God demanded blood sacrifices. That was because sin is terrible and can only be washed away by death. And the blood represents that death. The little lambs had to die because of man’s sin. That is just the way it is. The lamb did nothing wrong to deserve death. It had to die and take someone else’s place. And Jesus Christ, God’s perfect Lamb of God, did nothing wrong to deserve death. But Jesus died in our place. He died for us to save us from our sins. What a wonderful thing Jesus did on the cross. We should love Him and worship Him and thank Him for what He did for us on the cross.

Exodus 28:40,41

Exodus 28:40,41 And for Aaron's sons thou shalt make coats, and thou shalt make for them girdles, and bonnets shalt thou make for them, for glory and for beauty. And thou shalt put them upon Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him; and shalt anoint them, and consecrate them, and sanctify them, that they may minister unto me in the priest's office. God gave specific instructions of how to make the priests’ uniform. Each part was to be beautiful, but with a special meaning as well. Aaron was to wear a golden ephod, which was like a solid vest, front and back. And the golden ephod had twelve precious stones imbedded in it. Why do you think the number twelve important? There were the twelve tribes of Israel. When Aaron went into the Holy of Holies in the Tabernacle once a year to offer the sacrifice for everyone’s sins, he wore that golden ephod and the twelve precious stones on it. Aaron was representing all of the people as he sprinkled the blood on the Mercy Seat. And just like Aaron represented everyone in the Old Testament, Jesus Christ died for everyone in the New Testament. He took our place and took on Himself all of our sins. But Jesus was much better than Aaron’s sacrifice. Jesus died once and for all. He paid the final payment for your sins and for mine! Aaron was a wonderful Old Testament picture of the work of Christ in the New Testament.

Exodus 28:1-3

Exodus 28:1-3 And take thou unto thee Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, that he may minister unto me in the priest's office, even Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron's sons. And thou shalt make holy garments for Aaron thy brother for glory and for beauty. And thou shalt speak unto all that are wise hearted, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they may make Aaron's garments to consecrate him, that he may minister unto me in the priest's office. Aaron and his sons were dedicated to God as priests. And God wanted them to look special. So God told Moses to look for wise-hearted workers who could make the priests’ garments. God gave specific instructions on how to make these special garments, but God needed clever men and women to do the work. That is a good lesson for us. God uses some people in the ministry. They are preachers, teachers, and missionaries. But then God uses other people to help and assist in getting the work done. Some fix the preachers’ cars. Some fix the church electric wires and water pipes. Some make clever things in the church building that help to make God’s house pretty. Some plant beautiful flowers and shrubbery on the outside. But all of us should be God’s workers. All of us can be filled with God’s Spirit of Wisdom. All of us have a job to do for our heavenly Father.

Exodus 27:20,21

Exodus 27:20,21 And thou shalt command the children of Israel, that they bring thee pure oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamp to burn always. In the tabernacle of the congregation without the vail, which is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons shall order it from evening to morning before the LORD: it shall be a statute for ever unto their generations on the behalf of the children of Israel. One of the interesting features of the Tabernacle, and then later the Temple, was the golden candlestick. It had seven oil lights and was to be kept burning 24/7. It was never to go out. Actually, the Jews today have a celebration involving the candlestick every year around Christmas time. It is called Hanukkah, or the Feast of Lights. About two hundred years before Jesus was born, the Jews rebelled and declared their independence from their Greek overlords. During the rebellion, Jerusalem was surrounded and besieged. The Jews had little food and no olive oil for the light in the Temple. But, miraculously, the light continued to burn for eight days when it should have gone out. The Jews gained their freedom and re-dedicated the Temple. In John 8:12, Jesus says that He is the light of the world. And then in Matthew 5:14 Jesus calls Christians the light of the world. The menorah is a beautiful picture on Jesus, the light of the world. We should shine as the lights of Jesus telling others of His salvation.

Exodus 26:30-33

Exodus 26:30-33 And thou shalt rear up the tabernacle according to the fashion thereof which was shewed thee in the mount. And thou shalt make a vail of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen of cunning work: with cherubims shall it be made: And thou shalt hang it upon four pillars of shittim wood overlaid with gold: their hooks shall be of gold, upon the four sockets of silver. And thou shalt hang up the vail under the taches, that thou mayest bring in thither within the vail the ark of the testimony: and the vail shall divide unto you between the holy place and the most holy. The Tabernacle was a beautiful building, but still, it was a tent. It had to be moveable so that Israel could take it with them as they traveled through the wilderness on the way to the Promised Land. It had several layers of coverings with a thick fabric curtain in the front. A second curtain divided the Tabernacle into two rooms. The first room had three pieces of furniture: the seven armed candlestick called the menorah, the table of showbread, and the altar of incense. The second room, the inner room, was a special place. It contained only the Ark of the Covenant. The high Priest was only allowed in once a year on the Day of Atonement. He brought a blood sacrifice and sprinkled it on the Mercy Seat, which was the lid of the Ark. That was the place where God met with mankind. But it was accessible only once a year and then only to the High Priest. But, in the New Testament, when Jesus Christ died on the cross, at the very moment of His death, there was a great earthquake and the ve

il of the Temple was torn open in the middle. But it was ripped open from top to bottom, not from the bottom to the top. The earthquake did not cause the rip, God the Father caused the rip! God opened up that special room and made a way for all of us to come to Him in salvation! Jesus Christ was our sacrifice! Jesus Christ made the way for us to come to God!