Caleb Walker

PowerPoint Free Download Link Here: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/1lkskj3wzqr1x5wdv8ar3/Ppnt-Instructions-1-26-25.pptx?rlkey=a3va49afx568rlo8kgw1gg0b8&st=zgint8oy&dl=0

Review: Last week we looked at how God requires of his people to protect the vulnerable, have integrity in our financial and lending practices, and share our resources with others in need as a way of reflecting His character and pointing others to Jesus.

Title: Instructions

Text: Exodus 25:1-9; Exodus 31:1-6

Memory Verse: Exodus 25:8

Theme: God desires a relationship with His people.

Introduction: In this week’s lesson we see that…God gave us the tabernacle so that He would dwell close to us, and so that we could be dwelling in His presence. He is infinite, yet his presence was ultimately made known to us in His Son—the Lord Jesus—incarnation that He would make a way for us to dwell with Him, live with Him forever.

Opening Discussion Question (s): Did you ever have a class in which you thought, “I’ll never use this information,” but you found out you actually did end up using what you learned in that class?

Context:

At this time, Moses functioned as a mediator/a go-between for God’s people and God, as he recited the instructions to the people and wrote them in a scroll (Exodus 20:1-23:19, 24:3; 19:8). Then Moses brought the elders up the mountain, and God protected them from His shekinah glory by vailing it while also somehow exposing them to His presence, and God shared a meal with them (24:9-11). No human has ever fully seen God, however, as John 1:18, I John 4:12 indicate. When He returns, we will be changed/receive glorified bodies and able to see Him. Jesus shows us the Father and is our Mediator, our go between. In John 14:7 Jesus says, “If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.” While Moses was on Mount Sinai forty days and nights he received instructions for the tabernacle, along with procedures and guidelines for the priests.

Main Points:

1. The Task (Exodus 25:1-7)

“The Lord said to Moses, ² “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. ³ And this is the contribution that you shall receive from them: gold, silver, and bronze, ⁴ blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen, goats’ hair, ⁵ tanned rams’ skins, goatskins,^[a] acacia wood, ⁶ oil for the lamps, spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense, ⁷ onyx stones, and stones for setting, for the ephod and for the breastpiece.”

• This phrase, “The Lord said to Moses,” is repeated seven times and divides up the sections of these speeches within chapters 25-31, showing God’s authority as Creator and Lord to instruct His people.
• The contribution/offering materials for the tabernacle would have mostly come from the plundering of Egypt or trades with other caravans.
• If they were willing to give back to the Lord from the blessings of what God had entrusted to them, this was their chance to give freely from the heart like Paul describes in 2 Corinthians 9:7, “a cheerful giver.”

The work of Christ in the gospel: This lesson points us to Christ and the gospel when we remember how willingly Jesus laid down His life for us to redeem us out of our sin and with it the loneliness and lostness of being far from God and out of fellowship with Him. Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection secured for us the presence of God and the closeness of intimate fellowship with Him for eternity.

• The fine linen and gyms would exalt God’s glory, majesty, and beauty; the olive oil and spices would be for worship and prayer.
• Exodus 28:6-30 go into more detail on the breastplate and ephod that had gym stones on them symbolizing Israel’s 12 tribes.
• Doctrine: Our key doctrine for this week is the doctrine of Stewardship.
•      Lifeway says, “Christians are under obligation to serve God with their time, talents, and material possessions; and should recognize all these as entrusted to them to use for the glory of God and for helping others” (p. 102, Leader Guide).  Matthew 23:23 says, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.”

Discussion: How does our giving connect us to God’s kingdom purposes?

II. God’s Presence (Exodus 25:8-9)

^“8 And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst. ⁹ Exactly as I show you concerning the pattern of the tabernacle, and of all its furniture, so you shall make it.”

• The word for sanctuary is miqdash, meaning “be holy” first used in Exodus 15:17-18 in the song of Israel’s exodus from Egypt and ultimately means a great gathering of all God’s people in His holy presence.
• (Exodus 40:34-35) God was drawing closer into their very midst with His name of ownership on the tabernacle.
• God’s ultimate plan from the garden, to the tabernacle, to the incarnation of Jesus, His indwelling Spirit , to our glorified state in His eternal presence someday is that He would be WITH us (Revelation 21:3-4).
• The details were all designed completely by God, not man, drawing us into His presence (Heb. 8:5; 9:11-12; Ps. 23:6).
• The 3 tabernacles/tents were the temporary one in Exodus 33:7, the “Sinaitic” tabernacle here (Ex. 35-40), and the “Davidic” tabernacle to receive the ark of the covenant in 2 Samuel 6:17.
• The tabernacle being in the center of the camp was a constant reminder of God’s near presence and that all of their lives were to be centered on and revolve around Him.

Discussion: “How ought the awareness of God’s presence affect our worship?”

III. Equipped (Exodus 31:1-6)

“The Lord said to Moses, ² “See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, ³ and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship, ⁴ to devise artistic designs, to work in gold, silver, and bronze, ⁵ in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, to work in every craft. ⁶ And behold, I have appointed with him Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. And I have given to all able men ability, that they may make all that I have commanded you:”

• God called Bezalel (meaning: “in the shadow of God”) and Oholiab (meaning: father’s tent) to recruit manpower, train them, and build the tabernacle.
• The Spirit’s filling for these specific tasks was given to people for specific tasks in the Old Testament like the prophets and judges (Judges 6:34; Micah 3:8) and later on in the New Testament the Holy Spirit fills all believers at the moment of salvation.
• God gave these men with prior wisdom and skillsets an increased level of it for the task. Missionary Hudson Taylor says, “God’s work done in God’s way will never lack God’s supply.” 

Discussion: What skills and abilities has God given you? How can you use them for His glory?

Devotional: “You Have a Vital Part in God’s Work”:

Exodus 25-31

     Every born-again believer has a vital part to play in the work of God through His local church. In the Old Testament God brought together the materials, the inner fortitude through His Spirit, and the people with the wisdom and skillsets to build the tabernacle. Every they needed for the project of building this massive, mobile structure was provided to them by the hand of God.

     The key ingredient then and the key ingredient now for building and growing the work of God to reach more people for God’s glory—to build His spiritual family house/home—is a willing heart. That’s it. Being a person who is ready, eager, and willing to dive into this eternally rewarding work in the key ingredient.

     Examine your heart this week and genuinely seek God asking Him where your willingness is at. Willingness to serve in the work of God requires a cheerful attitude. There are all kinds of things that can sap us from having a cheerful attitude to serve God: distractions (dis-attractions), unconfessed or undealt with sin in our lives, busyness, the frantic pace we allow life to suck us into. All of these can sap our energies, our desires, and our focus from the most fulfilling and rewarding work God has designed us for and called us to: the work of building up His church, His bride, the Body of Christ.

     Ask God to show you where these detractors are in your life, turn from them, and pursue with cheerful joy the worthwhile, rewarding, and fulfilling work of building up the people of God for the glory of God in His local church. You’ll be catapulted into this new way of living through faithfully worshiping and gathering each week and through beign committed to a Connect Group where you can move forward arm-in-arm with like-minded brothers and sisters in Christ.

How to Pray:

• God, please show me any detractors from having a joyfully cheerful willingness to serve in Your local church.
• Help me to surrender these distractions to You gladly.
• Help me take each step You have for me to reach others for Jesus in the spheres of influence You have placed me in.
• Help me to notice where you are working as I move forward in being a committed part of my local Church’s work for Your glory.