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all right I don't have the slides for you this morning so we're going to kick it old school with a white board
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we're talking about the Theology of God as the Creator and tracing it through we've come to a discussion of
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we left off last week I was speaking on the lessons or the parallels that we can draw out of the furnishings
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and one of the reasons we we look at these things we talk about them to the people of Israel as these things were created crafted there's a question of sort of why why did God go into this
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detail why are all of these elements here and there's sort of three broad pieces we can talk about I think with them one of them is he gave them these elements these
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distinctives for his worship they are there to make the approach to God very deliberate he gives them the instruments of the ceremony and the
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ceremonial law that they come before him in careful consideration not flippantly that they follow through with the elements and with the things that are prescribed and so it it helps delineate
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God's holiness in that regard that they have these have these things that they need to do second one and I think this is this comes out as you carry on in the reading of the
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narrative history of Israel is the awareness of sin the necessary ablutions the sacrifices all of these things that are going on is meant to increase their awareness of
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their own sin and the need for reconciliation but before even that Calvin points out in his um in his commentary on Exodus he said the
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first thing that is necessary to receive Redemption is an awareness of the necessity of redemption that if you are not aware of your need you will never go before and seek it out
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and so and so there is that strong reminder of sin the increase of the burden how is it that God can say to them later on come to me you who are heavy laden you
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who carry a heavy burden it is the purpose of the instruments the implements in the Tabernacle to make them aware in some sense to increase the weight of that burden that Awareness on
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them when we later in Paul as he talks about what was the purpose of the law what was the purpose of all of these things it is to convict it is to make them aware of that burden and of that need of
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reconciliation and finally these implements these elements are a means or a method to separate Israel from the Nations it makes their worship distinct from the pagan
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practices going on around them and it is delineated by God in that respect so we looked a little bit at um The Mercy Seat and the um the law and
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the things that were were contained in there we come now to the to the golden table I'm going to read just a little bit out of Exodus 25. if you want to follow along you may read here is the Lord is giving
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instruction to Moses in Exodus 25 beginning in verse 23 you shall make also a table of acacia wood two cubits long one cubit wide one and a half cubits High you shall overlay it with
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pure gold and make a gold border around it you shall make for it a rim a hand width around it you should make a gold border and rim around it you shall also make four gold rings for it and put
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rings on the Four Corners that are on the four legs the Rings shall close the rim as holders for poles to carry the table and you should make the poles of acacia wood and overlay them
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so that the table may be carried you shall also make its dishes its pans its jars its libation bowls with which to pour drink offerings you shall make them of pure gold and you shall set the bread
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of the presence on the table before me continually this is the table that is often referred to as the table of showbread
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we read also in Leviticus 24 as the instructions are given we're told about the bread in the sanctuary in verse 5 of Exodus 24 you shall take fine flower and bake 12 cakes with it two tenths of an ethos shall be
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in each cake and you shall set them in two rows two rows six to a row on the pure gold table before the Lord and you shall put pure frankincense on each row that it may be a memorial portion for the bread even an
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offering by fire to the Lord every Sabbath day he shall set it in order before the Lord continually it is an Everlasting Covenant for the sons of Israel and it shall be for Aaron and his
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sons that they shall eat it in a holy place for it is most holy to him from the Lord's offerings by fire his portion forever so we see a couple of elements here
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God has set his table among his people we talked about the Tabernacle as that place where he dwells that he makes his name to dwell among his people he has also deemed in some respect to put his
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table among his people to eat with them to be in there now obviously God does not eat he does not drink but it is symbolically saying he has placed his table in their midst he eats with his
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people there's that element of hospitality I think many of you have heard things on this and I don't intend to make a a long portion out of it but the hospitality that God is showing to all who enter
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into his Sanctuary that there is food prepared there that he is spreading the table that it is laid there that you do not come before God and find his hand
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in that culture and kind of in our culture breaking bread together was equivalent with acceptance right right and and there is a sense in which that exactly
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that breaking bread together is is almost like a handshake it is to say I have extended Fellowship to you in this regard um there is a a an odd Unity with them
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in material kind again God does not eat but we read here and we read in in Leviticus also that he has Sanctified this that that this food which is necessary for the life of man
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God has made it sacred to himself that there is provision for man in his sanctuary this is why when
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the front against the gospel he was breaking fellowship with those with whom God had made Fellowship I was such an affront it wasn't just
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racial prejudice racial prejudice it was uh it was a sin against the gospel is what he says in Galatians 2. that's an excellent point thank you yeah yeah so and and again I don't want to belabor this
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particular point particular point we have other things to discuss this morning but morning but it does carry on into the understanding of communion the eating of the bread
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together the fellowship together the fellowship meals those things that idea of table Fellowship you find throughout scripture and maybe one day we'll have a chance to actually talk about table
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Fellowship as its own aspect in a lesson but so yes um thank you because it is that it is that extension of of Fellowship it
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is that extension of of communion um this of course comes up later when Christ is is
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rebuking the Pharisees for their attack on him about the Sabbath what does he say about David eating of the bread why is it that David could go in and eat the spread I mean we just read out of levitic because that's for the Levites
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he can eat of the bread because God intended to provide for his chosen for his appointed people God allowed David in to his Sanctuary to eat of that bread as his anointed he it
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comes back to that that food that necessity for Life David and his men needed that food and God did not withhold it from them when they were in his presence in his Sanctuary more
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importantly we read in John chapter 6 of course again not I think an unfamiliar passage to you by any means but it connects back
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here as we talk about the ways that the Implements of the Tabernacle are reflected throughout the rest of
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starting in verse 40 7. truly truly I say to you he who believes has eternal life I am the bread of life your fathers ate the Manna in the wilderness and they died
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this is the bread which comes down out of heaven so that one may eat of it and not die I am the living bread that came down out of Heaven if anyone eats this bread he will live forever then the
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bread also which I will give for the life of the world is my flesh of course we read later that they have considerable difficulty understanding this but I think we can look at this
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Implement again reading things in the light of where we stand with the revelation we have that the showbread is not just those things that we talked about before it is also pointing the way forward to Christ it is
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anticipating the bread of life and so the priests are invited to enter the sanctuary and to eat the bread and so we are invited to enter in to eat the bread of life and enter the
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God tells them tells Moses and his instructions verse 37 of Exodus 25 you shall make a lampstand of pure gold the lampstand its base and its Shafter to be made of hammered work it's cups its bulbs its flowers shall be of one
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piece with it six branches shall go out from its sides three branches of the lamp stand from its one side and three branches of the lamp stand from its other side and three cups shall be shaped like
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almond blossoms on the one branch a bulb and a flower and three cups shaped like almond blossoms on the other Branch a bulb and a flower the same for the six branches going out from its lampstand and on the lamp stand four cups shaped
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like almond blossoms that is its bulb and its flowers and a bulb shall be under the first pair of branches coming out of it and a bulb under the second pair of branches coming out of it and a bulb under the third pair of branches
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coming out it for the six branches coming out of the lampstand their bulbs and their branches shall be of one piece with it all of it shall be one piece of hammered work of pure gold then you shall make the lamp make its
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lamps seven in number and they shall Mount its lamps so as to shed light on the space in front of it it's tongs in its tray shall be of pure gold and it should be made of a talent of pure gold with all these utensils see that you
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make them by the pattern for them which was shown to you on the mountain talent in this case is probably a measure of weight it was probably about 75 pounds worth of gold so not
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insubstantial and I can only imagine the incredible difficulty of hammering out the branches and cups and everything out of one solid piece fabricating that would be amazing
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even with the skills and technology that we have today so it's made of gold it sits in the outer room of the Tabernacle we read
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again as we Trace where where else do these things show up why are we spending time with the Tabernacle when we read in
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verse 4 of Zechariah verse 4 chapter 4. we read this Vision as the angel returns to him to him and asks him we read here in verse 2 of chapter four he says he said to me what
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do you see I said I see and behold a lampstand all of gold with its bowl on the top of it and it's seven lamps with the seven spouts belonging to each of the lamps that are on top of it and also
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two olive trees by it one on the right side of the bowl and the other on its left side left side the angel who was with me was speaking with me saying what are these my Lord so the angel who was
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speaking with me answered sorry I was speaking to the angel saying what are these my Lord and the angel who was with me answered me saying do you not know what these are and I said no my Lord he said this is the word of the Lord's his
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rubbable saying not by might nor by power but by my spirit says the Lord of armies what are you you great Mountain before is the rubbable you will become a plane and he will bring out the top Stone the
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shouts of Grace Grace to it um again Revelation well actually further down he sees again um in verse 10
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for who has shown contempt to the day of small things but these seven these seven lights these Seven Elements will rejoice when they see the Plumb line and the Hand observable for they are the eyes of
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the Lord roaming throughout the Earth we have this um idea this concept that he's showing here of of a symbol of the spirit of the Lord God said it is by my spirit roaming
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through the Earth Illuminating looking seeing Revelation 4 Revelation 4 um I think those lights that we see there are the same idea as we're reading
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here in Zechariah it comes from those seven lamps so seven lampstands of seven elements God's using this um as this symbol it is a symbol of the
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Holy Spirit Illuminating without interruption again I think many of you know the the sort of fable or story of the um lamp being held for what is now used
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in the in the Hanukkah celebrations right that the the oil did not run out but it is in the Commandments given to them that they are to keep the lamp burning continually from the setting of the Sun to the dawning of the day in the
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morning that that light is in this Sanctuary the sanctuary is never deprived of light the spirit is there Illuminating continuously Illuminating continuously the altar of incense
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back in we're going to move on to chapter 30 of Exodus for this one
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portions of exodus in the in the instructions but he says here at Exodus 30 verse 1 you shall make an altar as a place for burning incense and you shall make it a vacation wood its length shall be a cubit it's with the Cubit it shall
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be square its height shall be two cubits its horns shall be of one piece with it and you shall overlay it with pure gold it's topping its sides all around and it's horns and you should make a gold
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molding all around for it you also make two gold rings for it under its molding you should make them on its two sides it's on opposite sides and they shall be holders for poles with which to carry it
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and you shall make the polls of a case you wouldn't overlay them with gold and you shall put this altar in front of the veil that is near the Ark of the testimony in front of the atoning cover that is over the Ark of the testimony
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where I will meet with you Aaron shall burn fragrant incense on it and he shall burn it every morning when he trims the lamps and when Aaron sets up the lamps at Twilight he shall burn incense there
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shall be Perpetual incense before the Lord throughout your Generations you shall not offer any strange incense on this altar or burnt offering or meal offering and you shall not pour out drink offering on it however Aaron shall
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make atonement on its horns once a year he shall make atonement on it with the blood of the sin offering of atonement once a year throughout your Generations it is most holy to the Lord
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his incense burned morning and evening perfuming the entire 24-hour period the the cycle of the day there is some thought that perhaps this helps cover the smells of the sacrifice
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the the offense to your senses that all of that burning meat might increase but I think we really read the the gist of what we need to know out of it or why
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this incense is there psalmist says in Psalm
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as he is calling upon the Lord he says like Lord I call upon you hurry to me listen to my voice when I call to you may my prayer be counted as incense before you the raising of my hands as the evening offering
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and again in Revelation as the vision is given to John
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in chapter 8 of Revelation he sees says another angel came and stood at the altar holding a golden sensor and much incense was given to him so that he might add it to the prayers of all the Saints on the golden altar which was
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before the throne and the smoke of the incense ascended from the Angel's hand with the prayers of the Saints before God then the angel took the sensor and filled it with the fire of the Altar and hurled it to the Earth and there were
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peels of thunder and sounds and flashes of lightning and an earthquake so we see it coming before the Lord mixed with the prayers of the Saints
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this is the symbol the element of the of the prayers of his people being raised up in smoke before him perfuming it acceptable smelling acceptable smelling delightful an aroma of
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pleasure to the Lord as we consider these elements we think about the the sort of use of the Tabernacle I want to pick out a couple of points before we move on to the next one and in Steven's sermon as he's
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speaking to the Sanhedrin I say speaking in large measure haranguing them
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we read here in verse 44 as he's sort of gone through the history of Israel and he's bringing out these elements as he he traces the narrative history of God's communication to the people he says in verse 44 of Acts 7 our fathers had the
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Tabernacle of testimony in the wilderness just as he who spoke to Moses directed him to make it according to the pattern which he had seen our fathers in turn received it and they also brought
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it with Joshua upon dispossessing the Nations that God drove out from our fathers until the time of David David found favor in God's sight and asked that he might find a dwelling place for
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the house of Jacob but it was Solomon who built a house for him however the most high does not dwell in houses made with human hands as the prophet says Heaven is my throne and the
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Earth is the footstool of my feet what kind of house will you build for me says the Lord or where is the place for my rest was it not my hand that made all of these things
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these things you men who are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit you are doing just as your fathers did which one of the prophets did your fathers not
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persecute they killed those who had previously announced the coming of the righteous one and you have now become betrayers and murderers of him you who receive the laws ordained by angels and
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yet did not keep it the writer of Hebrews I think we've already touched on this in a previous lesson but it's worth connecting here
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connecting here in Hebrews chapter 8 as he brings these things out he says in verse 4 now if he were on Earth he would not be a priest at all since there are those who offer the gifts according to
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the law who serve a copy and a shadow of the Heavenly things just as Moses was warned by God when he was about to enter erect the Tabernacle see he says that you make all things by
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the pattern which was shown to you on the mountain but now he has obtained a more excellent Ministry to the extent that he is also the mediator of a better Covenant which has been enacted on better promises the Tabernacle and the
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Furnishings in and of themselves are effectively nothing effectively nothing except by their reference by their pattern of the Heavenly thing that they are modeled on
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modeled on and so again Stephen the writer of Hebrews we read it elsewhere you can read it certainly out of the larger context of Paul's message those things were Shadows copies they're
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useful they they are deployed by the writers of scripture and we read a number of places in Hebrews where he picks those things up but they are a lesson they are a tool they are not the end in and of themselves
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and so they are useful to the people of God in all ages by their reference to the Heavenly thing on which they are patterned I want to pick up
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another element out of the building of the Tabernacle before we leave it
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and that comes out of two places I'm going to start with Exodus 28. and we read this last week this instruction is being given to Moses it says here
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in Exodus 28 verse 3. you shall speak to all of the skillful people I'm reading out of The New American Standard American Standard you shall speak to all of the skillful
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people whom I have endowed with the spirit of wisdom that they make Aaron's garments to consecrate him that he may serve as a priest to me she shall speak to the skillful people I have endowed
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the spirit of wisdom and again in Exodus the Lord spoke to Moses saying see I have called by name bazalel the son of
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Yuri the son of her the of the tribe of Judah and I have filled him with the spirit of God and wisdom in understanding in knowledge and in all kinds of craftsmanship to create
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artistic designs for work in gold in silver and in bronze and in The Cutting of stones for settings and in the carving of wood so that he may work in all kinds of craftsmanship and behold I
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myself have appointed with him Ohio Ohio the son of ahisamak of the tribe of Dan and in the hearts of all who are
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skillful I have put skill literally in the hearts of all who are wise I have put wisdom put wisdom that word that is translated in most of your translations I think as skillful there is actually the same word as you
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read like all through Proverbs where it says wisdom and wisdom it's the exact same word um so in the heart of all who are wise I
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have put wisdom that they may make everything that I have commanded you the tent of meeting the Ark of testimony the atoning cover that is on it and all the furniture of the tent the table its utensils the pure gold lampstand and all
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its utensils and the altar of incense the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils in the Basin and its stand the woven garments as well the holy garments for Aaron the priests and the garments
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of his sons with which to carry out their priesthood the anointing oil also and The Fragrant incense for the holy place they are to make them according to everything that I have commanded you so
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again the overarching theme of the study is to explore this Theology of God as Creator and we spent of course a significant portion of the class here to four in Genesis where we see that major work of
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creation right in which all things are brought into being of course that's the place that you go to immediately and we see all of that being accomplished directly by the word of God's power right he speaks these
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things into existence we read in a couple of places that he takes and forms things all of that is accomplished directly now as we come to the Tabernacle God picks up a slightly
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different mode of enacting but it is no less an act of his creation is it that he is now appointing men to carry out his will to make this according to his design
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according to his pattern God in the Tabernacle takes up a work of creation again we looked at the initial creation as we think of it in Genesis 1 creating a place that he might meet with
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man a place where he would dwell now we find in the Tabernacle he is creating a place to dwell there are a couple of principles I think that come out of this Mission as we read it here as he's he's
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embarking on it the first and I think we can see this over the next couple of if we call them dwellings of God since we've picked up that thread we
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talked sort of a timeline if you think about places where God makes his makes his special presence conspicuous
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the components as we've talked about the Biblical timeline moving through these are the elements that God displays for us as places where he makes his name to dwell his conspicuous
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special presence creation we find him walking in the garden the Tabernacle of course we've been looking at the temple we will see as Solomon dedicates it that the glory of God
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moves physically symbolizes moving into it the church uh being indwelt by the Holy Spirit and finally that new Earth when we look forward to that unfettered that Unshackled communion with him
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so as we look over these sort of next three portions of dwelling I'm going to kind of bracket us here
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because as far as I can understand reading it from scripture these two as far as we can see are enacted directly by the hand of God by
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his particular Hands-On direct work whereas the bracket that I've drawn here and this is don't take this dispensationally please this bracket is a portion in which God
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has chosen to appoint men to use their labor to build his dwelling to bring his vision his pattern into
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reality our our space our Realm however it must be according to the pattern
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it must be according to what he has instructed we just read that out of Exodus 25. we must be very careful that no invention of man is ever mixed into the commands of God
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that there is nothing that man is adding to what God has appointed God is not collaborating with man I want to make this point clear as we work
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through here God is appointing these he is raising them up but he is not collaborating we read in the and we spent a little while talking about in The Garden of Eating Eden the
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Dominion given to man over the Earth to rule to subdue to expand if you think about that and the glory that God is
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gaining from sharing that from from appointing men with that Dominion you contrast that you think back over our study in Exodus we walked through the first 11 chapters
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of Genesis before we even got to Exodus to make what point man was continually usurping the Earth to make a place for a man's name to dwell not for God's name
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okay so you contrast the Dominion that God has given man to build it to make it to make a dwelling for God's name contrast that
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with the selfishness of man the desire to make a name for himself not for God God is not collaborating there is no yielding in his intention
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there's a book that I sort of set out with at the beginning of this study in my own reading that I ended up using basically not at all in our study so far
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I think it's an interesting book it's it's worth reading but it's not particularly as biblically based as I would like it to be to be um in the introduction to this book is
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Dorothy Sayer's mind of the maker in the introduction to this book is written by Madeleine langel who many of you would recognize as the author of A Wrinkle in Time which I did not know
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until I was reading this introduction she was an open theist she talks a bit in this introduction about this concept of when you're writing I think many of you who are creative people could recognize
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this in your own experience whatever that may be whether it's working with wood or playing an instrument whatever the things are there comes a point there's a time in this process of creation that your material
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almost speaks back to you right that your material has some quirk in it you find a very particular knot in the wood or you find there's a there's a sort of famous story
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um the man having the idea of man having Serendipity with his materials there's a story about The Pianist Keith Jarrett who was during the Cold War went to Berlin to give a concert was invited by
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a student group went over there they were supposed to have this really nice piano um that they were going to borrow it didn't come through he shows up at the concert hall there is an absolute wreck of a piano one of the keys doesn't
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even work it's way out of tune it's this whole thing he almost calls it off he decides to go for it he ends up in this instead of the sort of typical concert pianist sitting down calmly playing he's
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standing up hammering on Keys just absolutely abusing this thing to get the sound out of it that he wants it becomes by far the best-selling record that he ever makes
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ever makes because of how much he had to overcome the skill displayed in manipulating a difficult element into a good sound becomes this symbol
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Madeleine lingle picks up this kind of idea and says see that's how it works with God that he has to Wrangle with us that he has to shape us that we are this resisting material and together we know
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okay that's the point I'm making here is no God is not collaborating with us we cannot model God after our experiences we have to read in scripture who he is
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and the things that we see out of our own experience must comport with the truth that we read of him therein okay so the things that we similarities that
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illuminate in our own experience may never contradict the written truths about God about God here in Exodus is appointing skillful
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Calvin and his commentary picks this up and says okay what's going on here is there a contradiction in this phrase we read here it says specifically that God into the hearts of those who were wise
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he put wisdom why would you need to put wisdom into their hearts if they were wise
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if they really excelled in intelligence why and how were they inspired he says the common explanation of this is that the special grace of God is given in Aid of that which you naturally
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possess he says I don't think that's it either his quote here when Anything Grows in us and our endowments manifest themselves more conspicuously our progress is only
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derived from the continued operation of the Holy Spirit over the course of their life and his sovereignty over their inclinations God
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had already shaped these men God had already conferred upon them wisdom and skill he then elevates these men by the particular impetus of his spirit in them
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to raise them up for this special work this special Ministry it'll go to my mind because I got to use my hands now she's right over there
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I want to connect three points here hopefully before we run out of time this by analogy and I want to make that clear that I'm doing this not out of very
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particular Exposition given to us but I think you'll see where I'm connecting these the three elements are this
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in the first instance we read here of the gifting and inspiration of skilled workmen to accomplish the building of the
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we understand that God had already arranged these men given them a course that brought them to be skilled and then elevated them to this task as we think about the inspiration of scripture and I'm going to read our sort
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of classic statement of the doctrine of the inspiration of scripture in second Timothy 3
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I'm going to read starting in verse 14. you however continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of knowing from whom you have learned them and that from childhood you have known
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the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to Salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus all scripture is inspired literally God breathed I think most of
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you have heard that before God breathe that is is the Greek there and beneficial for teaching for rebuke for correction for training and righteousness so that the man or woman
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of God may be fully capable equipped for every good work equipped the inspiration of scripture is God breathed it's doing a couple of things
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here when we think about the writing of scripture how is scripture written what is the where how did it come to us we're reading here a letter of Paul of Paul Paul is writing to Timothy and yet he is
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apparently without well I can't say whether he knew or didn't know that he was writing this about his own letter that was going to become scripture that
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it is breathed by God the man who is writing the scripture is not erased is he the personality of Paul is still here we can read in Peter saying these things
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are hard to understand personality of Peter is still there the personality of the prophets comes out of it I mean we even read in the case of Amos in fact more than one of the prophets but
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famously Famous Amos I'm sorry Amos says of himself I'm not a prophet I'm a shepherd and a farmer of figs I'm
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not made out of skill for this the point is that God is Not collaborating here God is breathing into them a word to speak God is using him
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those men are not erased in their particulars their personality their their message still comes through according to the way that God has ordered those things
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in Peter as we read of Peter Peter was among the disciples already a leader and we find God elevating him then at Pentecost to take on that position
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more particularly does he not Paul his great learning you think about the the history the trajectory of Paul and sometimes we read the letters of Paul and we dig into all these things and we
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say boy Paul had all of this wisdom and this understanding but yeah remember what came before that until the Holy Spirit came upon Paul that wisdom and understanding was not used for the glory
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of God was it it was used for the persecution of the church after the impetus of the holy spirit that same learning that same knowledge
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was then tasked was bent to God's will pushed in the direction that it needs to go for the building of the church Christ says of himself that he would
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build up the church does he not he says you know if you start with the tear down this temple in three days I will raise it up in Matthew 16 speaking of Peter
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you are Peter and on what on this rock I will build the church Christ himself is is Master over it taking this on in Ephesians 2
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I'm going to start in verse 8 I guess for for by Grace you have been saved through faith this is not of yourselves it is the gift of God not a result of works so that no one may boast for we are what his workmanship created in
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Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them therefore remember that previously you Gentiles In the Flesh who were called uncircumcision by the
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so-called circumcision which is performed in the flesh by human hands remember that you were at that time separate from Christ excluded from the people of Israel strangers to the covenants of Promise having no hope without God in
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the world but now in Christ Jesus you who previously Were Far Away have been brought near by the blood of Christ for he himself is our peace who made both groups into one and broke down the
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barrier of the dividing wall by abolishing in his flesh the hostility which is the law composed of Commandments expressed in ordinances so that in himself he might make the two one new person in this way establishing
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peace that he might reconcile them both in one body to God Through The Cross by having put to death the hostility and he came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near
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for through him we both have our access in one Spirit to the father so then you are no longer strangers and foreigners but you have you are fellow citizens with the Saints and are of
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God's household having been built on the foundation of the Apostles and the prophets Christ Jesus himself being the Cornerstone in whom the whole building being fitted together is growing into a
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holy Temple in the Lord in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the spirit we've already read in one place the idea of the equipping the Saints for the work
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um in First Peter two I'm going to try to get through
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um to to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable undefiled and will not fade away reserved in heaven for you you who are protected by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be
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revealed in the last time in this you greatly Rejoice even though now for a little while oops uh if necessary you have been
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distressed by various trials so the proof of your faith being more precious than gold would which perishes being tested Through Fire may be found to result in Praise glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus
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Christ you have not seen him but you love him though you do not see him now but believe in him you greatly Rejoice with joy and expressible full of Glory obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls
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the building of the church is again a special Act of Creation Of God that he is especially specifically designing this place where his name would dwell by his spirit with us
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it is the use of men gifted and endowed of the spirit I don't want to be Blasphemous here but the point I'm trying to get to you is
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you need both of those things the man must be skilled to the work and he must have the spirit of God
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that the Holy Spirit must enable him to the work or it is useless again unless the Lord builds the house
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God has appointed men this is one of the things I would pick up with with the elders in particular in particular what is the purpose of the Elder in the church what is he doing as he is shepherding and guiding his people
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we read in Exodus 39 that Moses saw that all of it was done according to the Lord's will right that he looked on the work he observed it
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Moses was in the place in this construction of the Tabernacle as overseer he was guiding and watching over the whole work that all of these people that all of these Craftsmen were doing making
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sure it was done according to the pattern according to the will of the Lord I would charge that this is what the elders are are intended to be doing in the work that God is doing in building
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his church is to watch over all of those who are gifted in the various ways we read in Romans 12 I have it on my list here we haven't made it there this morning but you think about all of the
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different places where where Paul talks about the gifting if you're gifted to what if you're gifted to lead if you're gifted to give if you're gifted for Hospitality do all of them in this way but the elders are overseeing all of
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this work to make sure that that work is done according to the pattern that God has established according to his will that nothing of man's invention enters
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into it and that that that construction when we get done with the Tabernacle it is according to God's will when the church is finished whatever
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that means that means it will be according to the will of God there will be no admixture of man in it
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I hope you can see again I It Is by analogy that I I draw the line through these three elements but in all of them you think of the prophets being told to write down the words in the book you think of the the message
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given it is always and ever the impetus of God the intention of God that begins and ends the work man is used as a tool in God's hand to accomplish his will his
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purpose thank you thank you I think that's one of the biggest things that we can take out of the Tabernacle as we look at it and we think about it is the connection back to our own
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purpose you go back to our sort of very first lesson the mission of the Church of making disciples of being that place that Holy habitation
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it must be done both by skill that God has put in US but foremost by the leading of the Holy Spirit according to the pattern shown to us let's close in prayer as we begin this
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our heavenly father we do thank you for your Holy Spirit we thank you for his Illumination in us in our hearts and in our minds and we ask that you would increase the light for us that we might
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better see you we might better worship you as we go before you in song and in prayer together as we sit under the word preached we ask your illumination brighter and brighter for us father that
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the preacher might deliver the word in the brilliant daylight of your spiritual power and that we would
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receive it in kind into our hearts by the spirit who dwells in US that it would have its perfect work in each and every person who sits under it according to the tasks that you have designed them
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toward rather we ask that you would be glorified in this place today that you would be lifted up
