Wednesday Bible Study: The end of all things- Exodus

I have really had to hash out Exodus 40 for this study, and I have drawn a few big lessons, but I had to frame it with Context.

Context is, this Chapter comes pretty much within 6 months of the great betrayal of Israel while Moses was getting the Law from God on Sinai.  In that 6 months, Moses had to teach them this Law, and start the construction of the Tabernacle.  Our chapter in question then is the "Readers Digest" version of the following 8 chapters in Leviticus- before anything happened in our chapter, God taught the people through Moses all the things expected of them about this new Tabernacle, which took the first 7 chapters of Leviticus.  Leviticus 8 then hit what we might call the 'technical details' left out of Exodus 40, so that everything God commanded Moses in verses 1-15 got accomplished between vv17-33 of our chapter and Leviticus 8.

So rather than hammer out this whole thing, let's do just like God did, and deal with a summary.

One thing I noted was that every two verses during Moses's work, the phrase was inserted, "as the LORD commanded Moses. "  And if you copy these down- what was done between the phrases- and instead of digging in as I usually do and instead back up for the big view, you see the pattern.  The things that Specifically dealt with God came first, down through the items of contact with the people which had to be consecrated, and ending with the outer court through which the people would pass.

That sets up our PRIORITIES.  First God, then the things that put people in contact WITH God, then the people themselves, i.e. their physical persons.

Next thing was the fact that they did this on what was set as the first day of the year.  One commentator mentioned that it is a good thing to start fresh at the beginning of a year.  If there's a Biblical basis for New Years Resolutions, there you go.

Another thing brought up was the fact that they did not wait until they got to the Promised Land to do this.  As soon as God had given them "the rules", they were to START RIGHT THEN- where they were, in the desert.  Which is where God wants US to start, not waiting till we're in a 'better place'.

One thing that got brought up a lot in my studies was this little deal:

Exo 40:9  "Then you shall take the anointing oil and anoint the tabernacle and all that is in it, and consecrate it and all its furniture, so that it may become holy. 
Exo 40:10  You shall also anoint the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and consecrate the altar, so that the altar may become most holy. 

So they ask, "Is there a reason why the Tabernacle was to be made "holy", whereas the Altar for the burnt offerings was to be made "most holy"?  The general consensus was;

 When we read here, however, that the dwelling and the vessels therein would be rendered “holy” through the anointing, but the altar of burnt-offering “most holy,” we are not to understand this as attributing a higher degree of holiness to the altar of burnt-offering than to the dwelling and its furniture; but the former is called “most holy” merely in the sense ascribed to it in Exo_30:10 namely, that every one who touched it was to become holy; in other words, the distinction has reference to the fact, that, standing as it did in the court, it was more exposed to contact from the people than the vessels in the dwelling, which no layman was allowed to enter. (K&D)

Do I buy this?  I'm not sure.  I wonder if the place of sacrifice isn't 'most holy' because, as the imitation of Christ's death on the cross, it is the ONE place that makes US holy.

Finally, the most obvious lesson is in the structure of the chapter.  VV 1-16 are the instructions on what God WANTS from us;  16-33 is OBEDIENCE to those instructions; and 34-38 are the BLESSINGS and guidance we get as a result of that obedience.  And that is the summary of what God gives us throughout the Bible.