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All right, you can turn with 
me and your Bibles to the Book of Exodus, Chapter 25. That's 
the Book of Exodus, Chapter 25. I know last time I was getting 
my chapters and verses mixed up quite often, so forgive me 
for that. If I do that again, say three 
times, please someone just wave their hand in the air so that 
I don't confuse anyone anymore. Anyway, the book of Exodus chapter 
25, we're just going to read verses 1 to 9. The thesis of 
the section or the main point is found in verse 8 and 9 of 
chapter 25. So let us read together. uh... chapter twenty five verse 
one then the lord spoke to moses saying speak to the children 
of israel that they bring me an offering from everyone who 
gives it willingly with his heart you shall take my offering and 
this is the offering which you shall take from them gold silver 
and bronze blue purple and scarlet thread fine linen and goats hair 
ram skins dyed red badger skins and acacia wood oil for the light 
and spices for the anointing oil and for the sweet incense 
onyx stones and stones to be set in the ephod and in the breastplate 
and let them make me a sanctuary that i may dwell among them according 
to all that i show you that is the pattern of the tabernacle 
and the pattern of all its furnish furnishings just so you shall 
make it amen well let us pray Dear Heavenly Father, we thank 
you for this day, Lord. We thank you for your grace and 
goodness. Father God, help us to understand that you are a 
true and holy God. Help us to prepare our hearts 
for you, to prepare our hearts when we enter your house. Help 
us to appreciate the requirements that it takes to build your house, 
Lord God. You are the true and the living 
God. You are the being of all beings, Lord God, and you certainly 
deserve the best of us, and even the best of the adornments that 
the Israelites had. And Father God, we pray that 
you'd forgive us of our sins, how quick we are to sin against 
you and forsake you, even on our wedding night. Father God, 
we thank you for the work of Christ, who is the mediator of 
a better covenant. We thank you, Lord, that he died 
as that perfect sacrifice. He did what the Israelites could 
not do, and he did what we could not do. Father God, we pray that 
we would have encouragement and refreshment concerning the right 
worship of you, but also help us to remember that you dwell 
with us, Lord God. We thank you that Christ tabernacled 
with us. We thank you that we have the 
indwelling of the Holy Spirit in us as temples. Father God, 
help us to take these things to heart and remember these things. 
And help me as the one who's teaching these truths. Help me 
to teach the truth accurately and rightly. Help me to be precise, 
Lord God. Help me to be clear. And Father 
God, may ultimately, may your Spirit be here and may your Spirit 
speak through me, Lord God. Help me to remember that I am 
a no-name, Father God. I am just simply a herald of 
your truth. Father God, may you be glorified in all things. And 
in the name of Christ, we pray these things. Amen. Well, we 
come to the last section of the book of Exodus. That's chapters 
25 through 40. I want to highlight a few things 
about the Book of Exodus before we begin. First of all, we need 
to remember that I take the author of the Book of Exodus to be Moses 
and the audience of the Book of Exodus to be the people of 
Israel before they entered into the Promised Land. And the primary 
or overarching theme of the Book of Exodus is namely that God 
is present with his people, specifically as their Israel's king and their 
savior as well. And as we'll see tonight, the 
climax or the main point of the Book of Exodus is namely that 
God dwells with his people. And so the overall structure 
of the Book of Exodus can be divided this way. We saw, first 
of all, the deliverance from the tyranny of Pharaoh in chapters 
1 through 18. Then we saw the divine demand 
of God Most High in chapters 19 through 24. And tonight we 
are going to look at the dwelling of the Lord God with his people, 
chapters 25 through 40. So remember the first time we 
got together with Exodus, we looked at how God in his goodness 
and kindness remembered his covenant with Abraham. And we saw that 
right off the bat in chapter 1. We saw the increase of the 
people that was promised to Abraham. This was a nation that had increased. 
We haven't seen the place yet, but we've seen the people. And 
remember, the people of Israel groaned unto Yahweh, asking Him 
for relief from the tyranny, from the slavery that they were 
under. And then God, in His goodness and kindness, brought forth Moses, 
his mediator, and brought them up out of the land of Egypt. 
And then we saw in chapters 19 through 24 the divine demand 
of the Lord God Most High. We saw in chapter 19 how Yahweh 
wastes a whole chapter preparing the people of Israel to receive 
the law of the Lord. Remember, Davis said that in 
order to prepare the people to receive the law of the Lord, 
they must have a reverence and an awe and a fear of the Lord 
God Most High before they actually receive the law from the Lord. 
And then here in chapters 25 through 40, we see this holy 
God. We get to see how he dwells with 
his people. Now, I know chapters 25 through 
40 aren't always the most fun to read in the Old Testament. 
There's a lot of numbers, a lot of measurements, a lot of building 
going on, but we have to appreciate what's actually happening here. 
This is really about the worship of the Lord God Most High as 
He dwells with His people. We get to see the building of 
the house of the Lord. Now, I'm sure most of us are 
very keen to be involved in the building of our own house. Now, 
how much more must we be aware of the house of the Lord and 
the accouterments that He has as well? So in Exodus 25 through 
40, Yahweh charges Moses to build the tabernacle where Yahweh would 
dwell in the midst of his people. So we see Yahweh giving this 
command to Moses with specifics, since it's Yahweh's house Moses 
received these specifics on how he was supposed to build the 
house of the Lord. And by when he built the house 
of the Lord, then Yahweh would dwell with his people. We will 
look at this dwelling of the Lord God Most High under three 
main headings. We will look at the command for 
the tabernacle, Exodus 25 through 31. We will look at the challenge 
to the tabernacle, Exodus chapter 32 through 34. And then finally, 
we will finish with the construction of the temple, chapters 35 through 
40. So let us first look now at the command for the tabernacle, 
Exodus 25 through 31. And we'll look at two main points 
under the command for the tabernacle. We're first of all going to look 
at the material for it, and then we're going to look at the plan 
for it. So notice with me in chapter 25, verses 1 to 9, which 
is what we just read. The Lord said to Moses, 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. And this is the contribution 
that you shall receive from them. Gold, silver, and bronze, blue 
and purple, and scarlet yarns, and fine twine linen, goat's 
hair, tans, ramskins, goatskins, acacia wood, oil for the lamp, 
spices for the anointing oil, and for the fragrant incense, 
onyx stones and stones for setting, for the ephod, and for the breast 
piece." So what we see here is this contribution that Yahweh 
is calling for where the people, notice it says, It says to them 
that this contribution you shall receive from them, but from every 
man whose heart moves him, you shall receive this contribution. 
It's a free will offering by which all these different types 
of material would be given to Moses for the furnishing and 
the building of the tabernacle. And it's kind of like before 
you build a house, you need lumber, you need Electrical wire. You 
need the various things in order to make a house properly. And 
so even before we get into the building of the house, the blueprints, 
we know first of all what Yahweh requires or the adornments that 
Yahweh wants in his house. But then notice specifically 
in chapter 25 verses 8 and 9. This is the primary task. and let them make me a sanctuary, 
that I may dwell in their midst, exactly as I show you concerning 
the pattern of the tabernacle and all its furnishings." This 
sanctuary idea carries the idea of something that's a sacred 
place. In fact, the word in Hebrew for sanctuary is very much a 
derivative of the word that's holy. It's a holy place. Gil 
says, And there Yahweh dwelt as their king and their God, 
to whom they might have recourse on all occasions, and on whom 
they should serve and worship. Remember, God appeared to them 
in his holiness, in his presence in chapter 19. And remember that 
they said to Moses, Moses, no, you mediate for us. So what happens 
here is we have the building up of the sanctuary where which 
Yahweh would dwell and where his people could approach him 
in an appropriate and proper way. Thankfully, now we have 
the Lord Christ by which we can approach the throne of grace. 
The idea here is that Yahweh is a holy God and he needs to 
be approached in the way that he specifies, even in the building 
of his house. And I think the illustration 
that I think can resonate in our minds is the idea, especially 
in this summary section of the command of the tabernacle, is 
the idea of a blueprint, the blueprint for a house, the draft 
for a certain house that we are going to build. Before you go 
to the site or the lot which you might build your house, you 
have to understand how the lot's set up, how it's supposed to 
be dealt with. You gotta go to the city, get 
the right permits, and you have to have the right structure or 
plan in place in order for things to go smoothly. How much more 
for the house of the Lord? How much more for the preparation 
for God to dwell with his people? And so this is what we see in 
chapter 25, 10. to chapter 31 verse 18. We see 
the blueprint for the tabernacle. We see how Yahweh wants his house 
to be set up. And he's serious when he says 
in chapter 25 verse 9, exactly as I show you, exactly as I show 
you concerning this pattern and even its furniture as well. Yahweh Most High has a specific 
design, not only for the preparation for people, but even once you 
dwell in his house, for the appropriate worship of him as well. So I'm just going to summarize 
this blueprint. I'm just going to summarize the 
various furnishings and the way the tabernacle was made. So I'm 
not going to go into detail here, but I'm just going to summarize 
it. So under the blueprint section, we're under the command, we're 
under the blueprint, now we're looking at the tabernacle and 
its furnishings, chapter 25, verse 10 to 27, verse 21. We see the making of the Ark 
of the Covenant, chapter 25, verses 10 through 22. The Ark 
of the Covenant, it was a chest, right? It housed the tablets 
of the testimony. It also served as the mercy seat 
that was on top of the Ark of the Covenant which also kind 
of was set up kind of like a throne where Yahweh would sit. Probably 
more accurately, one commentator highlights, it was more Yahweh 
would stand on that, would stand on the top of the mercy seat 
as well as he dwelt with his people. And remember when the 
temple would be built in the time of Solomon, you had the 
cherubim that set up. It looked like a throne where 
Yahweh would sit and where people would come and meet with him. 
So we see the Ark of the Covenant, which is one of the primary symbols 
of God's presence. Remember the Israelites, when 
they went to war with the Philistines, they thought just because they 
had the Ark of the Covenant that they would win. Of course, we 
all know what happened. That wasn't the case because 
it wasn't, it's not just for that reason. It's because Yahweh 
dwelt with his people, not the sign of Yahweh dwelling with 
his people. Nonetheless, it did serve as that primary symbol 
of God's dwelling with his people. In chapter 25, verses 23 to 30, 
we see the table for the bread. This probably highlighted Yahweh's 
protection and provision as well. We see the golden lamp stands 
in Exodus 25 verses 31 through 40. That was to give light in 
the tabernacle. And then we actually see the 
blueprint for the tabernacle itself in Exodus 26, 6 verses 
1 to 37. We see the tabernacle. We see the tent that's supposed 
to go over the tabernacle. We see the various clasps that 
hold the various materials together. We see the upright frames that 
would hold it in. We see bars, we see veils, and 
we see the screen as well, specifically for this tabernacle where Yahweh 
would dwell. In chapter 27, verses 1 through 
8, we see the bronze altar. Stuart says that this was the 
primary place where atonement, or substitute for sin, would 
occur. And that was right when he walked 
in to the tent of meeting, specifically. He walked in and there was the 
altar by which the sacrifices were offered up unto the Lord. 
which probably teaches us what? That we need to have atonement 
of sin before we actually enter in and meet with this holy God. We see the court of the tabernacle 
in Exodus 27 verses 9 through 19. This is the area of worship 
for the people other than the priests during worship, even 
including the sacrifice. Remember, the people weren't 
allowed to enter into the Holy of Holies. The priests were the 
primary ministers, where there is this courtyard where which 
the people would come and worship the Lord God. We see the oil 
for the lamp in Exodus 27 verses 20 and 21. So that's the tabernacle 
itself and the furniture that's in there. Then we see the ministers 
of the tabernacle in Exodus 28 verse 1 to chapter 30 verse 38. We see the priest's garments 
in Exodus 28 verses 1 through 40. And then we see the process 
by which these priests would be consecrated in Exodus chapter 
29 verses 1 through 46. Then we see this altar of incense 
in Exodus chapter 30 verses 1 through 10. And this was probably a portrayal 
of either the prayers of the people up to Yahweh, a constant 
perpetual prayer, or it carried the idea that when the incense 
was offered, it was offered either in the morning or in the evening, 
typically when the sacrifices would be offered up. So kind 
of like how the offerings to the Lord would be an aroma that's 
pleasing unto Him. So it's kind of two different 
options or ideas probably going on here that the different commentators 
had. Then we see this census tax in Exodus chapter 30 verses 
11 through 16. Probably it was done to get money 
for the service and maintenance of the tabernacle. Then we see 
this bronze basin in Exodus chapter 30 verses 17 through 21, highlighting 
the cleanliness needed in holy matters. Then we see this anointing 
oil and incense in Exodus chapter 30 verses 22 through 38. So we've seen the tabernacle 
and its furnishings under the blueprint. We've seen how the 
ministers are supposed to function. But notice in chapter 31, verses 
1 through 11, we need men to build it. We need master craftsmen. We need the foremen, if you will, 
to come and build this house right. And God says in chapter 
31 verses 1 through 5, 1 through 6, sorry. The Lord said to Moses, 
see, I have called by name Bezalel, the son of Uri, the son of Hur 
of the tribe of Judah. And I have filled him with the 
spirit of God, with ability and intelligence, with knowledge 
and all craftsmanship to devise artistic designs, to work in 
gold, silver, and bronze, in cutting stones for setting, and 
in carving wood to work in every craft. And behold, I have appointed 
with him, O Holiab, the son of Hissamach, of the tribe of Dan. And I have given to all able 
men ability that they make all that I have commanded you. Verse 
7 as well. The tent of meeting, the ark 
of the testimony, and the mercy seat that is on it, and all the 
furnishings of the tent, the table and its utensils, and the 
pure lampstand with all its utensils, and the altar of incense, and 
the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and the basin 
and its stand, and the finely worked garments, the holy garments 
of Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons for their 
service as priests, and the anointing oil and the fragrant incense 
for the holy place. According to all that I have 
commanded you, you shall do." So we see the need of these men 
to come and build the house of the Lord. And thankfully the 
Lord set apart men who were skilled and intelligent to make sure 
that the house was built properly. How many of us want a hack who 
can't build a house? Not usually. Usually we want 
someone who's skilled, who's crafty at their trade, can do 
it well and do it right to make sure there are no issues with 
the house. Now, this seems kind of tedious, 
doesn't it? There's a lot of specific furniture. 
There's a lot of specifics going into each piece of furniture. 
But nonetheless, we have to appreciate that this is the Lord's house. 
And everything that gets built must be built in a certain and 
proper, specific way. I remember when I was working 
in construction, I was able to work with a guy who knew how 
to kind of do everything. And he let me do some plumbing. 
And so I did some plumbing and then we put the drywall up and 
then we forgot, we realized we forgot to test the water to make 
sure it all ran okay. And sure enough, we tested it 
and there was one piece, little piece I forgot to crimp. And 
so there was water spraying everywhere. So it's important that as we 
build a house, that we have the specifics in place and even more 
so for the house of the Lord God most high. Then in chapter 
31, verses 12 through 18, This section closes with this idea 
of the Sabbath, this importance of worship. And then we have 
a summary statement in chapter 31, verse 18. And he gave to 
Moses, when he had finished speaking with him on Mount Sinai, the 
two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone, written with 
the finger of God. So we see the summary statement 
here that leads us into the next section. But Kaiser says, concerning 
the section of the Sabbath, he says, even though the construction 
of the tabernacle and its furnishings was a sacred work, the workmen 
were not to overlook the sacred institution of the Sabbath. That's a day that's set apart 
for the Lord God Most High. We do not do what we did the 
other six days on that day. We come and worship the Lord 
God. It's even hard for seminary students not to do homework on 
Sundays. And that's something that we 
need to take into consideration because it is something that 
we do the rest of the six days. But nonetheless, this Sabbath 
idea is extremely important and a regulator for the people of 
Israel, even for the men who are supposed to build the tabernacle 
or the dwelling place of the Lord. So I think one important 
application we can take away from all this preparation is 
this. We need to sometimes properly, 
no, not sometimes, all the time, properly prepare ourselves when 
we come to dwell with the Lord God Most High. Now, I don't want 
to be legalistic here with what I'm about to say, but nonetheless, 
I think the principle still applies. How do we prepare ourselves before 
Sunday morning? What does our time frame look 
like on Sunday night? Are we staying up late? Are we 
exhausted the next day so we're falling asleep in the heat? Or 
are we actually going to bed in a good time? Are we arriving 
in good time? Are we making our hearts prepped? 
and ready for actually meeting this thrice holy God. If you're 
five minutes late, can you get up just five minutes earlier? 
Like, it's not hard. Five minutes isn't a big deal, 
right? This is the house of the Lord 
we're preparing ourselves for. We would certainly prepare ourselves 
to go to a wedding or to go to someone else's house, but how 
much more do we need to prepare ourselves for the house of the 
Lord? Again, I'm not trying to be legalistic, But the point 
is, and the principle we can take away, is that we do need 
to prepare our hearts for the Lord when we go and worship Him 
on those days. And moreover, when you go to 
someone else's house, you typically respect the rules of the house 
or the homeowner that you attend, right? So how much more even 
for the house of the Lord? We'll get into this in a moment 
after we look at the golden calf incident. But the idea is that 
Yahweh has set specific rules and parameters in place for the 
worship of His house. And so we need to take into consideration 
the idea that I can't just go into someone's house and change 
all the colors that go on there. If I were to walk in a friend's 
house and say, you know, I really hate that color, I'm just going 
to paint it pink, you would have hell to pay, right? So the same 
is true here for for the House of the Lord. We need to understand 
that we approach him in a right and proper manner. I just want 
to say I'm sorry I said hell. Please forgive me. I shouldn't 
have said that. That was not right. Please forgive me for 
that. So we've seen the command for the tabernacle, we've seen 
the materials for it and the blueprints for it as well. Now 
let us look secondly at the challenge to the tabernacle in Exodus chapter 
32 verse 34. Now we need to ask ourselves 
the question, why is this here? in the text. We've seen the Law 
of God given. It would seem to make a lot of 
sense for this section to fall after the Law of God that's given, 
or the giving of the Law of God. But here we have several chapters 
about the worship of God. Kaiser says this, But this section 
only contrasts the divinely appointed worship established in connection 
with the tabernacle with humanly devised worship that adores the 
work of human hands, and it leads to debauchery. The sheer amount 
of text devoted to the topic of worship ought to demonstrate 
its importance. So we see the preparation for 
worship, and then we have these three chapters where Israel commits 
adultery on their wedding night. It's set up here to show us that 
the right and proper worship of God is appropriate. We must 
worship God in an acceptable manner in the way that he has 
prescribed. So we will look at this challenge 
to the tabernacle under three points. We will look at the calf, 
then we'll look at the work of the mediator, And then we will 
look at the covenant renewal. So under this section of the 
challenge, let us first look at the golden calf, Exodus chapter 
32, beginning at verse one. When the people saw that Moses 
delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered 
themselves together to Aaron and said to him, up, make us 
gods who shall go before us. And as for this Moses, the man 
who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know 
what has become of him. Now, remember back to Exodus 
chapters 19 and 24. Remember, Moses spoke the words 
of the covenant, read the book of the covenant out loud to the 
people of Israel, and they said in Exodus 19, verse 8, all the 
people answered together and said, all that the Lord has spoken, 
we will do. The same thing is repeated in 
Exodus chapter 24, verse 3. And all the people answered with 
one voice and said, all the words that the Lord has spoken, We 
will do. Exodus 24 verse 7. All that the 
Lord has spoken, we will do and we will be obedient. Israel has 
just gotten married, right? And now they're committing adultery 
on their wedding night. It's like the husband goes away 
for a little while and the wife looks for the best man on the 
wedding night. That's exactly what it is. And 
so we see here what they're doing. They're saying, you know, Moses 
is kind of gone, you know. But one thing that we get to 
see that the people of Israel didn't is what Dale Ralph Davis 
calls eavesdropping. We know Moses is going to be 
40 days and 40 nights on the mountain. The people of Israel 
didn't necessarily know that, but it's very, it's very quick 
to see how quickly they turned from the true and the living 
God and sought to worship him in an inappropriate way. He's 
so and so we then we see Aaron's compliance with this so Aaron 
said to them Take off the rings of gold that are in the ears 
of your wives your sons and your daughters and bring them to me 
So all the people took off the rings of the gold that were in 
their ears and brought them to Aaron and he received the gold 
from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and made 
a golden calf and They said these are your gods. Oh Israel who 
brought you up out of the land of Egypt When Aaron saw this, 
he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation 
and said, Tomorrow shall be a feast to the Lord. And they rose up 
early the next day and offered burnt offerings and brought peace 
offerings. And the people sat down to eat 
and drink and rose up to play." But notice what they do before 
they even ascribe worship to this calf. They said in chapter 
32 verse 1, As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out 
of the land of Egypt. Who brought them up out of the 
land of Egypt? It wasn't Moses, it was Yahweh 
who brought them up out of the land of Egypt. So they relegate 
God's work to a mere mortal in this instance. And then they 
go on even further in chapter 32, in chapter 32 verse 4. These are your gods, O Israel, 
who brought you up out of the land of Egypt, referring to the 
golden calf. So they relegate their deliverance 
even further to metal. It's pretty absurd when we see 
what they're doing when they turn from the true and living 
God to worship this idol. But perhaps, even though the 
first commandment is in view here, perhaps the second commandment 
is even more in the forefront of this text. Because Aaron says 
in chapter 32, verse 5, tomorrow shall be a feast to the Lord. tomorrow shall be a feast unto 
the Lord." So it's almost, they were still worshiping Yahweh, 
but through the vehicle of this calf. This is breaking that second 
commandment. Remember, the second commandment 
deals with how we are to worship God. And remember, we've spent 
several chapters building up about how the temple of God is 
supposed to look, the worship of God is supposed to be. But 
yet, here they're worshiping God in an inappropriate way that's 
devised by human ideas. And so we need to remember that 
when we come to worship God, we don't need any human ideas 
brought into it. We don't need the ways of the 
world to win people to the Lord God Most High. God has set forth 
His plan before the foundation of the world to save sinners 
through Jesus Christ by the proclamation of the Word. We don't need shred-along 
songs with shredding guitarists during the worship of, of, of, 
of, of, of, in, in the house of the Lord. This is the house 
of the Lord and His rules are set and the rules that He set 
are the one that we need to continually follow. Kyle and Dalich say, their faith 
was corrupted by the impatience and unbelief of a natural heart, 
which has not been pervaded by the power of the living God, 
and imagines itself forsaken by Him whenever His help is not 
visibly and outwardly at hand. So we see them disown themselves 
and give them up to worshiping God in an inappropriate way through 
the vehicle of this calf. But what's interesting is the 
primary focus of this section, the major chunks, primarily focus 
on the mediator at work, the imperfect mediator, namely Moses, 
who mediates on behalf of the people. And there are actually 
three sections. But first, we see God's anger 
in chapter 32, verses 7 through 10. And the Lord said to Moses, go 
down, for your people whom you brought up out of the land have 
corrupted themselves. They have turned aside quickly 
out of the way that I commanded them. They have made for themselves 
a golden calf and have worshipped it and sacrificed to it and said, 
These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the 
land of Egypt. And the Lord said to Moses, I 
have seen this people, and behold, it is a stiff-necked people. Now therefore, let me alone that 
my wrath may burn hot against them, and I may consume them, 
in order that I might make a great nation of you. Notice the covenant 
language has changed. No longer is he, they are his 
people, but he says, they are your people. the people whom 
you brought up out of the land of Egypt. And this idea of that 
second commandment involved is found in chapter 32 verse 8. 
They have made for themselves a golden calf and they have worshipped 
it and sacrificed to it. Again, the idea of bringing humanly 
devised ideas into the worship of God. And so we see God seemingly 
disowning his people here in chapter 32, verses 7 through 
10. So we've seen this golden calf, 
we've seen this adultery on the wedding night, but then we see, 
but that brings us to our second point under the challenge to 
the tabernacle, that is the mediator at work. Chapter 32, verse 11 
to chapter 33, verse 23. And we see three instances of 
Moses mediating for his people. And Kaiser says, the God who 
seemed unmerciful, however, is the same God who had mercifully 
prepared Moses for just such as an occasion as this, where 
Moses would work as his job to be that mediator on behalf of 
the people. So we see the first mediation 
in Exodus 32, verses 11 through 14. And Moses here, he says, oh Lord, 
why does your wrath, chapter 32, verse 11, oh Lord, why does 
your wrath burn hot against your people whom you have brought 
out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty 
hand? Why should the Egyptians say with an evil intent did he 
bring them out to kill them in the mountains and to consume 
them from the face of the earth? Turn from your burning anger 
and relent from this disaster against your people. Remember 
Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, to whom you swore by 
your own self, and said to them, I will multiply your offspring 
as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have promised 
I will give to your offspring, and they shall inherit it forever. 
and the Lord relented from the disaster that he had spoken of 
bringing on his people." So we see Moses, first of all, appeals 
to the Exodus. He appeals to the great work 
that God has just done and said, why would you bring these people 
out so that you just might kill them? Why would the Egyptians 
even want to say this? Why would you consider to do 
this? Now the psalmist brings this idea up in Psalm 106. Psalm 106, verses 19 to 23. And the psalmist 
here is praising Yahweh for his goodness in relenting. Psalm 
106 verse 19 to 23. They made a calf in Horeb, and 
worshipped a metal image. They exchanged the glory of God 
for the image of an ox that eats grass. They forgot God their 
Savior, who had done great things in Egypt, wondrous works in the 
land of Ham, and awesome deeds by the Red Sea. Therefore he 
said he would destroy them. Had not Moses, his chosen one, 
stood in the breach before him and turned away his wrath from 
destroying them." So we see the psalmist praising God's goodness 
in turning away the wrath through the work of Moses, albeit the 
imperfect mediator. But he also appeals to the Abrahamic 
covenant as well. Remember, Abraham, Isaac, and 
Israel, your servants, to whom you swore by your own self and 
said, I will multiply your offspring as the stars of the heaven and 
all this land that I have promised I will give to your offspring 
and they shall inherit it forever. And then we see the Lord relenting. 
Now the Lord did not change his mind. This is something to accommodate 
to our finite capacities. It's what's called anathropopathism. We've obviously dealed a lot 
with impassibility lately. The idea here is not so much 
that God changed his mind, but it helps us understand the relationship 
between Moses and Yahweh and the flow and the structure of 
the narrative. Anathropopathism just means that they attribute 
human emotions to God to help us understand how Yahweh is dealing 
with his people. Yahweh didn't change his mind 
here, but in his goodness and kindness demonstrated his grace 
to Moses the mediator and ultimately to the people who had just disowned 
him. And then we see Moses descend and confront Aaron. Exodus 32 verses 15 through 29. 
The groom returns. And we see he comes down, we 
see him burn with anger, and then he crushes the calf. He 
crushes that calf. Now, if you remember from your 
readings in the books of 1st and 2nd Kings, remember what 
was the charge primarily to the kings of Israel. That is, they 
were supposed to break and crush the idols and the asherah poles 
and the idolatry that was going on. So we see an instance of 
what most of those kings should have done. Unfortunately, they 
did not. But here we see Moses as a mediator 
crushing the idolatry that is here, just as Christ our Savior 
crushes the head of the serpent. But then we see this confrontation 
with Aaron. And Aaron makes up some funny 
excuses here about what had gone on. It's like the cheaters were 
caught by the groom. The best man and the groom's 
wife have been caught, and now the groom is dealing with them. 
And now the groom says, what did this people do that you have 
brought such a great sin? And Aaron said, let not your 
anger of my lord burn hot. You know the people. They are 
set on evil. For they said to me, make us 
gods, you shall go before us. As for this Moses, that man who 
brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what 
has become of him. So I said to them, let any who 
gave gold take it off. So they gave it to me, and I 
threw it in the fire, and out came this calf." That's pretty 
funny, right? That's pretty funny that he said, 
oh, I just threw gold in there and just popped up. Oh, this 
guy was just in my room. He just found his way here. It's 
pretty pathetic when we see that, but you know what it serves for 
us to see? The great grace of God in this 
moment. You see, we see them committing 
this adultery on their wedding night. We see these foul excuses 
against the Lord God. We see God's goodness and how 
he relented and how he renews the covenant with them in Exodus 
chapter 34. And then we see, after this confrontation, the 
punishment by the Levites, where 3,000 people were killed. So 
that's that first mediation. Then we see the second mediation, 
chapter 32, verse 30 to 33, verse 11. And Moses the next day said 
to the people, you have sinned a great sin, and now I'll go 
up to the Lord. Perhaps I can make atonement 
for your sin. So Moses returned to the Lord and said, Alas, this 
people has sinned a great sin. They have made for themselves 
gods of gold. But now if you will forgive their 
sin, but if not, please blot me out of your book that you 
have written. But the Lord said to Moses, whoever has sinned 
against me, I will blot out of my book. But now go, lead the 
people to the place about which I have spoken to you. Behold, 
my angels shall go before you. Nevertheless, in the day when 
I visit, I will visit their sin upon them. And this idea of atonement 
highlights the necessity of the justice of God to deal with the 
issues. God really does judge between 
the righteous and the wicked only, and it is He who determines 
who receives eternal life, namely only those who have been forgiven. You see, Moses wanting to bear 
the punishment with his people, but God is saying, I am the one 
who judges rightly, who deserves punishment and who deserves deserve 
sin. Now we all deserve sin, but Yahweh 
does say in Exodus 33 verse 19, I will make all my goodness pass 
before you and I will proclaim before you my name the Lord and 
I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious and I will show mercy 
on whom I will show mercy. As we know, Paul quotes that 
in Romans 9 to deal with predestination. God is the one who shows mercy 
on whom he will. He is the just God. He is the 
holy God. And he will deal with people 
in the right way that he said he would. And then we see this response. Then we see in chapter 33, verses 
1 through 6, we see that God, this response, to the people. It's kind of, it's a punishment. 
What that says is. Chapter 33 verses 1 through 6. 
The Lord said to Moses, Depart, go up from here, you and the 
people who you have brought up out of the land of Egypt. It 
is the land which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying 
to your offspring, I will give it. I will send an angel before 
you, and I will drive out the Canaanites, the Amorites, the 
Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hevites, and the Jebusites. Go 
up to the land flowing with milk and honey, but I will not go 
among you, lest I consume you on the way for you are a stiff-necked 
people." Now when the people heard this disastrous word, they 
mourned, and no one put on his ornaments. For the Lord had said 
to Moses, say to the people of Israel, you are a stiff-necked 
people. If for a single moment I should 
go up among you, I would consume you. So now take off your ornaments 
that I may know what to do with you. Therefore, the people of 
Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments from Mount Horeb 
and onward." What this is highlighting is that contact with Yahweh has 
been limited. They have sinned against the 
Lord God Most High, and even more, how much more do we need 
this dwelling place, this tabernacle where we can approach God in 
a right and proper way? Thankfully, we have the Lord 
Christ in our day where we can approach God, we can approach 
the throne of grace with boldness because of what Christ has done. And this idea of this contact 
limited I think is seen for us in Exodus 33 verses 7 through 
11. We see this summary of the tent of meeting. But what it 
is, is it's a pre-tabernacle, pre-tent of meeting that we've 
seen all the preparation for. It's more of a temporary one 
before that one was set up. And then what that was trying 
to do is highlight his relationship even now with Israel. Namely, 
that there's a separation between a holy God and an unholy people. That you have to approach God 
in a right and proper way. That's probably the idea that's 
going on here. I had a tough time figuring out 
how this section fit here that's probably what's happening most 
the commentators deal with it that way but then we so we've 
seen two mediations by Moses but then we see one more mediation 
the third mediation in chapter 33 verses 12 through 23 and Moses 
said to the Lord see you say to me bring up this people but 
you have not let me known whom you will send with me the crying 
out may see the need for the presence of the look and he sees 
the need for the presence of the Lord to be with them. It's 
been severed, but Moses wants Yahweh to go with them regardless. And he says in verse 13, now 
therefore, if I found favor in your sight, please show me your 
ways that I may know you in order to find favor in your sight. 
Consider to you that this nation is your people. And he said, 
my presence will go with you and I will give you rest. My 
presence will go with you and I will give you rest. And he 
said to him, if your presence will not go with me, do not bring 
us up from here. For how shall it be known that 
I have found favor in your sight, I and your people? Is it not 
in your going with us so that we are distinct, I and your people, 
from every other people on the face of the earth? And the Lord 
said to Moses, This very thing that you have spoken, I will 
do, for you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by 
name." Again, we see God's goodness. He requests this favor that Yahweh 
would still go with him. And this idea of favor is repeated 
five times in verses 12 through 15. Lord, if you have favor upon 
us, go with us. We do not want to go if you don't 
go with us. We do not want to go. We do not 
want to travel unless you are near us. And that, I think, is 
the same for us in our Christian walk. Even for a pastor, I don't 
want to get up in the pulpit, come before a microphone, unless 
the Lord God is with me. How terrifying it is to not have 
the dwelling of the Lord God with us. So we see Yahweh grant 
this. We see His grace here. He grants 
this. My presence will go with you, 
and I will give you rest. But then Moses requests something 
very, very interesting. He says, Lord, please show me 
your glory. Chapter 33, verse 18. And Yahweh 
said, I will make my goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim 
before you the name of the Lord. Jumping down to verse 21. And 
the Lord said, behold, there is a place by me where you shall 
stand on the rock, and while my glory passes by I will put 
you in a cleft of the rock and I will cover you with my hand 
until I have passed by. Then I will take away my hand 
and you shall see my back but my face shall not be seen. So we see that Moses has requested 
to see the Lord. Show me your glory. And Yahweh 
says he will do that, but only in a limited sense. So we've 
seen under this idea of command, or of the challenge, we also, 
we saw under the idea of challenge, we saw the golden calf, we saw 
the mediator at work, and then now we're looking at the covenant 
renewed in Exodus verse 34 this is a confirmation of favor the 
Yahweh would pass before him and verse 34 at chapter 34 verse 
1 the Lord said to Moses cut for yourself two tablets of stone 
like the first and I will write on the tablets the words that 
were on the first tablets which you broke be ready by the morning 
and come up in the morning to Mount Sinai and present yourself 
there to me on the top of the mountain No one shall come up 
with you. And let no one be seen throughout 
all the mountain. Let no flocks or herds graze 
opposite that mountain. So Moses cut two tablets of stone 
like the first. And he rose early in the morning 
and went up on Mount Sinai, as the Lord had commanded him. And 
he took in his hand two tablets of stone. Then the Lord descended 
in the cloud and stood with him there and proclaimed the name 
of the Lord. The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, the 
Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and 
abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast 
love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and 
sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the 
iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children 
to the third and the fourth generation. And Moses quickly bowed down 
his head toward the earth and worshipped." We get to see something 
of some theology proper here. First of all, in chapter 34, 
verse 6, we see the Lord, the Lord. And what this is highlighting 
is his immutability, that God is unchangeable. Even with the 
things we're about to see about his character, he's unchangeable 
in his mercy. He's always slow to anger. He's abounding in steadfast love. Those things never change. And so we see immutability. We 
see God's merciful mercy and graciousness. The Lord, the Lord, 
a God merciful and gracious. Gill says, from whence it appears 
that it is in Christ and for his sake that God forgives sin, 
even through his blood, righteousness, sacrifice and satisfaction. And 
this forgiveness is of all sin, of all sorts of sin, original 
or actual, greater or lesser, public or private, open or secret, 
of omission or commission, of heart and life." So we see God's 
grace and His goodness even to this wife that had committed 
adultery on her wedding night. If you miss the grace of God 
in the Old Testament, you're not reading it properly. It's 
very clear and it's very, very wonderful. But we see his justice 
and his righteousness as well. He will by no means clear the 
guilty. We need someone who will bear the punishment in order 
where we can have atonement and forgiveness of sins. Then we see the right response 
to this. Moses quickly bowed down his head to the earth and 
he worshipped. He worshipped the Lord God after 
seeing just a glimpse of his glory. And then we see the actual 
covenant being renewed, chapter 34, verses 10 through 28. The conquest of Canaan is promised 
once again. And then we see some worship-related 
commands in chapter 34, verses 17 through 26. And notice they 
center a lot on proper worship. You shall not make for yourselves 
any gods of cast metal, chapter 34, verse 17. Six days you shall 
worship, the reiteration of the Sabbath. So we see the idea that worship 
is extremely vital, and he's trying to reiterate that even 
in the renewal of the covenant. And this renewal of the covenant 
is another demonstration of God's great grace. God's great grace. So the covenant is rewritten, 
the covenant is renewed, But then we have this interesting 
little statement, this section here, where we see the shining 
face of Moses. And why is it so detailed here? 
Stuart says, it highlights that Moses had actually met with the 
Lord. It also confirmed Yahweh's presence 
with his people. It also confirmed Yahweh's greatness. And it reminded of a possible 
close connection with Yahweh through the proper means. And 
it also highlights how the New Covenant glory far exceeds the 
Old Covenant. All who know Christ as Savior 
and live for Him reflect His glory even more powerfully than 
Moses did, though without the visible frightening effect, by 
reason of living the transforming life of the Spirit of God. So we see that this idea that 
we can have connection with Yahweh and we are meant to shine as 
lights in that crooked and perverse generation, to shine as lights, 
to demonstrate the glory of Christ and how it far exceeds the glory 
found even in the old covenant mediator as well. So the application 
we can take away from this challenge, we saw We saw the golden calf. We saw the mediator at work. 
We saw the covenant renewed. But we need to have proper worship 
in the dwelling place of the Lord God. It is his house. We 
approach him on his terms through his rules because it is his place. And we do that through the proper 
mediator, namely through Jesus Christ. The people did that through 
Moses, the mediator. He was imperfect. We need Christ, 
the true mediator for new covenant believers. And I think a good 
charge for us here is not to worship idols. And that's exactly 
how the Apostle Paul uses it in 1 Corinthians 10. verse 7. So we need to have a right and 
proper, not only preparation, but have proper worship when 
we arrive as well. We need to be awake. We need 
to be slapping our faces if we're falling asleep. We need to be 
pinching ourselves. This is the house of the Lord 
God most high. So we've seen the command and 
we've seen the challenge, but let's finally look at the construction 
of the tabernacle. This is basically just a fulfillment 
of all the things promised in the command for the tabernacle. I'm just going to summarize these 
as well. Chapters 35 through 40. Chapter 35 verses 1 to 3 
reiterates the idea of proper Sabbath worship. Sabbath worship 
was extremely important. The right and proper worship 
was extremely important. And as he reiterates, before 
they even get to the building of the tabernacle, they need 
to highlight, it's important that we approach God properly 
on the day that he has specified. Right worship is extremely vital. 
Then we see the summary of the contributions for the tabernacle 
or the fulfillment of it, Exodus 35 verses 4 through 29. We see a summary statement in 
chapter 35 verse 29. All the men and women, the people 
of Israel, whose heart moved them to bring anything for the 
work that the Lord had commanded by Moses to be done, brought 
it as a freewill offering to the Lord. So all those various 
things we read about in 25 are now fulfilled here in verse 35. Then we see the actual building 
or the construction of the temple, tabernacle, sorry, Exodus 35 
verse 30 to 39 verse 43. We see the building of the tabernacle, 
35 verse 30 to 38 verse 31. That's the tabernacle specific. We see a summary statement in 
38 verse 21 to 31. And then we see the summary of 
the priestly garments being made. We don't actually see the consecration 
until Leviticus chapter 8. But here in Exodus 39 verses 
1 through 43, we actually see the crafting of the priestly 
garments by the two master craftsmen and their men. But there's something, 
there's a repeated phrase that comes throughout this section. 
And it is this, they had done as the Lord commanded. They had 
done as the Lord commanded. Again, highlighting the idea 
that we need to approach the Lord as He has commanded. And so then the last section, 
chapter 40, deals with the glory of the Lord appearing in the 
tabernacle. And we see the formation of the tabernacle in chapter 
40 verses 1 through 34. Again, that same term is repeated, 
as the Lord had commanded Moses, they did. As the Lord had commanded 
Moses, they did. But then we see the climax of 
the whole book in chapter 40 verses 34 through 38. namely 
the dwelling of the Lord God Most High. This is the point 
of Exodus. This is the purpose that Yahweh 
Most High dwells with his people. It isn't the Exodus itself. It's 
actually the dwelling and the worship of the Lord who brought 
them up out of the land of Egypt. Stuart says, holiness does not 
happen because God's people are gathered all together in one 
place, but occurs because God is in a place regardless of whether 
his people are there also. What makes a place holy isn't 
the people, It is the one whose house it is, namely the Lord 
God Most High. There are certainly people who 
gather in the name of the Lord on Sunday mornings, but I do 
not think that the Lord dwells in their midst. But here we see 
in Exodus 40 verse 34 through 38, Then the cloud covered the 
tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. 
And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the 
cloud settled on it. And the glory of the Lord filled 
the tabernacle. Throughout all their journeys, 
whenever the cloud was taken up from the tabernacle, the people 
of Israel would set out. But if the cloud was not taken 
up, then they did not set out till the day that it was taken 
up. For the cloud of the Lord was on the tabernacle by day, 
and fire was in it by night in the sight of all the house of 
Israel throughout all their journey. And Yahweh does dwell with his 
people. And this was one of the distinguishing 
factors that made Israel a special people, that he dwells among 
his people. And remember, the tabernacle 
is that primary symbol of God's presence with his people. Wherever 
that was, that's where God would dwell with them. So one application 
is this. God does dwell with his people, 
and it's primarily realized in the Lord Jesus Christ. John 1.14. The Word became flesh and tabernacled 
among us. And that's the idea that the 
Word has, that the Lord dwelt and tabernacled among his people. And when we read Exodus 32, how 
great and gracious that a holy God would dwell in the midst 
of sinners like us, how he would send his Son in the fullness 
of the times, born of a woman, born under the law, made in our 
likeness, how he emptied himself that he might become like humanity. 
It's truly a wonderful thing when we think of the work of 
the Savior and how the Lord Jesus dwelt with the people and died 
as that perfect sacrifice, doing what those Israelites could not 
do, doing what we could not do. And so thank the Lord that we 
do have Christ who dwelt with us. Thank the Lord also we can 
look to the new Jerusalem that one day where we will dwell with 
the Lord, that perfect, that heavenly tabernacle, but also 
as well that the indwelling of the Spirit that the Spirit dwells 
within us as a tabernacle, as a temple, as well, according 
to 1 Corinthians 6. So, in conclusion, Yahweh does 
divinely design the tabernacle, and he does it as a means by 
which his people would dwell with him. And we saw the command 
to build this tabernacle. We saw the challenge to the right 
and proper worship of the Lord God in the right place, and then 
we saw the construction and the fulfillment of the command to 
build it towards the end. But we ultimately saw the dwelling 
of the Lord God most high. We'll close with several applications. 
Namely, we need to prepare our hearts for Sunday morning. We 
need to be prepped and ready to come to the house of the Lord. 
We need to be awake and alert, for this is the Lord's house. 
This isn't our house. We didn't build it. We didn't 
make it. We didn't make the rules. God made the rules. And we get 
to come and worship him in the way that he has prescribed. And 
thankfully, we come to a church where the men actually do what 
God has prescribed. And they seek to regulate us 
by the word of God to do what is right. And so we need to prepare 
our hearts for that worship. Also, we need to have proper 
worship as well. I think that piggybacks off preparation. But nonetheless, when we come, 
we need to do what's right. Preach the word. Sing the word. 
Pray the word. day in and day out, every Sunday 
morning. That is the purpose of the men, 
of the pastors in this church, to do what God has required of 
them. And namely, thankfully, as I 
said, we have Christ who tabernacled among us. Christ who is Emmanuel, 
God with us. Now I'll close by reading Hebrews 
chapter 8. Hebrews chapter 8. The writer 
draws on these wonderful ideas of the difference between the 
earthly and the heavenly tabernacle, but also the difference between 
the Moses, the imperfect mediator, and Christ, the true mediator. Hebrews 8 at verse 1. Now the 
point in which we are saying this is this, we have such a 
high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne 
of the majesty in heaven, a minister in the holy places, in the true 
tent that the Lord set up, not man. For every high priest is 
appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices, thus it is necessary 
for this priest also to have something to offer. Now if he 
were on earth, he would not be a priest at all, since there 
are priests who offer gifts according to the law. They serve a copy 
and shadow of the heavenly things. For when Moses was about to erect 
the tent, he was instructed by God, saying, See that you make 
everything according to the pattern that was shown on the mountain. 
But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry. that is as such more 
excellent than the old, as the covenant he mediates is better, 
since it is enacted upon better promises. For if that first covenant 
had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look 
for a second. For he finds fault with them 
when he says, Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, 
when I will establish my new covenant with the house of Israel 
and with the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I 
made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand 
to bring them up out of the land of Egypt. For they did not continue 
in my covenant, And so I showed no concern for them, declares 
the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house 
of Israel. After those days, declares the Lord, I will put 
my laws in their hearts and write them on their hearts, in their 
minds, and write them on their hearts. And I will be their God, 
and they shall be my people. They shall not teach each one 
his neighbor, and each one his brother, saying, Know the Lord, 
for they shall know me, from the least of them to the greatest. 
For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will 
remember their sins no more." And speaking of a new covenant, 
he makes the first one obsolete, and what is becoming obsolete 
and growing old is ready to vanish away. Amen. Well, thanks be to 
God for Christ who tabernacled who is the true temple, that 
we can approach God through the mediator of this better covenant. 
Amen. Let us pray. Dear Heavenly Father, 
we thank you for this day, Lord. We thank you for your grace and 
goodness. Father God, we pray that you would forgive us that 
we do not always prep and are ready for your day. Help us to 
remember that it is your day and it is your house that we 
come to worship you. We thank you, Lord, how you do 
teach us what we must do on those days. And Father God, we thank 
you for the faithful men that seek to do that. Father God, 
we pray that you give them strength and aid to continue to do that 
as well. Father God, we thank you for your great grace. How 
you saved sinners, even after they committed adultery on their 
wedding night, just as many of us have done. And Father God, 
we thank you for the blood of Christ, who covers our sin. We 
thank you for that mediator of a new covenant, one who is better 
than Moses. And we thank you, Lord God, that 
you show us these things, even in the Old Testament, concerning 
your truth, concerning your salvation through the work of Christ. Lord 
God, we pray that you would edify us, give us strength, and that 
you'd help us go out into this world and live as light, shining 
as a crooked and perverse generation. Father God, may you be glorified 
in all things. In Christ's name, amen.