What Are You Building?

What Are You Building?

Have you ever wondered about how great buildings are constructed, especially ones that were built long ago? Here’s just a few of the iconic buildings in the world that are considered construction and​​ engineering marvels. The US Capitol Building, the Taj Mahal, the Empire State Building, the Colosseum, the Eiffel Tower, the Great Pyramid of Giza and the Sydney Opera House. Visitors to these places and others want to know the facts. Who built this structure, and when? How long did it take? What materials were used in construction? How were they joined together? One of Philadelphia’s architectural landmarks is City Hall, the massive building at the intersection of Broad and Market. It was built by John MacArthur, who served for many years as a deacon of Tenth Presbyterian Church. City Hall was the tallest masonry structure in the world at the time of its completion. It was built with eighty-eight million bricks covered with marble, granite, and cast iron. Construction started in 1871, but it wasn’t until 1894 that the massive bronze statue of William Penn finally stood astride the clock tower. It was a grand building for its time.

The grand building that the Israelites erected was the tabernacle in the wilderness and after it, the temple in Jerusalem, which was built on the same basic plan. The Bible gives many fascinating details about this building. Some fifty chapters are dedicated to explaining how the tabernacle was made, what went into it, and what happened inside. This is because it was the most important building ever made—the only one designed by God himself. For 500 years the tabernacle served as God’s portable dwelling place on earth.​​ Thus,​​ the Israelites reveled in the facts of its construction. “Tell us again about the tabernacle,” they would say. “Read to us from the scroll of Moses. We want to remember​​ every​​ detail.”

We should want to know the facts, too, because they are part of our story. In fact, the tabernacle was only the first phase of a construction project that is still underway. It was a place for God to be present with his people, but it was only temporary. When the time was right, God sent his Son, Jesus Christ, to live with us as God’s true tabernacle. That was phase two. Phase three is the church that God is now building by his Spirit. We ourselves have become the tabernacle of God—his dwelling place on earth. But it goes farther than that. God’s plan was to make his dwelling place in the church, as well. Just as God once filled the tabernacle, the temple, and the physical body of Jesus Christ, so now he fills the church with his Spirit. God is living in us, both individually and corporately, and so the Body of Christ has become the tabernacle of God. But what does that mean? How are we supposed to live? The tabernacle was holy because God dwelt there, and he was holy. Now since we are tabernacles of God and​​ He dwells within us we must be holy as He is holy. What does that mean for us here at Idaville Church? If we all are striving for holiness, then we as the Body of Christ will be building a holy and living tabernacle of God. The question is what are you building? Are you on board with God’s plan to build our church? Hopefully everyone here would answer that they are about the building of God’s holy and living tabernacle, His dwelling place, here at Idaville Church. That brings us to our big idea that​​ God desires​​ His people to build His holy, living tabernacle, that is the Church.

Let’s pray:

In a way of review let’s look at what has been going on since chapter 35 started. In verses 1-3, the Lord commanded that all Israelites were to observe the Sabbath law. The law stated that they were to work for six days and rest on the seventh. The seventh day was to be a holy day set apart for the Lord. This meant that they were to not do any physical work but were to spend that day with the Lord strengthening their relationship with Him, individually and corporately. The law also stated that anyone who violated this law was to be put to death. Why the serious punishment? First, their observance of the Sabbath would keep them from idolatry. If our heart, mind, soul and strength are focused totally on the Lord there is no room or time for false gods. Second, keeping this law showed that they trusted the Lord for their physical needs. Third, the Sabbath was the sign of the covenant and if they accepted the sign they were accepting the Lord’s redemption. Lastly, obedience was more important than their work in constructing the tabernacle.

Then Moses put a call out to the people to bring their freewill offerings to construct the tabernacle. These offerings came from the plunder of the Egyptians that the Lord gave them and from handmade items from the people. These gifts were in appreciation of what the Lord had done in saving them from slavery, taking them as His chosen people, forgiving them for their sin of idolatry and for keeping His promise to dwell among them as they travel to the Promised Land. Then last week we were introduced to the​​ construction foreman, Bezalel, who had been filled with the Spirit of God for all artistic work and his assistant Oholiab. They both had also been given the ability by God to teach others to be engravers, designers, embroiders and weavers. We ended last week with the people having to be commanded and then restrained from bringing any more offerings because they already brought more than enough to do all the work.  ​​ ​​ ​​​​ 

We now come to the portion of scripture that is pretty much word for word from Exodus chapter 26. In most cases the tenses of the verb are the only changes. In chapter 26, God gave Moses the blueprints for the tabernacle in order to do the work and in the rest of chapter 36, the people will now actually do the work of building the tabernacle. Also, in chapter 26, God started with the plans for the tabernacle furnishings and then gave for the tabernacle itself. That was from a theological point of importance​​ whereas now the construction would start with a practical view of importance. The house of God needed to be constructed first so the furnishings had a place to be housed. For instance, if you were going to build a house today you would start with the outside (foundation, roof, siding, etc.) and move inside (framing individual rooms, painting, etc.).

That brings us to this morning’s passage which will cover Exodus 36:8-38. I am not going to read through all those verses as we have covered them before and because we will be discussing more of the symbolism this time around. Our first point is​​ Structure,​​ and we will study​​ the physical structure of the tabernacle in the wilderness and then the structure of the Body of Christ as the Holy Spirit tabernacles within Christ-followers individually and corporately. And then we will study the Significance of the tabernacle and the Body of Christ.​​ The first things to be constructed for the tabernacle in the wilderness were the four ceiling curtains. They are described in verses 8-19. The first curtain was the innermost ceiling curtain. In the NIV this curtain is called “the tabernacle” and it was the most ornate and beautiful of the curtains. It was made of finely twisted linen of blue, purple and scarlet yarn by skilled workers and had cherubim embroidered into them by expert hands. Cherubim were powerful, angelic beings associated with God's presence and glory and acted as attendants and throne-bearers of God in heaven. The tabernacle was a representation of heaven on earth and was where God would dwell among His people. The cherubim were a symbol and reminder that God was nearby.

The second curtain was made of goats’ hair, and it was called “the tent.” It was bigger than the first curtain so it would completely cover it. It concealed the ornate curtain from the outside world and protected it from outside elements. The only persons who would be able to see the innermost ceiling curtain would be the priests.​​ Why use goat hair besides the protection for the more ornate curtain? The goat was an animal used for sacrifices. The sin offering in Leviticus 9 and the sin offering for the Day of Atonement in Leviticus 16, are goat offerings. The goat hair “tent” symbolized atonement and was to be a reminder of man’s sinful state and that they were to have a conscience about their sin.​​ The third curtain is called a “covering” and was made of ram skins dyed red and was the same size as the goat hair curtain. The red dye symbolized Jesus bearing our sins on the cross and our sins being covered and cleansed by the blood of Christ.

The fourth curtain was the outside or topmost layer and could only be seen by the outside world. The NIV translates this as “the other durable leather” and the NKJV says, “badger skins” but a better translation is “porpoise skins.” It seems that the Red Sea was full of these animals, and their skins were durable and weather-proof. This was important since it would be exposed to the desert climates.​​ All​​ these curtains point to Jesus but especially this one. It would have been ordinary looking from the outside reminding us of what​​ Isaiah 53:2 said about Jesus, “He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.”​​ These curtains would protect both the worshippers and the worship of the Lord. There needed to be reverence, awe and​​ seriousness​​ in worshipping before the Lord. And the worship of the Lord needed to be protected from the merely curious.

Next, we see the construction of the framework of the tabernacle in verses 20-34. The frames and crossbars were made of acacia wood, overlaid with gold and the bases to go under them were made of silver. Gold was used the closer to God or the Most Holy Place you came. Notice that the gold frames did not touch the ground but were set on silver bases. The silver came from the ransom money required by each Israelite male and would remind them of God’s redemption just like the shed blood of Christ would remind​​ us of the same thing. Kaiser observes, “The foundation of the tabernacle rested on a ransom or redemption, just as the church was “bought with his own blood.” Next, we see the construction of the veil and door of the tabernacle in verses 35-38. These were two vertical curtains which hung from the top to the bottom of the tabernacle and served as partitions. The veil was made of finely twisted linen of blue, purple and scarlet yarn with cherubim woven into them by a skilled worker just like the first ceiling​​ curtain layer. The veil separated the tabernacle into two sections, the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place. Only the high priest could go beyond the veil into the Most Holy Place and that happened only once a year on the Day of Atonement. The Hebrew word used for this curtain means to “shut off or out” and pointed to the truth that sinful men are shut off from approaching a holy God and to do so without a mediator would be dangerous and life-threatening.

Lastly, we see the construction of the door of the tabernacle which opened into the courtyard. It was made like the first ceiling curtain layer and the veil before the Most Holy Place except there were no cherubim​​ woven into it. Only the priests could enter through this curtain into the tabernacle. All these curtains were significant and left a lasting impression. MacKay says, “Though Israel had this tremendous privilege of the divine presence in their midst, there was to be no doubt that he is the Holy One, and that access to him was no easy matter, even though his palace and temple was right there at the center of their camp.” Also, let’s notice that there was no back door into the tabernacle. There was only one​​ way in, which symbolized that Jesus is the only way to the Father. This means that if we want to meet God, to know Him and to experience Him, we must come through Jesus. The Israelites were building the place where they could go and meet with God, where their sins could be forgiven and where they could see the glory of heaven come down to earth. Today, Jesus is the true tabernacle, and God is inviting you to enter in by believing in His son for your salvation. If you have not yet​​ entered​​ the true tabernacle, you can do so now. If you are ready to turn your heart and life over to Jesus you​​ admit that you are a sinner, believe that Jesus died on the cross for your sins and rose again, and confess Him as Lord of your life.​​ If you just accepted Jesus as your Savior or would like to talk more about that, please mark the upper right on the back of your communication card where it​​ says,​​ “tell me more about being a follower of Jesus.”

Now that we have studied the physical structure of the tabernacle, let’s look at why the structure mattered practically and spiritually to them and why the structure of this dwelling place of God matters to us today. This chapter emphasizes that the structure of the tabernacle made God’s presence and His worship possible. Practically, it was important because it kept the furnishings inside covered from the elements of a sin-cursed world such as wind, rain, dust, scorching sun, etc. Spiritually, it also allowed the priests to perform their duties and the people to worship the Lord and experience His presence. The people would bring their sacrifices to the Altar of Burnt Offerings. The priest would need to be cleansed at the bronze laver to​​ enter God's​​ presence in the tabernacle. The priests would be reminded by the table of showbread that God was their provider and by the lampstand that He was their light. They would also be encouraged by the Altar of Incense that their prayers reached heaven. Of course,​​ all​​ these symbolized Jesus Christ who was to come. The physical external structure protected the most important spiritual items of worship which were internal.

The same is true for us today, as well. This structure we are in today keeps the internal protected from the external elements. It also allows us to come into the presence of God to worship Him together and to grow spiritually through Bible study, prayer, fellowship, etc. Now we could also worship outside but this building is the structure where this Body of Christ gathers and worships. It is also where we all are to be a kingdom of priests and be about building the dwelling place of God.​​ (Big Idea)​​ Everyone who calls Idaville Church home is essential for the worship of the Lord and for our witness to the world. Everyone and every role​​ are​​ essential to making Idaville Church function the way God desires us to function, worship and witness to the community around us.  ​​ ​​​​ 

Now let me take this one step further. As Christ-followers, we have been saved by the blood of Jesus Christ shed on the cross and we are striving to be more like Jesus every day. Our internal relationship with Jesus is to be exhibited externally through the fruits of the Spirit, serving, etc. Our relationship with Jesus is so important and needs to be constantly cultivated and protected from the external sin-cursed world. What are some of the external elements that threaten to destroy our relationship with​​ Jesus? There is materialism, idolatry, lust, greed, ambition, debauchery, corrupt talk, wickedness, etc. Van Meter says, “It is important that we establish some frameworks and curtains in our lives for the purpose of protecting our walk with the Lord.” Ephesians 5:15 says, “Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise.” And Proverbs 4:23 says, “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” We need external structures that guard our internal relationship with the Lord. What are some of these wise external structures? One, we need a strong devotional life to guard us and grow us up spiritually. We need to daily be in God’s Word. Two, we need a disciplined life to avoid the outside elements that Satan uses to keep us from growing and to keep us feeling ashamed, not good enough or that God doesn’t care about us. Third, we need other Christ-followers that will keep us accountable to guarding and growing our relationship with the Lord. That brings us to our first next step​​ which is to​​ Develop a strong​​ devotional​​ and​​ disciplined​​ life and be​​ accountable​​ to others so I​​ can guard and grow my​​ relationship​​ with Jesus.

Our second point is​​ Significance. We see the significance of the tabernacle in​​ several​​ ways. First, the tabernacle taught that God alone dictates how He is to be approached and worshipped. Second, this​​ meant that how the Israelites worshipped was important to God. Third, a mediator was needed to approach God. All of this prepared the Israelites, the world and us for the need of a Savior, which was Jesus Christ. One of the reasons for the repetition here in Exodus was to make the connection between the tabernacle, Jesus’ tabernacling on the earth and the Holy Spirit tabernacling in the Body of Christ, which Paul in 1 Corinthians 3, calls the temple of God. All three were where God would dwell with His people. Just as the Israelites were to be building the tabernacle in the wilderness as the dwelling place of God, we are also to be building the Body of Christ, the local church, and God’s dwelling place today. So, what are you building? Hopefully you are building the dwelling place of God, here at Idaville Church.

How do we go about building the Body of Christ? The first thing is to keep the main thing the main thing. The tabernacle in the wilderness was to bear testimony and witness that God was present with His chosen people. It was to bear witness to God’s salvation. And it was to testify to God’s eventual incarnation as He came in the flesh as Jesus. The tabernacle was to be the center of Israelite life, and they would not be able to escape its shadow or influence. For us the main thing is Jesus Christ. He must be the center of our lives, and we should be living in His shadow and influence. And when we all have Jesus as the center of our lives, when we gather corporately, Jesus is the center of our church, and all our focus should be on Him. This is to​​ be a continuous, ongoing endeavor as we gather for worship, the Word, prayer, communion, etc. Our church is strengthened, and we can only influence others for Christ if we keep Him at the center of all things. God also expects us to covenant together to be working in​​ unity to build this Body of Christ. God wants each of us to worship Him in Spirit and in truth, but He also wants us as a group of individuals to corporately do so as well. ​​ 

If Jesus is the center of our church and our lives, then that means we all have something to do. God expects each one of us to be involved in whatever capacity or capacities we are able. As I mentioned last week, we all have time, talents and treasures and fruits and gifts of the Spirit in varying amounts and degrees and because of what Jesus has done for us on the cross and His resurrection, He expects us, and we should be willing to involve ourselves wholeheartedly in the mission of God in the world. As a​​ Christ-follower we all need to recognize, realize and respond to Jesus’ call to use our God-given gifts to contribute to the construction of the dwelling place of God. 1 Peter 4:10 says, “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to​​ serve​​ others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.” Ephesians 4:11-12 says, “So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of​​ service, so that the body of Christ may​​ be built up.” God wants us to desire His presence and to do everything we can to experience His presence in the Body of Christ by using the gifts He has given us. The reason he has given us these gifts is that, as the verses I just read say, we can serve others in this dwelling place of the Lord. This following quote is from an unknown source which says, “We approach every situation with either a robe or a towel.” Jesus expects us to come with a towel. That brings us to our third next step which is to​​ Recognize, realize and​​ respond​​ to God’s call to use my God-given gifts to​​ serve​​ others in the​​ construction​​ of His​​ dwelling​​ place.

The story is told of a group of quarry workers who were once asked by a passer-by what they were doing. One laborer replied that he was working himself to the bone. A second responded that he was wearily chopping away at a large piece of granite. But a third man, with a gleam in his eye, said, “I’m building a cathedral!” The Israelites were building the greatest building to ever grace fallen man: it wasn’t a​​ cathedral;​​ it was the Tabernacle of God in which He would dwell among His people. We might answer that question by saying we are building relationships with other Christ-followers,​​ or I am building my family up in Jesus. Those are worthy endeavors but not the most important one. The most important thing we must be doing is building a temple for the holy and living God, that is our church and the dwelling place of God. (Big Idea) Let us all be about this endeavor here at Idaville Church: to build a holy and living tabernacle of God by each of us striving for individual holiness, serving others, and to using our time, talents, treasures, and fruits and gifts of the Spirit for the furthering of the Kingdom of God on the earth.

​​ As Gene and Roxey come to lead us in a final hymn and the ushers prepare to collect the tithes and offerings, let’s pray:

Opening:​​ Philip Graham Ryken and R. Kent Hughes,​​ Exodus: Saved for God’s Glory​​ (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2005), 1101–1110.

Closing: by Doug Van Meter | 15 Jan 2012 | Bible Teachings, Exodus, Old Testament, Pentateuch