Day 66 – Moses Finishes the Tabernacle

We’ve skipped some stuff again. A couple of chapters of God continuing to specify, in great detail, the measurements and layout of the tabernacle, as well as information about the role of the priests who were to attend it. We’ll be thinking about the tabernacle in today’s readings, although we’re only really reading a short summary of what the bible says about it.

• So a few days ago I mentioned that we skipped some readings about something called the tabernacle. Today we read about part of the requirements God had for how Moses was to set it up, and what it was for. At a bear minimum, you need to come away from today’s readings knowing what it is and why God asked the people to build it, but the real meat of today’s readings come in the passages in Hebrews.
• There’s a picture of what the tabernacle might have looked like above. What sort of things can you spot in the image that you read about in the text?
• What items were put into the tabernacle?
• What was the tabernacle for? Refer to my earlier comments, plus the passage, plus any Googling you choose to do.
• Exodus ends with a note about the cloud that represented God as they carried the tabernacle from place to place. What would you prefer to follow, a dust cloud that you can see or the Holy Spirit in your heart that you cannot see? Why?
• Turn forward in your bibles to today’s New Testament passages. How does Hebrews 8:1-2 describe the tabernacle as being like? Was the tabernacle like a sneak peak into something greater to come?
• Do you remember what a covenant is? It’s a promise between God and His people. What does Hebrews 8:7 say about the covenant with Moses? You may see the similarities in these words compared to what we thoughts about yesterday. Does this verse surprise you?
• The passage continues with a reference from Jeremiah, an Old Testament prophet, who spoke God’s words. The verses in Hebrews 8:8-10 tell of a time when God promised that a new covenant would be made in the future.
• Hebrews 9 goes on to explain how Jesus is that promised new covenant, and it’s not easy to explain as we haven’t yet read about all the Old Testament verses it refers to! Priests, in the Old Testament, offered the blood of animals in sacrifices to God. It was a temporary way to fix the sins of the people at the time. Jesus’ blood, in one single act, has secured an eternal redemption for us instead (Hebrews 9:12). It was greater than all the millions of sacrifices in the Old Testament! Therefore, says verse 15, Jesus is the mediator (that means the person who makes things happen) of the new covenant promised by God to replace the covenant with Moses. Jesus’ death not only saves those who were born from his time onward, but also has the power to save those people who lived during the Old Testament times (also verse 15). Wow!
• Keep bearing all this in mind as we read Exodus, and on into Leviticus and Numbers. We’re reading about how God initiated many things then, such as priestly sacrifices and the tabernacle, but it’s helpful to remember how much of this has been superseded in the new covenant that came through Jesus.

I’ve spent quite a bit of time putting together notes about the links between Moses and Jesus this week, or other points of interest. These notes are becoming like mini sermons! That’s not what this study is intended to be. That said, there is amazing truth we’re reading here and I hope the notes of today and previous days this week has helped show the crazy massive love God has for us through Christ’s death on the cross.

I have pointed out a few things in my final comment above about Hebrews 9, but there is more to discover today. How about you turn detective this time? Read through that chapter again carefully and try and understand what the writer is saying in his argument. It’s a little easier to understand than some of the other passages we’ve looked at. It helps to sum up the role of the tabernacle in the Old Testament and the ways that things have changed through Jesus.

If you have a study bible, your notes may help guide you.