A Survey of the Old testament Law--The Calling of Bezalel and Aholiab

Last time we met we looked at Exodus 30. We saw the ransom money—the half-shekel (according to the shekel of the sanctuary). Each Israelite from 20 years old and older was to give the ransom money to atone for their souls. This ransom could be paid in gold or silver, or bronze. And it was a weight which would have been equivalent in weight to about 160 coffee beans. We saw the incense that was to be used for burning on the Altar of Incense before the veil in the tabernacle—and that was the ONLY thing to be burned on that particular altar. And we saw how they were to mix the oil for anointing. And how if anyone tried to copy the recipe for the incense or the oil that they would be “cut off from their people”—a phrase that God used many times as a way of saying “Do that and I will personally kill you Myself!” And we saw that the gifts that the Magi brought to the infant Christ—gold, frankincense and myrrh—these  may very well have been given for the maintenance and preparation of His earthly “tabernacle” (as many of the NT writers call our bodies a tabernacle). Today we move on to Exodus 31:1-11. And for this section we are actually going to skip to Exodus 35:4, because it is there that we read these same words almost verbatim, but with fuller elaborations.

But before we get to that, I want us to consider the verses from the Psalms that were part of our discussion last time. If you recall (and I don’t expect you to), when we linked Christ with the anointing oil, I read from Psalm 45:6-8—6 Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom. 7 You love righteousness and hate wickedness; therefore God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil of gladness more than Your companions. 8 All Your garments are scented with myrrh and aloes and cassia (three of the main ingredients in the anointing oil). And I didn’t have time last time, so this morning I would like to share with you this quote from Charles Spurgeon:

“The excellencies of Jesus are all most precious, comparable to the rarest spices; they are most varied, and to be likened not to myrrh alone, but to all the perfumes blended in due proportion. The Father always finds a pleasure in him, in him he is well pleased; and all regenerated spirits rejoice in him, for he is made of God unto us, ‘wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption.’ Note that not only is Jesus most sweet, but even his garments are so; everything that he has to do with is perfumed by his person. ‘All’ his garments are thus fragrant; not some of them, but all; we delight as much in his purple of dominion as in the white linen of his priesthood, his mantle as our prophet is as dear to us as his seamless coat as our friend. All his dress is fragrant with all sweetness. To attempt to spiritualise each spice here mentioned would be unprofitable, the evident sense is that all sweetnesses meet in Jesus, and are poured forth wherever he is present.” 

What He looked like when He walked the earth is NOTHING like the way He appears now, in the Heavens, enthroned in glory, with all of creation awaiting the Day He returns.

Well, speaking of the tabernacle—we’ve gotten the dimensions for it; we have received the commands of how to prepare the furnishings that would go inside it; we’ve been instructed on who would minister in the tabernacle and how they were to be prepared for their service—now the only thing left to do is what? We know WHAT to do and HOW to do it. Now we have to actually BUILD the tabernacle and FASHION all the furnishings and utensils. You need to make the STUFF. And even before that, don’t you think you need the STUFF you need to make the STUFF? “We need to make all this stuff! But we don’t have the stuff to make the stuff we need to make!” Or did they? Hmmm.

Flip back to Exodus 12. Listen to what happened on the night of their flight from Egypt. The Angel of YHVH has passed through Egypt, killing all the firstborn. And listen to what happened in Exodus 12:34-36—34 So the people took their dough before it was leavened, having their kneading bowls bound up in their clothes on their shoulders. 35 Now the children of Israel had done according to the word of Moses, and they had asked from the Egyptians articles of silver, articles of gold, and clothing. 36 And the LORD had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they granted them what they requested. Thus they plundered the Egyptians. And because they plundered the Egyptians, they had all kinds of silver and gold and precious stones and so on and so forth. And now, all it is doing is weighing down their camels and their oxen and their donkeys. After all, what good is all that stuff going to do them out in the middle of the desert? Well, I'm glad you asked! Turn to Exodus 35:4-9—4 And Moses spoke to all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying, “This is the thing which the LORD commanded, saying: 5 'Take from among you an offering to the LORD. Whoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it as an offering to the LORD: gold, silver, and bronze; 6 blue, purple, and scarlet thread, fine linen, and goats' hair; 7 ram skins dyed red, badger skins, and acacia wood; 8 oil for the light, and spices for the anointing oil and for the sweet incense; 9 onyx stones, and stones to be set in the ephod and in the breastplate.” What good are all those things they took from the Egyptians doing them out in the desert? Well, now you know!

Now, let me ask you this—which of the following statements do you think is closer to the order in which these things actually happened: (A) The people scrounged what they could from what the Egyptians randomly gave to them, and God said, “Well, let’s just use what we’ve got.” Or, (B), God told the Egyptians to give the Israelites what He wanted them to have to build those things He would require? Exactly, (B) is the correct answer. Exodus 12:36—And the LORD had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they granted them what they requested. Aha! God working in the hearts and minds of these Egyptians to give them what they requested. And what things did they request? Probably things like gold, silver, bronze; blue, purple, and scarlet thread, fine linen, dyes, oil, spices, onyx stones, and maybe all the kinds of stones that were to be set in the ephod and in the breastplate. Just a guess. The point I want to make is this: God is a planner. He does not do anything by the seat of His pants—pardon the expression, since He doesn't wear pants, seeing as He does not have a body of flesh and blood. Do you think He knew what He wanted to go into the building of the tabernacle and the clothing of the priests and for all the things that went along with worshipping Him? So do you think He would leave anything to “chance”? He did not sit on His throne saying to Himself, “Gee, I hope they can find all the things I want to go into all this! If they don’t I'm going to have to change My plans!” HE causes all things to work together.

And He had the people gather all those things they got from the Egyptians (and using some of the resources in the area they were camped). And not only did they need the things—they needed to make tools to make these things. But even before all that—they needed people to make all these things. So, Exodus 35:10-19—“‘10 All who are gifted artisans among you shall come and make all that the LORD has commanded: 11 the tabernacle, its tent, its covering, its clasps, its boards, its bars, its pillars, and its sockets; 12 the ark and its poles, with the mercy seat, and the veil of the covering; 13 the table and its poles, all its utensils, and the showbread; 14 also the lampstand for the light, its utensils, its lamps, and the oil for the light; 15 the incense altar, its poles, the anointing oil, the sweet incense, and the screen for the door at the entrance of the tabernacle; 16 the altar of burnt offering with its bronze grating, its poles, all its utensils, and the laver and its base; 17 the hangings of the court, its pillars, their sockets, and the screen for the gate of the court; 18 the pegs of the tabernacle, the pegs of the court, and their cords; 19 the garments of ministry, for ministering in the holy place—the holy garments for Aaron the priest and the garments of his sons, to minister as priests.’” Did we leave anything out?

Now, the artisans that God calls out in verse 10. Where had they been for the last 400 or so years? Egypt. What had they been doing for those 400 or so years? They had been learning trades. They had become metal smiths, sawyers, engravers, tapestry makers, perfumers, architects, weavers, wood carvers, stone cutters, tanners. All those skills they learned in those 400 some-odd years in Egypt—guess what? God is going to use all of it for His glory. Can you believe that! God using trials and afflictions for His glory! But isn't that how God often does it? Not always, but so many times, He takes what men mean for evil and He turns it around and the outcome brings glory to His name. Remember what Joseph told his brothers when he revealed himself to them in Egypt? Genesis 50:20—But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day.” Another example, He took one of the greatest teachers of the OT Law ever, a man who was so zealous for the Law that He often received extradition papers to bring Christians to Jerusalem to be killed—God took that man named Saul of Tarsus and used his knowledge of the OT Law to show from that Law just how that Law was nothing more than a slave that was meant to take us to Christ. And in perhaps the most well-known example, He allowed a sham of a trial to take place; He allowed an innocent man to be tortured and His body destroyed on one of the most inhuman (not just inhumane, but inhuman) instruments of death ever created by depraved human minds—in order to bring many sons to glory, did He not? And He takes our miserable excuse for a life, which is filled with wickedness and depravity, and He reaches down, saves us, takes out our heart of stone and gives us a heart of flesh.

Likewise, God was now going to take those skills that the Israelites learned during their 400 years of slavery to a pagan king in order to build a tent where He would be worshipped. Now, before we can even make the stuff to make the stuff, the people that are going to make the stuff will need someone to supervise the project. Think about it. It wasn’t like Moses could take these instructions to Denark-Smith or Creative Structures and say “Hey guys, I got these instructions on how to build this humongoid tent, can you make some blueprints and get them back to me by the end of the month?” They couldn’t get on the internet and go to Cabelas.com; they couldn’t just stroll through the aisles in Dick’s Sporting Goods or Bass Pro Shop to find something that could hold everybody and everything. They had to take these very specific, very detailed instructions—which were written out, in words, by the way. They had to take these directions and convert them into a three-dimensional working model of EVERY THING INVOLVED. Somebody had to take on this enormous task.

so what did Moses do? Did he go around the camp until somebody stepped up and said, “Hey, I got some ideas!” Did he say to himself, “You know, I think my cousin Shimon might be able to cook something up!” No. Remember, who was ultimately in charge of every detail surrounding this project? God! It was His house, and He would be the one to determine who would supervise the building of His house. This was not a task that just any person could take upon themselves. And it is for that reason that we see God say what He says in Exodus 35:30-35—30 And Moses said to the children of Israel, “See, the LORD has called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah; 31 and He has filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom and understanding, in knowledge and all manner of workmanship, 32 to design artistic works, to work in gold and silver and bronze, 33 in cutting jewels for setting, in carving wood, and to work in all manner of artistic workmanship. 34 And He has put in his heart the ability to teach, in him and Aholiab the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. 35 He has filled them with skill to do all manner of work of the engraver and the designer and the tapestry maker, in blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine linen, and of the weaver—those who do every work and those who design artistic works.” 

What do we know about Bezalel and Aholiab? What we read here is all we know about these guys. We find these guys talked about in less that 10 verses in the entire Bible—and 6 of those verses are in this section of Exodus. But what is important that we learn about them from this passage? In verse 30? “The LORD has called by name Bezalel.” The same with Aholiab in verse 34. God calls these men by name to do this mighty work. That is what God does. I think this whole chapter shows the sovereignty of God. From the calling of these men to even hearkening back to the stuff that the Egyptians gave the Israelites as they were leaving Egypt—God is sovereign over everything. Now, question: how did Bezalel and Aholiab get the job of overseeing the construction of the tabernacle everything in it? Did someone tack a sheet of paper to a bulletin board for people to sign up? Did they put an ad in the Sinai Gazette, “Wanted: foreman for large construction project. Send resume to  Moses@burningbush.com”? This was a work of God, and as such He called men who would devote their lives to this project, and who would not allow their egos to get in the way and think they could improve on what God ordered. God Himself chose these men. The same principle applies to the church. When there is work to be done, God does not necessarily call those people that we humans with our feeble, depraved, human thinking would call. He does not call the best-looking—I am Exhibit A of that. He does not necessarily call the most intelligent—I am also Exhibit B. He does not always call the most self-confident or the most well-spoken or even the smoothest speaking voice—Exhibit C, D and E. But He calls those who will make themselves available to Him.

Think about young Samuel. About 12 years old, living with Eli the high priest, hears a voice call out to him twice. The third time he says “Here am I, LORD.” Another example from a man who was in an infinitely different situation—Isaiah. There he was in the throne room of God, the Lord was seated on His throne, the angels were shouting “Holy, holy, holy.” Shouting so loud they about rocked the doors off the place. He realizes he is s sinful man who lives among sinful people. And Almighty YHVH asks him, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?" And what is Isaiah’s answer? "Here am I! Send me."

There are four words that will change your life more than any other words you could ever utter: “Here am I, Lord.” Those words changed the lives of Isaiah, Samuel, Abraham. And even Bezalel and Aholiab. God called, and they said, “Here am I, LORD.” Fast forward about 1500 years. We see God calling 12 other men to work for Him. He’s walking by some fishing boats, sees some fellows casting out their nets and He says “Drop your nets and follow Me.” And they said, “Here am I, Lord.” Now, God doesn’t always talk in an audible voice—I dare say He does NOT speak in an audible voice anymore. And if you ever hear anyone say that “God told me…” or “God spoke to me last night…” then I would be real suspect of what they were “told” or what was “spoken to them.” God has spoken all He needs to speak, and we have it here in our Bibles. All He requires of us is to read His word and say “Here am I, Lord.”

Exodus 36:1-7—“1 And Bezalel and Aholiab, and every gifted artisan in whom the LORD has put wisdom and understanding, to know how to do all manner of work for the service of the sanctuary, shall do according to all that the LORD has commanded.” 2 Then Moses called Bezalel and Aholiab, and every gifted artisan in whose heart the LORD had put wisdom, everyone whose heart was stirred, to come and do the work. 3 And they received from Moses all the offering which the children of Israel had brought for the work of the service of making the sanctuary. So they continued bringing to him freewill offerings every morning. 4 Then all the craftsmen who were doing all the work of the sanctuary came, each from the work he was doing, 5 and they spoke to Moses, saying, "The people bring much more than enough for the service of the work which the LORD commanded us to do." 6 So Moses gave a commandment, and they caused it to be proclaimed throughout the camp, saying, "Let neither man nor woman do any more work for the offering of the sanctuary." And the people were restrained from bringing, 7 for the material they had was sufficient for all the work to be done—indeed too much. Now, that’s interesting. What is the command? “Stop giving!!” God does not need every penny we have—in fact, He doesn’t need anything (Acts 17:25). But also, He doesn’t want us to give Him every last penny we have until we have nothing left to feed our family. He knows how much is needed for the work. When that amount was given, He said, "That’s enough."

Several weeks ago we read the account in Luke of the widow who put her last two copper coins into the treasury and how Jesus rebuked that system that would take a widow’s last dime and send her home to starve to death while they built their beautiful building. Now, don’t get me wrong—I'm not saying “Don’t give.” Don’t go telling people "Well, this one guy on the internet said we don't have to give." Should we give to the church and the work of the church? Absolutely. Galatians 6:7-10—7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. 8 For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. 9 And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. 10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith. Should we—first of all—give to support our parents when they get older? Absolutely. 1st Timothy 5:8--But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. “Honor thy father and mother.” Should we give to help feed and clothe the poor? Absolutely. That is, those who are TRULY poor; not those who are poor because they drank and smoked and snorted away their food and rent and light bill.

But we are not to give so much that giving becomes a burden to our family. 2nd Corinthians 8:12-14—12 For if there is first a willing mind, it is accepted according to what one has, and not according to what he does not have. 13 For I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened; 14 but by an equality, that now at this time your abundance may supply their lack, that their abundance also may supply your lack—that there may be equality. He says in the next chapter, 2nd Corinthians 9:7-8—7 So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work. If I give away every penny I have today to some cause, and I have nothing left, what good is that going to do—first, for my family, or even to someone who needs help tomorrow? In other words, give what the person needs—but not so much that you burden your own family. That’s what Paul is saying in that passage we read a moment ago, 2nd Corinthians 8:13—I do not mean for others to be eased and you burdened. It’s what Jesus told the Pharisees. God does not want more than we can give. If He did, He would be taking food out of the mouths of widows and orphans, and He would be contradicting the same Law which declares that He will destroy anyone who afflicts widows and orphans (see Exodus 22:21-24). Matthew Henry— 

“Works of charity, like other good works, should be done with thought and design…Due deliberation to the matter of our own circumstances, and those of the persons we are about to relieve, will be very helpful to direct us how liberal we should be in our contributions for charitable uses.” 

God does not mean for others to be eased while we ourselves are burdened. However, we should give out of our abundance to supply others’ lack, so that there may be equality among all in the church.

Jesus Christ is Lord.

Amen.

A Survey of the Old Testament Law--Ransom Money, Incense, Anointing Oil

Today we are going to study Exodus 30. We will be covering the whole chapter today, looking at three commandments God gave concerning the tabernacle. We’ve already seen what it probably looked like; we’ve seen what the instruments of worship—the Ark of the Covenant, the Altar of Burnt Offering, the Lampstand, and so forth—what they probably looked like. But there are a couple of items we haven’t seen yet, such as the oil for anointing and the incense for burning on the Altar of Incense. Just as God gave very detailed instructions for building the tent and the furnishings and the garments for the priests, He was also very specific about the oil and the incense. You didn’t just walk into Food City and pick up a bottle of ValuTime extra virgin olive oil (in fact, they were not to use virgin oil, but beaten oil. But that will have to wait for another day), nor did you stop at the local gas station and grab some sticks of incense. These things were to be made very meticulously and according to the pattern that God would give. But before we get to those things, we’re going to look at what was called “ransom money.” Exodus 30:11-16—11 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: "12 When you take the census of the children of Israel for their number, then every man shall give a ransom for himself to the LORD, when you number them, that there may be no plague among them when you number them. 13 This is what everyone among those who are numbered shall give: half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary (a shekel is twenty gerahs). The half-shekel shall be an offering to the LORD. 14 Everyone included among those who are numbered, from twenty years old and above, shall give an offering to the LORD. 15 The rich shall not give more and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel, when you give an offering to the LORD, to make atonement for yourselves. 16 And you shall take the atonement money of the children of Israel, and shall appoint it for the service of the tabernacle of meeting, that it may be a memorial for the children of Israel before the LORD, to make atonement for yourselves." Before we go any further, let’s look at some more terms here. In Exodus 30:13—“(a shekel is twenty gerahs).” And of course we ask ourselves, “Right. What’s a gerah?” A gerah was equivalent to about 16 coffee beans. A shekel of weight was equal to 20 gerahs or 320 coffee beans.

Therefore the ransom money, a half-shekel, would be about 160 coffee beans. Now, this shekel is different than what you would find in other places in Scripture that talk about a “shekel of silver” or a “shekel of gold.” This was the “shekel of the sanctuary,” and this was paid by every male 20 years old and older. Now, what was the amount that the people were to give? One half shekel. If you owned 10,000 head of livestock, how much were you commanded to give? One half shekel. If all you had was some loose change in a little sack, how much were you commanded to give? One half shekel. Exodus 30:15—The rich shall not give more and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel. The poor were not exempted because they were poor; the rich were not penalized because they were rich. Everybody gave exactly the same amount. No more; no less. So, that leads us to this question—if a person is rich, how are they saved? Christ. If a person is poor, how are they saved? Christ. Is there one way for the poor to be forgiven of their sins, and another for the rich? Way back in Exodus 23, we saw that there was one Law for both Jew and Gentile, and that there was one Gospel for both Jew and Gentile. The same is true for rich and poor. The rich are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. The poor are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.

Now, we find the reason for paying this ransom was “for the service of the tabernacle of meeting” (Exodus 30:16). If we were to read in Exodus 38, we would see that when they did take the census and gathered the money together, they came up with one hundred talents and 1775 shekels of silver (Exodus 38:27) and that they used that silver thus: Exodus 38:28—And from the hundred talents of silver were cast the sockets of the sanctuary and the sockets of the veil: one hundred sockets from the hundred talents, one talent for each socket. Then from the one thousand seven hundred and seventy-five shekels he made hooks for the pillars, overlaid their capitals (tops of the pillars), and made bands for them (to hold the curtains). A talent was 3000 shekels—a whole bunch of coffee beans. Or, about 94½ lbs. The “sockets of the sanctuary” were the bases for the pillars that held up the tent, the “sockets of the veil” were the foundation of the framework upon which the veil was hung. They could have used that silver for any purpose, but they were led by God to use it for these purposes. Now, let’s think about this a minute. The silver from the ransom money was used for what parts of the tabernacle? They used the first 100 talents for the foundation, the ground if you will. Then, they use the rest of the ransom to finish the pillars and make the bands that would hold the whole tent together.

Hmm. Isn't that interesting? The tabernacle and the temple—many times in the OT we find them referred to as the “House of God.” Well, in the NT the church is called the “House of God.” Hebrews 10:21—Having a High Priest over the House of God. 1st Peter 4:17—Time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God. Then listen to what Paul says in 1st Timothy 3:15—I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God—then what does he call it? The pillar and ground of the truth. Hmm. Isn't that interesting? The ransom money—the silver and gold—was paid to build the “ground” of the tent. The ransom that Jesus paid—His blood—was paid to build the “ground” of the church. The church is the ground of the truth. We were ransomed, by God, to be built into a spiritual house devoted to the worship of God by the Lord Jesus Christ. 1st Corinthians 3:16—Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? Under the Old Covenant God dwelt in the Holy of Holies in the tabernacle; under the New Covenant He now dwells inside of each believer. Ephesians 2:19-22—19 Now, therefore, you are…fellow citizens with the saints, and members of the household of God, 20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. The people paid their ransom, and that ransom went toward building the house of God. They were redeemed by their silver and gold—BUT!! We are redeemed by something greater. Jesus Christ gave His life as a ransom; 1st Timothy 2:5-6—5 For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time. Matthew 20:28—“The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”

The next thing we’re going to look at is the oil for anointing. Exodus 30:22-33—22 Moreover the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: "23 Also take for yourself quality spices—five hundred shekels of liquid myrrh, half as much sweet-smelling cinnamon (two hundred and fifty shekels), two hundred and fifty shekels of sweet-smelling cane, 24 five hundred shekels of cassia, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, and a hin of olive oil. 25 And you shall make from these a holy anointing oil, an ointment compounded according to the art of the perfumer. It shall be a holy anointing oil. 26 With it you shall anoint the tabernacle of meeting and the ark of the Testimony; 27 the table and all its utensils, the lampstand and its utensils, and the altar of incense; 28 the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and the laver and its base. 29 You shall consecrate them, that they may be most holy; whatever touches them must be holy. 30 And you shall anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, that they may minister to Me as priests. 31 And you shall speak to the children of Israel, saying: 'This shall be a holy anointing oil to Me throughout your generations. 32 It shall not be poured on man's flesh; nor shall you make any other like it, according to its composition. It is holy, and it shall be holy to you. 33 Whoever compounds any like it, or whoever puts any of it on an outsider, shall be cut off from his people.'" 

500 shekels of liquid myrrh would weigh about 14 lbs., and of course 250 shekels of the other ingredients would weigh about 7 lbs. each. This mixture would weigh about 42 lbs. altogether. Then mix it all into about 5 quarts of olive oil. It’s not so important that you know what the ingredients were, that’s kind of interesting. The main point is this: this oil was to be used for one purpose and one purpose only—to anoint Aaron and his sons and to anoint the tabernacle and the furnishings inside it. What would happen to the soul that found the recipe and said “Hmm, I’d like to make some of that for the house.” They would be “cut off.” That is a phrase that you find in many places throughout the Law. And it means, in a way, to be put to death. There is a difference between the phrase “he shall be put to death” and the phrase “he shall be cut off from his people.” When one was “put to death” it was carried out either by the people themselves or by the civil magistrates in an official manner. However, one was “cut off” directly by the hand of God Himself (we’ll see an example shortly). Anyone who made anything like this holy oil could look forward to the Hand of God Himself taking their life from them and “cutting them off.” 

Next, we’re going to see the incense that was to be burned on the Altar of Incense, in Exodus 30:34-38—34 And the LORD said to Moses: "Take sweet spices, stacte and onycha and galbanum, and pure frankincense with these sweet spices; there shall be equal amounts of each. 35 You shall make of these an incense, a compound according to the art of the perfumer, salted, pure, and holy. 36 And you shall beat some of it very fine, and put some of it before the Testimony in the tabernacle of meeting where I will meet with you. It shall be most holy to you. 37 But as for the incense which you shall make, you shall not make any for yourselves, according to its composition. It shall be to you holy for the LORD. 38 Whoever makes any like it, to smell it, he shall be cut off from his people." There’s that warning again. This was the incense that was to be burned on the Altar of Incense. And this was the ONLY THING that was to be burned on that altar. We would see that if we read Exodus 30:9-10—“9 You shall not offer strange incense on it, or a burnt offering, or a grain offering; nor shall you pour a drink offering on it…10 It is most holy to the LORD.” If we were to fast-forward to Leviticus 10 we would find the most well-known case of one being “cut off” for burning something on the Altar of Incense that they ought not to have been burning.

Leviticus 10:1-3—1 Then Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it, put incense on it, and offered profane fire before the LORD, which He had not commanded them. 2 So fire went out from the LORD and devoured them, and they died before the LORD. 3 And Moses said to Aaron, "This is what the LORD spoke, saying: 'By those who come near Me I must be regarded as holy; and before all the people I must be glorified.'" So Aaron held his peace. There is an application in that episode for us today. A growing sentiment these days in some churches is: in order to appeal to this generation, we must combine the things of God with the vulgar and profane things of the world. Churches are playing music that is—no other way to say it—vulgar, satanic (whether outrightly so or in a more subtle fashion). And then you have youth “pastors” who think that to appeal to the kids their supposed to be pastoring (by way of the word of God), instead they feel the need to act like children themselves. Which is why so many young people leave the church once they leave home. They’ve been subjected to years of “stupid youth pastor tricks” and all kinds of nonsense, so to them church is nothing more than a social club. It makes no impact on their life. Which is what happens when we do what the priests were doing in Ezekiel 22:26—“Her priests have violated My law and profaned My holy things; they have not distinguished between the holy and unholy, nor have they made known the difference between the unclean and the clean.” These churches are, in a way, guilty of offering up “strange fire” to the Lord. Listen to this from an article I found:

“You see at least fifty kids standing around…in a circle watching and laughing at something. You move closer into the circle and see the youth pastor and a kid trying to eat a banana through pantyhose covering their heads. You look around and notice no open Bibles, no sound of hymns or worship music, and no one praying. All you see is just a group of teenagers watching an adult and one of their peers awkwardly trying to eat a banana. You think to yourself, ‘Is this supposed to be church? This looks more like a party!’ Well, unfortunately, this is church now. Youth group used to be opening your Bible and hearing what God had to say to you. It used to be led by someone older, someone with more experience and wisdom on how to live a godly life. It used to be about learning to listen to God and keeping Him close to your heart. Not anymore…The youth pastor might read a verse or two, but only after losing the kids’ attention and respect because of his display of looking like a fool.”

Amen. Want to know who wrote that? The girl that wrote that was 16 years old. The same principle that God displayed when He destroyed Nadab and Abihu—“By those who come near Me I must be regarded as holy; and before all the people I must be glorified.”

OK, so what we have seen now is those things that were necessary for the construction and sanctification of the tabernacle, and for the prayers of the people to be heard by God. We have silver (or gold) for the ransom money. We have myrrh in the anointing oil. We have frankincense to be burned on the altar of incense. Let’s see…gold, myrrh and frankincense. Seems as though I've seen a list similar to this somewhere in the NT. Matthew 2:11—And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. But all that OT Law stuff is so boring and has nothing to do with Jesus! The gifts that the Magi brought were specifically for the support and sanctification of the tabernacle of flesh of Christ’s body and for the prayers of the saints. And before we begin, although I wrote and taught this lesson back in July, I think it's not a little ironic that I am getting around to posting it a week and a half before Christmas. And on that note, let’s get rid of some myths. These men were not kings. They were “Magi,” probably philosophers or astronomers. But not kings. There were probably more than three. They did not show up until Jesus was about 2 years old—meaning, they weren’t at the manger. So “We Three Kings” and all the pictures of the wise men at the stable—we can get rid of them, because they are wrong. At any rate. Oh, by the way, Isaiah 60:6—The multitude of camels shall cover your land, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah…they shall bring gold and incense, and they shall proclaim the praises of the LORD.

First, the gold. The ransom money under the Old Covenant, which was used to redeem the people. Now, under the New Covenant it is Christ’s blood that provides our ransom and redemption from sin. Romans 3:24-25—24 Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood. Propitiation simply being a fancy way of saying “To satisfy a debt.” 1^st Peter 1:18-19—18 You were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold…19 but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. Ephesians 1:7—In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.

The myrrh. Which was the chief ingredient in the anointing oil. Psalm 45:6-8—6 Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom. 7 You love righteousness and hate wickedness; therefore God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil of gladness more than Your companions. 8 All Your garments are scented with myrrh and aloes and cassia, out of the ivory palaces, by which they have made You glad. See if you see what I see. Psalm 45:6—Your throne, O GOD, is forever… Who is being spoken to there? Then Psalm 45:7—Therefore God, your God, has anointed You. Who is being spoken to here? So obviously, in Psalm 45:6, it is the 2^nd member of the Trinity that is being referred to as God. In fact, in Hebrews 1:9, the writer makes the point that God the Father is saying these things to God the Son. Read Hebrews 1, all of it, and you will see that the writer is making it as clear as he possibly can, without coming right out and saying it, that Jesus Christ is God. Then Psalm 45:8—All Your garments are scented with myrrh and aloes and cassia. The same ingredients we find in the holy anointing oil. 

Finally, the incense. In the tabernacle and the temple the burning of incense was meant to symbolize our prayers rising to YHVH. Revelation 5:8—The four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. This does NOT mean that we are to pray to angels and dead saints as the Roman Catholics do. What did Jesus say? “Pray in this manner, ‘Our Father, which art in Heaven’” (Matthew 6:9). But that’s for another day. Malachi 1:11—“From the rising of the sun, even to its going down, My name shall be great among the Gentiles; in every place incense shall be offered to My name, and a pure offering; for My name shall be great among the nations,” Says the LORD of hosts.

Jesus Christ is Lord.

Amen.

A Survey of the Old Testament Law--Consecrating Aaron and His Sons (Part 3)

For the last two weeks we have been studying the various offerings that Aaron and his sons were to give before they could be consecrated into the priesthood. They had to make atonement for their own sins before they could offer sacrifices to God on behalf of the people. These offerings were symbolic; they were meant to paint a picture of the One who would come and not simply cover their sins, but take them completely away. Just to kinda review, they were to bring a bull, two rams and several types of bread. The bull was killed; the fat was burned on the altar. But the flesh, skin and dung were taken outside the camp and burned there, symbolizing Christ being crucified outside the city walls of Jerusalem. This was a “sin offering” or a “purification offering.” Then the first ram was likewise killed, and all of it was burned on the altar. This being the second part of the “purification offering.” Then the second ram, that we saw so much of last week, was also killed, its blood was applied to the ear, thumb and big toe of Aaron and his sons to sanctify their ears, their hands and their feet for service to the Lord. Then they took the fat, along with one loaf of each kind of bread, waved it back and forth as a “Wave Offering,” and burned it. Then the brisket and the right hind quarter were tossed up into the air as a “Heave Offering,” signifying that they would love the LORD with all their heart, soul and strength. These two, together, painted a vivid picture of the cross.

Next, we see what they do with the rest of this second ram. Exodus 29:31-33—“31 And you shall take the ram of the consecration and boil its flesh in the holy place. 32 Then Aaron and his sons shall eat the flesh of the ram, and the bread that is in the basket, by the door of the tabernacle of meeting. 33 They shall eat those things with which the atonement was made, to consecrate and to sanctify them; but an outsider shall not eat them, because they are holy.” This same ram whose blood is on their ear, thumb and toe; the same ram whose fat was waved as a wave offering and whose breast and thigh were heaved as a heave offering. Now, they take this ram, boil what was left, and then eat that meat—along with the bread that was offered with the fat—at the door of the tabernacle. Just as the sons of Aaron were consecrated (sanctified, set apart) to the tabernacle priesthood by partaking of “those things by which atonement was made”—the bull, the two rams and the bread—we too are consecrated (sanctified, set apart) to God by partaking of “those things by which atonement was made”—only now, that which makes atonement for us is the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. And the boiling and eating of this ram was done somewhere between the bronze laver and the door of the sanctuary; it was not done inside the tabernacle. These things were to be done once the tabernacle was constructed and all the furnishings (the lampstand, the altar of incense, the table of showbread and the Ark of the Covenant) were arranged inside it. But if you notice, not one drop of blood from any of these animals has been taken inside the tabernacle. In fact, at this point, the only things inside the tabernacle are the furnishings. There is a reason for this, and we will see that later on.

So once they boiled what was left of this ram, they were to gather around and eat. Together. This was a symbol of unity among those of the OT priesthood. Are we kings and priests to God? Are we a royal priesthood? Jesus repeats this same principle in His prayer the night before His crucifixion. John 17:20-23—“20 I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; 21 that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. 22 And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: 23 I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.” Jesus’ prayer is that we who are now children of God would dwell together in unity, that we would give place to our fellow Christians and strive, above all else, for Christ to be glorified in us. And when Christ is glorified in us, the Father is glorified in us

We got to talking last week about Christian unity. We, as Christians, are joined together into one body. And what is that body called? 1 Corinthians 12:12-14—12 For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. 13 For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. 14 For in fact the body is not one member but many. Have you ever seen a foot, by itself, hopping down the street? What about an eyeball? A pancreas? Stomach? You're not going to see one body part going along, by itself, without the other parts of the body. Our body needs certain organs to function. 1st Corinthians 12:20-25—20 But now indeed there are many members, yet one body. 21 And the eye cannot say to the hand, "I have no need of you"; nor again the head to the feet, "I have no need of you." 22 No, much rather, those members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary. 23 And those members of the body which we think to be less honorable, on these we bestow greater honor; and our unpresentable parts have greater modesty, 24 but our presentable parts have no need. But God composed the body, having given greater honor to that part which lacks it, 25 that there should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another. Is a wealthy Christian more important than a poor Christian? And anybody who tells you that you're poor because you don’t have enough faith or you haven’t “sown the right seed” or you're under a generational curse or you have some sin you haven’t repented of—they're just showing their ignorance. Because that poor Christian was important enough to God that He sent His Son to die for them—if they're that important to God, shouldn’t they be important to us?

Let me give you an example from the human body. Without the brain, the whole body will die, true? If the brain isn't getting enough oxygen, the body will divert blood from the arms and legs to the brain. Because the arms and legs give up the blood that they need, the brain can get the blood it needs, and the whole body can survive—even for just a little while longer. Now, let’s apply this to the church. Without saying that one member of the church is more important than any other, what does this illustration mean for the church? That when one of us has a need, then another who can fill that need should supply it. 2nd Corinthians 11:9—And when I was present with you, and in need, I was a burden to no one, for what I lacked the brethren who came from Macedonia supplied. Macedonia being the region in Greece containing the cities of Philippi, Thessalonica and Berea. And this is the point James makes in James 2—not saying that we are saved BY works, but that we are saved in order to do good works. And if one does not do the works that faith demands, he says James 2:14 (NASB)—What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him? The KJV, the NKJV—they both leave out the word “that”. The NASB correctly translates it as “can that faith save him?” 1st John 3:17—But whoever has the world's goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? Matthew Henry— 

“It pleases God that some of the Christian brethren should be poor, for the exercise of the charity and love of those that are rich. And it pleases the same God to give to some of the Christian brethren this world's good, that they may exercise their grace in communicating to the poor saints. And those who have this world's good must love a good God more, and their good brethren more, and be ready to distribute it for their sakes.”

So, since we are one body, it is obvious that we should care for others in this body. Some NT verses to finish up. 1st Corinthians 12:26—And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it. Romans 12:15-16—15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. 16 Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Philippians 2:2-4—2 Fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. 3 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. 4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. If one member hurts, we should all hurt with them. If that member receives honor or blessing, we celebrate with them. Christian unity. Read Acts 2 for more on that. And it is this Christian unity that was to bind Aaron and his sons together in that Old Covenant priesthood. It was eating of this one sacrifice that bound them in unity. We—spiritually—eat of the one sacrifice of Christ, although we do not eat His literal flesh and drink His literal blood as they claim to do in the abominable Roman Catholic Mass.

Exodus 29:34—“And if any of the flesh of the consecration offerings, or of the bread, remains until the morning, then you shall burn the remainder with fire. It shall not be eaten, because it is holy.” Once this ram was cooked and eaten, if there was anything left over it was to be burned. How much of it was to be given to anyone who was not at this table? None. Matthew 7:6—“Do not give what is holy to the dogs.” This was a special table, an exclusive supper that only Moses, Aaron, and Aaron’s sons were to take part in. No one else had any right to partake of this. Now, last week we read a verse from Hebrews that I think is probably rooted, at least in part, in this occasion. Hebrews 13:10—We have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat. Are we kings and priests to God? Are we a chosen generation, a royal priesthood? BUT—we have been ordained, not by human hands, not by the laying on of hands by any human authority. We have been chosen, set apart by God Himself. Not because we somehow “deserved” it. But Titus 3:4-5 takes away any hope of earning God’s forgiveness. And being set apart by God as a royal priesthood, we have an altar that no one who is trying to establish their own righteousness can eat from. While they are trying to make themselves righteous—which they can never do—we have been made righteous by God, by Him taking our sins and laying them on the head of the Lamb that He provided, and giving us the righteousness of God in Christ. No one can ever earn that. You can “heave” all your sins up in the air all you want—but if you do not know Christ they will always come back to you. But we have a great High Priest who has taken away our sins forever, and they will never return to us.

Now, to finish up, Exodus 29:35-37—“35 Thus you shall do to Aaron and his sons, according to all that I have commanded you. Seven days you shall consecrate them. 36 And you shall offer a bull every day as a sin offering for atonement. You shall cleanse the altar when you make atonement for it, and you shall anoint it to sanctify it. 37 Seven days you shall make atonement for the altar and sanctify it. And the altar shall be most holy. Whatever touches the altar must be holy.” A lesson here about persevering to the end. How many days did Moses and Aaron and Aaron’s sons have to bring bulls and rams and bread, kill, cut up, burn, wave, heave, boil and eat? Seven days. How many days in a week? How many days did Joshua and the army of Israel march around the city of Jericho? How many days did Noah leave the door open on the ark before the rains came? How many days in the Feast of Unleavened Bread? Suppose Eleazar said, “You know, I've been eating boiled ram and oily bread for five days straight. I'm taking today off.” How well do you think that would fly with God? This was seven days they had to do this. If you do not complete the seven days, you do not pass “GO” you do not enter into the priesthood. There is a lesson in there for us.

Many people think of Christianity as a “religion.” That’s all they think of it. They think that if they go to church on Sunday, they're somehow saved. But being saved, sanctified, set apart to God is not a one day a week thing. It’s not something you dabble in for a little while, leave it behind and say, “Well, I had some experience in the church, so I'm pretty sure I'm going to Heaven when I die.” But twice in the gospels, we find these words of Christ, Matthew 10:22 (and Matthew 24:13)—“He who endures to the end will be saved.” Not, “He who goes a little way, does a few good things, then returns to his old ways will be saved.” Too many times what some call “discipleship” is this: “Pray this prayer, ask Jesus into your heart and you'll be saved.” This produces more false converts and more spiritually dead “church people” than anything. You ask that same person, years down the road, and they’ll say “Yep, I got that straight a long time ago. Prayed the prayer, I'm saved. Now if you'll excuse me I'm late for happy hour.” Listen to 1st Corinthians 9:24-27—24 Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. 25 And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. 26 Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. 27 But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified. Paul is telling us what God commanded of the OT priests—that when you belong to God, you don’t just go to church for a little while, read your Bible for a little while, sing some hymns for a little while, etc. Paul is saying that every day, when he wakes up, he has to train his body, train his mind, train his spirit to persevere through trials and accusations and beatings and even against the more subtle devices of the enemy.

And one of the devices of the enemy is to make people think that Christianity is simply praying a prayer and showing up to church when you feel like it. And if you don’t like it, well, don’t worry, you'll be OK. But listen to this warning from Christ, Matthew 12:43-45—“43 When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none. 44 Then he says, 'I will return to my house from which I came.' And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order. 45 Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first." The person who has heard the truth, understood the truth, then turned away from the truth is in danger of a far worse punishment than the one who never heard the truth. Now, keep in mind, those who never hear the name of Christ, who never call upon Him for forgiveness, who die in their sins—these will not escape eternal punishment. But they won’t be punished because they never “believed the right way” as some like to accuse us of saying. They die because of their own sins. That said, the one who does hear the gospel, who hears that the Law of God declares them sinners who need to be saved, and they either ignore it, or they “believe” for a little while and then go back to their old ways—these will receive a much harsher punishment than those who never hear. Listen to what the apostle Peter says about false teachers, in 1st Peter 2:18-22—18 For when they speak great swelling words of emptiness, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through lewdness, the ones who have actually escaped from those who live in error. 19 While they promise them liberty, they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by whom a person is overcome, by him also he is brought into bondage. 20 For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. 21 For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them. 22 But it has happened to them according to the true proverb: "A dog returns to his own vomit," and, "a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire." Salvation is not something that happens at a point in time and has no lasting effect on a person’s life afterward. The life Christ calls us to is for life. When the apostle Paul was nearing the end of his life; when he was, by some accounts, hours (if not minutes) away from his death at the hands of the Romans emperor Nero, he didn’t say “I struggled a little bit, I ran half the way, I had faith for a while.” He said Second Timothy 4:7—I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

Exodus 29:36-37—“36 And you shall offer a bull every day as a sin offering for atonement. You shall cleanse the altar when you make atonement for it, and you shall anoint it to sanctify it. 37 Seven days you shall make atonement for the altar and sanctify it. And the altar shall be most holy. Whatever touches the altar must be holy.” They had to make atonement for the altar. The altar of burnt offering was an inanimate object. What sins had the altar committed? But, in order for the sacrifices to be acceptable to God, the priest offering that sacrifice had to be set apart to God, and the altar it was offered on had to be consecrated to God. Because, let’s think about this. This altar was made of materials that were just as much under the curse of sin as we humans are. In much the same way that not just any man could be a priest, one could not simply slap some wood together, break out their Bedazzler^® and stamp rhinestones into it, decorate it any way they wanted, and call it an altar to God. Everything involved in making atonement for people’s sins had to be holy. When the sinner brought their offering, everything from animal without spot or blemish, to the one preparing the sacrifice, to the altar it was sacrificed upon, to the fire on the altar that was started by God (see Leviticus 9:22-24), to the smoke that rose into the air as a “sweet aroma to the LORD,” everything in between the tips of the sinner’s fingers to God Himself had to be holy.

Likewise, in order for us to be forgiven of our sins, our Mediator must be holy, sinless, and separate from sin. Guess what? Hebrews 7:26-27—26 For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens; 27 who does not need daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the people's, for this He did once for all when He offered up Himself. 1st Peter 2:21-22—21 Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps: “22 Who committed no sin, nor was deceit found in His mouth.” Christ was not only the One who offered the sacrifice—He was the sacrifice. Just as the altar was anointed with oil to sanctify it for accepting offerings for sins, so Christ was anointed with the Holy Spirit to sanctify His offering Himself for the sins of all who will believe. So that leaves us with two more weeks in chapter 29, next week the daily morning and evening sacrifices, then the following week we will get to verses 8-9 that we skipped, and talking about Christ being our High Priest even though He was not descended from Aaron or even Levi.

Jesus Christ is Lord.

Amen.