God wants to dwell with His people!
Bible Study Ideas and Commentary for Exodus 39 and 40
The main point of the Tabernacle is that God truly desires to dwell with His people, but that dwelling requires obedience and humility on our part. We also see the value of doing the work God has given us and God’s willingness to lead us. Today, we don’t need a Tabernacle because we have Jesus and the Spirit.
the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle (40:35)
Editor's Note: this was originally a printed teacher's resource for leading Bible study. It has been modified to become a blog page.
Getting Started: Things to Think About
The Best Conversation Ever.
Here’s a different way to start your brains: ask them who they would pick if they had to spend one week in steady conversation with one person (or two; can’t pick Jesus). It can be someone no longer alive. Depending on my mood, I might want to spend it with Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton. Or Augustine. Or Walter Cronkite. More often than not it would be Paul or Moses. Here’s why: Moses spent three months with God in steady conversation (I think Moses mainly listened). Would that not be amazing?
Another approach to this would be: if you ran into God at a coffee shop tomorrow, what questions would you want to ask Him? That usually gets people talking!
Where Do You Meet with God?
The idea behind this lesson is that God gave the Israelites a place they could meet with Him safely. Of course, because of Jesus, we can now meet with God wherever and whenever we want. Go down two roads here: ask your group where they like to meet with God (some people have a “place” like a prayer closet or prayer garden where they like to pray). Ask them why that is—what makes it a good place for prayer? Then ask your group if they feel like they’re in a “dry season” spiritually, a time when they don’t really feel God’s presence or have great interest in prayer. Challenge them to pick a place—a place they can be alone and quiet with God and His Word—and pick a time this week when they will go to this place for a full hour and spend quiet time with God in prayer.
The Glory of God.
Ask your group a time they really felt a glimpse of the glory of God. When I’ve asked that question before, I often get answers about some natural wonder that leaves us in awe of the Creator. And that’s fine and fun to talk about! Challenge your class, though, to come up with times not related to nature—maybe the birth of a child, or a prayer service, or a time reading the Bible. When have you gotten a sense of God’s glory, and what effect did that have on you?
A Job Well Done.
If you want to highlight the funny aspect of this (cf. the comic strip), use this as an icebreaker. Otherwise, use it as an illustration sometime in your lesson. What project or job have you done that gave you the most satisfaction when you were finished? What makes that particular project stand out? Was it the importance of the finished product? How long it took? How much you had to sacrifice? Or maybe it had to do with the person who told you you did a good job? The tabernacle combines all of those elements—the great task, the great cost, and God Himself saying “nice work” when it’s all over.
This Week's Big Idea: The Glory of God
Today, we seem to think of “glory” as something we give to God, but in reality, we can only acknowledge the glory that God already has. In the New Testament, the writers use the word doxa for “glory”, which means “radiance” or “magnificence”. But in the Old Testament, the writers use kabod, which means “weight” or “presence”. (Incidentally, the Hebrew word for “liver” is related to this word; Hebrews thought of the liver as the heaviest and most important organ of the body.) In other words, we experience the glory of God when God chooses to manifest His presence to us. In some ways, this happens all the time, as in Psalm 19:1, “The heavens declare the glory of God”. But that is just an echo or reflection of God’s glory. We skipped the verses in which Moses asked God to show him His glory, which God did—but only with extreme protection (Ex 33). In other words, humans cannot endure the fullness of God’s glory. It would “crush” us. Instead, God veils Himself in appearance and speech so that we can comprehend and take any of it in. When Isaiah was in God’s throne room (Isa 6), he cried out in woe and terror at the presence of God. It took God sending the angel to purify Isaiah for Isaiah to achieve any sort of peace in God’s presence.
The word for “glory” relates to “to be weighty”, “to be important”, and “to be honored”. It is in the extreme sense of that that we understand God’s glory. At the end of our lesson this week, Moses cannot enter the Tabernacle because God’s glory has filled it. There is more than fear preventing Moses from entering—God’s glory has a real presence, a real “pressure” so to speak. Moses, in his sinful state, could not push through the radical, holy presence of God. Or at least, God would not let him out of mercy on Moses.
The ultimate revelation of God’s glory comes in Jesus—John 1:14. And when Jesus returned to heaven, He sent the Holy Spirit to us in His stead. But God’s presence is not an entitlement; it is a great responsibility. We have to remember (with Ezekiel) that God can withdraw His presence from wanton sin and rebellion. We cannot manipulate God’s presence or use it to our own advantage; He may always love us, but He will never let us use Him.
When we worship, we recognize God’s glory. We declare His importance, His goodness, and His righteousness in the way He has dealt with humanity. We praise His great power and majesty. We thank Him for His mercy on us by not “crushing” us by His immeasurable glory. It is a very important word, one that—rightly understood—can help us take God more seriously.
Our Context in Exodus
This lesson comes from Exodus 35-40 (next week, we start Leviticus): the Jews actually build the Tabernacle that God gave them instructions to build. But don’t miss that right before they start work, God gave them rules for the Sabbath. Not a coincidence. Even when we’re “working for the Lord” we are supposed to obey the Lord’s rules. Something else to point out is that after the fiasco with the golden calf, the Israelites got their act together—in chapter 36, they brought too much material! They gave so much that Moses couldn’t use it all! That’s impressive, isn’t it? I don’t think we want to interpret that cynically (i.e., they gave out of guilt); I think we want to say that they were truly convicted by their sin and grateful for God’s forgiveness, and this offering was the least they could do.
Part 1: Finished (39:42-43)
The Israelites had done all the work according to everything the Lord had commanded Moses. Moses inspected all the work they had accomplished. They had done just as the Lord commanded. Then Moses blessed them.
The Bible doesn’t say for sure, but we think it took about 6 months to construct everything (a year after they left Egypt—Ex 40:2). To put that into context for your class, ask about major projects around here. How long did it take to build the Brickyard? The government complex? Or closer to home, our gymnasium expansion? As slaves in Egypt, the Hebrews would probably have been involved in some intense building projects. The great pyramids (built ~2500BC) were completed before their slavery, but stories may have persisted. Those took anywhere from 10-20 years to build. The major palaces and temples built during the slavery era probably took a number of years. So the Tabernacle wouldn’t have been anything at all like those projects. Here’s the major difference: the Hebrews built the Tabernacle as free people. They built it voluntarily with materials they donated. Do you think there’s a difference between forced construction and free?
You might illustrate this with the power of volunteering. Habitat for Humanity comes to mind; 2,000,000 volunteers have built well more than 200,000 homes around the world. Jimmy Carter once said about it, “Habitat is not a sacrifice that we make for others. Habitat is a blessing for those of us who volunteer to help others.” There is a huge blessing in doing the work yourself that God certainly allowed the Jews to enjoy. There’s also a blessing in doing volunteer work period, whether that’s for a neighbor, for your church, or through a formal organization. Unfortunately, according to the Bureau of Labor, now less than 25% of the US does any formal volunteer work. Women are slightly more likely to volunteer than men, married people are much more likely to volunteer than singles, but the biggest differentiator is education attainment (39% for those with a college degree, 8% for those who did not complete high school). Food prep/serving is the most common volunteer service, followed by tutoring, fundraising, and general labor. The reason I bring up volunteering is I think there’s a difference in our approach to something we get paid to do and something we volunteer to do. It is extremely gratifying to finish a major work project and have the boss tell us “good job”, but it’s also special to pull together a major project like a Wild Game Supper or Habitat house or church plant. Finally, point out that Moses inspected and approved of their work. Isn’t it an amazing feeling when someone comes around behind you and says you did a good job? Isn’t that rich validation? After all of their failures, to hear “God bless you” from Moses must have meant a lot to the people.
Here’s where you go with this first point: what “job” has God given you in this life? It might be related to your family (as a parent or a caregiver), to your paying job, to your position in a church, or to your gifts and talents. What steps are you taking to fulfill that job?
Aside: The Parable of the Talents
I think Jesus puts the first point into ultimate perspective in Matthew 25:14-30. “For [the kingdom of heaven] is just like a man about to go on a journey. He called his own servants and entrusted his possessions to them. To one he gave five talents, to another two talents, and to another one talent, depending on each one’s ability. Then he went on a journey. Immediately the man who had received five talents went, put them to work, and earned five more. In the same way the man with two earned two more. But the man who had received one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground, and hid his master’s money. After a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. The man who had received five talents approached, presented five more talents, and said, ‘Master, you gave me five talents. See, I’ve earned five more talents.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You were faithful over a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Share your master’s joy.’
And it goes on that the next man also receives praise, but the man who did nothing with his talent receives condemnation. Obviously, the parable is not about investment strategy. The “talent” symbolizes everything God has given us in this life, be it resources, natural abilities, spiritual gifts, and more. God gives us the free choice how we will use those talents, but He will hold us accountable for our choices. It’s not about numbers, though, it’s about faithfulness. One man only received two talents and only “made” two talents, but God honored him the same. With much or with little, you can serve God and give Him great joy.
Part 2: Assembly Required (40:1-4)
The Lord spoke to Moses: “You are to set up the tabernacle, the tent of meeting, on the first day of the first month. Put the ark of the testimony there and screen off the ark with the curtain. Then bring in the table and lay out its arrangement; also bring in the lampstand and set up its lamps.”
So, after all of that work, they still weren’t actually finished. Now they had to put it all together into a finished product (the Tabernacle was designed to be portable). That’s far from a sure thing. I’m sure someone in your class has a story of a catastrophic fail in setting up a campsite (or following the instructions for building a treehouse or the like). This picture is me in a tent with a tree branch holding it up because I forgot the tentpoles.
A primary point I would make is that in Ex 33:7, after the great failure of the people, Moses set up a “tent of meeting” far outside the camp, fearing that God might never come into their sinful midst. But the Tabernacle was instructed to be assembled in the very middle of the camp (we learn more about this in Numbers). God wanted to be with His people; He would give them chance after chance to be forgiven, to “try again”, and to put up safeguards for their own good (we need to look at this screen as one of those safeguards—yes, God is in your midst, but there are still boundaries that sinful people are not worthy to cross). If you haven’t talked about the furniture in the Tabernacle, you’ll want to do that here. Google “tabernacle diagram” and you’ll see that there’s lots of agreement on the arrangement of things inside the walls.
Aside: Tabernacle // Jesus
If you need it, here’s a reminder of how the arrangement of the Tabernacle reveals Jesus to us:
It starts with the wall. The wall is there to protect us in our sinful condition from God’s all-consuming holiness. But there is a gate—the gate symbolizes that God has made a way for us to be able to come into His presence. In the old world, that way was the altar (animal sacrifice) and laver (ritual cleansing). An animal paid the price for the worshiper’s sin, and with the price paid, the worshiper then washed himself clean before going into the Holy Place of the temple proper. Both of those pointed to Jesus, the perfect once-for-all sacrifice that paid for our sin and cleansed us of our sin. In the inner temple, there was a lampstand (menorah) and a table with the bread of presence and a small altar for incense, and a curtain isolating the Most Holy Place where the Ark of the Covenant was kept in God’s presence. The lampstand symbolized God’s presence, and the bread symbolized God’s provision. They kept 12 cakes on the table at all times, saying that God pro-vided for all Israelites. The incense apparently represented the prayers of the people, although that was not made clear to the Jews. I think it was also about setting a thick atmosphere that could not be ignored or taken lightly (for their protection). Of course, we find out that Jesus is the Light of the World, the Bread from Heaven, and the One who intercedes for us before the Father. The Ark was a tangible representation of God’s presence, a role Jesus took over.
Part 3: Glory Shown (40:34-35)
The cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. Moses was unable to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud rested on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.
So, in the rest of this chapter, we see that Moses assembled everything the way God told him to, and God “approved” of the work by sending His glory to fill the tabernacle. The word “tabernacle” comes from a word meaning “to dwell”—John used this same word (in Greek) to describe how Jesus “dwelt” among us (John 1:14). If you remember the Bible Project video on Exodus, you’ll note that they made a big deal about this verse: yes, God was dwelling among the people, but it was not safe for them to come into His presence. And that’s where the book of Leviticus comes in: to give them the procedures by which it would be possible for the people to be able to enter the Tabernacle.
If you want to open an interesting discussion, ask your group how they would compare God’s glory filling the Tabernacle with God’s Spirit filling the Christian upon salvation. David recently talked about what it means to “be filled with the Spirit” in a sermon (use Eph 5:18 and context if you want to have this discussion). The same God who filled the Tabernacle is the same God who lives in all Christians. What might be different with us? Should we perhaps expect more of a powerful and visible effect in our lives today? Point out that God’s presence followed the Israelite’s careful obedience . . .
Part 4: God Led (40:36-38)
The Israelites set out whenever the cloud was taken up from the tabernacle throughout all the stages of their journey. If the cloud was not taken up, they did not set out until the day it was taken up. For the cloud of the Lord was over the tabernacle by day, and there was a fire inside the cloud by night, visible to the entire house of Israel throughout all the stages of their journey.
And because Lifeway was determined to get all of the end of Exodus in, they continue to this passage. I talk more about the cloud and fire and what it means to be led by God on the back page. The point of this section is that everyone in the camp could clearly see the presence of God, and the way the cloud and fire “behaved” made it abundantly clear to the Israelites when and where they were supposed to move. Wouldn’t that be nice? But here’s a point to make: even though they had God’s visible presence and direction among them, they still doubted, they still argued, and they still rebelled. In other words, while we might like that kind of direction from God, the truth is that we would still get ourselves into trouble. There is no magic potion against sin; there is only obedience and repentance.
Your big idea for this lesson is the comfort and confidence of knowing the presence of God in our lives. God lived with His people in the wilderness because they desperately needed Him. They were a ragtag group of former slaves, incapable of any kind of major military progression, and certainly incapable of surviving in the desert. For many of the Jews, seeing God with them gave them the confidence of trusting and obeying. We’re really not that different today. The difference is that too many of us have fooled ourselves into thinking that we can handle life on our own. We have failed to see that we are also living in a wilderness of a different kind, and we desperately need God’s guidance and protection for ourselves, our families, and our churches. God still guides us today (see the back page) if we would listen and pay attention. Ask your group to identify ways (1) that God has proven to be with them, and (2) that God has guided them. Then challenge everyone to spend time with God this week thanking Him for His presence and asking for guidance for the future.
Closing Thoughts: How Do You Know God Is with You?
How comforting must it have been for the Jews (at least, the Jews who loved God) to know that God was dwelling with them? To have the visible reassurance of His presence in the form of the cloud and fire? What do you think would change in Thomson if God’s presence were that kind of visible here? Well, that’s not how God chooses to work today. So—how do we know that God is with us? Because God is with us. God is always with us. For me, it’s a doctrinal thing. What I know about God through the Bible makes it abundantly clear that God is with me. How about your class: how do they know God is with them?
Here is an interesting artist’s rendering of the cloud and fire. I would think that the cloud would be even bigger, but the primary point is that everyone in the camp could easily see it. It really didn’t matter how God manifested His presence; it just had to be visible (and local). In that location, cloud and fire makes sense.
God has never failed to lead His people. In the New Testament, God led His people through the Holy Spirit (Acts 9:17, 13:52). Paul hints at this when he tries to explain some of his decisions. However it worked, we get the impression that God’s leadership was clear in those actions. So, why don’t we feel like God’s leadership is totally clear in everything we do today? Two observations: the Bible doesn’t say that every decision was clearly/obviously directed by God. They probably had questions. But most importantly, they made decisions together as a body of believers. This is what we call “the mind of Christ”; they gathered specifically to ask God to direct their paths, and together, it became clear what God wanted them to do. That still happens today! We’ve simply lost the art of seeking God’s guidance in a large group and listening together. I believe strongly that God’s guidance is a group thing—that He uses all of us together to see His direction.
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