JUNE 22, 2024
READ: Exodus 26:30-27:8
MEMORY VERSE
“Set up the tabernacle according to the plan shown you on the mountain.” Exodus 26:30
BACKGROUND
When Britain’s House of Commons was bombed in World War II, Prime Minister Winston Churchill told Parliament they must rebuild it according to its original design. It must be small, so debates would remain face-to-face.
It must be oblong rather than semicircular, allowing politicians to “move around the center.” This preserved Britain’s party system, where Left and Right faced each other across the room, requiring careful thought before switching sides.
Churchill concluded, “We shape our buildings and afterwards our buildings shape us.”
God seems to agree. Seven chapters in Exodus (chs. 25-31) give instructions on building the tabernacle, and six more (chs. 35-40) describe how Israel did it. God cared about their worship.
When the people entered the courtyard, the gleaming gold and the tabernacle’s colorful curtains (26:1, 31-37) dazzled them. The altar of burnt offering (27:1-8) and water basin (30:17-21) reminded them of the cost of their forgiveness.
The tabernacle contained a lampstand (25:31-40), bread table (25:23-30), altar of incense (30:1-6), and ark of the covenant (25:10-22). Each item held great significance.
God doesn’t give us detailed instructions for our worship space as He did with Israel, yet our worship is no less vital. Our very being is to be a tabernacle set apart for Him to dwell in. May everything we do remind us of who He is and what He does.
By: Mike Wittmer
INSIGHT
The curtain described here (Exodus 26:31-33) separated the Most Holy Place of the tabernacle from the Holy Place. This is crucial because the Most Holy Place was only for the high priest (Aaron) to enter, and only under particular circumstances (Leviticus 16).
Any violation would result in death. The letter to the Hebrews gives us remarkable insight into Jesus’ role as our high priest (see chs. 7-9). We may now “approach God’s throne of grace with confidence” (4:16). The curtain to the Most Holy Place was “torn in two” when Christ was crucified (Matthew 27:51).
By: Tim Gustafson
APPLICATION
What does your worship teach you about God and His love for you? What changes might you want to make?
PR’s RE-EMPHASIS (From Post)
“God doesn’t give us detailed instructions for our worship space as He did with Israel, yet our worship is no less vital. Our very being is to be a tabernacle set apart for Him to dwell in.”
PR’s (PASTOR RICHARD) TAKE
“Worship is the proper response of all moral, sentient beings to God, ascribing all honor and worth to their creator-God precisely because He is worthy, delightfully so.” D.A. Carson
“True and genuine worship is not to come to a certain place; it is not to go through a certain ritual or liturgy; it is not even to bring certain gifts. True worship is when the Spirit, the immortal and invisible part of man, speaks to God, who is immortal and invisible.” William Barclay
“Worship changes the worshiper into the image of the One worshiped.” Jack Hayford
PRAYER
“Father, You’re worthy of my best worship.”
TODAY’S HYMN/WORSHIP/PRAISE/GOSPEL SONG
“IMMORTAL INVISIBLE GOD…”
Immortal, invisible, God only wise,
In light inaccessible hid from our eyes,
Most blessed, most glorious, the Ancient of Days,
Almighty, victorious, Thy great name we praise.
Unresting, unhasting, and silent as light,
Nor wanting, nor wasting, thou rulest in might;
Thy justice like mountains high soaring above
Thy clouds, which are fountains of goodness and love.
To all life Thou givest, to both great and small;
In all life Thou livest, the true life of all;
We blossom and flourish as leaves on the tree,
And wither and perish but naught changeth Thee.
Great Father of glory, pure Father of light,
Thine angels adore thee, all veiling their sight;
All praise we would render, O help us to see
‘Tis only the splendor of light hideth Thee.
READINGTHROUGH THE BIBLE THIS YEAR (DAILY)
PSALMS 148
