Month: August 2012

In 1982 I served for a few months, as an independent reporter in the press corps during a war. I reported from southern Lebanon and northern Israel during a terrible conflict that gripped the Near East for a time. The government of Israel crossed into Lebanon with a huge fighting force, after sustained shelling from Lebanon by the PLO backed by Syrian forces. They decided to aid a group called the Southern Lebanese Christian Militia (the Phalange) by crossing into Lebanon and routing as much of the PLO and the supporting Islamic force as possible. The spark that lit the fuse was the brazen nature of the Abu Nidal Organization’s assassination attempt against Israel’s ambassador to the United Kingdom, Shlomo Argov.

In the wake of this conflict, Beirut lay in ruins, and Israel and its allied militia force occupied the southern part of Lebanon. The PLO fled Lebanon to Tripoli by June of 1982. Stains like the massacres committed at places like Sabra and Shatilla haunted Israel, who, it appears, naively armed a beaten down Southern  Lebanese population that was filled with revenge against their neighbors.  Israel hoped, according to the late Menachem Begin, to sign a treaty of “forty years of peace”  – but it was not to be. Like all things in war, when the smoke cleared and the rubble was exposed, the damage was greater than any such gain.

One of the things that became a daily part of the experience of Israelis living in the north in places like Qiryat Shmona, Metulla and along the Naftali Ridge was that of shelter living. Day and night, Israelis lived under the constant barrage of ‘Ketusha rockets’, that fell in the dozens on their schools, town squares, clinics and shops. They became adept at maintaining some level of normalcy underground, building a network of tunnels and shelters in their cities. Not content to let the children hold up like moles, they decorated the shelters both inside and out. Even today the shelters of the north are the most colorful and ornate in the country. They showed that shelters are practical in a war zone – but they can be beautiful!

Why do I mention this little “blast from my personal past” today? I want to talk about a shelter that each of us must learn to take advantage of. You may not realize it – but you need a shelter. This is a time of war. If you are one who has submitted your heart to following Jesus, you were born into a SPIRITUAL WAR. You may not realize it right now, but you are in desperate need of a SHELTER, and God has provided a beautiful one in which you can HIDE when the attack of the enemy closes in. He is trying to advance, but the battle belongs to the Lord. God’s victory is sure. Our posture is to be ready at arms with our armor on, and to be sheltered in Him until He calls for us in the moment of battle. The deliberate sheltering in Him is what believer’s refer to as a “prayer life”.

Key Principle: Prayer is not the fleshly action of closing my eyes and speaking well learned words. It is the deliberate hiding of my vulnerable self in His powerful grasp. It is an exercise of submission.

Before we go further, let’s admit a sad truth about Christians in the modern era: “The fastest way to empty a room is declare a prayer meeting.” The quickest way to add to guilt and make even some of the most active believers cringe is to speak about our individual prayer lives. None of us are satisfied, I suspect, with this aspect of our walk with God! It may be that way because we have been convinced that the battle is not truly going on, or it may be because we haven’t been feeling the darkness coming on us. It may be a problem of immature thinking, or it may be simple forgetfulness. Yet, the Bible makes clear that prayer is not a flesh action – it is much more. Prayer is like a retreat to shelter. It is a hiding place in communion with God Himself.

Today I want to both encourage you and speak about your prayer life – and the two subjects should not be at odds with each other.

Let’s establish the problematic backdrop for those who may not have looked closely… Something is very wrong with the self-powered church of our time. Our planning sessions have overtaken our praying sessions. We have lost our edge in many believing circles, to the reality of the spiritual nature of the battle for the hearts of men, women and children. We have advertised instead of asked of God. We have programmed and planned what should have been prayed over and pleaded for.  We have worked in the flesh to contest a battle fought over on spiritual grounds… and many have been wounded, left tired and disillusioned by the fight.

Frankly, it requires much less of the spirit to throw myself into the involvement of the activities of my church, but much more to pull close to the Lord and hide in His will. It is far easier to build a bridge than nurture a relationship, and many of us have taken the easier path – activism over intimacy. As a result, for many believers, their church – the very vehicle that was made to help them grow – became the very place where their energy was sapped away and they worked on – often with an empty spiritual tank. It is time to find our place of intimate refuge in our Heavenly Father, before the empty tank starves all forward progress from our spiritual journey. It is time to reassess our journey and do the hard thing. Eternity will not be spent simply accomplishing for God – but celebrating Who God is, and recognizing His greatness and power. It will be more awe then accomplishment – and, believe it or not, it can be that way NOW.

Pastor Tim Boal, a friend and colleague, spoke recently about the history of prayer and its power at the recent Vision 20/20 conference in California. He read an illustration that will serve as my beginning point today, as we look at the incense altar in the Tabernacle – the place of the “prayer altar” of the Bible.

“Six hundred years ago in about 1400 CE, John Huss started in Moravia, close to the Czech Republic. Huss taught the Bible, but was eventually burned at the stake by the church leadership under Papal authority. Before his martyrdom, Huss predicted that the seed of the Word planted in that community would one day spring up in a powerful revival. Two hundred years passed before the fruit of that work dramatically showed itself. In about 1600, a revival occurred under the ministry of God through John Amos Comenius, who led the Moravian Christians out of their native land, where they were suffering extreme persecutions. He sought for a safe haven for them to live within, and for about the next 100 years they bounced from place to place, looking for a safe home. Just before Comenius died, he referenced the prophecy of John Huss from 200 years before and said:”Within one hundred years the prophecy of Huss will unfold in the Moravian community providing a revival to all the western world.” Comenius died, and so – it appeared – did his dream. The next generation completely forgot about those words. It wasn’t until 1700, when German Count Ludvig Von Zinzendorf was born into a wealthy aristocratic family, and turned his heart to Christ in his native Lutheran Church. At age 27, he took in a single Moravian refugee. In time, he took in 300 more refugees on his estate, and began to lead them. Under Zinzendorf’s leadership, they prayed together, studied together, and worshipped together. As he studied, Zinzendorf came across Comenius’ prophecy about the Moravians made one hundred years before to the very week he found that prophecy, He called the Moravians together in mid – August of 1727 to his house for an all-night prayer meeting – one hundred years to the day after the death of Comenius. The next day is referred to by church historians as the Moravian Pentecost, August 13, 1727. The Spirit moved in a very significant way, and though the Acts 2 work was not wholly repeated, it was clear to everyone God was there, and God was at work. They decided to match the awesome days’ events by beginning another prayer vigil. They designated a place of prayer in the village, broke into groups of three, and each group took one hour of prayer in succession. In the 168 hours that make up a week, every hour, three people were praying. That prayer meeting went for 110 consecutive years – three people each hour, 24 hours a day, 110 years long! What happened to this small group of Moravians? Over the next 15 years, 70 of their number left the group to go to a mission of unreached peoples, learning other languages and sharing the Gospel. They became the first group to begin a modern foreign missions movement that lasts to this day. Moravians would today be the largest denomination, many feel, but they most often gave away any church founded to another fellowship after it was established. John Wesley was converted by the testimony of the Moravians – and the movement of Methodism is traceable back to them.” Tim closed the story by asking a poignant question: “What will extraordinary prayer accomplish?”

We are all stirred by such stories, but that is just the beginning. Prayer offers more than Kingdom advancement. It offers battlefield survival strategy. It offers a blanket of warmth in a cold world…It offers peace amid tumult. Some reading this are perhaps experiencing a POUNDING of their life by the enemy right now. They aren’t trying to fulfill a prophecy or reach a continent – they are trying to get through the month in one piece! What can prayer do to make that possible? How can my prayer life become a source of solace and power instead of a place of fault and guilt? The Scriptures have some words on the subject that are critical to grasping God’s purpose for us. Look at the small altar that God ordered made and covered with gold for the celebration of the time of prayer by the people. It was called the altar of incense:

Exodus 37:25 Then he made the altar of incense of acacia wood: a cubit long and a cubit wide, square, and two cubits high; its horns were of one piece with it. 26 He overlaid it with pure gold, its top and its sides all around, and its horns; and he made a gold molding for it all around. 27 He made two golden rings for it under its molding, on its two sides—on opposite sides—as holders for poles with which to carry it. 28 He made the poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with gold. 29 And he made the holy anointing oil and the pure, fragrant incense of spices, the work of a perfumer.

What does this short reading offer to help us?

First, the inclusion of this altar in the holy furnishings reminds us that God desires His people to gather in prayer – it has a Divine purpose. The incense would allow God to participate with them because GOD WANTS TO HEAR OUR VOICES and God wants to enjoy our prayers.

This incense provided a smell for the delight of GOD ALONE. That God loved the smell of the sacrifice is well documented (see Leviticus 3:16, 6:21). But God also waited to SMELL the prayers that were so well embraced by the aroma of the sweet-smelling incense.  The time of prayer was marked by the time of the incense burning and the two were mixed together into the “nostrils” of God. This assumption is part of the background of the opening of Luke’s Gospel, in a the story at the time of incense burning:

Luke 1:8 “Now it happened that while he was performing his priestly service before God in the appointed order of his division, 9 according to the custom of the priestly office, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10 And the whole multitude of the people were in prayer outside at the hour of the incense offering.”

Second, the uniqueness of prayer, its many facets of comfort and its role in driving into God’s arms is recognized by the process of making the incense. This was a special moment before God –a time when God perceived in a special way the needs and presentation of His people. It was a pleasing aroma to Him:

Exodus 30:34 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Take for yourself spices, stacte and onycha and galbanum, spices with pure frankincense; there shall be an equal part of each. 35 “With it you shall make incense, a perfume, the work of a perfumer, salted, pure, and holy. 36 “You shall beat some of it very fine, and put part of it before the testimony in the tent of meeting where I will meet with you; it shall be most holy to you. 37 “The incense which you shall make, you shall not make in the same proportions for yourselves; it shall be holy to you for the LORD. 38 “Whoever shall make any like it, to use as perfume, shall be cut off from his people.”

Simply put, verse 36 sets the whole passage – the place of prayer was the intimate meeting place with God. There was a time, preparation and a pattern – and people met with their God. The whole environment of the Mishkan (meeting place) was marked by a unique fragrance – never used in other times or places in life. Like God’s name – it was sacred and guarded. Look closely at the ingredients. We don’t know if God intended us to see anything in them, but the rabbis of old certainly did – all in relation to PRAYER. I cannot say this was God’s intent on these fragrances – maybe He just delighted in the combination as a Personal preference – but I love the imagery the rabbis reminded us of:

• Stacte – is Nataf in Hebrew, a bitter gum resin that naturally oozes to the surface. Some rabbis noted in sermons long ago that it appeared on the face of the tree forced out of the inner heart of the tree by some stress or pressure, causing it to be abundant on the outside of the tree. Still others noted that God made the tree with so much sap that it always had much to “give away”. What is clear is that it was a resin that oozed out of the tree – as some of our prayers do from our heart because of stress and pressures that we need to pour out willingly to God, or our abundance from which it flows.

• Onycha – is shekh-ay’-leth in Hebrew, (an unused root in association with a lion’s roar). The word likely refers to the operculum (closing flap of gill in fish, but a special gland in some shell fish). This comes from below the surface of the Red Sea and may be representative of prayers from the “depths”… Some prayer comes from the depths of our lives that need to be carefully rooted out of the encased shells of our lives, and shared with the God who loves us. It is the only way deep issues can be healed!

• Galbanum – (Chelbanum from cheleb or fat – drawn out) – is a word used for a number of differing processes – as in being tapped from the commiphora tree like Maple Syrup. A tap is burrowed from the outside into the tree, piercing the exterior and “wounding the tree” to get the bitterness inside out. Some prayer, the rabbis taught, was to empty our souls of the bitterness trapped within us before God, who alone could handle it. (The word is now more commonly associated with the sap extraction from “Ferula gummosa – a low shrub of Persian slopes. Galbanum of this type is used in the making of modern perfume – the ingredient which gives the distinctive smell to the fragrances “Must” by Cartier, and “Chanel No. 19″).

• Frankencense – is tapped from Boswellia trees and is milky white in color.  Frankencense is “levonah” in Hebrew, (lavan=white). It is not only white in color, it makes a thick whitened smoke when it burns. Many Old City shops carry it and Catholic Churches use it in the liturgical incense burners to this day. The point is that addition to the incense was that, like the prayers of God’s people, that which made an impact or a change that was evident to all. Prayer changes people and the spiritual atmosphere with a noticeable fragrance and color.

Regardless of whether God wanted us to know something of prayer through the ingredients or not, don’t miss the big picture – GOD LOVES THE PRAYER TIME.

When it is hard to do, remember this – It is loved by your Father. It is a joy to Him.

• We have seen that God desires prayer to be a part of worship and celebration.
• We have seen that God LOVES the time His people meet with Him. Yet, there is more…

Third, the beauty, value and position of the altar reinforced the importance of the actions performed on it. The altar was made of precious gold. It was crowned with beauty, and placed just outside the curtain that blocked the view of the Ark with the Mercy Seat. It was, for all practical purposes – at the access point to the holiest place before God.

Fourth, the mercy involved in the altar is underscored by the horns that were places of refuge for men and women to receive the mercy of God. I am thinking of the story in 1 Kings 2, where Benaiah was sent by Solomon to kill Joab in the Tabernacle. He held fast to the horns of the outer altar, because they were a place of mercy – and another set was found on this altar as well. Horns denoted strength in the time, but they also denoted God’s mercy in the worship setting.

Fifth, the incense altar was made with transport poles and rings on two corners, keeping it flexible and with the people on the move – as our prayer life should be. We are not given ONE WAY to pray, stilted, read and memorized –but a whole array of presentations and examples. I want to take time to observe one of them found in the heart of the Psalter. Listen to this rich expression of love for God and the place of His shelter in prayer:

Psalm 91:1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. 2 I will say to the LORD, “My refuge and my fortress, My God, in whom I trust!” 3 For it is He who delivers you from the snare of the trapper and from the deadly pestilence. 4 He will cover you with His pinions, and under His wings you may seek refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark. 5 You will not be afraid of the terror by night, or of the arrow that flies by day; 6 Of the pestilence that stalks in darkness, or of the destruction that lays waste at noon. 7 A thousand may fall at your side and ten thousand at your right hand, but it shall not approach you. 8 You will only look on with your eyes and see the recompense of the wicked. 9 For you have made the LORD, my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place. 10 No evil will befall you, nor will any plague come near your tent. 11 For He will give His angels charge concerning you, to guard you in all your ways. 12 They will bear you up in their hands, that you do not strike your foot against a stone. 13 You will tread upon the lion and cobra, the young lion and the serpent you will trample down. 14 “Because he has loved Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him securely on high, because he has known My name. 15 “He will call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him. 16 “With a long life I will satisfy him and let him see My salvation.”

Truth #1: The writer shares that there is a place where I can find God’s protection, but I must both SEEK it and STAY in it. It is not beside God – it is within the place of His very nature (91:1,9).

Psalm 91:1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. The translation reads: “I can hide in the shadow of the Great One if I stay in His secret place.” God has a place, beyond any enemy’s grasp, where I can find shelter and security. It is with Him. It is in His Holy Presence. Where exactly is this place? Is the place something God created? How can I find it?

Psalm 91:9 can be read two ways – that God has created the refuge place, or that God Himself IS the refuge place – that it is WITHIN HIM. Dr. Martin Luther understood it in the second way. The statement is this: “For you have made the LORD, my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place.” Why read it in such an awkward way (that God Himself is the very shelter in Whom I should dwell)? Because other places in Scripture make that same point. In the Psalm of Moses (Psalm 90), he opens with “Lord, YOU have been my home.” The point is this: I can find refuge in God when I intentionally move to the place of shelter, and my commitment to stay there when tempted to emerge and defend myself.

Truth #2: There is a prayer that helps me recognize my Protector (91:2).

Psalm 91:2 I will say to the LORD, “[You are] My refuge and my fortress, My God, in whom I trust!” In essence, the text declares: “I will proclaim aloud before God from inside His shadow that I KNOW He is my protector – I trust Him! No information coming from my lips will teach God anything. I am not speaking for His benefit – but for MINE. I must constantly recite the protection of the Lord to appropriate in the Spirit what I cannot see with my eyes. The prayer that I recite helps ME to recall the work that God is doing on my behalf. One of the great helps in prayer is the aspect of reminder that I NEED in my daily walk. If you don’t know what to pray for, celebrate what God’s Word says He is doing right now for you!

He is your Shepherd. He is your Rock. He is your Fortress. He is your Strong Tower. He is you Salvation and Rescue. He is your Source. He is your Destination. He is your Journey. He is all that you truly need, and He provides all you truly have…

Truth #3: There is a provision in His presence! (Psalm 91:3).

Psalm 91:3 For it is He who delivers you from the snare of the trapper and from the deadly pestilence. God protects those who place their trust in Him. The writer exclaims “I constantly recall His protection while He loots the traps my enemy has set before me, and gives me the proceeds from the looting.”  God plunders the enemy snares, cashes in on them and offers me the spoils! God isn’t just One Who delivers – He takes the things meant for EVIL and TURNS them into valuable things that help me! Joseph learned this – King Asa experienced this!

That provision of protection has a tender image behind it. Psalm 91:4 He will cover you with His pinions, and under His wings you may seek refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark. The poetry of the song is rich in image. The writer says: “His (ebrah) beautiful feathers cover me, His wings (kaw-nawf’) shield me”. His faithfulness (or more properly His absolute reliability in terms of truth “emet”) is both my front guard and my rear protector (so-khay-raw’: bulwark or buckler, used only here in the Hebrew terminology of the Bible). Don’t miss that God’s wing is always there to cover us, but only the one who SEEKS refuge beneath its impenetrable shield senses that protection. Life lived apart from prayer is uncertain life – vulnerable and ambiguous. His reliability in protection and His revealed nature in truthful exposure do not change – but we are often distracted, reaching for solace in places other than the ones provided for by our Heavenly Father. Time spent in prayer adds surety to your walk and reinforces God’s protection over you.

If you drop your eyes further down in the song, the Psalmist continues this theme: Psalm 91:10 “No evil will befall you, nor will any plague come near your tent. 11 For He will give His angels charge concerning you, to guard you in all your ways. 12 They will bear you up in their hands, that you do not strike your foot against a stone. 13 You will tread upon the lion and cobra, the young lion and the serpent you will trample down.” Be careful with these verses about protection. Loud voices argue that because of texts like these, God has made an eternal promise that nothing that hurts me will enter my life – but that just isn’t so. This is a truth about a man in a battle that has been given a grand vision of victory – but battles leave many good men and women wounded. If that is the case, what is the value of these verses? What do they promise, if anything, to the believer who is seeking God’s protection.

First, recall this is a song of celebration by a warrior who has been shown protection by God amidst the pain of battle. Look very closely at both the prerequisite and at the promises! To be eligible for this extreme protection, the warrior had to deliberately place himself in the shelter of God Himself. The place of shelter was not simply a place God dwelt in for communion- it was the very place of God’s nature and person (Psalm 91:9, more below).

In other words, the one who wraps their life in the truth of God’s attributes and cloaks themselves with God’s purposes with intent to glorify God – that is the one who will see life from God’s perspective.

Now examine the promises. In the midst of their assignment by God, evil will be unable to wound them, for God will use them to gain the victory. Wounds (nehgah) will not enter their covering, for God will dispatch mighty unseen protectors, angels from His side, to stand beside us. We may retreat from the battle, but our feet will be protected from the damaging stones beneath. The terrifying serpent, the roaring young lion, the slithering cobra – will all be unable to stop our march and mighty trampling. Our timidity will dissipate in God’s grip. Our strength will increase, our promises certain – for we will know that we serve God’s ends and be assured that no power is His match.

When all is said about the Psalmists words, one truth remains: Clutched in the grip of the power of God, cloaked in the beauty of His Divine presence, I can stand with confidence in the face of the foe.

I need not quiver at the whistling of his arrows, nor quake at the pounding of the footsteps of his advancing army. Confidence comes as my walk with God envelopes more of my vision than my earthly view. God is BIGGER than the foe. God is GREATER than his weaponry. God’s TEAM is vastly larger than the mere men and women I can see around me. I must be able to hide in Him to truly get His perspective on the darkness descending. I need to intentionally pull the cloak of His holy goodness over me to find His protection. Spiritual life cannot be nurtured by fleshly pursuit – only time in His covering will sustain when the battle draws near. Prayer isn’t an abstract reality when the shells fall and bullets of battle are all around me – it is the shelter of protection. It is the foundation of confidence. Yet, it is something more… it is the wellspring of peace….

Truth #4: There is a peace that accompanies my closeness. (Psalm 91:5-8)

Psalm 91:5 You will not be afraid of the terror by night, or of the arrow that flies by day; 6 Of the pestilence that stalks in darkness, or of the destruction that lays waste at noon. 7 A thousand may fall at your side and ten thousand at your right hand, but it shall not approach you. 8 You will only look on with your eyes and see the recompense of the wicked.

The peace of the one who hides constantly in the Father is noticeable. Restlessness is the stuff of the wanderer, but enduring security is the way of the man or woman that has deliberately pulled the cover of God’s protection over them. The Psalmist iterates sources of fear in couplets first from the night, then from the day:

• The dread of a night’s disaster (91:5a) and the plague of the darkness (91:6a): Pain often intensifies at night. With the decent of darkness, uncertainty rises. Since the language here is one of a man or woman of God under attack – the imagery is even more vivid. It is the anxiousness of the foxhole on the night battle field. It is the soldier dug in on the front, nervous of every movement from the enemy opposite them. In the darkness, the enemy’s movement is far less discernible, and fear plays on the mind and heart. Memories of the fight from days’ past flood the mind. Lost comrades and fallen friends fill up the mind as the cold and quiet night provides the unnerving isolation from others. It is here that reciting God’s protection will become critical to keep peace reigning in the heart.
• The assault of weapons in the day (91:5b) the withering of the noonday sun (91:6b): Not only the dark of night, but the terror of the fight and the scorching of the midday sun give rise to fear. The sound of the weaponry and the sight of the fallen fellow soldier raises any warrior’s anxiety. In the heat of daytime battle a soldier fights thirst and heat as much as enemy and arrow – all seems poised to destroy him. Yet, the constant call to God’s shield of protection can provide cool shade from the sun, and powerful protection from the arrow!

Sit with the soldier in the bunker who calls continually on the Lord – the prayer warrior who covers himself or herself with the beautiful expanse of the wings of the Protector of Heaven. Watch the battle from their eyes.

It is not bloodless – a thousand may fall around them. It is not distant – ten thousand may fall at their own right hand. The destruction, nevertheless, will not overtake you (the term “nawgash” suggests both approach and overtake). The warrior sees the fall of the foe, and recognizes the victory of the Lord.

The idea of 91:8 is not that the warrior does not see the losses of good men and women in the battle – it is one of perspective. The losses are real, but the gains are eternal and powerful. The pains of fallen friends don’t dominate the thinking of the warrior sheltered under God’s protection – the advances of his King are foremost in His mind. The recompense to the wicked foe is more vivid than any cost of the battle. Victory is assured and the glory of his King is certain. No cost is too great for right to triumph. No payment is too demanding for evil to be vanquished. With such a perspective, the hidden warrior watches, not with blindness to the cost – but with assurance that all of our struggle is worth the doing of it.

Truth #5: The proclamation of God is heard from the hiding place. (Psalm 91:14-15)

Psalm 91:14 “Because he has loved Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him securely on high, because he has known My name. 15 “He will call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him. 16 “With a long life I will satisfy him and let him see My salvation.”

The Psalmist hears the gentle voice of God. He is proclaiming promises over His beloved ones. He recognizes their submission and love – and He promises deliverance. He acknowledges the believer’s cry out to Him – and He promises to answer that cry. He sees the troubles of His people – and offers them His presence amid the pain and toil. He promises rescue, and He alone can deliver it.

Prayer is not the fleshly action of closing my eyes and speaking well learned words. It is the deliberate hiding of my vulnerable self in His powerful grasp. It is an exercise of submission.

Prayer is the air tank of the diver. It is the life line to the climber. It is the ship’s hull – holding fast in the storm. It is no luxury, no part-time, half-hearted pursuit. It is the difference between understanding the world from God’s perspective, and being disillusioned – even in the presence of His greatness.

I thank God for all my senses, but chief among them, in my opinion, is the sight of my eyes. I love viewing rich colors in carefully constructed images of either photography or graphic art. I recognize the depth that a shadow brings to a picture – but I confess that I don’t like shadows in real life. Shadows play tricks on your mind. Darkness is not warm and inviting. Recently staying in center city Philadelphia, I found myself constantly looking over my shoulder as I walked at night in the streets from the parking garage to my hotel. Soon after I got back in Florida, I found myself up in an attic making repairs for someone, I found myself highly sensitive to every sound up in the dark crawl space, as I was worried that critters might jump out at me and bite me. I should never have watched the movie “Ben” as a youth – it has given me the “willies” about rats attacking me ever since! Needless to say, I didn’t see any man-eating rats, but still I find the darkness and shadows unnerving.

My daughter was taking out trash two nights ago, and she stepped on a snake in the back yard, that took off slithering into the bushes – darkness is unsettling! You know, you can walk down any dark street, right here in our little town, and your senses will tingle if you hear noise coming from behind bushes or rustling in trees above. If only you could see clearly! Shadows can be frightening, and darkness is never desired because it HIDES THINGS. Light is comforting because it EXPOSES THE HIDDEN. It helps us identify the familiar face of a coming friend, and strikes a warning posture in us when the oncoming person is unfamiliar and a possible threat. Our lesson today is about the light exposure involved in God’s worship center, and why God planned to have a lamp in the room. It isn’t a lighting seminar – but a look at what God intended us to LEARN about Him from His instructions through Moses.

Key Principle: God instructed a carefully prepared ornate lampstand in the Holy Place to bring light to the ministry of worship and to expose anything that would harm the sanctity and dignity of the work.  

Let’s drop in on the description of the Holy Place, already in progress in Exodus 37:17: “Then he made the lampstand of pure gold. He made the lampstand of hammered work, its base and its shaft; its cups, its bulbs and its flowers were of one piece with it. 18 There were six branches going out of its sides; three branches of the lampstand from the one side of it and three branches of the lampstand from the other side of it; 19 three cups shaped like almond blossoms, a bulb and a flower in one branch, and three cups shaped like almond blossoms, a bulb and a flower in the other branch—so for the six branches going out of the lampstand. 20 In the lampstand there were four cups shaped like almond blossoms, its bulbs and its flowers; 21 and a bulb was under the first pair of branches coming out of it, and a bulb under the second pair of branches coming out of it, and a bulb under the third pair of branches coming out of it, for the six branches coming out of the lampstand. 22 Their bulbs and their branches were of one piece with it; the whole of it was a single hammered work of pure gold. 23 He made its seven lamps with its snuffers and its trays of pure gold. 24 He made it and all its utensils from a talent of pure gold.”

As we open our reading of the text of the Word, once again we are back in the Tabernacle, “sweating to the oldies” with Moses. It has been a hot journey through a long, hot summer. The one difference we have with the text is rain – something the children of Israel would have paid to see! Moses was more familiar with the drought afflicting Kansas than any torrential rains raising Lake Jackson. Even with the differences, the study of the trip is deeply rewarding. Why? Because the tabernacle has been a study in prudently constructed symbols – parts and pieces of the only complete worship center ever designed by God for placement on earth. Every part of His choice has been cataloged in the Word, and we have the option of looking quite closely at each piece He instructed, and unfolding the meaning of the piece by looking at the record.

• The precinct of the Tabernacle was closed – because proper worship must be set aside from the everyday walk in life. It affects everything, but it is distinct and planned.

• The position of the Tabernacle was in the center of the camp – because the place of God in our midst is not a peripheral issue.

• The prominent impression of the Tabernacle was that it was a killing place. Just inside the outer court of the Tabernacle was the killing place for the sacrificial animals and beside it the altar of sacrifice – because we don’t get anywhere near approaching God’s holy presence without addressing our sinfulness first.

• The restricted buildings of the Holy Place and Holy of Holies were closed off from the courtyard, a separate and distinct building within the linen fenced court – because priests alone were to interface between God and man. God’s transcendence is not a new concept to us. Even now, we access God in Heavenly places by our Great High Priest’s word.

• Outside the curtain that marked entry to the building of the Holy Place stood a Laver made of the melted mirrors taken from Egypt – a washing place for the priests who handled animals, blood and ash pans. Even a priest needs a daily cleansing experience to be ready to serve God well – and we as priests have that in the confession of our sin to our Savior. Our 1 John 1:9 need for daily confession does not negate the priesthood of the believer today.

• Inside the Holy Place there is a table near the north wall that has twelve loaves of bread – reminding of God’s provision of manna through the wilderness and the priests daily need of Him.

• Near a curtain that divided the Holy Place and Holy of Holies was a small golden altar of incense – because God loved to smell the prayers of men and women in the wafting of the distinct odor given at the hour of prayer.

• Deep within the Tabernacle was a golden ark – a box to carry the Word of God as given to Moses, and some of the implements of the journey – because the people of God are nothing without the promises of God.

Finally, lighting the entire room of the Holy Place was an ornate seven branched candelabra called the Menorah – because light revealed what darkness concealed. God’s desire was a clean, ordered and appropriate sacred area. That is where our text focuses our attention today – on the light source inside the Holy Place. The lampstand offered light to help the priests do their job – because they could SEE what they were doing – blending the spices for the incense altar in the offering of the prayers of the people or placing the bread and frankincense in remembrance on the table – all that had to be done within the fifteen foot by thirty foot otherwise completely dark enclosure.

The area was sacred, so they couldn’t simply throw open the front curtain for extra light. The area was to be dignified, clean and ordered. Much of what the priests did was keep it that way. In an area so small, that sounds easier to pull off then it really was – as anyone who has been tent camping for a long time in the desert can attest. Dust is a daily reality of life in the desert. You can feel it on your skin, and taste it in your sandwich. In fact, living in Jerusalem on the edge of the desert, you give up on dusting the first week – it is ever present. Add to that, there are other problems unique to desert camping that make the whole experience less than sanitary and challenging to keep dignified and sacred space set apart.

When people think of the Bible characters like Moses, they forget the smell of the Israelite camp, the constant problem of scorpions, mice, rats and desert foxes trying to get into the foodstuffs. Roaches are the same the world around – disgusting and pervasive.

The flannel graph version of the Bible leaves us with the impression that the people smelled of perfume, and the lands were idyllic and vermin free. I assure you having lived there that this is a grievous error. Moses contended with critters and bugs, and so did the priests of the Tabernacle – apart from some Divine intervention to keep the place clean, which is wholly unmentioned in the text. In fact, there were only four things that could keep the Holy place free of blemishes: the direct intervention of God, the natural barrier made by the building, the priests in daily and diligent service of God, and the light that made dirt and bugs vulnerable to the priests’ traps. Light has everything to do with keeping the sacred clean and useful to God.

Go back to the description of the six features of the lamp were given in the text:

The Value of lamp in worship – Pure Gold (17).

Gold was precious, and the lampstand was made of precious materials because its purpose was critically important. The light uncovered the hidden, exposed the truth, and made the work of the priests possible. The lamp brought light to the worship in the Holy Place for the priests, since God required none in the Holy of Holies – it was for the men. Think for a moment about how the term “light” is used in the Bible. It was, in the very beginning, used to “separate” things. In the Genesis 1:3 account of God’s creation, the Bible records: “Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day.”

The term separated is from the Hebrew verb “baw-dal’” a term for dividing or partitioning. The purpose of God’s demarcation of light and darkness was to divide the time. This was prior to the making of the sun, and it was to highlight the difference between good and evil. How do I know? Note that the light was called GOOD. The darkness was simply its opposite. Brightness is associated with God, and darkness with His enemy. It does not mean that all dark places are evil – since there was no light source inside the Holy of Holies because God had no need of it to see everything. It does mean that light was supposed to be a help to US to see what could not otherwise be detected.

Remember, when Jesus said in the Gospel of John “I am the Light of the World” (John 5:12), the context was a lie that was being perpetrated in His midst. He wouldn’t stand for it. He is the light, and that light shines in every hidden corner – and exposes every blemish.

We live in a day when believers in the west often have more Bibles in their homes than people. The problem isn’t that we don’t have a lamp to see the blemishes, vermin and dirt in our lives – we do. The problem may be that we don’t turn on the lamp – don’t open the pages of God’s powerful Word to allow the light to touch the shadowed areas of our heart. The problem may be that we shield the light from making its way into corners reserved for self carefully protected inside us. The problem may be that we get haphazard in the use of the light, using it in a way that doesn’t identify and illuminate our real problem areas.

When I was a boy, my father generally asked my older brother to come and help him work on the car. I didn’t feel slighted. In fact, I really didn’t WANT to go outside in the cold and dark, and hold the light for my dad while he was under the car or inside the hood, working on a broken part. It wasn’t that interesting, and it certainly wasn’t that comfortable. On occasion, the lot fell on me to help out. I found what dad was doing to be very interesting… for about one minute. Then my mind wandered. That wasn’t a problem, but the fact that the light wandered with my mind was a problem. Periodically, dad would simply say the word: “SON!” I would drop back to attention and aim the light back on my dad’s hands at work. Light undirected doesn’t help the work. Ask any lighthouse manager. It must be focused on the real problem areas. So must the Word of God be. We can’t simply quote verses about salvation in the midst of the inner turmoil created by lust’s grab at our hearts. The Word is a SWORD, and with all such weapons we must learn to aim before we use it well.

Though once bathed in Bible, our little portion of the world is increasingly hostile to it. Some of the hostility is open – but much of it is thinly veiled. Take, for instance, the CNN headline that read: “Pregnant teen dies after abortion ban delays her chemo treatment for leukemia”. The story went on to reveal:

“The 16-year-old’s plight attracted worldwide attention after she had to wait for chemotherapy because of an abortion ban in the Dominican Republic. Doctors were hesitant to give her chemotherapy because such treatment could terminate the pregnancy — a violation of the Dominican Constitution, which bans abortion. Some 20 days after she was admitted to the hospital, she finally started receiving treatment. She died Friday, a hospital official said.”

Did you carefully note the position of the moral statements in the writing?  Once again a writer trotted out the emotional and exceptional to defeat the norm. Obviously, the entire blame fell on the abortion laws. They must be bad – they let a girl die! Some of what they said was very true. I think it was terrible that a youth lost her life. What a terrible loss. Yet, there were questions no one was asking that would have shed significant light on the situation. Why was a sixteen year old young woman pregnant? Why was that assumed to be a proper condition for her? Did she know thirteen weeks before, when she conceived that she had leukemia? Would the chemotherapy two weeks earlier have guaranteed her more time? Did that very law they were impugning preserve many lives in recent days?

The point is this: when we select one feature of Biblical morality (do not kill) but drop all the other tenets of it (like sexual purity outside of marriage)– we are simply making up right and wrong and depending on emotions to fill in the gaps of logic. Emotions are wholly unreliable for that esteemed purpose. We live in days that need the light turned on. The darkness of society is now darkening the minds of even believers – and it is time to fill in the picture with TRUTH. If we walk only by every other command of God – we will cause terrible troubles and reap horrid consequences. If we want to “freedom” to blow off the Word of God – then we get the awful consequences of doing so. Even the illness itself was caused by sin, generations ago, all the way back to a garden. I do not here attempt to judge the young woman. My comment is about the content of the writer’s report that is reprehensible and morally bankrupt. We are being duped in poorly constructed and thinly veiled arguments. My concern is the number of young believers that are surrendering ground to such nonsense.

The Work to construct the lamp– Hammered and fashioned (17b):

The description of this carefully fashioned lamp indicated that it was also to be a symbol. The light was brought in because of hard work on the part of a gifted leader of God. Bezalel, in conjunction with Moses, the team of workers, and the supply of the congregation – was able to create the stand in obedience to God.

It is critical that God’s people understand the need for the light of truth, but equally important that they recognize the WORK involved in getting to the truth. It takes serious examination to get to the heart of God’s view of things. We must deliberately learn to study God’s Word in a consistent way. The haphazard “this is what I feel about the passage in the Bible” type of study must simply DIE. If our lampstand of truth is God’s Word – we must carefully fashion our work with it so that we can confidently see the foot path God has laid out for us. The Word will expose lies.  Careful and consistent study of it will cut apart the motivations and intents of the heart. Just as Hebrews 4:12 reminds:

“For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”

The Shape of the lamp – it was made to resemble an ALMOND tree (17b-19).

The branches were to be shaped as the flowering almond branch – something that God repeated several times in the original design of Exodus 25 and 37. The name of the almond is “shaqed” in Hebrew. It comes from the word “shaqad”, the word for “to watch over, to keep watch or lie awake.” In the Bible, the almond is like our “ground hog”. It is the first to appear in the early Spring – in February usually. It blossomed, but took half a year to produce its fruit – six months of hard labor. Jeremiah 31:37 speaks of the coming New Covenant to the Jewish people, and says that as God “watched over them to break them down” so He will one day “watch over them to build and plant”. The One who watches His people is recalled in the play on words with the Almond. The light not only helped the priests see, it reminded them WHO ELSE WAS WATCHING OVER THEM.

Part of the objective of the Word of God in our lives is to remind us that God is the “shaqad” over us. We are called to meditate on it “day and night” – not only because it will offer us correction and direction – but because it will remind us of God’s protection over us. It is what allows believers to sleep well in the midst of the political, moral and ethical storms that sweep our land. We rest peacefully, for God is keeping watch. His eyes are ever upon His purposes, and I am here to play a role in the story He wants to tell. My part may not be the one I would have selected for me – but it is the part for which I was created. It is the part I will sing about in eternity. Knowing that, I am peaceful about the world. God is in control. That may not help me have an easier time of it – I simply don’t know. Many an Apostle died for the Gospel, but none would complain inside Heaven’s gate. God IS watching over you… and the lamp’s glow is just a reminder.

The Number on the lamp – Seven (18, 20-21).

There were to be three branches on either side of a center branch – making seven in all. From the account of Creation with the completion in seven days, to the 54 times the word seven shows up in the closing book of the Bible – Revelation – the number seven has been synonymous with completion. The number occurs 700 times in the Bible, and often in the sense of completion. The word translated “finished” in Koine Greek (teléo) generally means to bring to a close or to fulfill. Take, for example, Revelation 15:1 which reveals the reason for seven angels with seven plagues: “And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; because in them is filled up (teléo) the wrath of God.” In other words, the lamp brought seven lights, or COMPLETE light to the place of worship. You can’t hide in God’s presence – He knows what you aren’t saying. He sees inside. The last place to try to hide sin is in the presence of a Holy and all seeing God.

Don’t hide. Don’t run. Don’t shrink away. Draw near. Confess to Him what you both already know. Ask Him for intense strength to break the grip of sin and guilt. Ask Him to remove a hook from your heart if you don’t have the strength to do it. You will find that He isn’t lighting up sin in you to bring condemnation – but to bring you comfort in the return to Him. He will not call wrong –“right”. He will not excuse rebellion. Humble before Him and be blessed anew by Him!

The Unity of the lamp – one piece (22).

The lampstand could easily have been assembled in parts. It didn’t need to me one piece, apart from the fact that God specifically commanded that it be made that way. Have you ever wondered WHY? We can’t know for sure, but we DO know that God told Bezalel to follow the pattern given, and that was from the Tabernacle of Heaven.

It was many times harder to make the whole frame as a single piece. Though gold is malleable, it is also heavy and not terribly sturdy. This piece would have been the most difficult to construct of all for that reason alone. I don’t want to go too far afield with the analogy, but stop and think about the unity involved in the TRUTH of God’s Word – the lamp to our feet and light to our path.

One Bible teacher wrote it this way:

“The various Bible writers lived at different times, some separated by hundreds of years. In many cases they were complete strangers to one another. Some were businessmen or traders, others were shepherds, fishermen, soldiers, physicians, preachers, kings—human beings from all walks of life. They served under different governments, and lived within contrasting cultures and systems of philosophy. But here is the wonder of it all: When the 66 books of the Bible with their 1,189 chapters made up of 31,173 verses are brought together, we find perfect harmony in the message they convey. As the great scholar F. F. Bruce noted: “The Bible is not simply an anthology; there is a unity which binds the whole together.”

Suppose a man should knock at your door and, when invited in, place an oddly shaped piece of marble on your living room floor, then leave without a word. Other visitors follow in succession until about 40 individuals have each deposited their numbered marble piece into place. When the last one has gone, you see with surprise that a beautiful statue stands before you. Then you learn that most of the “sculptors” had never met each other, coming, as they did, from South America, China, Russia, Africa, and other parts of the world. What would you have to conclude? That someone had planned the statue and had sent to each man accurate specifications for his particular piece of marble. The Bible as a whole communicates one coherent message—just like a perfect marble statue. One mind planned it all, the mind of God. Scripture’s remarkable unity gives evidence that it is not simply human literature but indeed the Word of God. Human beings wrote down the thoughts and words, but they were “God-breathed,” inspired by God Himself.” (excerpted from “Exploring the Word” website).

The Weight of the lamp – approaching one talent (24).

The ancient Egyptian talent of the Pharaohs weighed sixty pounds, and most of it was used to make the lampstand – with a small amount partitioned for other utensils. The size of the lamp, but estimation of the Jerusalem Institute when we were building the replica in the Judean Desert was about five feet tall with a large base equal to a third of the height. We were looking for a way to hold it together without the weight of one branch drooping to downward. It was difficult for the Kohathites camped south of the Tabernalce to carry from one place to another when the camp moved. It had no handles, and was somewhat fragile because of its build.

If you haven’t caught the imagery yet, the light was the agency of the truth exposed to those who would serve God. It was intended to be both precious and heavy. It was not intended to be easy to carry in life. God’s chief desire is NOT our COMFORT, but our CONSECRATION. We are made to be ready to serve God, and that can only work if we are CAREFUL to keep His Word doing its work in us – cleaning us and checking us.

Can I make the point anew that this is not an EASY task? The presentation of the Bible as a simple “Plan of Salvation” is well below the point of the Book. Most of the Bible is NOT about FINDING GOD – it is about FOLLOWING GOD. Why do I meet so many believers that know the FINDING GOD sections, but are only barely familiar with the FOLLOWING GOD sections? Let me offer this plea:

• In the Law, we learn of what moves the Father’s heart. We learn what He cares about, and what bugs Him in His people. We learn about the patterns of His judicial thinking, and why a relationship with Him is not as simple as “doing the best we can”. He wants our allegiance, our careful obedience to a vast array of areas of life’s choices. He wants to be part of the everyday.

• In the Prophets, we hear the warnings of a God that must bring pain to His people if they refuse to walk with Him. He pays careful attention to all the things His people are doing. When the cousins in the Northern Kingdom fell to the world, the warnings became even sharper and more pronounced. When sin was not abandoned, the fall of the people in the Southern Kingdom gave rise to a new kind of prophecy – the cautions of living out of place with God’s intention, in an exile brought on by stubbornness.

• In the writings we hear of God’s wisdom – His intended standards for how things were supposed to work. The norm is established and the life of praise is rooted in song and anthem. Our ability to lift up worship and praise is enhanced, while our inner pains are eased.

• In the Gospels we read the example of God in human skin – a Perfect answer to man’s sin problem and a Perfect specimen of One that pleases His Father in Heaven.

• In the Book of Acts we see that Risen One acting through His chosen servants, beginning the process of exposing the dark world to the light of the truth.

• In the Epistles we read the instructions based on sample problems, and examine the principles of how to solve the issues the people of God will face as the message is transported around the world to all cultures and peoples.

• In Revelation we read of the end of God’s program. His careful plan is played out to the defeat of His enemies and the Perfection of His Forever Kingdom.

Every part of God’s Word is relevant. The notion that only SOME of it is FOR US, flies directly in the face of 2 Timothy 3:16: “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; 17 so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.”

Paul wrote that God’s Word is from God’s breath, powerful to change God’s people, and planned out to fully prepare God’s work force. Much of it is detail, and all of it takes careful study. Timothy was urged not to slack off in his study but “to show himself a workman that need not be ashamed.” (2 Tim. 2:15). It was intended to TAKE WORK.

If we think that we can simply slide by on sermons prepared by others, listen to a few jingles from Christian radio, and occasionally crack open our Bible and really develop the ability to filter the truth from the nonsense said in God’s name – we are kidding ourselves. We are enveloping laziness in a cloak of spirituality that is bound to fail. Let me say it plainly: Your understanding of God’s Word is the foundation of your ability to serve and please Him. If you had no ability to read and learn – God would make a way. Since you do – God’s way is in the Book.

• Don’t look for victory without practice.
• Don’t expect power without plugging in to the outlet.
• Don’t put off til tomorrow what might be vital information for today.

God’s Word is POWERFUL, but a sword still sheathed scares no enemy.

1. The Word brought the message of salvation when I was lost: “…from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.” (2 Timothy 3:15).

2. The Word nursed me through the tender years of infancy in Christ: “…like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation…” (1 Peter 2:2).

3. The Word bulks me up to stand as a man of God and give me a home to build on: “And now I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.” (Acts 20:32)

4. The Word can give me power over the enemy when he assaults me: “…I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one.”

5. The Word comforts me with assurance when life wears out my confidence: “…These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.” (1 John 5:13).

6. The Word can keep me from sin: “…Your word I have treasured in my heart, That I may not sin against You.” (Psalm 119:11).

7. The Word can keep me from the wrong conclusions: “Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God” (Matthew 22:29).

The Bible offers commands to obey, promises to believe, sins to avoid, examples to follow and warning to heed. Can the movie I watched last night do that for me? Can the novel I have plunged into do that for me? Can more time with my favorite sport offer that to me?

God instructed a carefully prepared ornate lamp stand in the Holy Place to bring light and to expose anything that would harm the sanctity and dignity of His work among His people.  

A recent commercial highlighted one of the most important pieces of furniture in our homes – the kitchen table. I have to admit, their words struck a chord in me. You see, not only is our table the centerpiece of the mealtime discussions of my family, but it is the place, often over an espresso, where many of our most critical family decisions have been made. It has been the center stage for more than one family “discussion” when a problem arose between members of our normally happy home. It has been an altar for prayer, when worries surrounded us and we were unsure of God’s direction. It has been a safe haven when we were experiencing the enemy’s attack on our children. It has been a place of sweet desert, and a place of bitter tears. Our table, perhaps more than any other place, has symbolized the communion of the Smith family.  As we read today from the story of the Tabernacle’s construction, it is nice to know that God included in His design, a simple table upon which priests would place bread.  God has a table, and He left particular instruction as to its design and setting. That table was meant to lead His people into a better understanding of Who He is. Today we want to focus on what God revealed about Himself by the instructions and references to His table of bread.

Key Principle: God instructed a table be made to keep His ongoing provision in front of His people and remind them of His enduring holy attention to them!

This isn’t a dry study of furnishings, it is a glimpse into their Divine designer and what He wanted known of Himself.

A Brief Look Back

Step back and look at the road behind us for a moment. It has been a long road through the wilderness, and the thin trail traversed by our camels and caravan extends as far as the eye can see. We have tasting the sand and wiping the sweat from our faces as we have been following Moses and the children of Israel out of their former slave tents in Goshen to the Promised Land  – all the way through our study in the book of Exodus. The book contains the unfolding of God’s redemption from slavery of the people of Israel. It begins with a sense of abandonment – a ringing in the ears of the cries of bitter bondage. It ends, in complete contrast, with the peaceful settling of the glory of the Lord on the Tabernacle in the last lines of the book. It began in stone and mud brick cities built with the trembling hands of mal nourished slaves. It ends with the woven tent and golden furnishings of a moveable structure of worship – made by the Spirit-empowered hands of craftsmen on a mission. What began in a haze of brown dust, ended in a golden glow of glory. They that sowed in tears reaped in joy.

As we pick up our reading in the middle of Exodus 37:10, the Tabernacle building has already been erected. The gold laden ark (the box that held the promises and Law of God) was set up for use. Our lesson focuses our attention on the next piece of furniture handed down from God’s design studio from above called “the Table of Shewbread” in older English translations. Technically, there is no proper word in English like “shewbread”, but the word was forced into the text by the translators of the King James Bible long ago to identify this unique item. The Hebrew “lechem haPānīm” is literally: “the bread of the Presence” – a name that showed something of its importance and function. Take a moment and look at the account as Moses related it:

Exodus 37:10 “Then he made the table of acacia wood, two cubits long and a cubit wide and one and a half cubits high. 11 He overlaid it with pure gold, and made a gold molding for it all around. 12 He made a rim for it of a handbreadth all around, and made a gold molding for its rim all around. 13 He cast four gold rings for it and put the rings on the four corners that were on its four feet. 14 Close by the rim were the rings, the holders for the poles to carry the table. 15 He made the poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with gold, to carry the table. 16 He made the utensils which were on the table, its dishes and its pans and its bowls and its jars, with which to pour out drink offerings, of pure gold.”

The table was beautifully constructed and carefully designed as a symbolic message of God’s presence with and provision for His people. God was ever with them, meeting their needs. People who don’t walk with God, don’t know what that feels like. They don’t even know what they are missing. It reminds me of an old story:

One Sunday morning an old cowboy entered a church just before services were to begin. Although the old man and his clothes were spotlessly clean, he wore jeans, a denim shirt and boots that were very worn and ragged. In his hand he carried a worn out old hat and an equally worn out Bible. The church he entered was in a very upscale and exclusive part of the city. It was the largest and most beautiful church the old cowboy had ever seen. The people of the congregation were all dressed with expensive clothes and accessories. As the cowboy took a seat, the others moved away from him. No one greeted, spoke to, or welcomed him. They were all appalled at his appearance and did not attempt to hide it. The preacher gave a long sermon filled with fire and brimstone and a stern lecture on how much money the church needed to do God’s work. As the old cowboy was leaving the church, the preacher approached him and asked the cowboy to do him a favor. “Before you come back in here again, have a talk with God and ask him what He thinks would be appropriate attire for worship.” The old cowboy assured the preacher he would. The next Sunday, he showed back up for the services wearing the same ragged jeans, shirt, boots, and hat. Once again he was completely shunned and ignored. The preacher approached the man and said, “I thought I asked you to speak to God about what you should wear before you came back to our church.” “I did,” replied the old cowboy. “If you spoke to God, what did he tell you the proper attire should be for worshiping in here?” asked the preacher. “Well, sir, God told me that He didn’t have a clue what I should wear. He says He’s never been here before.” (sermon central illustrations).

Men and women, people were never designed to handle life disconnected from God. Believers, who have tasted intimacy with God and then wander off, find themselves to be some of the most miserable people in the world. God has some important words about WALKING IN HIS PRESENCE from that little golden table, and we want to look at those words in this lesson.

First a word about the table

Scripture says that Bezalel took the acacia wood from the sparse groves of the Sinai Peninsula, and cut them into plates of wood. Distilling the sap into thick glue and perhaps using mortise and tenon joints, he assembled the table. The legs were set into the corners with a top height of about twenty-seven inches. The surface of the table was about eighteen inches wide by about thirty-six inches long (37:10).

After that, Bezalel took the purest smelted gold and heated it to the perfect temperature to allow all of the dross and impurity to float to the liquid surface. He probably poured the molten gold into a framed area on flat rock, using some oils and pastes that would help the gold separate from the rock for pounding, shaping and framing. When still malleable but cooled sufficiently, he placed the thinned sheet of gold over the wood surfaces and worked them with a combination of hammer and heat, to bond them to the surface. Some pins were probably installed into the wood to allow the fixing of the gold plate to set properly and securely. In the end, a delicately decorated border lined the top of the table, near the edge and about one hand breadth in height, to hold the bread in place and keep it from sliding off the slick gold surface (37:11-12).

Near the rim at the top of the table, and affixed to the four vertical legs rings were mounted at the corners, like that of the ark – for this was a table for a journey. Poles were lathed and shaped, covered with gold and slid into position (37:13-15). Then came the fine work needed for the table setting. Utensils were fashioned, including some flat dishes, pans with handles, bowls and jars for liquid. All of them were shaped and buffed to a shiny and slick surface, allowing them to be more easily kept polished and clean (37:16).

That is the simple description of the piece of furniture that God ordered to REPRESENT HIS DAILY PROVISION and HIS ACTIVE PRESENCE among His people. God commanded in Exodus 25:30 “You shall set the bread of the Presence on the table before Me at all times.”

Here is a question: “How do we know that was the message God was trying to give them?” A careful look at Scriptures about the table will unfold the story:

First, the table was made to place baked bread loaves – and those loaves had a very SPECIAL MEANING to Israel.

Bread was the symbol of their daily needs. Bread in Hebrew culture was an idiom for the basic needs to sustain life. When Jesus taught the disciples to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread”, He was teaching them to ask for all their basic needs – not just cooked dough. In addition, in the harsh and barren desert, God miraculously supplied bread for the people when they had no way to grow and harvest crops. Exodus 16:35 reminds: “The sons of Israel ate the manna forty years, until they came to an inhabited land; they ate the manna until they came to the border of the land of Canaan.” What we are looking at was a table to remind Israel that God was present because their needs were met in the daily manna ingredients of the bread.

Tabernacle “manna bread” was a symbol of God’s miraculous daily provision and people’s daily attention to His commands. Do you recall the passage where God instructed the making of the table? In the heart of the book of Exodus, back in chapter 16, there were a series of tests presented by God to the people. The instructions to build the table came from that passage. The test, you may recall from earlier studies, was what we simply referred to as “The Consistency Test (Exodus 16:4 and 16:27). When we read the passage some time back, we reminded ourselves that God offered Israel a “use only as directed” test. The text shares: Exodus 16:4 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may test them, whether or not they will walk in My instruction. The clear point of the Consistency Test is obedience – not once, but ongoing and continual obedience.

Tabernacle bread was a symbol of God’s participation with the priestly meal. Look a bit deeper into the Bible and the picture of the bread as a symbol is even richer. Leviticus 24:5 “Then you shall take fine flour and bake twelve cakes with it; two-tenths of an ephah shall be in each cake. 6 “You shall set them in two rows, six to a row, on the pure gold table before the LORD. 7 “You shall put pure frankincense on each row that it may be a memorial portion for the bread, even an offering by fire to the LORD. 8 “Every Sabbath day he shall set it in order before the LORD continually; it is an everlasting covenant for the sons of Israel. 9 “It shall be for Aaron and his sons, and they shall eat it in a holy place; for it is most holy to him from the LORD’S offerings by fire, his portion forever.”

The frankincense was most likely cast upon the altar-fire as “an offering made by fire unto the Lord,” when the bread was removed from the table on the Sabbath-day, and represented the offering of fire – without burning up the bread itself. (cp. Leviticus 24:8; 1 Samuel 21:6). The frankincense represented the part the Lord enjoyed, as He could inhale the white smoke into His nostrils (poetically speaking), while the priests were able to eat the bread. God participated in the consumption, and they all delighted together!

What is clear is this: the bread was a symbol of need, and collection of that manna ingredient was a symbol both of daily obedience and God’s participation with His people.

The bread from the table had to be replaced every Sabbath, with the collected manna from that week’s provision. What a picture! Every week, the continual GRIND of following God’s plan was required. Serving another’s plans goes against our nature, but it is the PROPER position of a servant of God. Those who master this are remembered as great men and women by God. God doesn’t simply want us to have moments of contact and growth followed by long walks alone. Our life with Him must, as we mature, become more steady and continuous – a walk hand in Hand. With that in mind, let me ask you something: “Are you steady in your walk with God?” Are you finding that you seek Him daily and hourly or more like Sunday and perhaps when you are in trouble? Maturity can be measured by consistency – and it is worth taking a moment to measure ourselves.

In another less personal way, we should step back and address a problem that we face on a greater scale than ourselves as well. We live in times where God’s placing of such tests like the provision that needed to be collected would be considered by some both unfair and even cruel. Our world has somehow communicated the notion that wealth should be WON not EARNED, and that work is a PENALTY not a BLESSING. We are in danger of raising a generation to believe that a JOB is for the stupid while gain without work is the WAGE of the CLEVER. God’s economy for people in a dangerous and tough situation was a WORK PROGRAM. He required them to get up DAILY, collect manna DAILY, and learn the pattern that would pay off greatly when they entered the land and needed to work a farm for crops to feed their family. Can you imagine what would have happened if God simply delivered the manna in pots to their door each day? What if he delivered the manna in a pot once a month and called it a FOOD PROGRAM. I am not arguing that our country should not help those who struggle – no decent human being could watch others go hungry without caring. I am arguing that such programs come with inherent dangers that we need to be aware of. If we increase the payments for those unwed mothers who have more children, we keep those children alive and perhaps healthy. At the same time, the perverse effect is that we reward people for making unhealthy and ungodly choices. God’s sensible solution was to offer people the opportunity to help themselves – and that pattern has some merit even now.

What about the people that couldn’t help themselves? Surely the blind or lame couldn’t collect manna. That must be true. I have traveled that desert, and it simply would have been unsafe. How did they get cared for? The answer is as simple and un-dramatic as this: the people around them collected what they needed. Neighbors helped each other. God allowed people to gather extra to help others – just not to hoard for themselves. Why didn’t they simply establish a council to care for such things? Because the further away from the need the decisions are made, the less efficient and accurate the meeting of that need. When local people meet local needs, people who are milking the system get found out quickly. We have steadily moved from that premise for more than fifty years, and LBJ’s “Great Society” has become an institutionalized form of limitation – holding people DOWN instead of bringing them up. They have neither seen a model of work, nor have a MINDSET to work or now even the OPPORTUNITY to work. Our national HELP has literally crippled a generation. We need to spread manna in the daily field and let people have a way back to work. Our future as a country depends on it.

Are you feeling victimized? Don’t be! Let me say it plainly: in the church, we must teach that WORK IS GOOD. Our youth need to be taught to work hard, and to take God’s provision seriously. We are not ENTITLED to excess – we have greater responsibility with God’s greater provision. “To whom much is given, much is therefore required.” One of the ways we should recognize God’s hand is PROVISION.

A desire to do something is not the same as a CALL to do something. If you want it, but God is not providing, perhaps God does not WANT YOU TO HAVE IT. Perhaps He is not leading you to go where you cannot afford to go. We need to stop assuming that God wants us to have whatever we want to have, and work hard. We need be thankful for the provision He has made. In the first Epistle of Paul that we have in the record of the New Testament, Paul argued for believers to show their faith by their WORK ETHIC. It is time for us to assert this anew: Real followers of Jesus aren’t trying to get something for nothing – they work to honor their Savior. They follow His provision. They celebrate His goodness and sleep well at night from a hard day’s labors. The bread of the table has had much to say.

Second, the table was surrounded with a protecting crown – a rim that held the bread from sliding off of the table.

The symbol of God’s presence demanded protection, because God’s presence is a privilege and an honor that must be both cherished and guarded. The rim was a gold fence, creating a space between those moving around in the room as they passed the edge of the table, and the bread that was carefully prepared and placed inside the inner rim. The rim also had a second purpose. The table was never to be empty… Even when they moved the table. The bread had to be “ever present” – and the rim showed that it needed to be ever protected.

Without stretching the point, it may be worth asking a question right about now….Are you carefully protecting your time with God? Do you value His presence enough, and live in the conscious presence of God so as to be carefully protecting your walk with Him?

Many believers act like it is God’s privilege to have OUR attendance. They act as though God should be sitting in Heaven waiting on them, whenever they get around to worshipping, praising or praying. We need to check our hearts to be sure that we know the difference between a genie and our God. The Lord God does not sit within a bottle waiting for the warm hand to rub and summon Him. He is not at our beck and call – we are to be at HIS.

Third, rings were mounted on the table because it was to be carried, joining the people where ever the camp went.

God’s people were not to go where God did not direct, and where God did not join. If God wasn’t comfortable there, they shouldn’t have been there. How about that as a rule for our lives? Believers were meant to follow His lead and constantly acknowledge, through the bread on the table, His accompaniment. Though we all live in the presence of God’s face continually, many of us don’t live like we realize it. We act as though God didn’t hear the gossip we spread yesterday, or the lie we told last night. We forget His presence – but they were called to continually mark it out.

Fourth, every bowl, pan or utensil associated with the table was to be fashioned of pure gold.

Walking in the conscious presence of God was, and is, to be the highest value of our lives. Gold was not only beautiful, it was precious. God’s utensils were made of gold. How we treat God is reflected in every attitude of our lives, every relationship with other people, and even our reflective relationship within our own hearts. Our values are shaped by our desire to please a very present God, and walk through life with Him. Our biggest failure is not to do or say something that displeases Him – it is to live life without caring about His presence. As Dietrich Bonheoffer brilliantly said: “When we sin, we don’t hate God, we forget God.”

Fifth, the command was made that the table was never to be empty- but full at all times.

It was to be kept supplied even during a journey, because it represented the people’s knowledge of the unfailing presence of the Holy One with them. Bread took work to make, and so it takes work to constantly recall God is very present with man. it is easy to forget God. It is easy to live life with God on the periphery of important decisions. He is always there, but many of us only think about Him at times of pain, trouble or distress.  After the Fall of man in the Garden of Eden, the default position of fallen man is independence from God – living in the deception of self-reliance. Walking with God takes effort, and it takes practice.

Hebrews 9 underscored the idea that the place for the table was a holy place: Hebrews 9:2 For there was a tabernacle prepared, the outer one, in which were the lampstand and the table and the sacred bread; this is called the holy place. Any place where I thankfully acknowledge God’s provision and celebrate God’s goodness is a holy place.

True communion with God is worship. True worship requires constant and deliberate effort. True worship is holy and as such was always guarded. It was to be treasured, but had to be forcibly recalled in a life that defaults to self-reliance. It isn’t simply an emotional response – it is a deliberate call to truth, whether I feel warm and fuzzy toward God or not. God IS great, when I feel it, and when I don’t. True worship demands that I face the facts. One of the things it cannot truly be – it must never be – is BORING. Boring worship is an oxymoron – a self-contradicting phrase. I remember a Pastor sharing this little story:

A little boy asked his mother if she could remember the highest number she ever counted to. The mother didn’t know so she asked him about his highest number. He answered, “5,372.” The mother was puzzled and asked him why he stopped at that particular one. The boy responded, “Well…church was over.” (A-Z sermon illustrations).

Our world is filled with contradictory statements and oxymorons: Jumbo shrimp, Freezer burn, White chocolate, Plastic silverware, Airline food, Sanitary landfill, Truthful tabloids, Professional wrestling – and we have learned to accept them all. There is one that is entirely unacceptable: boring worship. Worship is about emptying myself of self-reliance and self-dependence and wholly leaning on God. Worship is about thanking God for His gentle presence in spite of my unworthiness. It is about crying out to Him in recognition of His constant goodness.

Around the table of God we can see His provision and celebrate His presence. We can sing of His redemption and look forward to our Promised Land. We are on the journey, but we are NOT ALONE.

Can I ask you another question? How fresh is the bread of God’s presence in you? Martin Luther has said, “Christ is now as fresh unto me as if He had shed His blood but this very hour.” Is that true of YOU? Is time with Him sweet and fresh or stale and frozen? If you are cold toward God, let me call you to a new and fresh loaf of bread. Let me share with you a word of excitement…

Stand before God and worship Him in great amazement. We live in a marvelous hour! Stop hanging your head because you feel darkness closing in. Let the night fall. It has all been done before – and Jesus’ reign in the Heavenly places still remains secure. We have the great privilege to exalt His Name as we extend His Kingdom. No one will stop His love from reaching through us into the darkest places – if we will but allow His power to work through us. We can express His Greatness as we sing praises through the day. We can wait with anticipation as we expect His Coming. Lift up your eyes to the Exalted One. Hear the song of the Heavens as His Presence fills this place!

Psalm 96 says: 1 “Sing to the LORD a new song; Sing to the LORD, all the earth. 2 Sing to the LORD, bless His name; Proclaim good tidings of His salvation from day to day. 3 Tell of His glory among the nations, His wonderful deeds among all the peoples. 4 For great is the LORD and greatly to be praised…6 Splendor and majesty are before Him, Strength and beauty are in His sanctuary…9 Worship the LORD in holy attire; Tremble before Him, all the earth. 10 Say among the nations, “The LORD reigns; Indeed, the world is firmly established, it will not be moved…12 Let the field exult, and all that is in it. Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy 13 Before the LORD, for He is coming, For He is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in His faithfulness.”

God designed a little gold table to remind His people of His ongoing provision in front of His people and His enduring holy attention to them! Aren’t you glad He did!

Symbols are all around us – and the most effective ones are those that connect a singular message to a whole society. We can’t walk down any city street without seeing a range of symbols, all that have meanings that have come to be clear in our society. Think about taking a walk. You know where you are supposed to cross the street by paint markings in straight lines for the crossing. You know where the cars on the road are supposed to stop by the octagonal sign that contains one four letter word: “STOP!” No sign? No matter, the red light will do that same thing. If you saw the sign or the light in another country, you would still know what to do –because the symbol’s shape or color that speak clearly – STOP MOVING. You glance up, and discover there is a man was jogging toward you. You may know something of his tastes by reading the symbol from his shirt. You may know if he is married by a ring on the proper finger. His sneakers may bear a symbol upon them that identify their maker and tell you how serious a runner he may be. Keep walking. As you near the next intersection, a small box mounted at the corner may has the symbol of the postal service, and as your mind recognizes it, you are able to identify the purpose of the metal box affixed beside the walk. You hear a rumble and look up. A bus rolls by, and by the color you will very likely be able to tell if it is a public city bus, a private bus, or a school bus. Just as you are thinking about the children going off to school, your phone rings, and the preset tone may becomes an audio symbol, identifying the caller by a chosen tone you programmed to their identity marker. It is your pushy aunt Edna, so you turn the phone to IGNORE. My point is that our lives are filled with symbols, and they are all to offer us a “short hand” script to keep messages flowing without quickly and without strain or confusion. The beauty of a symbol is that it brings clarity in simplicity and brevity – a large message in a small package – and that is exactly what we will be talking about today.

You see, God was the first marketer to brand things. He knew that man would need help identifying things, and wanted us to grasp big messages about Him by offering small symbols. One of them is the subject of this study – a wooden box covered with gold that symbolized truths about God.

Key Principle: God gave His people a small symbol that helped them understand great truths about HIM!

The symbol in our passage is a GOLD COVERED BOX. It wasn’t very large, but it was quite unusual in its build:

Exodus 37:1 Bezalel made the ark of acacia wood—two and a half cubits long, a cubit and a half wide, and a cubit and a half high. 2 He overlaid it with pure gold, both inside and out, and made a gold molding around it. 3 He cast four gold rings for it and fastened them to its four feet, with two rings on one side and two rings on the other. 4 Then he made poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with gold. 5 And he inserted the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark to carry it. 6 He made the atonement cover of pure gold—two and a half cubits long and a cubit and a half wide. 7 Then he made two cherubim out of hammered gold at the ends of the cover. 8 He made one cherub on one end and the second cherub on the other; at the two ends he made them of one piece with the cover. 9 The cherubim had their wings spread upward, overshadowing the cover with them. The cherubim faced each other, looking toward the cover.

Working with symbols in Scripture is always tricky. We can be ever so tempted to “read into” a simple story, and turn an observation into an instruction – totally apart from God’s true purposes. With that in mind, one of the things we have to do to insure we aren’t making up insights and fabricating principles is to analyze the text carefully. God didn’t say to YOU something He didn’t say. Scripture was not given BY private interpretation nor FOR private interpretation – It says what It says. Application is personal –how I live out the truth. Interpretation MUST BE objective – what did God actually say.

Take a look at these simple nine verses:

1. God recorded that Bezalel, according to God’s earlier instruction, built a box out of acacia wood in a specified size of roughly 27” high, 27” wide and 45” long (37:1). This protected tree of the desert is one of the few that can grow in the harsh desert climate. It has natural “barbed wire” in the long and piercing thorns that are used today by the Bedouin as sewing needles.
2. Bezalel coated the wood box with gold, and then made a delicate molding around the box for decorative purposes (37:2). Using the donated gold brought out from Egypt, he made the box similar to the many pieces of gold overlay furnishings found in the Cairo Museum that once belonged to Pharaohs.
3. He melted and cast rings to attach to the four corners on the bracing of the legs of the box where poles could be inserted to carry the box (37:3). The box was specifically designed for transport – and the carrying handles were removable, but integrated into the design.
4. The poles were lathed and then coated with gold as well, in a size that could slip into the rings and bear the whole box (37:4).
5. They slipped the poles into place for a test as a wise precaution, and they fit perfectly in the summary we have in the text (37:5).
6. A large cover for the whole box was fashioned from gold, and made to fit snugly on top – for this box was not going to remain stationary (37:6).
7. Made separate from the top, but then affixed to it, were two cherubim – angelic beings that guard God’s throne and holiness – based on the way they are perceived when seen by men (37:7).
8. Bezalel fashioned the angels, then placed them facing each other on the two ends of the box – as if the attention of the angels was to whatever the center of the top had on it. The funny thing was that Bezalel left the area between the angels unadorned (37:8-9). Both angels looked at a spot that was essentially flat and thoroughly uninteresting in design, for one symbolic use of the box would later reveal the importance of that little spot.

There it is – a simple wood box adorned with expensive plating and some decorative winged angels.

Why would God take the time to describe the making of it to us? What possible difference could it make in our lives? I would like to suggest that God was telling His story in the symbols, the way we tell of the love of our lives by a simple band of God. God had a story to tell to Israel and the nations around them, and He chose to use a box the way Nike chose to use a “swoosh” symbol. It is a small and simply marker of a more elegant communication.

The Ark of God had two essential uses in the Bible – to transport and store the Word of God with some other important memorabilia, as well as localize in a symbolic way the covering of the nation’s sins through blood atonement.

The box was about the things most important to God – His Word and His promise to His people to judicially care for their sins. God revealed six truths through the decorated golden box:

Truth #1: God chose to use normal things to bring about His plan.

Essentially the box was nothing more than decorated and overlaid WOOD. The value was not in the intrinsic nature of the wood, but in the use God intended for it.

Maybe you have been led to believe that God performs only through the extraordinary. Read the Christian magazines and it may seem that way. Watch the Christian film and you will see stars with better skin than you have and less fat than I carry. God doesn’t only use the extraordinary… it just isn’t true!

Go back to the early days of the church, and you will see God working uphill in the lives of painfully ordinary and easily misrepresented people.

• Start in Acts 1, and peer into the window as the disciples tried to pick a successor to the suicidal former treasurer named Judas. They cast lots and picked Matthais – a guy who was never heard from again in the Holy Book! No doubt the best way to get people of good character to lead is shooting craps!

• Then there was the great move of the Spirit at Pentecost in Acts 2 – reputed in the crowd to be a move of “spirits” as the men were accused of drunkenness.

• By Acts 3 and 4, there as a bright spot as God used Peter and John to bring healing to a lame man, but within hours the movement was being led by jailbirds – as the leaders were scooped up and detained.

• In other words, by four chapters into the Book of Acts the movement of the church appeared to be formed by the likes of gamblers, drunks and ex-cons, and we haven’t even gotten to chapter five… oh this is rich! Bring in the BODY BAGS! People were literally DYING to get out of their early meetings.

• In Acts 6 the early beleivers were already squabbling over racism and uneven benefits – the smell of nepotism was strong in the air.

• By Acts 7, the response to a rousing historical sermon by Stephen brought a pummeling of stones until he was dead – surely not the response any preacher would be hoping for.

• By Acts 8, persecution began falling like rain in the houses of early believers, and the movement was being spread by civil servant eunuchs from far away. It didn’t look promising at all.

• In Acts 9 another reputed ex-killer joined the group, but most were afraid to even acknowledge him. Add to that the people who exemplified Jesus, like Tabitha, were not exempt from falling dead of disease. Resurrecting people was not going to keep the place going very long.

• In Acts 10, a Roman centurion joined the band – but he could have just as easily been an infiltrator. Then came the pig eating pagans, and all Heaven broke loose.

My point it: even when told in a sarcastic voice, that God’s story wasn’t passed “in the early days” by people that floated above the earth. God’s early church was filled with all kinds of ordinary and flawed people – just like it is today. God used a WOOD BOX, and God can use your life. Don’t get distracted by the gold covering, underneath every one of us is stuff made on earth… clay pots that belong to the King!

Truth #2: God shared Himself with the world through the cooperation of a servant dedicated to the work.

The labor for the box was that of a man. The man was made by God. The tree was made by God. The story God wanted to tell was God’s story… but at the end of the day the whole of ministry to the people was offered in collaboration with a man. God works through people – that is His instrument of choice.

When God wanted to bring a message to Canaanites about the One True God, he called Abram. When He wanted to rescue His people from Pharaoh, he called Moses. When He wanted to route Jabin, King of Hazor, he called Deborah to get Barak. When He wanted to kill Goliath, He summoned David. When He wanted to bring a Savior, he called on Mary…. God is in the business of bringing Himself and His power to the world through collaboration with men and women. He loves to share life in relationship with us! While He enables us to do the extraordinary, we must remember that it is only our surrender to Him that is required – He does all the rest.

In making the box – Bezalel shared God’s huge vision with his little splintered hands. He cut, glued, planed and affixed with skills given by God through mentors and through Spirit empowering. The preparation of Bezalel’s life was no doubt used for this – but the secret was in his obedience to God as the Lord enabled him to do more than he could have ever thought of before. God delights in using people, walking with people, sharing vision with people, and celebrating victory with people.

Truth #3: God showed what He prized in the making of the box.

The overlay of gold without was impressive to others who beheld it, but the overlay of the interior was only to express the value God placed on His Word – the tablets and scrolls it was designed to house. The added weight would slow down the movement of the box without extreme effort – but the prized contents were shrouded in rich gold because God wanted people to understand how important His Word is to Him and to them.

A student of the Word of God need not dive deeply to find God’s affection for the Scriptures. If we love Him, we will learn to love what He loves – and God delights in His Word. GOD IS A POET AT HEART and a bit of a romantic one at that. Beyond the pure benefits of deeply drawing from it (cited in Psalm 1), there is celebration in their power and effect in Psalm 19, and sobering reminders of their deep need in Psalm 119.

Wise is the man or woman that seeks God’s will through God’s Word. Dreams will leave you with doubt. Advice may be filtered from lips that reflect a selfish heart and be uncertain in their directives. The mind, even the one occupied with God’s Spirit can be easily swayed. It is God’s Word, the Holy Scriptures, to whom men have turned to know the heart of God for generations.

• George Washington said: “It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible”.

• John Quincy Adams said: “So great is my veneration for the Bible that the earlier my children begin to read it the more confident will be my hope that they will prove useful citizens of their country and respectable members of society…” —

• Andrew Jackson argued: “That book, sir, is the rock on which our republic rests”

• Abraham Lincoln acknowledged:  “I believe the Bible is the best gift God has ever given man. All the good from the Savior of the world is communicated to us through this book. But for it we could not know right from wrong” — “It is the duty of nations as well as men to recognize the truth announced in Holy Scripture and proven by all of history that those nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord.”

• President Ulysses S. Grant warned: “Hold fast to the Bible as the sheet anchor of your liberties. Write its precepts in your hearts, and practice them in your lives. To the influence of this book are we indebted for all the progress made in true civilization, and to this we must look as our guide in the future. Righteousness exalteth a nation, but sin is a  reproach to any people”

Regardless of how embarrassed our modern university professors may be, our Founding Fathers knew the Bible was more than great literature. They knew it transformed lives, and guaranteed their freedom.

It was the underpinning of their Constitution. It is therefore no surprise that as we move the Bible’s presence and influence from the center stage of our republic, we find ourselves bound in ever increasing legal cement and moral gridlock. None of our fathers practiced the truths of the Bible wholly – there were still the scars of slavery and injustice that festered like sores. Yet even in this hypocrisy, it was the voices like that of William Wilberforce in England that forcefully stood opposed to the ungodly discrimination of color based on the Bible itself. The Bible led men to both correction and redemption. The Bible didn’t allow men to be summarily bought and sold – despite what you have heard from the ill-informed script writers of modern television. The Bible was – and I would argue still IS – the answer – not the problem.

Try to silence the sheer power of its pages. It has all been done before. While you do, you must remember soberly, Mister and Madame Justices of our courts, “It is appointed unto man once to die, then the judgment.” The FINAL gavel sits on the desk of the ULTIMATE JUDGE. God treasures His Word, and it is incredibly dangerous for any people to stick their finger in the eye of the Holy One AND BELIEVE THAT HE WILL NOT NOTICE.

Truth #4: God desired to express both purpose and elegance in the box.

He didn’t want a clunky slapped together contraption roped to a cart by Jed Clampett (an old television character of the “Beverly Hillbillys”). He wanted something carefully, delicately, intricately formed and fashioned – worthy of the majesty of a King. The wood box held the FUNCTION, but the gold overlay offered a REGAL quality that befits a great Master of the people. Note the work had a CROWN placed on its edges.

We must be creative and elegant when expressing to our world Who our Father is. We must press harder and harder to do what we do in worship well. We do not offer a concert, but nor should it be a slapped together barn dance. We must seek to have the delicacy and elegance shine through as we exalt Him and proclaim His work. He is a God of rich texture and beauty. He is a God filled with regal majesty! Our celebration of Him must be more than a dry rehearsal of overused words. There must be a ring of His PERSON in His praise!

Listen to some simple words by Matt Redman on his intimate walk with God:

“I’m standing on this mountaintop looking just how far we’ve come – knowing that for every step You were with us. I’m kneeling on this battle ground seeing just how much You’ve done – knowing every victory is Your power in us. Scars and struggles on the way but with joy our hears can say…Yes, our hearts can say: Never once did we ever walk alone! Never once did you leave us on our own! You are faithful, God, You are faithful! Never once did we ever walk alone! Never once did you leave us on our own! You are faithful, God, You are faithful! Carried by Your constant grace! Held within Your perfect peace! Never once, no, we never walk alone! You are faithful, God, You are faithful!”

Can you hear it? Simple but elegant words celebrate the faithfulness of God. I sang them this week standing beside a career missionary, and we both knew how very true they were! Such truths can come from the deep words of Isaac Watts, or the simple frames of Matt Redman. It is not in the lighting and the sound that they connect with our hearts – it is in their TRUTH. Thank God that He adorned truth with beauty, and that it connects with us in elegant ways.

Truth #5: God reminded the spiritual leaders that He desired to go WITH them on the journey.

He was not simply the “God of the Mountain” – but also the “God of the Journey” as well. He did not want to speak to them profoundly and then be left parked in the occasional camp meetings of their lives. God intended to make the whole journey with them, and marked His presence – once only detected in pillars of fire and clouds – by the box. Israel so identified the box with God’s presence, that much later they took it to war, thinking of it as a “good luck charm” or talisman instead of truly grasping its meaning. At least they remembered the connection the box had to a God who is present with us!

Truth #6: God preaches through the angels a prime purpose for the box – to get Heaven to observe His atonement and mercy.

Men don’t often look beyond themselves in the purposes of God. We don’t often ask, “How will this affect the angelic world?” We see what God does for MEN and what God speaks to MEN. Here is that rare place in Scripture, where God shows through a simple symbol something MORE. God is using symbols for a larger theatre than men can see. He ordered two angels to be positioned to stare down at a place on the top of the Ark that was essentially barren. Later God explained the use of that flat and barren place – it was the place where the blood of atonement would be poured our as the judicial payment for the sins of God’s people. That blood would atone, or cause God to look away from their sin for a time. It was temporary, but it was effective in its use.

Believers today enjoy a BETTER covenant of God. We don’t keep killing animals to turn away God’s wrath. We have a sacrifice – but it was made ONCE FOR ALL. The writer of the letter to the Hebrews tried to explain this very truth to those who were used to offering at the Temple long ago:

Hebrews 10:1 For the Law (referring in context to Atonement Laws), since it has only a shadow of the good things to come and not the very form of things, can never, by the same sacrifices which they offer continually year by year, make perfect those who draw near. 2 Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, because the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have had consciousness of sins? 3 But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year by year. 4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins…

The writer argued that the atonement law foreshadowed a permanent cleansing from sin brought by Jesus (as the passage goes on to explain). He said the offerings of atonement law could not take away sin, but were constantly needed – without repetition the new sins would not be covered by the old offerings. Then he said something you may have missed. One of the purposes of the atonement law’s continual sacrifice was to remind you of your sin. You were to FEEL GUILT. That guilt was to motivate you to a better future walk, as well as remind you of your need of another sin offering. If you keep reading in the passage, you will see a startling truth about God’s desire for you:

Hebrews 10:11 Every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins; 12 but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, SAT DOWN AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD, 13 waiting from that time onward UNTIL HIS ENEMIES BE MADE A FOOTSTOOL FOR HIS FEET. 14 For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified…

You read that God accepted the sacrifice of Jesus as a “one size fits all” offering to remove sin’s stain. Most of you who have studied even a small amount of Scripture know that. Don’t stop reading… there is something ahead:

Hebrews 10:18 Now where there is forgiveness of these things, there is no longer any offering for sin. 19 Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; 24 and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, 25 not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.”

Do you see it? God doesn’t want you to walk in GUILT, but in CONFIDENCE. Your salvation is not based on your consistent walk – but upon the POWER and PERMANENCE of the sacrifice of Jesus.

I am not suggesting that God would desire you to live less than a surrendered life. I am not licensing your spiritual laziness not authorizing your deliberate willfulness against God – you know me better than that. What I am saying is this: Stop clinging to GUILT. Let it GO. If you are wrong, ask God to fill you with power as you draw near to Him and stand beside Him. We are foolish to run from God in guilt. He offers cleansing – not to those who are clean – but to those who are filthy. Hiding from God because of guilt will keep you from the very thing you most want – intimacy with Him.

God back to that cool of the day in the Garden with Adam and Eve. God was calling out: “Adam, where are you?” Do you think that God was calling him because God didn’t KNOW where Adam was? Can you actually conceive of the Creator of the Universe lost without a GPS? He knew where Adam was, and He knew what Adam had done. Adam knew too. In fact, the only One that could cure Adam’s problem was the One calling out to him – but Adam hid. Adam was embarrassed. Adam was hurt. Adam was GUILTY.

Genesis 3:9 Then the LORD God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?” 10 He said, “I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself.” 11 And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?”

You know this story. Man blamed his wife. His wife blamed the serpent. As God unfolded judgment He told the serpent – your body will be cursed and you will be dreaded. He told him something, that on the surface looks like man’s problem with snakes – we step on them, and they bite our heels… but that isn’t the whole story. Women got pain in their reproductive systems that was not part of their design. They got frustration in their spiritual position in the family and community, and man got cursed ground and harder toil. He got weeds, thorns and opposition from the soil beneath his feet. He also got the promise of DEATH and the GRAVE.

God clothed the man and woman, but to do it He took the life of another. An animal died so a skin could be their covering. Earth’s dissension into death and decay began. The angels of Heaven not only observed, but they were MOVED by the experience. Satan had seen the Garden before Adam did. He knew its beauty, and he knew its freedoms:

In a poetic story of Ezekiel 28, God revealed the story of Lucifer’s sinful beauty– and His subsequent casting from the service of God

Ezekiel 28:12 “…’‘Thus says the Lord GOD, “You had the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. 13 “You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering: The ruby, the topaz and the diamond; the beryl, the onyx and the jasper; The lapis lazuli, the turquoise and the emerald; And the gold, the workmanship of your settings and sockets, Was in you. On the day that you were created they were prepared. 14 “You were the anointed cherub who covers, and I placed you there. You were on the holy mountain of God; you walked in the midst of the stones of fire. 15 “You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created until unrighteousness was found in you. 16 “By the abundance of your trade you were internally filled with violence, and you sinned; therefore I have cast you as profane From the mountain of God. And I have destroyed you, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. 17 “Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom by reason of your splendor. I cast you to the ground; I put you before kings, that they may see you…19 “All who know you among the peoples Are appalled at you; you have become terrified And you will cease to be forever.”’”

Now remember that God dwells beyond time. When He speaks, time has no meaning. He is not bound to it. Yesterday, today, tomorrow are inconsequential to One who made time the way He made trees. It is part of our nature – but not part of His. He can speak in any tense, or all of them in one sentence. He is GOD, and there is none like Him.

He said Lucifer, about whom the poem appears to be written, was perfect, beautiful and precious in God’s original design. Prior to his fall from God’s grace, he had been in the garden. Many scholars, I among them, believe God was speaking of a Garden in Heaven from which the Garden of Eden on earth was mimicked. The same holds true for the “Mountain of God” which may have an original in Heaven, with its copy on earth. Why is this significant? Clearly the Tabernacle that we are studying was a copy of the one in Heaven. It was apparently in that earlier garden that Lucifer beheld the beauty of God and His creation before His fall.

The point is this: Angels are observers, and were created to be servants of God. When they make up their own script for their own selfish reasons, they fail their purpose – just as a man or woman does. The end of selfishness is death and ruin. The end of rebellion is destruction and eternal desperation. Satan will one day be beheld by people of all nations and exposed for the fraud he is. Men will shake their heads when they see how fruitless a life lived to serve self and sin truly is. But wait, there is also a message for the angelic world. God has something to say to them – both fallen and faithful.

The message of God through the building of the Ark was this: “My Word, held inside this box, is the guarantee of My relentless grace and My obsessive mercy for mankind. I am not who you think I am. I am rich in forgiveness and soaked in love.

To men and women, duped by Satan’s false projections of God in His holiness, the Lord God says: “I will not cease loving you. I will not turn My face away from you – even when you will neglect Me and forget Me. I will chase after you even when you hate yourself for what you have become. I atoned before at the Temple and I cleanse now at the Cross – with a blood covering upon sin. The washing that overpowers sin’s stain is the very mystery I want all Heaven to gaze upon at the mercy seat – just as the eyes of the two cherubim see who endlessly stare upon that place. Look hard at its barrenness – a flat and useless place I have used to redeem man. It is empty of itself, but when the cleansing blood is poured upon it I will make it a place of rich mercy. I am the Savior. I am not the angry and vengeful God the deceiver says I am. I am the Lord, Great and Mighty, lover of lost ones and searcher of souls. All Heaven gaze – for this will proclaim My story!”

The box was a symbol to men of God’s Word carried with them, and God’s mercy offered to them. It was a symbol to the angels of God’s nature and Person as One who is drenched in love and offers forgiveness for heinous sin. God gave His people a small symbol that helped them understand large truths about HIM!