Coromandel Baptist Church

Sunday 8 November 2009 Exodus 36:1-7; 40:17-38

God's Gracious Glory

On Sunday we conclude the series on the book of Exodus, where we will see the great culmination of the word spoken to Moses in Ex. 33:14 that he would, indeed, accompany the people in person. We have seen that this personal presence was to be understood in relation to the Tabernacle. Exodus 35-40 describes the actual building of the Tabernacle and the consecration of the structure (all given by God's own gift), climaxing in the descent of the glory into the Tabernacle itself. These things are powerful testimonies to the Lord's grace and mercy, and lead us into the great gift of glory in the Church.

The account of the building of the Tabernacle is notable for the contrast that exists between its construction and that of the golden calf. In the latter there are elements of menace, violence and disorder, culminating in worship that threatens to drive the glory of the Presence away from Israel. In the former, the account is replete with references to the order, beauty and God ordained willingness of heart among the congregation of Israel. The Tabernacle was built according the pattern that Moses had already been shown, with repeated references to the fact that it was according to God's word. This is seen in a number of ways.

The construction was accomplished without transgressing the Sabbath (Ex. 31:13 cf. 35:1-3), and all contributions to the construction came from willing hearts, freed by the Lord to give (e.g. Ex. 25:2 cf. 35:5, 21). Indeed, so generous of heart were the people that a halt had to be called to the gifts being brought (Ex. 36:1-7). The skill to manufacture the materials for the Tabernacle, the priests' attire, and implements for the cultus was given from the Spirit (Ex. 31:1-11 cf. 35:30-36:2; 38:22-23), so that the construction itself was a work of God through his chosen servants. All is done ‘just as the Lord commanded Moses' (Ex. 39:1, 5, 7, 21, 26, 29, 31, 43, etc.) and so the whole structure is pure gift. Israel contributed nothing to the worship. Currid points to the parallels between this and the creation accounts. The formula ‘as Yahweh had commanded Moses' in fact ‘appears seven times...those seven sub-sections of the erection of the tabernacle may in fact point again to the creation account. Also the very last line, which says that "Moses finished his work" [40:33] recalls Genesis 2:2, in which Yahweh concluded his work on the seventh day' (Exodus, Vol. 2, p. 368).

The erection of the Tabernacle and consecration of the Aaron and his sons is described in Exodus 40. From Exodus 40:17 we learn that Israel it had been two years since the Lord had brought them out of Egypt, and now they were in a different situation. They stood now as a nation, with God as their King, ready to move out to the destiny he had appointed for them. They had his torah in their midst, and the covenant mercy of atonement to empower their worship and service. God's son-nation is thus portrayed as blessed by his word and work, for his glory and grace.

The culmination of the whole book lies in the coming of the glory cloud into the Tabernacle (Ex. 40:34-38). This fulfils the word spoken to Moses in the time of his intercession for the people that God would indeed come with them in person (Ex. 33:14). It also fulfils the work God had spoken to Moses at the beginning, that the sign of his calling of Moses would in fact be that the Israelites would worship God on the mountain (Ex. 3:12). However, these are intermediate promises to the great promise of God's presence.

The theme is vast, but can be traced in brief compass from Eden, through the exodus, to Sinai, to the Tabernacle, to Solomon's temple, to Ezekiel's new Temple, to the Temple of Christ's body, the Church, through to the renewed heavens and earth. The glory of the Lord present in Eden graciously acts to restore Israel from captivity through the events of the exodus. He appears in glory to Moses, and then to all Israel, not simply in the events of judgement on the gods of Egypt, but even more in the giving of the Ten Words on Mt. Sinai, and all that was associated with that great event. The glory that fills the Tabernacle (Ex. 40:34ff.) is reiterated and re-enacted in the glory that fills Solomon's Temple (1 Kings 8:11; 2 Chron. 5:13-14; 7:1ff.). In the time of Israel's apostasy Ezekiel sees the glory cloud being ready to depart (Ezk. 10:18), which it eventually does as the Bablyonians are given to capture Jerusalem and the Temple is destroyed (Ezk. 33:21). But Ezekiel is given the vision of new Temple, in which the glory comes in even greater modes (Ezk. 40:1-5; 43:1ff.; 43:10). This theme is taken up by the prophet Haggai (Hag. 2:7,9) where the glory of the new house the Lord is building is said to be greater than the former. Habakkuk says that it will cover the whole earth, as the waters cover the sea (Hab. 2:14).

Suddenly, in the coming of Jesus, we behold the glory of God in the face of a man who ‘tabernalces' with us (Jn. 1:14), who is at the same time the tabernacle/temple of God (John 2:19). The glory is revealed in the Cross (John 12:23; 13:31), and given by the Spirit to the Church (Jn. 7:39 cf. the events of Pentecost in Acts 2). In the coming of the Spirit on the people of God at the time of Pentecost, the glory of Christ and him crucified is revealed, and this becomes their glory, and the glory of the apostolic gospel. This new people, the Church, is at one and the same time the body of Christ and the temple of God in the Spirit (Eph. 2:17ff.). It is the New Jerusalem, which has the glory of God (Rev. 21:10-11, 23), in reality now, but to be revealed in the last day.