Messages

More on the Tabernacle

Date:3/28/21

Series: Exodus

Passage: Exodus 30:1-31:18

Speaker: Jeff Thompson

As God continues instructing Moses on the construction of the Tabernacle and its various aspects, we pull out several practical lessons for us as modern day believers.


Transcription (automatically-generated):

Today, we're going to be studying chapters 31 and 32 of the Book of Exodus, wherein the Lord continues to give instructions concerning the tabernacle, the portable temple, so to speak, that would accompany Israel on her journey toward the promised land, the sacred place where the presence of God would dwell among his people, as we did last week.

We're going to depart from our custom of reading through the text verse by verse, and instead highlight a few things that I believe are worth taking note of.

As always, you're free and encouraged to study more deeply on your own. This week, when we reach Chapter 32, the narrative of Exodus is going to pick up again. And so at that time we'll get back into the text verse by verse.

So I have a pen and notebook or outline ready and be open to what the Lord might want to especially speak to you about in today's study.

In Chapter 30, verses one through ten, focus on the altar of incense, which we've talked about in a previous study, and then beginning In verses 11 and continuing the verse 16, we read about the ransom money. So let's read that together in Exodus Thirty will pick it up in verse someone. Then the Lord spoke to Moses saying, When you take the census of the children of Israel for their number, then every man shall give a ransom for himself to the Lord when you number them that there may be no plague among them when you number them.

This is what everyone among those who are numbered shall give. Half a shekel. According to the shekel of the sanctuary, a shekel is twenty.

Garras That really clear things up for us. The half shekels shall be an offering to the Lord. Every one included among those who are numbered from twenty years old and above shall give an offering to the Lord. The rich shall not give more and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel.

When you give an offering to the Lord to make atonement for yourselves, and you shall take the atonement money of the children of Israel and Shell appointed for the service of the Tabernacle of meeting that it may be a memorial for the children of Israel before the Lord to make atonement for yourselves.

Whenever Israel took a census, they were not to count the people. They were to do this. They were to call upon all those who considered themselves to be part of the nation of Israel, to pay a small amount of money, a single coin as an offering to the Lord.

And then the leadership of Israel would count the coins, not the people themselves.

Practically, it was a really simple way to take a census. Spiritually, there was a lot more going on.

God refer to this payment as a ransom and atonement money.

God was teaching his people that their sin had made them captives and slaves and that the only way for them to be set free was for a ransom to be paid.

And that ransom had to make atonement for their sins. It was imagery. It was symbolism, pointing ahead prophetically to Jesus, the Messiah, the one who would pay the price to make atonement for our sins and ransom us from death. For this reason, Jesus himself declared, the son of man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many, including you and me. And this is why our brother Paul tells us you are not your own.

You were what? You were bought at a price. You were ransomed, you were redeemed. There was payment, there was atonement involved.

The truth is that you cannot purchase your salvation. But your salvation must be purchased. Let me say that again, you cannot purchase your salvation, but your salvation must be purchased redemption. Your ransom has a price and it's a price you cannot and could not ever pay because the price of your ransom and mine is the life of a perfect sinless sacrifice. And that's why we need Jesus. He's the only one qualified and able to pay our ransom. We noticed, too, that the ransom price was identical for everyone.

Everybody needed to make the same payment. It didn't matter what your social status was, it didn't matter what your economic status was, it didn't matter whether you were considered a good person or a bad person. The same payment, the same ransom was required. If you want to have your sins forgiven, if you want to be put in right relationship with God, if you want to make it to heaven. The same payment has to be made for you that was made for me.

And the only payment that is acceptable. Is the blood of Jesus. It doesn't matter who you are or what you've done, the same payment is needed. And the good news is that just as the ransom money was an amount available to everyone, the blood of Jesus is available to everyone to pay your ransom no matter who you are. That's why this ransom payment was a silver coin, as you might remember, in the Bible. Silver is the medal of redemption.

Our brother Peter tells us you were not redeemed with corruptible, that means perishable things like silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. Salvation must be purchased and our salvation was purchased by Jesus. And please understand this in the church, we love to talk about how salvation is free, but that's not entirely true. Salvation is a gift. A gift is free to the recipient. But only because it was paid for by the giver.

Let me say that again, a gift is free to the recipients, but only because it was paid for by the giver. And my goodness, what a price Jesus paid to be able to freely give us the gift of salvation. He paid the highest price, offering his blood and body as payment. When a census was called, the question being asked was, who is part of the nation of Israel, who belongs to the people of God? And the way you would indicate this was by paying the ransom money, an act that was voluntary, they didn't go door to door and collect the ransom money.

Each person would go to the tabernacle and give it.

That meant that you could really easily say what or who's going to know? If I pay the ransom money or not, who's going to know? The answer? Nobody. Except God. And that's why the Lord said those who pay the ransom money will be protected from any plagues going through the land. They didn't need Fizer or Moderna, they just had to pay the ransom money. I know that jokes are probably not going to age well, and I also know you're thinking, don't worry, Jeff, that joke didn't even work now, so just don't worry about it.

If you didn't pay the ransom money, you wouldn't be under God's protection from plagues. And somewhere right now, somebody's watching, this is thinking, is Jeff seriously about to claim that if we tithe, we won't get covid?

No, I'm not, because that would be absolute heresy and I'm sure there's a charlatan somewhere on TV teaching that, but it's heresy. That's not true.

That's not where I'm going with this. Here's the point I want to make.

There are some people today. Who call themselves Christians and they go to church regularly when there's nothing better to do, when it's not a good lake de. They're nice people. They like being around caring people and a positive community, they like most of the morals and virtues of the Bible.

They're on board until until until it costs something. When the word of God clashes with something they want to do, they just ignore the word of God when they don't want to serve. They don't. They don't want to give, so they just don't they don't want to lay down their lives for Jesus on a daily basis, so they don't. And you know what? They might get away with it. They might fool everybody. But God knows, God knows.

And it's a dangerous place to be when your plan is based on fooling God. Because you can't. When a plague swept through Israel, did it matter if everybody else thought that you had paid the ransom money?

Did it matter? No. It only mattered if you had paid the ransom money. Because the one who could protect you from the plague wasn't your neighbor. It was got. And God would have known the truth. And here's where I'm going with this, there are a lot of believers who seem to think that they are under the blessings of God. Even while they intentionally ignore the word of God. They ignore the terms and conditions of God's promises in the Bible, for example, how many Christians love to claim the promise by Jesus that, hey, listen, Jesus said all these things shall be added under you and Matthew six.

Jesus was talking about clothing and food and all your daily needs. So I know this is all these things are going to be added under me. I don't need to worry about these things.

But they ignore the terms and conditions of that promise, what are the terms and conditions? Seek first the kingdom of God. And his righteousness. Listen to me, if you're placing your hope in God's provision, but you refuse to make him and his kingdom your priority, you are deluding yourself because you don't qualify for that promise. You don't qualify for that promise. Who is that promise for? It's for those who seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.

If you're not doing that, you're as delusional as the man or woman who couldn't be bothered to pay the ransom money but still expect God to protect them when the plague came to town.

Oh, Lord, I claim Isaiah 26 three. You keep him in perfect peace. Oh, thank you for your peace, Lord. What are the terms and conditions? You will keep him in perfect peace. Whose mind is stayed on you because he trusts in you? If you refuse to spend time in the world. You refused to ever talk with the Lord in prayer to get your mind onto the things of God. If you refuse to trust the Lord in any meaningful way, you do not qualify for this promise.

When you read what the Bible actually says, you will find that there are terms and conditions to a lot of God's promises and blessings, even salvation is conditional. Do you realize that Jesus told us explicitly what the terms and conditions of salvation are? Then they said to him, what shall we do that we may work the works of God? Jesus answered and said to them, This is the work of God that you believe in him, whom he sent to receive salvation.

You must put your faith in Jesus as God. Salvation is conditional upon placing your faith in Jesus as God. I'm telling you this because I love you and I want you to be blessed, and so I want you to understand that you cannot receive the blessings and promises of God while simultaneously refusing to walk in agreement with God. If you're trying to do that. You're deluding yourself, you're deluding yourself. In verses 17 through 21 and talks about the Bronze Laver, which we also also looked at a couple of weeks ago, and I just want to share one more quick thought to reiterate something on that.

You know, we talked a couple of weeks ago about how the Bible tells us that this bronze lever was highly reflective because it was made from the highly polished, pure bronze mirrors of the Hebrew woman.

And we talked about how brass or metal is the Medal of Judgment in the Scriptures.

Additionally, we talked about how water is always a picture or a symbol of the word of God when it shows up in the scriptures being used for washing when the priests would come to the Bronze Laver to ceremonially wash themselves, they would see their reflection in the middle of the brass, but they would see their reflection through the water, through the water.

And that's how we need to view ourselves through the water of the word of God. If you looked into the brass flavor without any water in it, you'd be looking straight at judgment, a judgment. And that's what happens when we begin to look upon ourselves, apart from the word of God, apart from Jesus, we we find ourselves overwhelmed by guilt and shame because of what we see, and we find ourselves depressed and discouraged by what we see. But when we look at ourselves through the water of the word in light of what the word says about us, when we look at ourselves in Christ through Christ, it's a very different picture.

It's a very different picture. The word of God reveals our identity. Do not look in the mirror to find out who you are. Don't look into the culture to find out who you are. Don't look on social media to find out who you are. Don't look at the TV, don't look at celebrities, don't look at media to find out who you are.

Look into the word. Gaze upon it, stare into it, see yourself in it, and you will find your identity. And here's the good news, even though the word of God is totally honest. It's also totally hopeful, totally hopeful.

God's word declares that he knew you before you were even born, he created you on purpose, with purpose, he loved you before the foundations of the world were laid and planned all along to lay down his life for you.

Because he desires you to be in relationship with him for eternity. You're a child of God who's loved by God. Look at yourself through the water of the word, you'll always come away blessed. In verse 22, we read of a very special anointing oil, let's read it together.

Moreover, the Lord spoke to Moses saying also take for yourself quality spices, 500 shekels of liquid myrrh, half as much sweet smelling cinnamon, 250 shekels, 250 shekels of sweet smelling Caixin, 500 shekels of Carsia, according to the shekel of the sanctuary and the hint of a hint of olive oil.

And you shall make from these a holy anointing oil, an ointment compounded according to the art of the perfumer. It shall be a holy anointing oil with it. You shall anoint the tabernacle of meeting and the ark of the testimony, the table and all its utensils, the lamp stand and its utensils, and the altar of incense, the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils and the flavor and its base, you shall consecrate them that they may be most holy.

Whatever touches them must be holy, and you shall anoint Aaron and his sons and consecrate them. That they may minister to me as priests. And you shall speak to the children of Israel saying this shall be a holy anointing oil to me throughout your generations. It shall not be poured on man's flesh, nor shall you make any other like it according to its composition.

It is holy and it shall be holy to you. Whoever compounds that means whoever mixes any like it or whoever puts any of it on an outsider, she'll be cut off from his people.

That means put to death. What jumps out to me from this text immediately is the question, why would God assign the death penalty for copying the recipe of this anointing oil? I mean, I get copyright infringement is an important issue, intellectual property matters, but the death penalty seems really harsh. Or dabbling once again in biblical typology. Let's ask the question in the Bible, what is oil, especially when it's used for anointing a picture of what is oil a picture of?

It's a picture of the Holy Spirit. It's my opinion that the typology here points to God saying I am deadly serious about people who want to try and recreate or imitate my spirit for their own purposes. Just ask Ananias and Sapphira of Acts, Chapter five, they claimed that God had stirred their heart to give all the money they had made from selling a piece of real estate to the church. In truth, they were giving part of their proceeds, which would have been fine and good, but they wanted to appear even more spiritual than they really were.

And what happened? They were both struck dead by the Lord as a lesson to the early church to not lie about what you're doing in the Lord's name. I think the Lord takes this issue extremely seriously.

I would be terrified to stand before the Lord one day if I were one of those televangelists who claim to be speaking on God's behalf but are really only enriching themselves.

This is a serious warning. To some of our brothers and sisters in the wider church who attempt to fabricate. The presence of God through emotional manipulation. And create an imitation. Of the Holy Spirit. This is why BJ and I don't throw around the term gold. God told me that blank. We're both comfortable saying this is what the Lord says when we're reading it from the word but but we don't want to claim something is from God when it's just kind of a hunch or a feeling we have because it could be God or it could be all the pizza we had last night could be one of the two.

And it's a serious, serious thing to claim that something is the work of God. It's a serious thing to claim that you are speaking on God's behalf. And God does not take kindly to people using his name for their own purposes. And if you think I'm being too harsh, just listen to what Jesus said.

Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were drowned in the depth of the sea.

Jesus says, listen. If you are manipulating people, misleading people by claiming something is my work, the work of my spirit when it's just you. Listen, you'd be better off tying a rock around your neck and throwing yourself into the ocean, then coming and standing before me. Jesus says, I'm not playing, I'm not playing, don't allow anyone to imitate my spirit for their own purposes and deal decisively with anyone who does. In verses, 34 through thirty eight, it gives detail of the incense that was to be burned in the Tabernacle in the preceding chapters, we've seen gold used over and over and over again in the construction of the Tabernacle.

In verse 23 of this chapter, we were told that murder was used in the anointing oil. And in verse 34, we were just told that frankincense was used in the incense. So you had gold, frankincense and myrrh all present in the tabernacle, the three gifts that would be famously brought by the Magida Jesus when he was a toddler. All of this points ahead to Jesus prophetically. Verse is one through 11 of Chapter Thirty one detail the men that God called and anointed as craftsmen for the Tabernacle.

You see, God anointed people not only for the spiritual tasks of the ministry, but also the practical tasks of the ministry. It was the same spirit anointing people for different purposes, not lesser purposes, just different purposes. And this is how things are in the Kingdom of God. In the family, children do not have a lesser role. They have a different role to their parents. The wife does not have a lesser role to her husband. She has a different role to her husband in the church.

The members do not have a lesser role to the elders. They have a different role to the elders. And the Bible has a lot to tell us about this. Like our brother Paul, comparing the members of the church to the members of the body, pointing out that they're all important and they all have a vital role to play.

You know, our society is our culture is just losing its mind on this issue, especially when it comes to the differences between men and women.

I saw Joe Biden just a few days ago declare that there's nothing that a man can do that a woman can't do just as well or better.

You said that.

And our society is so blind to the truth that it fails to see that by refusing to recognize any of the differences between the sexes, it also ceases to celebrate any of the wonderful differences between the sexes that make men and woman unique when it comes to the sexes and indeed even ethnic groups and cultures.

The way we best value each other is by recognizing and thanking God for the praiseworthy things that make us unique, because a biblical view of diversity and equality teaches that there are good differences between us that are gifts from God for our mutual benefit.

There are contributions to the church that only men can offer. There are contributions to the church that only woman can offer, there are unique contributions to the global church that different cultures and ethnic groups bring by God's design, by God's design.

And what Satan loves to do. Is America's discontent. With our God given role, jealous of what others have. And it's a tragic irony that we ever respond to Satan's temptations in this area, especially in light of what jealousy did to him. Let me read to you from Ezekiel 28 about the angel formerly known as Lucifer. You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect beauty, you were in even the Garden of God, every precious stone was your covering the sorriest topaz and diamond barrel onyx and Jasper Sapphire turquoise, an emerald with gold.

The workmanship of your timbers and pipes was prepared for you on the day you were created. You were the anointed cherub who covers. I established you.

You were on the Holy Mountain of God. You walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones. You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created till iniquity was found in you. That's what can happen when you begin to compare yourself to others. That's what can happen when you allow jealousy and bitterness to take root in your heart.

You can be the most beautiful being in existence outside of God himself. You can have the gift to create the most beautiful music that's ever been heard. You can be given practically unlimited artistic genius. You can be given edan. You can have wisdom and be perfect in the eyes of God, and it still won't be enough.

So what's the solution? How do we avoid becoming jealous of the roles that others have? How do we avoid comparing ourselves to others? The solution is what the solution always is. To look to the cross, because there we see our savior Jesus, who laid down his life for us, who laid down his fame and glory and power for us.

And when the reality of his gift of grace grabs a hold of me. I find myself overwhelmed. That God would give me a part to play in his glorious story. I find myself overwhelmed with gratitude. That I simply get to be involved. I'm just glad to have a part, I'm just glad to have a role. I don't care what it is. That's what it means to lay down your life for Jesus, it means embracing with gratitude the role that God has given you in life.

As a man or a woman, whatever your ethnicity is, whatever the gifts God does or doesn't give you, whether he leads you into marriage or singleness and the timing he chooses for those things, the career he leads you into an on and on and on we could go. Laying down your life for Jesus means embracing the role that God has given you. And fulfilling it to the best of your ability for his glory, when I look at other people and compare myself to them and my life to them.

I can easily become dissatisfied with my lot in life. But when I look at the cross. When I see the king of Glory laying down his life for me, offering me forgiveness and hope and a life that I do not deserve. I'm overwhelmed with gratitude that God has chosen to weave me. Into his story. And as I gaze at his outstretched arms. Nails piercing his hands and feet. The specifics of my role in his story. Suddenly ceased to matter.

I'm just so glad that he wrote me into this story that's all about him and his goodness. Well, then in verse 12, God brings up the subject of the Sabbath again, which seems odd because he already addressed it in detail and brought it up in places like the Ten Commandments. So let's read Verse 8 12 and the Lord spoke to Moses saying speak also to the children of Israel, saying, surely my Sabbath's you shall keep for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations that you may know that I am the Lord who sanctifies you.

You shall keep the Sabbath, therefore, for it is holy to you. Everyone who profaned that shall surely be put to death for whoever does any work on it. That person shall be cut off from among his people put to death. Work shall be done for six days. But the seventh is the Sabbath of rest. Holy to the Lord.

Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death.

Are you getting the picture here? Therefore, the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between me and the children of Israel forever. Four in six days, the Lord made the heavens in the earth and on the seventh day, he rested and was refreshed. Why does God reiterate the Sabbath here? I believe it's because of a natural tendency that we have, even among those who really love the Lord, I believe that God was saying, listen.

Even though you're working for me. Even though you're building the tabernacle for me, even though it's ministry onto to me, the Sabbath still applies and you still need to rest.

But Lord, the work is so important. You're so much more important than my need for rest.

God, all true, says the Lord. But I want you to rest. Because I'm not in relationship with you because of what you can do for me. I don't need you. But I love you. And I want you to stop and rest and breathe and reconnect with me relationally on the Sabbath. I don't want you to simply always be busy doing work for me.

The good works that we do for the Lord. Must never take priority over our relationship with the Lord. The church is not under the law. We've not replaced ethnic Israel, therefore we're not obligated to the ceremonial aspects of the Sabbath.

We're not obligated to celebrate it on Saturday or to do literally no work because we're not Israel. However, I personally believe that we're not exempt from the personal benefits of a Sabbath. Because we're not immune from mistaking good works for a relationship with God. And neither are we exempt from our need for rest or our need to slow down and intentionally acknowledge the Lord's goodness on a weekly basis with our families. We're not exempt from needing those things. Now, take a look at verse 17 again, because speaking of the Sabbath, the Lord says it is a sign between me and the children of Israel forever.

Four in six days, the Lord made the heavens and the earth. And on the seventh day, he rested and was refreshed.

We're not going to go off on too long of a tangent here, but I want to point out the way God uses the word days in this verse. It's very interesting because, of course, the Hebrew word for days in English means days and God uses the exact same word days to describe the six days in which he created the universe.

And the one day he rested after that, as he does to describe Israel's six days of the week and the Sabbath rest day. He uses the same word days. And you might think, well, so what, Jeff? Well, when it comes to how the universe was created, there are some theories, even among believers, that perhaps each day was an age of some sort, perhaps each day was really a period of millions and millions of years.

And this theory is favored by those who hold to what's known as theistic evolution, which is the belief that evolution is real. And it was the process that was guided by God through which he created humanity, people and all living creatures in the earth and all that good stuff. I'm not going to get into the science of this issue right now, even though we really easily could. I just want to point out, because we're here in the text, that this verse creates a real problem for that view, because God doesn't say just as I made the universe in six pages and rested, your week will be six days in a day of rest.

No, God says four in six days. The Lord made the heavens in the earth and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed. In this verse, God appears to clearly state that he made the universe. In six, 24 ish hour days. Evolution is based on the survival of the what? Survival of the fittest. Which means in the evolutionary system, there has to be death, right, because it's survival of the fittest.

The Bible says that death only entered the world through Adam because of sin. Implying that before Adam sinned, there wasn't death. Certainly not for people. In other words, the Bible teaches that God's design and desire for his creation on the Earth didn't include death, especially among people.

That means based upon logic, if you hold to theistic evolution, you believe that death came before Adam sinned and therefore you believe that the entire Bible is based upon a false premise.

I'm going to choose my words carefully and diplomatically here and just say this theistic evolution is highly problematic. And if that is your view, I would urge you to study further and realize the full implications of your belief system.

I want to point out something related to this, too, that you may not have noticed before it's found in second Peter, Chapter three. Verse is three to seven, it's on your outlines, Peter writes this, he says, Scoffers will come in the last days walking according to their own lusts and saying, where is the promise of his coming for since the fathers fell asleep? All things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.

Peter says in the last days, there will be those who claim to be part of the church who will mock and scoff at the idea that Jesus is going to literally return to the Earth and they'll claim that everything is continuing and will continue to continue as it has from the beginning of creation running its process.

Here's the idea. They don't believe that God literally created the universe from nothing.

They believe it was some sort of self running process like evolution. They don't believe God was very hands on at the creation of the universe. Therefore, they scoff at the idea that God will end the universe in a very hands on manner.

And if you think I'm reading too much into Peter's words, just keep reading what he writes in the very next verse is because Peter makes the connection that I just made. He says for this they willingly forget. In other words, the reason these so-called believers scoff at the idea of Jesus's literal return to the Earth is because they choose to forget. They choose to ignore this truth. Here's what Peter says, that by the word of God. The heavens were of old and the earth standing out of water and in the water by which the world that then existed perished being flooded with water, but the heavens and the earth, which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition.

That means destruction of ungodly men. Let me explain. Peter says they choose to ignore and forget the fact that everything that exists was created from nothing by the word of God.

They also choose to ignore the fact that God has flooded the whole earth before now. Did you catch that? Peter actually says that these people he's writing about not only failed to believe that God was hands on a creation, but they also he clearly implies don't believe in the literal Genesis flood coincidence?

I think not, because if you find someone who doesn't believe in biblical creation. I can pretty much guarantee you that they don't believe in a literal biblical genesis flood either, Peter says they're ignoring the fact that God has already made the Earth from nothing and he's already essentially destroyed it once with a flood.

And so he's able to end the earth exactly as he chooses. And then Peter goes on in Verse 8 to say, But beloved, do not forget this one thing that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day. Now, you might read that in the flow of pitas context and say, well, that's a weird right turn to make. That's an odd subject change. I mean, how do you get from the second coming of Jesus and the origins of the Earth to this business about a day being a thousand years?

From the Lord's perspective, it's very simple. For six days, the Lord created the heavens and the Earth on the seventh day. What did he do? He rested. What's going to happen again in the future? On the seventh day, the Lord is going to rest. For how long? A thousand years. When is that going to happen in the millennial kingdom, the thousand years during which Jesus is going to reign from the throne of David in Jerusalem, literally on the earth and the earth will experience a Sabbath rest under the reign of King Jesus.

Now, I wouldn't build that whole theology on just the implication of Peter's writings here, and I don't Revelation 20 lays it out in greater detail for us. And passages like Isaiah 65 add even more detail about what the millennial kingdom will be like.

And you can look into those things for yourself this week if you'd like to do that.

Lastly. Let me just say, this is their. Is there any concept further from the gospel, then survival of the fittest? Is that the heart of God? It's the exact opposite of the gospel, the world says God helps those who help themselves. Survival of the fittest, and that's really just another way of saying that your God. The gospel says God helps those who cannot help themselves. The underlying precepts of evolution fly in the face of basic biblical theology and the heart of God.

And then we wrap it up with Verse 8. And when he that's God had made an end of speaking with him, that's Moses on Mount Sinai, he that's God gave Moses two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone written with the finger of God. These are, of course, the famous Ten Commandments.

And if you're confused about the order of events, because the Ten Commandments came up a while ago when the Book of Exodus already just go back and listen to the first few messages from the series where we talk about how the Book of Exodus is not always in chronological order and why that's OK. Hey, listen, I know we had a whole bunch of different, seemingly random things today, but I pray that the Lord minister to you in some way, as we were once again washed in the water of the word.

And I pray that as we go into worship now that the Lord would highlight something specific in your heart from the word today if he hasn't already done so.

So what that would you buy your head and close your eyes? Let me pray for us. Father, thank you for your word that always knows exactly what we need.

And so, Father, I pray that you would just highlight something that you have made something stick out to each one of us who are studying this portion of scripture together right now.

Lord, I pray you just shine a light on something, apply it to our lives by the power of your spirit. But, Lord, I also think you that any time we open your word, we know that you are doing something supernatural were being built up in our most holy faith. You're renewing us. You're refreshing us. And so, Father, I pray for each of us, Lord, that right now in the name of Jesus, you would just refresh us, Lord.

You would fill us up with your spirit once again, that you would give rest to those who need it. Energy and strength to those who need it, faith and peace to those who need it, and joy to those who need it. Lord. Thank you that you love to take care of your children. Thank you. That you're a good heavenly father who loves us, Lord, and loved us long before we ever loved you. Lord, we do love you.

We love you so much. And we're so thankful for your kindness toward us. We bless you, God in your name. We pray.

Amen.

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