Exodus Chapter 40
The people of Israel might possibly have been thinking that they were staying at Mount Sinai forever. The language of this chapter indicates that they had been there a year. But God intended that this was a temporary stop before moving them to the Promised Land and all the challenges they would face. God wanted time to just be with His people first. He had made a promise that He would dwell with them. Exodus 29:45-46 I will dwell among the people of Israel and will be their God. And they shall know that I am the LORD their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt that I might dwell among them. I am the LORD their God. And as the tabernacle was erected for the first time, it became very evident that God was going to do just that, dwell with His people, as His glory filled that place.
Let's Reflect
1. The Lord God wanted them to erect the tabernacle for the first time on a very specific day. What day was that?
2. Do you recall what was so very special about the first day of the first month of Abib? See Exodus 12:1-7 and Exodus 13:4. The month of Abib would fall in our calendar year at approximately March or April.
3. For the very first time the Ark of the Testimony would be put in its rightful place with the tablets of the Ten Commandments inside. What separated the place where the Ark was placed and the rest of the Tabernacle?
4. After setting up the Tabernacle and the courtyard that surrounded it, what were they instructed to do next?
5. Dirt is a symbol of uncleanness, and uncleanness is a symbol of sin. What were the priests expected to do each time they entered the Tabernacle?
6. A repeated phrase occurs in this chapter describing how the work of putting the Tabernacle up was done. How was it done?
7. When the work was done, what happened next? Note a full dedication ceremony will be described in the book of Leviticus.
8. All the people of Israel would now be able to see a visible reminder that God was dwelling with them. What did they see and what did its movement indicate?
