Building the Tabernacle, part two, Exodus chapter 36 and verse 8 to 38. How could Moses understand the proper requirement for the building of the tabernacle? To plow through the texts. for the detailed building instruction, which what we have read from verses 38 to 38, does provide the needful technical specification for the model of the tabernacle to be built. But how did Moses and the Israelites finally accomplish the task? we saw that God raised up skilled workmen and provided the needful materials through the giving of the people in Exodus 36, verses 1 to 8. And one verse that gave a clue to the construction project is Exodus 26 and verse 30. While Moses was given, where Moses was given, or it gives us a glimpse of what God did to reveal to Moses concerning what the tabernacle would look like. And thou shalt reel up the tabernacle according to the fashion thereof which was showed thee in the mount. It seemed God gave Moses a visual aid of what the tabernacle looked like so that he could envisage what it would look like and supervise the construction of it. Moses see with the wise-hearted workmen that God raised, and the tabernacle was built according to God's specification. Very interesting. The word Translated, showed, is the word to see in the passive meaning to be shown. So Moses was able to convey the blueprint which God had shown him. And it is exciting to be serving, we said, the living and true God. We are brought to see God's purpose and plan and to behold the glory of God. Now, what does the tabernacle signify? Well, it is a picture of the work or the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ in the person. in the time to come. But this is a model that helps us to see and how he would accomplish the work of our redemption. And you see Israel, the nation of Israel, and the progressive revelation of God that leads the nation of Israel to the full understanding of what God is doing to save sinful men from hellfire. This is what God is doing, and you see the details of it. And we are thankful that the word of God is fully availed for our careful study, that true wisdom may be imparted to us. This knowledge of the building of the tabernacle enables the people of Israel to see visually the presence of God with them. It enables them to see the See through, see through the reading of the Exodus, the presence of God with us through the sight of scripture. So, you see, as we study through this text of the Exodus, God enables us to understand his presence with us. That is 3,500 years ago. When all this happened, God showed his glory. And how is it that we are able to understand all these things? Well, you know, we started studying the book of Peter. And Peter, we said last Lord's Day, how he was someone who actually experienced so much of God's presence in his life. And God led him, at the end of his life, to write two epistles, two letters, in order to witness what he had seen of the presence of God. And so, for us today, do we need to see miracles in order to believe? Peter said this in 1 Peter 1. And verse 7 and 8, he says, that the trial of your faith being much more precious than gold, of gold that perishes, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen, ye loved, in whom now ye see him not yet believing. ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory. He says that having not seen, you laugh. And having not seen, yet believing. You see, faith, faith in the word of God gives to the seeking heart a kind of strength that enables them to go through life. You see, what is all this about? Israel is in the wilderness. They are in a place where there is nothing. They are in the desert, in other words. And under that kind of a harsh condition, under that kind of a difficult circumstances that they are in, how can they, we said, survive? How can they continue on? How can they have hope? Well, this is the hope that God gives to us. This is of the presence of God as we take hold of what God reveals himself for us by faith. And that is what faith brings to our heart, when we believe that the Spirit of God in us produces its fruit, an unspeakable joy and a rejoicing. You see, Peter speaks about a rejoicing. amidst suffering, amidst difficult condition, right? They are in difficult situation in the sense that they were in the middle of nowhere, in the wilderness. They have to camp, and they are led on a way which, well, they are not so sure how it will be the next day. But what they understood is that they have the presence of God with them. to guide them, to help them, to comfort them, to encourage them, to strengthen them. And this is what we need, too, in our environment, in our daily life. You may say that challenges never stop. Today, at this moment, it seems okay. Next moment, you'll be in despair, in the sense that you look at the environment and you find that, oh, so tough, so difficult, and this and that and that. So how can the people of God going through wilderness travel, difficult experience, survive? Well, we must feed on the riches of Christ. the riches and the treasures of Christ. And that is what we are doing when we are studying God's revelation of the tabernacle. The apostle Paul, likewise, appointed the church to Christ as his riches. Christ's riches has the power to encourage, comfort, and strengthen them. He said this to the Colossian Christians. First, Colossians chapter two, verses one to three, he says, for I would, that you knew what conflict I have for you. For them, and for them at Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh, that their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and the Father, and of Christ, in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." You see, this is what God wants to show us visually. When we study the tabernacle, visually you would see the plan of God for your life. You see the plan of God helping you, strengthening you through life. And so, do you need hope? for your life today? Well, all of us need. And we must submit to you that it is found in the presence of God with us when we quietly meditate upon his word. May this be a reality for you every day. Peter says, in whom ye love, having not sin, You love the Word of God because it enables you to see the riches of Christ, what he's doing for you in your life. You see, if the Israelites had not the visual aid of the tabernacle that God asked them to build through Moses and the skilled men and the giving of the people, there would not be visual aid for them to see the presence of God. So God understood that we need to understand, and so he recorded for us. And Peter saw it in a sense that, you know, in the fullness of time, the tabernacle of God is fulfilled in the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus himself fulfilled all aspects of the presence of God. He is God with us. You see, so when Israel was carrying the tent with them, what were they doing when they were carrying the tent with them? Well, they saw the cloud, right, descending upon the tabernacle. They saw the presence of God with them. And so the Lord wants us to understand and know what he's doing for us. The Lord wants us to see and understand the reality of his presence with us. So that as you go through life, whether it is weakness of the flesh, sickness of the body, whether you are challenged in one way or another in your life, we will not despair because we know that God is with us. And so here, we would like to go through and see what did God ask Moses to do. And now they are into the actual building. Okay, the tabernacle proper, that's the thought for us, the tabernacle proper, in verse eight. And every wise-hearted man among them that wrought the work of the tabernacle made ten curtains of fine twine linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, with cherubims of cunning work made he them. So there was a ten part cherubim curtain that was named the dwelling place of the tabernacle. That's the meaning of the word tabernacle used in verse 8 and verse 13. And you notice that it is used so many times, almost a hundred times, to properly describe the treasured presence, dwelling place of God, with his people. And this curtain would form what we call the innermost covering of the golden house. The tabernacle proper is called the golden house because it is constructed from shitting wood and overlaid with gold. It was the innermost covering of the Golden House, this 10-piece curtain. And the most precious metals you see are used on the inside. There are 20 boards on the length of it, facing north and south, and six boards in the breadth of it, facing east and west. I've given you here two pictures. two pictures in page four to describe the boards. It is this board that line up, that form the holy place. You see it? You see the picture of the golden boards that surround the tabernacle proper. And each board is about is described as having a breadth of about one and a half cupid, about 0.7 meter, and 10 cupids in length, that's about 4.57 meter. The HDB ceiling height is 2.8 meter. Okay, so you can see that it is very high, almost more than one and a half times higher than the ceiling in the flats of our home. So you see that it is higher than most, and it's covered up. The innermost layer This curtain, there is woven in it cherubims. Verse 20 says, and he made boards for the tabernacle of Shittimwood, standing up, and he made boards for the tabernacle, 20 boards for the south side, southward, and the sides of the tabernacle westward, he made six boards, two boards he for the corners of the tabernacle into the two sides and he overlaid the boards with gold. But the length of it is 28 cupids, and the breadth of it is four cupids. And so you see here how it is built and fastened together. The curtains are placed together, five pieces each joined together by what we call golden handles, attaches. in blue loops, and so the whole piece is joined together, two pieces of curtain, two pieces of five strips of curtain, and then it is overlaid on the top. You see there? The second picture is overlaid on top. Okay, so that when the priest would go inside, what would they see in the ceiling? They would see the pictures of the cherubim. When they are inside the holy place, and the high priest, when he goes to the most holy place, once a year, he would see the cherubim. What is the purpose of God showing the cherubims? Well, the cherubims are angelic beings that surround the throne of God. So here is described for us the presence of God, the throne of God. And that's where you see all these angelic beings made into the embroidery of the golden house. So the embroidery was done in white vices, blue, purple, and scarlet. So four colors. There are four colors. And it is described here. Paul Keane, he described it very well. He says that white bisis fabric is mentioned for the first time in Genesis 41, 42, described as the vestures of fine linen that Joseph put on when he became prime minister. The text tells us, and Pharaoh put off his ring from his hand and put it upon Joseph's hand and arrayed him in vestures of fine linen." So this is the fine linen of Egypt that we are speaking about, the finest white cotton. It's not just white, but it's bright white. And it's the best material. And you would also see it described, used and worn in 1 Chronicles 15 verse 27 by David and his brothers. And David was clothed with a robe. of fine linen, and that's the material that we have described here, and all the Levites that bear the ark and the singers, and Chetania, the master of the song with the singers, David also laid upon him an ephod of fine linen. linen. And 2 Chronicles 5 verse 12, and the Levites and the singers were the singers and all of them of Aseth, of Heman, of Jadaten, with their sons and brethren being arrayed in white linen. So this is a kind of a clothing that was used And in the book of Esther, Mordecai, Mordecai was the prime minister in the Persian Empire. He also put on a garment of fine linen. And so, Paul Kane, in his research in the book, The Tabernacle of God in the Wilderness of Sinai, he wrote, he says, in ancient Egypt, the mummy wrappings of the kings were made of it. So the mummies, that means the pharaoh himself, when in his burial, is wrapped in this fine linen. So it must be the best material. We were told that this material is so fine, so many stitches in it, that modern day machine cannot manufacture it. So this is the kind of a fine linen that was used, and the cherubim's form, which are woven into the covering, have a specific meaning. When Aaron and his sons went into the tabernacle and looked up, they see the pictures of heavenly beings. And here, it is not difficult, Paul Kin wrote, he said, to see that these cherubims relate to the divine message concerning the church to the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God according to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord. And so it causes us to want to know that when you enter into the tabernacle, this is what you are seeing. You are in the presence of God. Although these cherubims are woven, but it is to depict a heavenly picture of the presence of God and of the angelic host that surround the throne of God. So if you go to the churches, you know, built in the past in Europe and in Russia, I believe you see in the ceiling, they make very nice ceiling, in the ceiling you see a lot of angelic beings, right? Have you seen? I've seen in the various cathedrals, in the various places. And what is the significance? Well, as you study the tabernacle, as you study how it was built, you notice that, yeah, it depicts the presence of God with his people. the Lord God himself and the angelic hosts surrounding, protecting, defending, you know. So the presence of God defending his people, protecting his people. And this is what the Lord wants us to see. This is what the Lord wants us to understand and know. And as we think of this, as we look into this, You see that that is the innermost layer. And in the tabernacle itself, there would be three other layers of cloth that would be placed over the fine linen. So the fine linen is the innermost layer woven with the cherubim. This is what the priest would see when they look up. That forms the ceiling. And then there are three more layers of material that is placed over it. Goat's hair covering. ram skin dyed red, and the badger, or the sea cow skin, a leather skin that would protect the tabernacle from the rain, from the dew. And it's interesting that when you look at the material that is done, there is a lot of wisdom that goes into the whole thing. The specifications is just right. You have 20 boards on the two sides, then you have six boards and two boards at the corner, so that it just fit nicely. And God gave all the details of it. in order to signify, to show us His presence with us. And the Lord wants us to understand and know that we may be encouraged of God's presence with us as we think and consider about His the building of this tabernacle, and it may encourage us to know that although we don't see with our eyes today, but we by faith take hold of God. As we said last week, the presence of God with us resides in the Spirit of God that dwells in us. That's the presence of God. And we don't need to see signs and miracles in order to help us to to have faith in God, but we rely upon what God revealed to us in the scriptures. And that is enough. And so if we would believe in our heart what God would show by his presence with us, then you would find that the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit, what Jesus called the Comforter, would minister in your heart its presence, and the Holy Spirit will exalt Christ, and the Holy Spirit will also enable fruit to abound in our hearts, that we will learn to love God even more. because of his presence with us, his care for us. You see, you must always think of the tabernacle in the light of a wilderness environment. They are in the wilderness. They had nothing with them. They were a bunch of slaves, escaped slaves. And if God will not lead them, if God will not show them the way, wow, what would they be? But God did show them the way. God said that I'm going to make out of you a holy nation. I'm going to make out of you a people. I've given you a constitution, and now I'm bringing you to a land. And you will be a witness to me to all the world. So every Lord's Day when we assemble to worship God, what are we doing? We don't need the angels in the ceiling to help us to see, to understand the presence of God with us. But God's presence with us is understood in a spiritual sense. We understand his presence in our hearts, in our minds, we know. That's why Jesus said to the Samaritan woman at the well, the Samaritan woman is a half Jew, half Gentile, so cannot go into the temple to worship. He said, I believe in this God, then how? I'm ostracized there, I'm not allowed to get in. Then what happens? Well, Jesus says that I will, He that loves me, follows me, will worship me in spirit and in truth. Through the Lord Jesus Christ, Jesus says, I'm the way, the truth, and the life. He that cometh to me will find life. I'm the door of the ship. And that's where we would find strength for life. You see, when you have God with us. And so the whole scenario is to help us to see the presence of God with us. That we may have a calm spirit in our life, in our hearts. so that when we encounter whatever wilderness predators, we will not be afraid. I mean, in the sense that we will not lose hope, lose faith. You know that God will be with you to take care of you, to help you. So when Peter wrote to the churches that were scattered all over Asia Minor, northern Turkey, he was preparing them for a period of severe persecution that will come. This week we're going to read and speak a little bit more how Peter said that they would go through a period of Manifold temptations. Trials will come over them. Not easy, right? How to handle? Tonight we are going to speak about this in the life of Job. We spoke last week how he was someone who did not miss his devotion time. He spent time with God. God himself pronounced him a righteous man, a perfect man. Not that he's sinless, but he's someone who walked close to God. Today, we are going to see the calamity that will come to him. Suddenly, everything changed. His environment becomes totally hostile toward him. How can you survive in that kind of environment when all the things that you have is being taken away from you? This is what Job will experience. But he had God with him. He did not crumble. You see, that's life in reality. We are going to face it. It's going to come. But you know that when you have God with you, you're going to make it. Those who have received the Lord, some of them are facing physical ailment, physical struggle. The body becomes weak as we age. So how to handle all these things? Well, we said that the inner man is renewed day by day as we look to God, as we seek him, although our outward body perish, and each one of us will go the same way we know. But inside us, there is a strength. Inside us, we are built strong. so that we know, as Peter said, we are waiting for an inheritance that is incorruptible, undefiled, that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you. And you will be kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time. So the glory that we are to see in the presence of God in heaven was vaguely shown to us in the tabernacle, right? You see the curtain, they are asked to weave the cherubim. This is a picture of heaven, you see? Although we don't see it in its reality, But it's going to come. And God is saying to us that this is what will be. And we who are a presence in this life can have that kind of assurance of the life to come, of the glory to come. And that is why, you know, there is hope in us. So Peter said that you have a, and he gives to us a lively hope, a lively hope. You know, our life is not in despair despite the hostile environment that is around us, there is a peace, there is a presence of God to calm us, to strengthen us. May the Lord help us. Let us pray. Father, thank thee for your word, thank thee for your mercy in showing us your presence with us in the building of the Tabernacle. May your presence comfort us, strengthen us, that we, having not seen yet loved, in whom now, seeing, not yet believing, we may rejoice with joy unspeakable. And Lord, your glory may be fully manifested to strengthen and encourage our hearts. This I pray with thanksgiving, in Jesus' name. Amen.