God Is In the Details

[0:00] Good morning. My name is Matt. I'm one of the elders here at the church, and it is a pleasure to be able to bring the Word of God to you this morning. You won't know it as we read it, but this is actually a really good passage to follow Good Friday and Easter service from. You'll understand it once we dig into it. I'm going to pray before we read the Word.

[0:30] And let Him teach us through it. Lord, we pray for Your help this morning. I pray for Your help this morning as we read Your Word and as we listen to Your Spirit. Lord, we pray that You would teach us. We pray that You would take away distractions. We pray that You would help us to see the details, You in the details of this tabernacle in the Old Testament for the Israelites. It seems disconnected, but Lord, You're there just like You are here. And so, Lord, we pray that You would help us see that. Teach us, encourage us, and correct us. Lord, we pray in Your holy name. Amen. So, the name of our sermon this morning is God in the details.

[1:25] We're going to be reading from Exodus chapter 26. There's a corresponding chapter, Exodus 36, that we're actually not going to read this morning for sake of time. It's very similar to chapter 26.

[1:37] chapter 26 is where God is commanding the people on how they should build and set up the tabernacle. And chapter 36 is where we see that they actually do that. So, they're very similar, very close.

[1:49] One of the only differences you'll see is in verse 26, they actually talk about a couple of the pieces of furniture that are moved into the tabernacle. All right, Exodus 26. If you would, if you would stand with me as we read this chapter together. Moreover, you shall make the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine twine linen and blue and purple and scarlet yarns. You shall make them with the cherubim skillfully worked into them. The length of each curtain shall be 28 cubits, and the breadth of each curtain four cubits. All the curtains shall be the same size. Four curtains shall be coupled to one another, and the other five curtains. Doesn't want to work with me. That's okay. She'll be coupled to the other. And verse four, and you shall make loops of blue on the edge of the outermost curtain in the first set. Likewise, you shall make loops on the edge of the outermost curtain in the second set.

[2:50] Fifty loops you shall make on the one curtain, and fifty loops you shall make on the edge of the curtain that is in the second set. The loops shall be opposite one another, and you shall make fifty clasp of gold, and couple the curtains one to another with the clasp, so that the tabernacle may be a single whole. You shall also make curtains of goat's hair for a tent over the tabernacle.

[3:13] Eleven curtains shall you make. The length of each curtain shall be 30 cubits, and the breadth of each curtain four cubits. The eleventh curtain shall be, or the eleven curtains shall be the same size.

[3:25] You shall couple five curtains by themselves, and six curtains by themselves. In the sixth curtain, you shall double over at the front of the tent. You shall make fifty loops on the edge of the curtain that is outermost in one set, and fifty loops on the edge of the curtain that is outermost in the second set. You shall make fifty clasp of bronze, and put the clasp into the loops, and couple the tent together, that it may be a single whole. And the part that remains of the curtains of the tent, the half curtain that remains, shall hang over the back of the tabernacle. And the extra that remains in the length of the curtains, the cubit on the one side and the cubit on the other side, shall hang over the sides of the tabernacle on this side and on that side and cover it. And you shall make for the tent a covering of tanned ram skins and a covering of goat skins on top.

[4:14] You shall make upright frames for the tabernacle of acacia wood. Ten cubits shall be the length of a frame, and a cubit and a half the width of each frame. There shall be two tenons in each frame for fitting together, so shall you do for all the frames of the tabernacle. You shall make the frames of the tabernacle, twenty frames for the south side, and forty bases of silver you shall make under the twenty frames. Two bases under one frame for its two tenons, and two bases under the next frame for its two tenons. And for the second side of the tabernacle on the north side, twenty frames. And there are forty bases of silver, two bases under one frame, and two bases under the next frame.

[4:58] And for the rear of the tabernacle, rear of the tabernacle westward, you shall make six frames, and you shall make two frames for corners of the tabernacle in the rear. They shall be separate beneath, but joined at the top at the first ring. Thus shall it be with both sides of them. They shall be, they shall form the two corners, and there shall be eight frames with their bases of silver, sixteen bases, two bases under one frame, and two bases under another frame. You shall make bars of acacia wood, five for the frames of the one side of the tabernacle, and five frames, five bars for the frames of the other side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the frames of the side of the tabernacle at the rear westward. The middle bar, halfway up the frames, shall run from end to end. You shall overlay the frames with gold, and you shall make their rings of gold for holders for the bars, and you shall overlay the bars with gold. Then you shall erect the tabernacle according to the plan for it that you were shown on the mountain. And you shall make a veil of blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and fine twine linen. It shall be made with cherubim skillfully worked into it. And you shall hang it on four pillars of acacia, overlay with gold, with hooks of gold on four bases of silver. And you shall hang the veil from the clasp, and bring the ark of the testimony in within the veil. And the veil shall separate for you the holy place from the most holy. You shall put the mercy seat on the ark of the testimony in the most holy place. And you shall set the table outside the veil, and the lamp stand on the south side of the tabernacle opposite the table. You shall put the table on the north side. You shall make a screen for the entrance of the tent of blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and fine twine linen embroidered with needlework. And you shall make for the screen five pillars of acacia, overlay them with gold. Their hook shall be of gold, and you shall cast five bases of bronze for them. Everybody get the connection to

[7:01] Easter? Okay, you can be seated. So I don't have to tell you there's a lot of a lot of numbers, a lot of details in this passage this morning. Have you ever heard of the phrase, the devil is in the details?

[7:22] Anybody? Okay. It's a helpful phrase, right? It's, it actually dates back to the 1800s. It means that even the grandest project depends on the success of the smallest component.

[7:37] We all know that if details are ignored or missed, then successes or completion of a project aren't going to happen. Ironically, this phrase was changed from its original, which was, God is in the details.

[7:53] Which meant that God had a hand in the success of any completed work. We would agree with that. So that's the version, God is in the details, that we're going to go with this morning. Keep in mind that the tabernacle was God's plan. It was part of a bigger plan to bring his creation back from brokenness. Created in the beginning, the Garden of Eden with no sin. We know how that went.

[8:19] Man was kicked from the garden because of sin. And God is working towards bringing his people back. Recreating, if you will, to fix that brokenness. And we know that's, that's not going to completely be done until he calls his people to heaven. But he's working towards that. And we'll see, we'll see a glimpse of that in the tabernacle this morning as we get into the details of it.

[8:43] So as we start, I just want to paint a quick picture of where things would stand for the Israelites. Okay, so I want you to imagine this. As we've gone through Exodus, this will be easy to do.

[8:55] Think of us as the Israelites. We're a large group of people that are taken out of slavery. We're supernaturally protected and we're led into the wilderness by our Creator God.

[9:07] We have seen his power. We have seen him take care of us and provide for us in ways that we can't explain. We are told that God, whom we've witnessed things take, all these things take place, has decided to come down and dwell with us. His plan for that to happen is he wants us to build a tabernacle. He's going to give us the plans and the details for this tabernacle, and he's going to come down and dwell in this tabernacle. Now, if I was an Israelite, it wouldn't be hard for me to see the love of God in that. Do you see the love of God in that?

[9:51] Because we should feel the love of God in that, and we're on this side of the cross where God didn't keep us at the tabernacle, but he brought us past Jesus Christ. Because priests were going to die. Because the coverings of the tabernacle were going to wear out.

[10:10] Because people were going to be unfaithful. Because generations would come and people were going to forget about God's laws and his commands, his instructions. Thank God that his plan didn't stop with the tabernacle. All right, that's just our intro. I'm going to try to move quick, because we've got a lot to cover. So three sections we're going to look at this morning. We're going to look at the curtains and the coverings. We're going to look at frames and the bars, and we're going to look at the veil and the screen. So first section is verses 1 through 14, and it's going to cover four different coverings. The first covering was made from tin curtains. So just to help you guys kind of get a visual perspective, I was looking at this. See the top red that goes all the way across? Think of that as what a curtain might look like. So from where the entrance is there to where it stops there is roughly 45 to 50 feet, and it's about six feet tall, give or take a little bit. So that's the size of the curtain that we're talking about. So the first layer would have been 10 of these that were going to be sewn together. So five over here sewn together, five here sewn together, and then they were going to be brought together by 50 loops and clasp, clasp of gold that were to be made, so that the tabernacle could be considered a whole. So there's something here about the covering of the tabernacle being complete and making the tabernacle whole. One question that I had as I was reading this was, why split it in half? Why not just sew all 10 of them together? I mean, it makes sense. It could be lighter for transporting. It could make it easier, but I think there's a bigger reason for that, and we're going to see it later, but what we're going to see is that as the curtain is brought together, and there's these loops that connect the two halves, that dividing line is going to be where the holy place and the most holy place are separated. So there's something special about it being together, but separated for that purpose. Actually, we have a picture. I don't know if it shows it, but I'm going to show a picture of the tabernacle. If you have a study Bible, it's the same picture, but that's what it looks like.

[12:39] You can't see it, but there's bars at the top where it would meet the veil, and that's what separated the most holy place from the holy place. I think that's the bigger purpose for why that was there.

[12:52] So what was the purpose of this first layer? As we look at it, it's fine twine linen with blue and purple and scarlet yarn. There's cherubins that are skillfully woven into it. We don't have a picture of what that would look like, but the description just from that makes it sound that it would be a beautiful covering that would go over it. So the purpose of this layer as we think about it, Sean's brought this up before, but the tabernacle being a heavenly reality on earth, this first covering reminds us of heaven itself. We see this fine twine linen, which would signify purity. The colors that we see are of the sky and of royalty and power. The cherubim, which we've talked about before, are angels that dwell with God, and angels that God has also used to guard the Garden of Eden as Adam and Eve were kicked out. So this covering, as it laid over the tabernacle, would be what the priest would see when they walked in. So they would get a vision, if you will, of being in heaven as they came to offer sacrifices to God and as God's presence would be in the most holy place.

[14:31] It's important to point out, too, that this first covering was part of the tabernacle itself, while the next three coverings that we look at are actually a tent, a covering for the tabernacle itself.

[14:43] So hopefully it won't get too complicated with the words, but think of the first one as being the important one. The other three are as well, but they're a covering for that tabernacle. If you look at verse 1, it says, you shall make the tabernacle with ten curtains. But then when we jump down to verse 7, it says, you shall also make curtains of goat's hair for a tent over the tabernacle. And then as we jump down to verse 14, likewise, we'll see the next two are for a covering. So the first layer to symbolize heaven. As we move to verses 7 to 13, we look at the second layer. That's a curtain of goat's hair.

[15:25] for the tent over the tabernacle. Similar to the first one, only this one has an extra curtain. I didn't dig into why. I'll let some of you number people figure that out. But that extra curtain was to be folded back over the entrance. Besides that, it was the same, and it also laid one cubit longer on each side. So it actually covered that first covering that was so beautiful.

[15:55] from the outside. Again, only the priest. We're going to be able to see that first layer. Actually, it might be helpful. As I, I don't know about you guys, but cubits doesn't always like fit into my mind because I don't use that every day. I use feet that may make more sense. But as I was preparing for this message, I was looking at the stage, and it's really, it's really very helpful because this, if you step back into this section where the opening is, it's roughly the size of the tabernacle. Slightly longer, but pretty close to the same. And if I walk back to the back, it's about 15 feet from here to the front. So we have a pretty close example of what the tabernacle would look like all the way to the height, which is just where that red curtain hangs. That'll give you an idea of the size of the tabernacle. And ironically, I think, if I have my compass correct, east is that way.

[17:02] Anybody verify that roughly? So east, this would have been the entrance of the tent here. The tent was to always face east. You could say it was because the sun came up in the east. Mainly, the east would have been a reminder because the Garden of Eden was in the east. So you have the tabernacle here, and two-thirds down, you have this section that's going to be the most holy place. And we'll get into that in just a little bit. But if that helps you with the picture that's up there and the size, then go for it.

[17:46] All right, so we talked about the first layer. It's length. So if you picture one of those, and we sewed all those together, and then we laid it over top of the tabernacle, as you see here, the first layer is short by about a cubit, which is about a foot and a half. So think of that off the ground on either side. Then the second layer would fully cover that and touch the ground. Not completely touch the ground because the bases would actually lift it up. But you get the idea that that that's fully covered. The second layer was also to have loops in it. It was also to be connected at the same place with clasp, but these clasps were bronze.

[18:39] This layer was goat's hair, which wouldn't nearly have been as beautiful to look at as the first layer. It wasn't desirous. Actually, it was pretty common for poor people to have clothes made of goat's hair.

[18:53] The color was rather drab. So to think that this beautiful layer was covered by something that wasn't so pretty, doesn't at first make sense. But the goat was seen as a sacrificial animal.

[19:07] For the Passover offerings, for the feast of number, for the feast of booths, for the feast of weeks, for the feast of trumpets, and the day of atonement offerings, for all of those, what would be required is a male goat as the sin offering.

[19:24] And so for the Israelites, this covering of goat's hair would remind them of the sacrifices that had to be continually made for their sins.

[19:35] Now for us, this is a huge pointer to Jesus, who became our sin offering. A spotless, innocent goat in the Old Testament points to a spotless, sinless Christ in the New Testament.

[19:50] 2 Corinthians 5.12 says this, For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. The clasp on this layer was made of bronze, and bronze signifies God's righteous judgment, and that righteous judgment was against our sins, and it was placed on Jesus.

[20:15] The next two coverings are both described without a lot of detail in verse 14. We don't even get the size of them, but we do get one thing.

[20:26] In Exodus 38, it says that bronze pegs were used to cover, not to cover the temple, but to hold down the covering.

[20:37] So we know at least one or two of those were like traditional tents, so they would have laid over and be held into the ground by pegs. But that's about all that we do know.

[20:47] But we do know what they were made of. The third covering is tanned ram skins, which a better translation of that is ram skins dyed red.

[20:58] And red, of course, would have symbolized blood. And the ram, like the goat, would symbolize an animal sacrifice. If you remember, the first ram sacrifice was the one that was provided by God to Abraham when he went to sacrifice Isaac.

[21:14] This covering of ram skins dyed red would remind the people of the blood sacrifices that were being made continually for our sins. For us, again, a pointer to Christ because it was his blood that was shed in covering our sins.

[21:31] And then the fourth covering, it says, was goat skins. And I think this was brought up in the past. You might have a footnote in your Bible. The translation there is uncertain.

[21:42] It seems more likely that this was skins from either a dolphin or a dugong, like a manatee. So more likely an aquarium type of animal.

[21:54] It was their skins. So if you think of the outside, the fourth and final layer of the tabernacle would have been kind of gray and dull. But it also would have been weatherproof.

[22:05] It would have been able to stand the test of time. It reminds me of Isaiah 53, where in talking about Jesus, it says that he had no beauty, no majesty to attract us to him.

[22:18] Nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. So as we pull those four layers together, here's the description we have. We have heavenly beauty and holiness and majesty.

[22:30] We have a sacrifice for sins. We have the shedding of blood. And we have no earthly beauty. We have a perfect picture of Jesus Christ in the coverings of the tabernacle.

[22:44] Next, we're going to look at the frames and the bars. This is verses 15 through verses 30. Basically, the walls were to be constructed of frames.

[22:55] It says that they would be 10 cubits high. So basically the height from all the way up to where the curtain starts up there. Maybe slightly shorter, but close.

[23:05] That's how high it would be. And one and a half cubits, so just over two feet. So the frames would be about this wide. And that high made from acacia wood.

[23:16] Now the translation could be that they were complete slabs of wood. It's possible. It would have made them very heavy. Also very hard to get from the acacia tree.

[23:28] Because that would make a pretty thick tree to have to cut that from. It could be. Most likely they were two pieces of acacia wood on the sides. And one on the top and the bottom.

[23:39] And they would have been joined together like a frame that we think of. Each frame were also to have two tenons.

[23:52] Now tenons isn't something we use nowadays. A wooden dowel. A lot of you guys probably know what that is. If you've put together some Ikea furniture. You get those little wooden dowels and you put them in the hole.

[24:03] You glue them in or you shove them in. But they help two things fit together. And so for each of these frames there would be two tenons or two dowels that would join it to its two bases.

[24:14] So you take the frame and you sit it down into these two bases. And it would be pretty solid. Each of these bases was a talent of silver.

[24:27] Now if you remember from before, talent was about 75 pounds. So two 75, I don't even know how big that is. Two 75 pound bases under each frame.

[24:40] It's very specific because in six times in this passage it said that each frame was to have two bases. So this was important that each one were to have two.

[24:52] So there were 20 frames for each side. There were eight frames for the rear. That made 48 frames total. And 96 bases.

[25:03] That's a lot of stuff. So it's from these frames and these bases, or from the bases mainly, that we're able to tell the dimensions of the tabernacle pretty closely. So while the frames would stand well on their own, they all had to be identical because you wouldn't want to have to match this frame to this particular two bases.

[25:29] So they all had to be identical. You had these all lined up, very sturdy in and of themselves, but as a structural whole, not very solid. Nothing that would really, you would want to lay several layers of covering over the top of.

[25:49] That's where the rods or the poles come into this. It says that five bars were to be made for each side. For the rear and the middle, they were to, or for the rear and for the two sides.

[26:04] And the poles were to be like this. The specific command is that there was to be a bar that ran in the middle all the way down one side, all the way down the other side, and all the way across the back.

[26:17] The reason for was to bring it together, was to uniform it. Then there were bars at the top, bars at the bottom. They probably only went about halfway. We're not really sure.

[26:29] But the point of it is these bars came together and made the walls like a sound structure. Their strength came from being connected together.

[26:45] And then we come across a verse like 29, when you think you're close to being done a project. And then, oh, by the way, cover all those things with gold.

[27:00] I don't know about you guys. I've painted a couple things before. I've never covered something in gold. So when I think about these 48 frames and the bars that would go across, covering those with gold seems like a large project, a big ordeal.

[27:18] Only it gets just one verse. It was important because all those things were going to be inside the tabernacle. All those things were going to be inside this glorious room that was to represent a piece of heaven.

[27:33] The frames point to, I think, a wonderful picture of the church. We're being built up.

[27:45] Like the frames were to be stood up and erect. The frames are not strong enough on their own. And they weren't designed to work alone. But when they stand side by side with one another, connected through the bars of Christ, then they become useful and they become strong.

[28:04] And just like the walls of a house that if you're building, the walls don't feel strong at first. It's not until you lay the roof on that it becomes strong and complete, just like Christ.

[28:19] Coverings of the tabernacle are laid over the top and it becomes complete. Colossians 1.17 We see a lot of details in these chapters.

[28:44] If we were to build this tabernacle, we would have these details. What you find is as you start to build it, like physically build it, you realize that you're missing some details.

[28:57] Like how do I put this together? It doesn't say. So it's interesting that we have verse 30 again where Moses is told to erect the tabernacle according to the plan that he was shown on the mountain.

[29:12] I don't know about you guys, but I find YouTube videos very helpful when I want to fix something or build something.

[29:23] Video is so much different than having to read the directions on a piece of paper. So to know that Moses spent time on the mountain with God as God gives him a presentation, God style, about what the tabernacle would look like.

[29:42] It would just be awesome, I think, to watch that presentation. A presentation from God to Moses. He didn't need a laptop to show it to him. I don't know what it looked like, but Moses never had a question about how to put together and assemble this tabernacle.

[30:00] Next, we're going to look at the veil and the screen. First is the veil that separated the holy place from the most holy place.

[30:11] Made from the same material as the first covering of the tabernacle. It was fine twine linen. It had the colors. It had the cherubin that were skillfully worked into it.

[30:21] It was to be hung on four pillars of acacia wood overlayed with gold held by hooks of gold. And the pillars were to rest on bases of silver.

[30:32] So that every part of the tabernacle, all the bases around and this veil would be resting on silver. Verse 33 says that the veil would hang from the clasp.

[30:48] Speaking of the gold clasp that we talked about before, separating the two sections. It says that it would be hanging from the clasp.

[30:59] The translation here is more not, it's hanging on the clasp, but underneath the clasp. Because the pillars were made for it to hang on. And it would be just underneath those golden clasp.

[31:13] It's at this point that the most holy place was set. This was a perfectly cubed area. 13 feet, or I'm sorry, 15 feet by 15 feet by 15 feet.

[31:25] Another pointer to the cube that we see pictured in heaven in Revelation. But it's at this point that this is complete.

[31:38] And the ark of the testimony with the mercy seat on top would be brought in and placed behind the veil. Outside the veil, the table would be placed on the north side.

[31:49] So that would be here. And then we would have the lampstand on the south side. That would be back there. And glory and presence of God would dwell behind that veil.

[32:06] Why only a high priest could go in once a year. The Israelites knew that their God dwelt there. They knew that access to God was limited, but it wasn't cut off.

[32:23] It was restricted, but it wasn't eliminated. Just like the Garden of Eden had to be separated and blocked off because of sin, they understood that God and his presence also had to be blocked off because of their sin.

[32:39] And this veil that separates points to Christ as we are well aware of. We can only know God. We can only come to God through Jesus Christ, who is that veil.

[32:52] Well, I want to read two verses from Mark. As we've just passed Easter, Mark uses the word torn twice in his gospel.

[33:09] Mark 1, verses 9 to 11. I'll just read it for you. This is speaking of Jesus' baptism. In those days, Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.

[33:22] And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, You are my beloved son.

[33:35] With you, I am well pleased. And then the next time we have this word torn used is in Mark 15, verses 37 and 38.

[33:52] And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.

[34:02] So we have this picture of heaven that is torn open. First, as God is revealing himself as he is announcing his son, being baptized, he's announcing him and his pleasure in him.

[34:18] And next we see God tearing the veil from top to bottom, signifying that the true sacrifice, Jesus had been offered and it was accepted as the perfect offering for sin.

[34:36] The sacrifices of the priest had no last, no lasting power. They were temporary. They were limited. But they shadowed the perfect sacrifice, which was Jesus Christ.

[34:48] I want to read one other passage. This is Hebrews. If you want to turn to it, you can.

[34:59] This is Hebrews chapter 10, verse 11 through 14. And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, this they could relate to, which can never take away sin.

[35:21] Verse 12. That was the power of the sacrifice of the Holy Son of God, Jesus Christ.

[35:52] Lastly was the entrance to the tent. We'll see this in verse 36. This entrance was to be covered by a screen, probably not as thick as the veil, and it did not have the cherubims that would be sewn into it.

[36:13] It was to be held up by five pillars of acacia wood, overlaid with gold and held up by gold hooks. And the pillars this time stood on bronze bases.

[36:23] So we have two differences here. We see five pillars instead of four, like was outside the holy place.

[36:36] The number five in the Bible is associated with God's grace or favor. So this reminds us that God's grace was there even to allow the priest to come into his presence.

[36:50] These pillars were to stand on bronze bases, which were different than all the other ones. The bronze represents God's righteous judgment. So when we think about that, God's holiness requires his righteous judgment on sin.

[37:06] And it's that requirement that kept Israelites from coming into the tabernacle. This screen on the outside restricted access. From the outside, the Israelites could not even see or look into what was inside.

[37:21] They couldn't see the glory of God. And this for us symbolizes how eyes of mankind are closed to seeing Christ until he opens our eyes.

[37:31] John 1.11 says, He came to his own and his own people did not receive him. Speaking of Jesus, It is only by God's grace that the screen can be opened and Christ can be seen.

[37:46] Ephesians 2.4 and 5 says, But God, being rich in mercy because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ.

[37:59] By grace you have been saved. If you've never put your trust in Jesus Christ this morning, I want to offer you that opportunity today.

[38:12] God does not allow us to make a tabernacle of ourselves any way that we want. Just like he doesn't allow us to find our own way to God. Because there's only one way to God, and that's through his son Jesus Christ.

[38:27] The tabernacle was an act of love from God. The awesome news is the tabernacle isn't where it ended. The awesome news is that the tabernacle points to God's even greater act of love, and that was the sacrifice of his son.

[38:44] So what would this structure have meant to the Israelites? As the tabernacle faced the east, and as the sun came up, and the light would have lit up the inside of the tabernacle.

[39:00] It would have, again, reminded the people of the Garden of Eden. The place where man, because of his sin, was kicked out. A place where there once was perfect fellowship and communion with God, and they didn't have that.

[39:18] But they still knew God loved them, because he chose to come down to them, even in their sinfulness and their brokenness. So they would have seen the tabernacle as an act of love from God to them.

[39:41] How about us as Christians now? What do we see the tabernacle? It's a picture. It's a beautiful picture of Jesus Christ in so many ways.

[39:54] Jesus being God's greatest love for us. Making it possible to truly know him. To have a relationship with him.

[40:08] To feel his presence. To have him lead your life. The assurance of being a child of God.

[40:21] You don't have to look to be defined. Because God defines you as his own. To be able to rest in him. In the promises that he does provide to you.

[40:37] And to have the assurance of all that for eternity. That's what the tabernacle points us to. It points us to Jesus Christ. So my hope and prayer.

[40:50] As we end. Is that we would take. That relationship with God seriously. Realizing that we have a relationship with God.

[41:01] That far exceeds what the Israelites had with God. And it was made possible. Because our creator. Out of his love for us.

[41:16] For each one of you. I don't know all of your names. If I did I would point to you. Specifically. And I would say your name. Because God's love.

[41:30] Was for you. It's not just. Generic. It's specific.

[41:42] To each one of you. God cares. And he loves you. And the proof of that. Is in his son. Jesus Christ. So if you have a relationship with him today.

[41:53] I want you to take that relationship seriously. Because it was. It was out of love. And it's a serious relationship.

[42:06] Because God wants you for himself. Let's pray. Lord we.

[42:24] Sometimes we can struggle with thanking you. For passages that seem thick and deep. And heavy. But we're thankful for. The care.

[42:37] And the love. And the details. That you've shown. To even. The Israelites. Lord we pray.

[42:48] That you would help us. To realize. The depth of the love. That you have for us. The importance. Of. Our life. Before you. Before others.

[42:58] The importance. Of glorifying you. The importance. Of. Holding you up.

[43:12] As supreme. Realizing how much. We are not worthy. Of being your children. And yet you have called us. To be your children. You let us be part of your family.

[43:24] So God. Help us to. Help us to. Be reminded of that. Anew.

[43:35] Especially on those days. Where we're all about ourselves. And we're struggling. And we see everything but you. God we pray that you would help remind us. How much you love us.

[43:47] And help us look to the cross. For the proof. Of that love. Lord we pray these things. In your great and holy name. Amen.