The Lord promises blessing in the land as we take the land in His name.
Exodus 25: Contributions for the Sanctuary
1 The LORD said to Moses,
2 "Speak to the people of Israel, that they take for me a contribution. From every man whose heart moves him you shall receive the contribution for me.
3 And this is the contribution that you shall receive from them: gold, silver, and bronze,
4 blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen, goats' hair,
5 tanned rams' skins, goatskins, acacia wood,
6 oil for the lamps, spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense,
7 onyx stones, and stones for setting, for the ephod and for the breast-piece.
8 And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst.
9 Exactly as I show you concerning the pattern of the tabernacle, and of all its furniture, so you shall make it.
The Ark of the Covenant
10 "They shall make an ark of acacia wood. Two cubits and a half shall be its length, a cubit and a half its breadth, and a cubit and a half its height.
11 You shall overlay it with pure gold, inside and outside shall you overlay it, and you shall make on it a moulding of gold around it.
12 You shall cast four rings of gold for it and put them on its four feet, two rings on the one side of it, and two rings on the other side of it.
13 You shall make poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold.
14 And you shall put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark to carry the ark by them.
15 The poles shall remain in the rings of the ark; they shall not be taken from it.
16 And you shall put into the ark the testimony that I shall give you.
17 "You shall make a mercy seat of pure gold. Two cubits and a half shall be its length, and a cubit and a half its breadth.
18 And you shall make two cherubim of gold; of hammered work shall you make them, on the two ends of the mercy seat.
19 Make one cherub on the one end, and one cherub on the other end. Of one piece with the mercy seat shall you make the cherubim on its two ends.
20 The cherubim shall spread out their wings above, overshadowing the mercy seat with their wings, their faces one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubim be.
21 And you shall put the mercy seat on the top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the testimony that I shall give you.
22 There I will meet with you, and from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim that are on the ark of the testimony, I will speak with you about all that I will give you in commandment for the people of Israel.
The Table for Bread
23 "You shall make a table of acacia wood. Two cubits shall be its length, a cubit its breadth, and a cubit and a half its height.
24 You shall overlay it with pure gold and make a moulding of gold around it.
25 And you shall make a rim around it a handbreadth wide, and a moulding of gold around the rim.
26 And you shall make for it four rings of gold, and fasten the rings to the four corners at its four legs.
27 Close to the frame the rings shall lie, as holders for the poles to carry the table.
28 You shall make the poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold, and the table shall be carried with these.
29 And you shall make its plates and dishes for incense, and its flagons and bowls with which to pour drink offerings; you shall make them of pure gold.
30 And you shall set the bread of the Presence on the table before me regularly.
The Golden Lampstand
31 "You shall make a lampstand of pure gold. The lampstand shall be made of hammered work: its base, its stem, its cups, its calyxes, and its flowers shall be of one piece with it.
32 And there shall be six branches going out of its sides, three branches of the lampstand out of one side of it and three branches of the lampstand out of the other side of it;
33 three cups made like almond blossoms, each with calyx and flower, on one branch, and three cups made like almond blossoms, each with calyx and flower, on the other branch---so for the six branches going out of the lampstand.
34 And on the lampstand itself there shall be four cups made like almond blossoms, with their calyxes and flowers,
35 and a calyx of one piece with it under each pair of the six branches going out from the lampstand.
36 Their calyxes and their branches shall be of one piece with it, the whole of it a single piece of hammered work of pure gold.
37 You shall make seven lamps for it. And the lamps shall be set up so as to give light on the space in front of it.
38 Its tongs and their trays shall be of pure gold.
39 It shall be made, with all these utensils, out of a talent of pure gold.
40 And see that you make them after the pattern for them, which is being shown you on the mountain.
Exodus 26: The Tabernacle
1 "Moreover, you shall make the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine twined linen and blue and purple and scarlet yarns; you shall make them with cherubim skillfully worked into them.
2 The length of each curtain shall be twenty-eight cubits, and the breadth of each curtain four cubits; all the curtains shall be the same size.
3 Five curtains shall be coupled to one another, and the other five curtains shall be coupled to one another.
4 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.
5 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.
6 And you shall make fifty clasps of gold, and couple the curtains one to the other with the clasps, so that the tabernacle may be a single whole.
7 "You shall also make curtains of goats' hair for a tent over the tabernacle; eleven curtains shall you make.
8 The length of each curtain shall be thirty cubits, and the breadth of each curtain four cubits. The eleven curtains shall be the same size.
9 You shall couple five curtains by themselves, and six curtains by themselves, and the sixth curtain you shall double over at the front of the tent.
10 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.
11 "You shall make fifty clasps of bronze, and put the clasps into the loops, and couple the tent together that it may be a single whole.
12 And the part that remains of the curtains of the tent, the half curtain that remains, shall hang over the back of the tabernacle.
13 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 that side, to cover it.
14 And you shall make for the tent a covering of tanned rams' skins and a covering of goatskins on top.
15 "You shall make upright frames for the tabernacle of acacia wood.
16 Ten cubits shall be the length of a frame, and a cubit and a half the breadth of each frame.
17 There shall be two tenons in each frame, for fitting together. So shall you do for all the frames of the tabernacle.
18 You shall make the frames for the tabernacle: twenty frames for the south side;
19 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;
20 and for the second side of the tabernacle, on the north side twenty frames,
21 and their forty bases of silver, two bases under one frame, and two bases under the next frame.
22 And for the rear of the tabernacle westward you shall make six frames.
23 And you shall make two frames for corners of the tabernacle in the rear;
24 they shall be separate beneath, but joined at the top, at the first ring. Thus shall it be with both of them; they shall form the two corners.
25 And there shall be eight frames, with their bases of silver, sixteen bases; two bases under one frame, and two bases under another frame.
26 "You shall make bars of acacia wood, five for the frames of the one side of the tabernacle,
27 and 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.
28 The middle bar, halfway up the frames, shall run from end to end.
29 You shall overlay the frames with gold and shall make their rings of gold for holders for the bars, and you shall overlay the bars with gold.
30 Then you shall erect the tabernacle according to the plan for it that you were shown on the mountain.
31 "And you shall make a veil of blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen. It shall be made with cherubim skillfully worked into it.
32 And you shall hang it on four pillars of acacia overlaid with gold, with hooks of gold, on four bases of silver.
33 And you shall hang the veil from the clasps, and bring the ark of the testimony in there within the veil. And the veil shall separate for you the Holy Place from the Most Holy.
34 You shall put the mercy seat on the ark of the testimony in the Most Holy Place.
35 And you shall set the table outside the veil, and the lampstand on the south side of the tabernacle opposite the table, and you shall put the table on the north side.
36 "You shall make a screen for the entrance of the tent, of blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen, embroidered with needlework.
37 And you shall make for the screen five pillars of acacia, and overlay them with gold. Their hooks shall be of gold, and you shall cast five bases of bronze for them.
Things to think about…
Every act of worship involves sacrifice. In Ex 25:1-9 the contributions that were first received from Egypt are now required for the Lord’s sanctuary. The Christian life is one of sacrifice. The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it. The challenge is to continually hold everything we have with a loose hand knowing that it is all His at the end of the day.
The Ark of the Covenant was two and a half cubits long and a cubit and a half wide and high. Not very big, perhaps 4 feet by 2 feet by 2 feet. Why not make it five cubits long and three cubits wide, or even bigger? Surely the bigger the better and God gets more glory. No, not so. If God gives the dimensions for our lives and the way we should worship let’s not think to adjust them. Bigger is not better if it is in contradiction with the Lord’s will for us. Obedience and holiness are what is required.
Note that the Ark of the Covenant and the table of showbread had rings through which poles went so it could be carried and not touched. They were not to be removed. God is holy, we are not. We are separated from Him by sin. We have been brought near through the cross, but we should never become so familiar with God that we lose all reverence, awe and wonder. In what ways do you see the Lord as majestic even in the ordinariness of your life? Uzziah found this out in no uncertain terms, 1Chr 13:5-14, 2Sam 6:7.
Christ is our lampstand Ex 25:31-40 shining His glorious light in our lives and in our church. But we are called to show the light of Christ into our community, Mt 5:14-16.
There is much that could be said about the size and dimensions of the tabernacle in Ex 26. Suffice to say everything had a number, a dimension and a purpose. The word ‘skillfully’ is used twice, vss 1 and 31. We are told to do everything decently and in order, 1Cor 14:40. Even to play skillfully Ps 33:3. The church and our lives are called to have purpose and structure. It is no accident that in countries where the gospel has had the most influence there is an elevation of law, order and justice.
Vision statement for CBC
CBC’s Vision :- To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission.
Cell groups are encouraged to come to church on Wednesday night 6:30pm at church. Be encouraged and join us for a time of teaching, fun and food.
Prayer Points
1. Please pray for Steve Hawkins and Glenys Zawada – Steve as he recovers from stents operation and Glenys as she recovers from a stroke.
2. The conflicts in Israel and Ukraine. Praise for the peace of Jesus to reign.
3. Mathys has a prayer time at church on Monday afternoons. He would be happy for you to join him and to send prayer requests.
4. That those who are new to the church are encouraged and settle in well into the church.
5. That we be bold in our witnessing for Christ. Pray for a heart to see those around you to be saved. Pray for the blessing over the new pastoral care and hosting program.
6. Pray for our Carols program, Sun 17th Dec.
7. Pray for Rosie and the teachers at Kids@church, pray for continued growth of this ministry.
8. Growth, conversions, joy in the Word and Spirit to remain and increase.
Praise Points
1. Praise God for and new life at Chuwar Baptist. Rejoice that Charlotte gave her life to Christ after the service.
2. Praise God for new folk, pray they can settle into the church.
3. Continue to pray for our Wed mid-week meeting.
4. Good ministry after the service. Continue to pray for this blessing to increase.
5. Some encouraging signs of those wanting to consider who Jesus was. People asking about baptism.
6. Joy, peace and grace we see at CBC. Thankyou Lord
Announcements
1. Mid week topical teaching every Wednesday night – 6:30pm at church.
2. Annual general meeting – this Sunday morning - 26th Nov after the service.
3. Carols starting in the afternoon from 4pm Sunday 17th Dec.
4. Church bank details bsb:- 704 913 and Acc number:- 4000 4388 1
5. Tune in again this week on our YouTube page. Subscribe to the CBC channel Chuwar Baptist YouTube channel.
Catechism questions for November...
Q. 14. Where do you learn how to love and obey God? A. In the Bible.
