GOD’S MANIFEST PRESENCE
EXODUS 40: 1 – 38
Lesson Prepared by: krisha of Solomon Wisdom FB page
Schedule Teacher: Sis. Nheizel A. Pascual
JUNE
17, 2018
MEMORY
VERSE:
Not forsaking the
assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one
another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
(Hebrews 10:25)
INTRODUCTION:
In the Old Testament, the manifestation
of God’s presence to Israelites is
visible. The Ark of the Covenant is the symbol of God’s presence. In verses 33
to 38 of Exodus chapter 40, the clouds abode in the tabernacle which is the
glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. It is very comfortable to feel that in
verse 38, the Israelites were guarded by the Lord day and night; the cloud of
the Lord by day which is a shield from the heat of the sun and fire by night
which is a light against the dark cold wilderness night. How amazing that the
love and presence of the Lord is 24/7 with them. Does it come to your mind that
you want the feeling that God’s presence is always with you like what the
Israelites felt? Though they were in the journey and there were struggles and
problems along the away, His presence was there. There are times in our lives
God’s moves are obvious but we don’t feel it. Another way of experiencing God’s
presence is through worship.
The word in the Hebrew for worship in the verb
form is “shachah” and it means “to bow down, to prostrate oneself” or to “lay
flat on the ground.” We see many in the Old Testament prostrate
themselves before the Lord. The Greek word for worship that is
often used in the New Testament is “proskyneō” and this means to “kiss the
hand, to fall on the knees,” or to “prostrate oneself” which is similar to what
it is in the Old Testament but there are other Greek renditions of the word
worship like “prokeneuo” which means to “pay homage” and “sebazomai” which mean
“to render religious honor.” The word worship comes from the old English
word “weorþscipe” with the root of it being “worthiness” or “worth-ship” or
“worth – to give” or in its simplest form, “worth to something.” (taken from
Google)
In
our worship to the Lord and we want God’s presence be with us, a Christian
blogger wrote, “God’s moves in our
lives need preparations and plans.” Worship need preparations and plans
like what mentioned in Exodus 40.
Let’s ask ourselves, “Don’t you WANT God to do that in
some place where you are in your life. Don’t you really, honestly, want to see
His power so profoundly moving on your life, your family, your church, your
community, your company – that NO ONE who stands near can attribute the
marvelous presence to anything but a GOD THING in your midst?”
In our lesson for today titled, “God’s manifest
Presence,” let’s see and read the preparations Israelites did in worshipping
the Lord and expect the presence of God.
LESSON OUTLINE:
1) FOLLOW GOD’S TIMELINE (EXODUS 40: 1-2)
-
We can see in this verse that God mentioned the time when the
tabernacle reared (built) up.
“And the Lord spake
unto Moses, saying, “On the first day of the first month shalt thou set up the
tabernacle of the tent of the congregation.”
-
This
indicates that it was a year since
Israel came out of Egypt. This was an amazing year in the history of Israel.
They could count the great works of God and measure their own spiritual growth.
Personally, have you remembered the time you were saved by God or accepted Him
as your personal Lord and Saviour? In your first year of being a Christian what
kind of spiritual activity you did for God?
-
It is fair to use the passing of time to see
how far we have come with God. Some Christians never grow much beyond their initial
experience with God. Some who have been Christians for 10 years have only the
maturity of a one-year-old Christian – they simply repeat their first year over
and over again. Most of the times they just attend the set assembly
occasionally.
- Another spiritual
lesson we can get from these verses is the importance of assembly. Although we
know that God is everywhere, still He set a specific date and place for
worship. We can see in these chapter how important this worship in the eyes of
God which should be important for us also. If it’s important to us, we should
set that time for Him.
2) ORDER AND BEAUTY IN THE TABERNACLE ARE
IMPORTANT (EXODUS 40: 3-11,13-30, 33-38)
-
God tells Moses how to assemble
everything: how to arrange the furniture within the tabernacle, how to arrange
items in
-
the courtyard, and others. Every
thing was done with order and deliberation. "Set the bread in order"
(Exodus 40:4, Exodus 40:23).
-
What lesson could we get from
this verses? Everything we do in order to make the church beautiful and in
order are God’s will. Do you want the church smell stinky? Of course no. The
YCM is in charge of the cleaning in our church and the details of the cleaning
are very important. Have you remembered our pastor told us one time about
checking the dust on the pulpit area? Others might see that checking is just
meticulous attitude but it is a part of our worship, the preparation. Also a
verse reminds me of this, "Let all
things be done decently and in order" (1 Corinthians 15:40).
-
The ministry which the LFCM does:
beautifying the church by putting plants and flowers, hang the curtains and
before that they wash them and iron.
-
In verse 13, Aaron wore a holy garment in order for him to
minister unto God. We are not priest like Aaron but this verse reminds us the
importance of clothing in worshipping the Lord. This is a good time for us to
put into consideration the preparation on what to wear. Choosing the right
garment which God pleases.
-
How about the set-up of our
programs: caption, photocopied programs, in-charge of prayer, special numbers,
song leaders, usherette and many more. If you’re not doing properly your part
in the worship, the Lord will not be pleased. God wants us to be obedient in
worshipping Him.
-
Let’s be reminded that the
building we worship is just a simple building if the presence of God is not
there during worship but this doesn’t mean it is okay to make it messy and not
in order during simple days. Respect the place of worship is important.
3) HOLINESS IN THE TABERNACLE IS WHAT GOD
WANTS (EXODUS 40:12, 31-32)
-
This
describes the priestly use of the laver (basin for cleaning). They could not
properly perform their duties without a ritual cleansing, indicating that God
wanted service from pure hands and feet.
-
We can see in these verses the importance of washing of water.
In order to minister in the tabernacle they need to be washed with water.
Though at this church age, we don’t do this ceremonial law but we can see that
the cleansing is importance in serving in the tabernacle. We cannot serve God
fully if we have hidden sins in our hearts. We need to repent from our sins and
worship Him (Psalms 24:3-4; Psalm 66:18)
-
In our church, we have the congregational prayer. Have you seen
the importance of individual prayer before the worship service begins? In this
time, it allows you to talk to God personally and ask for forgiveness.
-
Are
you ready to get clean yourself. Are you willing to place yourself in the position of
Divine inspection so that God can challenge
every thought, every relationship, every desire – and wash it with His right
ways? That is the pattern of the cleansing of 40:12
4) WORSHIP IN THE TABERNACLE IS VERY VITAL
(EXODUS 40:29)
-
Moses set the bread in order on
the table, lighted the lamps, burnt incense, etc. He offered burnt offerings
and meat offerings on the altar (verse 39).
-
It’s good to go into the house of
the Lord prepared and ready for your offerings. You cannot separate giving as
part of worship.
Many people seem to think that the
reason we have an offering during the Sunday morning service is because the
church needs to pay its bills and also wants to do good things with the money
that is collected. Your church does need to pay its bills, and it probably does
do good things with the money you put in the offering plate … but that is not
why we have an offering during the Sunday morning service.
The offering is an act of worship, an
instance in which we are invited to give up something that we value—our
money—as a sacrifice to God. In many ways, it is the high point of the liturgy.
We come to church to worship God and at no other point in the service are we
provided with so pure an opportunity for worship as this …
We are invited to put money in the
offering plate on Sunday morning not because the church needs our money but
because we want and need to give it. We have a spiritual need to worship God,
and through our offerings we are able to express our love and devotion for God
in a way that is simple and sincere. The motivation of the giver is what counts
most, not the size of the gift or the degree of benefit to the recipient
(see Mk 12:42–44).
The good news of stewardship is that church offerings are not fund-raising
rituals but acts of worship in which we are invited to express our heartfelt
devotion to the God who is so good to us. https://www.biblegateway.com/devotionals/stewardship-bible/2013/11/02
- In Romans 12: 1-2, it’s the best to give our bodies as a
living sacrifice to God.
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that
ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is
your reasonable service.
CONCLUSION:
-
In verse 34, the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. Obviously, God was pleased with the obedience of Israel.
This was not so much because it showed His superiority over them, but it was
more so because it proved they really did believe Him and love Him. It’s good
in the heart that the presence of the Lord is in our midst and this is one of
the goal why we come to worship, to feel God’s presence so we can continuously
live for God and serve Him.
How about the people who were not in the
tabernacle? Men on distant hills had no idea that God was showing up in that
tent. Midianites may have been doing laundry that day. Egyptians carried on as
though nothing unusual was taking place – because they were far from God’s
appearance, and didn’t observe His entry into the Israelite camp. God
showed up for those who planned for His coming, and sought His presence.
-
This
is why worship is very important in our lives as Christians. We won’t feel
God’s presence in our lives if we don’t plan and seek for it. Bible says in
James 4:8, “Draw nigh to God and He will draw nigh to you…”
-
In verses 36-37
says,
36 And when the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the
children of Israel went onward in all their journeys: 37 But if the cloud were not taken up, then they journeyed not till
the day that it was taken up.
We see in these verses that the Israelites wait for the presence
of the Lord before they go onward to their journey. How about us? We know that
a week without church is like a week without life. Going to church and worship
is one way of having spiritual strength to face the coming week. This journey
of life is hard without God. It’s good to go in our journey with God’s presence
in our lives. Our memory for today is a good reminders for every one of us,
Not forsaking the
assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one
another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
(Hebrews 10:25)
