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About Jesus Steve Sweetman This Chapter 30 ch.
30:1-10 ch.
30:11-16
ch. 30:17-21
The
Altar Of Incense (ch. 30:1 - 10) We see God instructing
Moses to build an altar to offer incense on.
Most scholars see the burning of incense as being representative of
the prayers of God's people. Note
that the incense was to be burned first thing in the morning and also in
the evening. Our prayers and
thoughts should be directed to Jesus upon awaking in the morning and also
upon going to sleep at night. No other sacrifices were
to be made on this altar except once a year where blood would be shed for
the atoning of Israel. The word
"atonement" means the process by which Atonement
Money (ch. 30:11 - 16) Every time Israel
had a census God wanted all Israelis to give some money "as a ransom
for their lives". The
money would go to the upkeep of the tabernacle.
Note the word
"ransom". This is
another great theological word, as was the word "atonement" in
the last section. A
ransom is a price paid to purchase something.
The money paid here was in one sense of the word the price paid to
keep you alive. Jesus paid the
price on the cross to keep us alive throughout eternity. Some
people might even call this a tax. Basin
For Washing (ch. 30:17 - 21) In this section we see
the brass altar where the priests would wash their hands and feet.
If they did not wash, they would be in danger of death by the Lord.
This reminds me of what Jesus has done for us.
He washes us with His word, with His blood, so we can come into the
presence of the Lord without fear of death.
This is so important, because some day, those who have given their
lives to Jesus will live in the presence of God. That is why we need
forgiveness of sins. Humans
cannot live in God's presence on their own merit. Anointing
Oil (ch. 30:22 - 33) In this section we see
how to make the anointing oil. Every
part of the tabernacle, and everything that is put into the tabernacle,
including the priests, must be anointed with this oil.
Oil always symbolizes the Holy Spirit in the Bible.
Everything associated with God on earth must be anointed with the
Holy Spirit. This is so
important, but so neglected in many parts of the church. Verse 33 states that whoever makes this perfume and puts it on anyone other than priests must be cut off from being a Jew. This oil cannot be used for personal use. The same with the Holy Spirit. We should never duplicate, or attempt to duplicate Him in a humanistic way, but again, we do. We see in Acts 8 how upset Peter was when Simon the magician wanted to use the power of the Holy Spirit for his own purposes. Peter condemned him for such a thought.
In this section we see
the same thing as we saw in the last section.
The incense must be made in an exact way, and must not be used for
personal use. It must only be
used for the tabernacle worship. If
someone made it for personal use, he too must be cut off from God's
people. Again, the things of
God belong to God. We must not
use them for personal gain, as we often do.
This is so very important, but in this day when making money from
ministry is so prevalent, we must learn this lesson.
We don't use God's things for personal gain. |