DCLM Search The Scripture Youth For February March 26, 2023 : Topic – DIVINE INSTRUCTION ON THE PATTERN OF THE TABERNACLE
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YOUTH STS
LESSON 55
DIVINE INSTRUCTION ON THE PATTERN OF THE TABERNACLE
Text: Exodus 25:1-40;26:1-37; 27:1-21
Memory Verse: “According to all that I shew thee, after
the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all
the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it” (Exodus 25:9).
From generation to generation, God gives instructions that are expected to be obeyed. He instructed Noah to build an ark and demanded total obedience from him. In this study, God instructed Moses on how He wanted His tabernacle to be built. He had a purpose for this; He wanted it built according
to His own pattern. Thus, God commanded Moses to take offering from the children of lsrael for the building of the tabernacle, the ark of the covenant and the brazen altar. “And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring me an offering, of every man that giveth it willingly with his heart, ye shall take my offering” ( Exodus 25&1,2)
Youths can learn from the total obedience exhibited by Moses from the minutest instruction to the great one; he never deviated for once from the pattern of God. Divine instructions come to us as youths in different areas of our lives. God expects prompt obedience. It is absolute obedience
that brings blessings from God. God is the master Planner of our lives. He knows the details of our past, present and future. Thus, it is imperative to listen to His instruction concerning His divine pattern for our lives. “And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left” (Isaiah 30:21).
Question 1: Answer true or false.
1) God demands prompt and total obedience from all His children.
2) God expects all His children to obey Him in all areas of their lives.
3) It is better to obey God than to disobey Him.
DEMAND FOR OFFERING TO BUILD THE TABERNACLE
(Exodus 25:1-22; 37:1-3;Deuteronomy 10:1-3;2 Chronicles 8:11;Hebrews 9:4;Revelation 11:19)
Moses was given the detailed instruction on how the Ark was to be constructed. It was also to be positioned in the centre of the tabernacle. The Ark symbolised the physical evidence of
God’s divine presence. Every other activity in the tabernacle revolved around it. The Mercy Seat made of pure gold overlaid the Ark. Inside the Ark was the tablets of the law. The three significant materials inside the Ark were the two tablets of stone upon which God wrote the Ten Commandments, the golden pot of manna and Aaron’s rod that budded. The dimension of the brazen altar was five cubits length, breadth and height. Each of the four corners projected upwards to form the horns of the altar which depicted total yieldedness and submission to God’s will. It was also a symbol of might and the protection of God. Other vessels associated with the altar were pans, shovel, bason for collecting blood of animals poured out by the priests, the flesh hook and censers for
carrying the fire from the altar. The fire must be taken from the brazen altar every morning and it must not go out. Fire here symbolises the Holy Spirit. Strange fire must not be offered. Nadab and Abihu sons of Aaron died for offering strange fire (Leviticus 10:1,2). We must withstand every wind of strange doctrine. “Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines. For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace; not with meats, which have not profited them that have been occupied therein” (Hebrews 13:9). Also, since the fire on the altar must keep aglow, so must the believer always be on fire for the Lord in holy living, evangelism, ministry of the word and prayer.
The altar of burnt offering was located in the outer Court of the tabernacle. Curtains were used as fence for the tabernacle to ease its carriage because the Levites were to carry it on their shoulders as they journeyed through the wilderness. Immediately a worshipper entered through the gate, the object he first noticed was the brazen altar. Different sacrifices made on the altar were burnt offerings, sin offerings, meat offerings, trespass offerings and peace offerings. The altar of burnt offering depicts atonement the blood of an innocent victim (this represents Christ’s perfect sacrifice).
Furthermore, God commanded Moses to direct the children of Israel that they bring pure olive oil beaten for the light, to cause the lamp to bum always (Exodus 27:20). The word of God, as a lamp (Psalm 119:105), must be given prime place by the believers. They must be filled with the Holy Ghost
in order to keep on shining for the Lord.
Question 3: What do the horns on the altar in the Tabernacle symbolise?
Question 4: What are other materials that can be found on the altar of the tabernacle?
However, there are few lessons for youths to learn from Moses’ strict obedience to God’s command.
1. Every Christian youth must desire to discover God’s pattern in every area of his live in order to achieve the desired success.
2.Youths must follow Gods pattern for their lives in complete obedience.
3. They must neither subtract nor add to the word of God which is the revealed pattern for their lives.
THE FURNITURE OF THE TABERNACLE (Exodus 27:1-21; Leviticus 10:1,2:Psalm 50:5)
Moses had been to Mount Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments. He was there for forty days and forty nights. It was a moment of selfless sacrifice, consecration and commitment on his part. It was a period of preparation for the task ahead of him. In chapters 25 to 27 of the book of Exodus, God
commanded Moses to take offering from the children of Israel to make the tabernacle, the Ark of covenant and the brazen altar. “And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying Speak unto
the children of lsrael, that they bring me an offering: of every man that giveth it willingly with his heart ye shall take my offering”. Every Christian youth must understand that his or her walk with God must cost him or her something. The journey to heaven carries along prices to be paid. For the children of Israel, it was their precious and cherished items God demanded. “And this is the offering which ye shall take of them; gold, and silver, and brass, And blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats’ hair”. Today, God demands first the heart of the unsaved youths to build His pattern of the Tabernacle. “My son, give me thine heart” (Proverbs 23:26). “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” (Romans 12:1). For God to build His spiritual Tabernacle today, He needs first
our hearts and our bodies. Some youths erroneously believe that, it does not matter what they do with their bodies, God is only interested in their hearts. They have forgotten or refused to read the part of the Scripture that says they a re to present their bodies as living sacrifice (Romans 12:1). Youths also have the responsibility to give to the building of the Church in their local assembly. They can give money, time, and talents and even engage in manual labour during the construction of the church building freely as part of their own contribution. Our service or giving must not be by coercion but we must give cheerfully, bountifully, sacrificially and willingly. The phrase, “thou shall make..”.frequently used in chapters 25, 26 and 27 of the book of Exodus summarises a great sacrifice on the part of Moses. He complied with God’s instructions to build according to pattern.
Question 5: How does God expect us to give as youths today?
THE DIVINE PURPOSE OF THE TABERNACLE (Exodus 25:8; 39:37;Leviticus 24:2-4; Judges 9:9; Psalm 23:5; Zechariah 4:11-14;Revelation1 1:4)
The tabernacle symbolise God’s presence with His people. It foreshadows the future state when God’s tabernacle will be with the redeemed. “And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God” (Revelation 21:3). The purpose of the tabernacle is for God to dwell in it. The believer’s body is God’s temple; it must be kept holy. All pictures, literature and materials that inflame the passion must be done away with. Youths must not put on their body,
which is the temple of God, indecent dresses, tattoos, and every other thing that defiles the temple and denies them of God’s presence. “What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?” (1 Corinthians 6:19). Moreover, as much as God desires to dwell in our body as His temple, He wants us to worship Him in a befitting, decent and beautiful environment. Thus, we must join hands with other believers to build a befitting place of worship in our local assembly.
Question 6:
(a) What is God’s purpose for His Tabernacle?
(b)We are the tabernacle of God (Yes/No).
Please support your answer with Bible references.