DCLM Search The Scripture Youth For February April 23, 2023 : Topic – RENEWAL OF THE LAW AND OFFERING FOR THE TABERNACLE
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YOUTH STS
LESSON 58
RENEWAL OF THE LAW AND OFFERING FOR THE TABERNACLE
Memory Verse: “And the LORD said unto Moses, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first: andI will write upon these tables the words that were in the first tables, which thou brakest” (Exodus 34:1).
Text: Exodus 34:1-35; 35:1-35; 36:1-3
The text focuses on the renewal of the law given by God to guide the children of Israel in their relationship with Him and fellow men in the Promised Land. Moses broke the first two tablets provided and written by God Himself initially because of Israel’s sin of idolatry. “And it came to pass, as soon as he came nigh unto the camp, that he saw the calf, and the dancing: and Moses’ anger waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands, and brake them beneath the mount” (Exodus 32:19). The study also gives us insight into the response of the children of Israel, their contributions and efforts towards the construction of the Tabernacle and its furniture. “And they came, every one whose heart stirred him up, and everyone whom his spirit made willing, and they brought the LORD’s offering to the work of the tabernacle of the congregation, and for all his service, and for the holy garments” (Exodus 35:21). As a Christian youth or leader, we should not only give our lives and material to God but always make ourselves ready for service in the house of God. “And Moses called Bezaleel and Aholiab, and every wise hearted man, in whose heart the LORD had put wisdom, even every one whose heart stirred him up to come unto the work to do it” (Exodus 36:2). The Lord is still calling more youths into the great harvest. Will you be available?
NEW TABLETS OF LAW FOR GOD’S PEOPLE (Exodus 34:1- 35:35:1-3; 24:12, 13; Psalm 119:9-1 1)
“And the LORD said unto Moses, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first: and I will write upon these tables the words that were in the first tables, which thou brakest. And be ready in the morning, and come up in the morning unto mount Sinai, and present thyself there to me in the top of the mount. And he hewed two tables of stone like unto the first; and Moses rose up early in the morning, and went up unto mount Sinai, as the LORD had commanded him, and took in his hand the two tables of stone?” (Exodus 34:1,2,4).
Question 1: What can we learn from the instruction that God gave Moses to produce new tablets?
The Lord ordered Moses to produce another tablets of stone likened to the former one he broke (Exodus 32:19) and report back to the mountain for the same law to be written for the
children of Israel and he did so. This is to teach us that, the word of God can never be broken. It was the stone that Moses broke. The word of God is forever established (Psalm 119:89). The good news today is that His words are written in our hearts. “And the LORD descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation” (Exodus 34:5-7).
Question 2: Mention some attributes of God revealed to Moses.
God, in His faithfulness, revealed His attributes to Moses as ne requested (Exodus 33: 18).
Here are some of the attributes God revealed in our text.
1. Merciful and gracious – through His mercy and grace we obtain salvation and deliverance.
2.Longsuffering – he patiently endures with man, suffers long and is kind.
3. Abundance in goodness and truth.
4.Keeping mercy for thousands- His mercy is available for all men; young, old and every gender.
5. Forgiving iniquity, transgression and sinas many that come to Him in faith and repentance shall obtain forgiveness
6. He is of a purer eyes and will not spare or overlook sin; therefore, no one should try to cover up sin.
7. Visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generation – His dislike for sin makes Him keep record for the day of judgment except a sinner repents (Ezekiel 18:1-9).
Moses worshipped the Lord and interceded for Israel. “And Moses made haste, and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshipped. And he said, If now I have found grace in thy sight, O LORD, let my LORD, I pray thee, go among us; for it is a stiffnecked people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for thine inheritance” (Exodus 34:8,9). Truly the prayer of the righteous avails much. Every Christian youth and leader should learn to intercede for both sinners and saints. The Lord in His response promised to renew His covenant, work miracles among the people, and drive out the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite (verses 10,1 1). The Lord further handed down the following commandment: they must not make covenant with the idolatrous nations; rather, their altars and images should be destroyed (verses 12-15). No matrimonial alliances to be contracted with them (verse 16), The Israelites must not have any molten image aside God (verse 17). The commandment of the feast of unleavened bread, and of the sanctification of the firstborn must be adhered (verse 18-29);as also that of the Sabbath, and the three great annual feasts (verses 21-23). The Lord further promised that the surrounding nations shall not invade their territories, while all the males were at Jerusalem celebrating the annual feasts (verse 24).Clear directions concerning the Passover feast was given (verse 25); and the first-fruits (verse 26). Moses was commanded to write all these words, contained in the covenants which God had now renewed with the children of Israel (verse 27). Moses was with God forty days and forty nights without eating or drinking while receiving the ten commandments upon the new tables of stone (verse 28). When Moses descended with the tables; his face shone (verse 29). Aaron and the people were afraid to approach him because of his glorious appearance (verse 30). Moses had to cover his face with a veil as he delivered to them the covenant and commandments of the Lord; (verses 31-33), but took it off when he went to minister before the Lord (verse 34,35)
CONTRIBUTIONS FOR THE BUILDING OF THE TABERNACLE
(Exodus 35:4-27;25:2-8;1 Chronicles 29:5-9;
Luke 6:38; Romans 12:1,2; 2 Corinthians 9:6,7; 12:15; Matthew 19:27-29)
“And Moses spake unto all the congregation of the children of lsrael, saying, This is the thing which the LORD commanded, saying, Take ye from among you an offering unto the LORD: whosoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it, an offering of the LORD; gold, and silver, and brass, And blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats’ hair, And rams’ skins dyed red, and badgers’ skins, and
shittim wood, And oil for the light, and spices for anointing oil, and for the sweet incense, And onyx stones, and stones to be set for the ephod, and for the breastplate. And every wise hearted among you shall come, and make all that the LORD hath commanded”(Exodus 35:4-10). This passage gives us The pictures of the responses of the people of God’s demand Towards the building of tabernacle for Him by the children of Israel In the wilderness. God’s demand was clear to them. He requested specific Items needed tor the tabernacle such as gold, sliver, brass, blue, purple, scarlet, fine linen, goat’s hair, Ram’s skins, dyed red, badger’s skins and shittim wood, and oil, spices and onyx stones and more importantly “every wise hearted” among them. Their response was prompt And overwhelming as they gave with a willing heart until Moses Had to order them to stop donating when report got to him that Materials were in excess. “And they spake unto Moses, saying, The people bring much more than enough for the service of the work, which the LORD commanded to make. And Moses gave commandment, and they caused it to be proclaimed throughout the camp, saying, Let neither man not woman make any more work for the offering of the sanctuary. So the people were restrained from bringing” (Exodus 36:5,6). This is a challenge to every youth today. Youths are expected to give their Hearts to Christ and be ready to offer their entire life, money, property, talent And materials things for the propagation of the gospel. No one ever gives unto God and regrets ( Like 6:38; 2 Corinthians 12:15). We should be ready to spend And be spent for the expansion of the kingdom of God.
Questions 3: what can we give to God and how can it be an acceptable gift?
“Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7). We must give willingly and not grudgingly. For our giving to be acceptable before God, we must first give our heart to God in genuine repentance (2 Corinthians 8:5). Then give material or financial things, willingly, humbly and sacrificially. Our text shows how everyone responded to the demands for the building of the tabernacle. They did not only give their materials, they joined hands in fabricating and spinning materials for the tabernacle “And all the women that were wise hearted did spin with their hands, and brought that which they had spun, both of
blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, and of fine linen. And all the women who se heart stirred them up in wisdom spun goats’ hair. And the rulers brought onyx stones, and stones to be set, for the ephod, and for the breastplate” (Exodus 35:25-27). The women and the elders played active roles at this
point. The service of God is open to everyone who recognises the faithfulness of God over their lives.
EXECUTION OF THE TABERNACLE’S FURNITURE (Exodus 35:30-35;36:1-38)
“And Moses said unto the children of Israel, See, the LORD hath called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah; And he hath filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship; And to devise curious
works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in Brass” (Exodus 35:30-32). God being a God of orderliness, chose whom to use. “And he hath put in his heart that he may teach, both he, and Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. Them hath he filled with wisdom of heart, to work all manner of work, of the engraver, and of the cunning workman, and of the embroiderer, in blue, and in purple, in scarlet, and in fine linen, and of the weaver, even of them that do any work, and of those that devise cunning work” (Verse 34,35). God, in His wisdom, created man and gave him special wisdom to be creative and be useful for Him and humanity. At this time, He chose Bezaleel, Aholiab and others to use their God-given talents for His glory. This is a challenge to contemporary Christian youths to give their all to God’s glory alone.
Question 4:Mention various creative talents many youths possess today that can be used for God’s glory.
“Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men” (Ephesians 4:8). Every youth is endowed with one talent or the other such as singing. playing of musical instrument, giving and visiting others. They could also work in electrical/electronic or ICT department, or be among those that clean the house of God, write tracts and Christian literature or even work as ushers. We are expected to discover our talent(s) and use it for the glory of God.
Question 5: As Christians, what should be our guiding principle in any position we find ourselves?
It is noteworthy that Moses did not take advantage of the surplus materials donated by the people to enrich himself or allow others to do so. We are to operate in the fear of God in any office we find ourselves because God is weighing the motives behind our decisions and actions.
Question 6: How are we expected to handle the work of God given to us?
“Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord” (Romans 12:11).The work of the tabernacle never suffered any delay as everyone involved swung into action till everything was done to detail as it was given to Moses. There was no addition or subtraction from the standard God gave Moses in the mount. (Deuteronomy 4:2; Proverbs 30:6; Revelation 22:18,19).The people did not suggest contrary opinion to Moses. There was no disagreement between them from start to finish. Everyone gave his best not only to satisfy Moses but to please God with their hearts. This is a worthy example for every Christian youth and leader to follow especially in these last days where pride, self- projection, greed and compromise have become the order of the day We saw the examples of the apostles who held unto their calling till they all laid down their cross for a glorious crown (2 Timothy 4:1-8). Our Saviour and Lord, Jesus Christ, remains our best and perfect example. He remained focussed until He finished His assignment at Calvary. Christian youths are expected to continue faithfully in the work and word of God till the end. Only then can. we have our reward.(John 8:31; Galatians 6:9).