Exodus 40.17-29
You can learn a lot about a person by taking a walk through his home. The way he’s decorated the rooms is a tip off. How he’s placed the furniture gives clues. I imagine you’ve been in homes that made you feel uncomfortable. Everything seemed so expensive and so fragile, or the TV was always on even when you’re trying to have a conversation. Then there are those places that felt so welcoming. Warm colors covered the walls. The sofa and chairs were placed in such a way that the room felt cozy, inviting and friendly. A person’s home can tell you a lot about who lives there.
Our text for this morning tells us about God’s home. The Spirit has included this picture of God’s home for our sake. Those who enter God’s home learn a lot about Him just by looking around. He’s set it up with certain furniture put in particular places. As we stop and look around this home, we will be able to understand our God a bit better. And that will help us to enjoy Him and Him honor that much more. So, let’s begin our tour of God’s home and see what kind of person lives there.
As you enter the first room you see three pieces of furniture. To your right there’s a table. In front of you is an altar. To your left, a lampstand. The first thing you notice is that these three are wonderfully-crafted pieces covered with gold. It’s not too often you see something like that. What does it tell you about your host? Two things come to my mind. First, He is incredibly rich. He has wealth beyond my imagining. And yet, I don’t get the feeling that He’s like those rich folk who are always showing off because they think of themselves as so superior. After all, our host has welcomed us into His home. The second thing that comes to mind is that beauty is very important to Him. Each of the pieces of furniture serves an important function. We’re not in a museum where things just sit there and look pretty. This is a home where things are used. But the things that are being used are beautiful. Beauty is important to this homeowner.
As you turn to the right you see the table. But this time you notice the bread. There are twelve loaves of bread on the table, the Bread of the Presence. What’s this all about? This is hospitality. Our host expects us and so He provides a meal. (Incidentally, this is more proof that He’s not one of those stuffy rich folk.) Meals are important to our host. They are a special time. Consider the meals in the Scriptures. God and two of His angels show up at Abraham’s doorstep, and what happens next? A meal, time to stop; time to chat and enjoy some company. And, if you remember that was quite a chat. Or think about when God called Moses and the leaders of Israel up to Mt. Sinai. What did they do once they arrived at the top? They enjoyed a meal with God. There are many significant meals recorded in the Gospels. It’s during a breakfast with the Apostles after the resurrection that Jesus restores Peter. Meals together are a big deal with God, even ordinary everyday meals. So, being a good host, He provides a meal on the table for His guests to enjoy with Him.
Turning from the table we see the altar. If you entered a room in someone’s home where the only furniture was two or three chairs pointed right at the TV, you’d know what the purpose of that room would be. In God’s home, the center of the room is occupied by this altar. It’s the first thing you see when you walk in. It tells you what the room is for. An added clue is that only incense is burned on this altar. And what is incense all about? A look through the Scriptures will show you that incense represents the prayers of the saints. And that tells you what this altar is about. It also tells you what this room is for. It tells us that this room in not for watching TV. It is for conversation. Our host enjoys having people into His home so that He and they can enjoy one of the great pleasures of life: hearty talk. This is when souls open up to one another and share something of themselves with each other. That’s the definition of conversation. Our host enjoys this and invites us to enjoy it also. Our prayers are our part of this conversation with God. Our host enjoys a good conversation.
But then, we turn again, and we see the lampstand. The seven branches of the lampstand must have some symbolic importance, but I’m not clear what that might be. What is clear is that light is important to this host. It’s not just functionally important – How could you see in this room without any light? – but it also makes a more profound point which becomes clear when you remember this verse: ‘This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.’ Our world is filled with the darkness of sin. Left to itself, our world would become so dark that no one would be able to see. But not in this home. There is light here. The darkness is pushed back. And because of that light, we can see the furniture. We can see the table with its meal laid out for us and thus sense the warm hospitality of the host. And we can see the altar of incense and thus understand His desire for conversation, the opening of souls. Without the light, what good would these other pieces of furniture be? But our host is wise. He provides the light we need to enjoy being with Him.
This is the first room. Behind the altar is a curtain. There’s another room behind it. So, we push aside the curtain and enter the second room. And there we see the Ark of the Covenant, the symbol of God’s special presence. It is covered with gold, inside and out. Within there are three items: Aaron’s budding rod, a jar of manna, the Ten Commandments. Each of these has great significance. How could they not? Consider where they are kept! Aaron’s rod has to do with God’s sense of authority and that He has invested His authority in some and not in others. The jar of manna has to do with God’s promise-making and promise-keeping. He promises to provide for His guests out of His enormous wealth. And He keeps His promises to overflowing. Then there’s the tablet with the Ten Commandments. Just as the other two items say something about our host, so does this. The Ten Commandments remind us that our host has expectations of His guests. We are in His home and so we are to do things His way. This doesn’t put a damper on His hospitality or on our conversation with Him. In fact, His expectations make these things incalculably better. But He does expect His guests to comply. Those who are wise do, and their great enjoyment of their host reveals their wisdom. And lest any misunderstand these expectations or think that our host is harsh and unsympathetic to our situation, the covering of this Ark, the lid over the three items, is called ‘the mercy seat’. Our host, while strict, is also very merciful. His mercy covers the indiscretions of His guests. And that, again, enhances the enjoyment of His guests.
That’s our tour of God’s home. I’ve not covered everything, but this is enough for now. The first room is the Holy Place and the second the Holy of Holies, or better, the Holiest Place.
I’m going to guess that some of you are thinking, ‘I thought that only priests were allowed in the Holy Place and that only the High Priest was allowed in the Holiest Place, and that only once a year. Are you sure that people like us can actually be invited guests?’ Well, let’s go outside God’s home. As you walk out you see before you another altar. This one is not for incense. This altar is for atoning sacrifice. This one is for blood. ‘Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sin.’ No one can enter God’s home without making use of this altar. If any try, they will be destroyed. We are welcomed into God’s only because of Jesus. We become fit guests in His home only because of Jesus. Apart from Him we are excluded. No hospitality. No conversation. No mercy. Only justice. Apart from Jesus we are not greeted by a warm and inviting host. No, apart from Jesus we are confronted by an angry Judge who is intent on satisfying the proper demands of His Law. Apart from Jesus, no one enters God’s home. But Jesus has come. He has poured out His blood. Jesus has opened a new and living way into God’s home so that we might enter. Because of Jesus we are welcomed into God’s home. But we do not enter as guests for a visit. That’s not nearly good enough for this God. We are invited in as loved children. We are invited to enjoy the Fatherhood of God and become part of the family. His home has become our home.
The tour is over and I’ve dealt with a question. So, now is a good time for me to tweak, a bit, what I’ve just told you. I told you that I was describing God’s home, not His real home. In a way, I was, but in a way, I wasn’t. The tent that Moses constructed, the tent that I’ve just described, isn’t God’s home. It’s actually just a rendition of it. It’s kind of a symbolic model of God’s home. In God’s home, there is no table with bread, no altar for incense, no lampstand, or Ark. These are His authorized symbols for the realities of His home. He did it this way because His real home is more than we could understand. It is even better than what we’ve seen. So, this is His attempt to communicate what is real in simplified ways that we might possibly grasp. God’s real home is, of course, heaven. That’s His home and He has invited you to enjoy being with Him there. And while the real furniture will be very different from what we saw in Moses’ tent, the furniture of our text pictured the truth. Heaven is the home of our kind and welcoming host. He has invited us to enjoy the best of meals with Him and all the rest of His family. There will be good conversation (Remember the definition.) and lots of laughter. And while there will be no lampstand, we will see our host and His home so much more clearly than you can imagine since there will be no night there. The darkness of sin will be chased away. And it will be more beautiful than all the golden furniture ever crafted. Our host will spend His great wealth for us to enjoy. There are those who think that heaven will be boring. How can they think that? The only explanation is that they do not know who the host is nor what kind of host He is. Heaven will be anything but boring. Heaven is going to be a blast. And one day we will go there. Or it may be that we’ll still be here when Jesus returns to bring heaven back down to earth. Either way, it will be so good!
Let me add this. A little something to ponder. Our enjoyment of heaven is not completely future. We get a taste of it now. There is another rendition of God’s home. It’s scaled down, just as Moses’ tent was, but it is a real taste nonetheless. In this rendition of heaven our host really is present, we see the truth a bit more clearly, we enjoy good conversation and that along with a meal. I’m speaking of Sunday worship together: God’s special presence; a conversation: some spoken, some sung; a meal together; all provided by our hospitable host. It’s all here in a very special way. It’s like Moses’ tent but better. But it’s nowhere near as good as heaven itself where our Father waits to welcome us. All of this is ours because of Jesus.
I started this morning’s sermon by saying, ‘You can learn a lot about a person by taking a walk through his home.’ We’ve taken a walk through God’s home. I hope that the warmth of His love for you is now a little bit more real.
You can learn a lot about a person by taking a walk through his home. The way he’s decorated the rooms is a tip off. How he’s placed the furniture gives clues. I imagine you’ve been in homes that made you feel uncomfortable. Everything seemed so expensive and so fragile, or the TV was always on even when you’re trying to have a conversation. Then there are those places that felt so welcoming. Warm colors covered the walls. The sofa and chairs were placed in such a way that the room felt cozy, inviting and friendly. A person’s home can tell you a lot about who lives there.
Our text for this morning tells us about God’s home. The Spirit has included this picture of God’s home for our sake. Those who enter God’s home learn a lot about Him just by looking around. He’s set it up with certain furniture put in particular places. As we stop and look around this home, we will be able to understand our God a bit better. And that will help us to enjoy Him and Him honor that much more. So, let’s begin our tour of God’s home and see what kind of person lives there.
As you enter the first room you see three pieces of furniture. To your right there’s a table. In front of you is an altar. To your left, a lampstand. The first thing you notice is that these three are wonderfully-crafted pieces covered with gold. It’s not too often you see something like that. What does it tell you about your host? Two things come to my mind. First, He is incredibly rich. He has wealth beyond my imagining. And yet, I don’t get the feeling that He’s like those rich folk who are always showing off because they think of themselves as so superior. After all, our host has welcomed us into His home. The second thing that comes to mind is that beauty is very important to Him. Each of the pieces of furniture serves an important function. We’re not in a museum where things just sit there and look pretty. This is a home where things are used. But the things that are being used are beautiful. Beauty is important to this homeowner.
As you turn to the right you see the table. But this time you notice the bread. There are twelve loaves of bread on the table, the Bread of the Presence. What’s this all about? This is hospitality. Our host expects us and so He provides a meal. (Incidentally, this is more proof that He’s not one of those stuffy rich folk.) Meals are important to our host. They are a special time. Consider the meals in the Scriptures. God and two of His angels show up at Abraham’s doorstep, and what happens next? A meal, time to stop; time to chat and enjoy some company. And, if you remember that was quite a chat. Or think about when God called Moses and the leaders of Israel up to Mt. Sinai. What did they do once they arrived at the top? They enjoyed a meal with God. There are many significant meals recorded in the Gospels. It’s during a breakfast with the Apostles after the resurrection that Jesus restores Peter. Meals together are a big deal with God, even ordinary everyday meals. So, being a good host, He provides a meal on the table for His guests to enjoy with Him.
Turning from the table we see the altar. If you entered a room in someone’s home where the only furniture was two or three chairs pointed right at the TV, you’d know what the purpose of that room would be. In God’s home, the center of the room is occupied by this altar. It’s the first thing you see when you walk in. It tells you what the room is for. An added clue is that only incense is burned on this altar. And what is incense all about? A look through the Scriptures will show you that incense represents the prayers of the saints. And that tells you what this altar is about. It also tells you what this room is for. It tells us that this room in not for watching TV. It is for conversation. Our host enjoys having people into His home so that He and they can enjoy one of the great pleasures of life: hearty talk. This is when souls open up to one another and share something of themselves with each other. That’s the definition of conversation. Our host enjoys this and invites us to enjoy it also. Our prayers are our part of this conversation with God. Our host enjoys a good conversation.
But then, we turn again, and we see the lampstand. The seven branches of the lampstand must have some symbolic importance, but I’m not clear what that might be. What is clear is that light is important to this host. It’s not just functionally important – How could you see in this room without any light? – but it also makes a more profound point which becomes clear when you remember this verse: ‘This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.’ Our world is filled with the darkness of sin. Left to itself, our world would become so dark that no one would be able to see. But not in this home. There is light here. The darkness is pushed back. And because of that light, we can see the furniture. We can see the table with its meal laid out for us and thus sense the warm hospitality of the host. And we can see the altar of incense and thus understand His desire for conversation, the opening of souls. Without the light, what good would these other pieces of furniture be? But our host is wise. He provides the light we need to enjoy being with Him.
This is the first room. Behind the altar is a curtain. There’s another room behind it. So, we push aside the curtain and enter the second room. And there we see the Ark of the Covenant, the symbol of God’s special presence. It is covered with gold, inside and out. Within there are three items: Aaron’s budding rod, a jar of manna, the Ten Commandments. Each of these has great significance. How could they not? Consider where they are kept! Aaron’s rod has to do with God’s sense of authority and that He has invested His authority in some and not in others. The jar of manna has to do with God’s promise-making and promise-keeping. He promises to provide for His guests out of His enormous wealth. And He keeps His promises to overflowing. Then there’s the tablet with the Ten Commandments. Just as the other two items say something about our host, so does this. The Ten Commandments remind us that our host has expectations of His guests. We are in His home and so we are to do things His way. This doesn’t put a damper on His hospitality or on our conversation with Him. In fact, His expectations make these things incalculably better. But He does expect His guests to comply. Those who are wise do, and their great enjoyment of their host reveals their wisdom. And lest any misunderstand these expectations or think that our host is harsh and unsympathetic to our situation, the covering of this Ark, the lid over the three items, is called ‘the mercy seat’. Our host, while strict, is also very merciful. His mercy covers the indiscretions of His guests. And that, again, enhances the enjoyment of His guests.
That’s our tour of God’s home. I’ve not covered everything, but this is enough for now. The first room is the Holy Place and the second the Holy of Holies, or better, the Holiest Place.
I’m going to guess that some of you are thinking, ‘I thought that only priests were allowed in the Holy Place and that only the High Priest was allowed in the Holiest Place, and that only once a year. Are you sure that people like us can actually be invited guests?’ Well, let’s go outside God’s home. As you walk out you see before you another altar. This one is not for incense. This altar is for atoning sacrifice. This one is for blood. ‘Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sin.’ No one can enter God’s home without making use of this altar. If any try, they will be destroyed. We are welcomed into God’s only because of Jesus. We become fit guests in His home only because of Jesus. Apart from Him we are excluded. No hospitality. No conversation. No mercy. Only justice. Apart from Jesus we are not greeted by a warm and inviting host. No, apart from Jesus we are confronted by an angry Judge who is intent on satisfying the proper demands of His Law. Apart from Jesus, no one enters God’s home. But Jesus has come. He has poured out His blood. Jesus has opened a new and living way into God’s home so that we might enter. Because of Jesus we are welcomed into God’s home. But we do not enter as guests for a visit. That’s not nearly good enough for this God. We are invited in as loved children. We are invited to enjoy the Fatherhood of God and become part of the family. His home has become our home.
The tour is over and I’ve dealt with a question. So, now is a good time for me to tweak, a bit, what I’ve just told you. I told you that I was describing God’s home, not His real home. In a way, I was, but in a way, I wasn’t. The tent that Moses constructed, the tent that I’ve just described, isn’t God’s home. It’s actually just a rendition of it. It’s kind of a symbolic model of God’s home. In God’s home, there is no table with bread, no altar for incense, no lampstand, or Ark. These are His authorized symbols for the realities of His home. He did it this way because His real home is more than we could understand. It is even better than what we’ve seen. So, this is His attempt to communicate what is real in simplified ways that we might possibly grasp. God’s real home is, of course, heaven. That’s His home and He has invited you to enjoy being with Him there. And while the real furniture will be very different from what we saw in Moses’ tent, the furniture of our text pictured the truth. Heaven is the home of our kind and welcoming host. He has invited us to enjoy the best of meals with Him and all the rest of His family. There will be good conversation (Remember the definition.) and lots of laughter. And while there will be no lampstand, we will see our host and His home so much more clearly than you can imagine since there will be no night there. The darkness of sin will be chased away. And it will be more beautiful than all the golden furniture ever crafted. Our host will spend His great wealth for us to enjoy. There are those who think that heaven will be boring. How can they think that? The only explanation is that they do not know who the host is nor what kind of host He is. Heaven will be anything but boring. Heaven is going to be a blast. And one day we will go there. Or it may be that we’ll still be here when Jesus returns to bring heaven back down to earth. Either way, it will be so good!
Let me add this. A little something to ponder. Our enjoyment of heaven is not completely future. We get a taste of it now. There is another rendition of God’s home. It’s scaled down, just as Moses’ tent was, but it is a real taste nonetheless. In this rendition of heaven our host really is present, we see the truth a bit more clearly, we enjoy good conversation and that along with a meal. I’m speaking of Sunday worship together: God’s special presence; a conversation: some spoken, some sung; a meal together; all provided by our hospitable host. It’s all here in a very special way. It’s like Moses’ tent but better. But it’s nowhere near as good as heaven itself where our Father waits to welcome us. All of this is ours because of Jesus.
I started this morning’s sermon by saying, ‘You can learn a lot about a person by taking a walk through his home.’ We’ve taken a walk through God’s home. I hope that the warmth of His love for you is now a little bit more real.
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