Only God can Make you Holy-Exodus 30-31

Exodus, Old Testament, Sermons

The Bible says that only God can make people holy (Exo 31:13; Lev 21:8). Yet God says “be holy” many times (Lev 19:2; 20:7; Exo 19:6; 22:31; 1 Pet 1:16). So, can you make yourself holy? Exo 31:13 says that when you observe the Sabbaths, then we will know that God is the One who makes you holy (Also Exo 35:1-3). Thus, it‘s not that the Jews kept the Sabbath but that the Sabbath kept the Jews. So, if Christians do not keep the Sabbath day holy, can they be God’s holy people?

What does the tabernacle teach?

  1. blood (Heb 9:22; Lev 17:11; Jn 1:29),
  2. atonement [mercy] (Exo 25:17; Lk 23:34; Rom 3:25),
  3. Ten Commandments (Exo 25:16; 20:1-17; Jn 6:63; Mt 5:17),
  4. light (Jn 8:12; 1 Jn 1:5),
  5. bread (Jn 6:35, 53-54),
  6. incense (Exo 30:1-10, 34-38; 2 Cor 2:15),
  7. sacrifice/substitute (Exo 29:38-41; 2 Cor 5:21; Jn 1:29),
  8. cleansing (Exo 30:17-21; Jn 1:29; 13:8, 14-15),
  9. the gate [one way in] (Exo 26:36; 27:16; Jn 10:4; 14:6),
  10. priests (Hebrews).

Prayer. The altar of incense is the last piece of furniture God put in the tabernacle. The fragrant smoke from burning incense symbolized prayer in the biblical world (Ps 141:2; Lk 1:10; Rev 5:8; 8:3-4). The high priest always consciously represents the people in his actions in the tabernacle (Exo 28:9-12, 21, 29-30, 36-38). Thus his offering of incense portrays the prayers of the whole people. After Aaron, only Aaronic priests could offer incense, and only the high priest could do so on the actual golden incense altar that was located in the holy place.

Connection between the great bronze altar out in the courtyard and the little golden altar inside the tabernacle. They were both square; both used at the same time of day. The priests offered incense at dawn and at dusk (Exo 30:7-8), and at the same time they were out in the courtyard offering a sacrificial lamb (Exo 29:38-39). These daily religious rituals were synchronized with a close connection between the 2 altars, in both their design and their function. It was a daily [twice daily] reminder that the life of prayer depends on having a sacrifice for sin–which Jesus offered when he suffered and died for our sins on the cross (Heb 10:19-20).

  • Do we Christians neglect to take advantage of the extraordinary privilege of prayer every day?
  • Do we pray daily for God’s kingdom to come?
  • Pray for His will to be done?
  • Pray for daily provision, protection and pardon?
  • Do we pray continually (1 Th 5:17) and never give up praying (Mt 18:1)?
  • Do we despise the sweet altar of prayer daily?

Ransom, redemption, atonement. Salvation is described as the rescue of a life through the payment of a ransom. A census is to take “a head count” (30:11-14; Num 1:2). “To count” or “to number” has military connotations–only males 20 and up (Exo 30:14; Num 1:3), i.e. those old enough to fight. As they numbered off one by one, they crossed over to the other side, moving from the group that hadn’t been counted to the group that had. On their way over, they paid 1/2 a shekel, probably made of silver. A shekel was small, and a 1/2 shekel was even smaller–much less than an ounce. This money belonged to God and it was to make “atonement for your lives” (Exo 30:16). The punishment for failure to pay the ransom price was severe–affliction with one of the very plagues that God had sent against Pharaoh–deadly disease (Exo 30:12); it was a matter of life and death.

The temptation of counting affects everyone, including churches. We want to see numbers increasing. We feel good when more people come to church, and bad when less people come or more people leave. We base our self worth on our GPA, salary, net worth, popularity, acceptance. We use “numbers” to feel good about ourselves and boost our sense of importance. But when the numbers decrease, we make excuses, get angry, become disheartened, and blame others. David’s failure, pride and downfall was at the height of his success when he counted his fighting me leading to the death of 70,000 men (2 Sam 24:3, 15), for we have authority to only count things that are ours.

Our true worth. The ransom paid during the census is called the atonement money, which to God made atonement for their lives (Exo 30:16). But atonement for sin and forgiveness only comes through a sacrifice of blood (Heb 9:22). This costly price was paid by the precious blood of Christ (1 Pet 1:18-19). Thus, God has purchased us and we no longer belong to ourselves but to God. We belong to God not only by creation, but also by redemption. We owe our very lives to him now and forever. Our true worth is the price Jesus paid to redeem us. When we are tempted to feel worthless, we should remember the great price God paid for our redemption.

We are all of equal worth because Jesus paid the same price for all of us. Everyone is equal in the sight of God–rich or poor, each man paid the same half shekel (Exo 30:15). No one was worth any more or any less than anyone else. On the cross Jesus died to pay the price for sin. The same price was paid for all whether we are male or female, young or old, black or white, slave or free.

The bronze wash basin was in almost constant use. Before a priest went inside the tabernacle to perform his sacred duties he washed his hands and feet–the body parts used to serve God. They also washed before they offered any kind of sacrifice on the great bronze altar. As the priests came and went, they were always stopping at the basin for cleansing. It was a matter of life and death. Cleanliness was indeed next to godliness. It was symbolic of their sanctification, needed not just once but every time they served, though at their ordination, they’d already received a once-and-for-all cleansing from sin, being washed from head to toe to consecrate them to the priestly service of God, where 7 bulls were sacrificed to pay the debt they owed to God (Exo 29:35-36).

Cleanse yourself from everything that contaminates (2 Cor 7:1; Jn 13:10). The bronze altar was symbolic of their justification; the bronze washbasin was symbolic of their sanctification. Though their sins were forgiven, they’re still sinners and needed to cleanse themselves from the corruption of ongoing sin in their lives. This ritual cleansing was symbolic of their progress in holiness. Even the holy priests had to be sanctified before they could enter the Holy Place and serve a holy God.

How does God cleanse and sanctify us? “…by the washing of water through the word” (Eph 5:26; Jn 17:17; 6:63).

Sabbath rememberance is mentioned 5 times in Exodus:

  1. Sending manna for 6 days and the 7th day was a holy Sabbath (Exo 16:23).
  2. 4th Commandment (Exo 20:8-11).
  3. 4th Commandment repeated in the Book of the Covenant (Exo 23:12).
  4. (Exo 31:12-17).
  5. (Exo 35:1-3).

In the Ten Commandments the Sabbath Commandment is in 3 parts:

  1. what to do (Exo 20:8),
  2. how to do it (Exo 20:9-10) and
  3. why (Exo 20:11).

How Exodus 31 differes from Exodus 20:

  1. The context is the tabernacle cf. part of the Ten Commandments. Even Bezalel and Oholiab needed to keep the Sabbath. They could not use their sacred calling as an excuse not to take their holy rest.
  2. The weekly Sabbath would promote the knowledge of God (Exo 31:12-13). “Then the Lord said” is repeated the 7th time, with building the tabernacle echoing the creation story. “6 days” to build the tabernacle, and then it’s time to rest.
  3. The punishment of those who break the Sabbath (Exo 31:14-15). Why the death penalty for Sabbath breaking? It was an act of defiant rebellion. It says, “My relationship with God is not important to me.”

What are the blessings for keeping the Sabbath?

  1. Spiritual refreshment.
  2. Physical rest.
  3. Evangelistic witness.

Outline:

  • Construction and Use of the Incense Altar (30:1-10). Sweet Altar of Prayer.
  • Description and Placement of the Incense Altar (1-6). God told Moses how to make the altar and where to put it.
  • Proper Use of the Incense Altar (7-10). The timing of the incense offering coincides with the morning and evening sacrifices (Exo 29:38-42), and at the time the high priest dealt with the 7 lamps on the lampstand (Exo 25:31-39). The twice-daily regimen, roughly every 12 hours suggests an around-the-clock vigil of prayer. For this altar too a sin-removal ceremony was required, analogous to the sanctification of the bronze altar (Exo 29:36-37).
  • Census Atonement Payments (30:11-16). Bought with a Price.
  • Construction and Use of the Washing Basin (30:17-21). Wash or Die.
  • Formulation and Use of Anointing Oil (30:22-33).
  • Formula for the Tabernacle Anointing Oil (22-25).
  • Use and Misuse of the Sacred Anointing Oil (26-33).
  • Formulation and Use of Incense (30:34-38).
  • Appointment of Bezalel and Oholiab and Other Craftsmen (31:1-11). The Good, the True and the Beautiful. Art for God’s Sake. The meaning of being “filled with the Spirit.”
  • Laws on the Sabbath (31:12-17). God’s Holy Day.
  • Conclusion: Presentation of the Ten Commandments to Moses (Exo 31:18).

Reference:

  1. Douglas K. Stuart. Exodus. The New American Commentary: An Exegetical and Theological Exposition of Holy Scripture. 2006.
  2. Philip Graham Ryken. Exodus. Saved for God’s Glory. Preaching the Word. 2015.
  3. Leon R. Kass. Founding God’s Nation. Reading Exodus. 2021.
  4. James K. Bruckner. Exodus. New International Bible Commentary. 2008.
  5. John Goldingay. Exodus & Leviticus for Everyone. 2010.
  6. Robert Alter. The Hebrew Bible. A translation with commentary. The Five Books of Moses. 2019.
  7. Dennis Prager. Exodus. God, Slavery, and Freedom. The Rational Bible. 2018.

 

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