Mon.’s Devo - The Furniture in the Tabernacle

Read: Exodus 37:1-38:31; Matthew 28:1-20; Psalm 34:11-22; Proverbs 9:9-10 Today we read about the construction of the Ark of the Covenant, its cover with the angels on it, the menorah, the table of incense, the bronze altar and the basin. The thing that sticks out to me is the smallness of these pieces. The Ark was only 45” long, 27” wide and 27” tall. It doesn’t tell us how high the angels were but it had to be portable so it couldn’t be too large. The table of incense was only 18” square and 3’ tall. The menorah was impressive in that it was made of 75 pounds of gold. The bronze altar was the largest piece which was 7 and a half feet square and 4 and a half feet wide. It was where the animals were sacrificed. The Ark of the Covenant and the incense table were made of wood and covered with gold. The bronze altar and the bronze basin were made of wood and covered with bronze. They were all carried with poles so that they would not be handled by man’s hands. The bronze basin was made of the mirrors donated by the women. How appropriate since the basin stands for sanctification and how do we know we need cleansing except that we behold our self in a mirror. James talks about that in his first chapter. The walk through the tabernacle is our approach to God. We enter his gates with thanksgiving and praise. We stop at the brazen altar and allow the atonement of Jesus’ blood atone for our sins. We wash our sins in the basin and enter into communion with the Lord through the curtain into the Holy Place. There we sit at his table and eat the shewbread which is the Word of God. We are illumined by the Holy Spirit and his menorah. We offer prayers to God for ourselves and others at the table of incense and we enter into the Holy of Holies and meet with God in the Holy of Holies. His angels protect this place with their wings and we are overshadowed by his presence. The angels on top of the Ark protected it just as the angel who came down and rolled the stone away and sat on it in Matthew. It sure scared the guards but not enough to keep them from accepting a huge bribe to lie about it later. The two Mary’s saw the angel and it spoke to them and told them not to be afraid but Jesus had risen from the dead and was going ahed of them to Galilee. They could see him there. What a turn of events! Jesus met them on their way to tell the men. He confirmed what the angel had said. The eleven disciples went to meet with Jesus in Galilee and saw him but it said that some of them doubted. I wish it would have told us more about that. Jesus gave them all authority in heaven and on earth. They were commissioned to go and make disciples out of all the nations. He promised to be with them to the end of the ages. Lord, may we remember our authority and use it to bring your Kingdom to earth.