Consecrated to the Lord for His Service

The Lord set the pattern of things to come with His servant Moses. Two lambs were to be sacrificed daily continually. One lamb in the morning and one at twilight! This was done at third hour of the day (9 am) and the ninth hour (3 pm). Jesus was crucified at the third hour, and Jesus died at the ninth hour. The previous lambs pointed to the Lamb, namely, Jesus Messiah. The flour mixed with oil and the wine that were offered with the previous lambs, pointed to Jesus who instituted the elements of bread and wine to represent His flesh and blood given as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. [1]

“This shall be a continual burnt offering throughout your generations at the door of the tabernacle of meeting before the Lord, where I will meet you to speak with you. And there I will meet with the children of Israel, and the tabernacle shall be sanctified by My glory. So I will consecrate the tabernacle of meeting and the altar. I will also consecrate both Aaron and his sons to minister to Me as priests. I will dwell among the children of Israel and will be their God. And they shall know that I am the Lord their God, who brought them up out of the land of Egypt, that I may dwell among them. I am the Lord their God.” [2]

God now tabernacles among us via the atoning sacrifice of Messiah who removes our sin. He sanctifies us with His glory. His glory in this regard is the Holy Spirit. God dwells among us, and we know that our God is God via the Holy Spirit bearing witness with our spirit.

“He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.” “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.” [3]

“When you take the census of the children of Israel for their number, then every man shall give a ransom for himself to the Lord, when you number them, that there may be no plague among them when you number them.” The Lord required a half shekel price for the ransom of people in Israel who were 20-years old and above. This half shekel was levied when a census was taken. The Lord required the half shekel to avert a plague from breaking out among them as happened in the days of King David. That plague ended when David offered a sacrifice to the Lord on the land where Solomon later built the temple. Jesus spoke of His body as the new temple of God. [4]

The Lord instructed Moses to make a basin out of bronze for washing the hands and feet of the priests. They were to wash before entering the tabernacle of meeting. Jesus washed the feet of the disciples before they were filled with the Holy Spirit and became a part of His body, the new temple where God meets with His people. [5]

The Lord instructed Moses to compose a special anointing oil with which to anoint the priests. It contained myrrh, cinnamon, cane, and cassia. He also instructed Moses to compose incense for the altar of prayer consisting of sweet spices, stacte, and onycha and galbanum, and pure frankincense. God led the magi to bring to baby Jesus gold, frankincense, and myrrh. This symbolizes His anointing to carry out priestly service for God. Jesus also declared that the Spirit of the Lord had anointed Him for ministry. [6]

The artisans who built the first tabernacle were anointed by the Holy Spirit with wisdom, understand and knowledge in all workmanship. Christ was filled with the Spirit for ministry and fills those who serve Him with the Holy Spirit. “The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ‘See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. And I have filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, to design artistic works, to work in gold, in silver, in bronze, in cutting jewels for setting, in carving wood, and to work in all manner of workmanship. And I, indeed I, have appointed with him Aholiab the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan; and I have put wisdom in the hearts of all the gifted artisans, that they may make all that I have commanded you.’” [7]

The Lord sanctified a day each week for people to rest in Him. The violation of the rest day yielded death. He gave Moses the law written on two tables of stone. They were written by the finger of God. Spiritually speaking, people who fail to rest in the Lord, refusing to trust in Him, will not reach the Promised Land. The alternative to everlasting paradise is everlasting hell.

“The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Speak also to the children of Israel, saying: surely My Sabbaths you shall keep, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the Lord who sanctifies you. It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever; for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed.” “He gave Moses two tablets of the Testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God.” Jesus calls us to rest in Him. He writes His Word on our hearts. If God’s people refuse to refresh themselves in Christ, not only do they suffer, but the whole world suffers for the lack of the witness of Christ in the earth. [8]

When the people of God fill themselves with other gods bad things happen. While Moses was on the mountain receiving from God, the people of Israel fashioned an idol of gold and began to worship it. Their spiritual adultery reflected their physical adultery. Moses cast the two tablets of God down and broke them. This act symbolized their breaking of the Lord’s commandments. Afterwards Moses reduced their idol to powder and placed the powder in their drinking water and made them drink it. Their betrayal of God was a bitter taste in His mouth and the consequence of their sin was a bitter taste in their mouths. [9]

Moses wanted to atone for their sins because God was about to destroy them. Moses raised two concerns with God: 1) God’s reputation as Deliverer was at stake, and 2) God’s promise to Abraham was that he would have descendants as numerous as the stars, and that his descendants would inherit the land. Moses offered to give himself as an atoning sacrifice saying, “O, these people have committed a great sin and have made for themselves a god of gold! Yet now, if You will forgive their sin—but if not, I pray, blot me out of Your book which You have written.” “And the Lord said to Moses, ‘Whoever has sinned against Me, I will blot him out of My book.’” [10]

The Lord Jesus Christ is God’s atoning sacrifice for our sins. The Apostle Paul declared to his fellow believers in Ephesus, “I kept back nothing that was helpful, but proclaimed it to you, and taught you publicly and from house to house, testifying to Jews, and also to Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.” The ministry which He received from the Lord Jesus was to testify to the Gospel of the grace of God.” [11]

Praise God for His grace to us in Christ Jesus! May our Heavenly Father help each of us to consecrate ourselves unto the Lord for His service. Let us wash ourselves in the wash basin of God’s Word. Let us rest and trust in Him. Offer up sweet aromatic prayers to God as we intercede for sinners. Be filled until overflowing with testimonies about Christ by His Spirit.

[1] Exodus 29:38-46; Mark 15:25, 33; Matthew 26:26-28

[2] Exodus 29:42-46

[3] 1 John 2:2; Romans 8:16

[4] Exodus 30:11-16; 2 Samuel 24; 2 Chronicles 3.1; John 2:19-21

[5] Exodus 30:17-21; John 13:1-17

[6] Exodus 30:22-38; Matthew 2:1-11; Luke 4:18-19

[7] Exodus 31:1-6; Luke 4:1; Acts 2:4

[8] Exodus 31:12-18; Mark 6:31; Matthew 11:28-30; 2 Corinthians 3:3

[9] Exodus 32:1-6, 15-16, 19-21, 35; Revelation 8:11-13; Revelation 15:1; 16:9

[10] Exodus 32:7-14, 30-34

[11] Acts 20:20-21, 24