Sermon Notes: Exodus 40:1-38
God saved Israel, Jacob’s descendants, the children of the promise, for his name’s sake.
We started with that proposition, and it has been a first principle for us since June 25, 2023, two and a half years ago when we started our study of Exodus.
The Triune God of the Bible created all things seen and unseen for his name’s sake. Paul the apostle of Jesus said it like this: Colossians 1:16 (ESV) 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.
Father and Spirit through the means of the Son created all things for himself. That’s a first principle to download for your worldview framework. That’s reality.
Now, God creating all things for himself is the foundation of God saving his people for his name’s sake. It’s his creation for his purposes, and now he’s seeking for his name, his repuration to be restored. Why would he need to defend his name?
One of the Lord’s created beings, the “Nachash”, the Serpent Dragon, incited a rebellion and sets out to entice the earthly image-bearers into his rebellion by casting doubt on the Lord’s identity as being good and for the good of his creatures. He casts doubt on God’s good name, the good reputation of Creator God, and thus inserts the devastating question into our thinking: Can God be trusted to be for my good?
Our parents believed this deception and distrusted God, and thus everything comes under the curse. Everything is broken. This is the fall.
God proclaims the consequences of this distrust of his good name, and they are brutal. God himself proclaims the good news in Genesis 3:15 and declares that there will be a history long conflict between the descendant of the Serpent Dragon and the descendant of the woman.
This conflict will play out in every corner of creation, seen and unseen. The Serpent Dragon will have a people, and the Descendant of the woman will have a people. The Serpent Dragon’s people will operate in deceit and darkness, but the Descendant of the woman’s people will operate in light and truth.
All along this war there is going to be difficult conflict for God’s people against the seed of the Serpent Dragon. We see this right out of the gate in Genesis 4 with Cain’s murder of Abel.
So, God, being rich in mercy and full of love, slaughters some innocent creatures to cover Adam and Eve’s shame, and banished them from the mountain garden of Eden where they communed with him. They are banished from the garden and sent into the earth without the power they originally had to fill and tame creation as their vocational pursuit as the family of God. So, this cultural creation mandate that defines the human being’s work is now more difficult.
God shows us that without the shedding of blood of the innocent there is no forgiveness of sin, and thus he reveals how he will have to redeem a people for his name’s sake. The Descendant of the woman will come and be the One who will set things right by the shedding of his blood for the forgiveness of sin, and in setting things right he will redeem those who come to him in faith and restore creation back to its mountain garden of Edenic glory where we commune with God with no hindrance of the curse.
All the Bible sits within this framework of reality, and we capture it in the parts of what we call the “metanarrative”: Creation/Fall/Redemption/Restoration
Exodus captures part of the “redemption” work in God’s story of reality.
God’s people are under the foot of the Serpent Dragon rather than having their foot on his noggin, and God sweeps in for the rescue once again because the planned invasion of his kingdom has not yet come.
In Exodus he moves history closer to that day when the One, the Descendant of the woman, will come. God builds into the history of the Exodus good news/gospel indicators of that coming day in the future when Jesus, the Descendant of the woman, will come to provide the Passover that the Exodus Passover was pointing to as God’s tabernacle among man.
The Passover. The Exodus from Egypt. The rescue at the Red Sea. Sinai and the giving of the law. The tabernacle where God will meet with his people in this replica of the mountain garden of Eden where God used to meet with his people. And now, the construction of that tabernacle and the people’s waiting on God’s promise of his presence to be with them. All these point us to Jesus, the Descendant of the woman, who will crush the Serpent Dragon’s head.
This story of redemption culminates now as Moses constructs the tabernacle just as he is instructed, and God keeps his word to dwell among his people
Let’s read it together: Exodus 40:34-38.
Let’s make some general observations through verse 33, and then we will dig into verses 34-38 and their big gospel meaning.
God has Moses put the pieces of the tabernacle together on the one-year anniversary of their Exodus from Egypt. 40:1, 2
God is not accidental in his timing. He always does things on purpose. It is in his nature. He deliberately connects the completion of the tabernacle with Israel’s Exodus and his salvation at the Red Sea.
They are to remember his salvation and his presence with them in the Exodus as they see and experience worship at the tabernacle.
Moses is reminded of what he is supposed to do, and he does it. 40:3-33
Moses has heard and he sets out to obey the Lord.
What do we see Moses doing in obedience?
Moses sets up the tabernacle itself, the tent of meeting. V. 18-19
Moses put the testimony in the ark and shields the ark with the curtain that separates the most holy place from the rest of the tabernacle just like the Lord told him. V. 20-21
Moses set up the pieces that go in the holy place, the table that holds the bread of the presence. V. 22-23
Moses set up the lampstand. V. 24-25
Moses set up the altar of incense and the curtain to the entrance into the tabernacle. V. 26-28
Moses moves outside into the courtyard and sets up the bronze altar for burnt offerings. V. 29
Moses sets up the bronze basin for washing. V. 30-32
Finally, Moses sets up the courtyard and the curtain that served as the entrance to the courtyard, and so Moses was finished setting up the tabernacle. V. 33
What happens next that will take us to the good news?
1. The glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. V. 34, 38
The Lord’s presence is indicated by the cloud, and it is the same cloud they saw in chapter 13 and 14 as the Lord protected them and guided them. It is the same cloud as when the Lord descended on Sinai in chapter 19 and 24.
What is going on here where God’s glory settles into the tabernacle?
God is preparing all of history to receive the Son of God, Jesus.
The tabernacle ultimately points us to Jesus.
John 1:14 (ESV) 14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
When John the apostle chooses the word “dwelt”, he chose a word that means to “pitch a tent”. This is completely on purpose. John is convinced by Jesus’ rising from the dead that he is the Word of God become flesh who fulfills the purpose of the tabernacle which is to reestablish God’s presence among man in the breaking in of his kingdom in the tabernacle of the Word, the Son of God, Jesus.
In Jesus, God is replanting Eden on earth in the kingdom of Jesus Christ as new creation breaks out among all nations.
At Jesus’ baptism, the Father speaks, and the Spirit descends to fill Jesus as the tabernacle of God among man on earth.
Jesus’ baptism is a fulfillment of the cloud descending on the tabernacle.
What did the prophet say they would call Jesus? Matthew 1:23 in fulfillment of Isaiah 7:14: Matthew 1:22-23 (ESV) 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: 23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel”.
Immanuel, God with us.
The tabernacle shows us the glory of God taking on flesh to dwell among man and points us to its fulfillment in Jesus.
2. The Lord’s glory prevents Moses from entering the tent of meeting. V. 35
Why?
Moses has entered the presence of the Lord before. Moses entered the old tent of meeting to meet with the Lord. Moses knew the Lord face to face.
The Lord allowed Moses to glimpse the backside of his glory upon request.
Why can’t Moses enter the new tent of meeting?
The tabernacle is a big shift in the redemptive work of God. God now dwells among his people in a more intimate and permanent way. This fulfills the tabernacle's purpose as a mobile mountain garden of Eden.
The tabernacle is an intersection of heaven and earth, reminding Israel and us today of Genesis 1-3 and what was lost in the fall. The glory of the Lord filling the tabernacle shows a divine approval of Israel's obedience in building it exactly as commanded (Exodus 39:42-43). Yet, God’s new concentration of glory prevents entry, even for Moses. Let me give you 3 reasons:
God's Overwhelming Holiness and Human Sinfulness: This increased concentration of the glory of God shows us God's holiness, which no sinful human, even Moses who was invited up to see God up close, can withstand without the mediation of the cross that is yet to come.
The golden calf incident ruptured the covenant, introducing a "relational fracture" that makes God's full presence dangerous because sin invites judgment.
This situation of Moses’ inability to enter is given by God to remind us of Eden, where Adam and Eve were expelled from God's presence because of sin. Moses' exclusion illustrates that while God desires to dwell with humanity, sin requires atonement, and they are going to have to begin practicing those gospel indicating practices that are outlined in Leviticus as they wait on the work of the cross at a point later in God’s redemptive history.
A Typological Foreshadowing: The tabernacle points us to Jesus.
Moses is a flawed mediator, in spite of his faithfulness. Moses cannot fully bridge the gap for the people to God. Moses inability to enter shows us the limitations of the old covenant of the law.
Only through sacrifices and the high priest's annual entry into the Holy of Holies could limited access be granted. This foreshadows Jesus as THE High Priest who enters God's presence once for all, removing the veil that separates us from the Father (Hebrews 9:11-14, 10:19-22). We get a glimpse of what Jesus will do for us by the cross in Moses’ restriction.
Divine Sovereignty and Grace: God's glory filling the tabernacle is an act of unmerited favor, responding to obedience but not dependent on it. Moses' prior access was a gracious concession.
Here, his exclusion humbles Moses, reminding Israel of their dependence on God's mercy and grace.
Moses’ exclusion will also set the stage for the ongoing worship of Israel through priests and sacrifices, and God designed this to teach reverence and the cost of sin that Jesus would pay in the fullness of time.
3. The Lord is present with his people and he will lead them. They are to wait on him. V. 36, 37, 38
God is present with his people, and they are to follow him by waiting on him to lead them.
They were not to go before him or fail to follow him. When he moved, they were to move. When he sat still, they were to sit still.
God did not ask them to know what he knows or to carry his load. He is the Creator, and he is their Savior. Their job was to hear him and obey him. Watch for him and follow him.
His yoke was easy and his burden was light.
So, why would they just not do what he asked them to do?
Great question!
If Jesus is the tabernacle of God, then the invitation to him by faith in him is an invitation to the same easy yoke and light burden.
Jesus does not ask me to save myself. Jesus does not ask me to lead his church. Jesus does not ask me to go before him. Jesus does not permit me to lag behind him.
Jesus asks me to hear him, obey him, watch for him, and follow him.
Application
Jesus is the tabernacle of God, and he invites us to come to him and wait on him.
What does that look like?
1. Repent and believe the good news.
2. Live in the empowerment of the Holy Spirit who fills the church as the church is in Jesus.
3. Learn to live in the power of the filling and indwelling Spirit by waiting on the Lord.
The tension we feel with Moses and Israel’s obedience now is because we know the rest of the story.
God is clear they are wait on him. Move when he moves. Stay when he stays. Hear his word. Obey his word.
Yet, they will hear, disobey, then run ahead, and then get behind.
God never tells them to make anything happen on their own. God calls his people to wait on him.
David knows his nation’s history, and he knows his own tendencies, and under the inspiration of the Spirit gives us follow up instruction from the Lord’s direct word to wait on him as he would lead them from the tabernacle.
Psalm 25:3 (ESV) 3 Indeed, none who wait for you shall be put to shame; they shall be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous.
Psalm 25:4-5 (ESV) 4 Make me to know your ways, O LORD; teach me your paths. 5 Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.
Psalm 27:14 (ESV) Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD!
Psalm 37:7-9 (ESV) 7 Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices! 8 Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil. 9 For the evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait for the LORD shall inherit the land.
It’s real easy for me to criticize Israel in the Old Testament for not waiting on the Lord. Yet, when thrown into the fire, I’m just like them in getting in front of God, lagging behind God, and sometimes just ignoring God.
It’s then that I feel the tension Israel felt. We can have a ton of emotional investment wrapped up in something or someone and God says to wait on him to act for us. So, rather than wait, I go put my hands on it to make it happen, and I’ll add praying and maybe a fasting day in there, and it doesn’t work the way I was trying to make it happen, and I’ve subverted God’s way and him getting the glory.
What am I to do?
Wait. When the Lord evidently moves, I follow. When he’s still, I sit still.
Listen, I don’t have any answers for you when it comes to waiting on the Lord and how that fleshes out.
I’m in a theological and practical cave that I can’t make sense of right now. It’s dark. My hearing is dull. My feelings are not trustworthy.
I want to invite you into that cave with us to make some sense out of it. My hunch we have all been to that place or may be there now.
Israel failed.
We have the Spirit, the Word, and each other in Christ.
We have those who have gone on before us and written about their learning.
Pick up Andrew Murray’s “Waiting on God”, and let’s journey in 2026 together in this great promise that he will lead us and he will bring his kingdom to bear for us, and he does not call us to carry the heavy load of leading for him or making his kingdom come. Our job is to wait on him, follow him, hear him, and obey him.
He makes an easy yoke and a light burden.