Holy Work and Holy Rest

The big idea with the tabernacle and the whole process was about God dwelling with a sinful people. “And they will know that I am Yahweh their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, so that I might dwell among them” (v. 46). And so it is with us: God has brought us out of slavery to sin and we worship Him in the glory of His presence. In the new covenant, through the Spirit, He now dwells in us (Rom 8:9; 1 Cor 3:16; 6:19, John 14:17). In the book of Revelation, God promised to dwell with His people. In the same way, He dwells within us now and will dwell among us in the days to come.

These two chapters call our attention to the very important person and work of the high priest. We understand Jesus as “prophet, priest, and king.” We have already noted how He is a prophet better than Moses. Now we see He is a priest better than Aaron.

The book of Hebrews has so much to say about the superiority of Jesus’ priesthood that I can only summarize a few points (see Heb 8:1-2). Hebrews calls Jesus

Jesus, as the great high priest, stands superior in numerous ways. First, Jesus is superior in holiness. The problem facing the priests in Exodus was that they were sinners. They had to make sacrifices and had to wear external garments, but that was not enough. Throughout the Old Testament, the priests were imperfect. Jesus, however, never failed. He was not clothed with beautiful garments but with perfect holiness. He was clothed with glory (Heb 1:3). He did not need to offer sacrifice for Himself. He was and is sinless (Heb 7:26-28).

Second, as our great high priest, Jesus had a superior anointing. He too was anointed for His priestly ministry. His baptism was part of this 185ordination. Instead of oil symbolizing the Spirit, the Spirit Himself descended on Jesus (Luke 3:21-22). Luke said, “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power” (Acts 10:38).

Third, as our great high priest, Jesus is superior in representation. The high priest was Israel federally. Every Israelite understood that he represented him or her. He carried their names with him. Yet we have a better representation! Jesus, the Son of God, represents us. Instead of stones on His shoulders, He carried a cross on His shoulders. He carried us on His shoulders—bearing our judgment in our place (2 Cor 5:21). Further, He carried our names not on a breastpiece, but in His heart—for we are in Christ. We died with Him; we were raised with Him. We are united with Christ. Isaiah said He engraved us on His hands (Isa 49:16)! Further, our representative provided a better sacrifice. He did not offer sacrifices of animals, but Himself (see Heb 9:11-14; 9:24-26). Here is the good news for believers: The Father now sees us through our representative. The Father accepted the great high priest’s work, and if you are in Christ, you are accepted just as much as Christ is!

Fourth, as our great high priest, Jesus is superior in intercession. The breastpiece was a reminder that the priest interceded for the people. As he took the items for making decisions, it was a reminder of this act. He carried their concerns. In a greater way, Jesus continues to carry our concerns on His heart. One of the things He is doing now is praying to the Father on our behalf. In contrast to the former priesthood, Jesus’ priesthood is permanent and there is no one else like Him.

In light of Jesus’ superior priestly work, Hebrews says we should draw near, hold fast to our confession, and find ways to encourage one another (Heb 10:19-25). We have a great high priest who worked on behalf of us and cried, “It is finished,” and a great high priest who continues to work on behalf of us through His ongoing intercession.

Before we move on to the second point, I want to summarize Exodus 30 because its contents have previously been covered. In 30:1-10 we see an altar of incense. This altar had raised corners or “horns” like the sacrificial altar and was overlaid with gold. It was put just in front of the most holy place. It continually burned incense before the presence of the Lord. The high priest lit it every morning and evening. In 30:11-16 we read about the atonement money. All the Israelites shared the expense of the tabernacle. In 30:17-21 the basin for washing is mentioned. A bronze basin was constructed for the priests. Before they worked at the altar they washed their hands and feet. In 30:22-33 we see the anointing oil. This was a special type of oil that was used for anointing the tabernacle and the priests. They could not use the oil for any other purpose.187 Finally, in 30:34-38 we see the incense that, like the oil, was a special type that could not be used for any other purposes.

Once again we see the themes of being holy and devoting ourselves to the worship of God. What service to God are you performing? Are you using your talents and resources for the kingdom? Let your life be a daily offering of worship to God.

Exodus 31:1-11

What we learn from the high priest is that we need someone to represent us and to work on behalf of us. What we learn from the craftsmen is that the Spirit of God enables us to serve God’s people for God’s glory. The work of God was accomplished by the Spirit of God.

Another parallel to the creation narrative exists here (Gen 1:2-2:3). Just as God did His work in creation by the Spirit, so He did His work in the tabernacle, this little Eden, by the Spirit. God chose Bezalel from Judah and Oholiab from Dan as His craftsmen. Their skill did not originate in themselves but from God.

Let us use our gifts for God’s glory as well. In the next chapter, we will see how men used their gifts to make a golden calf for idol worship. Will you use your gifts for God’s glory or for your own gratification?

Look at how the Spirit’s work is described. Of Bezalel, it says, “I have filled him with God’s Spirit” (v. 3), and later, “I have placed wisdom within every skilled craftsman in order to make all that I have commanded you” (v. 6). God enabled this man to build the tabernacle by His Spirit. When we read of “wisdom, understanding, and ability” (v. 3) these are not additional qualities that went along with the Spirit. Instead, God gave him one thing: the Spirit (Stuart, Exodus, 650). The Spirit sanctified his ability, intelligence, and knowledge. Sometimes God may do something supernatural and totally beyond a person’s normal ability, but more often I think He perfects an existing God-given gift, as we see here.

Consider also that God empowered the craftsmen to perform tasks for the well-being of the people. Later, in 35:31, the work of the Spirit of God is mentioned again. The repetition reveals its importance. Then observe how Bezalel executed the plan with skill and precise obedience (e.g., 36:1; 37:1, 10, 17).

The Spirit enables obedience. Joseph and Joshua were two other key characters in the Pentateuch who were filled with the Spirit of God188 (Gen 41:38; Deut 34:9). Like Bezalel and Oholiab, they were obedient to God as a result. Likewise, Micah was “filled with ... the Spirit” (Mic 3:8) to declare God’s word forcefully and effectively to the people. This section of Exodus may be the background for the phrase “filled with the Spirit” used later in the New Testament (Luke 1:15; Acts 13:9; Eph 5:18).

From the craftsmen we can learn at least two truths. First, we need the Spirit of God to accomplish the work of God. God gifted these men with the Spirit. We too need God’s Spirit to carry out God’s work.

When I was in Ukraine recently, I had an interesting discussion with a missionary friend about the Holy Spirit. Apparently, around 1960 the Pentecostal Church did not want to register with the government, so they merged with the Baptist Union. Then, to avoid controversy, an administrative policy was put in place. The policy stated that no one could teach, preach, or discuss the Holy Spirit. This lasted until about 1990 (though not every leader followed the policy!). My friend told me that this created sort of a deistic, rationalistic religion. People talked about God and His power in general, but few ever talked about the personal influence of the Holy Spirit or about gifts. They were attempting to “do church” apart from the Spirit!

Never stop thanking God for the Spirit’s work. Never stop relying on the Spirit’s work. Do not become a “mechanical Christian,” that is, just going through the motions, serving in the energy of the flesh. We need the Spirit of God to do the work of God.

Second, we learn that the Spirit fills us to do tasks that are not always considered “sensational” in the eyes of others. I love how the text says that they were empowered to make stuff! I love it because people have the craziest ideas about the Spirit’s work. Many are sensationalists. They have “the Incredible Hulk syndrome,” thinking when the Spirit blesses you, you turn green and into a different creature. Yet in the text we find that God blessed them with intelligence and ability to construct things. In regard to miracles and giftings, we can say a couple of things. Yes, the Spirit does miracles. But in the New Testament you see things that are not what people would call “spectacular.” When the Spirit filled the early church, one of the things that they needed was to be able to “speak God’s message with boldness” (Acts 4:31). They talked about Jesus a lot in the face of opposition. I like Peter’s instruction. He simply said that some serve and some speak; both should use their gifts to serve one another for God’s glory (1 Pet 4:10-11). As for the gifts in the New Testament that are listed, many of them are not glamorous. Paul mentioned gifts189 like service, teaching, giving, mercy (Rom 12:7-8), helping, and managing (1 Cor 12:28). Sure, others are listed like prophecy, tongues, and miracles, but let us remember that the greatest gift is love (1 Cor 13).

Think also about Acts 6. When the church grew, the needs increased. So they decided to appoint some men to meet the needs. What did they look for? They looked for men who were “full of the Spirit and wisdom ... full of faith and the Holy Spirit” (6:3, 5). That is awesome, right? Yes it is! But what were they going to do? Their job involved serving widows. Those who are filled with the Spirit, who are walking with Jesus, will gladly serve widows, visit the sick, care for orphans, make coffee on Sunday, care for children in the nursery, tutor a disadvantaged student, give generous offerings, and help those in need. Is that you? Do you think these things are beneath you? May God help us, in this age of celebrity Christianity, not to lose sight of this biblical vision of the Spirit’s work. The Spirit of God enables us to do the work of God, and the Spirit’s work through us may not be considered “sensational work,” but it is “important work.”

Exodus 31:12-17

The similarity between God’s work of creation and Israel’s construction of the tabernacle emerges here with the reference to the Sabbath. After six days of creation, God rested. Now Israel is to do the same. Further, the phrase “The Lord spoke/said” appears seven times in Exodus 25-31, echoing the creation account. The first six are related to creating, and the seventh, here, concerns rest.

God’s creation rest occurred once; the weekly Sabbath is a reminder of that divine rest. There remains a permanent rest awaiting us (Heb 4:9). Without getting into details about what is permissible on the Sabbath (see comments on 20:8-11), consider this idea: there is a resting in Christ for God’s people. We find our rest in Jesus, who has done the work for us. There is a resting that takes place now for Christians as well as a permanent ultimate Sabbath in the new creation. Many Christians avoid work on the Lord’s Day but they still are not keeping the Sabbath because they worry themselves into knots over things. They are not trusting in Christ. Do you find yourself in the same situation? Rest in Christ! God had been talking to Moses on the mountain (v. 18). When He finished, He gave Moses two tablets with the Ten Words written on190 them. In the next chapter, Moses would come down and see the opposite of true worship of this glorious God. We go from a return to Eden to a return to the fall.

How should we wrap this up? Let us recap these glorious, gospel truths:

Worship the true and living God, who is worthy of our praise!