exodus 29-30

So let’s outline the big picture that God has been teaching in the giving of all these instructions to Moses:

Exo 25:1-9 {s} The tabernacle to be built so that YHVH may dwell among them
Exo 25:10-22 {p} The making of the ark of the covenant
Exo 25:23-30 {p} The making of the table of showbread
Exo 25:31-40 {s} The making of the golden lampstand
Exo 26:1-14 {p} The making of the curtains + coverings for the Holy Place
Exo 26:15-30 {s} The making of the frame of the Holy Place
Exo 26:31-37 {s} The making of the veil + arrangement of the Most Holy and Holy Place
Exo 27:1-8 {s} The making of the altar
Exo 27:9-19 {s} The making of the outer court
Exo 27:20-21 {s} The oil for the lampstand that it may burn continually
Exo 28:1-5 {p} The making of garments for Aaron + sons’
Exo 28:6-12 {s} The making of the ephod
Exo 28:13-14 {s} The making of the chain + settings of gold
Exo 28:15-30 {s} The making of the breastplate
Exo 28:31-35 {s} The making of the robe of blue
Exo 28:36-43 {s} The making of the remaining garments
Exo 29:1-37 {s} The consecration of the priests + garments +altar
Exo 29:38-46 {p} The consecration of the tabernacle by YHVH’s glory
Exo 30:1-10 {p} The making + atonement of the altar of incense
Exo 30:11-16 {p} The atonement money for the children of Israel
Exo 30:17-21 {p} The making + atoning function of the bronze laver
Exo 30:22-33 {s} The making + consecrating function of the anointing oil
Exo 30:34-38 {s} The making of the consecrated incense

Notice that beginning with Exo chapter 29, the narrative shifts, from pure construction blueprints, to instruction for consecration, sanctification, atonement, and preventing death by not making common what is holy to the LORD.

Even the passage concerning the bronze laver follows this theme (Exo 30:17-21), because Aaron and his sons, when they enter the tabernacle to minister, even if they are clothed in their holy garments, bring common dirt on them from outside the tabernacle, on their feet, and on their hands; so they wash in the bronze laver before they begin their ministering, that they do not die. Why would they die? Because they have brought that which is common and profane into contact with that which is holy to the LORD.

These instructions for the building of the tabernacle in the wilderness, then, teach two parts to bringing it to a usable state: 1) that His tabernacle, or dwelling place, is first made, then 2) it is consecrated.

If we were to do a study of consecration as it is used throughout Scripture, we would see that it is a process whereby something or someone is set apart – what “holy” means – and devoted solely to God. Its most common New Testament term is “sanctification.”

The body of Messiah is the tabernacle or dwelling place of the Holy Spirit. God first makes us His dwelling place, by the process of salvation, but He does not stop there. Then He sets about the second stage: sanctifying or consecrating us. As we learn His ways (admittedly a process which takes time) we put off that which is common and worldly, and put on that which is holy and pleasing to Him.

For further study: Note all the strong paragraphs in chapters 25-30, and also, the weak paragraphs found within them. Why does God combine the paragraphs in this way? What is the point each strong paragraph is making, by being made up of the weak paragraphs which are in it?

Finding Messiah:

“You shall also have the bull brought before the tabernacle of meeting, and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands on the head of the bull. Then you shall kill the bull before the LORD, by the door of the tabernacle of meeting. You shall take some of the blood of the bull and put it on the horns of the altar with your finger, and pour all the blood beside the base of the altar. And you shall take all the fat that covers the entrails, the fatty lobeattached to the liver, and the two kidneys and the fat that is on them, and burn them on the altar. But the flesh of the bull, with its skin and its offal, you shall burn with fire outside the camp. It is a sin offering.” Exo 29:10-14

The sin offering was to be burned entire, without a portion being given to the priest. This “whole burnt offering” is a picture of Messiah, who is our sin offering! He was given wholly to the LORD, as in, You shall love the LORD your God with your whole heart and your whole soul and your whole strength (Deu 6:5). He was ablaze with the Holy Spirit and power – for the baptism of the Holy Spirit is a baptism of fire (Mat 3:11). And He offered Himself up fully on the cross, to be the propitiation for our sins (Phi 2:8, 1 Joh 2:2). He is our whole burnt offering. And to perfectly fulfill the prophecies of Torah in every respect, He was taken outside the camp, outside Jerusalem, where He was crucified for our transgressions.

For further reading:
Tabernacle series by Brad Scott