Exodus 27-28, Mark 11
And they came to Jerusalem. And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold and those who bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. And he would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple. – Mark 11:15-16 ESV
The descriptions given to Moses by God for the construction of the Tabernacle and all of the elements associated with it can be a bit overwhelming and confusing. There is so much detail given by God as to the materials and the precise fabrication of the various pieces associated with the Tabernacle. If we're not careful, we can get lost in the details and miss the main point. The Tabernacle was to be God's dwelling place among the people of Israel. In the Holy of Holies, His presence would hover over the Mercy Seat on top of the Ark of the Covenant. So everything about this structure was to be dedicated to and set apart for God. It was intended for the worship of God. So God made it painfully clear that each and every item was to be made in a specific manner and manufactured from the finest materials. Even the priests had to be consecrated to Him and for His use only. In the days of Jeremiah, when the Temple had long since replaced the Tabernacle as the dwelling place of God among the people, they seemed to have forgotten that this place was to be holy to the Lord. Jeremiah writes, "Stand in the gate of the Lord's house, and proclaim there this word, and say, Hear the word of the Lord, all you men of Judah who enter these gates to worship the Lord. Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Amend your ways and your deeds, and I will let you dwell in this place. Do not trust in the deceptive words: 'This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord'" (Jeremiah 7:2-4 ESV). The people had made an idol out of the Temple, falsely assuming that because the Temple existed, God's presence among them was assured. But they had failed to keep the Temple holy to the Lord. Jesus would quote from this very passage when He cleansed the Temple in His day, saying, "Is it not written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations'? But you have made it a den of robbers" (Mark 11:17, Jeremiah 7:11 ESV). What God had set apart as holy to Himself had been desecrated by men. They had profaned what was holy by using it for their own selfish desires.
What does this passage reveal about God?
God is obsessed about His holiness. His holiness refers to His otherness – there is nothing and no one else like Him. He is the God of the universe; completely righteous, all-powerful, all-knowing and the creator of all that exists. He has no competition and is incomparable in every way. The Tabernacle, like the Temple constructed by Solomon, was to be a reflection of His very nature and character. It was to be made of the finest materials. It was to be designed to exacting specifications, given to Moses by God Himself on the top of Mount Sinai. God left nothing to Moses' imagination. And God expected every aspect of His plan to be followed and His word to be obeyed. What made each of the elements "holy" was not the materials or plans used to make them. The priests were not considered holy by God because of the robes, breastplates and turbans they wore. What made everything holy was that God had set each and everything apart to Himself. They were "holy to the Lord." They had been consecrated or dedicated to God. This place and the people who worked in it were God's possession, just as the people of Israel had been set apart to God. Moses and the people were to take the Tabernacle seriously.
What does this passage reveal about man?
Everything we have read up to this point in the books of Genesis and Exodus has reflected God's sovereign choosing of the people of Israel as His possession. He had chosen them as His own. He had redeemed them slavery in Egypt and was in the process of leading them into the Promised Land, where He would fulfill His covenant promises made to Abraham. He had set them apart. He had dedicated them for His purposes. The Tabernacle was a concrete and practical confirmation of His abiding presence among them. And God was incredibly specific because He knew the nature of man. Without clear directions, they would tend to do things their way. Left to their own devices, they would have constructed a Tabernacle that met their needs. They would have built a monument to man, not a place to worship God. Even in Jesus' day, the Temple had become a national icon, a point of pride. At one point, during the last week of His life on earth, as He and the disciples were walking past the Temple, several of them pointed out how majestic it was, making special note of the "noble stones" (Luke 21:5). But Jesus told them, "the days will come when there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down" (Luke 21:6 ESV). The Temple that bore God's name and was supposed to be His dwelling place, would be destroyed, just as it had been in the Old Testament. Why? Because they had profaned His name. God had warned the people, "And you shall not profane my holy name, that I may be sanctified among the people of Israel. I am the LORD who sanctifies you" (Leviticus 22:32 ESV). They had taken what was to be holy and set apart and made it common. They had used what was intended for God's use for their own personal use. The Temple had become an icon, not a place of worship. Rather than living lives that were set apart and distinctively different among the nations, they had become just like all the other nations – and in the process, they had profaned God's name.
How would I apply what I’ve read to my own life?
God has set me apart for His use. I belong to Him. I am holy because He bought me with the blood of His Son and made me His own. I no longer belong to me. I am His. But I can live my life in such a way that I profane His name by attempting to use what is His – my life – for my own selfish purposes. Paul reminds us, "And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires" (Galatians 5:24 ESV). But it is so easy to take back ownership of my life. It is so tempting to want to make it all about me, and not about God. But to do so is to profane His name. It is to take what is holy and make it common place. When I use my life for my own selfish purposes, it is no different than if one of the priests had taken the golden lampstand which had been dedicated for God's use and taken it home for personal use. It would have taken what was holy and made it common place. And that is exactly what I do when I attempt to use my life for my own selfish desires. Paul would remind me, "do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body" (1 Corinthians 6:19-20 ESV). I am holy. I belong to God. I have been set apart by Him and for Him. The Tabernacle would remain holy only as long as the people of God treated it so. The Temple would remain holy only as long as the people of God treated it so. It was a dangerous thing for the people of God to place their faith in the existence of the Temple and assume that God was there with them. It is equally as dangerous for me to take my salvation and the promise of His presence in my life for granted by taking my body – His temple – and using it in ways that are inappropriate and unintended by God.
Father, I want to live a life that is set apart to You. I don't want it to be in word only, but in my actions. I want my life to reflect that I belong to You and not me. Forgive me for the many ways in which I profane Your name by using what You have set apart for Your use for my own selfish purposes. Help me to remain totally dedicated to Your glory and not my own. Help me to see my life as belonging to You and not to me. I want to holy to the Lord. Amen