Only One Oil

Exodus 30:25 And you shall make of these a sacred anointing oil blended as by the perfumer; it shall be a holy anointing oil. 26 With it you shall anoint the tent of meeting, the altar of incense, 28 and the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils and the basin and its stand. 29 You shall consecrate them, that they may be most holy. Whatever touches them will become holy. 30 You shall anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, that they may serve me as priests. 31 And you shall say to the people of Israel, ‘This shall be my holy anointing oil throughout your generations. 

Once everything and everyone was ready for worship in the tabernacle, it was to be anointed with a special oil.  This was not any old oil: It was God-brand oil. Yet, at the same time, it was not a magical oil that turned something "holy."  It was not to be used on or by anything or anyone else, and it was not to be "pirated" and sold under another name. What made it and everything it touched "holy" was that God had instructed it and was obeyed in the details.  When God calls upon us to "be Holy," He tells us how, and it only happens through obedience to Him and help from Him.  What instructions have we ignored? What exceptions have we made? Are we trying to "be holy" some other way?

More than a Wave

Exodus 29:26 “You shall take the breast of the ram of Aaron's ordination and wave it for a wave offering before the Lord, and it shall be your portion. 27 And you shall consecrate the breast of the wave offering that is waved and the thigh of the priests' portion that is contributed from the ram of ordination, from what was Aaron's and his sons'. 28 It shall be for Aaron and his sons as a perpetual due from the people of Israel, for it is a contribution. It shall be a contribution from the people of Israel from their peace offerings, their contribution to the Lord.

Examining the sacrifices and offerings of Israel is a study in itself.  Each offering had a purpose in picturing the relationship of God and His people but also had inferences to the relationship of man to each other.  God made allowance through these offerings for the support of His priesthood. In particular, part of the peace offering was given to the priests for their ordination and service.  These were to be waved before God as a recognition of where they came from - Him, not somebody else. Some scholars say that they were waved horizontally, while others were waved vertically.  The point is that God is watching our waving. It is to be sincere, a mark of dependence upon Him and of things being right between us and others. May our "wave" be sincere.

Close to the Heart

Exodus 28:23 And you shall make for the breastpiece two rings of gold, and put the two rings on the two edges of the breastpiece. 24 And you shall put the two cords of gold in the two rings at the edges of the breastpiece. 25 The two ends of the two cords you shall attach to the two settings of filigree, and so attach it in front to the shoulder pieces of the ephod. 26 You shall make two rings of gold, and put them at the two ends of the breastpiece, on its inside edge next to the ephod. 27 And you shall make two rings of gold, and attach them in front to the lower part of the two shoulder pieces of the ephod, at its seam above the skillfully woven band of the ephod. 28 And they shall bind the breastpiece by its rings to the rings of the ephod with a lace of blue, so that it may lie on the skillfully woven band of the ephod, so that the breastpiece shall not come loose from the ephod. 29 So Aaron shall bear the names of the sons of Israel in the breastpiece of judgment on his heart, when he goes into the Holy Place, to bring them to regular remembrance before the Lord.

Like with the tabernacle and its furnishings, God gave specific details to Moses about the garments of the High Priest. The breastpiece, with the twelve gems representing the twelve tribes, had to be rather heavy. It probably was somewhat of a burden to bear. It was also a stunning, "one-of-a-kind" garment. There was no mistaking who the High Priest was. Wearing it could lead to a "look-at-me" pride, but that was not God's intent. Rather, as this passage concludes, the one who wore it was to remember why he had it: to keep God's people in his heart as he remembered them before the Lord.  May God give us loving hearts as we remember His people before Him.

Putting It All Together

Exodus 26:26 “You shall make bars of acacia wood, five for the frames of the one side of the tabernacle, 27 and five bars for the frames of the other side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the frames of the side of the tabernacle at the rear westward. 28 The middle bar, halfway up the frames, shall run from end to end. 29 You shall overlay the frames with gold and shall make their rings of gold for holders for the bars, and you shall overlay the bars with gold. 30 Then you shall erect the tabernacle according to the plan for it that you were shown on the mountain.

God had given Moses detailed destructions on all the parts and furnishings of the tabernacle.  Now it was time to put all the pieces together.  Many times, as God is working on our lives and the future He has for us, it is hard to imagine what the finished product will look like.  We are fascinated with the intricate details He shows us along the way, but it can be difficult to clearly see what it will be like when they are all put together.  We have materials lying around to build, but nowhere to put the table, the lights. God has the blueprint, the plan to put it all together. He wants us to trust Him with each page and each part. When we do, His tabernacle, His presence with us as His people is truly amazing.

The Table of His Presence

Exodus 25:23 “You shall make a table of acacia wood. Two cubits shall be its length, a cubit its breadth, and a cubit and a half its height. 24 You shall overlay it with pure gold and make a molding of gold around it. 25 And you shall make a rim around it a handbreadth wide, and a molding of gold around the rim. 26 And you shall make for it four rings of gold, and fasten the rings to the four corners at its four legs. 27 Close to the frame the rings shall lie, as holders for the poles to carry the table. 28 You shall make the poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold, and the table shall be carried with these. 29 And you shall make its plates and dishes for incense, and its flagons and bowls with which to pour drink offerings; you shall make them of pure gold. 30 And you shall set the bread of the Presence on the table before me regularly.

When God gave directions for the furnishings of His Tabernacle, He went to great detail and expense. It was not to flaunt or show off, but to draw attention to the fact that He was with them and wanted to have fellowship with them - regularly.  Like the Ark of the Covenant, it had rings and poles to be carried wherever God led them. There was also very much a preview of the Lord's table with the drink offerings and bread.  God wants us to meet with Him regularly. Let us not ignore His invitation.

Missed Blessings

Exodus 23:23 “When my angel goes before you and brings you to the Amorites and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the Canaanites, the Hivites and the Jebusites, and I blot them out, 24 you shall not bow down to their gods nor serve them, nor do as they do, but you shall utterly overthrow them and break their pillars in pieces. 25 You shall serve the Lord your God, and he will bless your bread and your water, and I will take sickness away from among you. 26 None shall miscarry or be barren in your land; I will fulfill the number of your days. 27 I will send my terror before you and will throw into confusion all the people against whom you shall come, and I will make all your enemies turn their backs to you. 28 And I will send hornets before you, which shall drive out the Hivites, the Canaanites, and the Hittites from before you. 29 I will not drive them out from before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the wild beasts multiply against you. 30 Little by little I will drive them out from before you, until you have increased and possess the land.

When God led the people out of Egypt and prepared them to enter the promised land, it was almost like Eden all over again - a fresh start without many of the curses of life.  If they would serve Him and not the pagan idols, they would easily be able to take over the land smoothly, settle down comfortably, and raise their families in peace and prosperity. If they would obey.  How many blessings do we still forfeit because we fail to trust, serve, and obey the Lord our God?

Extreme Compassion

 Exodus 22:25 “If you lend money to any of my people with you who is poor, you shall not be like a moneylender to him, and you shall not exact interest from him. 26 If ever you take your neighbor's cloak in pledge, you shall return it to him before the sun goes down, 27 for that is his only covering, and it is his cloak for his body; in what else shall he sleep? And if he cries to me, I will hear, for I am compassionate.

Sometimes we get so caught up in the things of this life and the way things are done in this world that we miss the big picture.  Israel was being called upon to represent God in this world.  So are we.  One of the overwhelming characteristics of God is His compassion.  He cares about those in need. Do we? Do we listen to their cries? He does.  This pledge of the cloak meant something. As God's people our word should mean something.  When Christ talked about the taking of one's tunic, he went on to say we should offer our cloak also. If anything, our compassion should be extreme.