Introduction & Prayer
Exodus 27 reveals to us the detailed blueprints of the altar, the courtyard fence which surrounds the tent and the process to light the menorah inside the tent.
Have you ever had to buy a dress for a wedding or rent a tux and felt bad because you didn’t want to spend the money? Or maybe have you ever skipped an event because of the dress code? What happened? Did you spend the money? Did you say something?
Have you ever made other people purchase a certain outfit to be in a wedding or in a ceremony that you were leading?
Pray and ask God to reveal His truth to you about this passage. Ask God to help you to be willing to truly commit to a life of pursuing God.
Review
What 4 pieces of tabernacle furniture has God revealed in the past few chapters?
What makes up the central piece of tabernacle furniture?
Read Exodus 27:1-8
1 “Using acacia wood, construct a square altar 7½ feet wide, 7½ feet long, and 4½ feet high. 2 Make horns for each of its four corners so that the horns and altar are all one piece. Overlay the altar with bronze. 3 Make ash buckets, shovels, basins, meat forks, and firepans, all of bronze. 4 Make a bronze grating for it, and attach four bronze rings at its four corners. 5 Install the grating halfway down the side of the altar, under the ledge. 6 For carrying the altar, make poles from acacia wood, and overlay them with bronze. 7 Insert the poles through the rings on the two sides of the altar. 8 The altar must be hollow, made from planks. Build it just as you were shown on the mountain.
Why do you think that God provided so many details about the tabernacle?
Why were sacrifices important?
Why did God have such a large altar in front of the Sacred Tent?
What does it look like to live a life of sacrifice?
What is one step that we can take this week to live a life of sacrifice?
This furniture was coated in bronze, but the furniture in the tent was covered with what? Why was the metal different for furniture inside the sacred tent versus outside?
When Christ died, the veil was torn opening the way for us to go into the Most Holy Place—the Holy of Holies. Does this mean that what was once sacred has now become common?
Read 1 Peter 1:13-16
13 So prepare your minds for action and exercise self-control. Put all your hope in the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world. 14 So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then. 15 But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. 16 For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.”
What does it mean to live a holy life? How can we live a holy life?
What does God’s Word say about what this looks like?
So because of what Christ did by opening the way for us to go into the Most Holy Place, make what was once sacred now common or has everything in our lives become holy?
Some basic instruction on what a holy life looks like is found in Galatians…
Read Galatians 5:22-26
22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. 25 Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. 26 Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another.
What is the role of the Holy Spirit in our lives?
How do we live with an all in approach to God?
What can limit how far we go in our commitment to Christ?
In verses 9-19 of Exodus 27, God reveals the plans for the fence that goes around the sacred tent and the altar. This creates a courtyard of sorts.
What was inside the courtyard?
If you were outside of the courtyard looking in, what structure could be seen? [Sacred tent—remember the tabernacle fence was 7.5 feet, but the boards used to make the framework of the actual tabernacle was 15 feet.]
Why did God desire to be our neighbor?
How can we live in the kingdom of God as more than simply an observer? In other words, how can we be a part of building the kingdom of God?
Read Exodus 27:20-21
20 “Command the people of Israel to bring you pure oil of pressed olives for the light, to keep the lamps burning continually. 21 The lampstand will stand in the Tabernacle, in front of the inner curtain that shields the Ark of the Covenant. Aaron and his sons must keep the lamps burning in the Lord’s presence all night. This is a permanent law for the people of Israel, and it must be observed from generation to generation.
What are some of the steps required to make olive oil? [Crushing, pressing olives with stone, separating the oil from the crushed pulp]
How is the process of making olive oil similar to how God can work in our lives?
It’s most difficult in the moment, but often we can look back and see some benefits. How has God used a difficult moment to teach you?
How does learning those lessons from difficult moments in life differ from learning those lessons from reading a book or watching a video?
How does God use those moments of difficulty to shine light for others?
Pray:
Ask God to give you a deep hunger to pursue Him in every area of life. That your life will be marked by the passionate pursuit of God in your private and public life.