Exodus 40:17 says, And it came to pass in the first month in the second year, on the first day of the month, that the tabernacle was reared up.  The tabernacle was completed and raised up.  When Jesus had completed His work on earth, He was raised up, and if we accept Him as Savior and Lord of our life, then we are raised up to everlasting life.  Verse eighteen states, And Moses reared up the tabernacle, and fastened his sockets, and set up the boards thereof, and put in the bars thereof, and reared up his pillars.  As God's representative to the people of Israel, it says that Moses raised up the tabernacle, but we know that he did not do it alone.  Today, if one person receives credit for doing great things for God, we can be certain that the person did not do it alone.  There are always many people working behind the scenes.  Verse nineteen says,  And he spread abroad the tent over the tabernacle, and put the covering of the tent above upon it; as the LORD commanded Moses.  Verse twenty adds, And he took and put the testimony into the ark, and set the staves on the ark, and put the mercy seat above upon the ark:  When the tent of the tabernacle was up, the ark of the testimony was put inside.  When we accept Christ as our Savior and Lord, our body, our tabernacle, is raised up to God and the Holy Spirit comes to live inside us.  Verse twenty-one states, And he brought the ark into the tabernacle, and set up the vail of the covering, and covered the ark of the testimony; as the LORD commanded Moses.  The ark was placed behind the veil, as God had commanded.  This was to separate the people, except for the high priest, from the ark.  We today are not separated from God by any veil if we are Christians, but the lost people of the world cannot see the works of God because they refuse to believe in Him.  Even though we have the Holy Spirit living in us, the world does not see Him except through our works and worship.  Verse twenty-two says, And he put the table in the tent of the congregation, upon the side of the tabernacle northward, without the vail.  Then verse twenty-three adds, And he set the bread in order upon it before the LORD; as the LORD had commanded Moses.  Verse twenty-four continues,  And he put the candlestick in the tent of the congregation, over against the table, on the side of the tabernacle southward.  These were the things that the people of Israel would see when they came into the tabernacle.  Verse twenty-five states, And he lighted the lamps before the LORD; as the LORD commanded Moses.  Moses lit the lamps as Good had commanded to provide light inside the tabernacle.  As followers of Christ today, we are to shed the light of Christ into the spiritual darkness of the world.  Verse twenty-six declares, And he put the golden altar in the tent of the congregation before the vail:  Verse twenty-seven adds, And he burnt sweet incense thereon; as the LORD commanded Moses.  This altar was used to burn sweet incense to the LORD at this time.  When we offer ourselves as a living sacrifice to God, this is a sweet incense to God.  Verse twenty-eight says, And he set up the hanging at the door of the tabernacle.  Verse twenty-nine adds, And he put the altar of burnt offering by the door of the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation, and offered upon it the burnt offering and the meat offering; as the LORD commanded Moses.  The altar of burnt offering was set up by the door of the tabernacle for offering sacrifices to God.  If we are to come into God's presence today with our sins forgiven, we must come through the sacrifice of Christ on the cross.  Verse thirty concludes,  And he set the laver between the tent of the congregation and the altar, and put water there, to wash withal.  Water was placed between the tent of the congregation and the altar, so that anyone going to the altar could cleanse himself or herself.  We today are cleansed by the shed blood of Christ.. .

Exodus 40:1 says, And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,  Then verse two states, On the first day of the first month shalt thou set up the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation.  God had given Moses instructions on how to build the tabernacle, and now He was giving him instructions on when it was to be used.  It was called the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation.  It had not only been built according to God's instructions, but it had been built for God's purpose, just as church buildings must be today.  The church building is for the congregation to gathering in, but must be built and used for God's purpose.  Verse three says, And thou shalt put therein the ark of the testimony, and cover the ark with the vail,  Next, the ark of the testimony was to be set up in the tabernacle.  This represented God's law.  God's law must direct everything we do as a church today.  Verse four states, And thou shalt bring in the table, and set in order the things that are to be set in order upon it; and thou shalt bring in the candlestick, and light the lamps thereof.  Next, the table and candlesticks were to be put in place.  Verse five adds, And thou shalt set the altar of gold for the incense before the ark of the testimony, and put the hanging of the door to the tabernacle.  Verse six continues, And thou shalt set the altar of the burnt offering before the door of the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation.  Verse seven continues, And thou shalt set the laver between the tent of the congregation and the altar, and shalt put water therein.  This was to separate the holy of holies from the rest of the congregation and the priests.  We have no such dividing point today.  If we are a follower of Christ, we do not have to go through anyone else to have access to God.  Verse eight says, And thou shalt set up the court round about, and hang up the hanging at the court gate.  Verse nine declares, And thou shalt take the anointing oil, and anoint the tabernacle, and all that is therein, and shalt hallow it, and all the vessels thereof: and it shall be holy.  The tabernacle was to be anointed with the anointing oil and it was to be considered holy.  We today as Christians are anointed by the blood of Christ and are to be holy, or set aside for Him.  Verse ten states, And thou shalt anoint the altar of the burnt offering, and all his vessels, and sanctify the altar: and it shall be an altar most holy.  The altar was to be sanctified as the altar of the Most High, which is the only true God.  Verse eleven adds, And thou shalt anoint the laver and his foot, and sanctify it.  Everything associated with the tabernacle was to be anointed.  Since our bodies today are the temple, or tabernacle, of God, if we are followers of Christ, then everything we have and do should be consecrated to God.  Verse twelve declares, And thou shalt bring Aaron and his sons unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and wash them with water.  Then verse thirteen adds, And thou shalt put upon Aaron the holy garments, and anoint him, and sanctify him; that he may minister unto me in the priest’s office.  First Aaron was to be cleansed and consecrated for his service as priest.  We today set aside certain people as preachers and deacons, but that does not make them better than any other Christian, just as Aaron was no better of his own merit then any other person in Israel.  He was simply chosen by God for this purpose.  Verse fourteen states, And thou shalt bring his sons, and clothe them with coats:  Verse fifteen adds, And thou shalt anoint them, as thou didst anoint their father, that they may minister unto me in the priest’s office: for their anointing shall surely be an everlasting priesthood throughout their generations.  Aaron's sons were to likewise be consecrated as priests, and this says for an everlasting priesthood.  I believe that when Jesus died on the cross that those that accept Him as Savior and Lord become a part of the everlasting priesthood.  We all have equal access to God.  Then verse sixteen declares, Thus did Moses: according to all that the LORD commanded him, so did he.  God's instructions to Moses were no good if they weren't carried out, just as God's instructions to us today are no good if they aren't carried out.  Like Moses, we must do as God commands us.

Exodus 39:27 says, And they made coats of fine linen of woven work for Aaron, and for his sons,
Aaron and his sons were to be the priests.  They had special coats made for them.  Our actions today should be the thing that set us apart from the world as followers of Christ.  Verse twenty-eight states, And a mitre of fine linen, and goodly bonnets of fine linen, and linen breeches of fine twined linen, Then verse twenty-nine continues, And a girdle of fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, of needlework; as the LORD commanded Moses.  Girdles and bonnets would be associated more with women today, if they were to be worn at all, but the way that people dress has changed many times over the centuries, and even varies in different parts of the world today.  Verse thirty states,  And they made the plate of the holy crown of pure gold, and wrote upon it a writing, like to the engravings of a signet, HOLINESS TO THE LORD.  On the plate of the crown was written, HOLINESS TO THE LORD.  These garments were not made to have people worship Aaron and his sons, but were made to set them aside so that the people would be called on to worship God.  Whatever we wear and whatever we do today as Christians should point people to HOLINESS TO THE LORD.  Verse thirty-one adds, And they tied unto it a lace of blue, to fasten it on high upon the mitre; as the LORD commanded Moses.  The outfits of Aaron and his sons were completed in accordance with God's directions to Moses.  We today, as followers of Christ the priesthood of believers, have no particular garments that we are to wear, even if we are a preacher or teacher, but I believe that we should dress our best wherever we go, since we represent God to the world.  Verse thirty-two declares, Thus was all the work of the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation finished: and the children of Israel did according to all that the LORD commanded Moses, so did they.  The people completed the work of the tabernacle, which included making the garments for Aaron and his sons, in accordance with God's plan.  As Christians, we will never complete God's work in this lifetime, but we must always do our work for God in accordance with His plan.  Verse thirty-three says, And they brought the tabernacle unto Moses, the tent, and all his furniture, his taches, his boards, his bars, and his pillars, and his sockets,  Verse thirty-four adds, And the covering of rams’ skins dyed red, and the covering of badgers’ skins, and the vail of the covering,  These two verses and the next few simply tell us that the people brought the finished tabernacle and its furnishings to Moses.  We today bring the work that we have done for God to Him, spiritually if not physically.  Verse thirty-five says, The ark of the testimony, and the staves thereof, and the mercy seat,  Verse thirty-six states, The table, and all the vessels thereof, and the shewbread,  Verse thirty-seven adds, The pure candlestick, with the lamps thereof, even with the lamps to be set in order, and all the vessels thereof, and the oil for light,  The ark of the covenant contained God's law that was given to Moses on the mountain, and the candlesticks were used to cast light on the Ark of the Covenant.  We today as followers of Christ should have God's law written  in our hearts, and the Holy Spirit should light it up for us.  Verse thirty-eight says, And the golden altar, and the anointing oil, and the sweet incense, and the hanging for the tabernacle door,  Verse thirty-nine adds, The brasen altar, and his grate of brass, his staves, and all his vessels, the laver and his foot,  The altar was where sacrifices were made to God.  Christ made the only acceptable sacrifice for all the sins of all the people, so all we can do is accept His sacrifice for our sins by faith.  Then we are to be a living sacrifice for God.  Verse forty says, The hangings of the court, his pillars, and his sockets, and the hanging for the court gate, his cords, and his pins, and all the vessels of the service of the tabernacle, for the tent of the congregation,  Then verse forty-one adds, The cloths of service to do service in the holy place, and the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and his sons’ garments, to minister in the priest’s office.  All the hangings and the holy garments of Aaron the priest and his sons were brought to Moses.  Then verse forty-two declares, According to all that the LORD commanded Moses, so the children of Israel made all the work.  All the work was done in accordance with God's instructions to Moses.  Today, as Christians, we must make sure that all that we do for God is done in accordance with His :directions.  Verse forty-three concludes, And Moses did look upon all the work, and, behold, they had done it as the LORD had commanded, even so had they done it: and Moses blessed them.  Moses looked at what the people had done and saw that it was done in accordance with God's command, and then he blessed it.  Our work today, if examined by someone, should always be done in accordance with God's will.  When it is, God will bless it.

Exodus 39:15 says, And they made upon the breastplate chains at the ends, of wreathen work of pure gold.  The breastplate was the next item to be made.  As with all these things, this is the third time that we are reading about it.  God gave the directions to Moses, who gave them to the elders and builders, and then now we are reading about their actually being made.  We may hear the gospel over and over again, but it will always be God's message.  God gave us the gospel, He calls preachers to proclaim the gospel, and those who receive it are then commanded to go into all the world and share it.  Verse sixteen states, And they made two ouches of gold, and two gold rings; and put the two rings in the two ends of the breastplate.  Ouches are buckles.  They would be both functional and ornate, as was the rest of the outfit made for Aaron.  Verse seventeen says, And they put the two wreathen chains of gold in the two rings on the ends of the breastplate.  Then verse eighteen adds, And the two ends of the two wreathen chains they fastened in the two ouches, and put them on the shoulderpieces of the ephod, before it.  The chains, though made ornate, had a purpose, and that was to hold the breastplate to the ephod.  As we do God's work, we must all fit together to be the most effective in doing it.  Verse nineteen says, And they made two rings of gold, and put them on the two ends of the breastplate, upon the border of it, which was on the side of the ephod inward.  Then verse twenty adds, And they made two other golden rings, and put them on the two sides of the ephod underneath, toward the forepart of it, over against the other coupling thereof, above the curious girdle of the ephod.  Then verse twenty-one concludes, And they did bind the breastplate by his rings unto the rings of the ephod with a lace of blue, that it might be above the curious girdle of the ephod, and that the breastplate might not be loosed from the ephod; as the LORD commanded Moses.  The breastplate was to be secured to the ephod with blue lace so that the two might not be separated.  For the gospel to have meaning today, we must look at the whole life, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.  It is not enough to say that Jesus was a good man or that He died on the cross, but we must acknowledge that He lived a perfect life, died on the cross for the sins of every individual, and that He rose again the third day to defeat sin and death in our place.  Jesus is either all of these things to us, or His death has no purpose for us.  Verse twenty-two states, And he made the robe of the ephod of woven work, all of blue.  Then verse twenty-three adds, And there was an hole in the midst of the robe, as the hole of an habergeon, with a band round about the hole, that it should not rend.   A habergeon is a sleeveless coat.  The hole in the midst of the robe was reinforced so it would not rend, or tear apart.  Verse twenty-four continues, And they made upon the hems of the robe pomegranates of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and twined linen.  These seem to be more ornamental than functional, but they were made according to God's design.  Verse twenty-five says, And they made bells of pure gold, and put the bells between the pomegranates upon the hem of the robe, round about between the pomegranates;  Verse twenty-six adds, A bell and a pomegranate, a bell and a pomegranate, round about the hem of the robe to minister in; as the LORD commanded Moses.  The bells were to serve the purpose of letting the people know when Aaron was coming near.  We may not have bells today to announce the presence of God, but we have the Holy Spirit living within us if we are followers of Christ, and this is a greater blessing.  If we are living for Christ, we never have to ask if He is near.

Exodus 39:1 says, And of the blue, and purple, and scarlet, they made cloths of service, to do service in the holy place, and made the holy garments for Aaron; as the LORD commanded Moses.  Aaron, who was to serve as the priest of God for the people of Israel, wore special garments, which were called holy garments.  The garments were called holy because they were made and set aside for God's purpose.  We today, as followers of Christ, were made for God's purpose, as were all people, but we ar3e set aside for God's purpose by our acceptance of Jesus as our Savior and Lord.  Verse two states, And he made the ephod of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen. This is more of the outfit that Aaron, or anyone serving as high priest was to wear.  We have no special physical garments that we are to wear today, but we do have spiritual armor that we are to wear daily.  Verse three adds, And they did beat the gold into thin plates, and cut it into wires, to work it in the blue, and in the purple, and in the scarlet, and in the fine linen, with cunning work.  The ephod had gold interwoven into it.  God expected the people to be willing to give what was valued most to carry out service to Him, just as He expects of us today.  Verse four says, They made shoulderpieces for it, to couple it together: by the two edges was it coupled together.  Shoulder pieces were made to fit the ephod together.  No matter how rich we may be as an individual believer or a church, a body of believers today, we must fit together as God's people to effectively carry out His work in the world.  Then verse five a states,  And the curious girdle of his ephod, that was upon it, was of the same, according to the work thereof; of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen; as the LORD commanded Moses.  The curious girdle was made of the same material and was made to fit together with the ephod.  Once more, this was all done in accordance with God's instructions to Moses.  We today as Christians must make sure that what we are doing is done in accordance with God's plan.  Verse six declares, And they wrought onyx stones inclosed in ouches of gold, graven, as signets are graven, with the names of the children of Israel.  The names of the children of Israel, the descendants of the twelve sons of Israel were inscribed on onyx stones and carried by Aaron when he went before God.  This was to represent all the people there coming before God.  We as followers of Christ do not have our names engraved in stones, but we have our names written in the Book of Life.  Verse seven adds, And he put them on the shoulders of the ephod, that they should be stones for a memorial to the children of Israel; as the LORD commanded Moses.  These engraved stones were to serve as a memorial to the children of Israel.  Verse eight says, And he made the breastplate of cunning work, like the work of the ephod; of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen.  The breastplate was made of the same material by the craftsmen.  These men were given the ability to do this by God, just as we are given the ability to do whatever God calls us to do by God today.  Verse nine adds, It was foursquare; they made the breastplate double: a span was the length thereof, and a span the breadth thereof, being doubled. Then verse ten adds, And they set in it four rows of stones: the first row was a sardius, a topaz, and a carbuncle: this was the first row.  Verse eleven continues, And the second row, an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond.  Verse twelve continues on, And the third row, a ligure, an agate, and an amethyst.  Verse thirteen concludes, And the fourth row, a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper: they were inclosed in ouches of gold in their inclosings.  There were four rows of different types of precious stones in the breastplate.  Verse fourteen declares, And the stones were according to the names of the children of Israel, twelve, according to their names, like the engravings of a signet, every one with his name, according to the twelve tribes.  There were twelve of these stones, each engraved with the name of one of the children of Israel, who with their descendants were the children of God, His representatives in the world then.  We today, as followers of Christ,  are to be His representatives in the world today, and we have our names written in His Book of Life, as previously stated.

Exodus 38:22 says, And Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made all that the LORD commanded Moses.  As I have said before, these two men did not do everything by themselves.  They had the necessary help to accomplish the work just as we aren't alone when we do work for God today.  Verse twenty-three states, And with him was Aholiab, son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, an engraver, and a cunning workman, and an embroiderer in blue, and in purple, and in scarlet, and fine linen.  We are now given the names of two other men who were involved in the work and their particular talents.  God gave them this ability, just as He does when He calls us today.  Verse twenty-four states, All the gold that was occupied for the work in all the work of the holy place, even the gold of the offering, was twenty and nine talents, and seven hundred and thirty shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary.  A talent was considered about twenty years wages for a laborer, and this was only a part of what the people of Israel left Egypt with, and it was all because of God's provisions for them.  We really cannot out give God.  Then verse twenty-five adds, And the silver of them that were numbered of the congregation was an hundred talents, and a thousand seven hundred and threescore and fifteen shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary:  Verse twenty-six continues, A bekah for every man, that is, half a shekel, after the shekel of the sanctuary, for every one that went to be numbered, from twenty years old and upward, for six hundred thousand and three thousand and five hundred and fifty men.  The people were counted and accessed what we might call a tax, but it was to be used for Gods work.  Verse twenty-seven states, And of the hundred talents of silver were cast the sockets of the sanctuary, and the sockets of the vail; an hundred sockets of the hundred talents, a talent for a socket.  The silver and gold were used for specific purposes, just as our tithes and offerings must be today.  No matter how much we may receive, we are still responsible for using it in accordance with God's plan and for His glory.  Verse twenty-eight says, And of the thousand seven hundred seventy and five shekels he made hooks for the pillars, and overlaid their chapiters, and filleted them.  Then verse twenty nine adds, And the brass of the offering was seventy talents, and two thousand and four hundred shekels.  The items were now made with brass.  We might think that since the brass wasn't as valuable, that it wouldn't need to be used as wisely but like the silver and gold the brass had a purpose.  We likewise have abilities that might not be considered as valuable as others, but all gifts from God are equally important and necessary.  Verse thirty continues, And therewith he made the sockets to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and the brasen altar, and the brasen grate for it, and all the vessels of the altar,  Then verse thirty-one concludes, And the sockets of the court round about,and the sockets of the court gate, and all the pins of the tabernacle, and all the pins of the court round about.  Another part of the tabernacle was completed.  When we complete one task for God today, that does not mean that all of our work is done.

I will pause in the study of Exodus to wish everyone not only a happy New Year but a happy new decade as well.  The last decade of the twenties were referred to as the Roaring Twenties, and it was  time when everyone was sort of in a partying mood.  What will this decade of the twenties be noted for?  The world is so much different now than it was a hundred years ago and there seem to be new inventions or improvements on inventions almost every day.  Still, one thing has not changed, and that is that God is still God.  As followers of Christ, we need to make this day, year and decade one that we put Him first, and let it be known personally as the obedient twenties.  If you are not a follower of Christ, then let this be known as the decade when you became a new person through Christ, and what better time to accept Him than today?  We cannot expect to change the world for God if we allow the world to change us to follow its values.  The Roaring Twenties were not called that because the people of that time were roaring out with the word of God, but were so called because they were chasing after the pleasures of this world.  Of course, New Year's Day is a time to make resolutions, though we always say that they will be broken in just a few days.  So, as followers of Christ, let us resolve to put God's will first in our lives and start today.  Then, let us not think that this resolution is something trivial that we will break in just a few days.  We will naturally fail at times to live in total obedience to God, but we should not approach our resolution to follow Him with the attitude that we are going to fail anyway, so it really doesn't matter if we do.  God will never fail us, so we need to resolve to do our best, through our faith in Him and His guidance and empowerment, to never fail God.  Happy New Year, and new decade, but all we are promised is today, so let us resolve to start today to put God first in all that we do.  If we do, then any other resolution is secondary.  Today, this year, and this decade, may God bless you and may you be dedicated to doing whatever He calls you to do for Him.