Exodus 19-40: Getting Egypt out of Israel
INTRODUCTION.
A. Israel had spent 400 years in the land of Egypt. It is very likely that Israel picked up certain practices and expectations of life from the Egyptians.
B. Although God had delivered Israel out of Egypt, He now had to get Egypt out of Israel.
C. In this lesson, we will show what God did to try to drive Egypt from Israel and what lessons would apply to us today.
I. GOD ESTABLISHED A LAW WITH ISRAEL.
A. God set out to establish a covenant with Israel. (Exo. 19:3-6)
B. Israel agreed to abide by the covenant. (Exo. 19:7-8)
C. God gave the law to Moses. (Exo. 20:1-23:33)
1. God gave the ten commandments to Moses.
a. The duties to God. (20:1-11)
b. The duties to man. (20:12-17)
c. Jesus summed up these commands in Matthew 22:36-40.
2. God gave civil laws to Israel. (21:1-23:33) These laws included...
a. the rights of the persons, i.e. slaves, parents, and pregnant women. (chp 21)
b. the rights of property. (chp 22)
c. the rights of personal integrity. (chp 23)
D. Israel agreed to and confirmed the covenant. (24:3-8)
II. GOD GIVES INSTRUCTIONS.
A. The purpose for the Tabernacle is clearly stated in Exodus 25:8-9.
B. The Lord gave the instructions for building the Tabernacle.
1. The curtains of linen. (26:1-14)
2. The boards and sockets. (26:15-30)
3. The inner veil. (26:31-35)
4. The outer veil. (26:36-37)
5. The court of the Tabernacle. (27:9-19)
C. The Lord gave the instructions for the contents of the Tabernacle.
1. The ark of the covenant. (25:10-22)
2. The table of showbread. (25:23-30)
3. The golden lamp stand. (25:31-40)
4. The altar of burnt offering. (27:1-8)
5. The altar of incense. (30:1-10)
6. The bronze laver. (30:17-21)
D. The Lord gave the instructions for the priest's garments.
1. The ephod. (28:6-14)
2. The breastplate. (28:15-29)
3. The urim and thummim. (28:30)
4. The robe of the ephod. (28:31-35)
5. The holy crown. (28:36-38)
6. The priest's coat. (28:39-43)
E. The Lord gave more instructions for the Tabernacle. (31:1-11)
F. The Lord said that the Sabbath would be a sign between Israel and God. (31:12-17)
G. God gave Moses two tablets of stone containing the Testimony given by the Lord. (31:18)
H. Let us take this opportunity to show some connections between the Tabernacle and its contents with the New Testament.
1. Read Hebrews 8:1-6 {chart: Copy & Shadow)
a. "...who serve the copy and shadow of the heavenly things..." (vs 5, NKJV)
b. "...as Moses was divinely instructed when he was about the make the tabernacle." (vs 5, NKJV)
2. The High Priest was a shadow or copy of our High Priest, Jesus Christ.
3. The court of the Tabernacle would be the shadow of the world.
4. The objects of the Tabernacle. (Heb. 9:1-5; 10:1)
a. The brazen altar would be the shadow of Jesus' death and sacrifice. (Heb. 13:10,11)
b. The laver would be the shadow of baptism.
c. The Holy Place would be the shadow of the church. (Heb. 10:19-23)
d. The candle stick would be the shadow of the word of God which gives us light.
e. The table of showbread would be the shadow of the Lord's Supper.
f. The altar of incense would be the shadow of our prayers to God. (Rev. 5:18)
g. The Most Holy place would be the shadow of Heaven.
5. Moses dedicated the first covenant with blood. (Heb. 9:18-22; cf. Exo. 24:6) The new covenant was dedicated with the blood of Jesus. (Heb. 9:16-17)
6. Application to us:
a. We need to be teaching the lost of the world about the great sacrifice that was made on our behalf, the death of Jesus on the cross.
b. We need to be teaching the lost about the need to believe and be baptized (Mark 16:16) in order to have their sins washed away (Acts 22:16), thereby entering the church which is the body of Christ. (Acts 2:38,41,47)
c. We then need to teach the lost that once they obey the commands of Christ, thereby being baptized into His body, the church, they must then live a faithful life unto death in order to enter Heaven, the Most Holy Place.
III. ISRAEL IS DISOBEDIENT TO GOD.
A. The Israelites had agreed to walk by the covenant of the Lord. (Exo. 19:7,8)
B. Within a short period of time, the Israelites had turned to idolatry when Moses was delayed in coming down from the mountain. (chp 32)
C. After punishing Israel, God talked with Moses about setting up the Tabernacle of meeting. He also assured Moses that He would always be with him. (chp 33)
D. God rewrote His law upon two tablets of stone and then renewed the covenant with Israel. (chp 34)
IV. THE TABERNACLE AND ITS CONTENTS ARE BUILT.
A. The Israelites dedicated their treasures to God for the building of the Tabernacle. (chp 35)
B. Certain men such as Bezaleel and Aholiab dedicated their talents for building the Tabernacle. (chp 36-39)
C. The Tabernacle was dedicated to God. God accepted the Tabernacle and filled it with His glorious presence. (chp 40)
CONCLUSION.
A. The book of Exodus is a story of deliverance, the giving of a law and the desired obedience.
B. As we have seen, God gave Israel a law for them to follow. If Israel had followed the law as God required, then the influences of Egypt would not have caused Israel great trouble.
C. We too have been given a law. Our law is the New Covenant. As Christians, we should be committed to following the New Covenant. If we abide by this New Covenant, then we will enter the promise land of eternal life with God in heaven.
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Old Testament Lessons: Exodus 19-40: Getting Egypt Out of Israel - March 7, 1999
by John M. Duvall -- Lawton, OK