Title: There I Met You/Exodus 25
God not only gave the law to Moses, but also made and erected a sanctuary or tabernacle (Exodus 26:1) to dwell with the Israelites.
1 “I will build a sanctuary to dwell among them” (8)
God dwells in "a high and holy place" (Isaiah 57:15) and is so great that "even the heavens and the heavens of the heavens are unacceptable" (2 Chronicles 6:18). There" (Psalm 139:8), a God omnipresent in the universe, but a God of the temple presence in the sanctuaries and temples built by men (Exodus 25:8; 2 Chron. 7:2; Hab 2:20). God is also the immanent God in the hearts of believers who have formed the temple of the heart (1 Corinthians 6:19). In particular, He is a wonderful, grateful, and gracious God who “abide with the contrite and lowly in spirit” (Isaiah 57:15).
2. "There I met you" (22)
God not only wants to be present, He wants to meet you. He wanted to meet you in the most central of the sanctuary, the Most Holy, where the ark and the mercy seat were. Inside the ark were the tablets of the testimony, the stone tablets on which the Ten Commandments were written, and Aaron's staff. The mercy seat was like the lid of the ark, and on it were made two cherubs representing angels. On the mercy seat the high priest was to sprinkle the blood. The ark and mercy seat symbolize today's pulpit with the Word and the blood of Jesus. God wants to meet sinners. “You will find me, and I will find you” (Jeremiah 29:13,14).
3. "Tell them to bring me a gift... and have them build a sanctuary for me" (2:8).
God built the sanctuary, and the Israelites made offerings and used their hands and feet to build it. This applies to the construction of the church as well as to the worship, service and evangelism work that continues after the church is built. The church is built, maintained, and grown by the gifts and devotion of the saints. Sometimes gold and silver jewels are needed, sometimes goat hair and ram's skin. However, one condition was presented for the offering. It is to give “with a joyful heart” (2). “Whosoever desires in his heart, let him bring it to the Lord” (Exodus 35:5). God hates stingy offerings (2 Corinthians 9:7). And God wants our bodies to serve. He wants the service of the body, not the service of the mouth (Romans 12:1, 1 John 3:18, Psalm 84:10).
4. “Make [bread] a table and a lighthouse of pure gold” (23, 31)
The showbread (bread) to be placed on top of the bread can either symbolize the flesh of Jesus, who is the bread of life, or it can symbolize the devotion of believers who have been crushed into powder. The lighthouse can symbolize Jesus who is the light of the world, or it can symbolize the life of light of the believers who carried him.