exodus 40 - concordia publishing...

1

Preparing the Lesson

Worship in the Tabernac le

Key PointIn the tabernacle, God dwelled with His people, cleansing

them and making them holy through the blood of sacrifices. In Christ, God now dwells among us, cleansing us and making us holy through His blood, sacrificed for us on the cross.

Law/GospelMy sin makes me unholy before God and separates

me from Him; I am unworthy to stand in His presence. God cleanses me, makes me holy, and dwells in me through the once-for- all sacrifice of Christ.

ContextThe Israelites are camped at Sinai, almost a year after

their exodus from Egypt. The Ten Commandments have been received . . . and almost immediately shattered when the golden calf is constructed. But God has provided a means of atonement for the people: the altar and blood of sacrifice. The Lord has shown Moses a heavenly tabernacle after which he is to model the earthly tabernacle. Earth reflects heaven. Indeed, heaven is present on earth as the heavenly Lord takes up residence within the Holy of Holies. Afterward, as recorded in Leviticus, the Lord will institute the various sacrifices by which He will maintain fellowship with His nation.

CommentaryEden was a sanctuary of sorts, where humans lived and

worked in perfect communion with God. But in the post-Eden world, where death and sin strangled creation, where were humans to turn? Where was the “Eden” where they could be made right with God? The Lord made a new garden. The tabernacle became this new Eden for all fallen Adams and Eves. Here, they could return to the Lord and be purified and made holy through the bloody sacrifices instituted by God for their sake. The place even had the look of a garden, with various flora and fauna woven into the very fabric of the tent. Everything about the sanctuary visually proclaimed, “Welcome home, sons of Adam and daughters of Eve! Welcome back to Eden!”

As Eden opened on the east (Genesis 3:24), so did the taber-nacle. There, Israelites reentered God’s holy place via the altar, and only via the altar. There, the blood of bulls, goats, sheep, and doves was poured out. This blood was not simple blood, but blood ordained by God through His Word. God did not need it; sin-ners did. The sacrifices were for their benefit. By it they were cleaned, renewed, and made holy.

God’s dwelling within the tabernacle also foreshadowed a future, more intimate dwelling of God among people. For the Word became flesh and dwelt (literally “tabernacled”) among us (John 1:14). The Son made our flesh His own; the Creator assumed the stuff of His own creation. His body is our taber-nacle, holy and pure.

Baptized into His pure and holy body, we are pure and holy also. We enter where no Old Testament high priest ever could: into the body of God Himself. He cleanses and sanctifies us. Through His once-for-all sacrifice, we are welcomed back into a new and better Eden: the Church.

Exodus 40 stresses that Moses made everything exactly as God instructed him. Nothing was done willy-nilly; for just as everything in creation had its right place, so in this place of new creation, everything had its right place. For here, God re-created fallen sinners, refashioned them in His image, and restored them to fellowship with Him. In doing all this, He gave an ongoing preview of what He would do in His Son, who is our Tabernacle, our Priest, our Sacrifice, and our Holiness.

Exodus 40

Lesson 1 Pentecost 14 September

2, 2012

Express

AskIn the tabernacle, we see a picture of

God’s saving grace. The sacrifices were a picture of the once-for-all sacrifice Jesus would make on the cross.

Have students draw a line from the pic-tures that remind us of God’s Old Testament promise of salvation to the word Promise and lines from pictures that remind us that Jesus fulfilled the promise of salva-tion to the word Fulfillment. The lamb, altar of burnt offering, ark of the covenant, lampstand with carved almond blossoms, and Aaron in his priestly garb all point to the Promise. The candle, crucifix, chalice and host, and baptismal font point to the Fulfillment.

If you have time, review with the stu-dents the Bible passages on the back of the Student Leaflet to discover several ways that God comes to us and why. Review these suggested responses.

John 20:31—Through His written Word, we can hear God’s plan of salvation and believe.

Teacher Leaflet 1 Cross Explorations™ Level 2 © 2012 Concordia Publishing House. Scripture: ESV®. 48-1223

Hidden, Yet Revealed

Promise Fulfillment

John 20:22–23—Through His spoken Word. Pastors are given to us so that we can hear God’s forgiveness in our own ears.

1 Peter 3:21—Through Holy Baptism.1 Corinthians 11:24–25—Through Holy

Communion, Christ comes to us in His body and blood.

1 Timothy 2:4—God wants all people to be saved.

AskWhere do we see Jesus tabernacled,

dwelling among us? Jesus is with us whenever we hear, read, and meditate on His Word. Indeed, He is with us always (Matthew 28:20) and dwells in us (Galatians 2:20). The triune God also comes to us in the Divine Service in His Word and Sacrament—our heaven on earth.

Review the final paragraph on the Student Leaflet, emphasizing God’s prom-ise to be with us, and send your students off with a blessing.

Dig Continued


The Twelve Spies in Canaan

Key PointBy God’s power, Israel rose victorious over many great

enemies; by the power of Christ who fought for us on the cross, we are victorious over the greater enemies of sin, death, and the devil.

Law/GospelI do not always believe God’s promises; instead, I grumble

and am afraid. God always keeps His promises, especially His promise to save me from my sin by the sacrifice of His Son.

ContextA year and a few months after leaving Egypt, the nation

stands on the brink of the Promised Land. Over four hundred years have passed since Jacob and his sons entered Egypt. Now, countless Israelites stand poised to sink deep roots in holy soil. But, alas, ten of the dozen spies who have scoped out the land throw a pall over most people’s enthusiasm. They return with a good news/bad news report. “The land is lovely, to be sure,” they say, “but the inhabitants are gargantuan! There’s no way we can conquer them.” Such rebellion ignites divine anger, brings down a curse upon everyone twenty and older, and begins the infamous forty years of wandering in the wilderness.

CommentaryTaking the land will not be as easy as taking candy from

a baby. The Canaanites, Jebusites, and a whole pack of other “ites” won’t simply pack up when Israel moves in. So a plan of attack is needed—thus the mission of the spies to check out the land and its inhabitants. The land “checks out” as God

had promised—top-notch real estate. The heavy, takes-two-men-to-carry cluster of grapes is ample proof of that.

“BUT,” warn ten of the twelve spies, “we had just as well dig our graves before we attack. We are mere grasshoppers com-pared to these giants. Plus, their cities are built like castles. God wants us to bite off more than we can chew. Mission impos-sible.” With such words, the spies (all but Caleb and Joshua) squashed the hopes of Israel. The people, first dejected, then infuriated, soon want a pound of flesh from Moses and Aaron. Back to Egyptian slavery they want to go.

Such is fallen human nature. It revolts against God’s ways when they seem contrary to reason or common sense. It tells David to put away his sling and kiss Goliath’s feet. It tells the ten spies and the tens of thousands of Israel to turn tail and run back to their former masters. In other words, sin says that God is a liar. He can’t do what He says He’ll do. Better to trust in your five senses and one brain than any five words of the one God.

But God, from creation onward, specializes in the impos-sible. He makes everything out of nothing. With Him, grass-hoppers can stomp the life out of giants, sky-high city walls can tumble down, 99-pound Israel can take on and take out any muscular “ites” that dare stand in their way. So say Joshua and Caleb, for so says our Lord, who fights for us every step of the way.

These enemies whom Israel fears are tokens also of the greater enemies whom we still face today: the “ites” of sin, death, and our archenemy, Satan. Who can stand against such mammoth foes? Christ can. Christ has. He has proven to be faithful to His Father, victorious in all combat. On the cross, He took on and He took out every adversary of humanity. God Himself came down from heaven to fight for us.

Numbers 13–14


9, 2012

Express


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The Bronze Serpent

Key PointAs the bronze serpent was lifted up to heal and save the

Israelites from the snakes, so Christ was lifted up on the cross to heal and save us from sin, death, and the devil.

Law/GospelBitten and poisoned by sin and death, I complain when

life is not what I want. God calls me to repentance and points me to Christ, who heals me by His death and resur-rection.

ContextForty years have passed since the nation began their wan-

derings as punishment for their rebellion (Numbers 13–14). A new generation is about to be given their chance to enter the Promised Land. But like father, like son—their mouths are full of murmuring, for their hearts are overflowing with mistrust of God’s benevolence. The woebegone desert in which they trav-el prompts them to throw a national pity party. After this inci-dent, they will prove victor over enemy nations and encamp in the land east of the Jordan to prepare for Moses’ farewell sermons (Deuteronomy) and their entry under Joshua’s leader-ship.

CommentaryIn Scripture, the snake is the devil’s pet. Ever since Satan

hissed his lies through that serpentine mouth in Eden, these reptiles have been demonized. Hardly does the Bible have a good word to say about them; in fact, quite the opposite. Even when Moses and Aaron’s staff is transformed into a snake (Exodus 4:3; 7:9–12), it is hardly treated as “man’s best friend.”

It comes as no surprise, then, that of all the animals chosen to plague the grumbling, unbelieving Israelites in the desert, snakes were the chosen weapon. These were “fiery serpents,” which probably refers not to their appearance (as if they were glowing) but to the effect of their venom on the human body. Not only did it burn, however, it also killed.

This is a radical call to repentance. But as the psalmist says, “When He killed them, they sought Him” (Psalm 78:34). Sometimes one has to come face-to-face with death to face up to his or her sin and seek the face of the living God. So it was for Israel. So it is oftentimes for us.

The confession of the people is good and right. They have sinned against God and His chosen leader. But what they want is not what they need. They don’t need a divine St. Patrick to clear their little desert Ireland of serpents. Christ knows what they need: a visible conduit for His healing, a medicine that is in the very image of the problem itself. They need a serpent of salvation, and that’s what God gives them. The bronze serpent, uplifted on the pole, is the means chosen to grant healing and relief. Under the guise of these deadly serpents, this bronze serpent works not death but life. Through it, Christ saves.

In John 3:14, Jesus says that as Moses raised this serpent in the wilderness, so He, too, must be lifted up on the cross to draw all men to Himself. Hidden under the guise of a con-demned sinner is the Holy One of God. He has become our sin, the sinner, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (2 Corinthians 5:21). Christ is our true “serpent of salvation,” in whom we are healed from the venom of sin and death.

Numbers 21:4–9


16, 2012

Express


Dig

.

God did not take the snakes away.

God does not stop the sin in this world.

Defeated death for the whole world.

Defeated death for the Israelites.

Is a cure for sin.

Was a cure for poison.

Points to God’s healing work.

Points to God’s saving work.

Refer to the illustrations and phrases on the back of the Student Leaflet. Instruct stu-dents to draw arrows to the left or right of each phrase, connecting it with one of the illustrations. Some answers will be obvious. Some phrases may be connected to both illustrations. As the students do this activity, discuss the fact that faith—trust in God’s promise and in His Son—is the key. God did not take away the serpents in the wilder-ness, and He does not stop sin in this world; yet, God defeated sin and death on the cross. God wanted to heal the people who were bitten by the snakes. He gave them faith to believe in His cure, and it was so. His will was done.

exodus 40 - concordia publishing...

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