"Only the Beginning" - Exodus 35-40 (Larry Malament)

Sermon Quotes:

Ross Blackburn: “At the close of Exodus Israel has repented, the covenant has been restored, the tabernacle has been built lavishly and willingly, the glory of the Lord has filled the tabernacle and Israel is now poised, the Lord being with her, to carry out her priestly calling to the nations, making the Lord’s name known throughout the earth…the restoration in Exodus is real, yet partial. A level of separation still remains.”

Philip Ryken: “The book of Exodus really is his story. Jesus is the Moses of our salvation, the mediator who goes for us before God. Jesus is the Lamb of our Passover, the sacrifice for our sins. Jesus is our way out of Egypt, the deliverer who baptizes us in the sea of his grace. Jesus is our bread in the wilderness, the provider who gives us what we need for daily life. Jesus is our voice from the mountain, declaring his law for our lives. Jesus is the altar of our burning, through whom we offer up praise to God. Jesus is the light on our lampstand, the source of our life and light. Jesus is the basin of our cleansing, the sanctifier of our souls. Jesus is the great High Priest, who prays for us at the altar of incense. And Jesus is the blood on the mercy seat, the atonement that reconciles us to God. The great God of the Exodus has saved us in Jesus Christ”. 

One final commentary: “What do the closing verses of Exodus have to say to us?  The book of Hebrews…is an explicit and relatively extensive commentary on Exodus, at least more so than any other portion of the New Testament. The basic analogy that the writer of Hebrews draws is that Israel’s desert wanderings correspond to the daily life of the church on its way to Canaan.  In a manner of speaking, the end of Exodus is among the more applicable parts of the book. Verses 34-38 has something to say to us, since we, too, have been delivered and are waiting to arrive at the final destination. We, like the Israelites, are poised to reach our rest.  On this journey, we follow our holy Redeemer as he guides us to the Promised Land. Admittedly, there is no cloud overhead, but we have the Spirit of Christ dwelling in us. He brings us to the goal of our salvation just as surely as the cloud guided the Israelites to their ultimate destination. The people of God should take great comfort in this. The God of Exodus is still guiding. God is present with his people wherever they go, for he still leads and guides them, not to Canaan but to a “better country”, a heavenly one (Hebrews 11:16).”