Through the Bible with Les Feldick

LESSON 3 * PART 4 * BOOK 8

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS AND THE TABERNACLE

Exodus 20-36

I just want to say that we hope the programs are a blessing to each of you. Please remember we are nondenominational; I’m not a pastor, so don’t address me as Reverend, Preacher or Doctor. I’m just a layman, and rancher and we just do this for the Lord without any compensation. We love to do it, and trust we are laying it up in glory. And in the process we trust we can bring people, who don’t know the Lord to a knowledge of Him. And we can help believers, come into a closer walk, and realize that this is an exciting Book. I was thinking the other evening, you can take all the great authors of the world, you could roll them all up into one and they can’t even come close to this one. And that is why I love to teach this oldBook as most of you know.

If you will come back with me where we left off in Exodus Chapter 35, the last verse. Moses has put the call out to the people for all the things that are needed. I have often said that, would to God that church people could respond today like the Israelites did here. Why, pastors would just be beside themselves wouldn’t they? They would actually have to tell their flock, “Hey, quit giving. We have more then we know what to do with.” But that is what happened here. It actually got to the place that Moses said, “Don’t bring anymore, we’ve got all we can handle.” Now Chapter 36:

Exodus 36:1

“Then wrought Bezaleel and Aholiab, and every wise hearted man, in whom the LORD put wisdom and understanding to know how to work all manner of work for the service of the sanctuary,….”

Now, here we need to stop for a moment. Who is giving them the ability to perform these tasks? God does. Where do you get the ability to do what you do? God gave it to you. Never lose sight of that fact. Whatever you and I are, or ever hope to be, it is because of what God has done in and through each one of us. I have stressed over the years that every believer, I don’t care how untalented you think you are, God has a roll for you, He has given you a gift. I’ve seen people who thought they had no gift. But they used the gift tremendously, and never realized they were using it. And this is what happened here. God gave gifted people to bring about his work.

Exodus 36:2

“And Moses call Bezaleel and Aholiab, and every wise hearted man, in whose heart the LORD put wisdom, even everyone whose heart stirred him up to come unto the work to do it:”

Where does it have to start? With the heart. A question came up in one of my classes recently, the person said, “Les you are always saying that all God is looking for is to believe. How do I know that I have believed enough.” Have any of you wondered that? And it is a good question. Because lots of times people get the idea, “Well, if I just believe then I’m alright.” Most people, especially in our beloved nation believe in the historical fact that Christ lived, died, and maybe have a head knowledge that He also rose from the grave. But that is not believing. That is not what we are talking about. Believing doesn’t come from the head but from the heart.

We always point to this part of us (The Chest) and even the Bible speaks of the heart as in the chest area. We are not talking about that pumping organ, the organ that takes our blood and sends it down our arteries and veins, etc. When we talk about the heart, we are talking about that very central part of us that has a relationship with the spirit world. And it is in that area that God has to begin and finish His work. So when I talk about believing, trusting, having faith in the Gospel, I’m talking about the true heart belief. Not just a head knowledge. I’m sure most of you have heard the expression that many people will miss heaven by twelve inches and you say “What do you mean?” They had it in their head, but never got it in the heart. And there is something to that.

We must always be sure that we are believing, not just because we can give a mental assent to something. But because God has literally opened up our ability to believe these things, and trust our whole eternal destiny on it. If I couldn’t do that, I couldn’t sleep at night. I know enough about this Book to know there is an eternal doom coming for those who do not have that kind of a heart of faith. It is going to be awful for those that are lost, We can’t comprehend that. But for those of us who believe, and as it shows here, it begins in the heart. Now continuing on, if we are going to finish Exodus this lesson. Let’s hope so.

Exodus 36:3,4a,5a,6,7

“And they received of Moses all the offering, which the children of Israel had brought for the work of the service of the sanctuary, to make it withal. And they brought yet unto him free offerings every morning. And all the wise men, that wrought all the work of the sanctuary,…. And they spake unto Moses, saying, `The people bring much more than enough for the service of the work,…’ And Moses gave commandment, and they caused it to be proclaimed throughout the camp, saying, `Let neither man nor woman make any more work for the offering of the sanctuary.’ So the people were restrained from bringing. For the stuff they had was sufficient for all the work to make it, and too much.”

Oh, they were still going to bring more, but they had to tell them we have enough, we don’t need anymore. Now we are going to start the construction, with the things the people have brought. We will start with the linen curtains. The linen curtains are that which comprise what we would call today, the outer fence. The point I like to make is, that all the dimensions of this Tabernacle in the wilderness can all be divided by five. Everyone of them. Five in Scripture is the number of Grace.

So even as we are talking Law, yet the attribute of God, that even gives the Law to Israel, is Grace. What prompted God to bring them out of their slavery? His Grace. What prompted God to go seek Adam and Eve, after they had disobeyed? His Grace. So always keep this in mind. Grace is that one attribute of God that keeps Him dealing, even with the Nation of Israel, even after they made the golden calf, having gone into gross immorality. Why didn’t He destroy the nation? His Grace. Why does He come now and give them this whole system of worship? His Grace. The linen curtains, then, are going to be the outer fence. It will be 150 feet long, and 75 feet wide. It was made high enough that nobody could simply look in. So this outer fence was to keep all of this from view of the casual onlooker.

Another thing I want you to remember is that this Tabernacle was always set with the gate in the outer fence, facing east. I have put the names of the 12 Tribes up here on the board. and will name them for you. To the east, and the tribe that would always lead during their journeys, was Judah. Remember Reuben was the oldest and should have had that position, but Reuben sinned, and was an immoral person, who had a relationship with his father’s concubines. Consequently, God in his Sovereignty, brought Judah to the place that Reuben should have enjoyed. Another reason for Judah’s leadership is that Christ will come out of the tribe of Judah. So it says “that the scepter shall never leave Judah.” So on the east, and the nation will always move out in that direction, you have Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun. Then on the south were the three tribes of Reuben, Simeon, and Gad. On the west were Ephraim, Manasseh, and Benjamin, and on the north were the three tribes of Dan, Asher, and Naphtali. And there are your twelve tribes.

Now, of course, Levi is not mentioned, but Levi picks up the territory that surrounds the tabernacle area. They are not listed as one of the 12 tribes, even as they go into the Nation of Israel. So the linen fence is all around the outside. The next one is the curtain of goat’s hair. And this is the rough sketch of this little tent, and this is the outer frame of it. The curtain of goat’s hair is going to be that first layer that fits over the main frame, which is made of Acacia wood covered with gold.

So this main frame made of wood, covered with gold, and then the first curtain that lays over the outside edge will be this goat’s hair. The next layer will be the Ram skins dyed red. That is in verse 19. And then the very top, or outer area, were the seal skins (badger was the word in the King James but it was a sea animal) to stand all the extreme weather of the Sinai. But I want to point out that it was not pretty in its appearance. And the reason I’m pointing that out, is all of these things are a picture of Christ Himself in one of His attributes as He pertains to us today. Now the goat’s hair, I think, will refer to the Scape Goat. Remember that term? That was when the High Priest would lay the sins of Israel upon it. The seal skins on the outer, that which could be seen if they could look over the fence as it was seen, was very plain. There was nothing beautiful about it. What does the Scriptures say about Jesus to the unsaved person? “There is no beauty, that we should behold him.” To the unbeliever, He has nothing that appeals to them. But when we come to the inside frame, they had linen curtains also hung. Hung with gold or silver hooks, it was a combination of blue, purple, and scarlet fine linen; and woven into it were likeness of cherubim.

Now, use your imagination. Can you begin to imagine how beautiful that must have been? This is fine twine as it is called, some of the best linen that craftsmen could create. Interwoven in all of these colors, and in that weaving were the likeness of these cherubs. and they were all through it. You see you have a complete opposite. From the outside, Christ has no beauty that we should behold him, but once we become involved in Christ, now what is He? He’s everything. He is beautiful. And only the believer can understand that. All that He is. And it’s the same way as they would come into the tent. They would not see or experience that beauty, until the priest would come inside. Now let’s keep moving on. Then we find that all of these parts of the outer fence and everything else is set in socket of brass, or silver and the other important thing I wanted to point out is in verse 35.

Exodus 36:35

“And he made a vail of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen: with cherubims made he it of cunning work (Again this was intrinsic beauty).”

This vail separated the Holy of Holies from the main sanctuary. This part was only a third of the size of the sanctuary. The Sanctuary was 45 feet long and 15 feet wide. So the Holy of Holies was only 15 feet square. Now here is that vail. We are most acquainted with the vail, as it was in the Temple in Jesus’ day. And at the moment of His death, what happened to the vail? It was rent from top to bottom. Not from the bottom to the top. But from the top to the bottom and this signifies that no man had anything to do with it. It was an act of God. The vail pictured the very Body of Christ. The vail is what kept the presence of God from the priest, as they would practice their daily administrations. They would only come up to here. Only the High Priest, once a year could come in behind the vail.

We will be studying that when we come to the Day of Atonement. Now, let’s come to the Laver of cleansing. Here is someone who has given us his idea of the various furnishings, all made of wood, and covered with gold, except the Mercy Seat, which is in the Holy of Holies. It is pure beaten gold that formed these cherubim that sit up here as they overshadowed the Ark of the Covenant, which became the Mercy Seat. That was the piece of furniture that sat behind the vail. Someone asked me during a break, “Where is the Ark of the Covenant today?” Well, we know it has been gone ever since the Babylonian captivity, but there is nothing to indicate that the Babylonians took it with them, so turn back to Revelation Chapter 11. I think maybe others have had that same question. And these are the events taking place during the tribulation. Things are getting rough on the earth.

Revelation 11:18,19

“And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth. And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament (another word for testament is covenant): and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail.”

Now, there are those who claim they know where the Ark of the Covenant is. And we are quite sure that Israel is going to frantically look for it. For when they get their Temple rebuilt they will need it. The Ark of Covenant as it was experienced back in the early days of Israel, was the very indication of the presence of God. Now we know that when Israel sets up their Temple in the next few years, the presence of God is not going to sit over it. It will be a man-made religion for the most part. It won’t be like it was back here in Exodus. Because Israel is so far from God today, there is no way God will manifest His presence with them in the very near future, but He will during the tribulation.

Coming into the next little room was the altar of incense on which they burned fresh incense everyday. That was in the middle. Then here on the south side of this sanctuary stood the golden candlesticks. And out between the actual tabernacle tent and the brazen altar, where they burned the sacrifices, was this laver of cleansing. When the priest would come in and begin his sacrifices here at the brazen altar, then he would have to stop at the laver of cleansing, which was filled with water. It was brass made of looking glass. Even today when you get dirty out in the garden, after you wash, how do you check up? With a mirror. The priest would come to this laver of cleansing, and it was not only a wash basin, but also a mirror. And then he could proceed on.

All of this is a scriptural lesson for all of us. So turn to John’s’ Gospel Chapter 13. Now there’s still quite a few among us who still practice foot washing. And I don’t condemn them for it. They will say, “Well, it is in the Bible,” but again they are, I feel, bringing something in from God dealing with Israel, into the Church, which is not necessarily instructed for the Church. We pick it up now this whole cleansing aspect. And remember they didn’t stop here and take a whole bath. They had to do that before they began their priestly ministry. But after they had stopped at the altar, and made their sacrifices, they would stop here and wash their hands and feet. Okay, now we pick it up here during Jesus’ earthly ministry. They are at the last Passover.

John 13:4-9

“He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel and girded himself. After that he poureth water into a basin, and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded. Then cometh he to Simon Peter (and I’ve said over the years that Peter is always putting his foot in his mouth, and here he does it again.): and Peter saith unto him, `Lord, dost thou wash my feet?’ Jesus answered and said unto him, `What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter.’ Peter saith unto him, `Thou shalt never wash my feet.’ Jesus answered him, `If I wash thee not (his feet), thou hast no part with me.’ Simon Peter saith unto him, `Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head.'”

In other words, old Peter wanted Jesus to give him a bath. If we are going to do it part way, let’s do it all, he says.

John 13:10

“Jesus saith to him, `He that is washed (Do you see that? You have had your bath. The priest had had his bath, but what did he need? Just to wash his hands and feet.) needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all.'” Who was left out? Judas. In the next verse:

John 13:11

“For he knew who should betray him; therefore said he, `Ye are not all clean.'”

What was the setting? Remember the Jews of Jesus’ day did, primarily, their bathing in the central public bath house. We also know that the sanitation was not all that good, and the streets were filthy. So by the time they went from that public bath to the time they got home, their feet was filthy. So they needed foot washing. Oh, they had been saved, but they needed a daily cleansing. Now, quickly turn to Ephesians where we pick that same analogy out of the Jewish background, and we bring it into the Church age. And we have this same teaching, but on a different level. Paul writes:

Ephesians 5:25

“Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;” He is talking about us believers, the members of the Body of Christ.

Ephesians 5:26

“That he might sanctify and cleanse it (not with the washing in a foot tub, or laver, but how?) with the washing of water by the word,”

 

Through the Bible with Les Feldick

LESSON 3 * PART 3 * BOOK 8

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS AND THE TABERNACLE

Exodus 20-36

Let’s get right back into The Book for this lesson. Please turn with me to Exodus 32. Last week we saw that God began giving the instructions to Moses, while he was on the mountain the first time. And while he was gone, what happened? Israel got impatient, because he was gone 40 days; and coming out of Egypt, they were just saturated with idolatry. So with Moses gone they asked for a god. It is hard for us to comprehend, and we easily condemn the Jews. But you know what I always say? “Human nature is no different today than it was then.” I have maintained as long as I’ve been teaching, that if Christ were to come on the scene today as He did then, the human race would do the same thing. They would reject him. So, as soon as Moses is out of sight for a period of time, they get impatient as we see in verse 1.

Exodus 32:1

“And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, `Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot (know) not what is become of him.'”

I saw a clip on television the other night, and I think you know that I’m very slow to point an accusing finger at anyone. But again it was a clip on some of these New Agers on the mountainside at someplace, worshiping the sun, and whatever. And I thought how in the world can people of this enlightened day, so called intellectuals, fall for such garbage. But they do. And here was Israel. God, as I have stressed the past few weeks, has done some very miraculous things while bringing them from Egypt to Mount Sinai. And don’t lose sight of the fact that cloud and pillar of fire is still over them. Everyday there He is. They could not escape His presence.

But now just as soon as Moses is gone, they come to Aaron and say “Make us gods” and Aaron doesn’t even argue. This is the thing that amazes me. You would have thought that a mature individual like Aaron would say “No, wait a minute, people, Moses is coming back down.” But what does Aaron say? “Well, take off your jewelry, and bring me all your gold, and we will make you a god.” And remember he tells Moses later, that they throw this gold into the fire, and out comes this calf, like he had nothing to do with it.

Exodus 32:2-5

“And Aaron said unto them, `Break off the golden earrings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me.’ And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron. And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, `These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.’ And when Aaron saw it, he (Aaron) built and altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, `To morrow is a feast to the LORD.'”

Can you imagine a man like Aaron saying something like that. Was that a feast to Jehovah? Why no. It was a pagan feast. And it was copied right after one of the gods of Egypt which was apsis (I think is the name of that god, the golden calf). And all that they are doing now is not a worship to Jehovah, but to this adulterous, pagan god. Now verse 6:

Exodus 32:6

“And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.”

I have always been very careful on this television program, because I know we have a lot of kids watching also, and that is another encouragement, when parents tell us that their-ten-year old kids are learning so much. So I don’t want to get to explicit. But I think everyone including these kids, have seen the movie the Ten Commandments. The first time I saw it, (and that time I didn’t know the Scriptures as well as I do now) but I thought, isn’t that typical of Hollywood, to have these women out there, skimpy dress appearance putting on those seductive dances. I thought that had to be strictly the thoughts of Hollywood. But it wasn’t. You see the words here in the Hebrew “rose up to play” was that they actually were naked. And they put on these seductive dances. Now those of you who have been in my classes over the years have heard me say over and over again that paganism and idolatry was always steeped in the most abject immorality that we can imagine. That was part of their worship. They had brought all of this right out of Egypt. The Israelites of all people. Now in verse 15 we find Moses and Joshua coming down out of the mountains.

Exodus 32:15,16

“And Moses turned, and went down from the mount, and the two tables (The Ten Commandments) of the testimony were in his hand: the tables were written on both their sides; on the one side and on the other were they written. And the tables were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, graven upon the tables.”

Evidently, Joshua accompanied Moses up part way on the mountain, as I feel Moses was alone with God at the top and gave the instructions to build the Tabernacle, and gave him the law. But now Moses and Joshua pick up their companionship as they come down the mountain.

Exodus 32:17-20

“And when Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said unto Moses, `There is a noise of war in the camp.’ And he said, `It is not the voice of them that shout for mastery (that is not a victorious army we are hearing), neither is it the voice of them that cry for being over-come (or being overrun by an army): but the noise of them that sing do I hear.’ And it came to pass, as soon as he came nigh unto the camp, that he saw the calf, and the dancing (and again in the Hebrew it was seductive dancing): and Moses’ anger waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands, and brake them beneath the mount. And he took the calf which they had made, and burnt it in the fire, and ground it to powder, and strawed it upon the water, and made the children of Israel drink of it.”

Now, here is another amazing thing, that the Bible never contradicts science. For years the scoffers would say, “Whoever heard of such a thing, as putting gold into solution.” But those of you who had arthritic friends years back, one of their prime cures was gold shots. They would actually put gold into solution and gold shots were given to relieve the pain of arthritis. So you see the Bible was chemically correct way back then.

Exodus 32:22-24

“And Aaron said, `Let not the anger of my lord wax hot: thou knowest the people (you bet he knew them. He was disgusted more than once with them.), that they are set on mischief.’ For they (now watch this) said unto me, `Make us gods, which shall go before us: for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot (know) not what is become of him.’ And I said unto them, `Whosoever hath any gold, let them break it off. So they gave it me: then I cast it into the fire, and there came out this calf.'”

Now, isn’t that amazing? This is a grown man, but to me it sounds like my little four-year-old grandson. He might say something like that. He would say “Grandpa, I just did such and such and this is what happened.” But here we have this grown, mature, man Aaron trying to fool Moses, but more than that, who does he think he is fooling? God! As if God didn’t know that he was the one who fashioned it. He was the one who went up to the altar to worship it. Now, I want to make an analogy. And I’m a friend of preachers. Some of my dearest friends have been some of my pastors. In fact, in the last month, my wife Iris and I got back up to our old home area of Northern Iowa, and Southern Minnesota, and it was a centennial of my old home town. And so we saw everybody all the way back when I was just a kid. Among them was an old pastor who got me started teaching. He was the one who literally twisted my arm and got me to teach a class of high school boys. And it was just a thrill to see him. So when I say some of these things, don’t think that I don’t have a kinship with pastors. But, on the other hand, we’ve got to say things like they are.

A long time ago while I was in the service, I was driving across Texas with my radio on, and I heard a great old Southern Baptist preacher who has since passed on. I’m not sure of his name, but I will never forget a statement that he made in that sermon I heard on the radio that day. He said “When I was a little boy growing up in the tall pine trees of the Carolina’s, I always noticed that the trees that die, started dying at the top first.” What was he driving at? He was castigating his own denomination for the departure from the truth that was taking place, already in the higher echelon of the denomination. They are not alone, every denomination takes that track. Their leadership is what begins the slide. We see this over and over in Christendom, and again it is nothing new. Here is this man Aaron; he should have been the man that stood in the gap, while Moses was on the mountain. Instead he gives in to the demands of the people.

I just thank the Lord for the role he has given me. I love people and I like to get as many people at my class as I can, but I’m not beholding to anyone. My income doesn’t depend on trying to keep people happy out there in the pew. But there are many preachers up against that very thing. They have to keep everybody content or the money doesn’t come in. And the first thing you know, he is gone and out of an income. I thank the Lord I don’t have that worry. As long as those old cows have a calf or two, I’m going to survive. I can teach the Book and not have to compromise, and I can’t thank the Lord enough for the ability he has given me.

Exodus 32:25

“And when Moses saw that the people were (what?) naked;….”

I’m reminded of a sermon I heard, and it might have been from that same old pastor we were telling about a while ago. He was also a Bible teacher as well as a good preacher. He was talking one time about the maniac in the New Testament, the Gadarenes, out of whom Jesus cast legions of demons. And he made the point, and analogy and I will never forget it.“When they saw that man filled with his demons, what was he? Naked. As soon as Jesus came into that man’s life, and cast out the demons, what was the first thing that man did? He put on his clothes.” And that hasn’t changed either. Go back to the last lesson. Everything that God said thou shalt not do. What does the old devil say? Just the opposite. God has instructed us how to clothe our body, but what does Satan do? Tells us to take them off. It is so obvious. Well anyway, they were dancing naked around this golden calf. A perfect example of the idolatry out of which they had come.

Exodus 32:26a

“Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, `Who is on the LORD’S side?….'”

Which of you are going to mean business with our God? He puts them up against it doesn’t he? Now, God moves in and He brings on a plague, because of their gross immorality. I’m not an old prude, but I’ll tell you what. I know what God expects of the human race. God has not changed one bit from Genesis 1 till today. He has not and will not change. What God hated back here, He hates today. We are all being programmed. My wife and I were talking about it on the road up here today. Some of the lyrics that she has heard in the last few days, that our little kids, and my grandchildren now are being subjected to. It’s frightening. And these people are just literally scoffing at everything that God has ever instructed for the human race. Immorality is something that is taken for granted. After all, everyone is doing it. Isn’t that the ideal. But God hated it then, and He has hated it ever since. So He brings a plague on them. Now verse 2:

Exodus 32:28

“And the children of Levi did according to the word of Moses: and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men.”

In other words, they went out and put to death all of those they knew were guilty. Now those three thousand men did not count the women, these are just the men, for that is way the Scripture usually counts. Let’s go to I Corinthians 10, And here is where the scoffers come into the picture, and say “See the Bible just contradicts itself – all the time.” The real scoffer does not know his Bible. Here Paul is making reference to this very event around the golden calf, and God’s anger against the children of Israel, and His punishment of them:

I Corinthians 10:8

“Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand.”

Now, this is where the scoffer jumps on that. They say “In Exodus it reads three thousand and here twenty three thousand.” Let’s go back to Exodus and I will explain that. Exodus again where we just left off in the 32d Chapter. Moses now intercedes on behalf of the people and in verse 30 we read:

Exodus 32:30-35

“And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses said unto the people, `Ye have sinned a great sin: and now I will go up unto the LORD; peradventure I shall make an atonement (or covering) for your sin.’ And Moses returned unto the LORD, and said, `Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have make them gods of gold. Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin-;(do you see that dash at the end of sin? Moses could not imagine, how God would forgive such gross sin. So the sentence is not even finished – and Moses says continuing on) and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written.’ And the LORD said unto Moses, `Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book. Therefore now go, lead the people unto the place of which I have spoken unto thee: behold, mine Angel shall go before thee: nevertheless in the day when I visit I will visit their sin upon them.’ And the LORD plagued (how many died here from the plague?) the people, because they made the calf, which Aaron made.”

In that one verse, what do you pick up? Three thousand are listed up here earlier being killed by Levi swords. And the twenty thousand that is seeming a contradiction are the people that the Lord plagued. And the apostle Paul fills in the blanks in Corinthians, by saying, “That it was twenty three thousand, rather than just three thousand.” Now, I would like to go on over to Chapter 35, We are moving as fast as we can; I know so many of you are wanting us to teach prophecy, and yet I don’t want to skip too much that we lose the flow here, as we come up through the Book of Exodus. Moses has now come down with the second set of the tables of law. And the Sabbath day is renewed again, and Israel is reminded of it.

Exodus 35:4-8

“And Moses spake unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying, `This is the thing which the LORD commanded,’ saying, `Take ye from among you an offering unto the LORD: Whosoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it, an offering of the LORD; gold, and silver, and brass, And blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats’ hair And rams’ skins dyed red, and badgers’ skins, and shittim wood, and oil for the light, and spices for anointing oil, and for the sweet incense,”

Exodus 35:9-15

“And onyx stones, and stones to be set for the ephod, and for the breastplate. And every wise hearted among you shall come, and make all that the LORD hath commanded; The tabernacle, his tent, and his covering, his taches, and his boards, his bars, his pillars, and his sockets, The ark, and the staves thereof, with the mercy seat, and the vail of the covering, The table, and his staves, and all his vessels, and the shewbread, the candlestick also for the light, and his furniture, and his lamps, with the oil for the light, And the incense altar, and his staves. and the anointing oil, and the sweet incense, and the hanging for the door at the entering in of the tabernacle,”

Exodus 35:16-20

“The altar of burnt offering, with his brasen grate, his staves, and all his vessels, the laver and his foot, The hangings of the court, his pillars and their sockets, and the hanging for the door of the court, The pins of the tabernacle, and the pins of the court, and their cords, The cloths of service, to do service in the holy place, the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons, to minister in the priest’s office. And all the congregation of the children of Israel departed from the presence of Moses.”

Now don’t lose sight of what has just happened with the horrible events around that golden calf. But God has cleansed Israel, the remainder now have come to a place once again of fellowship, and they have been forgiven.

Exodus 35:22a,23a,24a,25a

“And they came, both men and women, as many as were willing hearted, and brought bracelets, and earrings, and rings, and tablets, all jewels of gold:…. And every man, with whom was found blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats’ hair, and red skins of rams,…. Every one that did offer an offering…. And all the women (He is not going to leave them out) that were wise hearted did spin with their hands,….

A lot of people get the idea that God is a little bit partial toward men, especially in the Old Testament. Maybe in some areas he was. But God still used the women, and even in our New Testament, in the Age of Grace. I can remember back when the feminist movement first began, that they tried to get the Bible out of our universities, they did not want a single copy left, and when they were asked by a reporter why they felt that way, their reply was, because of the Letters of the Apostle Paul. If they could just get Paul out of the Bible they could probably stomach it.

But I come back and say look, anybody who has read that last Chapter of the Book of Romans could never accuse Paul as being anti-feminist. You go through that Chapter and he names woman after woman who were part and parcel of his ministry. Who helped him in the ministry. The Bible is not anti-feminist. In fact, if you stopped to think about it, do you know what was the greatest feminist movement that ever hit the human race? Christianity. Now among most of your pagan people, yes, a woman is still a second class citizen. Even in our Middle East today, a woman just does not have the same rights and privileges like we in the western world have. But the women here are putting their spinning wheels and needles to work. Now verse 30.

Exodus 35:30,31

“And Moses said unto the children of Israel, `See, the LORD hath called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah; And he hath filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, and in knowledge (In spiritual things? No – in what?), and in all manner of workmanship;'”

Do you think that God is not concerned with your daily life. Absolutely He is. Twenty-four hours a day He is concerned with every fact of your life. Some people think, we can’t bother God with material things. All He is interested in is the spiritual. Don’t you believe it. God is interested in everything in our lives, physical, material, as well as spiritual.

Exodus 35:32

“And to devise curious works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass,” Now, verse 35 and this just puts the frosting on the cake. All of these He has set aside to be craftsmen:

Exodus 35:35

“Them hath he filled with wisdom of heart, to work all manner of work, of the engraver, and of the cunning workman, and of the embroiderer, in blue, and in purple, in scarlet, and in fine linen, and of the weaver, even of them that do any work, and of those that devise cunning work.”

These are all basic trades of craftsmanship works.

 

Through the Bible with Les Feldick

LESSON 3 * PART 2 * BOOK 8

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS AND THE TABERNACLE

Exodus 20-36

Please turn to Exodus 23, We will be skipping a couple of chapters. I had a call the other day from a lady who asked, “Les, would you please digress. Stop where you are and go back and teach the Book of Revelation; I am 89 years old, and I want you to teach it before I pass on.” Bless her heart; I told her we would try to hurry, and I think we will after the Book of Exodus; we certainly want go chapter by chapter. We will take a brief look at Israel’s history, leading up to the Book of Daniel, and when we get to the Book of Daniel we will stop and indeed study prophecy for a while. Because when you study Daniel, you must study Revelation, and vice versa. So we will be doing that in the not too distant future.

Now that the law has been given, and man being what he is, even Israel will be shortly breaking the law, so God has to give what we call the whole system of law. In that whole system of law, we like to break it down into the moral law, which was the Ten. And then He comes right down the line and gives Israel the civil law. In other words, if their bull gets out and tramples down someone else’s crop, there had to be a system to compensate. Then on top of that, in order to compensate for the breaking of the moral law, God gave them what I like to refer to as the ritual, or the system of worship. And that involved of course the priesthood. They will also soon be establishing the Tabernacle so that Israel would know exactly what to do under any set of circumstances.

Before we get to the Tabernacle, I would like for you to stop in Chapter 23. We are all acquainted with the story of the ten spies, who go into the land of Canaan, to spy out the land. And I imagine that at least 99 out of 100 casual Bible students do not understand that that was not part of God’s plan at all. God intended for them to trust him explicitly. After all, He had already brought them out of Egypt miraculously, He had brought them through the Red Sea. So what were some measly little Canaanites (maybe some were 7 feet tall), but what are they with such a God. So God’s intention was as soon as the Tabernacle is completed, which will be in a year, God wants them to raise it up, so He can take them straight North into the Promise Land. No delay with 12 spies or any such thing. This is so clear now in Exodus 23, ordinarily, I don’t like to read too much, but on the other hand, people have told me that, as I read they will see things they had never seen before. So we will trust that the LORD will speak as I read it. We also may skim some of this, so you read it thoroughly in your leisure time.

Exodus 23:20

“Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared.”

Now, I need to stop for a moment. Who is the Angel in this case? It is Jehovah Himself. The Angel of God, The Angel of the LORD, is always God the Son. We pick that up in Genesis 46, where Jacob referred to Him as the Redeeming Angel. There is only one Redeemer in Scripture and that is God the Son. Jehovah in the Old Testament and Christ in the New Testament. So this is Jehovah that is speaking to the children of Israel and He is going to lead them.

Exodus 23:23,24b,25

“For mine Angel shall go before thee, and bring thee in unto the Amorites, and the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites: and I will cut them off. Thou shalt not bow down to their gods,… And ye shall serve the LORD your God, and he shall bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee.” Now verse 27:

Exodus 23:27

“I will send my fear before thee, and will destroy (He is not telling Israel they have to destroy; He will for them.) all the people to whom thou shalt come, and I will make all thine enemies turn their backs unto thee.” Now reading verse 29:

Exodus 23:29-33a

“I will not drive them out from before thee in one year (this is not going to happen all of a sudden because Israel wouldn’t be able to keep up); lest the land become desolate, and the beast of the field multiply against thee. By little and little I will drive them out from before thee, until thou be increased, and inherit the land. And I will set thy bounds from the Red Sea even unto the sea of the Philistines (the Mediterranean); and from the desert unto the river (Euphrates, that is the river in Scripture): for I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand; and thou shalt drive them out before thee. Thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor with their gods. They shall not dwell in thy land, lest they make thee sin against me:….”

Now, in line with all of that, I would like for you to turn with me to the Book of Deuteronomy Chapter 1. The Book of Deuteronomy is a synopsis, (a repeat of everything,) and so Moses is going back to where they had departed from Mount Sinai, and were indeed ready to go into the Promised Land.

Deuteronomy 1:19-21

“And when we departed from Horeb (Mt. Sinai), we went through all that great and terrible wilderness, which ye saw by the way of the mountain of the Amorites, as the LORD our God commanded us; and we came to Kadesh-barnea. And I said unto you, “Ye are come unto the mountain of the Amorites, which the LORD our God doth give unto us. Behold, the LORD thy God hath set the land before thee: go up and possess it,….”

Does He tell them to send in 12 spies? No. Then who’s idea was it? The Israelites. They were the ones that backed off and were weak in faith, and forgetting all the power that their God had manifested. They say, “Hey, we can’t go in until we see what we are up against.” And when this happened, God condescended. But oh, don’t you imagine that those Jews must have wished those 12 had never gone in? It was because of their report that Israel got weak and afraid, and said “Oh we can’t do it.”

The amazing thing as we look at this from time to time, and we won’t take time to look at it now, but, in Hebrews the 4th Chapter Paul, by inspiration, is referring to those 40 years that they wasted in the wilderness. And he says “You could have gone in, and had the land of promise, but you did not because of your unbelief.” Not their immorality, and they had been guilty of that, and it wasn’t because of any other thing, but only their unbelief. And that is so appropriate for us today. What is the matter with Christianity today? Unbelief. People just cannot break down and say “Yes I believe what God says.” But they have the intellectual world with all of their intelligences, and their education, putting down the Scripture, and so what does man say? “Well, really, how can I believe this?” That is unbelief. This is what gets to the very heart of God.

Now, back to Exodus. So, God is preparing the Nation of Israel. They are several million strong, they are gathered around Mt. Sinai. They have now been given the Ten Commandments, and He has already begun to give them a certain amount of the Civil law in the intervening chapters. And now He is getting ready to set up the Ecclesiastical, or that part of the law that establishes their Temple worship. Of course it will be a Tabernacle. Who knows why this is called a Tabernacle? What is the other word for tabernacle? Tent. And what is a tent? Something temporary. When you live in a tent, you aren’t living in something substantial and permanent, but in something you can pick up and move. Now the apostle Paul also refers to our body as a tabernacle. It’s not here forever. It is temporary. And consequently we must tie all of this together. Now, let’s look at Chapter 25. God has called Moses up again unto the top of the mountain. The fire and thunder is taking place:

Exodus 25:1-5b

“And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, `Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring me an offering: of every man that giveth it willingly with his heart ye shall take my offering. (what was the word? Willingly) And this is the offering which ye shall take of them; gold, and silver, and brass, And blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats’ hair (skins that have been put together with goat’s hair), and rams’ skins dyed red, and badgers’ skins,….'”

The badger here is not what we picture when we think of a badger. It was really a seal or a sea water animal, and I want you to remember that, because these hides of the seals will be on the outside of the tabernacle tent which I will point out when we get to it.

Exodus 25:6,7

“Oil for the light, spices for anointing oil, and for sweet incense, Onyx stones, and stones to be set in the ephod, and in the breastplate (we know these were beautiful stones).”

I want you to get the picture: they are out there in the wilderness, in the Sinai desert. Where are they going to get all of this material? Where did it come from? Egypt. Remember when they came out of Egypt, they spoiled Egypt. The Egyptians just gave everything to these Israelites. God had all this in mind. It was a Sovereign God who caused those Egyptians to give of their wealth. Several years ago I read a book of ancient history, and there is not a lot of written materials back from then, other than the Scriptures. Egypt was indeed in complete shambles, economically, socially, militarily, and everything, by the time the Israelites had left. Well, here is the reason. Israel just simply took Egypt’s wealth, not because they took by deceit, but by a Sovereign God.

Now, we will start on the Tabernacle building in verse 9. I like to point something out here. As God is now giving instructions for this Tabernacle an amazing thing comes up. I think very few people have caught it, although they may have been reading their Bible all their life. And that is that the Tabernacle floor plan that God gave to Moses was a copy of one not on this earth but where? In heaven. Now let’s look at verse 8:

Exodus 25:8,9

“And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them. According to all that I shew thee, after the pattern (That’s the crucial word.) of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it.”

In other words, God isn’t dreaming this up from nothing. God said to Moses “I’m going to give you the instructions to build this tabernacle on earth, patterned after one that is in heaven.” Alright, we need to show that from Scripture don’t we? For that ,we must go back to the Book of Hebrews Chapter 9. We alluded to this several weeks ago, and I have several request to repeat it. So if we have time in this lesson we will try to do it. If not, then we may wait until the next one, because I don’t want to be rushed in the final minute or two. But here in Hebrews Chapter 9, verse 11 Paul writes.

Hebrew 9:11

“But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle (now look at the next statement), not made with hands (in other words not made like the tabernacle in the Sinai, or something like Solomon’s Temple by men. But we are talking about a tabernacle that God has constructed.), that is to say, not of this building; “

A newer translation may be in the text, that word “building” would have been better translated what? Creation. This is what Paul is referring to not made with men’s hands, and is not on this earth or this creation, so it has to be in heaven. In the very Throne Room. And evidently God has set this up in heaven, so that even though we see it all practiced back here in ancient Israel, yet it becomes so appropriate for you and I in the Age of Grace. We will be coming to all of this in the next few lessons. But when that High Priest went in and sprinkled the blood on the Mercy Seat, as the High Priest of Israel, what did Christ do for us? He did the same thing, only instead of going into the Tabernacle of Israel, He went into the Tabernacle in heaven. Now let’s read on.

Hebrews 9:12

“Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his (Christ) own blood he entered in once into the holy place, (his little room behind the vail was called the Holy of Holies, and Christ went into the one in heaven as our High Priest. He brought His own divine shed blood at the crucifixion) having obtained eternal redemption for us.”

Do you see why a study of the Tabernacle is so appropriate? A lot of people say “Don’t touch that, it is so old and dusty, there is nothing in it for us.” Hey, it’s got everything in it for us. And we will be pointing that out in our study on the Tabernacle. Now let’s come back again to Exodus 25, You will notice that the first thing in verse 10 that God gives instructions for is this piece of furniture way back here. Now this faces east. They always sat the same way, and this would be the west, and of course this would be the south. As man would approach God, he would come from here. Here was the brazen altar, on which they made their sacrifices, but here was the very Ark of the Covenant, the mercy seat, where the High Priest would come in once a year and sprinkle.

Now, it is interesting that as God gives his instructions for all of this, He begins with this piece of furniture. (The Ark of the Covenant) Not this one. Now why is that? Because you see when God deals with man in salvation, where does everything have to begin? With himself. Always remember, man does not look for and find God. Some of you have been with me for several years now, but when Adam and Eve sinned, and they sewed those fig leaves, then toward evening Who did they hear in the garden? God. Did Adam and Eve run to meet Him, and say “Lord, you are the one we are looking for?” What did they do? They hid. Who had to find them? God did.

Now listen, it has never changed. Mankind will never, of his own volition, go looking for God. It is just contrary to our make up. God has to make the first move. That doesn’t mean that God has just simply forgotten some, and has already picked out who He will save, and who He won’t. I don’t agree with that at all. Because the work of the Cross was sufficient for how many? Everybody. A few weeks ago, I used the illustration in John’s Gospel Chapter 10 of the door to the sheep fold? Remember, I said that door was ground level. It is not beyond the reach of anyone. But, nevertheless, it still must begin with God. So the very first instruction for this tabernacle is going to start with this (The Ark of the Covenant). Then we move on through and on this side of the vail, and this next piece of furniture is the table of shew bread and that is in verse 23.

Exodus 25:23a

“And thou shalt also make a table of shittim wood (Or Acacia wood):….”

Now, this was a little tree or shrub that grew in the Sinai desert. This just shows us also the craftsmanship of these Israelites. I was studying on this a while back, while riding my tractor in the field. The last generation we think has come up with so much technology, such as particle board and plywood and all these things. It is nothing new. If you read, they took this little tree and we read that some of the boards are 18 inches wide. And those little trees were not that big. So they had to glue and particle it until they had all of these furnishing out of this acacia wood. Then we come to the golden candle stick, and God gives instructions on how to build that, and it will be out of beaten gold. And then as you come on through, you see that He just gradually keeps moving in the instructions all the way out until He meets with mankind.

Now, come to Chapter 30 for a moment. After describing how to make the Ark of the Covenant, the table of shew bread, the candle sticks, He tells in verse 1 how to make the altar of incense, which is this one right here in the middle. It was also made of this Acacia wood and covered with gold. And in verse 18 they were also to make a laver of cleansing, filled with water, where the priest would wash his hands and feet.

 

Through the Bible with Les Feldick

LESSON 3 * PART 1 * BOOK 8

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS AND THE TABERNACLE

Exodus 20-36

During our lessons, we never try to bring anyone out of one group into another. Our teaching, we trust, is strictly nondenominational. We just simply want to teach the Word, and see what it says, as well as what it doesn’t say. None in this ministry take any money for our own compensation, but only do it as a love for the LORD. The only compensation we get is the encouragement from others in how they have learned through our teaching, as well as those who have come to know the LORD. All the money we receive goes strictly for TV time and expenses of the ministry; no salaries are involved in this ministry whatsoever.

Now, we left off in our last lesson, We were teaching that the law still has control over the whole human race. If you just stop and think about it, whether they are pagans or absolute atheists, or whatever, any society on earth must have some sort of a fabric as the Ten Commandments laid out for the human race. The law in itself is given specifically to the Nation of Israel. I have put the Ten Commandments in brief form on the board. But let’s read them in our Bible in their entirety. Then I will come back and comment on them as I have them listed on the board. The thing I want you to catch, is that all five of the first commandments will be connected with that statement. The last five, the LORD thy God is never mentioned. So be aware of that.

Exodus 20:2-5

“I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage (and here comes the direct command) Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;”

Now, we must stop for a moment. A lot of people have asked me, “What does this really mean?” I think all you have to do is just look at some of the present day statements from our psychologists and psychiatrists, with regard to how certain qualities within a family will carry on down from generation to generation. And you may ask, what are you talking about? Abuse. You take the child who has lived under an abusive father. We now know that by far the greatest percentage of the time, when that child becomes a father, he normally will be an abusive father also. We call it in agriculture, livestock and poultry, and etc., the pecking order. That was first coined years ago by the Ag college researcher when they were watching particular chickens. And all of a sudden they realized that in every flock of chickens, whether small or large, they noticed that immediately they set up a pecking order. I’ve watched it, and it is true in most livestock also. They will immediately, when you put a bunch together, establish their pecking order. And the one down at the bottom will never try to compete with the one at the top.

And that is exactly what the human make-up does, It establishes a pecking order. If you have an abusive father, he in turns abuses his wife, and who will she invariably turn on? The children. And then you have the children under that kind of abuse from their mother, they must have someone to pick on. And have you ever seen or read accounts of a child catching a butterfly and pulling it’s wings off. Why? He has to have something to vent his feelings on, and he can’t compete with those above him, so he takes something beneath him.

This is the way the human make-up operates until the very power of a Sovereign God comes into that life. And that’s why we must realize that society today is in the shape that is in because they have pushed God out of their thinking. We have pushed Him out of our schools, and homes, and then wonder why things are going on like they are. That is all wrong, and so God is warning that these traits will take off down the line for generation after generations. Alcoholism is another good example of generation after generation in the same family. And that is what the Scripture is saying about 1500 years before Christ. So it is not anything new. Now, for the third command, let’s read verse 7:

Exodus 20:7,8

“Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.”

But verse 9 is part of that commandment, as well as verse 8. And as I was thinking on these things, most of my preparation on this one was while I was in the hay field. That is where I can do my best thinking anyway, setting on that tractor, with nothing else to distract me. It suddenly dawn on me that part of this command concerning the Sabbath is six days thou shall what? Work. And that is such a dirty word for so many people anymore. People don’t really want to work. I can remember, back when I was in the service, I had a young man from the east coast, who worked under me. And he actually thought that work of any kind was a dirty word. He honestly thought you were not an intellectual unless you could get out of doing any kind of work.

I was thinking along these same lines: the people that are so strong in our midst, and I love them, who think that all of our problems are because we don’t keep the Sabbath. How may of those same people would be willing to work six days? Most don’t want to work more than five, and some four or less. Many times we take a portion of Scripture we like and it fits us fine. But we leave out what we don’t like. So part of the commandment to keep the Sabbath also says six days you will work. The seventh one you can rest. And again I’m tying this one in with the first five, that are man’s relationship with his God, because of the statement now in verse 10:

Exodus 20:10

“But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God:….”

Now, I know there are some groups that take this commandment and put it with the final six as being part of man’s relationship with man, but I prefer to keep it up here in the first five.Remember the first five are man’s relationship to God because of that connecting link – The LORD thy God over and over. And the other five, man’s relationship with man, because The LORD thy God is not included in any of those five. Let’s read on in verse 11:

Exodus 20:11

“For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.”

Let’s go into the fifth one. And this one is also in the first five again because of that statement of the LORD thy God.

Exodus 20:12

“Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.”

Those five are held together then by that connecting link. The last five of course are much simpler and again just stop and think. How long can a society hold together if you absolutely ignore, especially, these last five? Well it can’t. In fact we have missionary friends who have ministered to uncivilized tribes in the area of South America.

Many of you remember years ago when the five missionaries were killed by the Auca indians. Our friends work in that same area, and they started with literally uncivilized people, still running in the jungle with their bow and arrows, with nothing but a loin cloth on. And they befriended them and finally brought them out where they could communicate with them. I know Dick has said more than once, it was so amazing that, when they brought those uncivilized tribes out, they had a moral code. A moral code, that often would make America look pretty sick. Where do they get it? In Romans the apostle Paul tells us for those who did not have the written law, where did God put the law? – In their heart. The conscience meanwhile accusing, or excusing them. Even the uncivilized people of the world, in order to maintain their little tribes, must have some sort of a law that is patterned after what God gave here to Moses. Now verse 13, this is the sixth commandment:

Exodus 20:13-17

“Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not commit adultery (number seven). Thou shalt not steal (number eight). Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour (number nine). Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house, thou shall not covet thy neighbor’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s(number ten).

I hadn’t intended to look at Romans right now but I feel we need to. Thou shalt not covet is the one commandment that puts the apostle Paul in an awareness of all the others. Romans Chapter 7. This is a difficult Chapter, I know. And we are not going to comment on it today. But nevertheless, Paul is going through the awful turmoil of what I think all of us experience at one time or other. The things we should do, and the things that we want to do, but we don’t do, and the things that we shouldn’t do, but we do anyway. So this is his dilemma. He says in verse 7:

Romans 7:7

“What shall we say then? `Is the law (The Ten, the moral law) sin?’ God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin (I wouldn’t really understand what God’s perfect demands were), but by the law: for I had not known lust (that is desire), except the law had said, `Thou shalt not covet.'”

Now, when you really think about it, and that is what I try to get people to do – when you get up in the morning and you are getting ready to begin your day’s work, and you have a little time to do some thinking, I want you to mull these things over. Is it possible to break one of the other nine commandments, without first coveting? If you have never thought about it, you won’t answer. But if you have thought about it you know that coveting is at the root of breaking every one of the commandments, and that is why Paul makes reference to it.

I suppose the one most people would wonder about is taking the name of the LORD thy God in vain. How can you maintain that a man who curses and swears, using God’s name in vain, is coveting? If you know anything about psychology, then that is easy. Why do people curse and swear? I’ll tell you why, for the same reason the little kid who gets no attention at home is a cut up in school. What does he want? Attention. What does a guy that curses and swears, and uses foul language think he is getting? Attention. That is what it boils down to. He is coveting attention.

Now, with regard to these Ten commandments, I would like to go to Jesus’ ministry in Matthew 22. If you noticed as we read those commandments in Exodus, there was one word glaringly absence. Who know what it is? Love. You didn’t see that word in there did you? No. I know when you get to Deuteronomy Chapter 6, Moses tells the children of Israel,“Know that the LORD thy God is one God.” And what does the next verse say? “And thou shalt love him with all thy heart.” But stop again and think. Can anyone of you force someone else to love you? You can’t force someone to love anybody. And God knew He couldn’t.

So I think that is the reason the word love is not in any of the Ten Commandments. But from the very onset of the creation of man, why did God create man in the first place? So that He (God) could have someone, that after He had extended His love, would love Him back. And that is the only reason we are here. God had angels, He had enough to populate all the universe as far as that goes, but He did not have someone that had that capability of returning His extended love. Turn to Matthew 22:

Matthew 22:35-40

“Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, `Master, which is the great commandment in the law (he thought he was putting Jesus on the spot didn’t he? But look how Jesus answered)?” Jesus said unto him, `Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.'”

Now, wait a minute; was that last statement in the Ten Commandments? Did you read it in there back in Exodus Chapter 20, “that thou shalt love thy neighbor?” What has Jesus done? Well when He said to love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, He is referring to the first five. And when we are aware of these first five commandments, of how God is approaching us from His point of view, what is it intrinsic for us to do? To love Him. When we realize that He is the Supreme God, and is the One who will not give in to competition from idols etc. When He is the one who has created everything, and has set up the home, and that is the reason I put the father and mother with the first five. The home is part and parcel of God’s plan for the ages. This is where everything is supposed to be taking place.

And so He puts these two commandments into perspective. This is the first one, thou shalt love the Lord thy God, and the second with our relationship with our fellow man. With our home, family, and neighbors. So what is Jesus really telling this smart alec? And that was what he was, who thought, “Well I’ve got Him this time.” And Jesus just simply lumps the two into two great areas of human relationship, Man with his God, and man with his fellow man.

Now, I think we have time to turn to the Book of Romans, where Paul just puts the frosting on the cake. I want to be known to anyone I have ever taught as a teacher who maintains that we are not under Law but under Grace. But I also want you to realize that I’m not throwing the law out the window, as having no use to us. It is basic of course, even in the age of Grace. Everyone of us as a child of God are going to fail, but hopefully by God’s Grace, how are we responding to these Ten commandments? They are the very core of our social fabric aren’t they? Now, look at what Paul says in Romans 13.

Romans 13:8

“Owe no man any thing (this could have been translated defraud no man), but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath (past tense) fulfilled the law.”

Now, we had better define. My definition of the love that Paul is talking about is not erotic love, or Hollywood’s idea of love. Paul here is talking about a love that seeks the other person’s highest good. You might want to write that in the fly leaf of your Bible. It is the best definition of love I have ever come across. It is not original with me, I heard it years ago, and I have always liked it. There is nothing involved in that as far as hugging and kissing and a physical attraction. It is just simply seeking the other person’s highest good. If our young people, in their courting, would keep that uppermost in their minds, would we be in the moral shape we are in? Of course not. For if the young man dating that lovely little girl would have her highest good on his mind, would he try to bring her into an immoral situation? No.

You take a husband and his wife, or a neighbor with a neighbor, as long as we are always attempting to do, whatever we do, the other person’s highest good, then Paul says we are fulfilling the whole Law. It becomes so simple, but we have to understand, that we can do none of this just simply on the basis of commanding.

We need to remember that from the very onset in the Garden of Eden, when old Satan approached Adam and Eve, and got Adam to eat and sin came on the scene, who now becomes God’s greatest adversary? Satan. Stop and think, everything that God says is best for us not to do, Satan says do it. Look at the heartaches out there in the world today. Why are there so many? Because they have gone contrary to what God has set down as our best. He knows what is best. And no society can survive by totally going contrary to these Ten Commandments. But if you get nothing else from this lesson always remember, that when you have loved another, you have fulfilled the Law.

 

Through the Bible with Les Feldick

LESSON 2 * PART 4 * BOOK 8

MANNA: GOD’S SAME GRACE SAVES US AND KEEPS US

Exodus 16-19

Picking up from our last lesson, we were discussing in Exodus 19:6 that God had promised the Nation of Israel that they were to be a Nation of priests. Now, what is a priest? A go-between. Between man and God. For Israel to become that kingdom of priests (go- between) naturally they are not going to be a go-between themselves and God, for they have God. So who are they going to have to be the go-between for? The Gentiles. A lot of people can’t understand this coming out of the Old Testament, that the whole purpose of setting aside the Nation of Israel was to be the vehicle to bring these pagan Gentiles to a knowledge of Israel’s Messiah. Now keep that concept in your mind as you come all the way through the Old Testament. God is preparing the Nation of Israel to funnel back into the main river of humanity, and bring the Gentiles to a knowledge of their King and God.

Turn to Acts 2, and here Peter is preaching that Pentecost sermon, but to whom is he preaching? Jews only. Remember he is still on Covenant grounds. He is still referring, in Chapter 3, to the fact that you are the children of the Covenant, which God made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Now, we as Gentiles are not under those Covenant promises. That was strictly Jew only. Here, Peter, preaching on Covenant grounds says:

Acts 2:22

“Ye men of Israel,….”

Now, I don’t claim to be an English major, but I can read English, and I don’t see any mention of Gentiles here. He only says “Ye men of Israel,….“ and that’s all. And then from verse 25-30 he goes back to the Old Testament and quotes David. David meant everything to a Jew. Did he mean anything to the Romans or Greeks? No. So you see this was all Jewish oriented. Now come down to verse 36:

Acts 2:36

“Therefore let all the house of Israel,….” (plus all of you Gentiles? No, it doesn’t say that.)

Acts 2:38

“Then Peter said unto them (the House of Israel), Repent, and be baptized every one of you….”

And that wasn’t anything different than what John the Baptist preached way back in Matthew. Jesus and the Twelve preached it, and Peter is still preaching, “Repent and be baptized.”How many? “…every one of you….”

Do you know what that means? Every person in Israel, would have to repent and be baptized, and then they would have become a nation of Priests. In Chapter 3, Peter is still preaching to the same kind of a crowd, his language is identical, and here Peter and John go up to the Temple in verse 1. And as soon as you see the word Temple that should tell you they are still under the Jewish Law, as the Temple is still operating. God hasn’t told them to shut it down. Titus hasn’t come and destroyed it. And so Peter and John go up to the Temple.

Acts 3:1

“Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour.”

And of course they heal the lame man. When they healed the lame man it was an extension of the healing powers of Jesus that the Twelve practice. Jesus told them they would have this power.

Acts 3:11

“And as the lame man which was healed held Peter and John, all the people ran together unto them in the porch that is called Solomon’s, greatly wondering.” What are they wondering? How was this man healed. Now Peter says to that Jewish crowd:

Acts 3:12

“And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, `Ye men of Israel….'” (I don’t twist the Scripture, I just leave them where they are. That is just plain English, “Ye men of Israel.”

Acts 3:13a

“The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers,….”

None of this would mean a thing to Gentiles. But it does to God’s Covenant people. So Peter is applying all of this to his fellow people, the Israelites. Now come all the way to verse 26.

Acts 3:26

“Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you (so far Jew only), in turning away (how many?) every one of you from his iniquities.”

Now how many is every one? It means what it says. Every single Jew that was on the planet when Peter was preaching, had to come to that recognition that Jesus was their Messiah. Now had they done so, and the last Jew had said we believe that Jesus the One we crucified is raised from the dead and is our Messiah and King, what would have God done? He would have sent the King, and they could have had the Kingdom on earth, that they were promised, and then every Jew could become a priest. They would have gone out into all the Gentile nations. But they didn’t, and as a result we don’t see Jews winning Gentiles in the Book of Acts. Except on one occasion (Peter and Cornelius) and that was for the purpose of the events that would take place several years later in Acts Chapter 15.

Now, turn to Zechariah Chapter 8, and I know we have looked at these verses before but sometimes it takes awhile for these things to soak in. Here in Chapter 8, this is all in the prophetic program of God’s dealing with Israel. Preparing them after they have come under the Law, which we will see, if not in this lesson, then the next one, where Paul says in Galatians that the Law was given to the Nation of Israel to be a tutor, or schoolmaster. Why do we tutor kids? To prepare them for a future role in society. Why do we sit up schoolmasters? To prepare kids for future roles.

Zechariah 8:20

“Thus saith the LORD of hosts; `It shall yet come to pass (remember this is before Israel rejected it all, and then God turned to the Gentiles with the Apostle Paul), that there shall come people, and the inhabitants of many cities.'”

Zechariah 8:21

“And the inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, `Let us go speedily to pray before the LORD, and to seek the LORD of hosts: I will go also.'”

Zechariah 8:22

“Yea, many people and strong nations (oh, God intended for the Jew to circumvent the globe, and bring the nations of the world to a knowledge of the God of Israel.) shall come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem (on the earth), and to pray before the LORD.”

Zechariah 8:23

“Thus saith the LORD of hosts (remember, this is the LORD speaking); `In those days (what days? – when Israel could have had every Jew a priest. Back in the Book of Acts, with Peter preaching to the Jews, and this went on for several years. Israel would have had her King in her midst in Jerusalem after the earthly kingdom was set up. Although Israel rejected it. It was still a valid offer and promise.) it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages (that means out of every dialect, and there are many. All would understand.)of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew (why? Because he is a priest, a go-between, the one who can take them to a knowledge of their God. Remember this is what God offered the Nation of Israel, back here in Exodus 19, that they would be a Kingdom of Priests. And you can’t have a Kingdom without a King.), saying, `We will go with you; for we have heard that God is with you.'” Now, reading the verse in it’s entirety:

“Thus saith the LORD of hosts; `In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, `We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you.'”

Now, isn’t that plain? This was the prospect for the Nation of Israel. They could have had the King and the Kingdom, and every Jew would have been a priest. And the nations of the world would have just literally clung to a Jew in order to get to Jerusalem and have a knowledge of Israel’s God. I said that was their prospect, but they simply blew it. They rejected all of that, when they just couldn’t believe who Jesus really was. So God permitted the destruction of the Temple in 70 A.D. And Israel was sent into a dispersion, spiritual blindness. The Nation of Israel lost all of these promises from the Old Testament, and God, without Israel, turned to the Gentiles with the apostle Paul. Another verse just came to mind, let’s go to Romans 11. This Chapter says it all. Paul is now writing again to us Gentiles and explaining how it all came about.

Romans 11:11

“I say then, `Have they (the Nation of Israel) stumbled that they should fall? (in other words, a lot of people like to teach that God is all through with the Jews, and the Nation of Israel, and He has given everything over to the Church. That’s not what the Bible teaches at all. That is something that man and the devil made up. It has no basis in fact whatsoever. God is not through with the Nation of Israel, she is back in the land. She hasn’t got it all yet, but one day she will have. God has not forgotten His Covenant promises. But until then, she is in a spiritual blindness, and a dispersion.) God forbid (or banish the thought) but rather through their fall (through their rejecting these prospects we have been studying) salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy.'” Now, reading the verse in its entirety.

“I say then, `Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy.'”

And, of course, the Church has failed in that as well. Because rather than provoking them to jealousy, she made enemies of them. And it has only been in the past 20-30 years, that the religious Jews are recognizing that the true believer in the finished work of Christ is still the best friend that Israel ever had. Even the Israeli government is beginning to recognize that so many of these true Christians groups, especially out of America, are the Nation of Israel’s best friend.

Romans 11:12

“Now if the fall of them (in other words, when they rejected all of this during that 40 years of the Book of Acts, and they ended up losing their temple and going into dispersion) be the riches of the world (by Paul’s Gospel coming to us), and the diminishing of them the riches of the gentiles; how much more their fullness?”

Oh, Israel’s glory is still in the future, they are still going to be the apple of God’s eye. But they have some terrible times ahead of them before that happens. Now back to the Book of Exodus Chapter 19. Never lose sight of the verse (6) we have been teaching. It is a benchmark verse.

Exodus 19:7

“And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all these words which the LORD commanded him.” Now verse 8, and look what it says:

Exodus 19:8

“And all the people answered together, and said, `All that the LORD hath spoken we will do.'” (what are they asking for? Law. They don’t even realize that this is what they are asking for. We will do, is legalism) And Moses returned the words of the people unto the LORD.”

I think we have time to take one little look at Exodus 20, where we have the giving of the Ten Commandants as we understand them. And before we even look at the Ten Commandments, I want to take what minutes we have left in this lesson, to show why the Law was really given. Look in Chapter 20, verse 1:

Exodus 20:1

“And God….”

Not the LORD, not Jehovah, which is usually associated with God dealing with Israel. But here we come back to the Triune God. Do you think that this is an accident? No. No word of Scripture is. And when you come down to verse 2 we see the normal approach to the Nation of Israel from God and it is LORD God or Jehovah. Now, back to the God of verse 1. Why do you suppose it is God, rather than LORD God or Jehovah? Well, we must go to Romans Chapter 3. Keep in mind what is just said, that Jehovah was the name that was particularly associated God with His people Israel.

The term God, transcends Israel and goes over to everyone. The Triune God is that which every nation of the world must deal with.

Romans 3:19

“Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.” Now, we need to stop and break this one down.

“Now we know (there is no doubt) that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: (let me ask you a question. Who was under the law? The Jew – but go on) that (what are the next words?) every mouth may be stopped, (Now, we go beyond the Nation of Israel, and to the whole human race So then, does the law condemn you and I as Gentiles, or just the Jews? Everyone. So all comes under the condemnation of the law) and all the world (might be made fit for heaven? That’s not what it says, although most think that way. How many people of your own friends and neighbors have some way gotten the idea in their head, that if they can just keep the Ten Commandments to the best of their ability, it will take them to heaven? Many, many people think this way even right here in the Bible belt. But that is not what this verse says. It says) and all the world may become guilty before God.” So the law was given for one purpose and what was it? To make them guilty. In verse 20b Paul writes:

Romans 3:20b

” …for by the law is the knowledge of sin.”

The other thing you must remember about the law it was Holy, it was perfect, it was righteous, from God’s point of view. But to mankind it was, weak, fleshly, it was beggarly. Why? Because law had no inside power to help the person doing it to keep it. All the law could do was condemn, it could never take the person and say, “I say do not steal, and I will help you from stealing.” The law can’t do that. The law has no power to help a person keep the law. And for some people it is quite the opposite, you tell a little kid, don’t go through that door. But when you turn your back he is going to try to see what is on the other side of that door. Now are we any different? No. Just as sure as the law says do not commit adultery, what does the average human mentally say? “There must be something about it that I might like.” That is reverse psychology. But the law has absolutely no way of helping a person keep the law. But when you come under Grace, and I always say that Grace isn’t a license. But can you see the difference? Under Grace, just as soon as you believe in what God has done for us, the Holy Spirit indwells us, and now we have power.

Now there is something working from within that will help us keep these very laws of God. Always remember, we don’t keep the law for salvation. We become law keepers as a result of our salvation. The Old Testament believer did not have that. All he had was the demands of the law, with no power whatsoever to help him keep it.