Day 36

V From the Exodus to the Crossing into Canaan - 1462-1422 B.C. ~ cont.

(1462 - 982 480 years of 1 Kings 6:1)

B. Time spent at Sinai (sometimes called Horeb) ~ cont.

f. Various laws given ~ cont.

2. God's covenant with Israel ~ cont.

b. Tabernacle items ~ cont.

Golden Candlestick - Exodus 25:31-40

Curtains of Linen - Exodus 26:1-6

Curtains of Goats' hair - Exodus 26:7-13

Covering of Rams' skins - Exodus 26:14

Boards and sockets - Exodus 26:15-25

Outside bar - Exodus 26:26-27
Middle bar - Exodus 26:28
Overlay of gold - Exodus 26:29-30
Inner vail - Exodus 26:31-35
Outer vail - Exodus 26:36-37
Brazen altar - Exodus 27:1-8
Court - Exodus 27:9-15
Hangings for gate of court - Exodus 27:16-19
Oil for the light - exodus 27:20-21; Leviticus 24:1-4
Altar of incense - Exodus 30:1-16

{pages 156-160}

The list of tabernacle items began with yesterday's reading and will finish tomorrow.  To summarize:

Ark ~ Table of Shewbread ~ Golden Candlestick ~ Curtains of Linen ~ Curtains of Goat's  Hair ~ Covering of Ram's Skins ~ Boards and Sockets ~ Outside Bars ~ Middle Bar ~ Overlay of Gold ~ Inner Vail ~ Outer Vail ~ Brazen Altar ~ Court ~ Hangings for Gate of Court ~ Oil for the Light ~ Altar of Incense ~ Laver of Brass ~ Incense and Spices.

As I typed the list I noticed that the Ark is the very first item listed, which seems appropriate.  What do all of these items mean and/or represent?

I have had an astounding journey as I sought out pictures and information defining the representation of Christ in the Tabernacle.  While the ark is mentioned first, those who have written about it use (in my estimation) the appropriate avenue of discussing the layout and articles.

By far this site: The Tabernacle Place is the BEST.  For ease, I am going to list all the links.  I can not emphasize strongly enough how exhorting and encouraging this review of the tabernacle has refreshed my soul.

The components of the tabernacle:

• Diagram of the Tabernacle and Basic Layout
• The Gate
• Brazen Altar and the Tabernacle Sacrifices
• Laver (Basin)
• Menorah (Lampstand)
• Table of Showbread
• Golden Altar of Incense
• Holy of Holies and the Veil
• Ark of the Covenant

I have been blessed to have studied the Tabernacle in our 1 Peter study when we camped out on this verse:

1Pe 1:3  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 

We did an extensive study on the word mercy, which took us on a journey back to the OT Tabernacle to see how Christ was represented in the mercy seat or seat of propitiation and covered all the other items and how they reflected some aspect of Christ.  Awesome study.

I do not remember addressing the items inside the Ark as representative of man - the Tablets of Stone, Rod that Budded and Jar of Manna.  That was in intriguing thought for me to day.  Humbling as well.

Drawing or building the Tabernacle is an excellent way to teach children about Christ and HIS work.  I am ashamed to say I never availed myself of that opportunity with my children ~ and we spent HOURS building with Legos.  Perhaps Father will bless me with the ability to teach it to my grandchildren.

I found a few other sites which give a brief overview:  The Furniture of the Tabernacle, Tabernacle and its Furnishings, and The Tabernacle's Foreshadowing of Christ.

Let me close this with these words from The Tabernacle Place:

"The application for believers today is that we are forgiven through Christ’s work on the cross, but we are washed through His Word. We need to be washed daily in His Word to cleanse ourselves, so that we can serve and minister before Him."

Beloved of the Lord, your first and foremost duty is to know the Lord your God - be ye not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind. READ the WORD!

Day 35

V From the Exodus to the Crossing into Canaan - 1462-1422 B.C. ~ cont.

(1462 - 982 480 years of 1 Kings 6:1)

B. Time spent at Sinai (sometimes called Horeb) ~ cont.
f. Various laws given ~ cont.

(4) Laws involving others - Exodus 22:16-31; 23:1-9
(5)  Land and the Sabbath - Exodus 23:10-13
(6) Three national feasts - Exodus 23:14-19
2. God's covenant with Israel
a. Future conquest - Exodus 23:20-33
b. Altar built - Exodus 24:3-8
3. Moses goes to mount (Trip 5) - Exodus 24:1-2, 9-15
a. After 7 days instruction begins - Exodus 24:16-18
b. Tabernacle items
Materials - Exodus 25:1-9
Ark - Exodus 25:10-22
Table of shewbread - Exodus 25:23-30; Leviticus 24:5-9

{pages 151-156}

And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which the Lord hath made with you concerning all these words.  (Exodus 24:8)

Literally?  Sprinkled blood on the people?

Gill - and sprinkled it on the people; not on the whole body of the people, who could not be brought nigh enough, and were too numerous to be all sprinkled with it; though the apostle so expresses it, a part being put for the whole, Heb_9:19 either this was sprinkled on the young men that offered the sacrifices in the name of all the people; or on the seventy elders, as the heads of them, so Aben Ezra; or upon the twelve pillars, which answered to the twelve tribes, and represented them as the altar did the Lord.

Nadab and Abihu - sons of Aaron and Elisheba.

Nadab - H5070 - From H5068; liberal; Nadab, the name of four Israelites.

• H5068 - A primitive root; to impel; hence to volunteer (as a soldier), to present spontaneously.

Abihu - H30 - From H1 and H1931; father (that is worshipper) of Him (that is God); Abihu, a son of Aaron.

Then went up Moses and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel: And they saw the God of Israel: and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in his clearness.  (Exodus 24:9-10)

Father, knowing all, prepared Nadab and Abihu for the service of the tabernacle.  Designating what they would wear, eat, who they could marry, etc.  He laid out their future, all the while knowing that they would be destroyed for offering strange fire.  Some are vessels of honor and others of dishonor, all are in HIS hand.

2Ti 2:20  But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour.

O' Lord, let the thoughts of our minds and the meditations of our hearts be solely on knowing You more intimately, day by day.  Let the manifestation of who we are be an accurate representation of You and Your glory.

And Moses went into the midst of the cloud, and gat him up into the mount: and Moses was in the mount forty days and forty nights.  (Exodus 24:18)

Fasting...nourished on the Word of God only.  Our Lord and Savior, Christ Jesus had a similar experience:

Mat 4:2  And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungered.

forty = trials, probation and testings.  For a list of numbers and their biblical meanings, try this site.

I made a notation that Moses only substance in 40 days was the Word of the Lord.  Fasting is not something I have studied out sufficiently.  A web search using the word 'fasting' brought up 1 wikipedia article, 2 for weight loss and one on fasting and prayer.

Biblical fasting brought up several articles - I have not yet browsed these, but will save them for later:  Biblical Fasting and a Study on Biblical Fasting.  Both look interesting and worth the time and effort to 'sift' through.

May Father richly bless those who desire to know Him more intimately by spending time in HIS word.

Day 3

I. From the creation to the flood 3975-2319 B.C. ~ cont.
C. History of the first civilization ~ cont.
4. Noah's life and related events
a. Corrupt civilization as sons of God marry daughters of men - Genesis 6:1-7, 11-12
b. Instructions for building ark - Genesis 6:8, 13-21
c. Birth of Noah's sons - Genesis 5:32, 6:9, 1 Chronicles 1:4
(1) Japheth
(2) Shem (54th Gen)
(3) Ham
d. Death of Lamech (777 years) - Genesis 5:30-31
e. Death of Methuselah (969 years) - Genesis 5:26-27
f. Entering the ark - Genesis 6:22; 7:19
g. The flood
(1) Rain falls - Genesis 7:10-24
(2) Rain stops - Genesis 8:1-3
(3) Ark rests, waters subside - Genesis 8:4
(4) Land seen - Genesis 8:5
(5) Raven, dove, leaf - Genesis 8:6-12
(6) Noah discovers dry land - Genesis 8:13
h. Leaving the ark upon God's command - Genesis 8:14-19
(Third Dispensation Human Government)
j. God's rainbow covenant with Noah - Genesis 8:20-22, 9:8-17, 9:1-7

I just now realized that verses 1-7 of Chapter 9 of Genesis are placed after verses 8-17.

Sometimes I am saddened by the state of our nation and world.  HIS Word reminds me that this temporal plane is not quite as bad as it once was...yet.

And God looked upon the earth, and behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.  (Genesis 6:12)

corrupt or corrupted - H7843 -שׁחת - shâchath - shaw-khath' - A primitive root; to decay, that is, (causatively) ruin (literally or figuratively).

This Hebrew word is used 146x in 135 verses - I did not review all of the verses, hit and missed my way backwards from Malachi (used 3x) and landed on this verse:

The fool hath said in his heart , there is no God.  They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.  (Psalm 14:1)

In the book of Ruth, chapter 4, verse 6, the nearest kinsman responds to Boaz with this statement:  "I can not redeem it for myself (talking about reclaiming Naomi/Ruth's land and marrying Ruth) lest I mar mine own inheritance: redeem thou my right to thyself; for I can not redeem it."

But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.  (Genesis 6:8)

grace - H2580 - חן - chên - khane - From H2603; graciousness, that is, subjectively (kindness, favor) or objectively (beauty).

• H2603 - חנן - chânan - khaw-nan' -A primitive root (compare H2583); properly to bend or stoop in kindness to an inferior; to favor, bestow; causatively to implore (that is, move to favor by petition).

H2580 is used 69x in 67 verses.  First instance is in the verse above, the last usage is in Zechariah 12:10 - And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.

And one that many know and quote quite often:  Favor is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised.  (Proverbs 31:30)

I wanted to find a site which showed the dimensions of, or gave information about the ark.  The website World Wide Flood has some AWESOME information. Very cool.  This site is also very informative:  Genesis Files.  The article is not very long, but contains a LOT of information.

Noah took the animals by two (male and female ~ notice not male and male or female and female).  The unclean animals were by one set, the clean by sevens.  Story books, movies, toys, etc. usually only show sets of 2, rarely do they show a set of 7 pairs, or even the dinosaurs.  Some who have extensively researched this area state that the animals were probably not mature (not ready to be bred), thus they would have slept more, eaten less and been smaller in size.  I found more information here:  Were Dinosaurs on the Ark?

Got caught up in a rabbit trail of figuring out how long Noah et al were on the ark.  Noah entered 7 days prior  to the flood beginning (Genesis 7:4, 10).  It rained for 40 days (starting on Noah's 601 year, in the second month on the 17th day ~ Genesis 7:11).  The ark rested on seventh month, 17th day (Genesis 8:4).  The waters decreased until the tenth month, first day (Genesis 8:5).  Forty days later Noah lets the raven out, which did not return (Genesis 8:6-7).  Then a dove (assumption is 7 days later?) (Genesis 8:8).  Another 7 days, and sent the dove out (Genesis 8:10).  Another 7 days and the dove did not return (Genesis 8:12).  First day, first month of Noah's 601st year he removes the covering (Genesis 8:13).  Second month, twenty and seventh day the earth was dried (Genesis 8:14).

According to my research a pre-flood month was 30 days.  Soooo...if I take from month 2 (600th year), day 17 until month 2 (601st year), day 27, that would be 30 x 12 + 10 = 370.  Then add in the 7 days prior to the flood beginning would bring the length up to 377 days.  Interesting study, I found several sites which detailed the information.  If you want to research you can try Answers In Genesis or Noah's Ark and Earth History.  I originally found the timeline below on this site.

Went browsing for articles about the flood and found these Why Christians Should Believe in a Global Flood and Every Culture Has a Flood Story, both from the Institute for Creation Research.

From Answers in Genesis, I found Geologic Evidences for the Genesis Flood.  This article is an overview, summarizing six evidences for the flood.  You can link to them from within the article, or do so from here:

Evidence #1 - High & Dry Sea Creatures

Evidence #2—Rapid Burial of Plants and Animals

Evidence #3 - Transcontinental Rock Layers

Evidence #4 - Sand Transported Cross Country

Evidence #5 - No Slow and Gradual Erosion

Evidence #6 - Rock Layers Folded, Not Fractured

Rainbow, covenant, meat eating, accountability for loss of life...wrapping up this reading.  One of the sites I browsed while looking for information on the flood and/or the ark mentioned how a rainbow would not have been possible prior to the rain.  Found this picture online - :-D

Covenants - Father promises to establish HIS covenant with Noah in Genesis 6:18.  Once they leave the ark, 9:9 Father establishes HIS covenant; 9:11, establishes HIS covenant; 9:12, the token (rainbow) of the covenant; 9:1, the token (rainbow) of the covenant; 9:15-16 Father's perpetual or everlasting remembrance of the covenant; 9:17, the token of the covenant established between Father, Noah and all flesh upon the earth.

The word covenant is used (OT) 292x in 272 verses.  The Hebrew word is:

H1285 - בּרית - berı̂yth - ber-eeth' - From H1262 (in the sense of cutting (like H1254)); a compact (because made by passing between pieces of flesh).


Which is used 284x in 264 verses...interesting...something to study out another time.  :-D

At this juncture Noah and his family are allowed to consume meat - and the animals would now have a fear and dread of humans.  I thought of this while reading the passage about Noah putting out his hand and taking the dove to himself.  It must have been an awesome experience to have been around such a variety of animals and no fear or concern for safety.

My closing verse caused me to reflect upon how wicked our generation has become, yet we tremble not before HIM who judges justly and rightly.  The nations of the world have embraced a process for unwanted pregnancies (idol worship) lest we think there is no accounting, I would beg to differ.  Father looks at us and we are found wanting, we, especially America, owe a very large blood debt.

Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.  (Genesis 9:8)