Sunday we studied two sections of Exodus chapter 30. The first was verses 11-16 and concerned the atonement money. By asking what, why, and how questions about the passage, we discovered some profound truths.
1. The wealthy and the poor paid the same amount. Nobody was more special than anybody else.
2. It was paid as a ransom to the Lord for their lives so no plague would come on them.
3. The money was to be used by the priests for the service of the tabernacle.
4. The money was used by God as a reminder to make atonement for the people.
Since everything God did for the Isrealites in the physical, He does for us in the spiritual, this atonement money becomes a metaphor for the ransom price Jesus Christ paid for us with his death on the cross. That is our atonement. Our At-One-Ment with God.
So once again, our study of the tabernacle points us directly to Jesus Christ.
Verses 17-21 tell us about the bronze basin (or brazen laver, depending on your translation. Brazen means bronze and laver means basin. Also keep in mind that bronze and brass are used interchangeably.)
-This basin was placed in front of the doorway to the tabernacle--the Holy place. It was used for the priests to wash their hands and feet before entering the place of fellowship with God.
-The basin was made from expensive mirrors the women gave. The priests would be able to see their reflections in it.
-Exodus 29:4 describes a cleansing of the priests' whole body which was done only once at their consecration and was initiated for them.
-Exodus 30:19 describes a cleansing of only the hands and feet which was done every time they entered the tabernacle and was initiated by them.
-So we can understand that a one-time total cleansing refers to our salvation experience, initiated by God for us. But to stay in fellowship with God on an on-going basis, we must have clean hands and a pure heart. (See Psalm 24:3-6.)
-We can look into the mirror of God's Word to see where our dirty spots are and then spend time in prayer asking God to wash them off.
-Beyond this cleansing of ourselves, we are instructed by Jesus in John 13:1-17 to also wash the feet of others. In class we discussed several reasons we might have trouble washing others' feet. One of the most important to me was that in order to wash, we must have water. A pitcher full of water. If my own pitcher is empty, I cannot pour it out on anyone. We keep our pitchers full by filling ourselves with God's Word on a daily basis.
On that note, so far I am reading three chapters in the Bible every day. I really like the plan I previously laid out for you. It is helping me stay on track with my reading. If you haven't started your own reading yet, let me encourage you to do so. It is really a tremendous joy to me and a refreshing way to start the day. I read it while I eat my breakfast.
