Wealth = Access

GETTING STARTED

I once heard that true wealth has nothing to do with money, and everything to do with access. In other words, you may have an abundance of money, but if that money cannot open doors into relationships with powerful and influential friends, then it has less value. I wouldn’t know, and probably never will! But I do know that the beauty of Christ’s sacrifice is that we have been given access to God the Father for all of time. Will we take advantage of those riches?

  • What are a few places you will never be able to access?

READ THE WORD: EXODUS 40:1-33 (ESV)

40:1 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “On the first day of the first month you shall erect the tabernacle of the tent of meeting. 3 And you shall put in it the ark of the testimony, and you shall screen the ark with the veil. 4 And you shall bring in the table and arrange it, and you shall bring in the lampstand and set up its lamps. 5 And you shall put the golden altar for incense before the ark of the testimony, and set up the screen for the door of the tabernacle. 6 You shall set the altar of burnt offering before the door of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting, 7 and place the basin between the tent of meeting and the altar, and put water in it. 8 And you shall set up the court all around, and hang up the screen for the gate of the court.
9 “Then you shall take the anointing oil and anoint the tabernacle and all that is in it, and consecrate it and all its furniture, so that it may become holy. 10 You shall also anoint the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and consecrate the altar, so that the altar may become most holy. 11 You shall also anoint the basin and its stand, and consecrate it. 12 Then you shall bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the tent of meeting and shall wash them with water 13 and put on Aaron the holy garments. And you shall anoint him and consecrate him, that he may serve me as priest. 14 You shall bring his sons also and put coats on them, 15 and anoint them, as you anointed their father, that they may serve me as priests. And their anointing shall admit them to a perpetual priesthood throughout their generations.”

16 This Moses did; according to all that the Lord commanded him, so he did. 17 In the first month in the second year, on the first day of the month, the tabernacle was erected. 18 Moses erected the tabernacle. He laid its bases, and set up its frames, and put in its poles, and raised up its pillars. 19 And he spread the tent over the tabernacle and put the covering of the tent over it, as the Lord had commanded Moses. 20 He took the testimony and put it into the ark, and put the poles on the ark and set the mercy seat above on the ark. 21 And he brought the ark into the tabernacle and set up the veil of the screen, and screened the ark of the testimony, as the Lord had commanded Moses. 22 He put the table in the tent of meeting, on the north side of the tabernacle, outside the veil, 23 and arranged the bread on it before the Lord, as the Lord had commanded Moses. 24 He put the lampstand in the tent of meeting, opposite the table on the south side of the tabernacle, 25 and set up the lamps before the Lord, as the Lord had commanded Moses. 26 He put the golden altar in the tent of meeting before the veil, 27 and burned fragrant incense on it, as the Lord had commanded Moses. 28 He put in place the screen for the door of the tabernacle. 29 And he set the altar of burnt offering at the entrance of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting, and offered on it the burnt offering and the grain offering, as the Lord had commanded Moses. 30 He set the basin between the tent of meeting and the altar, and put water in it for washing, 31 with which Moses and Aaron and his sons washed their hands and their feet. 32 When they went into the tent of meeting, and when they approached the altar, they washed, as the Lord commanded Moses. 33 And he erected the court around the tabernacle and the altar, and set up the screen of the gate of the court. So Moses finished the work.

English Standard Version, copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

DIGGING DEEPER

  1. What were some of the barriers used to separate areas of the tabernacle (vss. 3, 5, 8, 21-22, 30)? Why were these barriers necessary?
  2. What steps were taken to prepare Aaron and his sons (vss. 12-15)? Why was this preparation important?
  3. How does verse 33 validate what we have already seen of Moses’ character?
  4. How has your life been anointed? What are some things you have set apart as holy?

RESPOND TO GOD

Complicated. That’s the only word I can think of for how the Israelites needed to approach God. And the complications were justifiable. We aren’t talking about a lunch meeting with a mayor or head of state. We are talking about stepping into the presence of the perfectly holy God of the universe. So, the exhaustive barriers make sense. That’s why what Christ did hundreds of years later is so significant. At his death, the veil mentioned in the passage above is literally torn in half in a symbolic moment we cannot overlook (Matt. 27:51). Christ gave us direct access to God the Father. That’s a cause for celebration!

  • Take a moment and thank God that, through Christ’s perfect sacrifice, you are now able to access him.