Exodus 40:1-32 – Consecrated unto God

Set free from the captivity of Egypt by God’s mighty delivering hand, the children of Israel under the leadership of Moses was on the way to the promised land. It was an adventurous journey indeed. God was gracious to them throughout their journey. They, on the other hand, had shown themselves to be vacillating people. Repeatedly, they had failed God by sinning against Him. They rebelled, murmured, grumbled, threatened, and even made an idol of a golden calf and worshipped it. Had it not been for God’s faithfulness and mercy, they would have been destroyed. God wanted a faithful relationship with them. He had delivered them out of Egypt so that He could be their God and them, His people. His intention was to display His glory in their midst so that they would know and own Him as their God. So, He summoned Moses up Mount Sinai and gave Him the pattern of the Tabernacle and commissioned Him to have it built.

In Exodus 39 we saw how everything, from the Tabernacle to the priestly garment, was made according to specifications. Moses inspected each item and was fully satisfied that everything was made accordingly and he blessed them. In Exodus 40:1-16, God instructed Moses to have everything that was made anointed. He wanted the Tabernacle, all its furnishings, both inside and at the outer court, and even the fence and all the connections were anointed and consecrated. Even Aaron, the high priest, the garment and his sons in their tunics, were all to be anointed and consecrated. Everything must be all set apart for His glory. Moses did accordingly and obediently. In Christian life, we also need to dedicate everything to God. This is ours to make, and we leave the consecration for God to make. We can only give God all that we are and potentially can be. It is He who will consecrate and commission us for His service.       

Exodus 40:17-32, then went on to describe how Moses set up the Tabernacle and placed all the furnishings in the order as God had shown Him. Beginning from the interior of the Tabernacle to the outer court, he had all the furniture appropriately arranged and the fence aptly built. Thus, Moses set up and arranged everything completely according to the Lord’s instruction. The impression we get from these verses is that Moses did everything appropriately and correctly. Over and over again, we are told that Moses did everything as God had instructed Him. The point is this, we must live life according to all that God had prescribed for us to live. We must obediently follow His instructions and do what we can. God on His part can then come sovereignly with His grace and bring about the fulfilment of all that He has intended for us. The growth we want to experience can only come about through grace. We must prepare ourselves and obediently do what is required of us. God, on His part, will draw us to Himself and bring about our needful growth.