Martin

I am a church leader at St Leonards Baptist Church - I have set up this blog to explore the theme of Jesus in the Old Testament - a subject that has been recurring in my sermon preparation.

Leviticus - Chapter 3

After the burnt offerings and the grain offerings, in this chapter we now have the fellowship (or peace) offerings.  This offering is the only one where part of the meat being sacrificed was eaten by the person making the offering.  There is fellowship with God, and also with the Priest

Leviticus - Chapter 2

The second offering is the Grain offering.  This is made fine flour and oil - a sort of bread.  And it must be made without yeast.  (Yeast, in the bible is used to represent sin). In effect we have a sacrifice of an animal in the burnt offering and the

Leviticus - Chapter 1

In Exodus we saw the building and furnishing of the Tabernacle.  In Leviticus we are going to see it put into use.  Just as the structure and contents of the Tabernacle spoke of Jesus, we will find that the activities also point to Him. We begin in this chapter with

Exodus - Chapter 40

And so we come to the final chapter of Exodus.  We have read the story of the start of the Israel nation.  And have seen Jesus throughout that story.  Much of the book has been focussed on the design and construction of the tabernacle.  And in this final chapter we

Exodus - Chapter 39

We have seen the furnishings of the tabernacle, all speaking of Jesus.  Now we see the work on the priestly garments.  These were all made following the detailed instructions that God gave to Moses.  Each of the items speaks of Jesus. We read of the Ephod which was made of

Exodus - Chapter 38

In this chapter we see a new aspect of the contents of the tabernacle - the history of the materials used.  The basin for washing is made from bronze; and the bronze is taken from the mirrors of the women who served at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.

Exodus - Chapter 37

At the end of this chapter we read: "They also made the sacred anointing oil and the pure fragrant incense - the work of a perfumer. In Luke Chapter 7 we see Jesus anointed by a sinful woman. When this is criticised, Jesus says: "“Look at this woman

Exodus - Chapter 36

In this chapter we are looking at the work of the skilled craftsmen, as they make the coverings.  We have already seen that the door to the tabernacle speaks of Jesus.  Here a curtain is made for the door. He also made a screen for the tabernacle door, of blue,

Exodus - Chapter 35

We have seen the plans for the tabernacle, and also the materials.  Today we consider the "master craftsmen" who are to do the work. “The Lord has specifically chosen Bezalel son of Uri, grandson of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. The Lord has filled Bezalel with the

Exodus - Chapter 34

Here we read about the radiant face of Moses.  Moses was not aware that his face had become radiant as a result of his meeting with God.  The radiant face was frightening to the people, and Moses started to wear a veil to cover his face. Paul explains the link

Exodus - Chapter 33

In this chapter we read about the tent of meeting - a small tent put up outside the camp in which Moses could hear God. It was Moses’ practice to take the Tent of Meeting and set it up some distance from the camp. Everyone who wanted to make a

Exodus - Chapter 32

While Moses was on the mountain with God the people built themselves an idol.  This incident is described in Psalm 106, where it says: The people made a calf at Mount Sinai; they bowed before an image made of gold. They traded their glorious God for a statue of a

Exodus - Chapter 31

With this chapter we come to the end of the detailed instructions on the building of the Tabernacle and its furnishings.  "When the Lord finished speaking to Moses on Mount Sinai, he gave him the two tablets of the Testimony, the tables of stone inscribed by the finger of

Exodus - Chapter 30

In this Chapter God tells Moses to "make a bronze basin, with its bronze stand, for washing.  Place it between the Tent of Meeting and altar, and put water in it."  This water is for the priests to wash their hands and feet before presenting an offering to

Exodus - Chapter 29

This chapter goes into great detail to show how the priests were to be prepared to represent the people.  It was a detailed and time consuming process, taking many days to complete. In the letter to Hebrews (Chapter 7) this process is contrasted to our own High Priest - Jesus.

Exodus - Chapter 28

This Chapter describes the garments that were to be worn by the High Priest, including a special breastpiece. Christians are priests and, like Aaron, need to wear the correct garments.  Paul describes our garments in Ephesians 6: "Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the

Exodus - Chapter 27

The detailed instructions for the tabernacle continue: “You shall also make the court of the tabernacle.  For the gate of the court there shall be a screen twenty cubits long, woven of blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine woven linen, made by a weaver. It shall have four pillars

Exodus - Chapter 26

“You shall make a veil woven of blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine woven linen. It shall be woven with an artistic design of cherubim. You shall hang it upon the four pillars of acacia wood overlaid with gold. Their hooks shall be gold, upon four sockets of silver.

Exodus - Chapter 25

There now begins a description of the Tabernacle, a sanctuary for God in which he would dwell with his people.  the Tabernacle and all its furnishings were to be made exactly following the pattern which God gave to Moses.  And everything in the Tabernacle will point to Jesus. There is

Exodus - Chapter 24

We see here that Moses alone was to approach the Lord - others were to wait at a distance.  Moses was to be a mediator between God and the people. In Paul's first letter to Timothy (Chapter 2) Paul wrote: "There is one God and one mediator

Exodus - Chapter 23

In this chapter there are numerous references to Jesus - not least because of the annual festivals that point to him.  But I shall go to verse 20, where we read of another theophany - an appearance of Jesus in person before his birth.  ""see, I am sending

Exodus - Chapter 22

Another rule here - "You must give me the firstborn of your sons.  Do the same with your cattle and your sheep.  Let them stay with their mothers for seven days, but give them to me on the eighth day." The first link to Jesus is found in

Exodus - Chapter 21

We now have a few chapters setting out some rules in more detail, to assist the judges.  In verse 21 we see that the payment to be made in compensation for a slave being gored (pierced) is 30 pieces of silver. In Matthew 26 Judas agrees to hand Jesus over

Exodus - Chapter 20

This Chapter contains a section of the Old Testament that is probably the best known - the Ten Commandments. Later we will see numerous detailed rules for the Israelites to follow.  But first there is this set of ten. Jesus (in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5) said

Exodus - Chapter 19

In this Chapter we arrive at Mount Sinai and an encounter with God. In the letter to the Hebrews the writer contrasts this encounter with God on Mount Sinai, with our own encounter with Jesus on Mount Zion.  He writes: "You have not come to a physical mountain, to