Exodus 29:23

In the next several Bible verses we are presented with the practical results of all the animals that were killed every day in the tabernacle. The meat was given as food to all of the priests. Remember that the tabernacle was a slaughter-house and a butcher shop of sorts. When animals are killed in a butcher shop, people come and purchase the meat for their meals. Of course, there was an important symbolic meaning to the slaughter that daily took place within the tabernacle: the Son of God would be slaughtered for the sins of the world. God does not want us to be spiritually minded without also being practically minded. The meat should not go to waste. The priests needed to be supported because they spent their time working inside the tabernacle. It says in Exodus 29:23-29, “And one loaf of bread, and one cake of oiled bread, and one wafer out of the basket of the unleavened bread that is before the LORD: And thou shalt put all in the hands of Aaron, and in the hands of his sons; and shalt wave them for a wave offering before the LORD. And thou shalt receive them of their hands, and burn them upon the altar for a burnt offering, for a sweet savour before the LORD: it is an offering made by fire unto the LORD. And thou shalt take the breast of the ram of Aaron's consecration, and wave it for a wave offering before the LORD: and it shall be thy part. And thou shalt sanctify the breast of the wave offering, and the shoulder of the heave offering, which is waved, and which is heaved up, of the ram of the consecration, even of that which is for Aaron, and of that which is for his sons: And it shall be Aaron's and his sons' by a statute for ever from the children of Israel: for it is an heave offering: and it shall be an heave offering from the children of Israel of the sacrifice of their peace offerings, even their heave offering unto the LORD.” It also says in Exodus 29:32-33, “And Aaron and his sons shall eat the flesh of the ram, and the bread that is in the basket, by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. And they shall eat those things wherewith the atonement was made, to consecrate and to sanctify them: but a stranger shall not eat thereof, because they are holy.” If you are a part of a Christian ministry and have hired a full-time servant for that ministry, then you are responsible to see that his practical needs are met. It says in First Timothy 5:17-18, “Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour, especially they who labour in the word and doctrine. For the scripture saith, Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn. And, The labourer is worthy of his reward.”

God said to Moses in Exodus 29:42-46, “This shall be a continual burnt offering throughout your generations at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD: where I will meet you, to speak there unto thee. And there I will meet with the children of Israel, and the tabernacle shall be sanctified by my glory. And I will sanctify the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar: I will sanctify also both Aaron and his sons, to minister to me in the priest's office. And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will be their God. And they shall know that I am the LORD their God, that brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, that I may dwell among them: I am the LORD their God.” There are three phrases that are very interesting to look at in these verses in Exodus 29:42-46, and there are three words to especially notice in the verses: “meet”, “speak,” and “know.” The Lord said to Moses in Exodus 29:42, “I will meet you.” And the Lord said in Exodus 29:43, “I will meet with the children of Israel.” God wants to “meet” with every human being, because God is a social creature who seeks and who enjoys the companionship and friendship of humans. That is an amazing thought: the great eternal God(Jesus) seeks us out to meet with us. Evidently He is highly motivated to find human companionship. That is one of the purposes for which He made us. Jesus said about Himself in Luke 19:10, “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” And Jesus said in Revelation 3:20, “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.”

In Exodus 29:42 God told Moses that He would “speak” to Moses. God calls us. That is how salvation takes place. God prepares a person’s heart, and then at just the right time in their life, God calls them. Jesus said in Matthew 22:14, “For many are called, but few are chosen.” Jesus called the disciples. He said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you to be fishers of men.” Salvation is the result of a calling. You can only get saved when Jesus visits you by the Spirit and speaks to your heart. Then it is up to you to respond to His calling. This spiritual visit that Jesus ultimately makes with every person is emphasized in John 1:9 where it says, “That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.” An old hymn writer tried to express this truth in this way:

“Jesus calls us over the tumult
Of our life’s wild, restless, sea;
Day by day His sweet voice soundeth,
Saying, “Christian, follow Me!”

As of old Saint Andrew heard it
By the Galilean lake,
Turned from home and toil and kindred,
Leaving all for Jesus’ sake.

Jesus calls us from the worship
Of the vain world’s golden store,
From each idol that would keep us,
Saying, “Christian, love Me more!”

In our joys and in our sorrows,
Days of toil and hours of ease,
Still He calls, in cares and pleasures,
“Christian, love Me more than these!”

Jesus calls us! By Thy mercies,
Savior may we hear Thy call,
Give our hearts to Thine obedience,
Serve and love Thee best of all.”

It says in Exodus 29:46, “And they shall know that I am the LORD their God, that brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, that I may dwell among them: I am the LORD their God.” Once Jesus visits you and speaks to you, and you respond positively by faith in Him, you then “know” Him. Do not under estimate the importance of coming to know Jesus in this way. Jesus said in Matthew 7:21-23, “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”

The first part of Exodus chapter thirty tells us about incense that was burned inside the tabernacle twice a day. A small altar was made just for burning the incense. It says in Exodus 30:1, “And thou shalt make an altar to burn incense upon: of shittim wood shalt thou make it.” And it says in Exodus 30:7-8, “And Aaron shall burn thereon sweet incense every morning: when he dresseth the lamps, he shall burn incense upon it. And when Aaron lighteth the lamps at even, he shall burn incense upon it, a perpetual incense before the LORD throughout your generations.” We do know that the incense was symbolic of prayer. The Bible says in Psalm 141:2, “Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.” And the Bible says in Revelation 8:3-4, “And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel's hand.” Incense is known for its very good fragrance. This demonstrates how pleased God is with the prayers of His children that rise from the earth into His very presence. He loves to hear from His people. It is interesting that the incense is burned on an altar. In other words it takes a hot fire to burn the incense and send its good fragrance upward. There must be a fire burning in your heart: in other words a strong desire to trust in the Lord Jesus in all things to always stay close to Him. If you do not have that strong desire, you will not have much sweet-smelling incense that leaves the altar of your heart and ascends into the presence of God in the form of prayer.

In Exodus chapter thirty we find a requirement that a ransom be paid for every single Israelite. This teaching about a ransom is one of the greatest themes of the Bible, and one that points us directly to Jesus Christ, just as the blood of the bulls and the goats pointed us to Jesus. It says in Exodus 30:11-16, “And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, When thou takest the sum of the children of Israel after their number, then shall they give every man a ransom for his soul unto the LORD, when thou numberest them; that there be no plague among them, when thou numberest them. This they shall give, every one that passeth among them that are numbered, half a shekel after the shekel of the sanctuary: (a shekel is twenty gerahs:) an half shekel shall be the offering of the LORD. Every one that passeth among them that are numbered, from twenty years old and above, shall give an offering unto the LORD. The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel, when they give an offering unto the LORD, to make an atonement for your souls. And thou shalt take the atonement money of the children of Israel, and shalt appoint it for the service of the tabernacle of the congregation; that it may be a memorial unto the children of Israel before the LORD, to make an atonement for your souls.”

When you pay a ransom, you pay a price so that a person can be set free. Jesus said in Mark 10:45, “For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.” It also says of Jesus in First Timothy 2:6, “Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.” The idea in the New Testament is that people are slaves to sin and to darkness. In order to set a slave free, a price must be paid, a ransom. Jesus paid the price of the ransom with His blood. The idea expressed in Exodus chapter thirty is that unless a ransom is paid, each person will suffer a deserved punishment. That is why it says in Exodus 30:12 that if they are ransomed, “that there be no plague among them.” Everyone has sinned, and everyone deserves punishment for their sins from a holy God who is Judge of all. The way to escape that judgment is to be saved: ransomed by the blood of Christ. By putting your faith in Christ and trusting in Him, you become ransomed. Faith is the means by which you enter into the blessing. It says in First John 5:4, “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.”

Notice that Exodus 30:15 says, “The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel, when they give an offering unto the LORD, to make an atonement for your souls.” Everyone is treated equally when it comes to salvation. As a matter of fact, true Biblical Christianity presents the greatest equality that is possible among human beings. Think about the equality that the Bible presents. We are equally created in the image of God. We are equally related as descendents of Adam and Eve. We are all sinners. God loves each one of us with the same great eternal love. Jesus suffered in agony on the cross of Calvary for each one of us. We all get saved the same way: by putting our faith and trust in Jesus. What a tremendous equality that is. There is no philosophy of the world that even comes close to the kind of equality that true Biblical teachings present. That is why it says in Galatians 3:28, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.” Would you like to become a part of the family of God? Then this very moment turn from your sins and turn to Jesus and pray to Him for salvation, and be ye ransomed.

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