This program of daily devotions is designed to take you through the Bible in three years. It is our desire to help you gain a better general understanding of God's Word.
Please understand that in a study this brief, we will be concerned with only the major emphases and context of the Scriptures.
Each day a devotion for one or two chapters is posted, beginning with chapter one of Genesis and going through chapter twenty-two of Revelation. You are free to print each page as it appears. If you miss a day, you may contact us and request that devotion. Please send your request, along with $.50 (p&h) for each page to:
Bruce McGee,Pastor
205 Adams
Columbia, LA 71418
HERE
Bro. Bruce's commentary for the book of Genesis is
now available in hard copy for $7.50. Just mail your request for COMMENTARY ON GENESIS to the address above
EXODUS
1 And thou shalt make an altar to burn incense upon: of shittim wood shalt thou make it.
2 A cubit shall be the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof; foursquare shall it be: and two cubits shall be the height thereof: the horns thereof shall be of the same.
3 And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, the top thereof, and the sides thereof round about, and the horns thereof; and thou shalt make unto it a crown of gold round about.
4 And two golden rings shalt thou make to it under the crown of it, by the two corners thereof, upon the two sides of it shalt thou make it; and they shall be for places for the staves to bear it withal.
5 And thou shalt make the staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold.
6 And thou shalt put it before the vail that is by the ark of the testimony, before the mercy seat that is over the testimony, where I will meet with thee.
7 And Aaron shall burn thereon sweet incense every morning: when he dresseth the lamps, he shall burn incense upon it.
8 And when Aaron lighteth the lamps at even, he shall burn incense upon it, a perpetual incense before the LORD throughout your generations.
9 Ye shall offer no strange incense thereon, nor burnt sacrifice, nor meat offering; neither shall ye pour drink offering thereon.
10 And Aaron shall make an atonement upon the horns of it once in a year with the blood of the sin offering of atonements: once in the year shall he make atonement upon it throughout your generations: it is most holy unto the LORD.
The altar of incense (1&1/2ft.W X 1&1/2 ft.L X 3ft.H) was to be placed in front of
11 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
12 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.
13 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.
14 Every one that passeth among them that are numbered, from twenty years old and above, shall give an offering unto the LORD.
15 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.
16 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.
This 1/2 shekel price was the same for every person. All souls are precious to God.
The "laver," or actually tub, was for the priests to wash their feet and hands before entering the
22 Moreover the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
23 Take thou also unto thee principal spices, of pure myrrh five hundred shekels, and of sweet cinnamon half so much, even two hundred and fifty shekels, and of sweet calamus two hundred and fifty shekels,
24 And of cassia five hundred shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary, and of oil olive an hin:
25 And thou shalt make it an oil of holy ointment, an ointment compound after the art of the apothecary: it shall be an holy anointing oil.
26 And thou shalt anoint the tabernacle of the congregation therewith, and the ark of the testimony,
27 And the table and all his vessels, and the candlestick and his vessels, and the altar of incense,
28 And the altar of burnt offering with all his vessels, and the laver and his foot.
29 And thou shalt sanctify them, that they may be most holy: whatsoever toucheth them shall be holy.
30 And thou shalt anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, that they may minister unto me in the priest's office.
31 And thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel, saying, This shall be an holy anointing oil unto me throughout your generations.
32 Upon man's flesh shall it not be poured, neither shall ye make any other like it, after the composition of it: it is holy, and it shall be holy unto you.
33 Whosoever compoundeth any like it, or whosoever putteth any of it upon a stranger, shall even be cut off from his people.
34 And the LORD said unto Moses, Take unto thee sweet spices, stacte, and onycha, and galbanum; these sweet spices with pure frankincense: of each shall there be a like weight:
35 And thou shalt make it a perfume, a confection after the art of the apothecary, tempered together, pure and holy:
36 And thou shalt beat some of it very small, and put of it before the testimony in the tabernacle of the congregation, where I will meet with thee: it shall be unto you most holy.
37 And as for the perfume which thou shalt make, ye shall not make to yourselves according to the composition thereof: it shall be unto thee holy for the LORD.
38 Whosoever shall make like unto that, to smell thereto, shall even be cut off from his people.
Matthew Henry once wrote, "...nothing comes TO God but what comes FROM Him."
I think it is particularly interesting that God would put these two things in this chapter together.
God's fuel tanks are always full. His people need to come for daily filling. God's fuel is FREE!
Please continue to follow along in Bible study with us.
CHAPTER 30
the veil which separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies. The location of
this altar in the tabernacle emphasizes the doctrine of prayer. Before we enter the
presence of God we must pray.
Prayer in this sense means begging and pleading with God for forgiveness fro and from sins.
Even the saved must come before God and beg forgiveness for sin before they make petitions.
Once each year, the high priest was to offer a sacrifice for all the people (on the day of
atonement). He was to place some of the blood of that sacrifice on the horns of the altar of
incense before he entered the Holy of Holies.
This symbolizes that the blood of Christ has atoned for all sins, but that we must come TO
God asking forgiveness.
The only prayer that God will hear from a lost sinner is the prayer for forgiveness.
Verse nine tells us there is one and only one way to come to God -- HIS way!
The "ransom" price was for the upkeep of the tabernacle. If a person refused to pay the price
he was not counted as having received atonement. Saved people oughta support the church.
Two other things this action symbolizes:
1) This was the tax that Jesus paid even though as Son of God, He should have been exempt.
That shows that a sinner, when saved, should desireto support God's work in and through the church.
2) This tax demonstrates that no one above the age of accountability is exempt from paying the
price of service. No matter what circumstances may work against us, and no matter how many pitfalls the
devil may throw in our path, we OWE God all of our lives. HE paid the ransom price, WE
must pay the service price.
Never let anyone tell you that salvation is without cost. It cost Jesus His physical life on the cross,
and He calls for us to meet Him there in sacrifice of SELF for His sake.
17 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
18 Thou shalt also make a laver of brass, and his foot also of brass, to wash withal: and thou shalt put it between the tabernacle of the congregation and the altar, and thou shalt put water therein.
19 For Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet thereat:
20 When they go into the tabernacle of the congregation, they shall wash with water, that they die not; or when they come near to the altar to minister, to burn offering made by fire unto the LORD:
21 So they shall wash their hands and their feet, that they die not: and it shall be a statute for ever to them, even to him and to his seed throughout their generations.
tabernacle. They were spiritually clean by the blood, but not wholly clean, for their very nature
as human beings made them constant and continual sinners. Therefore they were always in need of visiting this
laver before entering the Holy Place. (See James 4:8)
We are made spiritually clean by the blood of Christ. But we are to visit His WORD for daily cleansing.
Jesus is the eternal LIVING Word of God (John 1:1). And the written word of God is alive and
powerful for daily cleansing of our hearts (Hebrews 4:12).
It is by the written word of God that we come to a saving knowledge of Jesus (Romans 10:17).
By His incarnation, the Living Eternal Word came to die and pay the ransom for our salvation
(John 1:14, Matthew 26:28). By the written word we are constantly washed and kept clean
(John 13:6=10, Ephesians 5:25-27).
This holy ointment, made to God's specific prescription, was used to anoint everything of service to
the Lord; even the priest (verse 30). God stated all that the oil was to be used for (verses 31-33, 37-38).
The truth is, none of our service to God is holy unless it is anointed of God's Holy Spirit.
The first anointing we receive is the blood of Jesus which makes us clean before God, and all one in
the family of God. The second anointing we receive of God is that of His Holy Ghost, Who by Divine
choices grants us particular unity in His family. Just as there is One and only One Christ
for the propitiation of our sins, there is One and only One Holy Ghost to inspire and authorize our service.
The blood of Christ makes us fit for service; God's Holy Ghost outfits us for service.
The anointing of the blood to make us clean is needed only once. The anointing of God's Holy
Ghost is only needed once! You will note that the vessels of the tabernacle were anointed only ONCE!
And the priests for the service of God's work were anointed only ONCE for a lifetime of service.
God's Holy Ghost comes upon ALL believers when they repent of sin and surrender to Christ.
Acts 2:38-39 says,
38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.
And Ephesians 1:13-14 says,
13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.
The altar of incense, which symbolizes prayer, is put together here with the anointing of the special oil
which represents God's Holy Ghost.
When a person truly prays in repentance and surrenders to Christ for salvation, that person is anointed by God's
Holy Ghost for sealing and service.
The only thing that remains necessary then is for the saved person to remain FILLED with God's Holy Ghost.
And that is done through DAILY PRAYER: pleading for forgiveness, and for usefulness.
Paul wrote that we are to "..be filled with the Spirit"(Ephesians 5:18). This is a command to daily come
before God in prayers of repentance for sin, and requesting usefulness in service.