#29. Exodus 25-28 | There I Will Meet With You

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Welcome back to The Dwelling

Place from Entrusted Ministries.

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I'm Stephanie Hickox.

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If you've been on the fence at all about

the fact that God longs to dwell with

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his people, today's reading will erase

any shadow of doubt from your mind.

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This has been God's intention

since he created us.

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If you've committed to this along the

way, I'm gonna link back to one of our

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prep episodes that explains exactly

why I chose this name dwelling place.

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And why it's so special for me,

particularly in my motherhood.

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In today's reading, we'll focus

on Exodus chapters 25 through

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28, and in every episode, I don't

just want you to hear my words.

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I truly want you to hear the word of God.

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So I'll begin reading in

chapter 25, verse one.

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The Lord said to Moses, speak to the

people of Israel that they take from me.

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A contribution from every

man whose heart moves him.

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You shall receive the contribution

from me, and this is the contribution

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you shall receive from them.

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Gold, silver, and bronze.

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Blue and purple, and scarlet yarns

and fine twined linen, goat's, hair.

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Tanned Rams skins, goat skins,

acacia wood oil for the lamps,

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spices for the anointing oil,

and for the fragrant incense.

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Onyx stones and stones are a setting

for the EFA and for the breast piece,

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and let them make me a sanctuary that I

may dwell in their midst exactly as I

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show you concerning the pattern of the

tabernacle and of all its furniture.

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So you shall make it.

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They shall make an arc of acacia wood.

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Two qubits and a half shall be

its length, a qubit and a half.

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Its breadth and a qubit

and a half its height.

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You shall overlay it with pure

gold inside and outside shall you

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overlay it, and you shall make on

it a molding of gold around it.

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You shall cast four rings of gold

for it and put them on its four feet,

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two rings on the one side of it, and

two rings on the other side of it.

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You shall make poles of acacia wood and

overlay them with gold, and you shall

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put the poles into the rings on the sides

of the ark to carry the arc by them.

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The poles shall remain

in the rings of the ark.

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They shall not be taken from it, and you

shall put into the ark of the testimony

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that I shall give you.

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You shall make a mercy seat of pure gold.

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Two cubits and a half shall be its

length and a cubit and a half its breath.

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And you shall make two cherubim

of gold of hammered work.

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You shall make them on the

two ends of the mercy seat.

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Make one cherub on the one end

and one cherub on the other.

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End of one piece with a mercy seat shall

you make the cherubim on its two ends.

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The cherubim shall spread out their wings

above overshadowing the mercy seat with

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their wings, their faces one to another.

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Toward the mercy seat shall

the faces of the cherin be.

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And you shall put the mercy seat

on the top of the arc and in the

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arc you shall put the testimony

that I shall give you there.

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I will meet with you and from above the

mercy seat, from between the two cherin

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that are on the arc of the testimony.

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I will speak with you about

all that I will give you in

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commandment for the people of Israel

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In these chapters, we enter a very

lengthy speech from the Lord about

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exactly how he wants his home to be built.

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I love it because we

get to continually hold

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these two aspects of God.

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His nearness also known as his

imminence and his transcendence.

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He's saying, I'm going to draw

near Teal, but you need to be

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careful with how you approach me.

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not only are his directions for

beauty, they're also for function as

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this tent will move with the people.

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It is fascinating to think that

in the Book of Exodus, there

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are about two chapters covering

the actual exit from Egypt.

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Then not even a chapter

for the 10 Commandments,

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and then 13 chapters filled

with directions about how God

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wanted his tabernacle built.

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It may seem lengthy, but if God is going

to be so clear, we should pay attention.

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In a world where networks like HGTV

Thrive, we should certainly have

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the attention span to enter in with

the Lord when he tells us how his

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dwelling place is to be decorated.

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Perhaps you can imagine one of

your best friends telling you

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she's about to remodel her kitchen.

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And if you're anything like me, you wanna

hear exactly about the whole process and

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the cabinet color, and the backsplash,

and the sink, and the countertops.

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And don't forget about the

light fixtures and the knobs.

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Let's look to God's Word with the same

level of anticipation and excitement.

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The Lord is a creator of gold and silver

and bronze, and the creator of color.

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So it's neat to read about how he wants

these elements to be brought together

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As women, God often uses us to make

homes for our families, and to think

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through the details of how they'll use

this space and what would bless them.

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How can we work with our budget

and our resources and the space

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that we have to make it beautiful?

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And if you've ever felt that that wasn't

a holy thing to do, I think these chapters

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of scripture are going to give you a new

perspective and some freedom that that's

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part of the way that God created us.

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When we make beautiful places

and we long to serve others,

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I really think that we're living

out part of the character of God.

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He loves it when things are

done well and beauty is created,

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instead of feeling shame.

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If that's a hobby of yours, invite him in

and let prayer be a part of the process.

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Once I was setting my table for

Easter and I was trying so diligently

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to stay within a budget, I found

some beautiful ous blooms for

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only 6 99, and I was so excited.

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But when I placed them on my table

and little vo of glasses, it was

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so obvious something was lacking

and a centerpiece was required.

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Eventually I just surrendered But

on Easter morning my dear friend

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came with a small bouquet of flowers

that perfectly match my table scape.

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I've had things like this happen

way too many times to think that

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this was just a coincidence.

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God knew that I wanted to celebrate

his resurrection and his kindness

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was so evident to me in that.

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As we begin reading these

chapters about the tabernacle,

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we see that God values creativity and

things work to skillfully onto him.

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That word skillfully is

repeated over and over.

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God clearly reveals to Moses

the pattern for the tabernacle

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that he wants to be built.

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This isn't just a copycat version

of something they had seen.

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My moody commentary explains that

there are five terms that were

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used to designate the tabernacle.

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Initially.

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It's the term sanctuary indicating

that this is a place to be

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holy and set apart to the Lord.

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Distinct and sacred.

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The profane and unclean

are to be kept out.

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Everything about it and in it was

devoted to the worship of the Lord,

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and it should be used for nothing else.

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Secondly, the term tabernacle comes

from the term to dwell or to abide.

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This was a place for God

to dwell among his people.

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Isn't it beautiful that tabernacle

is actually a noun that comes from

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that verb to dwell or to abide?

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It makes me think of John chapter

15 when Jesus said, I am the

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vine and you are the branches.

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Apart from me, you can do nothing.

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And he calls us to abide in him.

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The third term is tent.

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this was a temporary

and portable structure.

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Throughout these chapters, God describes

how it will be easily packed up and moved,

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and that's beautiful because his presence

isn't just limited to a geographical

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location, it goes with his people.

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Fourthly, this is a attentive

meeting and the purpose of

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these meetings is for worship.

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And finally, God uses the term

tabernacle of the testimony.

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This place was to serve as a

testimony to the Lord's power promise

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and provision for relationship.

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It was to bless and build up the

nation's relationship with him, and

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this tabernacle or dwelling place

would set the nation of Israel apart.

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It's a focal point for them.

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And it reveals the entire purpose

that God called them out of Egypt.

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For

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in John one 14 we're told, and the

word became flesh and dwelt among

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us, and we have seen His glory.

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Glory as of the only son from the

Father full of grace and truth.

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That word dwelt among us

is literally to tabernacle.

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Jesus is the fulfillment.

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So many elements of the

tabernacle will point to Jesus,

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and that's why worthy of our

worship and our devotion, and it's

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beautiful to see that the people.

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When God calls them to bring a

contribution, that their sacrifices

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actually exceeded what was needed.

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They had to be asked to

stop donating so much.

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I bet every pastor has prayed that that

would also happen in his congregation.

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some estimates predict it could

have been between: 2020

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of gold, about 7,500 pounds of

silver and 5,300 pounds of bronze.

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And where did this come from?

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Largely from what the Egyptians

gave them on their way out.

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I love that they're giving it back

to the Lord so willingly, and that's

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our New Testament guide as well.

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God loves a cheerful giver.

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It's not a reason to hoard your

money if you're not tearful about it.

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It's a reason to pray that God

would give you a heart to give

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we're gonna get more into these tabernacle

elements in the next couple episodes,

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but In chapter 25, 26 and 27,

God repeatedly tells Moses, you

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shall build, you shall make.

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And then finally, in 28, 3, I am

breathing a sigh of relief with Moses.

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When I read, You shall speak to

all the skillful whom I have filled

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with the spirit of skill that

they may make Aaron's garments to

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consecrate him for the priesthood.

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And then God keeps using the word they.

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I don't know if it was clear to Moses from

the start that God wasn't asking him to

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do all of this, but considering all of

the roles he has fulfilled for the people

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thus far, I can just imagine him feeling

overwhelmed as God gave these directions.

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But the Lord even has a beautiful

plan for how his dwelling

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place is going to be built.

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Right before that in 28, 2, God says,

you shall make holy garments for Aaron,

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your brother, for glory and for beauty.

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It's woven throughout these

chapters that our God is a God of

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purpose, creativity, and beauty.

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He is worthy of our full

pursuit and our worship.

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Let's pray.

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Heavenly Father, we praise you for

the opportunity to come before you.

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I pray for humility in our hearts that

we would be abundantly grateful for

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what Jesus purchased for us, that we

can approach your throne of grace with

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confidence because of his sacrifice.

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As we read about your beautiful and

intentional plans for the Israelites,

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we're grateful you made a way then and

we're grateful that we were born after

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the cross, but I pray that we would

never take this privilege for granted.

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And I particularly pray that you

would guide us in how to parent

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our children, that we could model

that this is our greatest honor

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and that it would also be theirs.

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I pray that the availability of

your word not lead us to neglect it.

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Teach us to guide our children

into treasuring your words.

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I ask That even at young ages, they would

serve you with regular devotion, that

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you would refine their character so that

they would have consistent walks with

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you that stem from an understanding that

nothing satisfies like your presence.

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It is in the name of the one

that lives to intercede for us.

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Jesus Christ that we pray.

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Amen.