Day 107: Exodus 39-40

The Bible Dept. Podcast: Day 107 – Exodus 39-40

Release Date: April 17, 2025

Overview

In Day 107 of The Bible Dept. podcast, host Dr. Manny Arango delves into Exodus chapters 39 and 40, culminating the Book of Exodus with a profound exploration of God’s presence among the Israelites. Dr. Arango emphasizes that while the Book of Exodus begins with a literary portrayal of God's absence, it concludes with a dramatic manifestation of His presence, setting a pivotal pattern that resonates throughout biblical history and into the New Testament.

Context Clues

Dr. Arango begins by highlighting the often-overlooked conclusion of Exodus, noting, “Most people don't make it to the end of the book of Exodus” ([04:15]). He explains that the narrative transition from God's absence to His presence is central to understanding the entire book. The climax occurs in Exodus 40:34-38, where Dr. Arango reads:

“Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. Moses could not enter the tent of meeting because the cloud had settled on it. [...] The cloud of the Lord was over the tabernacle by day, and fire was in the cloud by night, in the sight of all the Israelites during all their travels” (Exodus 40:34-38).

This passage marks the fulfillment of meticulous instructions given by God for constructing the tabernacle—a portable sanctuary reflecting God’s desire to dwell among His people even as they journey through the wilderness.

Dr. Arango draws parallels between the tabernacle and later temples, particularly Solomon’s Temple, noting, “When Solomon builds the temple, here's how it concludes in Second Chronicles, chapter 7. [...] the glory of the Lord filled the temple” ([08:45]). However, he points out that subsequent attempts to rebuild the temple never achieved the same divine manifestation, emphasizing the unique significance of God’s presence in these sacred spaces.

Transitioning to the New Testament, Dr. Arango identifies two key moments that mirror the Exodus climax:

Jesus in the Temple at Age 12: Jesus embodies the glory of God, symbolizing God's presence in the temple ([15:30]).
Pentecost in Acts Chapter 2: The Holy Spirit fills the church, analogous to the cloud and fire in the tabernacle, signifying the church as the new dwelling place of God ([20:10]).

These connections illustrate a continuing divine narrative where God’s presence is central to His relationship with humanity, ultimately fulfilled in the church through the Holy Spirit.

Nerdy Nuggets

Dr. Arango delights in unpacking the intricate relationships between Exodus and Genesis, revealing deep theological connections. He compares:

Exodus 39:43: “Moses inspected the work and saw that they had done it, just as the Lord commanded, so Moses blessed them.”
Genesis 1:31: “God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.”

This parallel emphasizes a continuity in divine approval through inspection and blessing. Further, he draws a connection between:

Exodus 40:33: “Then Moses set up the courtyard around the tabernacle and altar and put up the curtains of the tent of the courtyard. And so Moses finished the work.”
Genesis 2:1-2: “Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work.”

These "finished" actions in both Genesis and Exodus foreshadow Jesus’ declaration on the cross, “It is finished,” which Dr. Arango interprets as the culmination of the new creation project—restoring the relationship between humanity and the divine.

Timeless Truths

A recurring theme in Exodus 39 and 40 is the adherence to God's commands, evident in the repeated phrases like “As the Lord commanded Moses” found throughout Exodus 39 ([34:22]). Dr. Arango distills two key principles from this pattern:

Desire for God’s Voice Requires Obedience to His Commands:
- “If I not ready to hear God command that I do something. [...] God's not just going to keep talking to you, telling you things like, 'go ahead, obey the last thing God told you to do so that you can make yourself eligible to hear some new stuff from God.’” ([25:50])
This principle underscores the necessity of obedience as a prerequisite for deepening one's relationship with God. Without acting on His commands, believers may find themselves ignored, not because God withdraws His attention but because obedience creates the space for divine communication.
Leadership as Mediators of God’s Commands:
- “The leaders hearing God and [...] obey God by listening and doing what they tell me to do.” ([27:15])
Dr. Arango highlights the biblically rooted dynamic where God communicates through leaders—like Moses—and the community follows. He challenges contemporary Christians to respect and obey their spiritual leaders, aligning themselves with God’s directives conveyed through these figures. This obedience serves as a tangible expression of faith, bridging the gap between divine command and personal action.

He critiques the modern inclination toward a democratic approach to divine communication, advocating instead for a model where leaders discern and relay God’s will, fostering unity and clarity within the community.

Conclusion

Dr. Manny Arango’s exploration of Exodus 39-40 in The Bible Dept. podcast offers listeners a rich, scholarly, and spiritually nourishing journey through the climax of the Book of Exodus. By drawing intricate connections between Old Testament themes and their New Testament fulfillments, Dr. Arango not only illuminates the text but also provides practical applications for contemporary faith practice. His emphasis on obedience, leadership, and the centrality of God’s presence invites believers to deeper engagement with Scripture and a more disciplined walk with God.

As Dr. Arango closes, he encourages continued perseverance in the Bible reading journey, hinting at further explorations into Leviticus and beyond. For those seeking to connect more profoundly with Scripture, The Bible Dept. offers an accessible yet profound platform to engage with the timeless truths of the Bible.

Notable Quotes

Dr. Manny Arango [04:15]: “Most people don't make it to the end of the book of Exodus.”
Dr. Manny Arango [08:45]: “When Solomon builds the temple, [...] the glory of the Lord filled the temple.”
Dr. Manny Arango [15:30]: “Jesus in the temple at age 12 is definitely the New Testament author saying to us, hey, the glory has come back to the temple.”
Dr. Manny Arango [25:50]: “I can't say that I want to hear the voice of God, if I'm not ready to hear God command that I do something.”
Dr. Manny Arango [27:15]: “The leaders hear God and the community obeys the leaders, which is effectively obeying God.”

Stay Connected

To continue exploring the Bible in a transformative way, subscribe to The Bible Dept. podcast and download the 365-day Bible reading plan from thebibledepartment.com. Join Dr. Manny Arango and a community of fellow believers on this enlightening journey through Scripture.

Transcript

Dr. Manny Arango (0:00)

Hey, Bible nerds. This is Dr. Manny Arango, and I'm your host for the Bible department podcast powered by Arma. This podcast follows a Bible reading plan we created to help you read the entire Bible in a year. You can head to the show notes or thebibledepartment.com to download our reading plan and join the journey. To all my fellow pastors, I've got a question for you. Does your city know that your church exists? Listen, I get it. You're preaching, you're leading, you're discipling, you're doing ministry. We are in the same boat. And let's be honest, social media and marketing, not your strong suit. Not mine either. And that's probably the last thing on your mind. And that's why we chose to partner with Church Candy marketing for our church Plant the garden. We out here, y'all. They help churches get more actual guests walking through the doors on Sunday without your eye having to stress over ads or algorithms or trying to crack the social media code. Right now, Church Candy is helping nearly 400 churches reach their communities with simple invite ads. And it works. It's super effective. I can tell you from firsthand experience. So if you're tired of being your city's best kept secret, how about you do this? Go to churchcandy.com Manny and book a free consultation book a discovery call. Their team will break it all down and show you how to start seeing new faces at your church this Sunday. I'm in the trenches with you trying to grow the church. And how about we just start a whole campaign? No more empty churches. So let's partner with Church Candy and get our churches full. The glory of Jesus. Let's go. We're about to wrap up the book of Exodus today. We got Exodus chapters 39 and 40. Just two chapters. And we got the climax of the book. Hey, if you haven't done the reading yet, stop this audio. Stop the video. Go do the reading. If you've already done the reading, then you're probably, like, just excited about how the book has ended. Most people don't make it to the end of the book of Exodus. Most people think that the crossing of the Red Sea is the end, but that is not the end, because the book starts with absence. Okay? God is apparently absent. On a literary level. He's absent. We know. Literally, like. Like in. In actuality, God's not absent, but the writer of the book of Exodus is painting a picture that God is absent. So literally present, but literarily absent. Okay, Literally present, literarily absent. So because absence is how the book starts, then that means presence is going to be the ultimate climax of the book. So let's dive into our context. Clue. Exodus, chapter 40, verse 34 to 38 is the ultimate climax for the whole book of Exodus. So let's read that together. Exodus, chapter 40, verse 34 says this. Then the cloud covered the tent of meaning. Once they've built the tabernacle, once they've followed Moses instructions, they've built this thing exactly like God has commanded them to build it. This is the climax. It's the climax for this section, but it's also the climax for the entire book. It says, then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. Moses could not enter the tent of meeting because the cloud. The cloud had settled on it. And the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. In all the travels of the Israelites, whenever the cloud lifted from above the tabernacle, they would set out. But if the cloud did not lift, they would not set out until the day it lifted. So the cloud of the Lord was over the tabernacle by day, and fire was in the cloud by night, in the sight of all the Israelites during all their travels. Okay? So the glory of God is with them. The presence of God is with them. The presence of God enters the tabernacle and fills the tabernacle. Now, this is going to become a pattern. This is going to become a huge pattern. We're going to see this pattern again. Okay? So this context. Let me just help people out. The tabernacle, when people say tabernacle, it is the temporary tent form of the permanent structural temple. Okay? So while they're in the wilderness, they. They're. They're hiking, man. They're backpacking. So they got tents. So God lives in a tent. Okay, so the tabernacle, uh, you've read all these instructions. The instructions are to make curtains and. And curtain rods. This thing is portable. Okay? Tear down and set up this portable church out in the wilderness. David. This is hundreds of years later, David. We'll get there. As we keep trekking through the Bible, David decides, man, I live in a palace. Like, I live in a permanent structure. We should put God in a permanent structure as well. Why is God still living in a tent and I'm in a permanent building? God was in a tent because all the Israelites were in tents, okay? They're backpacking through the wilderness, man. We should really build God a house. And when they build God A house that's going to be called a temple. Temple, tabernacle. Temple, tabernacle. David is going to take the exact same dimensions of. Of this tabernacle, and he's just gonna, instead of curtains, gonna put walls, right? Instead of poles, you're gonna have studs. You know what I mean? Like, he's just gonna take the exact same dimensions of the tabernacle and create a permanent facility out of that tabernacle. So when you think tabernacle, think tent, temporary, think mobile. When you think temple, think permanent building structure. So. So the tabernacle or the filling of the tabernacle is going to become a massive pattern. So when Solomon, David, wants to build a temple, God didn't let him. He allows his son to do it. When Solomon builds the temple, here's how it concludes in Second Chronicles, chapter 7. When Solomon finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering. And the sacrifices and the glory of the Lord filled the temple. The priests could not enter the temple of the Lord because the glory of the Lord filled it. When all the Israelites saw the fire coming down and the glory of the Lord above the temple, they knelt on the pavement with their faces to the ground and they worshiped and gave thanks to the Lord, saying, he is good. His love endures forever. So when we transition from tabernacle to temple, we get the exact same climax, the exact same culmination, or the exact same proof that God is pleased. Okay? The glory of the Lord comes down, fire cloud fills it. This temple, Solomon's temple, is going to get destroyed. It's going to get rebuilt. Guys like Ezra and Nehemiah are going to come back to Jerusalem after the exile to rebuild the broken walls and to repair. Rebuild the broken tabernacle. And this moment never happens. There is no glory coming and filling the temple. Okay? When it gets rebuilt, this would be Herod's temple. This would be Zerubbabel's temple. They're rebuilding Solomon's temple, and they actually built it bigger and better than it had ever been. But the glory of God never, never. This never happened. No moment with fire and clouds and God clearly coming down to give his thumbs up, give his sign of approval. However, there are two moments in the New Testament that tell us that the glory of God has returned to the temple. The first is Jesus being in the temple when he's 12 years old. Jesus is the glory of God. And so Jesus in the temple is definitely the New Testament author saying to us, hey, the glory has come back to the temple, okay? The second is Acts chapter 2. When you are going to get this same kind of scene, the same kind of scene from Exodus 40 and 2 Chronicles chapter 7. These same kind of events are going to happen in the upper room in Acts chapter two. When what? When the glory of God fills the church. Okay, so if we're looking for, okay, what's the next version of this tabernacle? Well, God filled the tabernacle, he filled Solomon's temple, and then he filled the church when the church had gathered together for the first time in Acts chapter two. Fire. Okay, the New Testament is going to say wind, but clouds. Wind. You get the gist. Okay. All the symbols and images from Exodus 40 and 2nd Chronicles 7 are there in Acts chapter 2. But. But if you don't have context for where these images and symbols come from, then you just read it and say, oh, that, that's fun. But actually, no, it's. The New Testament writers are wanting you to see that the church has now become the dwelling place of God, which is the tabernacle and the temple now formed into God's people, this church Bible department family. It's Dr. Manny Arango. And first thing I want to say is that I'm proud of you for completing the New Testament. You did it. And now that we're in the Old Testament, I hope that looking at Genesis and Exodus from an ancient perspective and worldview has kind of like opened your eyes. Well, I got news for you. If you've enjoyed some of the interpretations that I've brought to the table from Genesis, then that's just the tip of the iceberg. This entire book, Crushing Chaos, was written from an ancient hermeneutic. I'm looking at stories like the Flood, Adam and Eve from the perspective of an ancient person. And we've got an event coming up on April 26th where I'll take a lot of the content from this book and I'll turn that content into live lectures. You don't want to miss it. You can actually register for that event right now. The link is in the description. And more than content, I think what you'll find as we gather together in Nashville are like minded believers and friends in a community of people that you don't just watch content with online that you can get to know in person. I'd love to see you in Nashville. I'd love to hug you. High five you. And I'd love to nerd out together for one day as we come together in Nashville to learn about how to crush chaos. I'll see you In Nashville. Peace. Okay, that's our context clues. Let's get into our nerdy nuggets. There's more correlation between creation and the building of the tabernacle. Why? Because Exodus is trying to tell us that when we operate under a sacrificial system and our sin is atoned for and we're able to access the presence of God, and this is the equivalent of us living prior. This is close to Genesis chapters one and two as we're going to get. Okay, we're trying to nullify the effects of Genesis chapter three and get God and humans to coexist, co reside. Cohabitate again. So go ahead. I want you to look at Exodus, chapter 39, verse 43 says this. Moses inspected the work and saw that they had done it, just as the Lord commanded, so Moses blessed them. Okay. Moses inspected the work and saw what they had done, just as the Lord commanded, so Moses blessed them. Okay, we're going to compare that to Genesis 1:31. In Genesis 1:28, Genesis 1:31 says, God saw all that he had made. Key word. There you see the link already saw all that he had made. And it was very good. And there was evening and morning, the sixth day. Now let's back up to verse 28. God blessed them and said to them, be fruitful and increase in number. Fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish and the sea and the birds, the sky. So we get God saw and then what? God blessed. Okay, God saw and God blessed. And what do we have in Exodus chapter 39, verse 43? Moses saw and Moses blessed. Okay, so we get a link right back to Genesis and we're going to get one more of these. Exodus chapter 40, verse 33. In the 33rd verse, it says this. Then Moses set up the courtyard around the tabernacle and altar and put up the curtains of the tent of the courtyard. And so Moses finished the work. Key word. So Moses finished the work. If you go to Genesis chapter 2, verse 1 and 2. Thus the heavens and the earth were finished in all their multitude. And on the seventh day, God finished, finished the work that he had done. And he rested on the seventh day from all the work he had done. See, the key word there is finished. Okay? In the same way that God finished his work in the original creation, Moses finishes. Okay, the people of Israel finish their work and the construction of the tabernacle. And this is going to foreshadow a moment when Jesus is on the cross and he says, it is finished. Okay, Jesus is drawing upon Exodus themes and Genesis themes by saying that it is finished. What is finished? The work of new creation. It's finished. What's finished? This project whereby humanity and divinity can dwell with each other again. It's a Genesis project. It's an Exodus project. Jesus says it is finished. The new tabernacle. That new tabernacle is going to be the church. And the church can't be the church without the shed blood of Jesus. And so Jesus does something on the cross to finish the work so that we can live with God again. That's our nerdy nugget, okay? That the word finished, or some versions of your Bible may say complete, are linked links these passages to creation. Because creation was finished, okay? The tabernacle was finished. So we now get a link from Genesis to Exodus, and both of these cords are gonna find their culmination in Jesus words on the cross. All right, let's get into our timeless truth. We're going to get a repeated phrase. I wonder if you saw it. Okay, Exodus 39, verse one ends with these words. As the Lord had commanded Moses. Okay, Verse five, same chapter ends with this. As the Lord Commanded Moses. Verse 7. As the Lord commanded Moses. Verse 21. As Lord commanded Moses. Verse 26. I bet you see a pattern. As the Lord Commanded Moses. Verse 29. As Lord commanded Moses. Okay. Verse 31. As Lord commanded Moses. Verse 32. According to all that the Lord had commanded Moses. So they did. You got a little switch up there? Verse 42. According to all that the Lord had commanded Moses. So the people of Israel had done all the work. We're going to get into Exodus 40 in verse 16. According to all the Lord commanded him. This Moses did. So he did. Okay, verse 19. As the Lord commanded Moses. Okay. Verse 21. As the Lord commanded Moses. Verse 23, verse 25, verse 27, verse 29. All have that phrase which says, as the Lord commanded Moses. There's a couple of things that I want us to apply that are just timeless principles. Number one, I can't say that I want to hear the voice of God. If I not ready to hear God command that I do something. A lot of times when people tell me they haven't heard the voice of God in a while, I go, what's the last thing God told you to do? Because if you disobey the last thing God told you to do, God's not just going to keep talking to you, telling you things like, go ahead, obey the last thing that God told you to do so that you can make yourself eligible to Hear some new stuff from God. So we think about what's one of the defining characteristics of this portion of Scripture. Well, it is a lot of, like, God just telling Moses stuff. And if we want to hear God speak a lot, then God's going to command a lot. So if we're not okay with commandments, then it's hypocritical to desire his voice but not desire his commandments. Second, the people are not hearing God. The leaders hearing God. Okay? The leader's hearing the Lord. And the leader is in giving instructions for what the leader heard from God, which is corporate ministry. That's church. Okay. That I don't get to say. I want God to talk to me. If Pastor Robert Madu is my pastor and I'm a part of an organization or I'm part of a church, then I'm going to obey as the Lord commanded. Pastor ROBERT Okay. It does not say as the Lord commanded Israel, whereas the Lord commanded all the people in Israel. No, it just says, as the Lord commanded Moses. So God's going to command Moses, and Moses is going to communicate to everybody. And I have to believe. Yeah, I think that a. I think that the person that I am following in leadership, I think they hear God. I think they obey God. If I think they hear God and obey God, then my challenge isn't to trust and obey God. It's to trust and obey that they heard from God. And by listening and doing what they tell me to do, I. I'm actually listening to and obeying God. Okay. I think we have a little bit of a dynamic in modern church where everyone just goes, yeah, God's gonna have some democratic process whereby he's gonna talk to all of us. And God goes, ah, I give vision to a leader, and the leader has to have faith in me to follow out that vision. And the way you have faith in me is by listening to what the leader says. Because as the Lord commanded Moses. Okay, but Moses didn't build nothing. Okay. Moses is not. We learned about the craftsmen that were filled with the spirit and the power of God and the wisdom of God to actually do the work. It'd be better for God to tell them. Right? That makes more sense. But God doesn't tell them. He tells Moses. God commands Moses. Moses disseminates that information, and the people have to obey Moses in order to obey God. And that right there, that's timeless. If I want more of God's voice, then I better be cool with more of his commandments. And if I really are cool with his commandments. I'm cool with those commandments coming via or via a person, a human that. I can't say I want to obey God, but I always am constantly disrespecting and disobeying the leaders and the pastors that God's placed in my life. It just doesn't really work that way. The Bible says this. How can you love a neighbor who. Well, how can you love God who you don't see, but you hate someone who you do see? Same goes for obedience, I think. How can you say you obey God who you don't see, but you don't obey pastors and leaders in your life who you do see? All right, that's the end of Exodus, y'all. We move from absence to presence. We gave a last link between the building of the tabernacle and creation. I gave you a timeless truth about the commandments of God and the voice of God and following leaders and how by following them, you demonstrate your ability to follow God. All right, tomorrow's day 108, and we're gonna crack open Leviticus. I know it's everybody's favorite book of the Bible. Uh, hopefully after a couple of days of reading Leviticus, though, it will be a book that you appreciate. If you're on a streak, don't jack it up. Don't mess it up. Keep moving. Keep, keep, keep reading. Uh, if you're not on a streak, today's a good day to start one. I love you guys so much. I'm so proud of you. I'll see you right here tomorrow. Thanks so much for joining us on the Bible Department podcast. You can find us online and learn more about the show at the Bible Department and on Instagram. Hebibledepartment. If you enjoyed this episode and want to dive deeper into the Bible, you can get free access to our library of courses@thebibledepartment.com we'll see you back here tomorrow.

wavePod

Summary

Transcript

Summary