Summary5 min read

The Wake-Up Call: “Why Is Moses Locked Out?”

Host: Andrew Forrest (Seedbed)
Date: February 15, 2026
Main Scripture: Exodus 40:34-38

Episode Overview

In this devotional episode, Andrew Forrest explores the concluding verses of the Book of Exodus, focusing on why Moses—despite leading the Israelites faithfully—finds himself unable to enter the newly completed tabernacle. Forrest bridges scripture, reflection, and the Christian narrative of redemption, guiding listeners through the biblical theme of God’s holiness, humanity’s separation due to sin, and the ultimate hope fulfilled in Jesus. The episode features a meditation on worship, a communal prayer, journal prompts, and closes with a reflection on the hymn “Be Thou My Vision.”

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Setting the Scene and Personal Reflection

Church as Gathering and Gift (00:03 – 02:30)
- Andrew shares his excitement and sense of urgency about Sunday worship, drawing from personal experiences as a pastor during the pandemic.
- Quote: “Never, ever, ever… ever want to take a Sunday morning for granted.”
- Announcement of a new Seedbed video course based on his book Love Goes First.

2. Scripture Reading and Main Question

Exodus 40:34-38 (02:31 – 03:14)
- Andrew reads the final verses of Exodus, where the glory of the Lord fills the tabernacle and Moses is unable to enter.
- Sets up the central question: Why can’t Moses enter?

3. Exodus in Context: From Egypt to Tabernacle

Redemption Theme (03:15 – 05:15)
- The narrative arc: From slavery in Egypt to a covenant at Sinai, to the construction of the tabernacle.
- God is not just taking the people out of Egypt, but Egypt out of the people—transforming them internally.

4. Moses Locked Out: The Problem of Sin and Holiness

Barrier to God’s Presence (05:16 – 06:20)
- Despite the tabernacle’s purpose—giving access to God’s life—even Moses is excluded.
- Quote: “The entire purpose of the tabernacle was to give Israel access to the life of God. But now even Moses is unable to draw near. Why? Because of the sin of the people.”

5. Atonement and the Path Forward

Looking Ahead to Leviticus and the Cross (06:21 – 07:30)
- The following book, Leviticus, will detail how atonement is made, prefiguring Christ’s sacrifice.
- Quote: “Sinful humanity cannot exist in the presence of God. But God does not give up on his desire to share his divine eternal life with his human creatures.”
- Jesus as the ultimate fulfillment: “His life permanently breaks the power of sin and death which has held humanity enslaved since the Garden of Eden.”

6. Worship and Forgiveness in the Present Day

Holy Communion and Assurance of Forgiveness (07:31 – 08:15)
- Andrew describes how communion in his church connects the Exodus theme to Christian practice—through confession and the word of forgiveness.
- Memorable Moment: The assurance—“Christ died for us while we were yet sinners, which proves God’s love toward us. In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven.”
- The privilege of approaching God today through Jesus.

7. Reflection and Prayer

Appreciating Salvation (08:16 – 08:47)
- Prayerful gratitude for the unearned gift of salvation and invitation to delight in God’s presence.

Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

On Worship Post-Pandemic (00:40):
“Never, ever, ever again will I waste an opportunity.”
On Exodus’s Open Ending (05:10):
“There’s not a neat bow on the narrative here. Rather, there is a major outstanding item that needs to be addressed.”
On Sin and Access to God (05:45):
“Did you catch this? Moses is unable to enter its confines… even Moses is unable to draw near. Why? Because of the sin of the people.”
On Jesus as the Fulfiller (06:50):
“Jesus is the ultimate sacrifice to which all other sacrifices point. And his life permanently breaks the power of sin and death which has held humanity enslaved since the Garden of Eden.”
On the Assurance of Forgiveness (07:41):
“Christ died for us while we were yet sinners, which proves God’s love toward us. In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven.”

Important Timestamps

| Timestamp | Segment/Content | |-----------|-------------------------------------------------------------------| | 00:03 | Introduction, Sunday morning reflections, importance of corporate worship, mention of Love Goes First | | 02:31 | Scripture reading: Exodus 40:34-38 | | 03:15 | Recap of Exodus—slavery to covenant and tabernacle | | 05:16 | The issue: Moses locked out of the tabernacle | | 06:21 | Transition to Leviticus, sin, and the ultimate hope in Jesus | | 07:31 | Holy Communion, liturgy of forgiveness | | 08:16 | Prayer reflecting on salvation and God’s invitation | | 08:48 | Hymn: “Be Thou My Vision” | | 10:32 | Reflection on hymn’s meaning—Father/Son/Spirit relationship |

Journal Prompts (08:20)

Why can’t Moses enter the tabernacle once the glory of God descends upon it?
What would happen if sinful humanity were actually able to receive eternal life while remaining in sin?
Through faith, you can come into the presence of God—what’s stopping you?

Reflection on the Hymn “Be Thou My Vision” (08:48 – 11:00)

Theological Insight:
- Forrest explains the line, “Thou my great Father, and I thy true son,” highlighting the participation of all believers in the relationship between Father and Son, by the Spirit.
- Quote: “Jesus the Son brings us into the relationship he has with the Father through the power of the Holy Spirit… being brought into that relationship. That’s ultimately God’s desire—to bring us into the heart of his divine love, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.”

Closing Thoughts

Andrew Forrest ends with a prayer that listeners would tangibly experience the love of God and be awakened to their place within the divine relationship, reinforcing the theme that access to God—locked to Moses in Exodus—is now flung wide through Christ.

“For the awakening, I’m Andrew Forrest, and I’ll see you on the field.” (11:14)

Summary Takeaways

Exodus ends with open questions—a people redeemed, yet still separated by sin.
Moses’s exclusion from the tabernacle is a sign that more is needed: true atonement.
Leviticus and, ultimately, Christ’s sacrifice provide the answer.
In Christ, all can draw near and enter God’s presence—a privilege not to be taken lightly.
Today, consider what keeps you from God, and accept the invitation to fuller relationship, assured of forgiveness and love.

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Transcript3 lines

[00:04]
A
Good morning, Sower Nation. It is Sunday, February 15th, in the year of our Lord 2026. I am Andrew Forrest and this is your wake up call. Well, everybody, I hope you're gonna have a great Sunday morning. It's the Lord's day, the first day of the week, the best day of the week. And I hope you got a church you're looking forward to going to today. I'm looking forward to going to my church. I am the senior pastor at Asbury Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma and we have three services this morning, 8 o', clock, 9 o' clock and 11 o'. Clock. 9 and 11 are livestreamed and I look forward to it every single week. Although I also get a little stressed about it every week as well. But the two things go together. Our 8 o' clock service is in our chapel and I have to leave right after I preach and then hustle over to our sanctuary to get ready at 9 o' clock and then 11 o'. Clock. So it's a full morning. It goes quick, quick, quick, quick. But it's good and I'm looking forward to it. And I never, ever, ever, as I've said on here before, ever want to take a Sunday morning for granted. You know, and for me personally, having lived through the pandemic, I've been unable for a while to have folks come together for church. I like results. Never, ever, ever again will I waste an opportunity. So I hope that you have the same sense of urgency and delight in church today and hope the Lord speaks to you. I also should tell you though this morning that I, I am the author of this book, Love Goes First. And the reason I'm bringing this up to you is because we do have a seedbed video course on the book that's going to be launching in March. It's live. Live from Tulsa, it's Love Goes First. It'll be on the 9th, 16th and 23rd of March with a bonus section on the 30th. So if you go to Seedbeds website and just type in Love Goes first, you'll see my book. But you'll also see this video. Course. This is going to be fun, fun, fun. I'm really looking forward to it. So spread the word, maybe do it with a group or something like that. In the meantime, we're here to talk about the very last paragraph of the Book of Exodus. So wake up, sleeper. Rise from the dead and Christ will shine on you. Jesus, I belong to you I lift up my heart to you I set my mind on you I Fix my eyes on you. I offer my body to you as a living sacrifice. Jesus, we belong to you. Praying in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Our scripture reading is the very last paragraph of Exodus. A scripture reading for the day is Exodus 40, 34, 38. Here now the word of the Lord. Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled on it. And the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. Throughout all their journeys. Whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the people of Israel would set out. But if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not set out till the day that it was taken up. For the cloud of the Lord was on the tabernacle by day, and fire was in it by night in the sight of all of the house of Israel throughout all their journeys, the word of the Lord. So why can't Moses go into the tent? Today we reach the end of the book of Exodus, if you can believe it. And there's not a neat bow on the narrative here. Rather, there is a major outstanding item that needs to be addressed. Exodus begins with the children of Israel enslaved in Egypt. There is the basket in the bulrushes and the burning bush and the battle between the Lord and Pharaoh. There's the parting of the Red Sea and the journey to Mount Sinai. In these chapters, chapters, God is taking the people out of Egypt. And then from Mount Sinai on, in the latter half of Exodus, which we have been studying, God begins the process of taking Egypt out of the people at Mount Sinai. The Lord makes a covenant with them and gives them the Ten Commandments so they will know how to live. Then there are other laws regarding how they ought to interact with other people and instructions for the building of the tabernacle and how to properly worship. In the sad episode of the golden calf, the people have their own rebellion and their fall story, but the Lord remains committed to them, and the tabernacle is eventually constructed according to plan. And then in the very last paragraph of the book, we read that the glory of God comes and dwells in the tabernacle. And did you catch this? Moses is unable to enter its confines. The entire purpose of the tabernacle was to give Israel access to the life of God. But now even Moses is unable to draw near. Why? Because of the sin of the people. The next book of the Bible, which is Leviticus, will begin to explain how atonement can be made for sin and how it can be covered over. And that story ultimately culminates in the cross. See, sinful humanity cannot exist in the presence of God. But God does not give up on his desire to share his divine eternal life with his human creatures. And so Jesus is the ultimate sacrifice to which all other sacrifices point. And his life permanently breaks the power of sin and death which has held humanity enslaved since the Garden of Eden. Today is Sunday, the Lord's Day. And on it we will gather for worship in my church. We will close our services today with Holy Communion. And as part of the liturgy, we will confess our sins. And then we will hear the amazing words, christ died for us while we were yet sinners, which proves God's love toward us. In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven. And then we will say it one to each other. And then we will draw near and meet with the Lord with the breaking of bread and the sharing of the wine. See, Exodus teaches us that humanity left to itself is exiled from the presence of God. But thanks be to God, through trust in Jesus, we are brought back into the divine life and can share in it. And even when we die, we will be raised again. So today think about what a privilege it is to be able to enter into the presence of God and receive eternal life. Thanks be to God. And so, Lord, thank you for the life you offer through Jesus. Give us the grace to be mindful of the cost of salvation, a cost that we did not have to pay. Help us to delight in your presence today, Lord, and give us a taste today of the eternal life that you promised. All who approach you in faith, all this we pray in Jesus name. Amen. So I have a few journal prompts here to just get you thinking. Number one, why can't Moses enter the tabernacle once the glory of God descends upon it? Number two, what would happen if sinful humanity were actually able to receive eternal life while remaining in sin? What kind of existence and what kind of world would result? 3. Right where you are reading this, you can, through faith, come into the presence of God. What's stopping you from doing that? So we have come to the end of the book of Exodus. We've been looking at how God first takes people out of Egypt. Okay? And then the part we've been looking at closely is, well, how does God take Egypt out of the people? And as Exodus ends with this like open ended ending, the story is not concluded. It's the whole rest of the scripture pointing us to the glorious culmination of history. Tomorrow we're going to begin looking at the book of Leviticus, which, again, is probably not anybody's favorite, but it is worth reading if you have a reliable guide, and I hope, at least for a little bit, to be that sort of guide and share with you some of the things that I've been learning and finding really helpful and interesting. Today we will sing Be Thou My Vision, another one of my favorite hymns, the beautiful Celtic Melody. This is hymn 49 in the seedbed hymnal, our great redeemer's praise, hymn 49. Be thou my vision.
[08:48]
B
Be Thou my vision O Lord of my heart Naught be all else to me Save that Thou art Thou my best thought by day or by night, waking or sleeping Thy presence my light verse 2 be thou my wisdom and Thou my true word I ever with thee and thou with me Lord, Thou my great Father and I thy true son Thou in me dwelling and I with thee One riches I heed not nor man's empty praise Thou mine inheritance now and always Thou and Thou only first in my heart High King of Heaven My treasure Thou art last one High King of heaven My victory won May I reach heaven's joys O bright and sun Heart of my own heart Whatever befall Still be my vision O ruler of all.
[10:33]
A
Great hymn. I want to point out to you that third verse there that says. Excuse me, the second verse, the second half of it. Thou, my great father, I, thy true son Thou in me dwelling and I with thee. One. Okay, so that's not talking about, like, gendered humanity that, like, men can say, oh, Lord, I'm your Son, and women can't. It's talking about the relationship of the Father and the Son. So Jesus the Son brings us into the relationship he has with the Father through the power of the Holy Spirit. And the Father pours out on us the life and the Spirit and the love he has given the Son. And so what that second verse is talking about is being brought into that relationship. That's ultimately God's desire to bring us into the heart of his design. Divine love, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. I mean, it is amazing, and I pray that you experience some tangible reminder and taste of the love of the Father given to the Son in the strength of the Spirit today. Well, friends for the awakening, I'm Andrew Forrest, and I'll see you on the field.