It’s Moving Day! {Exodus 40}

As Exodus draws to a close, we see that it's moving day. God is moving in with his glory and presence in the tent of meeting.  #Biblestudy #Exodus #WomensBibleStudy #GoodMorningGirls

Have you ever moved from one home to another? It’s a lot of work – but it’s exciting!

I remember preparing my boxes for the movers.  Each box was labeled by a big black marker. On moving day, I stood in command, pointing the men in the right direction.

In Exodus 40, it’s moving day and God is in command!

God is telling Moses to set up the tabernacle and exactly where to put each piece.  God is detailed and Moses is obedient.

“Moses did everything just as the Lord commanded him.”   (Exodus 40:16)

Seven times we are told that Moses did just as the Lord commanded him.

Let’s pause and soak that truth in.

The church today has not been commanded to build tents, tapestry, tables or tabernacles but the church has been given precise instructions on how to set up elders in the church (1 Timothy 3, Titus 1) and the order of the roles in the home (Ephesians 5, Titus 2, 1 Peter 3, Colossians 3).

Oh that it would be said of us – “we did everything just as the Lord commanded”.

Okay – back to Exodus 40. In verse 33, the move is complete.

It’s a wonderful feeling on moving day when all the boxes have arrived and the family moves in and sleeps there the first night.

In Exodus 40, God moves in!

“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. ” (Exodus 40:34,35)

His glory must have been magnificent and brilliant like never before because Moses had seen some of his glory in the burning bush, at the parting of the Red Sea and on Mt. Sinai but now the glory is so great, Moses was not able to enter the tent while God’s glory came down!

AWESOME!

But it’s so brief.  If there was ever a time for Moses to get long winded, wouldn’t it be now?

Didn’t we just read chapters and chapters of mundane details and now there are only 4 short verses about God’s arrival!

Have mercy – Moses – we want more! Lol!

Well, we will get more when we study the book of Leviticus.  Exodus reads like the assembly instructions to a kit but it does not explain how the pieces are to be used.  Leviticus is the “how-to” manual.

Exodus is the introduction to Leviticus – but we are not moving right into Leviticus. Instead, we will take a little breather from the Old Testament and study the life of Jesus in the book of Matthew as we prepare for the celebration of Easter.

Then after Easter we will take an 11 day spring break and then…

Drum roll…

We will take a deep breath and dive back into the Old Testament, into the book of Leviticus, during the months of April and May.

Leviticus will not be an easy book to study – I have a feeling we will lose a few along the way. It is a book for those who are ready to go deeper and it’s important to understanding the work of Jesus because all of scripture is interwoven.

{Cue the Confetti}

You have completed the book of Exodus!

Way to go Good Morning Girls!

Each one of you is like a precious pearl – so valuable – and when we come together it’s a thing of great beauty!

I’ll see you back here next Monday as we begin the Book of Matthew.  All the resources are available here if you want to use the weekend to prepare.

The Book of Matthew

Keep walking with the King,

Courtney

**Chime In**

What is the most important thing you learned from the book of Exodus?

 BLOGGERS: Are you blogging through the Bible with us.  Link up below!
Readers – come visit these other bloggers!

Blogging through bible with GMG button



12 Comments

  1. Courtney, I love how you point out that the Scriptures say that Moses did exactly as God told him to… that repetition is there for a reason! I really want to learn from his example in that regard.

    I feel like what God has impressed on my heart the most in our time studying Exodus is that all the Scriptures point to Christ. Throughout Exodus we have seen God’s plan to rescue his people and I love how that foreshadows God’s ultimate plan of rescue through Jesus. We’ve just begun reading the Jesus Storybook Bible with our son and I think that’s part of why eye has been sharpened to see how “every story whispers his name”.

  2. Gosh I love the last 5 verses so much. They did not move until He did. I pray that we can all do that too…

    I love this part as well, it serves as a climax to all that has happened up until then… God joined His people by coming down into the tent. Just as He would again when Christ came…. gives me chills.

    Thank you for leading this… I learned things in Exodus I never knew were there!

  3. Thank you Courtney, for all you are doing and in leading this Bible study. I’ve joined along since Good Morning Girls started reading Exodus and I am learning so much by using the SOAK system.

    I’ve always wanted to start reading the Bible from the beginning, but usually lost oomph very fast. So one day I started with the new testament, because I had heard it was easier to read through that way. When I finished it, I felt that I had reached a real milestone. When you announced that you would be reading the Bible from start to finish I thought it would be a great chance to finally get through the entire Bible. But I didn’t read along for weeks until finally I gave myself a good push! I’m thankful for the accountability GMG gives. I don’t post or comment much, but I’m diligently writing my SOAKs in my notebook and just wanted to thank you and the other ladies for the insights that you share.

    As Kristin above, I loved those last verses too. Especially about the fire being inside the cloud at night. There has to be fire (God) in it before we should move…that is amazing!

  4. This study in Exodus has been so much better than I ever imagined! I really enjoyed this post. I have moved many times in my life and with the context of chapter 40 being presented this way it made it so real. Thank you Courtney for this refreshing perspective. I love the end of 40 when Moses finally tells us about God’s glory residing in the tabernacle. That must have been something to experience! How awesome it is that we get to experience his same presence every day and that he lives on the inside of us and not in a tent. God is so great! Thank you once again for starting this study, and for allowing the link ups! Be blessed!

    1. Yay Johanna!!!

      Yes – we have a Facebook group for leaders – please email me at courtney(at)womenlivingwell.org and let me know you are a leader and then I will send you a Facebook group invite to your email inbox. 😉

      Lots of Love,
      Courtney

  5. This was a great post for me today. I just finished moving with my husband our family of 6, with children ranging from 11 years to 20 months, from south Alabama to High Point, NC. The entire experience has been exciting and exhausting!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

I accept the Privacy Policy

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.