On Christian Obedience | Exodus 35: 1 - 40:33

Introduction

An old friend of mine once told me how he and his brother used to act when their mom would give them orders or instructions. They would see who could do it the quickest (maybe not the best) and whoever won the race of obedience would turn to his brother and yell, “IF YOU WERE IN THE ARMY YOU’D BE DEAD BY NOW!” Such is the case with boys.

There are many, many things one could say about soldiers in the army. We could discuss their bravery, their incredible self-sacrifice, their patriotism, and so much more. But what is crystal clear, and what my friend and his brother picked up on at an early age is the one thing that has always marked the brave men who have served is their unyielding commitment to obey orders. I have had students in the past who were real trouble makers, openly defiant and rebellious—and then they graduate, and you worry, and then you find out they went into the military, and they have come back to town and you don’t even recognize them! Their clothes have changed, their demeanor is markedly different, and one of the key things they communicate about this change is that, in the military, they are taught the importance of authority, bringing order to chaos, and to obey orders immediately and without question. 

How often do you and I, when given orders from our bosses, our spouses, or whoever immediately begin rationalizing and asking ourselves if what I’m being asked to do makes any sense to me, and if I really needed to do that, or if there is a better way…?

But obedience in the military is not simply so that immature young men can learn some structure, but obedience is demanded because life and death is in the balance. Obeying or disobeying orders in battle can mean the difference between completing the mission or you or the soldier next to you dying on the battlefield. In short, obedience and disobedience have consequences.

Now, the stakes are rarely that high for us in our day to day lives. Whether or not our kids listen to us about picking up the toys in the basement may not be a 1-1 correlation to soldiers on the battlefield, but it would be foolish to deny any connection at all. Every act of obedience or disobedience in all of life will bring real consequences.

It is a truth universally acknowledged that where there is disobedience there is disfellowship. When orders in the army are disobeyed, lives are in danger and court marshals are ordered. When commands are disobeyed in the workplace, reports are written up and jobs are on the line. When commands are disobeyed in the home, discipline and instruction, confession and reconciliation is needed. And as we saw in Exodus 32–34, when the people of God disobey God, they experience disfellowship with him. 

Remember Exodus 33, after the Golden Calf fiasco, the Lord commands Moses to depart from the mountain and to go take the land that he had promised them—with one key difference: he would not go with them. 

When the people heard this disastrous word, they mourned, and no one put on his ornaments.

—Exodus 33:4

The blessed presence of God has been and always will be the defining feature of the people of God. And the structure of this large chunk of Exodus that we are going to look at today—we’re going to examine 5 chapters this morning so hang on— reflects in a lot of ways the ground that we have already covered—Exodus 25–30 where God first details to Moses the intricate instructions for the building of the Tabernacle for the expressed purpose of…

I will dwell among the people of Israel and will be their God. And they shall know that I am the LORD their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt that I might dwell among them. I am the LORD their God.

—Exodus 29:45–46

They were expected to obey God, to deliver on building the tabernacle that he had prescribed for the purpose of dwelling with him. However, we know everything went south when Moses went back up the mountain. Even though God had worked such incredible wonders before their eyes, had preserved them through the journey to Mt. Sinai, and now have given them the gracious Law, which was to serve as the covenantal glue between God and the nation. And not only that, but the God of the mountain was committed to dwell in their midst. 

And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst. Exactly as I show you concerning the pattern of the tabernacle, and of all its furniture, so you shall make it.

—Exodus 25:8–9

This great promise—the ultimate goal of God to have for himself a people with whom he  could dwell with—is sandwiched between the giving of the Law in Exodus 20–24 and the command and instruction to build the tabernacle “Exactly as I show you…”. But instead of obedience, the people quickly abandon the God who saves, and not only break the 2nd commandment (making the golden calf), but they put it in their midst and give it their worship and esteem. In short, they have disobeyed.

And the difficult and humbling reality of this book is that we can locate ourselves in these foolish, silly, petty, grumbly, sinful and disobedient Israelites. You and I have sinned. And like the Israelites, that sin is not just an ethereal, distant mistake, but manifests itself in real and discernable ways. My sin is not simply being short-tempered, but manifests and bears fruit in real life in specific situations like that sharp word I said to my wife. That’s a real sin, stemming from a sinful root, that really does need to be repented of. There really is still an earthly and fleshly old man that needs to be put off and put to death.

But what is also clear from the entire book of Exodus, but here also in our section today, is that the Lord has not abandoned his people. Despite their foolishness, despite their wickedness, he has purchased them and he loves them and will not leave them as they are. So if they are not to remain as they are—if we’re not to remain who we are—then what does it look like to be a part of this covenantal family of God?

This large text asks and answers the simple question: What is Christian obedience? What is its source, its discernable markings, and what does it bring about? So as we survey this large section, we will see 4 different marks of obedience—what it is and what it is not.

It would take us our entire morning just to read this text, so we are not going to read the entire section, but drop into some highlights along the way. But out of reverence for God’s word, would you rise as you are able as I read the opening 3 verses of Exodus 35 to begin…

Moses assembled all the congregation of the people of Israel and said to them, “These are the things that the LORD has commanded you to do. Six days work shall be done, but on the seventh day you shall have a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the LORD. Whoever does any work on it shall be put to death. You shall kindle no fire in all your dwelling places on the Sabbath day.”

—Exodus 35:1–3

The first marker or descriptor of Christian obedience that we can glean from Exodus 35–40, beginning in these opening verses, is this…

(Obedience) Begins with Dependence

As we said before, this large section mirrors in a lot of ways ground that has already been covered. In Exodus 25, Moses is commanded to collect from the people contributions for the Tabernacle. Exodus 25–31 describes God laying out to Moses and thus to the people the exact specifications and instructions for crafting that same tabernacle, and then that section ends at the end of chapter 31 with commands from God to the people about the Sabbath rest.

And the LORD said to Moses, “You are to speak to the people of Israel and say, ‘Above all you shall keep my Sabbaths, for this is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I, the LORD, sanctify you.

—Exodus 31:12–13

After this, God gives Moses the first “Tablets of the Testimony”, written with the very finger of God, and then Moses heads down the mountain to deliver to the people this gracious law given to them by God and the instructions to create a mobile structure that would allow the very presence of God to dwell with them. Incredible.

But you recall what followed…the people could not abide waiting for Moses to come down off the mountain so they took to their own devices and decided to worship God in the way they deem best and in the only way they know…like Egyptians.

But here in Exodus 35, the order changes. Instead of ending with the call for Sabbath rest, Moses begins with it. In this section, the instructions God gave back in 25–31 are no longer in the “theory stage”, but have now moved into the “implementation stage”. And to keep their steps steady, Moses begins reminding them that all that they have is from the Lord. And by beginning with the Sabbath rest, Moses is aiming to keep the main thing the main thing. Victor Hamilton comments on this passage saying…

Saving some topic for last can be a way of designating the last item a climactic one, or giving it the status of a tack-on. Perhaps Moses begins the way he does lest the people so focus on the magnitude of the directives he is about to give them that they miss the two-verse footnote on the Sabbath he adds at the end. Much better to get it wrong about the sea-cow hides than get it wrong about the Sabbath.

—Victor P. Hamilton

In a lot of ways, the call for Sabbath rest in Exodus 35 reflects the 4th commandment where it finds its basis. And if you recall when we preached on that particular command, Pastor Logan made clear that the Sabbath is supposed to function as a holy day, a day where business as usual is ceased and is devoted to the worship and honor of the glorious God who saves. The Sabbath is meant to function as a built-in pause, to remind you of your need and dependence on the God who gives good gifts to his children—which is something that we are very easily tempted to forget.

After the whole Golden Calf Fiasco, no doubt the people were eager to obey and make amends for their disobedience, so it makes sense that Moses may have recognized that the people may be tempted to over-eagerness and non-stop work until everything was completed. This could lead to a temptation that they can actually earn God’s favor through their efforts—as if they could make it up on their own strength. To combat that, Moses reminds them to begin with rest.

We can be plagued with similar temptations. In the aftermath of a sin against God, and in a vain attempt to “make it up to him”, we try to work to repay the debt of his forgiveness to us in Christ. But if that is our attitude, we will still be operating from our own sufficiency—still desperately holding on to our good works as a way to make transactions with God—we do this, you give us this. We obey, you bless us. If I don’t sin this week, you have to do this or give me this. This is not covenantal logic nor is it gospel logic.

All we have and all that we are is a gracious gift from God to us. And that greatest gift to us is his son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Who, through his life, death, and resurrection has purchased us for himself. Any obedience we do—which we must do—finds its origin not in us and our own strength, but in the gracious provision of God to us in Christ.

Recall this majestic passage in Ephesians 2…

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

—Ephesians 2:8–10

Our obedience, these “good works” Paul mentions, are solely based in the glorious gift of grace from God in Christ Jesus. That must be our foundation, where we begin and where we end. If we’re going to understand our obedience and what we are called to do, we must be very clear that it begins with our need, and particularly our need for a gracious savior.

(Obedience is) Marked by Sacrificial Giving

Anyone who has ever built a building, or simply done some home project, knows that there are 2 vital steps that must be undertaken before a shovel is put in the ground or a board is cut: plans and materials.

The Israelites have been given the plans, now they are called to gather materials.

Moses said to all the congregation of the people of Israel, “This is the thing that the LORD has commanded. Take from among you a contribution to the LORD. Whoever is of a generous heart, let him bring the LORD’s contribution…

—Exodus 35:4–5

Notice that Moses’ call is grounded in the command of God, but also marked by a certain disposition: a generous heart. This is another critical reason why Moses begins this renewed process of building the tabernacle—which was interrupted by their disobedience with the golden calf—by highlighting their dependence on God. All that they have—their very freedom, food in their bellies, protection from their enemies, and even the materials by which they can use to create the tabernacle—is from the gracious hand of God. Remember the actual exodus event all the way back in chapter 12…

The people of Israel had also done as Moses told them, for they had asked the Egyptians for silver and gold jewelry and for clothing. And the LORD had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they let them have what they asked. Thus they plundered the Egyptians.

—Exodus 12:35–36

No Israelite standing at the foot of Mt. Sinai, hearing Moses command contributing to the tabernacle material, could honestly say that they had purchased this silver and gold on their own—that they had earned it. As if it was theirs by right. No, all of what they had was theirs solely because of the sovereign, majestic, glorious wonders and provisions of the Lord.

So it is with us. I find I’m most hesitant to give when I am concerned about my own financial security or out of a sense of, “no, this is mine!” How foolish of us. Had not the Lord proven his provision for the Israelites over and over again in the wilderness and now at the mountain? Has he not provided for you over and over again, even this morning?

Paul makes this same connection when he commends the Macedonian church to the church in Corinth. The churches in Macedonia, although buried in affliction and persecution and extreme poverty, gave abundantly. Paul names this act of giving not as just some charitable honorable thing, but gives glory to its source by calling it “the grace of God that has been given to the churches in Macedonia.” And he makes it crystal clear when he connects their giving to the majestic work of Christ in 2 Corinthians 8:9…

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.

—2 Corinthians 8:9

That is scandalous. That is amazing grace. That is the gospel we love put in financial terms. I pray that it may be said of Emmaus Road Church that the grace of God has been given to this church, overflowing in abundant and joyful giving, even in the midst of inflation and financial uncertainty. Look how it resulted in the Israelites back in Exodus 35, and pay attention to the motivation of the people…

Then all the congregation of the people of Israel departed from the presence of Moses. And they came, everyone whose heart stirred him, and everyone whose spirit moved him, and brought the LORD’s contribution to be used for the tent of meeting, and for all its service, and for the holy garments. So they came, both men and women. All who were of a willing heart brought brooches and earrings and signet rings and armlets, all sorts of gold objects, every man dedicating an offering of gold to the LORD…All the men and women, the people of Israel, whose heart moved them to bring anything for the work that the LORD had commanded by Moses to be done brought it as a freewill offering to the LORD.

—Exodus 35:20–22, 29

The people were not being forced to give. They were not giving out of a compulsion of duty or force—they gave willingly, as the Spirit moved them and as their hearts were stirred.

And critically, the people did not just give of their finances and material possessions (as if those are all that come from the gracious hand of God), but they gave their time, their energy, and their skills. Exodus 36:2…

And Moses called Bezalel and Oholiab and every craftsman in whose mind the LORD had put skill, everyone whose heart stirred him up to come to do the work.

—Exodus 36:2

And look how it overflowed in abundance.

And they received from Moses all the contribution that the people of Israel had brought for doing the work on the sanctuary. They still kept bringing him freewill offerings every morning, so that all the craftsmen who were doing every sort of task on the sanctuary came, each from the task that he was doing, and said to Moses, “The people bring much more than enough for doing the work that the LORD has commanded us to do.”

—Exodus 36:3–5

Starting with their dependence and marked by generous, glad-hearted, and sacrificial giving of their time and material, we are starting to see a wholly new Israel. One marked by faithfulness and obedience. May the same be said of us.

(Obedience) Manifests in Acting the Miracle

They had the plans and now they had the materials. All that was left was to bring it about. It’s tempting to say, “Hey, we did it! We’ve rested in the provision of God, we’ve brought forth all our materials…now let’s sit back and watch it all come about.” This is not how God works. 

God’s incredible miraculous promises, made secure and Yes and Amen in the finished work of Christ, never exclude human agency. Rather, it is through weak, broken vessels that the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ is displayed through our obedience. Look at how this looked in the Israelite camp…

Thus all the work of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting was finished, and the people of Israel did according to all that the LORD had commanded Moses; so they did…And Moses saw all the work, and behold, they had done it; as the LORD had commanded, so had they done it. Then Moses blessed them.

—Exodus 39:32, 43

Chapters 36–39 depict the people going step by step through all the instructions that the Lord had given them regarding the construction of the temple and obeying at every step. Where they had failed before, they now obey. The instructions had been given to them by God, the material and the skills had been given to them by God—thus no Israelite could look at the finished product and say, “Wow…look what we did!” Rather, all glory would go to the one who would take up residence there: God himself.

John Piper famously has called this process “acting the miracle”. The miracle of God, his unfathomably gracious gift of forgiveness in Christ, resulting in faith in Christ, now moves us to live obedient lives that manifest in real work: in short, acting the miracle.

We referenced this passage multiple times in this sermon series, but it’s worth repeating. Paul says in Titus 2…

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.

—Titus 2:11–14

The same grace that has appeared in Christ, resulting in our salvation, is the very same grace that now trains us to live obediently in this present age. Because of Christ and only because of Christ, we are able to obey all that he has commanded us. Not perfectly, of course—we are still waiting for the fulness of our holiness when our Lord appears again in glory. 

But that glorious gospel has implications to our daily life now, today, in how you interact with your wife or husband, your kids, your roommates, your job…everything! The commands of God really must be obeyed, but not as a way to earn favor from God or to somehow put him in our debt…how could we ever do that? For from him and through him and to him are all things, so that he and he alone gets all the glory, forever! We must guard our hearts from assuming that every call to obey the commands of God is legalism. Our dear friend Jeff Purswell says it so well when he says this…

Every command in Scripture is an invitation to come to God, to encounter God, and to receive from God faith-filled, undaunted resolve to magnify Christ, with all that we are.

—Jeff Purswell

So, my friends, accept the invitation of our Lord’s commands—act the miracle! Starting first with our desperate need for God’s provision to us in Christ, allowing that grace to have its way in our hearts that manifests in cheerful giving of ourselves to others, must result in living that out in our everyday lives—and rejoice in the result of that obedience.

(Obedience) Results in Fellowship

Remember the goal of this entire Tabernacle building project:

And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst. Exactly as I show you concerning the pattern of the tabernacle, and of all its furniture, so you shall make it.

—Exodus 25:8–9

Obedience is never just an exercise in futility: it is not just “do it because I said so”. No. The goal of this project was stated at the very beginning: fellowship with God. That is the ultimate goal in Exodus. It is why God raised up Moses, it is why God brought them out of Egypt, it is why he provided for them in the desert and why he brought them to the mountain. It is why God gave them his gracious commandments and even gave them those commandments applied into a functioning case law! It is why God forgave and renewed his covenant with the people after they disobeyed and worshiped a false god—all of that was for this singular purpose: “that I may dwell in their midst.”

Don’t miss this. Don’t downplay the significance of this. From the very creation of the world, the plan of God has been to dwell in the midst of his people—people who are made in his very image and likeness and are able to subdue and rule the world as his vice-regents until the very knowledge of the glory of the Lord covers the earth like the waters cover the sea. In fact, this is WHY God created the world in the first place. 

Exodus 35–40 is not boring reading of some people-group in the desert constructing a tent…cosmic realities are at play! The Israelites’ faith—their trusting in the promises of God—has brought unity among the people, and will end with the very glory of the Lord descending from the mountain and into their very midst. He is committed to go with them and will make way to be with them. When considering our obedience to the commands of God—when we consider the fruits of the Spirit and its evidence in our lives—are we aware of the goal?

As we approach Christmas, and as we ponder again the birth of a child in some nondescript town, in some back alley shed, to a couple of no-name people from nowhere, are we aware of what this gift that has been given?

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

—John 1:14

That is who we worship. That is the greatest gift of all. Through the glorious person of Jesus and his redeeming work on the cross on our behalf, you and I now receive something unfathomable: God himself. And when we receive that glorious gift of his fellowship, it manifests itself in godly obedience.

Jesus sums this all up so well when he says…

Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.

—John 15:4–11

Don’t you want your joy to be full? Don’t you want to abide in this gracious Savior’s love? How? How do we do that? Jesus tells us: “if you keep my commandments, you abide in my love.” My friends, obedience is possible and the presence of God accessible to all who belong to Christ. The great hymn writer J.H. Sammis puts it perfectly in his hymn, Trust and Obey…

When we walk with the Lord In the light of His Word,

What a glory He sheds on our way!

While we do His good will, He abides with us still,

And with all who will trust and obey.

Then in fellowship sweet We will sit at His feet.

Or we’ll walk by His side in the way.

What He says we will do, Where He sends we will go;

Never fear, only trust and obey.

Trust and obey, For there’s no other way

To be happy in Jesus, But to trust and obey.

Dear friends, abide in him. Trust him. Rest in him. Obey him. And experience today the blessed, happy presence of the Father secured in Christ and experienced through the Spirit.