Exodus 37 records Bezalel's construction of the furniture for the tabernacle — the ark with its mercy seat, the table for the showbread, the golden lampstand, and the altar of incense. Pastor Bobby Lugo walks through the chapter piece by piece, asking of every cubit and ring and gold molding the same question: what does this tell us about who God is?

The sermon begins by pressing the point that God is not confined to a building. The tabernacle was the place where He dwelt among His people then; Jesus is the dwelling place of God now, and the Spirit indwells all who believe. From there the sermon takes each item in turn — the jar of manna, Aaron's budded staff and the tablets of the covenant kept in the ark; the blood sprinkled on the atonement cover once a year; the twelve loaves renewed each Sabbath; the perpetual flame; the incense that pictures the prayers of God's people.

The second half turns to Christ as the fulfillment of all of it: the bread of life, the light of the world, the one who comes in to eat with us, and the great intercessor whose prayer in John 17 reached everyone who would believe. The sermon closes where the church closes every week, coming boldly to the throne of grace — the same word used for the mercy seat.

In this sermon

• The house of God is not a building; God dwelt in the tabernacle, then in Jesus, and now by His Spirit in His church
• Bezalel, called the Leonardo da Vinci of the Hebrews, built the ark himself according to the instructions of Exodus 25
• The ark held the jar of manna, Aaron's budded staff from Numbers 17, and the tablets of the covenant
• Those three items show God as provider, ruler and covenant keeper
• Martin Luther's German translation gave us "mercy seat" for the atonement cover, capturing the theology of Leviticus 16
• The table of showbread marked Israel as set apart for service and bound to God by a covenant meal
• The lampstand burned perpetually in a tent that would otherwise be pitch black, picturing God as the giver of light and life
• Strange incense was forbidden; God determines how He is to be worshiped, and Psalm 141 and Revelation 8 tie the incense to the prayers of the saints
• Jesus speaks tabernacle language when He calls Himself the bread of life and the light of the world

Chapters
0:00 The house of God is not a building
2:08 Why people do not feel at home with God
7:29 Reading Exodus 37 together
11:56 The ark of the covenant built first
14:51 Manna, Aaron's staff and the tablets
22:39 The atonement cover and the mercy seat
28:03 The table and the twelve loaves
31:54 The lampstand burning in the darkness
36:33 The altar of incense and the prayers of the saints
40:40 What the tabernacle tells us about God
42:15 Where is God's dwelling place today
47:11 Jesus the bread, the light and the intercessor
53:51 Coming boldly to the throne of grace
56:12 Closing prayer before communion

Scripture: Exodus 37:1-29 · Genesis · Exodus 25 · Exodus 16:32 · Numbers 17 · 2 Timothy 3:16 · Leviticus 16 · Leviticus 24 · 1 Samuel · Genesis 1 · 1 John 1:5 · Exodus 30 · Psalm 141:1 · Revelation 8:3 · John 6 · Revelation 3:20 · John 1:4 · John 8:12 · John 17 · Matthew 28 · Hebrews 4:16

About Mercy and Grace Church
Mercy and Grace is an expository preaching church in National City, California, committed to preaching Christ, and him crucified, by Scripture alone, to the glory of God alone. Each week Pastor Bobby Lugo and our teaching elders walk verse by verse through God's Word.

Join us in person — Sundays at 12:00 PM, 1200 E. 8th Street, National City, CA 91950.
Website: mercyandgracechurch.com
Email: ncmercyandgrace@gmail.com

Exodus 36:8-38 walks step by step through the actual construction of the tabernacle — the curtains, the clasps, the acacia boards, the silver sockets, the veil. Pastor Bobby Lugo takes up the question most readers ask at this point: why does the Holy Spirit give us all these details? His answer is that behind the construction stands the architect, and the architect is God. Israel did not invent a house for God; God gave the pattern in Exodus 26 and supplied the materials, the craftsmen and the skill to carry it out.

From there the sermon follows what he calls God's building project through the whole Bible. The materials grow more precious the nearer one comes to God's presence, and the veil with its woven cherubim says two things at once: God wants to dwell with his people, and sinners cannot casually walk in. John 1:14 says the Word tabernacled among us, Jesus points to the temple of his body in John 2, and at the cross in Matthew 27 the veil is torn from top to bottom.

The last stretch brings it to the church. Through the Spirit, God's people are now his dwelling place, living stones being fitted together, which means each believer is still under construction. Pastor Bobby Lugo closes with Philippians 1:6 and Revelation 21:3, urging patience and grace toward one another until the day God dwells with his people forever.

In this sermon

• Exodus 36 picks up the tabernacle construction interrupted by the golden calf
• The tabernacle is the most remarkable structure ever built because God designed it
• Israel builds exactly according to the pattern God gave in Exodus 26, not their imagination
• God supplied the pattern, the materials, the craftsmen and Bezalel's skill
• Bronze, silver and gold grow more precious the nearer one comes to God's presence
• Cherubim woven into the curtains mark God's presence, as in the garden in Genesis
• The veil declares both that God wants to dwell with his people and that he is holy
• John 1:14 says the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us
• In John 2 Jesus speaks of the temple of his body, which the disciples understood only after the resurrection
• The torn veil at the cross and the church as living stones, a building still in progress

Chapters
0:00 Where Exodus has brought us
2:40 Hearst Castle and a fascination with building
6:39 God is the architect of the tabernacle
9:15 God's building project in three stages
11:23 Reading Exodus 36:8-38
16:32 Built by revelation, not imagination
19:26 God supplied the materials, skill and pattern
21:38 Cherubim, metals and drawing near with reverence
25:31 The veil: God is holy, sinners cannot enter
28:07 John 1 and the Word tabernacled among us
33:31 Destroy this temple and I will raise it
38:17 The veil torn at the cross
44:21 The church as God's dwelling place
48:19 Living stones and unfinished works
59:39 Revelation 21 and closing prayer

Scripture: Exodus 36:8-38 · Exodus 26 · Deuteronomy 8 · Genesis · John 1:1 · John 1:14 · John 2:16-22 · Matthew 27:50-51 · Hebrews 10:19-22 · Ephesians 2:19-22 · Philippians 1:6 · 1 Corinthians 6:19 · 1 Peter 2:5 · Revelation 21:3

About Mercy and Grace Church
Mercy and Grace is an expository preaching church in National City, California, committed to preaching Christ, and him crucified, by Scripture alone, to the glory of God alone. Each week Pastor Bobby Lugo and our teaching elders walk verse by verse through God's Word.

Join us in person — Sundays at 12:00 PM, 1200 E. 8th Street, National City, CA 91950.
Website: mercyandgracechurch.com
Email: ncmercyandgrace@gmail.com

Pastor Bobby Lugo finishes Exodus 35 and opens the first seven verses of Exodus 36, where God names Bezalel and Oholiab, fills them with his Spirit for every kind of craftsmanship, and the people bring so much for the tabernacle that Moses has to tell them to stop giving.

The sermon argues that this outpouring is not the work of people who suddenly became good. It comes right after the golden calf of Exodus 32, after Moses interceded and God renewed the covenant. The same gold once melted into an idol is now carried in for God's dwelling place. Grace always precedes obedience, and the sermon sets that order against legalism, which says obey and perhaps God will accept you.

From there Pastor Bobby Lugo traces the pattern through Scripture: God supplies what he commands, giving wisdom, skill, materials and even the willing heart. Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12 and Ephesians 4 show gifts given by grace for service, Jeremiah 31 and Ezekiel 36 promise a new heart, and John 1 shows the Word tabernacling among us. The tabernacle was a shadow; Christ is the reality, and the church is now the dwelling place of God by his Spirit, headed for the day when God dwells with his people in a new heavens and new earth.

In this sermon

• A call to pray for Brother Arturo and his family after the loss of his Nana
• Moses must restrain the people from giving because the materials are more than enough
• Bezalel and Oholiab are named and filled with the Spirit for wisdom, skill and teaching
• The flow of Exodus 32 to 35: sin, mercy, forgiveness, covenant renewal, obedience
• Legalism says make yourself worthy; the gospel says Christ has made you righteous
• God does not merely give commands, he supplies what the command requires
• Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12 and Ephesians 4 on gifts given by one Spirit for service
• Jeremiah 31 and Ezekiel 36 promise the law written on the heart and a heart of flesh
• The gold once used for the golden calf is now given for God's sanctuary
• John 1:14 uses tabernacle language: the Word became flesh and dwelt among us
• Ephesians 2 describes the church built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit

Chapters
0:00 Prayer for Brother Arturo and his family
1:07 The context: more than enough given
4:58 Reading Exodus 35:30 through 36:7
8:19 God calls Bezalel by name
9:22 From the golden calf to covenant renewal
13:28 Legalism compared with the gospel
16:50 God supplies what he commands
19:37 Gifts given by grace for service
26:50 A new heart that wants to obey
34:57 The tabernacle was a shadow of Christ
38:13 I will build my church
44:55 The church as God's dwelling place
49:14 Does obedience still matter?
54:59 Closing prayer

Scripture: Exodus 35:30-35 · Exodus 36:1-7 · Exodus 32:1-6 · Exodus 32:30-35 · Exodus 33:12 · Exodus 34 · Romans 12:1 · Romans 3 · Romans 12:3-8 · 1 Corinthians 12:4-11 · Ephesians 4:7-11 · Jeremiah 31:33 · Ezekiel 36:26-27 · Philippians 2:12-13 · John 14:15 · 1 John 4:19 · Exodus 25:8 · John 1:14 · John 2:19-21 · John 14:6 · Matthew 16:18 · Ephesians 2:19-22 · 1 Corinthians 3:16 · 2 Corinthians 6:16 · 1 Peter 2:4-5 · 1 Timothy 3:15 · Ephesians 4:31-32 · Titus 2:11-12 · Revelation 21

About Mercy and Grace Church
Mercy and Grace is an expository preaching church in National City, California, committed to preaching Christ, and him crucified, by Scripture alone, to the glory of God alone. Each week Pastor Bobby Lugo and our teaching elders walk verse by verse through God's Word.

Join us in person — Sundays at 12:00 PM, 1200 E. 8th Street, National City, CA 91950.
Website: mercyandgracechurch.com
Email: ncmercyandgrace@gmail.com