Whenever they enter the Tent of Meeting or approach the altar to minister by presenting an offering made by fire to the LORD, they must wash with water so that they will not die. Whenever they enterThe phrase "whenever they enter" indicates a recurring action, emphasizing the continual need for purification. In the Hebrew context, the verb used here suggests a habitual practice, underscoring the importance of regular cleansing before approaching God. This reflects the ongoing nature of our spiritual journey, where constant renewal and repentance are necessary to maintain a right relationship with God. the Tent of Meeting
The "Tent of Meeting" was the sacred space where God met with His people, specifically through the mediation of the priests. Historically, this was a portable sanctuary used during the Israelites' wilderness wanderings. It symbolizes God's desire to dwell among His people and the need for holiness in His presence. The Tent of Meeting foreshadows the ultimate meeting place between God and humanity in Jesus Christ, who is the true tabernacle. or approach the altar
To "approach the altar" signifies coming near to God in worship and sacrifice. The altar was central to Israelite worship, representing the place where atonement for sin was made. In a broader theological sense, this points to the necessity of approaching God with reverence and the right heart attitude, recognizing the seriousness of sin and the need for a mediator. to minister
The word "to minister" involves service and worship, highlighting the role of the priests as servants of God and the people. In Hebrew, the term carries connotations of both worship and work, indicating that true ministry involves both devotion to God and service to others. This serves as a reminder that all believers are called to be ministers, serving God and His people with pure hearts. by burning an offering made by fire
The act of "burning an offering made by fire" was a central element of Old Testament worship, symbolizing the complete surrender and dedication of the offering to God. Fire often represents God's presence and purifying power. This imagery points to the ultimate sacrifice of Christ, who offered Himself completely to God on our behalf, and calls us to offer our lives as living sacrifices. to the LORD
The phrase "to the LORD" emphasizes that all acts of worship and service are directed towards Yahweh, the covenant-keeping God of Israel. It is a reminder of the personal relationship between God and His people, and the exclusivity of worship that belongs to Him alone. This calls believers to a life of devotion and loyalty to God, recognizing Him as the sole object of our worship. they must wash with water
The command "they must wash with water" signifies the necessity of purification before entering God's presence. In the ancient Near Eastern context, washing was a common ritual for physical and spiritual cleansing. This act symbolizes the need for inner purity and foreshadows the cleansing work of the Holy Spirit in the believer's life, as well as the washing of regeneration through Christ. so that they will not die
The warning "so that they will not die" underscores the seriousness of approaching a holy God without proper preparation. It reflects the holiness of God and the consequences of sin. This serves as a sobering reminder of the gravity of sin and the need for atonement, ultimately fulfilled in Jesus Christ, who bore the penalty of death on our behalf, granting us access to God. Persons / Places / Events 1. The PriestsThe primary individuals involved in this verse are the priests, specifically Aaron and his sons, who were appointed to serve in the Tabernacle. 2. The Tent of MeetingThis was the sacred place where God met with Moses and the Israelites. It served as the central place of worship and sacrifice. 3. The AltarThe altar was a key component of the Tabernacle, used for offering sacrifices to God. It symbolized the place of atonement and worship. 4. The Act of WashingThis was a ceremonial act required for the priests before they performed their duties, symbolizing purification and holiness. 5. The OfferingsThe offerings made by fire were a significant part of the worship practices, representing devotion and atonement for sin. Teaching Points The Necessity of PurityJust as the priests needed to be ceremonially clean, believers today are called to pursue spiritual purity through confession and repentance. Approaching God with ReverenceThe requirement for washing underscores the holiness of God and the reverence required when approaching Him in worship and prayer. Symbolism of WaterWater as a symbol of cleansing is prevalent throughout Scripture, reminding us of the need for spiritual renewal and the cleansing power of the Holy Spirit. The Role of ObedienceThe priests' obedience in following God's commands for purification is a model for believers to follow God's instructions faithfully. Christ as Our High PriestJesus fulfills the role of the ultimate High Priest, providing the perfect purification through His sacrifice, allowing us direct access to God. Bible Study Questions 1. How does the requirement for the priests to wash before entering the Tent of Meeting reflect the holiness of God, and how can we apply this understanding to our own worship practices? 2. In what ways does the act of washing in Exodus 30:20 foreshadow the spiritual cleansing offered through Jesus Christ? 3. How can the concept of purification in the Old Testament enhance our understanding of the sacrificial system and its fulfillment in the New Testament? 4. What are some practical ways we can ensure we are spiritually "washed" and prepared to serve and worship God in our daily lives? 5. How does the reverence and obedience required of the priests in their service to God challenge us in our own walk of faith and service to others? Connections to Other Scriptures Leviticus 16This chapter details the Day of Atonement, where similar purification rituals are emphasized, highlighting the importance of holiness in approaching God. John 13Jesus washes the disciples' feet, symbolizing spiritual cleansing and service, drawing a parallel to the purification required of the priests. Hebrews 10Discusses the new covenant and the ultimate purification through Christ, contrasting the repeated rituals of the Old Testament with the once-for-all sacrifice of Jesus. People Aaron, Israelites, MosesPlaces Mount SinaiTopics Altar, Approach, Burn, Cause, Congregation, Death, Die, Drawing, Enter, Fire, Fire-offering, Lest, Meeting, Minister, Nigh, Offering, Perfume, Presenting, Sacrifice, Serve, Smoke, Tabernacle, Tent, Wash, Washed, WheneverDictionary of Bible Themes Exodus 30:17-21 4293 water
7478 washing Exodus 30:18-20 7328 ceremonies Exodus 30:18-21 7342 cleanliness Exodus 30:19-20 7906 baptism, in Gospels Exodus 30:19-21 5151 feet Library The Altar of Incense
'Thou shalt make an altar to burn incense upon.' --EXODUS xxx. 1. Ceremonies are embodied thoughts. Religious ceremonies are moulded by, and seek to express, the worshipper's conception of his God, and his own relation to Him; his aspirations and his need. Of late years scholars have been busy studying the religions of the more backward races, and explaining rude and repulsive rites by pointing to the often profound and sometimes beautiful ideas underlying them. When that process is applied to Australian …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy ScriptureRansom for Souls --I.
Then shall they give every man a ransom for his soul.' --EXODUS xxx. 12. This remarkable provision had a religious intention. Connect it with the tax-money which Peter found in the fish's mouth. I. Its meaning. Try to realise an Israelite's thoughts at the census. 'I am enrolled among the people and army of God: am I worthy? What am I, to serve so holy a God?' The payment was meant-- (a) To excite the sense of sin. This should be present in all approach to God, in all service; accompanying the …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture Ransom for Souls --ii.
'The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel....'--EXODUS xxx. 15. This tax was exacted on numbering the people. It was a very small amount, about fifteen pence, so it was clearly symbolical in its significance. Notice-- I. The broad principle of equality of all souls in the sight of God. Contrast the reign of caste and class in heathendom with the democracy of Judaism and of Christianity. II. The universal sinfulness. Payment of the tax was a confession that …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture "Whereby we Cry, Abba, Father. "
Rom. viii. 15.--"Whereby we cry, Abba, Father." As there is a light of grace in bestowing such incomparably high dignities and excellent gifts on poor sinners, such as, to make them the sons of God who were the children of the devil, and heirs of a kingdom who were heirs of wrath; so there is a depth of wisdom in the Lord's allowance and manner of dispensing his love and grace in this life. For though the love be wonderful, that we should be called the sons of God; yet, as that apostle speaks, …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning Jesus Pays the Tribute Money.
(Capernaum, Autumn, a.d. 29) ^A Matt. XVII. 24-27. ^a 24 And when they were come to Capernaum, they that received the half-shekel came to Peter, and said, Doth not your teacher pay the half-shekel? [The law of Moses required from every male of twenty years and upward the payment of a tax of half a shekel for the support of the temple (Ex. xxx. 12-16; II. Chron. xxiv. 5, 6). This tax was collected annually. We are told that a dispute existed between the Pharisees and Sadducees as to whether the payment …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel How a Private Man must Begin the Morning with Piety.
As soon as ever thou awakest in the morning, keep the door of thy heart fast shut, that no earthly thought may enter, before that God come in first; and let him, before all others, have the first place there. So all evil thoughts either will not dare to come in, or shall the easier be kept out; and the heart will more savour of piety and godliness all the day after; but if thy heart be not, at thy first waking, filled with some meditations of God and his word, and dressed, like the lamp in the tabernacle …
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety The Copies of Things in the Heavens
'And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 2. On the first day of the first month shalt thou set up the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation. 3. And thou shalt put therein the ark of the testimony, and cover the ark with the vail. 4. And thou shalt bring in the table, and set in order the things that are to be set in order upon it; and thou shalt bring in the candlestick, and light the lamps thereof. 5. And thou shalt set the altar of gold for the incense before the ark of the testimony, and put …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture Jesus Attends the First Passover of his Ministry.
(Jerusalem, April 9, a.d. 27.) Subdivision A. Jesus Cleanses the Temple. ^D John II. 13-25. ^d 13 And the passover of the Jews was at hand [We get our information as to the length of our Lord's ministry from John's Gospel. He groups his narrative around six Jewish festivals: 1, He here mentions the first passover; 2, another feast, which we take to have been also a passover (v. 1); 3, another passover (vi. 4); 4, the feast of tabernacles (vii. 2); 5, dedication (x. 22); 6, passover (xi. 55). This …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel Annunciation to Zacharias of the Birth of John the Baptist.
(at Jerusalem. Probably b.c. 6.) ^C Luke I. 5-25. ^c 5 There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judæa [a Jewish proselyte, an Idumæan or Edomite by birth, founder of the Herodian family, king of Judæa from b.c. 40 to a.d. 4, made such by the Roman Senate on the recommendation of Mark Antony and Octavius Cæsar], a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course [David divided the priests into twenty-four bodies or courses, each course serving in rotation one week in the temple …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel The Last Events in Galilee - the Tribute-Money, the Dispute by the Way, the Forbidding of Him who could not Follow with the Disciples, and The
Now that the Lord's retreat in the utmost borders of the land, at Cæsarea Philippi, was known to the Scribes, and that He was again surrounded and followed by the multitude, there could be no further object in His retirement. Indeed, the time was coming that He should meet that for which He had been, and was still, preparing the minds of His disciples - His Decease at Jerusalem. Accordingly, we find Him once more with His disciples in Galilee - not to abide there, [3743] nor to traverse it …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah Epistle xxviii. To Augustine, Bishop of the Angli .
To Augustine, Bishop of the Angli [136] . Gregory to Augustine, &c. Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men of good will (Luke ii. 14); because a grain of wheat, falling into the earth, has died, that it might not reign in heaven alone; even He by whose death we live, by whose weakness we are made strong, by whose suffering we are rescued from suffering, through whose love we seek in Britain for brethren whom we knew not, by whose gift we find those whom without knowing them we sought. …
Saint Gregory the Great—the Epistles of Saint Gregory the Great Prayer
But I give myself unto prayer.' Psa 109: 4. I shall not here expatiate upon prayer, as it will be considered more fully in the Lord's prayer. It is one thing to pray, and another thing to be given to prayer: he who prays frequently, is said to be given to prayer; as he who often distributes alms, is said to be given to charity. Prayer is a glorious ordinance, it is the soul's trading with heaven. God comes down to us by his Spirit, and we go up to him by prayer. What is prayer? It is an offering …
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments Exodus
The book of Exodus--so named in the Greek version from the march of Israel out of Egypt--opens upon a scene of oppression very different from the prosperity and triumph in which Genesis had closed. Israel is being cruelly crushed by the new dynasty which has arisen in Egypt (i.) and the story of the book is the story of her redemption. Ultimately it is Israel's God that is her redeemer, but He operates largely by human means; and the first step is the preparation of a deliverer, Moses, whose parentage, …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament Links Exodus 30:20 NIVExodus 30:20 NLTExodus 30:20 ESVExodus 30:20 NASBExodus 30:20 KJV
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