At this point in the story of the Exodus and the giving of the Mosaic covenant to the sons of Israel we enter what the covenantal theologians call ceremonial law. The covenantal theologian patricians the Law into three parts:
- Moral
- Civil
- Ceremonial
He does this because he wants to bring the Christian back to the law for sanctification after he has been saved from the penalty of the law but does not want him to follow the civil or ceremonial law. He says that the civil law was for the nation of Israel only and the ceremonial law was done away with at the cross but the moral law (The Ten Commandments) are forever.
Jesus said in Matthew 5:17, “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. All of the laws given to Moses for the sons of Israel are related to The Ten Commandments. The civil laws are based on the ten commandments and the ceremonial laws are based on the ten commandments. In this chapter four commands are given by the Lord:
- Offerings for the Sanctuary
- The Ark of the Covenant
- The Table of Showbread
- The Golden Lampstand
The materials for the sanctuary were given as free will offerings. The construction begins with the center piece and moves outwardly. The center piece in the religious life of Israel is the Law. Here it is referred to by the Lord as the testimony. From Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary: “This word refers to the Ten Commandments as a solemn divine charge or duty. In particular, it represents those commandments as written on the tablets and existing as a reminder and “testimony” of Israel’s relationship and responsibility to God:” For the sons of Israel, all of life is related to the Ten Commandments.
The second item to be built is the table for the show bread. It should be noted that all of these items were designed for transportation and were to remain in that state. On the table were placed twelve loaves of bread representing the twelve sons of Israel.
The third item was the Golden Lampstand. The Golden Lampstand was built to illuminate the interior of the sanctuary. The most inner place was were the Ark of the Covenant was kept but just outside of that was placed the Table of Showbread and the Golden Lampstand. “Some believe that the lampstand represented the Tree of Life.” (IVP BBC OT)
