The Man Who Built the Tabernacle
The sermon teaches that waiting on God is necessary to learn His ways, become humble and dependent on Him, and understand that His power and ability come from Himself, not from human strength or confidence.
George Warnock emphasizes the importance of waiting on God to understand His ways, using Moses as an example of how true preparation often requires time and humility. At 40, Moses was eager to deliver Israel but faced disappointment, leading him to a 40-year period of learning in the wilderness. This time taught him about his inadequacies and the necessity of relying on God rather than his own strength. Ultimately, at 80, Moses returned to Egypt not as a prince but as a humble shepherd, equipped by God to lead His people and receive the divine blueprint for the Tabernacle. This journey illustrates that God's timing and preparation are essential for fulfilling His purposes.
Text
We have dealt considerably with this matter of "waiting", because we (like Moses) must come to know God's ways if we are to become involved with Him in the true Tabernacle "not made with hands." At the age of 40 Moses may well have argued with himself: "What am I waiting for? I am Israel's deliverer. I shall go forth and do what I can." We all know what disappointment and frustration he suffered. Nevertheless in the wilderness of Midian Moses learned much of God's ways. It took him 40 years, but he learned the lesson well. He learned about his own inadequacy and helplessness, his own unworthiness and his own deficiencies.
A learning course of this nature will usually require a lot longer period of time than the three or four years one might spend in a Bible School or Seminary to discover one's abilities and potential!
But what was the result of it all? Moses accomplished in one single night what he had longed to accomplish as a powerful young prince in Egypt at the age of 40. God waited till he was 80 years of age--alienated from the favor he once had with Pharaoh, and stripped of all confidence in his own abilities--before God called him as a helpless shepherd, with nothing but a stick in his hand, to go back to Egypt and deliver a whole nation out of slavery. He had learned much of God's ways as he tended the sheep in Midian. He would learn much more, as he became the first shepherd of Israel.
He would talk with God "face to face," as God gave him living oracles, written with the finger of God on tables of stone. And to Moses was given the pattern for the Tabernacle, which was to become God's dwelling place in the midst of His people.
Sermon Outline
- Waiting to Know God's Ways
- The Result of Waiting
- 'The Tabernacle: God''s Dwelling Place'
- The pattern for the Tabernacle
- God's presence among His people
Key Quotes
“He had learned much of God's ways as he tended the sheep in Midian.” — George Warnock
“And to Moses was given the pattern for the Tabernacle, which was to become God's dwelling place in the midst of His people.” — George Warnock
Application Points
- We must learn to wait on God and trust in His timing and calling, rather than trying to force our own plans and agendas.
- Humility and dependence on God are essential for effective service and ministry.
- God's power and ability come from Himself, not from human strength or confidence.