2002-01-01
Good Morning Faithful Ones,
Yesterday, I wrote about how important God’s compassion and presence in our lives is. Today, I am led to discuss how the Tabernacle in the Wilderness was laid out to facilitate old covenant worship and how its arrangement foreshadows crucial new covenant truths. These are Torah messages that have huge impact on us today. While these things allow us to know how the new covenant is a great improvement on the old one, it also allows us to see the connection between modern worship for all believers and the worship outlined by God for ancient Israel. Most of all God’s presence and compassion for His children then and today can be clearly seen.
EX 25-31 & 35-40 gave a remarkably detailed picture of how God wanted the ancient Jews to worship and of the lay out of the Tabernacle in the Wilderness that God wanted the people to construct for that worship. One part of it, the Holy of Holies, was to be the exact place where God would dwell, bringing Himself at the center of His children both physically and spiritually. EX 25: 8, [God speaking] “The people must make a sacred Tabernacle (Tent) for Me, so that I may live among them.” This was to be done out of the materials the Hebrews got from the Egyptians and was to be done according to the plan God gave Moses for it (9).
According to the old covenant, there were limits on access to God that no longer exist in the new covenant. This can be seen in the lay out and instructions for the Tabernacle in the Wilderness. The outer courtyard was 150 feet long and 75 feet wide. All the children of Israel were welcome to enter into it daily. What it foreshadows is our awareness that we need to make improvements in our lives and a growing desire to repent. A rectangular structure where only the priests could enter was within the courtyard. It was 45 feet long by 15 feet wide by 15 feet high. Within it were two areas, the larger one called the Holy Place, and the smaller one called the Holy of Holies. The priests could enter the Holy Place every day, but only the high priest could enter the Holy of Holies on the day of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement [LV 16]. EX 35-40 detail the construction of and the furniture in the Tabernacle. The Holy of Holies was separated from the Holy Place by a curtain, called the Inner Veil. Much later in about 33 AD [some think 29 AD], the Inner Veil of the Temple at Jerusalem was rent from top to bottom at the exact moment of Christ’s death on the cross [MK 15: 38-39]. That was the moment that the new covenant replaced the old one.
Our understanding of the significance of this arrangement is greatly enhanced in HE 9: 6-12. “This is how those thing have been arranged. The priests go into the outer tent every day to perform their duties [Holy Place], but only the High priest goes into the inner tent [Holy of Holies], and he does so only once a year. He takes with him blood which he offers to God on behalf of himself and for the sins which the people have committed without knowing they were sinning. The Holy Spirit clearly teaches from all these arrangements that the way into the Holy of Holies has not yet been opened [until Christ’s death on the cross] as long as the outer tent still stands. This is a symbol which points to the present time. It means that the offerings and animal sacrifices presented to God cannot make the worshipper’s heart perfect, since they have to do only with food, drink, and various purification ceremonies. These are all outward rules, which apply only until the time when God will establish the new order. But Christ has already come as the High Priest of the good things that are already here. The Tent in which He serves [Heavenly Tabernacle] is greater and more perfect; it is not a man-made Tent, that is, it is not a part of this created world. When Christ went through this Tent and entered once and for all into the Holy of Holies, He did not take the blood of goats and bulls to offer as a sacrifice; rather, He took His own blood and obtained eternal salvation for us.”
Dear Ones, this is powerful with regard to the consequences for us and with regard to the enormity of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. Reading through the covenant truths from the OT gives us the plan mapped out by God. When we allow what has been revealed to us in the NT to be a part of our understanding and belief, we can look at the ancient system of worship for Israel as an introduction to a system that can bring all believers salvation and the gift of the Holy Spirit for eternity. The foundation for all of this is God’s love for His children, His eternal desire to see them saved and with Him in joy and fellowship eventually. That is something that applies to every one of us, no matter what our cultural background, the circumstances of our lives, or our position in human society. Once we have repented and come to faith in His Son, then God is eager to bless each of us abundantly by His presence in our lives.
PRAYER: O Lord, how many ways You show Your love for us! We stand before You in gratitude that You have given us NT understanding, so that we can look at ancient Jewish worship and see its roots. Through the gift of the Holy Spirit, Dearest Abba, You are allowing us to have a deeper understanding of Your will for us and to find even more motivation to model Your way of keeping covenant promises. You have given us Christ’s life on earth as a paradigm for how we should live out own lives, Your Son’s death on the cross to make our salvation possible, and His resurrection as “the first among many brothers” [RO 8: 29] to give us hope. In allowing us to read about the arrangement of the Tabernacle in the Wilderness from the Torah, You are letting us see the wonderful new covenant, the Covenant of Grace, which is ours today foreshadowed. We can come to a new and deeper understanding of the improvement over the old covenant which the new one is. Perhaps, Dearest Lord, we can even see better just how much You bless us for trusting and being obedient to You! We are sinners, sinners who know we must be better at following Your commands the way You want for us to do and at the time You desire. We dedicate ourselves to doing that. We adore and worship You, because that is what You deserve from us. To You belongs the honor and glory for all that is good in our lives. We pledge You our diligence and loyalty, because that is only right. Most of all, we come in humility to Your altar to offer our praise and thanksgiving. We are truly blessed to have You as the Master of our lives. In Christ’s name, amen.
Tomorrow, we will look at more details about the Tabernacle to see how they foreshadow crucial new covenant truths with profound impact on our modern day lives. Our Abba loves each and every one of us, no matter how unimportant we may think we are. JN 8: 31-32, [Christ’s words] “If you obey My teaching, then you are My disciples. You will know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.” How wonderful to be free of bondage to sin and to be free to know the blessings of God’s truth. What great love supports God’s will that we should each know His presence in our daily lives! Peter and I send you our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn