It is very interesting that more chapters are devoted on the subject of the Tabernacle in Exodus (and the other Scriptures of the Bible) than any other single object. Exodus chapters 25-40 give details of the plans and construction of the Tabernacle or Tent of Meeting. The New Testament makes figurative reference to the Tabernacle and its furnishings, and Hebrews cannot be understood without a knowledge of the books of Exodus and Leviticus. I believe Hebrews is the best commentary on the book of Leviticus.
In the Tabernacle, we find God dwelling among His chosen people. "Then have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them. 9 Make this tabernacle and all its furnishings exactly like the pattern I will show you" (Exodus 25:8-9). The Tabernacle symbolized the dwelling place of God in the midst of His people. "Here, above the cover between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the covenant law, I will meet with you and give you all my commands for the Israelites." (v. 25). The Tabernacle was a symbol of God's dwelling. There is a Sanctuary, wherein is the special residence and manifestation of the glorious presence of God. Almost all expressions which are used to describe the significance of the Tabernacle are also used in reference to Heaven.
The Tabernacle was a temporary place of convenience where God met with His chosen people. It was simply a Tent of Meeting. It was for use while His people, the Israelites, wandered the wilderness. The thing of importance is that the Tabernacle was God's dwelling place. It was there in the midst of His people that He took up residence and met with them between the Cherubim, on the mercy-seat. In the Holy of Holies, God manifested His presence by means of the Shekinah glory (a Hebrew term for a visible manifestation of God's presence), and His grace on the mercy seat. The Holy of Holies found its anti-typical fulfillment (a person or thing represented or foreshadowed by an earlier or symbol) in the person of the Holy One of God - His Son, Jesus Christ. The glory of God was seen in the New Testament during the Transfiguration. Peter even said he beheld His glory (2 Peter 1:16-17). Christ is the meeting place between a holy God and sinful man. Jesus said, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me" (John 14:6). The apostle Peter concluded a message saying, "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12). There is but one Mediator between God and men - Jesus Christ (1 Timothy 2:5). He spanned the gulf between the holy Deity and sinful humanity because He was both God and Man. "that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation" (2 Corinthians 5:19). "For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form..." (Colossians 2:9).
So, the Tabernacle was the way in which a sinner might approach a holy God. It reminded men that sin separated him from God. The Tabernacle was God's dwelling place among men. It was a place of grace for the sinner. The sinner in his sins could not go to heaven, so God in the person of His Son came from heaven to earth, and died for the unjust - "For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit" (1 Peter 3:18). The Tabernacle was the evidence that God had graciously brought the (Israelites, His chosen and redeemed people) into a place of nearness to Himself. "But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ (Ephesians 2:13).
The Tabernacle moved about the wilderness with the Israelites. God became a pilgrim with His pilgrim people. He occupied a tent with tent dwellers. The Tent of Meeting symbolized God in the midst of His people dwelling among them leading, guiding, providing and protecting. Moses tells us in Exodus 40, verses 34 and 35, "Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. Moses could not enter the tent of meeting because the cloud had settled on it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle."
My understanding is the Tabernacle in the wilderness was a copy, however faint, of the real one in heaven. Seven times we are told that Moses was commanded to make the Sanctuary after the pattern of it which was shown him in the Mountain (Exodus 25:9 & 40; Exodus 26:30; Exodus 27:8; Numbers 8:4; Acts 7:44; Hebrews 8:5). Nothing was left to chance or human ingenuity. The construction was according to the Divine model God gave to Moses.
"It was necessary, then, for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made with human hands that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God’s presence. Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own." (Hebrews 9:23-25).
Funny thing is that while Moses was receiving laws and instructions from God, the Israelites were already straying. Chapter 32 is amazing and shocking.
Leviticus 1-4 states the types of offerings, each with its own meaning. The first offering is the burnt offering. It declares that all we are is Christ's (God's). He owns us- period. The second offering is the grain offering to symbolize that all we HAVE is Christ's. The third offering is the peace offering. It means that all of our joy is in Christ Jesus. The next two I combine as the sin and trespass offerings. This is to show all our salvation is in Christ. Everything God did for and with the Israelites was in essence a foretelling of His Son, Jesus' arrival on Earth. Good stuff!
Whoops! See what happens when we don't listen to the Lord? Nadab and Abihu found out the hard way, sacrificing NOT in accordance with God's instructions.
I thought the strong drink issue made sense. Aaron and the priests were not to drink "strong" drink because foggy minds cloud the understanding and explanation of Truth.
It is very interesting that more chapters are devoted on the subject of the Tabernacle in Exodus (and the other Scriptures of the Bible) than any other single object. Exodus chapters 25-40 give details of the plans and construction of the Tabernacle or Tent of Meeting. The New Testament makes figurative reference to the Tabernacle and its furnishings, and Hebrews cannot be understood without a knowledge of the books of Exodus and Leviticus. I believe Hebrews is the best commentary on the book of Leviticus.
ReplyDeleteIn the Tabernacle, we find God dwelling among His chosen people. "Then have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them. 9 Make this tabernacle and all its furnishings exactly like the pattern I will show you" (Exodus 25:8-9). The Tabernacle symbolized the dwelling place of God in the midst of His people. "Here, above the cover between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the covenant law, I will meet with you and give you all my commands for the Israelites." (v. 25). The Tabernacle was a symbol of God's dwelling. There is a Sanctuary, wherein is the special residence and manifestation of the glorious presence of God. Almost all expressions which are used to describe the significance of the Tabernacle are also used in reference to Heaven.
The Tabernacle was a temporary place of convenience where God met with His chosen people. It was simply a Tent of Meeting. It was for use while His people, the Israelites, wandered the wilderness. The thing of importance is that the Tabernacle was God's dwelling place. It was there in the midst of His people that He took up residence and met with them between the Cherubim, on the mercy-seat. In the Holy of Holies, God manifested His presence by means of the Shekinah glory (a Hebrew term for a visible manifestation of God's presence), and His grace on the mercy seat. The Holy of Holies found its anti-typical fulfillment (a person or thing represented or foreshadowed by an earlier or symbol) in the person of the Holy One of God - His Son, Jesus Christ. The glory of God was seen in the New Testament during the Transfiguration. Peter even said he beheld His glory (2 Peter 1:16-17). Christ is the meeting place between a holy God and sinful man. Jesus said, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me" (John 14:6). The apostle Peter concluded a message saying, "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12). There is but one Mediator between God and men - Jesus Christ (1 Timothy 2:5). He spanned the gulf between the holy Deity and sinful humanity because He was both God and Man. "that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation" (2 Corinthians 5:19). "For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form..." (Colossians 2:9).
To continue:
ReplyDeleteSo, the Tabernacle was the way in which a sinner might approach a holy God. It reminded men that sin separated him from God. The Tabernacle was God's dwelling place among men. It was a place of grace for the sinner. The sinner in his sins could not go to heaven, so God in the person of His Son came from heaven to earth, and died for the unjust - "For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit" (1 Peter 3:18). The Tabernacle was the evidence that God had graciously brought the (Israelites, His chosen and redeemed people) into a place of nearness to Himself. "But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ (Ephesians 2:13).
The Tabernacle moved about the wilderness with the Israelites. God became a pilgrim with His pilgrim people. He occupied a tent with tent dwellers. The Tent of Meeting symbolized God in the midst of His people dwelling among them leading, guiding, providing and protecting. Moses tells us in Exodus 40, verses 34 and 35, "Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. Moses could not enter the tent of meeting because the cloud had settled on it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle."
My understanding is the Tabernacle in the wilderness was a copy, however faint, of the real one in heaven. Seven times we are told that Moses was commanded to make the Sanctuary after the pattern of it which was shown him in the Mountain (Exodus 25:9 & 40; Exodus 26:30; Exodus 27:8; Numbers 8:4; Acts 7:44; Hebrews 8:5). Nothing was left to chance or human ingenuity. The construction was according to the Divine model God gave to Moses.
"It was necessary, then, for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made with human hands that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God’s presence. Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own." (Hebrews 9:23-25).
Funny thing is that while Moses was receiving laws and instructions from God, the Israelites were already straying. Chapter 32 is amazing and shocking.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteLeviticus 1-4 states the types of offerings, each with its own meaning. The first offering is the burnt offering. It declares that all we are is Christ's (God's). He owns us- period.
ReplyDeleteThe second offering is the grain offering to symbolize that all we HAVE is Christ's.
The third offering is the peace offering. It means that all of our joy is in Christ Jesus.
The next two I combine as the sin and trespass offerings. This is to show all our salvation is in Christ.
Everything God did for and with the Israelites was in essence a foretelling of His Son, Jesus' arrival on Earth. Good stuff!
Whoops! See what happens when we don't listen to the Lord? Nadab and Abihu found out the hard way, sacrificing NOT in accordance with God's instructions.
ReplyDeleteI thought the strong drink issue made sense. Aaron and the priests were not to drink "strong" drink because foggy minds cloud the understanding and explanation of Truth.