The Presence of God
Notes
Transcript
Today we will continue to make our way through 1 Kings...
And as we break into chapter 5 - we begin to hear about the Building of the Temple.
But before we get there...
Let’s look back - and THINK back…to how the idea of the Temple came to be...
It actually started - back in the garden.
How so?
If you think back to the story of the Garden...
Adam and Eve… we remember that it was in the Garden where -
God’s presence dwelled.
Adam and Eve end up sinning - and we read this in chapter 3...
8 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.
In the beginning - God’s presence --- WHAT...
SLIDE: The Presence of God: Dwelt in the Garden
The Presence of God
The Presence of God
And as we know - at that time - PRIOR to the sin of Adam and Eve...
There was nothing that hindered the worship of God!
It was - PURE worship!
• There was nothing at all that hindered the pure Worship of God in the Garden.
• No coveteousness
• No greed
• No pride
• Nothing
• Pure Worship
• And chapter 3 tells us that God walked with Adam in the Garden.
• It's no coincidence that the Hebrew word for "walked" in chapter 3 is the same word used in Leviticus 26:12 to describe how God walked with His people in the Tabernacle.
• See in Genesis 1 and 2, everything was Worship.
• Adam enjoyed uninterrupted Worship of God, and creation itself reflected God's glory
• ...Everything was Worship.
• But then - Sin shattered everything.
• And since then - God is getting us back to what? -- the Worship of Him
• Remember - What was the reason that God gave to Moses - as to why he was to go to Pharaoh to free His people?
What did Moses tell Pharaoh?
16 And you shall say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, sent me to you, saying, “Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness.” But so far, you have not obeyed.
God wanted them to get back to - the WORSHIP of Him...
Now - At creation - God’s glory dwelt - in Eden.
• Where does the Glory of God dwell at the end of Exodus?
• It's not in the Garden anymore…AT THAT POINT -
SLIDE: The Presence of God: Dwelt in the Tabernacle
The Presence of God
The Presence of God
it was...in the Tabernacle
• During the Exodus - The Glory of God Dwelt in: The Tabernacle
• Let's look at similarities between God's Glory Dwelling in the Garden, and God's Glory Dwelling in the Tabernacle
• If you remember back in Genesis chapter 1, we read repeatedly where the Bible says - "And God said"
• God was creating, and when "He said" - it was so.
• In the creation account, God created for 6 days, and then on the 7th, He...rested.
• Beginning in Exodus 25, as God begins letting the people know how He is to be worshiped, we read 6 times where the scriptures say - "And The Lord Said..."
• Guess what the Lord says following those 6 times...
• ....He says in Exodus 31:13 -
• Above all, you shall keep My Sabbaths
• This is a picture of God saying -
• I made known my Glory in creation...
• ...and in spite of sinful man, I am redeeming a people for myself, and creating a new place for my Glory to dwell, that my people may come back to Me and Worship.
• Even the construction of the Tabernacle itself reflects Genesis 1&2 worship.
• In the Holy of Holies, where God dwelt, His presence was enthroned surrounded by 2 cheribum.
• AND - You would enter the Tabernacle from the East…(REMEMBER THAT)
• ...and enter the Holy of Holies, and the presence of God was guarded by 2 Cheribum.
• Now, think back to the Garden.
• Following the Fall, Adam and Eve were cast out of the Garden...
• But let’s look at the DETAILS of what it says...
24 He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.
• Coincidence?
Adam and Eve were driven OUT of the garden - to the EAST of the garden...
When the Tabernacle was BUILT - you would ENTER the Tabernacle…FROM the east.
• Coincidence?
No
• This is God saying - I will dwell among my people...again
• IN A DIFFERENT WAY - YET - IN CONTEXT of how that separation occured…and WHY it occured!
THINK ABOUT IT - Every time the High Priest entered the Tabernacle...
FROM the EAST...
It would have been a REMINDER of -
Man’s Sin
AND - the PLAN of God for HOW He would be worshipped
by way of (Sacrifice, Atonement, a High Priest)
isn’t that AWESOME!
• Where worship was uninhibited in Genesis 1 and 2...
• Only ONE man could enter the Tabernacle (the High Priest)...
And THIS PLAN of God - would be HOW He would NOW be worshipped...
And it would POINT to a Greater Reality to come!
• And so with sin - came separation.
• There was still this sense of separation here in Exodus when it came to Worship. (when it came to the Tabernacle)
• But the scripture says that the Tabernacle was constructed according to the pattern that God gave.
• It was a pattern of something greater to come.
• And so we just finished looking back at Genesis and seeing comparisons there… between the Garden and the Tabernacle...
Well - fast forward from there - and DAVID wanted to build a HOUSE for the Lord...
But was prevented because of a certain reason.....
Let’s get some background...
1 Now when David lived in his house, David said to Nathan the prophet, “Behold, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of the covenant of the Lord is under a tent.”
See what David was doing here?
He was comparing the HOUSE that HE lived in...
A = palace...
And comparing it to the structure that housed the Ark of the Covenant...
It was - a TENT!
David thinks through this and thinks - This doesn’t make any sense!
And so David decides - OK - This isn’t RIGHT = I’m going to DO something about it...
…BUILD a TEMPLE…for the Lord!
Notice that David here - in this verse = is speaking to - Nathan the prophet...
How does Nathan respond?
2 And Nathan said to David, “Do all that is in your heart, for God is with you.”
he says - GO FOR IT!!
God is with you.
And so it seems like THIS WAS THE PLAN...
David was gonna do this....
BUT...
Change of plans!
3 But that same night the word of the Lord came to Nathan,
4 “Go and tell my servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord: It is not you who will build me a house to dwell in.
NOW - God’s command here - IF BY ITSELF…would be enough to FOLLOW and LISTEN!
But God does tell us WHY He didn’t want David to build His house…His temple...
We have to go to chapter 22 to see it...
7 David said to Solomon, “My son, I had it in my heart to build a house to the name of the Lord my God.
8 But the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ‘You have shed much blood and have waged great wars. You shall not build a house to my name, because you have shed so much blood before me on the earth.
9 Behold, a son shall be born to you who shall be a man of rest. I will give him rest from all his surrounding enemies. For his name shall be Solomon, and I will give peace and quiet to Israel in his days.
10 He shall build a house for my name. He shall be my son, and I will be his father, and I will establish his royal throne in Israel forever.’
So - Because David was a man of WAR - God didn’t want him to be the one to build the temple!
And it seems that Isaiah may speak into why AS WELL...
7 these I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.”
God says - He wants His house to be a house of prayer - for ALL peoples!
Could it be that if David had built the Temple - many people would have been TURNED OFF from the Temple itself…and prayer by implication…?
BECAUSE of his history of WAR - and enemies?
And so - - Solomon builds the Temple...
1 In the four hundred and eightieth year after the people of Israel came out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv, which is the second month, he began to build the house of the Lord.
And so the Temple is built…and AT THAT POINT....
SLIDE: The Presence of God: Dwelt in the Temple
The Presence of God
The Presence of God
God’s presence would reside - there.
But just like in the Tabernacle… HOW God would be worshiped, would be the same!
SLIDE: Temple Pic
You had the outer court… where people could mingle...
Then you had the inner courtyard....or the Priests Court - where sacrifices could be made...
And then you had the Holy Place....a separate structure that housed the Altar of Incense...A Table of Show-bread...And then what was called - the Holy of Holies...
It was the Holy of Holies where the presence of God dwelt…BUT...…as you can see - there was a giant VEIL that separated where men dwelt, from where God dwelt...
NOW - let’s keep looking at this…and I’m going to READ through
Hebrews 9:1-8… It’s going to describe what we’re seeing here...
1 Now even the first covenant had regulations for worship and an earthly place of holiness.
2 For a tent was prepared, the first section, in which were the lampstand and the table and the bread of the Presence. It is called the Holy Place.
3 Behind the second curtain was a second section called the Most Holy Place,
4 having the golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant covered on all sides with gold, in which was a golden urn holding the manna, and Aaron’s staff that budded, and the tablets of the covenant.
5 Above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat. Of these things we cannot now speak in detail.
6 These preparations having thus been made, the priests go regularly into the first section, performing their ritual duties,
7 but into the second only the high priest goes, and he but once a year, and not without taking blood, which he offers for himself and for the unintentional sins of the people.
8 By this the Holy Spirit indicates that the way into the holy places is not yet opened as long as the first section is still standing
So - we see that the Temple was constructed the way that it was - for a REASON...
And the High Priest was only allowed to pass through the curtain - ONCE A YEAR… to make atonement for sins...
WHAT DOES THE CURTAIN represent?
It represents SIN....in that SIN is what SEPARATES us from God...
1 Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear;
2 but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.
SLIDE: Temple Pic
The VEIL in the Temple - represented the SIN of mankind…in that it SEPARATES us from God...And ONLY the High Priest was allowed to go through the VEIL (once a year)…to atone for SINS...
So think through this...
ONE MAN - allowed to enter the Holy of Holies..in the Temple...
To atone for the sins of the people!
SLIDE: The Temple: Where the High Priest Temporarily Atoned for Sin
The Temple
The Temple
The Temple was known as the place where God DEALT with - man.
Where God dealt with - Sin
And the High Priest played the part of the this specific WORSHIP of God...
1 For every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.
2 He can deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is beset with weakness.
3 Because of this he is obligated to offer sacrifice for his own sins just as he does for those of the people.
4 And no one takes this honor for himself, but only when called by God, just as Aaron was.
We see here that EVEN the High Priest fell under the weight of judgment by God...
And NEEDED his sins (atoned for) through the sacrifice!
Now - that shouldn’t be surprising - The High Priest was - just a man.
a Sinner.
Just like - Moses was...
the apostle Paul...
Peter
James
John
MacArthur
Piper
Billy Graham
WHOEVER - you listen to.
Men - regardless of status...
title
job
function
inheritance
position...
Have a sin problem!
And so - The TEMPLE - was the place where the sins of man - were TEMPORARILY.... atoned for.
NOW - that atoning work - let’s look at the reason - sacrifices were used...
22 Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.
Without the shedding of blood - there is no forgiveness of sins.
And so - in the sacrificial system of this time - the shedding of blood is what was required to ATONE for the people’s sin...
BUT THERE was a problem!
And Hebrews 10:3 and 4 tells us what that problem was...
3 But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year.
4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
Woops!
Ok, so these sacrifices - didn’t TAKE AWAY the sins of the people!
That’s what the High Priest had to perform these sacrifices EVERY year!
It was a PATTERN of How God was to be worshiped....at that time...
And that PATTERN would point to something GREATER to come!
What do I mean?
Let’s go back to the pic of the Temple:
SLIDE: Temple Pic
Remember the veil - that separated the Ritual DUTIES - from the Most Holy Place…where God’s presence dwelt?
Let’s see what happened to that veil after Christ died...
50 And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit.
51 And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split.
Notice how it tore...from TOP - to - Bottom
ONLY God could have done this...This veil, by all estimates, was about 60 feet tall...
And when Christ died…the BARRIER of SIN was now REMOVED....FOR WHO?
For all who would BELIEVE!!
So BEFORE - where in the Old Testament - the high priest needed to CONTINUOUSLY make sacrifices for sins...
YEAR after YEAR...
Well NOW - the BARRIER between God and Man - where a HUMAN high priest had to go in and make TEMPORARY atonement...
That barrier - NOW GONE...
Points to something!
What is it?
11 And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.
12 But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God,
13 waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet.
14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.
So Jesus comes and dies - His death - the shedding of blood for the forgiveness of sins -
…brings down the BARRIER between God and Man!
The barrier of SIN!
And if we think back to the Temple...
The BARRIER is now down!
What did Heb 9:8 say…?
8 By this the Holy Spirit indicates that the way into the holy places is not yet opened as long as the first section is still standing
This was saying that as long as the Sacrificial System is still PRACTICED.... the way to the Holy Place was not yet OPENED!
BUT - now that the barrier is down - due to Jesus...
What do we see?
SLIDE: Jesus Christ: The New Temple Where Sin is Eternally Atoned
Jesus Christ
Jesus Christ
You guys remember what Jesus said to the Pharisees - about the Temple being torn down?
16 And he told those who sold the pigeons, “Take these things away; do not make my Father’s house a house of trade.”
17 His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.”
18 So the Jews said to him, “What sign do you show us for doing these things?”
19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”
20 The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?”
21 But he was speaking about the temple of his body.
Jesus spoke in His own - language...
His meaning - more often than not - Spiritual...
And here - He declares HIMSELF - to be (in a sense) - equivalent to the Temple...
And that MAKES sense to us - NOW - because we look back - and what do we know?
We know that if I want ATONEMENT for my sin....where do I go?
Before Jesus - I would need to go - to the Temple…!
BUT NOW - JESUS paid the sacrifice!
Back to Heb 10:12
12 But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God,
SO - how cool is it…that Jesus...
In LIVING the perfect life...
in DYING for our sins...
AND in conquering death....
We need to know this...
Not only is HE NOW
1) the TEMPLE we COME TO for forgiveness...
2) the Eternal High Priest - the only ONE who could DO IT
But 3) He’s ALSO the SACRIFICE - the lamb of God - SLAUGHTERED for us.
SLIDE:
Jesus Christ is the temple we come to for forgiveness, our great High Priest who makes atonement for us, and He’s the sacrifice made on our behalf.
14 Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.
He is our great High Priest..
NEVER TO LOSE this position…why?
Because He - unlike every other HUMAN high priest...
conquered death!
He reigns - ALWAYS interceding for us as our great high priest!
AND - since this is true...
For those who BELIEVE…who FOLLOW HIM...
We should know this...
SLIDE: The Presence of God: Now Dwells In Us
The Presence of God
The Presence of God
Where do we get this idea from...
19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own,
And so we can begin to make these connections between what USED to be - and NOW WHAT IS!
• When we place our trust in Christ, He places the Holy Spirit in us...• And we become the dwelling place of God.
16 Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?
• We are a temple of the Holy Spirit of God.
• WHICH MEANS...
• Just as the High Priest would enter the temple once a year -- in Holy fear
• May we ALSO have this Holy fear as we guard our temples from the sin of this world.
• We possess His presence...
• ...AND this necessarily has an impact on how we live (For His Glory)
• What we fear - (Nothing)
• What we pursue - (Joy in the Lord) - (Worship of the King)
• And all of this is leading to something...
• It's leading to something...
• Everlasting enjoyment of God.
• Everlasting enjoyment of Jesus Christ.
• Everlasting Worship.
• He's getting us back to Worship.
• This is the reality for those who trust in Christ.
SUMMARY:
The Presence of God:
From the Garden to Mankind
God’s Glory dwelt...
in the Garden..
in the Tabernacle
In the Temple
And now - In Us
- And so may we help others come to the TEMPLE of Jesus Christ - where eternal forgiveness is found!!
Let’s Pray....