The Holy Tent

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Call to Worship: Psalm 99:1-9

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PURPOSE

Who Shall Ascend the Mountain of the Lord?: A Biblical Theology of the Book of Leviticus (God’s House: Parallels between the Cosmos and the Tabernacle)
The various intertextual parallels between the creation and tabernacle accounts affirm that there is an analogical relationship between creation and tabernacle: again, the cosmos is a large temple; the temple is a small cosmos. Two further points follow logically: first, the tabernacle cultus (personnel, furnishings and rituals) must be understood in the light of that analogical relationship, as related fundamentally to creation (so that the high priest, for example, may be understood as an Adam figure); and secondly, the end or purpose of the tabernacle cultus correlates with the end or purpose of the cosmos. We turn now to establish that HUMANITY’S DWELLING IN THE DIVINE PRESENCE IS THE PURPOSE OF CREATION (and, thus, also of the tabernacle cultus).
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We SPOke last week of our PURPOSE. But what is GOD’S PURPOSE? His PURPOSE is to FILL the TEMPLE of CREATION with HIS PRESENCE.
the tabernacle is a microcosm of the microcosm. When Christ comes, the veil is torn; the eschatological picture is revealed to us! NEW CREATION.
ANALOGY of KIDS and TOYS
Toys are often miniature replicas of greater realities; realities that children cannot ascertain or enjoy or employ mastery over. The miniature version helps them come to know, understand, PRETEND (tend before), and become prepared and empowered to engage with the real thing one day. So it is with the tabernacle and the temple. It makes the DIVINE GOAL AND REALITY OF AND FOR THE COSMOS TANGIBLE, SENSIBLE, AND VISCERAL.
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EXODUS OUTLINE

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Ex. 1: Israel Multiplies in Egypt
Ex. 2:1-14 Birth of Moses
Ex. 2:15-25: Moses Escapes to Midian
Ex. 3:1-9: Burning Bush
Ex. 3:10-22: Mission of Moses
Ex. 4:1-13: Moses Given Powers
Ex. 4:14-31: Aaron as Moses’ Mouthpiece
Ex. 5: Israel’s Labor Increased
Ex. 6:1-13: God Promises Action (to Save)
Ex. 6:14-30: Heads of Israel
Ex. 7:1-7: God Promises Power over Pharoah
Ex. 7:8-13: Aaron’s Rod Becomes Serpent
Ex. 7:14-25: Water Turns to Blood
Ex. 8:1-15: Frogs Over Land
Ex. 8:16-32: Plague of Insects
Ex. 9:1-7: Death of Cattle
Ex. 9:8-17: Plague of Boils
Ex. 9:18-35: Plague of Hail
Ex. 10:1-20: Locusts
Ex. 10:21-29: Darkness Over Land
Ex. 11: Prophecy of Death of Firstborn
Ex. 12:1-13: Passover Lamb
Ex. 12:14-22: Feast of Unleavened Bread
Ex. 12:23-32: the LORD strikes the Firstborn
Ex. 12:33-41: Exodus of Israel
Ex. 12:42-51: Ordinance of the Passover
Ex. 13:1-16: Consecration of the Firstborn
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PIECES

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Cherubim appear on the Ark of the Covenant (Fig. 2) and also on the inner curtains of the Tabernacle (Fig. 3). In Solomon’s Temple, cherubim were carved on the inner panels of the Holy Place (1 Kings 6:29) (see Fig. 26) and two massive cherubim stood over the Ark of the Covenant (1 Kings 6:23–28) (Fig. 5). Cherubim were also carved on the doors leading into the Holy of Holies of Solomon’s Temple (1 Kings 6:32) (Fig. 4). These two doors with their cherubim appear to reflect the previous guarding duty of the cherubim in Eden. They also feature in Ezekiel’s Temple (Ezek. 41:18, 20, 25).

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The New Testament records that the inner curtain of Herod’s Temple was torn from top to bottom when Christ died (Matt. 27:51; Mark 15:38; Luke 23:45). It would then have been possible to see the Holy of Holies from the Holy Place, as the separation between these chambers was destroyed. Thus the symbolic way to the Tree of Life was opened, called a “new and living way” in Hebrews 10:20

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Exodus 25:22 NASB95
“There I will meet with you; and from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are upon the ark of the testimony, I will speak to you about all that I will give you in commandment for the sons of Israel.
COMMENT: we all want direction, especially when we feel lost or afraid. promise of the is nothing less than the promise of presence and the fulfilment of divine purpose. amazingly we see in this text that it is not enough to have the words of God or the signs of the miracles of God but we need God himself to guide us and to Interpret his revelation to us and for us. our church walls are not enough. even the scriptures themselves are not Enough! We need the living presence of god to guide us. for even though the word is a sword the spirit is the wielder of It.
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REFORMATION STUDY BIBLE
25:17 mercy seat. Lit. the “atonement covering,” a place at which estranged parties are reconciled. “Atonement” is the normal English translation for the Hebrew root that means “to wipe away” or perhaps “to cover” the guilt of sin from God’s eyes so that believers may be reconciled with God. Propitiation (i.e., turning away divine wrath and satisfying the claims of divine justice) is effected by blood sacrifice in the OT (Lev. 17:11). This shedding of blood dramatizes the cost of forgiveness, and it points forward to the sacrificial death of Christ on the Cross, where the symbolism of the Passover was fulfilled (1 Cor. 5:7). Paul declares that Jesus has been made the propitiation for our sins (Rom. 3:25; cf. 1 John 2:2). The “mercy seat” is the ark cover, which is sometimes mentioned in distinction from the ark as the place where God is propitiated. In the Septuagint, the Greek term for “mercy seat” (hilasterion) means lit. “place of propitiation” (also in Heb. 9:5).
COMMENT: on the cross which is the ultimate mercy seat g=God speaks to us with the ultimate Word, His own Son, who is the Eternal Word of God. and this word spoken on the cross is the FINAL WORD, for sin no longer reigns over those who look upon.
25:22 I will meet. The Lord is the one “who is enthroned on the cherubim” (1 Sam. 4:4; 2 Sam. 6:2; 2 Kin. 19:15; Ps. 80:1; 99:1; Is. 37:16). The mercy seat becomes the focal point for God’s meeting with His people. The purpose of the exodus was the bridging of the chasm separating God and humanity (Ex. 29:45, 46).
TRACE PATTERN: God sets Israel FREE from EGYPT that they might WORSHIP HIM/FREELY BE IN HIS PRESENCE.
is this not the arc of salvation and the end goal of the heavenward Christian-Life?
Ps. 99:1 cherubim. Cherubim are spiritual beings who dwell in heaven with God. They are guardians of God’s holiness, as witnessed by their role in protecting the post-fall garden (Gen. 3:24). Cherubim were symbolically represented in the tabernacle, both in the innermost curtain (Ex. 36:35), and in the Most Holy Place (Ex. 37:1-9). Later, Solomon added cherubs made of wood overlaid with gold in both the Most Holy Place and the inner sanctuary (1 Kin. 6; 2 Chr. 3). The psalm refers to the cherubim of God’s throne with their outstretched wings above the ark of the covenant.
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Psalms 51–100 99:1–3 Praise the Holy God for the Reign of Christ

The phrase sits enthroned upon (or between) the cherubim refers to the “mercy seat” (Ex. 25:17–22), associated with atonement for sin. A cherub is a winged creature, fierce enough to wield a flaming sword (Gen. 3:24), fast enough to speed God to the rescue of his King (Ps. 18:10; cf. the appeal of Hezekiah in 2 Kings 19:15), strong enough to provide protection under its wings. It is associated with the ark of the covenant (1 Sam. 4:4; 2 Sam. 6:2; cf. Ps. 80:1) and carries with it all the connotations of God’s salvation, fulfilled in Christ; the very creatures who barred the way to paradise are the creatures who stand by the mercy seat of atonement.

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This may be correct, but I have chosen to follow LXX and Howard (Structure, 117–18), Johnson (Sacral Kingship, 62), and NJV, and understand the expression ישׁב כרובים as a divine title, which in its complete form would be יהוה ישׁב כרובים (“Yahweh—who sits-on-Cheru-bim”).

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Word Biblical Commentary, Volume 20: Psalms 51–100 (Comment)
He is designated as the “Cherubim-enthroned-One,” before whom the peoples and the earth itself are called to quake in respect and submission to his power… The divine epithet (ישׁב כרובים) refers to Yahweh as the divine king who sits on a cherubim throne, a throne seat visualized as supported by the wings of cherubim… His name is holy, as he is himself (vv 3 and 5). Yahweh’s power and exaltation is used, however, in the service of justice and righteousness; he is “the King who loves justice” (v 4a; cf. Pss 33:5; 37:28). Yahweh is committed to a stable and just order in human society, as he has demonstrated in his actions relating to Israel (v 4bc)… The “footstool” (הדם רגליו) most probably refers to the ark in the sense of it as a box used as a footstool for the enthroned (and invisible) divine king. Kings are depicted in the ancient world as sitting on thrones with their feet on footstools
Marvin E. Tate, Psalms 51–100, vol. 20 of Word Biblical Commentary (Dallas: Word, Incorporated, 1998), 529.
COMMENT: The THRONE OF YHWH ELOHIM—the SEAT OF HIS GLORY, REIGN, AND POWER—is MERCY.
The Cherubim Covered the mercy seat Of the ark of the covenant which resided in the holy of holies. This is the seat where God the King would commune and communicate with His people; where He would atone for their sins and dwell with them again. This seat of MERCY—upon the wings of the Cherubim—is the very SEAT of the THRONE of the KING of ALL CREATION.
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How lovely is your tabernacle [miškān], O YHWH of hosts!

My soul longs, yea, faints for the courts of YHWH;

my heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God.

Even the sparrow has found a home,

and the swallow a nest for herself,

where she may lay her young,

near your altars, O YHWH of hosts,

my king and my God.

How happy are those who dwell in your house,

ever praising you.

Ps. 84:1-4 Call to Worship
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GET TO THE LONGING OF THE HEART
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WHAT HOME ARE YOU SEEKING? EVERYONE IS SEEKING A HOME. EVERYONE IS SEEKING A PLACE TO REST THEIR HEADS AND THEIR WEARY BONES. WE OFTEN CHASE MONEY SO THAT WE MIGHT SECURE THAT PLACE OF REST FOR US. BUT CAN MONEY AND TIME BUY THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN? CAN THE SWEAT OF FLESH AND BONE GAIN US ACCESS INTO THE KINGDOM OF THE LIVING GOD?
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Open the sermon with a big picture sweep of how the Scriptures tell the story of a people, seeking a place; specifically, God’s people seeking God’s place. More fundamentally and accurately however, the story of Scripture is the story of God seeking a people for Himself, to dwell in His Holy Place (Matthew 22).
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We long to be in God’s Presence; but we are SEPARATED from Him because of SIN. Christ came to ATONE for SIN that we might DWELL with GOD forever. (Stoke the fire of longing for JESUS!—and SHOW THE NEED FOR HIM!)
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We are all seeking REST. In fact CREATION itself was CREATED to CLIMAX in REST (Sabbath).
REST & EQUILIBRIUM: A very basic concept when dealing with forces is the idea of equilibrium or balance. In general, an object can be acted on by several forces at the same time. A force is a vector quantity which means that it has both a magnitude (size) and a direction associated with it. If the size and direction of the forces acting on an object are exactly balanced, then there is no net force acting on the object and the object is said to be in equilibrium. Because there is no net force acting on an object in equilibrium, then from Newton's first law of motion, an object at rest will stay at rest, and an object in motion will stay in motion.
On the CROSS ALONE do we find TRUE ETERNAL SPIRITUAL EQUILIBRIUM
the sacrificial system was simply pointing to this FINAL SACRIFICE; a mere SHADOW (Heb. 8:5). It provided true atonement RELATIONALLY, but not FORENSICALLY. Heb. 10:4.
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Who Shall Ascend the Mountain of the Lord?: A Biblical Theology of the Book of Leviticus (The Presentation Rite)
In the post-exilic era, after the temple had been rebuilt, YHWH rebuked the priesthood for offering defiled food on his altar, and admonished the people for failing to reverence him in worship:
‘When you offer [ngš] blind animals for sacrifice,
is that not evil?
And when you offer [ngš] lame and sick animals,
is that not evil?
Offer [qrb] such to your governor!
–will he accept you or be favourable to you?’
says YHWH of hosts.
(Mal. 1:7)
One’s approach to God is the surest dissection and deepest revelation of the heart. More than this, the God-ordained approach to himself is the most proficient school for the heart.
COMMENT: If we think about equilibrium and physics, as an analogy for spiritual debt and spiritual gain, we recognize that no sacrifice—Not even of the most animal or animal--Is sufficient to bring the darkness of sin, death and suffering to Spiritual equilibrium.
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Thus is the Lord unsatisfied with our offerings. For they are inherently insufficient. Only the offering of Jesus Christ himself, and us in him is sufficient to bring the cosmos into the true spiritual equilibrum of rest.
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Who Shall Ascend the Mountain of the Lord?: A Biblical Theology of the Book of Leviticus (The Presentation Rite)
If Leviticus as the central book of the Pentateuch has anything to teach at all, it is that Israel’s theology is hammered out upon the anvil of approaching God in worship. Whether one surveys Israel’s understanding of redemption or sanctification, atonement or eschatology, theology-proper or anthropology, every doctrine is oriented to and finds its fullness in humanity’s entrance into the divine Presence.
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Psalm 15:1–2 NASB95
O Lord, who may abide in Your tent? Who may dwell on Your holy hill? He who walks with integrity, and works righteousness, And speaks truth in his heart.
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Hebrews 6:1–2 NASB95
Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, of instruction about washings and laying on of hands, and the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment.
MUST GIVE A CALL TO REPENANCE: “STOP INVESTING IN A FALSE PROMISE AND A CORRUPTED PRESENCE. TURN AWAY FROM A COUNTERFEIT REST AND A COUNTERFEIT SACRIFICE (DE-MYSTIFY SACRIFICE: SHOW HOW EVERYONE SACRIFICES DAILY FOR WHAT THEY WANT!”—G.K. BEALE: “WE SACRIFICE FOR WAHT SATISFIES”)”
COUPLE THIS WITH TURNING IN FAITH TO TRUE PROMISE OF PRESENCE WITH GOD IN CHRIST.
EMPHASIZE THE NEED TO BE SET APART—EMPHASIZE THE HOLINESS OF GOD. GIVE THEM THE OPPORTUNITY TO DECIDE; TO TURN AWAY FROM SIN AND TURN TOWARD JESUS.
EMPHASIZE THE PENALTY FOR SIN—THE ETERNAL PENALTY OF ETERNAL DEATH (HELL) WHICH IS ETERNAL SEPARATION FROM GOD, AND SHOW THEM HOW IN CHRISTS’S DEATH AND RESURRECTION WE HAVE BEEN AND WILL BE RAISED WITH HIM.
EMPLOY THESE FUNDAMENTAL SPIRITUAL MILK TRUTHS TO BRING THEM INTO HOLY FEAR, AWE AND WORHSIP OF YHWH ELOHIM, THE FATHER OF OUR LORD AND SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST!
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God Dwells among Us: A Biblical Theology of the Temple (Essential Studies in Biblical Theology | ESBT) (The River of Life)
WE SACRIFICE FOR WHAT SATISFIES. The soul-satisfying riches in the presence of God propel us out of our comfort zones, calling us out of the warm confines of our beds to our knees in early-morning prayer and meditation on God’s Word.Like the Israelites before us, we forsake the river of God’s presence and hew out empty cisterns that do not hold water to satisfy our thirsts (Jer 2:13). Will we satisfy our soul at the fountain of living waters? Or will we hew out cisterns of putrid water that do not satisfy? The rivers of life flowing from the presence of God in Eden beckon us to the satisfaction and re-creation of these refreshing waters that are only found in the presence of God.
We sacrifice for what satisfies.
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G. K. Beale and Mitchell Kim, God Dwells among Us: A Biblical Theology of the Temple, Essential Studies in Biblical Theology (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic: An Imprint of InterVarsity Press, 2021), 11.
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Who Shall Ascend the Mountain of the Lord?: A Biblical Theology of the Book of Leviticus (Constructing the House of God)
The instructions for the tabernacle and detailed descriptions of its furnishings function so as to offer the hearers a tour of God’s house, removing the veil from what YHWH showed Moses within the cloud (Exod. 25:9). In the same way the boundaries of Canaan described in Numbers 34:1–15 served to stir Israel’s longing for life in the land beyond the wilderness; and in the same way the symbolic survey of the New Jerusalem in Revelation 21:9–22:5 serves to stir our hearts for the life of the new earth, so the description of the tabernacle and its furnishings is meant to convey the blessed lot of the redeemed who will find themselves abundantly satisfied with the fatness of God’s house (Ps. 36:8).
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Who Shall Ascend the Mountain of the Lord?: A Biblical Theology of the Book of Leviticus God’s House: Parallels between the Cosmos and the Tabernacle

Approaching the biblical account of creation, there are various indications that such a parallel between cosmos and temple (or tabernacle) is in view. For example, the Spirit or ‘Wind of God’ (rûaḥ ’ĕlōhîm) as a phrase appears in Genesis 1:2 for the construction of the cosmos and in Exodus 31:3 and 35:31 for the construction of the tabernacle.

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Who Shall Ascend the Mountain of the Lord?: A Biblical Theology of the Book of Leviticus (God’s House: Parallels between the Cosmos and the Tabernacle)
Other creation terminology shared with the tabernacle includes the word mā’ôr (light, lamp) in Genesis 1:14–15, which always in the Pentateuch designates the lamps of the tabernacle. Vogels makes the same observation, adding, ‘The sun and moon are like sacred lamps in the sanctuary of the universe. A better translation would be: “Let there be lamps …”, or “luminaries.” This word confirms the liturgical character of the narrative.’6
Elsewhere in the Hebrew Bible, creation is likened to a tabernacle pitched by God (Ps. 104; Job 9:8; Isa. 40:22) or to a house God has established, with pillars, windows and doors (Job 26:11; Gen. 7:11; Ps. 78:23), the cosmos being thought of as a three-decked house of heavens, earth and sea. As the main character of Genesis 1, God is indeed portrayed as something of a workman who builds his house, inspects, pronounces upon his work and then takes his Sabbath rest, the house itself, inasmuch as it is the house of God, being a temple.
More broadly, the seven-day structure of the creation account appears to be mirrored by the tabernacle instructions in Exodus 25–31, structured along seven speeches of God. Kearney goes further, positing that each of the seven speeches alludes to the corresponding day of creation. While some of his correspondences are not entirely convincing, the parallel between the overall shape of the two accounts is supported historically, and the correspondence between the seventh day and the seventh speech is beyond question, both pertaining to Sabbath rest:
And YHWH spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Now you speak to the sons of Israel, saying “Surely my Sabbaths you will keep, for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, in order for you to know that I am YHWH who sanctifies you … It is a sign between me and the sons of Israel for ever; because in six days YHWH made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed.” ’ (Exod. 31:12–17)
Already we see that in a profound sense both the cosmos and the tabernacle tilt toward the same Sabbath end; both are constructed for the same purpose
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Who Shall Ascend the Mountain of the Lord?: A Biblical Theology of the Book of Leviticus God’s House: Parallels between the Cosmos and the Tabernacle

Exodus 39–40

Genesis 1–2

And Moses saw all the work and, behold, they had done it (39:43)

And God saw all that he had made, and, behold it was very good (1:31)

Thus was completed all the work of the Tabernacle of the tent of meeting (39:32)

The heavens and the earth were completed and all their array (2:1)

When Moses had finished the work (40:33)

God finished the work which he had been doing (2:2)

Moses blessed them (39:43)

And God blessed (2:3)

to sanctify it and all its furnishings (40:9)

and sanctified it (2:3)

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Who Shall Ascend the Mountain of the Lord?: A Biblical Theology of the Book of Leviticus (Constructing the House of God)
Let them build me a sanctuary that I may dwell in their midst.… I will dwell amidst the sons of Israel and I will be their God. They will know that I am YHWH their God, who brought them up out of the land of Egypt to dwell in their midst—I am YHWH their God. (Exod. 25:8; 29:45–46)

The ultimate goal of Israel’s redemption is to have nothing less than God dwelling amidst his people—that, as we will consider later, is the essence of the covenant.

The Torah, as instruction on the way of YHWH, becomes a literary journey to the house of YHWH. It

COMMENT: The Torah—the Word of God—is like a map that leads you to the Presence of God. By exposing darkness and evil, and revealing the King of Heaven who is Light, Love, and Goodness, the Word of God removes us from the ignorance of sin and opens our eyes to see God as He is, and simultaneously, ourselves as we are. This is the heart of being in God’s Presence: TO SEE HIM AS HE IS.
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Who Shall Ascend the Mountain of the Lord?: A Biblical Theology of the Book of Leviticus (The Tabernacle as Cultic Mountain of God)
the creation account of Genesis 1:1–2:3, along with the garden of Eden narrative of Genesis 2:4–3:24, and all the subsequent drama leading up to this point, has set its aim upon the tabernacling Presence of God.
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I will dwell [šākantî] among the sons of Israel, and will be their God. They shall know that I am YHWH their God, who brought them up out of the land of Egypt for the purpose that I may dwell [lĕšākĕnî] among them. I am YHWH their God. (Exod. 29:45–46)

New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (Chapter 57)
15 For thus says the high and exalted One
Who lives forever, whose name is Holy,
“I dwell on a high and holy place,
And also with the contrite and lowly of spirit
In order to revive the spirit of the lowly
And to revive the heart of the contrite.
NOTE: this could be a great turning point for the sermon; a proper segway unto the Gospel.
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The JPS Torah Commentary: Exodus The Materials (25:1–9)

dwell Careful analysis of the language used here is essential for a proper understanding of the underlying concept and role of the sanctuary. First, the text speaks of God dwelling not “in it,” that is in the sanctuary, but “among them,” that is, among the people of Israel (v. 2). Then, the verb “to dwell” is not the common Hebrew stem y-sh-v but the rarer sh-k-n, which has a different connotation. This verb conveys the idea of TEMPORARY LODGING in a tent and characterizes the nomadic style of life. That is why the structure is called a mishkan (e.g., v. 9) and why the verbal form is frequently used together with ʾohel, the common word for “a tent,” and in connection with nomads.24 The noun mishkan is often employed in synonymous parallelism with ʾohel, and the other designations of the wilderness Tabernacle are the “Tent of the Pact”26 and the “Tent of Meeting.”

Thus, the sanctuary is not meant to be understood literally as God’s abode, as are other such institutions in the pagan world. Rather, it functions to make perceptible and tangible the conception of God’s immanence, that is, of the indwelling of the Divine Presence in the camp of Israel, to which the people may orient their hearts and minds. A postbiblical extension of this usage of the verb sh-k-n is the Hebrew term shekhinah for the Divine Presence

COMMENT: in the LXX, the translation for שכן here is ὀφθήσομαι (ὅραω in the PASSIVE), which gives us the sense of “BEING SEEN” or “EXPERIENCED”
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Hebrews 8:1–9:14 NASB95
Now the main point in what has been said is this: we have such a high priest, who has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, a minister in the sanctuary and in the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, not man. For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices; so it is necessary that this high priest also have something to offer. Now if He were on earth, He would not be a priest at all, since there are those who offer the gifts according to the Law; who serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things, just as Moses was warned by God when he was about to erect the tabernacle; for, “See,” He says, “that you make all things according to the pattern which was shown you on the mountain.” But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, by as much as He is also the mediator of a better covenant, which has been enacted on better promises. For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion sought for a second. For finding fault with them, He says, “Behold, days are coming, says the Lord, When I will effect a new covenant With the house of Israel and with the house of Judah; Not like the covenant which I made with their fathers On the day when I took them by the hand To lead them out of the land of Egypt; For they did not continue in My covenant, And I did not care for them, says the Lord. “For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel After those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws into their minds, And I will write them on their hearts. And I will be their God, And they shall be My people. “And they shall not teach everyone his fellow citizen, And everyone his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ For all will know Me, From the least to the greatest of them. “For I will be merciful to their iniquities, And I will remember their sins no more.” When He said, “A new covenant,” He has made the first obsolete. But whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to disappear. Now even the first covenant had regulations of divine worship and the earthly sanctuary. For there was a tabernacle prepared, the outer one, in which were the lampstand and the table and the sacred bread; this is called the holy place. Behind the second veil there was a tabernacle which is called the Holy of Holies, having a golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant covered on all sides with gold, in which was a golden jar holding the manna, and Aaron’s rod which budded, and the tables of the covenant; and above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat; but of these things we cannot now speak in detail. Now when these things have been so prepared, the priests are continually entering the outer tabernacle performing the divine worship, but into the second, only the high priest enters once a year, not without taking blood, which he offers for himself and for the sins of the people committed in ignorance. The Holy Spirit is signifying this, that the way into the holy place has not yet been disclosed while the outer tabernacle is still standing, which is a symbol for the present time. Accordingly both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make the worshiper perfect in conscience, since they relate only to food and drink and various washings, regulations for the body imposed until a time of reformation. But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation; and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
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Leviticus 6:25–26 NASB95
“Speak to Aaron and to his sons, saying, ‘This is the law of the sin offering: in the place where the burnt offering is slain the sin offering shall be slain before the Lord; it is most holy. ‘The priest who offers it for sin shall eat it. It shall be eaten in a holy place, in the court of the tent of meeting.
NOTE/COMMENT:
The sin offering is EATEN by the priests in a holy place.
JESUS, the final offering for sin, commanded us to EAT HIS BODY and DRINK HIS BLOOD in the HOLY PLACE of the ASSEMBLY of the BODY OF CHRIST (Wherever two or more are gathered in MY NAME, there I AM).
The people thought His teaching about eating His flesh and drinking His blood was “HARD”--perhaps even PROFANE and BARBARIC; but He was simply stating that HE WOULD BE THE FINAL SIN OFFERING FOR THE WHOLE WORLD.
Lev. 6:28: is akin to “My body BROKEN for you.”
another comment, the levitical instructions for the eating of the offering was ascribed to the PRIESTS alone. Thus, when Christ commands His members to EAT of His BODY—of the flesh of the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world—He is bestowing upon them a PRIESTLY PRIVILEGE and a PRIESTLY RESPONSIBILITY and CALLING.
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Leviticus 8:14–15 (NASB95)
Then he brought the bull of the sin offering, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the bull of the sin offering.
Next Moses slaughtered it and took the blood and with his finger put some of it around on the horns of the altar, and purified the altar. Then he poured out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar and consecrated it, to make atonement for it.
COMMENT: This instruction of SACRIFICE for SIN is essentially rooted in the REALITY that “the wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23); thus, if God is to DWELL with His people, the SIN & DEATH which covers them must be COVERED by the substitutional DEATH of another LIFE. NOTHING IS FREE. Someone has to PAY the SENTENCE. There must be divine JUSTICE if divine MERCY is to be GRANTED. DIVINE MERCY is not void of JUSTICE—it is simply that the object of MERCY does not have to PAY the FINE of JUSTICE, but another. In the Pre-Christic time, it was the sin offerings of these clean animals; after the coming, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ the Lord, it is Christ on the Cross—the ETERNAL PAYMENT for SIN; the ETERNAL OBJECT of DIVINE JUSTICE PERFECTED that through Him, we might become ETERNAL OBJECTS of DIVINE MERCY.
DIVINE MERCY is JUST
Leviticus 8:17 NASB95
But the bull and its hide and its flesh and its refuse he burned in the fire outside the camp, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
Christ’s Body was “BURNED IN THE FIRE OUTSIDE THE CAMP” in HELL, for the PERFECTION of ATONEMENT. HE is the PERFECT SUBSTITUTION—judged to the realm of outer darkness and weeping and gnashing of teeth that we NEED NOT GO THERE—but enjoy the Grace of the Kingdom of Heaven.
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Leviticus 8:35 NASB95
“At the doorway of the tent of meeting, moreover, you shall remain day and night for seven days and keep the charge of the Lord, so that you will not die, for so I have been commanded.”
Comment: there are so many detailed instructions, because whenever sinful man approached the holy presence of the Lord, he is “playing with Fire.” Just as we fear in reverence and respect and preparedness the mighty power of a storm, or a volcano, or a tornado, so too must we in fear, reverence, respect, and responsibility DRAW NEAR to the UNSPEAKABLE, UNSEARCHABLE, INCOMPREHENSIBLE LOVE of GOD.
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Leviticus 9:1–24 NASB95
Now it came about on the eighth day that Moses called Aaron and his sons and the elders of Israel; and he said to Aaron, “Take for yourself a calf, a bull, for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering, both without defect, and offer them before the Lord. “Then to the sons of Israel you shall speak, saying, ‘Take a male goat for a sin offering, and a calf and a lamb, both one year old, without defect, for a burnt offering, and an ox and a ram for peace offerings, to sacrifice before the Lord, and a grain offering mixed with oil; for today the Lord will appear to you.’ ” So they took what Moses had commanded to the front of the tent of meeting, and the whole congregation came near and stood before the Lord. Moses said, “This is the thing which the Lord has commanded you to do, that the glory of the Lord may appear to you.” Moses then said to Aaron, “Come near to the altar and offer your sin offering and your burnt offering, that you may make atonement for yourself and for the people; then make the offering for the people, that you may make atonement for them, just as the Lord has commanded.” So Aaron came near to the altar and slaughtered the calf of the sin offering which was for himself. Aaron’s sons presented the blood to him; and he dipped his finger in the blood and put some on the horns of the altar, and poured out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar. The fat and the kidneys and the lobe of the liver of the sin offering, he then offered up in smoke on the altar just as the Lord had commanded Moses. The flesh and the skin, however, he burned with fire outside the camp. Then he slaughtered the burnt offering; and Aaron’s sons handed the blood to him and he sprinkled it around on the altar. They handed the burnt offering to him in pieces, with the head, and he offered them up in smoke on the altar. He also washed the entrails and the legs, and offered them up in smoke with the burnt offering on the altar. Then he presented the people’s offering, and took the goat of the sin offering which was for the people, and slaughtered it and offered it for sin, like the first. He also presented the burnt offering, and offered it according to the ordinance. Next he presented the grain offering, and filled his hand with some of it and offered it up in smoke on the altar, besides the burnt offering of the morning. Then he slaughtered the ox and the ram, the sacrifice of peace offerings which was for the people; and Aaron’s sons handed the blood to him and he sprinkled it around on the altar. As for the portions of fat from the ox and from the ram, the fat tail, and the fat covering, and the kidneys and the lobe of the liver, they now placed the portions of fat on the breasts; and he offered them up in smoke on the altar. But the breasts and the right thigh Aaron presented as a wave offering before the Lord, just as Moses had commanded. Then Aaron lifted up his hands toward the people and blessed them, and he stepped down after making the sin offering and the burnt offering and the peace offerings. Moses and Aaron went into the tent of meeting. When they came out and blessed the people, the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people. Then fire came out from before the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the portions of fat on the altar; and when all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces.
Comment:
On the EIGHTH DAY! (the Lord’s Day; the Day of His Resurrection!)
The Lord will “APPEAR” to them upon His acceptance of their SACRIFICES (“Appear” here translated in LXX as ORAO, which is the same word the LXX translated SHAKAN with in Ex. 25:8)
The LORD “appears” and “dwells” eternally in the TEMPLE of each and every believer through the ACCEPTED SACRIFICE of Jesus Christ on the Cross.
The FIRES of GOD in HELL CONSUMED HIM, but then He was RAISED in POWER—both being proof of Divine acceptance of Him as the WORTHY SACRIFICE. His RESURRECTION was His Justification that we might be JUSTIFIED in HIM, and that the LORD might properly (in JUSTICE) dwell with us.
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Leviticus 10:10 NASB95
and so as to make a distinction between the holy and the profane, and between the unclean and the clean,
GOD DISTINGUISHED BETWEEN the HOLY and the PROFANE; between the UNCLEAN and the CLEAN; between DARKNESS and LIGHT.
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The goal for Israel is fellowship and communion with God. Because YHWH God is holy, the source of life, however, the requirement for communion with God is utter and complete consecration. Yet before consecration to God can become a possibility, Israel’s sins must be dealt with, expiated—only a cleansed humanity may belong to YHWH. The way to God, then, is through a bloody knife and a burning altar. Sacrifice, in keeping with my proposed theme for the Pentateuch, is the way YHWH has opened for humanity to dwell in his Presence

COMMENT: VERY VERY IMPORTANT QUOTE!
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While Exodus had closed with the inaccessibility of God in his dwelling, Leviticus opens with divine legislation aimed at allowing Israel to draw near, this approach through the sacrificial cultus. Beyond the other important aspects of sacrifice, then, one must not lose sight of the fundamental goal and reality of Israel’s cultus, namely that this way has been opened for humanity to draw near to God

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Who Shall Ascend the Mountain of the Lord?: A Biblical Theology of the Book of Leviticus (The Cultic Journey: Ascent into the Presence of God)
THIS WAY HAS BEEN OPENED FOR HUMANITY TO DRAW NEAR TO GOD. Indeed, the other aspects of sacrifice we will consider serve rather to explain how sacrifice enables one to draw near to God. Perhaps first and foremost among these is atonement, for ‘the whole sacrificial system serves to atone and finds its meaning in the atoning function of sacrifice itself’. Yet, once more, atonement is a means to an end, a means to Israel’s fellowship and communion with YHWH God. This goal is discernible in the English term itself, ‘AT-ONE-MENT’, indicating reconciliation between God and humanity.
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While the precise understanding of the Hebrew verb kipper, typically translated ‘atone’, has been complicated by its possible roots and cognates, its scriptural usage implies a twofold meaning: ransom from death and purification from pollution—both functions being involved by varying degrees in atonement, according to context

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the sense and appropriate rendering of the Heb. sbst. raise the not altogether irrelevant question of etymology, on which (see paragraph A above); given the link with רום hif., as is most generally accepted, the sbst. can be translated literally as lifting, raising, so Rudolph KAT 13/4: 284, who goes on to explain: lifting, raising indicates a part or a portion which has been lifted from a greater whole for another purpose (usually within the cult) … and has thus been separated; similarly Childs

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