The Tabernacle Plan Pt. 3

The Ark of the Covenant

(Exodus 25:10-22)

4’ x 2’ x 2’

-Acacia wood covered on the inside and outside with gold

-Pot a manna, Aarons rod that budded, and the ten commandments

- a lid of solid gold was made for the ark.

The Pot of manna

-this is the food that the children of Israel ate while wondering in the desert.

Deuteronomy 8:3 KJV — And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.

-This bread spoke to the provision of the God of Israel but the people rejected the bread of the Lord and desired to return to Egypt.

-In Numbers 21, They murmored not only against moses but against God.

-this was a constant reminder of the rejection of Gods provisions in the midst of the camp.

Aarons Rod

In Numbers 16 Korah led a group against Aaron and Moses, Gods chosen leaders

God set up a test to show who He chose

Each tribe was to bring a staff before the tabernacle and the one that sprouted was Gods Chosen

Aarons rod budded

God desired to lead his people, but they rejected Him so after the test he told Moses: Numbers 17:10 NKJV — And the LORD said to Moses, “Bring Aaron’s rod back before the Testimony, to be kept as a sign against the rebels, that you may put their complaints away from Me, lest they die.”

How often do we place our own faith in our ability to provide for ourselves?

How often do we long for the provisions of our own hands over the provisions of God? (money, cars, houses, vacations, clothes, ect)

The 10 Commandments

-These were the basic 10 moral instructions God gave to mankind (No other Gods, No graven images)

-Moses received these in the mountain.

-as he came down the people had built a Golden calf and Moses broke the 10 commandments

-He returned to the mountain where God gave him the tablets of stone again

-God commanded Moses to place the stone tablets in the Ark of the Covenant (deu 10:5)

-God desired to bring peace and order to His people but they rejected His law and they were placed in the Ark as a reminder of the rebellion of the people.

The Box of evidence

In the end, this beautiful golden box, was a box of evidence against the children of israel, a reminder of their rejection of Gods provision, His leadership, and His law.

Do you remember when you first came to God, and you felt all the evidence that was being held against you? All the shame and the guilt of rejecting the things of God for your life.

Thankfully Gods provisions goes beyond manna from heaven.

The Mercy Seat

But God instructed Moses that there shall be a mercy seat made of solid gold, with two cherubim facing each other with their wings above the mercy seat.

It was there that God was going to meet with His high priest once a year. But he could not enter with out blood to make atonement for himself and for the people.

The glory of God would be above the mercy seat and covered by the wings of the cherubim.

Those in idolatry

Those in idolatry would built alters where they would place there gods that they had made by their own hands.

But there was no image that man could make of the God of Israel, God was not placed there by humans hands, but the living God manifest His presence himself on the mercy seat.

God upon the mercy seat

Upon that mercy seat dwelt the God of Heaven and Earth, tho at any point He could have chosen to destroy mankind but he placed his throne of mercy above the testimony against mankind.

The veil separated man from God

But there was a veil that created separation between God and His people. But the veil promised that one day mankind would be able to come before God. Even the prophets testified of the day when “God would pour out of His Spirit upon all Flesh" not just the High Priest.

The tabernacle spoke of better things to come, but the veil was a constant reminder that man was separated from God and that the blood of bulls and goats was not sufficient to bring man before God with a clean conscience. Those things could never take away the sins of man, they could never make a man holy enough to appear before the presence of God. All along God desired to be not only among His people, but be united with His people.

The Veil

Exodus 26:31 KJV — And thou shalt make a vail of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen of cunning work: with cherubims shall it be made:

-Separation from the presence of God

-Cherubim blocking the entrance of the Garden of Eden.

The High priest was to “Enter though the veil” into the holy of holies. There was no other way into the holy of holies but through the veil.

Hebrews 9:8-9 KJV — The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing: Which was a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience;

But what those High Priest could not do, Jesus Christ did.

The blood of Rams and bulls were not sufficient so God sent His only begotten son, that anyone who believes on him shall not parish but have ever lasting life.

God manifest in the flesh

This was not just another prophet, this was Emmanuel. This was God manifest in the flesh.

Colossians 2:9 KJV — For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.

God came as a son over His own house reconciling the world unto himself.

As he was on the cross he spoke the words “It is finished" and the veil in the temple was torn into from top to bottom exposing the uncovered mercy seat of God.

1 Peter 3:18 NKJV — For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit,

Enter the holy of holies by the blood of Jesus

We enter the holy of holies by the blood of Jesus Christ: Hebrews 10:20-21 NKJV — by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, and having a High Priest over the house of God,

That symbol of separation was broken in two in the earthly tabernacle confirming the testimony of all of the prophets about the outpouring of the spirit of God.

Christ offered one sacrifice

Christ, being our perfect High Priest, entered the heavenly tabernacle not made by human hands and offered one sufficient sacrifice.

Hebrews 9:14 KJV — How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

Romans 3:25 NKJV — whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed,

Hebrews 10:16 NKJV — “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them,”

-there was no need for the earthly tabernacle any more because the heavenly tabernacle had been fulfilled, the spirit of God was now to be poured out upon all flesh, this was the testimony of the tabernacle , a new and living way.

The possibility of truly being forgiven, the ability for man to come boldly before the throne of grace, and that every man may have communion with God, for this reason we have been made priest unto our God and Christ being our high priest had reconciled us unto our God. We simply enter the tabernacle and do the work of the priest.

Christ the Tabernacle

And we can do all of this because Jesus layed down his life and shed his blood, we can be washed in his name, we partake in the bread and the wine which is his body and the blood of the new covenant.

His light has shown in us that we may make Christ known to the world, because of him the prayers of the saints go before God and anything we ask according to His will we can be assure of.

And Jesus removed the veil of cloth and we enter the holy of holies by the veil of his flesh that was broken for us and he poured out his Spirit that we might have power to be his witnesses through out all the earth!

- 2 Corinthians 5:19 KJV — To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.

-God desires mercy not sacrifice

-Today there is a veil over the hearts of men and women

Romans 8:37-39 NKJV — Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

- 1 Corinthians 8:6 KJV — But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.

- John 1:1-4 KJV — In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men.