SPIRITUAL PATTERNS PART 1

The LORD said to Moses,

"Tell the people of Israel to bring Me their sacred offerings. Accept the contributions from all whose hearts are moved to offer them.

Here is a list of sacred offerings you may accept from them: gold, silver, and bronze;

blue, purple, and scarlet thread; fine linen and goat hair for cloth;

tanned ram skins and fine goatskin leather; acacia wood;

olive oil for the lamps; spices for the anointing oil and the fragrant incense;

onyx stones, and other gemstones to be set in the ephod and the priest's chestpiece.

"Have the people of Israel build Me a holy sanctuary so I can live among them.

You must build this Tabernacle and its furnishings exactly according to the pattern I will show you.

INTRODUCTION

Good evening Southpointe, we are starting a series on Spiritual Patterns, which is going to basically be a study on the Tabernacle.

In our text, tonight we see the Lord God tells Moses directions on building this Tabernacle.

And there in Exodus 25:9

You must build this Tabernacle and its furnishings exactly according to the pattern I will show you.

So we understand that God has a pattern and He wanted Moses to have the people to build this Tabernacle and its furnishings exactly to the pattern.

Now go with me and let’s look at the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Hebrews and let see how he was referring to the Tabernacle and the Priesthood>

They serve in a system of worship that is only a copy, a shadow of the real one in heaven. For when Moses was getting ready to build the Tabernacle, God gave him this warning: "Be sure that you make everything according to the pattern I have shown you here on the mountain."

Look at those words, A shadow of the real one in heaven.

That is why the Tabernacle and everything in it, which were copies of things in heaven, had to be purified by the blood of animals. But the real things in heaven had to be purified with far better sacrifices than the blood of animals.

Look at those words again: which were copies of things in heaven.

For Christ did not enter into a holy place made with human hands, which was only a copy of the true one in heaven. He entered into heaven itself to appear now before God on our behalf.

Look at those words again: which was only a copy of the true one in heaven.

The old system under the law of Moses was only a shadow, a dim preview of the good things to come, not the good things themselves. The sacrifices under that system were repeated again and again, year after year, but they were never able to provide perfect cleansing for those who came to worship.

We see Apostle dealing with the Tabernacle and the Priesthood and he said that these things were shadows, patterns, and figures of heavenly or spiritual things yet to come.

We see Apostle dealing with the Tabernacle and the Priesthood and he said that these things were shadows, patterns, and figures of heavenly or spiritual things yet to come.

So I believe that we need to look real close because there is so much spiritual application here to be applied to our lives. But we must go deeper than just the surface of this.

The deeper our Christian experience is the more deeply will our eyes penetrate into these dim shadows and the more we will praise the God who showed Moses the pattern on the Mount.

I believe that as we study this we will see Jesus in the midst of this.

So let’s get started:

a. The Divine request:

"Have the people of Israel build Me a holy sanctuary so I can live among them.

First, let’s establish this: Who? Who does God wants to live among?

Those who had been redeemed from bondage and separated themselves.

God can dwell only with a separated people.

This I think is so important for everyone to understand, God make the request, God so loves us that He desires to live among us.

This is a fresh manifestation of a long-standing purpose in the heart of God. The great craving of God’s heart is to get to live with man.

Think about how bad God want to live with us, He lived with man in the garden, then in the Tabernacle, then in the temple, then in the person of His Son, Jesus.

And today: In Believers:

Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?

So it was God who chose you and not you that picked Him.

Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.

b. The Pattern

"Be sure that you make everything according to the pattern I have shown you here on the mountain.

God told Moses to be sure that you make everything according to the Pattern.

Because all these things have a spiritual meaning so they were to be made accord to the heavenly pattern.

The plan of the Tabernacle is just like the plan of Salvation, it was all of God.

It was not base on man’s opinions and reasonings, it was just because God said so.

The whole thing was a Revelation.

What is a Revelation?

Revelation: an uncovering, a bringing to light of that which had been previously wholly hidden or only obscurely seen. God has been pleased in various ways and at different times to make a supernatural revelation of Himself and His purposes and plans, which, under the guidance of His Spirit, has been committed to writing.

God is revealing Himself to us thru the Tabernacle.

C. The Materials.

This is what so so amazing, Where did the people live? They lived in the desert. So how where they going to gather up and get all these material to build this Tabernacle?

And the people of Israel did as Moses had instructed; they asked the Egyptians for clothing and articles of silver and gold.

The LORD caused the Egyptians to look favorably on the Israelites, and they gave the Israelites whatever they asked for. So they stripped the Egyptians of their wealth!

The Lord knew that they would need these things, so He gave them all they needed before they left Egypt.

What we need to understand is that when God’s people are put into the possession of riches it is because the Lord has need of them.

And God knows they will offered them willingly. Love is always giving.

If all the people who claim to be Christians would offer to God what they should be giving then the church would never be lack, no need of the church having to have bake sales, car wash, etc.

There were no needy people among them, because those who owned land or houses would sell them

and bring the money to the apostles to give to those in need.

Don’t get that mix up with socialism, this was not the government demanding this was the heart of the children of God meeting needs.

Let’s go back to Moses, he had to tell people to quit bring stuff.

They went to Moses and reported, "The people have given more than enough materials to complete the job the LORD has commanded us to do!"

So Moses gave the command, and this message was sent throughout the camp: "Men and women, don't prepare any more gifts for the sanctuary. We have enough!" So the people stopped bringing their sacred offerings.

Their contributions were more than enough to complete the whole project.

God supplied all that we need>

But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

d. The Principal Workman

Then the LORD said to Moses,

"Look, I have specifically chosen Bezalel son of Uri, grandson of Hur, of the tribe of Judah.

I have filled him with the Spirit of God, giving him great wisdom, ability, and expertise in all kinds of crafts.

The name Bezalel means “ In the shadow of God.”

God said, that Bezalel was filled with the Spirit of God and he had wisdom, ability and expertise in all kinds of crafts.

What a beautiful type of the Holy Spirit, the great overseer of building the Spiritual temple.

In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.

Now listen to this the Holy Spirit gives to every man according to the need.

It is the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have.

This is what we need to understand that only that which we do under the guidance of God’s Spirit will be pleasing unto Him.

e. The Foundation

And thou shalt take the atonement money of the children of Israel, and shalt appoint it for the service of the tabernacle of the congregation; that it may be a memorial unto the children of Israel before the LORD, to make an atonement for your souls.

What we see here is that every man have to give half a shekel as atonement for his soul.

Now look at this in :

This silver came from the tax collected from each man registered in the census. (The tax is one beka, which is half a shekel, based on the sanctuary shekel.) The tax was collected from 603,550 men who had reached their twentieth birthday.

The hundred bases for the frames of the sanctuary walls and for the posts supporting the inner curtain required 7,500 pounds of silver, about 75 pounds for each base.

These sockets were the foundation on the Tabernacle, now remember it was portable.

So these sockets weight 95 lbs pieces and there was 100 of them and they support the boards.

So here in we find that this atonement money, the price of souls, was to be made into sockets for the boards of the tabernacle were to rest.

So the sockets formed the foundation that the Tabernacle literally stood upon. The Atonement.

Now understand these all have spiritual pattern.

Peter said this:

For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And the ransom He paid was not mere gold or silver.

It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God.

The foundation of all the gospel is the blood of Jesus Christ the Son of God.

Just like the Tabernacle had no standing apart from the atoning price of souls, the Church of Jesus Christ, the House of God has no foundation except the atoning blood of the Lamb of God.

For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;

Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is.

All other ground is sinking sand!