The Dwelling Place
Sermon • Submitted
0 ratings
· 13 viewsNotes
Transcript
Tabernacle
Tabernacle
And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them.
According to all that I show you, that is, the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furnishings, just so you shall make it.
With all of the things happening today, I wanted to spend some time unpacking the final chapter of man’s history.
In order to do that we need to lay some foundational work so the imagery and events of what’s still to come is clearly understood
All of the narrative of the book of Revelation is set in the heavenly realm.
For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that through patience and through comfort of the scriptures we might have hope.
About the tabernacle we are told
who serve that which is a copy and shadow of the heavenly things, even as Moses is warned of God when he is about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern that was showed thee in the mount.
So What is the “Tabernacle” that is so important? (Slide)
The word tabernacle carries with it the meaning of “dwelling”
It is a place of living and relationship
What was lost in Eden? Man’s relationship with God was forever severed
Behold, Jehovah’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear:
but your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, so that he will not hear.
For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue muttereth wickedness.
None sueth in righteousness, and none pleadeth in truth: they trust in vanity, and speak lies; they conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity.
The tabernacle of God was a visual representation of the pathway to restore communion with God
how that by revelation was made known unto me the mystery, as I wrote before in few words,
whereby, when ye read, ye can perceive my understanding in the mystery of Christ;
It is the visual representation of the work of Christ giving us access to the presence of God
In the Hebrew literally “”tent of meeting”
It is the central place of worship, the area that houses the Ark of God and the central place of revelation that is passed from God to His people!
And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them.
Moses took his tent and pitched it outside the camp, far from the camp, and called it the tabernacle of meeting. And it came to pass that everyone who sought the Lord went out to the tabernacle of meeting which was outside the camp.
It is interesting to note that the location of the tabernacle wasn’t in the middle of the camp for the people were walking in sin and God could not dwell there
Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness.
And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin.
If one wants to get into God’s presence, one must chose to leave the dwelling place of sin - as we are admonished
And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever?
There is however a specific ritual that needed followed displayed here for all to see
Each step of the way spoke of the requirements that only Christ could fulfil so that we could meet God where? At the Mercy Seat!
The Mercy Seat was atop the Arc of the covenant - where the blood of the sacrifices would be poured
And you shall make two cherubim of gold; of hammered work you shall make them at the two ends of the mercy seat.
Make one cherub at one end, and the other cherub at the other end; you shall make the cherubim at the two ends of it of one piece with the mercy seat.
And the cherubim shall stretch out their wings above, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and they shall face one another; the faces of the cherubim shall be toward the mercy seat.
You shall put the mercy seat on top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the Testimony that I will give you.
And there I will meet with you, and I will speak with you from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are on the ark of the Testimony, about everything which I will give you in commandment to the children of Israel.
Look at that verse - “I will meet with you, and I will speak with you!
Once the tabernacle was completed, the presence fo God filled the sanctuary
And he raised up the court all around the tabernacle and the altar, and hung up the screen of the court gate. So Moses finished the work.
Then the cloud covered the tabernacle of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.
And Moses was not able to enter the tabernacle of meeting, because the cloud rested above it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.
So lets look at the process
The people are in Egypt - symbolic of life of sin before Christ
In Gen we see Jacob head down to Egypt where God would provide for them during the famine but it wasn’t to be there permanent home!
The problem was that they became settled in this “temporary” foreign land and forgot that they were were just strangers and foreigners in this land looking for the land that God had promised them!
What was the result? he place they thought was their home turned into a death trap
Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph.
And he said to his people, “Look, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we;
come, let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply, and it happen, in the event of war, that they also join our enemies and fight against us, and so go up out of the land.”
Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh supply cities, Pithom and Raamses.
But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew. And they were in dread of the children of Israel.
So the Egyptians made the children of Israel serve with rigor.
And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage—in mortar, in brick, and in all manner of service in the field. All their service in which they made them serve was with rigor.
Just like Satan - pleasure for a season then slavery, death, and destruction!
The first steps to restoring your relationship with God is to realize that you are in trouble and in need of a deliverer! Fear not! God has made a way in the wilderness! Do not be deceived by the empty promises of this world! They are empty buckets and tasteless food!
and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.
For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
You were designed for eternity
that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.
You can never find true life apart from jesus Christ
You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me.
But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.
The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
I plead with you today saint and sinner, do not be distracted by the passing gleam and glitter of this life!
For I was envious of the boastful, When I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
The saint was distracted because his focus was on the wrong place
But the answer can be found in verse 16-17
When I thought how to understand this, It was too painful for me—
Until I went into the sanctuary of God; Then I understood their end.
My friend today you can find peace and hope in the sanctuary of the Lord but there is an entrance fee which you can not pay!
For I brought you up from the land of Egypt, I redeemed you from the house of bondage; And I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam.
“Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, For He has visited and redeemed His people,
And has raised up a horn of salvation for us In the house of His servant David,
knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers,
but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.