Tabernacle Studies, Lesson #2.
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Introduction.
Introduction.
Last week we talked about the purposes for the Tabernacle in the wilderness.
We said that this tent of meeting and later the Temple were specific places that God chose to fulfill his desire of dwelling with men.
He wanted to be with us!
He did that in the Tabernacle.
He did it in the Temple of His flesh, Jesus Christ, Lord of glory, wrapped in bone and skin and blood!
Today, He dwells with man in the form of us, His bride!
Guess what? The OT prophets never knew God like we do!
Your level of access to God and heaven and unsearchable riches is the envy of men and angels!
We know God personally!
Now he has a personal name, glorified, flesh and blood!
He is the Spirit we call Holy!
He indwells those who have been born again of water and Spirit!
He still dwells with man!
Then we learned that another purpose of the Tabernacle is that it furnishes us with types of Christ and the church.
Okay, not let us build a visual in our minds:
Physical Dimensions.
Physical Dimensions.
Since God was so specific about the physical dimensions of this place, let us consider them together for a moment:
The Tabernacle was a tent, surrounded by an outer courtyard.
This courtyard enclosure was 150 ft by 75 feet.
Now for scale, this room is 38 feet by about that same amount again.
The courtyard fence was made of white linen which hung from sixty pillars, twenty on each side and ten on each end.
Outside the Tabernacle, in the courtyard stood two important objects of ceremonial worship:
First was the brazen altar which was the place of sacrifice for the sins of the people, and the brazen laver (or basin) where the priests had to wash before they could enter the sancturary.
The tabernacle itself, was an oblong building forty five feet long, fifteen feet wide, and fifteen feet high.
It was constructed of forty eight boards that were covered with gold and dropped into sockets of sliver.
Isn’t that awesome!
No post hole diggers needed to put up the Tabernacle!!!
These 48 vertical boards were held in place by horizontal bars, five on each side.
The building was divided into two unequal chambers The Holy Place and the Holy of Holies.
The latter contained the ark of the covenant, its lid was the mercy seat.
The larger division, or Holy place, contained the Golden candlestick, the table of shewbread and the golden altar of incense.
A curtain of blue, purple and scarlet seperated it from the outer courtyhad.
A magnificent curtain called the veil divided the Holy Place from the Hoy of Holies.
Order of the camp.
Order of the camp.
Not only was the Tabernacle meticulously organized, so was the camp of people that surrounded it!
For exampale, Moses, Aaron and Aaron’s sons camped on the east side directly in front of the Tabernacle entrance (Num 3:28)
This is why the enterance into the Holy City is often called “The Eastern Gate.” Only the priestly family could enter the sanctuary.
God chose the Levites from among all the tribes to “do the service of the Tabernacle.”
These were the sons of Gershon, the sons of Kohath, and the sons of Merari.
The Gershonites camped on the west side, and had charge of the coverings, hangings and curtains.
The sons of Merari had charge of the framework.
Both of these family teams were assigned to carry elements of the Tabernacle as the people moved. They were allotted wagons and oxen to transport the hangings and curtains and framework.
The Kohathites however had charge of the Tabernacle furniture and the veil.
And these things, they carried on their sholders.
Later on, we see God got very upset when David moved the Ark on a cart.
You remember the cart hit a bump and ark was about to fall over? Uzzah tried to steady it, and was struck dead!
Why so serious?
Because God already had told the people how to worship!
The ark was the Glory of God! It was never supposed to be on a cart in the first place!
It had poles that were lifted by a team of ministers!
The glory is always supposed to be carried on the sholders of anointed ministers of God!
You want to know who carries the glory around here?
It is those who pray and fast!
First to serve, last to leave!
Anointed by the power of a Holy God!
So the national leadership of Moses, the priests and Levites, made up the inner circle surrounding the Tabernacle.
The outer circle was made up of: The tribes of Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun who kept formation on the east.
Reuben, Simeon and Gad, kept position on the South, Ephraim, Benjamin and Mennasah on the west, Dan, Asher and Naphtali in the North.
These were the soldiers, making four armies of three divisions each.
Now, if you were there, if you were to enter the courtyard, you would have to enter the court from the camp of Judah.
This reminds us that Christ was born of the tribe of Judah and that we enter in Christ’s plan fo salvation by coming in contact with Him, With Christ Jesus, the Lion of the tribe of Judah.
Looking at the arrangement, you can see that the camp of Isael was divided into three classes of people: The priets, the workers and the soldiers.
And we find that each Christian confronts three enemies: The world, the flesh and the devil.
Christian man, Christian woman, your defense is also threefold!
Here is a takeaway for you tonight:
Each saint of God should be a worshipper, a worker and a warrior!
Now some folks might be true worshipppers, and love worshipping God, but find themselves hesitant to step out in HIs service.
Others are so hard working, and you always find them busy in the Master’s vineyard, but they are so busy, they hardly have time for true worship and praise.
And then some are afraid to truly pray and war the way that God is calling them to pray!
The fact is, each of us need to be a worshipper, a worker and a soldier too!
We all need to should put on the whole armor of God!
For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare;
Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.
Soldier! You can only do your job effectively if you are well equipped!
The soldier must be willing to endure hardships and and not get caught up in things that aren’t important to their mission!
We Worship God, We war against the flesh and forces of darkness, and we work in the Kingdom!
Ministry is service!
When you came to God, you were saying: “I love my master, I will not go free!”
Be a worker in the Kingdom of God!
Get busy in the Kingdom!
Stay busy in the Kingdom!
Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God,
For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more. And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law;
For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.
The Priesthood.
The Priesthood.
The priesthood set up the Tabernacle, performed its ceremonies, took it down and transported it. (Read numbers.)
The levites took the place of the firstborn, who had been set apart as Holy unto the Lord in memory of Gods protecting them on the night of the Passover.
Each Levite then, redeemed one of the firstborn. Num 3:12
And I, behold, I have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel instead of all the firstborn that openeth the matrix among the children of Israel: therefore the Levites shall be mine;
However, since there were 22,273 firstborn and only about 22000 Levites, the remainder of the firstborn were redeemed at the rate of five shekels each, the redemption money was then given to the priests
This redemption is a type of Jesus, our priest, who redeems each memeber of the church, which is called “The church of the firstborn” in Heb 12:23.
We are not redeemed with gold, however, but with the presious blood of Christ! 1 Pet 1:18-19
Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:
God no doubt chose the tribe of Levi because of their stand for the lord when the Isrealites had worshipped the golden calf. in Ex 32:26.
God has always had a faithful few.
And just as God rewarded the Levites for a bold stand against the sin of their day, so God will reward those today who take their stand for God in the middle of a lost and corrupted world!
Do you feel the pressure from the world?
Pressure to relax your morality and your principles and the things you know to be true?
Do they make you feel like an intolerant jerk, just because you aren’t willing to drink the culture cool aid?
Don’t worry about that!
Keep pressing on!!!
Do what’s right!
Do it! Stand for what’s right no matter what anybody else says!
And if you do, your reward, like the Levites, will be membership in a royal priesthood!
But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:
The Tabernacle and the Temple are the only buildings we read about in the Word of God that had the Lord as the sole architect.
He didn’t ask the people to form a comittee and come up with a design!
God issued the design entirely!
God Himself arranged the order of the camp and gave all the instructions on how to carry out the worship!
He left no room for humans to incorporate their own ideas into the plan or choose their own place in the body!
This fact demonstrates that if God is to accept our worhsip, we must conduct it only as He directs and not as we please!
This principle has been in place ever since Cain and Abel!
Worship in the perscribed manner!
Just as Exodus gave the pattern for OT worship, so the Lord has given a pattern for NT worship in the book of Acts!
(All roads lead to Rome, but we are not going to Rome! We are going to Heaven!)
And the only way is to follow the book!
The plan of salvation is.......
That has not changed!!!!!
God’s not going to ammend his pattern because I want Him to!
God is not going to change his mind about any of this stuff!
If he said “Be ye holy as I am Holy” well, that still applies today!!!!
The book has not changed!
The message Has not changed!
Jude tells us to fight for the faith that was once delivered unto the saints.
And Paul told us not to preach any other Gospel but the one that he delivered!
The Temple and Tabernacle contrasted.
The Temple and Tabernacle contrasted.
What an enormous contrast we see betwen the small, humble, tentlike Tabernacle, which had to tbe carried over the hot desert sands, and the magnificent Temple of Solomon!
The greatest riches that the earth could produce were combined to make the Temple a spectacle of glory to all who saw it!
Yet the heathen who passed by the Tabernacle saw nothing to attract them. Big deal!
The only way to truly appreciate the beauty of the Tabernacle is from the Inside!
Not so with the Temple! People came from far and wide to see it’s spleandor!
And whether they agreed with the king or not, wheather they had sympathy with him or not, all took notice of that glorious temple!
Such a contrast is also presented to us in the two comings of the Lord Jesus Christ.
HIs ministry on earth was a humble one.
Not everyone who beheld his miracles recognized that the God of heaven had come to earth wrapped in human flesh.
Indeed they could not know it unless the Spirit revealed it to them, as He did to Peter.
Still to this day, one must be in Christ to appreciate His beauty!
If you had known Bro Clyde Peters BC, you would not believe it is the same man you see here today!
If you had known any of us, before the blood was applied to our lives...
Oh what a difference!
We used to mock Jesus!
Take His name in vain!
I hear it every day and it grieves me!
Why cannot the people honor His Name properly?
Why cannot they see His power and majesty?
Becasue they are not yet In Christ.
Just a brown tent, shimmering in the heat, not comely to look at, big deal.
But friend, once you are in Christ Jesus, you get on the inside and you know better!!!
When Christ comes the second time, He will come not to be mocked, huliiated and crucified, but He will appear in His exalted position as ruler of the Universe!
And then, all people, whether in sympathy with His plan or not, will behold Him in HIs kingly glory!
What a different ministry Christ will have during HIs millenial reign!
Just as the Tabernacle was built first, and was followed by the byuilding of the Temple, so the prophets testified of “The sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow! (1 Pet 1:11)
The Tabernacle occupied a central position
The Tabernacle occupied a central position
Whether the Israelites were settled for a period, or whether they were on the march, the Tabernacle remained in the center of the camp! (Num 10) Christ should always be the head and center of the church!
All activities should revolve around Him!
NO program should ever be alunched that is not prompted by the Holy Spirit and that will not bring glory to Him.
You and I will come and go, but Jesus is the star of the Show!
If Christ is the chief object of a Christian’s affection, he will follow on, even when leaders fall by the wayside!
Hey, let’s keep Christ at the center!!!
II. Conclusion
II. Conclusion
Now I really wanted to get into the boards, the bars, the foundation, the coverings, the pins and cords, because all have meaning and truth that can be applied to your life today!
God designed it that way!!!
It’s so awesome! And Lord willing, we will next week.
We will eat this elephant in bite sized pieces!
What can you take away from our BIble Study tonight?
For one, you can take away the fact that God orders the camp. God and God alone.
And He has designed a specific place for everyone!
Every person in this assembly, every one, you are important!
There is a role here and a function just for you!
Ask God to help you find your sweet spot and then work it!
Do great things for God, right where he planted you!
Secondly, remember that the glory of God was never supposed to ride on a cart.
Programs and mand made constructs can be useful sure, but when it comes to the glory of God, no amount of audio visual affects, no amount of money or machines can move or manufacture the glory of God!
His glory is meant to rest on the shoulders of annointed ministers!
The glory rests on your shoulders!
Who are those ministers?
You! When you pray, when you fast, when you consecrate yourself unto God!!!
What can you take away tonight?
This admonition:
Each saint of God should be a worshipper, a worker and a warrior!
Worship the way you do it, with your whole heart!
Work hard for Jesus!
Put on the whole armor of God!
Don’t get entangled with things that don’t relate to your mission!
Stay right and true no matter what the crowd does!
And if you will indeed stand for righteousness, just like those Levites, God wil place you in a Royal Priesthood!
He always chooses the faithful few!
Jesus at the center! Keep Jesus at the center!
I’ll not give you anymore tonight. I really want to, because this truth is soooo good!
but come next week and we will move into the nitty gritty!!!