Tour of the Tabernacle 3

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When Adam was in the garden, God came down to man, and when man sinned, it was man that turned his back on God! The fellowship of God with man was severed! Yet God still desired fellowship! It was God in Genesis 3 that came looking for Adam! And it was God who came looking to dwell once more with man in Exodus 25. “Let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.”

Walk with me around to the other side of this tent. This tabernacle that you see here was the first dwelling place among men since the Garden of Eden, and it’s interesting to note that it was a temporary shelter. God designed a temporary dwelling place! And when the tabernacle was finished the “glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.” In this so simple of an act, God moved in and dwelt with man! But this dwelling place was temporary.

After the tabernacle, God chose to dwell in Solomon’s temple! In 2 Chronicles 7:1 after Solomon had finished dedicating the temple the Bible records, “and the glory of the LORD filled the house.” But this dwelling place was temporary.

After Solomon’s temple (in all of its beauty) was destroyed by the Babylonians, Zerubbabel came to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple as God commanded, and God was in this! But this dwelling place was temporary.

After Zerubbabel’s temple, King Herod built a temple of magnificent size! Compared to Solomon’s temple, Herod’s temple was far bigger and far more costly – but God was not in this temple, because God did not order this temple to be built. Besides, the Bible states clearly that God’s temple was already here in the very person of Jesus Christ, and the glory of the Lord filled this temple!

II Corinthians 5:19, “…God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself…”

Colossians 2:9, “For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.”

Christ Himself said in John 2:19, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” You see, though this was the God-Man, the temple of His body was only a temporary dwelling place for God. After Christ was crucified, buried, and arose again from the dead, he ascended up into heaven, but not without leaving us a new dwelling place! Of course, God’s new dwelling place is in the hearts of believers! My friends, can we not see the heart of God as he was drawing nearer and nearer to the heart of man!

Galatians 4:6, “And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.”

I Corinthians 6:19, “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you…”

But this dwelling place is also temporary – until this tabernacle of flesh is dissolved. Then God will establish himself an eternal dwelling place!

II Corinthians 5:1, “For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.”

What began with God coming down to dwell with man will soon end with man going up to dwell with God! And the very first type of this promise was this tabernacle that you now see.

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Tour of the Tabernacle 2

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The tabernacle was a type and a picture of Jesus Christ!

And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them. (Exodus 25:8)

No wonder why Creation is given so little attention while the tabernacle receives so much more! Creation only gives glory to God, but Christ is the Glory of God! Hebrews 1:3, speaking of Jesus Christ, says,

Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person!

Creation is no match for Salvation, and though Creation on the outside displays its wonders to us, it moans before God. But the tabernacle has not the display of beauty on the outward appearance. In fact, Isaiah 53:2-3 says,

…he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.

Yet on the inside of this ugly tent that you now see, there is beauty that cannot be told of: from the Golden Candlestick, to the Golden Table of Shewbread, to the Golden Altar, and indeed, to the Golden Ark of the Covenant that no man could even look upon!

But before we go inside to see the spectacular furniture, let us walk around the outside of this tabernacle for a moment and observe a few things. Notice that this tabernacle was a tent. As a matter of fact, the word “tabernacle” means a dwelling…a tent. This tabernacle was an earthly, temporary, residence. Hebrews 9:1 describes it as a worldly tabernacle. It was made of perishing materials which belong here to the earth!

You see, this tabernacle is a far cry from its cousin, the temple, and while both of these places pictured Christ, they represent 2 completely different aspects of Jesus’ ministry: The Temple represented Christ when he comes the 2nd time, but the tabernacle represented Christ when he came the 1st time on Christmas night over 2,000 years ago!

  1. After all, it was the Tabernacle that was made first, then the temple. The tabernacle was temporary, and when Christ came the first time, he was here for only 33 some years, and while he was here, he abode not in 1 place.
  2. But the temple was permanent. And when Christ comes again, he’s here forever!
  3. The tabernacle was erected by a prophet, and when Christ came the first time, he held the office of a prophet.
  4. But the temple was constructed by a king, and when He comes the second time, He will be King of Kings!
  5. The #5 is prominent in the tabernacle representing grace, and when Christ came the first time, his ministry was all about grace.
  6. But the #12 is prominent in the temple (#12 is the # for governmental perfection), and when he comes the second, he’s here to rule the kingdom.
  7. The tabernacle was built in the Wilderness, and when Christ came the first time, he was born in a manger, raised on a carpenter’s bench, ministered with nowhere to lay his head, and when he died, he was laid in a borrowed tomb.
  8. But the temple was in Jerusalem, the city of kings, and when he comes again, Sound the trumpet! Lift up your voice and sing! Look to the throne of Grace and worship and the King of Kings!
  9. The tabernacle was mean, humble, and unattractive on the outward appearance. And Christ, when he came the first time, had no beauty, no form, and no comeliness. He was veiled in flesh.
  10. But the temple was magnificent, and when he comes again, Christ will be exalted!

In the book of Revelation you do not find the words meek or lowly; humble or obedient; but instead, you find the Apostle John saying in Revelation 5:11- 12,

… Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.

What a day that will be when my Jesus I shall see!

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Tour of the Tabernacle 1

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In 2010, Holly and I went on a tour of the Holy Land! Our tour guide would hold a large sign with our group number on it, and we would follow him from site to site. Some of our favorite places were, of course, Calvary and Gordon’s tomb. The Sea of Galilee was very neat, and Masada was spectacular. But one place, we were not able to see was Mt. Sinai. So, if you will, put on your hiking boots, grab a walking stick, and climb the steep and rugged terrain of Mt. Sinai with me and eavesdrop as the LORD commands Moses concerning the tabernacle.

And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them. According to all that I shew thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it. (Read Exodus 25:8-9)

Now watch your step as we descend this holy mount; I would like to take you to the tabernacle as designed by God. There is so much precise detail concerning the Tabernacle in these chapters that it is the single-most described object and subject in the entire Bible! In relation to Creation, 2 chapters of the Bible were written to detail all of Creation including the earth, skies and seas with all of their inhabitants, but … 50 chapters of the Bible were devoted to the Tabernacle that we have just heard and now see! In God’s plan, it took 6 days to create the heaven and the earth, yet it took 40 days to instruct Moses concerning this tabernacle and all that should happen within it. We marvel at the wonder and beauty of Creation! Look to my left and see the Mediterranean! Look behind you and see the cliffs and mountains by the Arbel Pass! Look to my right! Behold, the well-watered plains of Jordan! How beautiful the world is! How many of you have seen the:

1. Grand Canyon – 277 miles long/ 18 miles wide/ 6,000 feet deep

2. Niagara Falls – Vertical drop of more than 165 feet/ 225,000 cubic feet per second

3. Yellowstone National Park – 3,468 square miles of volcanoes, geysers, lakes, canyons, rivers, valleys, and all kinds of wildlife

4. Colorado Rockies – Mountain Range with several mountains over 14,000 feet

5. Carlsbad Caverns – over 119 known caves beneath the earth’s surface

6. Northern Lights of Alaska

7. Smoky Mountains of Tennessee

8. Redwood Forests of California

Indeed, even our own country is breathtaking! We marvel at God’s creation! But now we stand before the tabernacle. There is no splendor on the outside! There is no beauty to behold. Those walls that you can see are 7 ½ feet high, and they are only made of white linen. The top of the inner tabernacle that you can see is made of that tough and ugly badger’s skin. It’s the same kind of skin that all the ordinary tents in the Israelite camp are made of. So then, why did God give so much attention to this? Why did God give so much detail concerning this rather unusual tent in the wilderness? Because this tabernacle that you see was a shadow of the Messiah that should come.

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