How to Build a Tabernacle: Part 3

Today's Reading: Exodus 35

Comments:
So I have posted a conclusion to the study of my first question. See part one from a few days ago for explanation of the Chapter study here...

Study:  

1. Why have a tabernacle?

Exodus 25:8 (ESV)8 And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst.

So Lord you reveal that you desired to dwell amongst your people and to be a personal God who is intimately involved with your creation.

Exodus 25:22 (ESV)22 There I will meet with you, and from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim that are on the ark of the testimony, I will speak with you about all that I will give you in commandment for the people of Israel.

Lord you wanted to have a distinct means of communicating with your people that would be unmistakable. 

Exodus 25:16 (ESV)16 And you shall put into the ark the testimony that I shall give you. 

Exodus 31:18 (ESV)18 And he gave to Moses, when he had finished speaking with him on Mount Sinai, the two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God.

Lord you placed the 10 commandments of the law in the ark within the most holy portion of the tabernacle so that your people would know that there is a solution to the impossible nature of your law.  You wanted your people to see that you have mercy and that you allow for sacrifice to atone for their sin if they would but follow your careful instructions in humility and brokenness.  

Exodus 28:42–43 (ESV)42 You shall make for them linen undergarments to cover their naked flesh. They shall reach from the hips to the thighs; 43 and they shall be on Aaron and on his sons when they go into the tent of meeting or when they come near the altar to minister in the Holy Place, lest they bear guilt and die. This shall be a statute forever for him and for his offspring after him.

It is clear Lord that your people would need to tremble at your Word in careful execution of your instruction lest the priest be killed.  

Exodus 29:45–46 (ESV)45 I will dwell among the people of Israel and will be their God. 46 And they shall know that I am the Lord their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt that I might dwell among them. I am the Lord their God.

You designed the tabernacle to be a sign that you were present and that you are the only true God and that your favor rested with your chosen people. 

Exodus 30:10 (ESV)10 Aaron shall make atonement on its horns once a year. With the blood of the sin offering of atonement he shall make atonement for it once in the year throughout your generations. It is most holy to the Lord.”

Lord you used the tabernacle to create a means, even if mostly to foreshadow the true sacrifice and method of atonement, that your people could be rescued from their guilt under the Mosaic covenant of the law.

Exodus 40:34–38 (ESV)34 Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. 35 And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. 36 Throughout all their journeys, whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the people of Israel would set out. 37 But if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not set out till the day that it was taken up. 38 For the cloud of the Lord was on the tabernacle by day, and fire was in it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel throughout all their journeys.

Lord you designed the tabernacle as a place where your glory would be revealed. A place set apart for your presence with a special purpose.  The purpose of letting your people know that you are with us and that you offer forgiveness and freedom from the condemnation of the law. 

Lord your tabernacle was also a place where your people would find your will. They knew to move on when your glory lifted from the tabernacle. They knew your leading by observing the revelation of your glory at the tabernacle.

Matthew Henry Commentary-

What is that sanctuary of which he is a minister: Of the true tabernacle, which the Lord hath pitched, and not man, v. 2. The tabernacle which was pitched by man, according to the appointment of God. There was an outer part, in which was the altar where they were to offer their sacrifices, which typified Christ dying; and there was an interior part within the veil, which typified Christ interceding for the people in heaven. Now this tabernacle Christ never entered into; but, having finished the work of satisfaction in the true tabernacle of his own body, he is now a minister of the sanctuary, the holy of holy's, the true tabernacle in heaven, there taking care of his people’s affairs, interceding with God for them, that their sins may be pardoned and their persons and services accepted, through the merit of his sacrifice. He is not only in heaven enjoying great dominion and dignity, but, as the high priest of his church, executing this office for them all in general, and every member of the church in particular.
Henry, M. (1996). Matthew Henry's commentary on the whole Bible : Complete and unabridged in one volume (Heb 8:1–5). Peabody: Hendrickson.

From the ESV Study Bible-

But here the author is speaking of something even better, the actual heavenly “holy places,” that is, the area before the very throne of God himself. This is where Christ is now a minister. The true tent (Gk. skēnē) refers to heaven, God’s very presence; the earthly tabernacle functions as a picture of entering into God’s presence in heaven. Human beings made the earthly tabernacle; the heavenly tabernacle (Heb. 8:5; 9:11, 23–24) was set up by the Lord himself
Crossway Bibles. (2008). The ESV Study Bible (2372). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

Lord you directed your people to construct a tabernacle so that you could demonstrate to them what you would do with your Son. You wanted your people to have a picture of what would be the true tabernacle. 

Thank you Lord that your Son became everything for us.  

• Being called the Word that became flesh He was your law
• He lived as a man that He would be subject to the law
• He retained His divinity as fully God so that He was himself the tabernacle where your glory dwelled
• He walked blamelessly that He himself would be a worthy sacrifice
• He is eternal and therefore His sacrifice eternal and able to cover once for all
• He is our high priest that spills the blood of the sacrifice (His own) on the curtain to access the most holy place
• You demonstrated acceptance of the sacrifice in that you tore the curtain down as He died on the cross crying out "it is finished!"
• He is therefore our intercessor that stands in your presence at your throne in the holy of holies to make atonement for our sins as the earthly priest in the earthly tabernacle would do
• He demonstrated that we need not fear He would perish as the earthly high priest in that He rose from the dead to show He could be both the sacrifice and the high priest. This was clearly impossible for the earthly priest to be both the sacrifice and the intercessor. He rose and presented himself as the priest who would come back out from the tabernacle having completed the act of atonement now bearing direction from God…which He presented as the great commission to go and make disciples
• He ascended to be at your right hand in order to forever be at the throne to intercede for us as a permanent high priest that need never make additional sacrifice to allow access to the throne
• He therefore constantly makes ongoing intercession for our sin and we know that you are faithful to forgive as He perfectly fulfilled your original covenant and it is your faithfulness to your own Word that guarantees our forgiveness…nothing to do with us. To not forgive even the most horrible sin by one that truly places their trust in your Son as their Lord and Savior would be for you to deny the adequacy of your Son's sacrifice and kill the priest where he stands (your Son).

Therefore Christ was, and is, and always will be:

1. The law
2. The tabernacle
3. Your glory
4. The worthy and eternal passover sacrifice (better than Isaac, better than the blood of any animal)
5. The high priest that makes full atonement for our sins and intercedes for us for all time 
6. The reconciliation of our relationship with you
7. Our glorious King

Implications:

1. You are entirely responsible for my salvation Lord. There is no room for my merit or contribution to this reconciliation that you have worked out. From beginning to end my salvation is your work that is accomplished in you, by you, through you, unto you, and even for you. 
2. I cannot add to the sacrifice or the work that was accomplished lest I spoil it and ruin the atonement.
3. I must only choose who shall represent me as my high priest
1. If I choose myself I will die at the most holy place due to the imperfect nature of any sacrifice I might offer
2. If I choose someone other than your Son I will die in my sin having no atonement because there is no other name given by which we must be saved according to your servant Peter- there is no other worthy sacrifice to be given
3. If I choose to simply trust you, Lord Jesus, as my high priest and rest in the grace of the Father, I can (and in fact do) have peace and reconciliation with you Lord forevermore and this is completely unrelated to my performance but rests on your faithfulness to your own Word!

Application and Prayer:

• Today Lord I will acknowledge that I must choose you as the only worthy sacrifice and yet you live to be my intercessor and you will return to be my King Lord. 
• Today I will celebrate the amazing work you performed and the suffering you endured in being separated from the Father while on the cross.
• Today I will rest in the knowledge that my salvation is your work and that I can trust in your perfect performance as my high priest. 

Thank you Father that the entire story of your Word is about your glorious Son in whom you are well pleased. Thank you Lord that while He is the manifestation of your Word, of your will, you were willing to suffer the pain of allowing His death on the cross by our hands and that you were willing to turn your back on Him in that moment on the cross where He cried out "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Thank you Lord that I have a high priest, that I have a God, that I have a coming King who understands me when I feel forsaken, who understands me when I suffer, who understands me when I am pulled about by my emotions, who understands me when I am tempted by the world, my flesh, and the devil. 

In Jesus name I pray, amen.

Soli Deo Gloria!

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