Tabernacle Experience: Body & Soul
We’ve talked a great deal about hearing the voice of God this year. And your growth as God’s people has been truly astounding – Praise God!
But sometimes, even with the most focused efforts, we experience spiritual blockages where we just can’t seem to get through.
Today, and next week, I want to take you through a process of presenting yourself before God in a way that will enable you to remove the blockages and experience Him more intimately and personally.
We know that the Bible tells us that… “…your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? 1 Corinthians 6:19
In other words – through faith in Christ, not only have your been eternally forgiven, but you have also been eternally connected to God! God lives in you! You are His Temple.
We know that a TEMPLE is a holy place – where God and man intersect. The JEWS had a Temple in Jerusalem. It was an elaborate incredible structure designed by God as a place for man to meet with Him. They needed a building – a temple – because the problem of sin had not been dealt with yet and God being completely Holy could not live within a sinful man.
Prior to the Temple in Jerusalem, God had the people of Israel construct a ‘traveling temple’ – the Tabernacle. The Temple was modeled after the Tabernacle.
The Tabernacle is described in elaborate detail in over 50 chapters of the Bible – beginning in Exodus 25. Hebrews 8:5 tells us that the tabernacle is a ‘shadow’ of what is to come – in other words, the details of the tabernacle point to the specifics of what Christ was bringing to the world!
The Tabernacle consisted of a rectangular courtyard framed by cloth walls approximately 150 feet long by 75 feet wide.
The Tabernacle consists of three major areas: The Courtyard, The Holy Place and the Holy of Holies.
• The Courtyard = The physical body
• The Holy Place = The soul (will, mind and emotions)
• The Holy of Holies = The spirit
Inside the courtyard there we are number of items – which we are going to go over in detail – but, before we do this – here’s the point: God created the tabernacle to point us to something greater – and that something greater is Christ – using the specifics of the tabernacle, we can break through the blockages in order to experience Christ more fully!
Let’s walk into the OUTER COURTYARD of the Tabernacle.
THE OUTER COURTYARD – Remember – this is a picture of the PHYSICAL BODY.
The outer courtyard is open air. It is illumined by natural light of the sun and moon. Just as we experience the light of the sun and moon, God uses our physical senses – sight, hearing, taste, touch and smell – in order for us to experience Him!
The first thing you’ll see as you enter – in fact – you cannot avoid this first item… is the
BRAZEN ALTAR – the Altar of Sacrifice is the place where the fires of sacrificed burned 24/7 to God. There was never to be a time when the people of God were not making sacrifices for sin to the Lord!
THE BRAZEN ALTAR REPRESENTS THE CROSS OF CHRIST
The Brazen Altar is a shadow of the Cross of Christ where His one time sacrifice is sufficient! Paul writes:
“For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.” Romans 8:3, 4
There is no need for sacrifices of the tabernacle – because Christ is the ultimate sacrifice. By His death – we are saved.
And so, He calls us…
“…in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship.” Romans 12:1
Paul also writes:
“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Galatians 2:20
Here’s the first truly spiritual question we must ask if we are having trouble hearing from God:
Am I a LIVING SACRIFICE?
Have I died to the things of the flesh and am I living in this body for the sake of Christ? Christ calls you and I do die, in order that we may truly live!
Then, as we pass the BRAZEN ALTAR, we come to the
LAVER – The bowl of washing where the priests would wash up and purify themselves after making sacrifices on the brazen altar.
The Laver was made of highly polished bronze – polished so brightly that it acted as a mirror. This way, the priests could be certain that they had washed thoroughly and that no blood remained upon them.
THE LAVER REPRESENTS THE WORD OF GOD.
Paul writes of how…
“…Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.” Ephesians 5:25-27
You see – when you are stand before the Word of God, the Word of God reveals the things that are defiling us. It shows us our shortcomings, but it also shows us the way to purity! As we obey what God says, we become pure – just as the priests washed in the mirror shine of the laver, they became pure! When God speaks through His Word to us, it is for our good and for our improvement.
So, if you are struggling hearing the voice of God – go the LAVER – and ask the second truly spiritual question:
HAVE I WASHED MYSELF BY APPLYING THE WORD OF GOD?
Am I doing what God says? Am I living in increased obedience to His Word? If not – repent, confess and do what He has said.
As we move past the LAVER, we approach a tent-like structure. The total of which is about 15 feet wide by 45 feet deep. This tent is divided into two sections – the first being the Holy Place and the second being the Holy of Holies. The Holy Place is about 15 feet wide by 30 feet deep. The tent is made of several layers of weavings:
The inner layer – blue, purple and scarlet
The middle layer – goat’s hair
The outer layer – red dyed ram and porpoise skin
The point is: No natural light shines in the holy place, or the holy of holies.
THE HOLY PLACE – REPRESENTS THE SOUL (will, mind and emotion)
In the holy place there are three pieces of furniture each corresponding to a different aspect of your soul.
THE TABLE OF SHEWBREAD is on the right as you enter.
• It is 2 1/2 feet tall and overlaid with gold
• On the table are 12 loafs of unleavened bread and utensils of pure gold
• THE TABLE OF SHEWBREAD REPRESENTS THE WILL of man being submitted to Christ. Just as the flour had to be finely ground before it could be useful for baking, our self-will must be ground in order to be useful for God’s Kingdom!
• One of the tools for will-grinding that God uses is the Body of Christ – the Bible tells us that….
“As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” Proverbs 27:17
We need each other to be used of God to help us get free from our stubborn self-will. We need each other to challenge each other to allow the will of God to be made real in our lives!
“But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.” Hebrews 3:13
Are you having a hard time hearing God speak? Are you connected to God’s Body?
So the third spiritual question that we can ask is:
IS MY WILL GROUND FINE BEFORE GOD?
So long as I am soulishly demanding my will, I will not hear the voice of God. God speaks to those who are willing to do His will.
And now we move across the Holy Place to the…
SEVEN BRANCHED LAMPSTAND which stands on the left side of the Holy Place.
• Constructed of beaten gold and fueled by oil.
• REPRESENTS OUR MIND – which is to be fueled by the Holy Spirit as we study His Word.
• Just as the gold is beaten to take its proper form, so our thoughts are to be formed by the Holy Spirit!
God illuminates His Word by His Holy Spirit. By ‘illuminates’ I mean that all of a sudden, seemingly out of nowhere, you are reading or hearing God’s Word and a light bulb goes on – you have an “A-Ha! Moment!” where you can see the meaning and application of that text crystal clear! You may have read that verse a hundred times, but this time it’s different! That’s the work of the Holy Spirit in your life!
As we submit our minds to Christ, the oil of the Holy Spirit illumines our thoughts. And we begin to have within us…
“…the mind of Christ.” 1 Corinthians 16:2
How does this happen?
Paul wrote in Romans 12:2 that we need to…
“…be transformed by the renewing of your mind…” Romans 12:2
This takes place as we come to Christ and we ask Him to illuminate our minds and to reveal His way of seeing life!
If you are struggling hearing the voice of God, then ask this fourth question:
AM I ALLOWING GOD TO ILLUMINATE MY MIND AND GRANT ME REVELATION?
Frankly, we all need to let God reshape our ways of thinking.
And now we come to the third piece of furniture in the Holy Place. He has dealt with our will and our mind, now we must ask Him to balance our emotions.
We come to the
ALTAR OF INCENSE – which stands directly in front of the door to the Holy of Holies.
• The altar is square in shape – 18” by 18” and is made of overlaid gold.
• On each corner are horns that rise to the same height as the furniture in the Holy of holies.
• The purpose of the altar is to burn incense to the Lord – twice daily.
• The four-sided symmetry of the ALTAR OF INCENSE REPRESENTS GOD BALANCING OUR EMOTIONS.
• When we are having a hard time hearing the voice of the Lord, one of the reasons could be that we are allowing our emotions to control us.
• Christ wants to give you a balanced set of emotions as you submit to His Lordship.
• How? By moving into relationship with God through praise, worship and thanksgiving.
The Bible tells us that we…
“Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.” Psalms 100:4
And that we are to…
“give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:18
And even as difficult as it is to be thankful in tough times, we realize that it honors God because we declare our faith in Christ and…
“therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise--the fruit of lips that confess his name.” Hebrews 13:15
When you begin to praise and worship the Lord, giving Him thanks regardless of your circumstances – that is genuine evidence of your faith!
The Altar of Incense had a horn on each corner that was the same height as the furniture in the Holy of holies – a representation of how worship lifts up our spirit to be joined together with God!
We are only ready to meet with God face to face when we have become a genuine worshipper!
So, if you are struggling hearing the voice of God, the tabernacle raises the next question for you:
AM I OFFERING A CONTINUAL SACRIFICE OF PRAISE, WORSHIP AND THANKSGIVING BEFORE THE LORD?
Do you see how the Tabernacle is a picture – a foretelling – of the deeper things that God wants to do in our lives through the power of the Holy Spirit? Next week, we’ll move into the HOLY OF HOLIES – where we will address issues of our spirit – but for now – what is the Lord saying to you? What needs to change so that you can hear Him?
You are the temple of God’s Spirit – let’s move in and enjoy!
But sometimes, even with the most focused efforts, we experience spiritual blockages where we just can’t seem to get through.
Today, and next week, I want to take you through a process of presenting yourself before God in a way that will enable you to remove the blockages and experience Him more intimately and personally.
We know that the Bible tells us that… “…your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? 1 Corinthians 6:19
In other words – through faith in Christ, not only have your been eternally forgiven, but you have also been eternally connected to God! God lives in you! You are His Temple.
We know that a TEMPLE is a holy place – where God and man intersect. The JEWS had a Temple in Jerusalem. It was an elaborate incredible structure designed by God as a place for man to meet with Him. They needed a building – a temple – because the problem of sin had not been dealt with yet and God being completely Holy could not live within a sinful man.
Prior to the Temple in Jerusalem, God had the people of Israel construct a ‘traveling temple’ – the Tabernacle. The Temple was modeled after the Tabernacle.
The Tabernacle is described in elaborate detail in over 50 chapters of the Bible – beginning in Exodus 25. Hebrews 8:5 tells us that the tabernacle is a ‘shadow’ of what is to come – in other words, the details of the tabernacle point to the specifics of what Christ was bringing to the world!
The Tabernacle consisted of a rectangular courtyard framed by cloth walls approximately 150 feet long by 75 feet wide.
The Tabernacle consists of three major areas: The Courtyard, The Holy Place and the Holy of Holies.
• The Courtyard = The physical body
• The Holy Place = The soul (will, mind and emotions)
• The Holy of Holies = The spirit
Inside the courtyard there we are number of items – which we are going to go over in detail – but, before we do this – here’s the point: God created the tabernacle to point us to something greater – and that something greater is Christ – using the specifics of the tabernacle, we can break through the blockages in order to experience Christ more fully!
Let’s walk into the OUTER COURTYARD of the Tabernacle.
THE OUTER COURTYARD – Remember – this is a picture of the PHYSICAL BODY.
The outer courtyard is open air. It is illumined by natural light of the sun and moon. Just as we experience the light of the sun and moon, God uses our physical senses – sight, hearing, taste, touch and smell – in order for us to experience Him!
The first thing you’ll see as you enter – in fact – you cannot avoid this first item… is the
BRAZEN ALTAR – the Altar of Sacrifice is the place where the fires of sacrificed burned 24/7 to God. There was never to be a time when the people of God were not making sacrifices for sin to the Lord!
THE BRAZEN ALTAR REPRESENTS THE CROSS OF CHRIST
The Brazen Altar is a shadow of the Cross of Christ where His one time sacrifice is sufficient! Paul writes:
“For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.” Romans 8:3, 4
There is no need for sacrifices of the tabernacle – because Christ is the ultimate sacrifice. By His death – we are saved.
And so, He calls us…
“…in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship.” Romans 12:1
Paul also writes:
“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Galatians 2:20
Here’s the first truly spiritual question we must ask if we are having trouble hearing from God:
Am I a LIVING SACRIFICE?
Have I died to the things of the flesh and am I living in this body for the sake of Christ? Christ calls you and I do die, in order that we may truly live!
Then, as we pass the BRAZEN ALTAR, we come to the
LAVER – The bowl of washing where the priests would wash up and purify themselves after making sacrifices on the brazen altar.
The Laver was made of highly polished bronze – polished so brightly that it acted as a mirror. This way, the priests could be certain that they had washed thoroughly and that no blood remained upon them.
THE LAVER REPRESENTS THE WORD OF GOD.
Paul writes of how…
“…Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.” Ephesians 5:25-27
You see – when you are stand before the Word of God, the Word of God reveals the things that are defiling us. It shows us our shortcomings, but it also shows us the way to purity! As we obey what God says, we become pure – just as the priests washed in the mirror shine of the laver, they became pure! When God speaks through His Word to us, it is for our good and for our improvement.
So, if you are struggling hearing the voice of God – go the LAVER – and ask the second truly spiritual question:
HAVE I WASHED MYSELF BY APPLYING THE WORD OF GOD?
Am I doing what God says? Am I living in increased obedience to His Word? If not – repent, confess and do what He has said.
As we move past the LAVER, we approach a tent-like structure. The total of which is about 15 feet wide by 45 feet deep. This tent is divided into two sections – the first being the Holy Place and the second being the Holy of Holies. The Holy Place is about 15 feet wide by 30 feet deep. The tent is made of several layers of weavings:
The inner layer – blue, purple and scarlet
The middle layer – goat’s hair
The outer layer – red dyed ram and porpoise skin
The point is: No natural light shines in the holy place, or the holy of holies.
THE HOLY PLACE – REPRESENTS THE SOUL (will, mind and emotion)
In the holy place there are three pieces of furniture each corresponding to a different aspect of your soul.
THE TABLE OF SHEWBREAD is on the right as you enter.
• It is 2 1/2 feet tall and overlaid with gold
• On the table are 12 loafs of unleavened bread and utensils of pure gold
• THE TABLE OF SHEWBREAD REPRESENTS THE WILL of man being submitted to Christ. Just as the flour had to be finely ground before it could be useful for baking, our self-will must be ground in order to be useful for God’s Kingdom!
• One of the tools for will-grinding that God uses is the Body of Christ – the Bible tells us that….
“As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” Proverbs 27:17
We need each other to be used of God to help us get free from our stubborn self-will. We need each other to challenge each other to allow the will of God to be made real in our lives!
“But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.” Hebrews 3:13
Are you having a hard time hearing God speak? Are you connected to God’s Body?
So the third spiritual question that we can ask is:
IS MY WILL GROUND FINE BEFORE GOD?
So long as I am soulishly demanding my will, I will not hear the voice of God. God speaks to those who are willing to do His will.
And now we move across the Holy Place to the…
SEVEN BRANCHED LAMPSTAND which stands on the left side of the Holy Place.
• Constructed of beaten gold and fueled by oil.
• REPRESENTS OUR MIND – which is to be fueled by the Holy Spirit as we study His Word.
• Just as the gold is beaten to take its proper form, so our thoughts are to be formed by the Holy Spirit!
God illuminates His Word by His Holy Spirit. By ‘illuminates’ I mean that all of a sudden, seemingly out of nowhere, you are reading or hearing God’s Word and a light bulb goes on – you have an “A-Ha! Moment!” where you can see the meaning and application of that text crystal clear! You may have read that verse a hundred times, but this time it’s different! That’s the work of the Holy Spirit in your life!
As we submit our minds to Christ, the oil of the Holy Spirit illumines our thoughts. And we begin to have within us…
“…the mind of Christ.” 1 Corinthians 16:2
How does this happen?
Paul wrote in Romans 12:2 that we need to…
“…be transformed by the renewing of your mind…” Romans 12:2
This takes place as we come to Christ and we ask Him to illuminate our minds and to reveal His way of seeing life!
If you are struggling hearing the voice of God, then ask this fourth question:
AM I ALLOWING GOD TO ILLUMINATE MY MIND AND GRANT ME REVELATION?
Frankly, we all need to let God reshape our ways of thinking.
And now we come to the third piece of furniture in the Holy Place. He has dealt with our will and our mind, now we must ask Him to balance our emotions.
We come to the
ALTAR OF INCENSE – which stands directly in front of the door to the Holy of Holies.
• The altar is square in shape – 18” by 18” and is made of overlaid gold.
• On each corner are horns that rise to the same height as the furniture in the Holy of holies.
• The purpose of the altar is to burn incense to the Lord – twice daily.
• The four-sided symmetry of the ALTAR OF INCENSE REPRESENTS GOD BALANCING OUR EMOTIONS.
• When we are having a hard time hearing the voice of the Lord, one of the reasons could be that we are allowing our emotions to control us.
• Christ wants to give you a balanced set of emotions as you submit to His Lordship.
• How? By moving into relationship with God through praise, worship and thanksgiving.
The Bible tells us that we…
“Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.” Psalms 100:4
And that we are to…
“give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:18
And even as difficult as it is to be thankful in tough times, we realize that it honors God because we declare our faith in Christ and…
“therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise--the fruit of lips that confess his name.” Hebrews 13:15
When you begin to praise and worship the Lord, giving Him thanks regardless of your circumstances – that is genuine evidence of your faith!
The Altar of Incense had a horn on each corner that was the same height as the furniture in the Holy of holies – a representation of how worship lifts up our spirit to be joined together with God!
We are only ready to meet with God face to face when we have become a genuine worshipper!
So, if you are struggling hearing the voice of God, the tabernacle raises the next question for you:
AM I OFFERING A CONTINUAL SACRIFICE OF PRAISE, WORSHIP AND THANKSGIVING BEFORE THE LORD?
Do you see how the Tabernacle is a picture – a foretelling – of the deeper things that God wants to do in our lives through the power of the Holy Spirit? Next week, we’ll move into the HOLY OF HOLIES – where we will address issues of our spirit – but for now – what is the Lord saying to you? What needs to change so that you can hear Him?
You are the temple of God’s Spirit – let’s move in and enjoy!
posted by Doug Love at 9:06 AM
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