06 The Sanctuary

 

God’s desire has always been to be with His people. From the beginning God gave Adam and Eve the garden of Eden. And every day it was His delight to come and commune with them.

Genesis 3:8
And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.

  • Because of disobedience and sin, we lost the right to live in that garden and in God’s presence. Sin separated us from God. It made us afraid to come into God’s presence and be with Him.
  • Isaiah 59:1-2
    1 Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: 2 But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.
  • And so from the beginning since sin entered the world, God has wanted to be with His people again, those that He created in His image.

At the very end of time, this is what God declares:

  • Revelation 21:3
    And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
  • There will come a day when God will finally be with us again. There will finally be an end of sin one day. We will be able to see God face to face again.

When the Israelites came out of Egypt and formalized their covenant with God to be His people and He would be their God, He would establish a way for Him to be with them more than just a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.

  • Exodus 25:8
    And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.
  • God instructed the Israelites through Moses to construct a sanctuary. Somehow, through the sanctuary God would restore us back into His presence.
  • Exodus 29:46
    And they shall know that I am the LORD their God, that brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, that I may dwell among them: I am the LORD their God.
  • God could not dwell among them while they were in Egypt. Why? Because they were in bondage as slaves. Egypt was a symbol of sin.
  • When we sin, we become a slave to sin.
    • John 8:34
      Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.

So what is the purpose of the sanctuary?

  1. You have to be separated from sin.
  2. God wants to dwell with you.

These are the two themes that we see in the sanctuary.

But in order to build the sanctuary, they would need materials from the people.

  • Exodus 25:2-7
    2 Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring me an offering: of every man that giveth it willingly with his heart ye shall take my offering. 3 And this is the offering which ye shall take of them; gold, and silver, and brass, 4 And blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats’ hair, 5 And rams’ skins dyed red, and badgers’ skins, and shittim wood, 6 Oil for the light, spices for anointing oil, and for sweet incense, 7 Onyx stones, and stones to be set in the ephod, and in the breastplate.
  • They needed precious materials. Gold, silver and brass and many other things.
  • But there was one prerequisite. They needed to give it willingly.
  • You must remember, they came out from Egypt as slaves. Where did they get their precious materials from? They had borrowed it from the Egyptians who willingly gave it to them.
  • But now God is asking for an offering to build the sanctuary. It’s not like they had unlimited resources. They couldn’t just go out to mine for more gold. It would certainly require a spirit of sacrifice. Willing sacrifice.

Willingness is a very important part when coming to God and His sanctuary.

  • The building of Solomon’s temple:
    • 1 Chronicles 29:9
      Then the people rejoiced, for that they offered willingly, because with perfect heart they offered willingly to the LORD: and David the king also rejoiced with great joy.
  • The rebuilding of the sanctuary after Babylonian captivity:
    • Ezra 1:6
      And all they that were about them strengthened their hands with vessels of silver, with gold, with goods, and with beasts, and with precious things, beside all that was willingly offered.
  • We must have a willing heart if we wish for God to dwell with us. He does not force Himself upon us. We must be willing, only then He will come.

Why is a willing heart so important today?

  • Isaiah 1:19
    If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land.
  • We can’t be obedient unless we are willing first. Willing for Christ to dwell in our hearts. Willing for the Holy Spirit to dwell in us.
  • We must pray for the Holy Spirit to be with us. He does not come upon us without an invitation from us. We have to be willing first.
  • Philippians 2:13
    For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
  • God is the One that helps us to be willing to give up the sinful pleasures of this life, to be willing to follow His will. He does not force us. He changes our hearts, our tastes, our desires and even our aims and goals in life.
  • But we must be willing to allow him to work in our hearts.
  • Without that, we will always struggle with any command of God because we will see it as a set of laws and requirements that we have to do in order to go to heaven.
  • But if we surrender our lives to Him and allow Him to live in us, He will work through us. And whatever struggle it is, whether it is the Sabbath or diet or even Christian standards, it’s not that it gets easier but it doesn’t seem to be an issue anymore. Why? Our mind has changed on that topic.
  • Sometimes we are praying even for the wrong thing. To pray to God for strength to keep the Sabbath, strength to resist temptation in eating some certain food. But in fact we should pray for God to change our heart so that that food is no longer a temptation, and going to work is no longer a priority.
  • Then we won’t view Sabbath as a day that we can no longer work or study or go out to play, or cannot do this or that. It becomes a day that is sacred to us because it is sacred to God.
  • We won’t view the dietary principles as a restriction of our enjoyment of food, but we will see a God who loves us and desires the best for our health.
  • If we wish to have a change in heart, we must be willing for God to work in it. This is why willingness of heart is so important!
  • Hebrews 10:16
    This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them.

    • This is referring to the new covenant. God wants to write the law in our hearts and mind. He doesn’t want just intellectual, robotic obedience. He wants obedience from the heart. That at the very core of our being, this is who we are.
  • He wants us to be willing to obey Him.

How would the Israelites respond to Moses’ appeal for the building of the sanctuary?

  • Exodus 35:21
    And they came, every one whose heart stirred him up, and every one whom his spirit made willing, and they brought the LORD’s offering to the work of the tabernacle of the congregation, and for all his service, and for the holy garments.
  • If there is one thing that we should emulate from the Israelites is this spirit of self-sacrifice. There is much that we have studied that has been negative about them in regards to murmuring and complaining. But when it came time to give for God’s work, they were right there ready to give willingly! And not just willingly, but in abundance!
  • Exodus 36:6
    And Moses gave commandment, and they caused it to be proclaimed throughout the camp, saying, Let neither man nor woman make any more work for the offering of the sanctuary. So the people were restrained from bringing.
  • A little while later Moses had to issue another command to stop giving to the point that the Bible says they were restrained from bringing.
  • Can you believe that? They gave so much that Moses and to tell them to stop!
  • What an amazing display of sacrifice that the Israelites gave. This is something worthy of imitation today. If we truly love God with all our heart, we will also desire to bring our very best gifts to the Lord also.
  • Often we give God the leftovers. We give within our budget after we have spent on our needs and on our wants and many other such things like our holidays and entertainment and savings. But God deserves our very best. And it needs to come from a willing heart that is filled with love and devotion for Him.
  • The very best material was used for the sanctuary. It wasn’t cheap material. It was durable, and it was precious. And God deserves the very best.
  • But too often we tell ourselves that we only use it once a week at church. Don’t need to get such a good quality!
  • But doesn’t God deserve better at the church than in our home? But the reason we are not able to do that is because so many of us give our leftovers to God rather than our best. The best of our tithe and the very best of our offerings as well!

But the sanctuary was just a pattern, it was just a shadow of heavenly things.

  • Hebrews 8:1-2
    1 Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens; 2 A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man.

    • There is a true tabernacle up in heaven which the Lord pitched.
    • You see, the one on earth was pitched by man.
  • Paul, speaking of the earthly sanctuary and the earthly priests.
    • Hebrews 1:5
      Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount.
  • The sanctuary on earth was a figure of something more glorious in heaven.

On earth there were two sections to the sanctuary.

There was a courtyard. And in the courtyard there were two furniture.

  • Altar of burnt sacrifice.
    • Exodus 27:1
      And thou shalt make an altar of shittim wood, five cubits long, and five cubits broad; the altar shall be foursquare: and the height thereof shall be three cubits.
    • This is where the animal was killed for all the sacrifices. And the main sacrifice is the sacrifice for sin.
  • And there was a laver of water.
    • Exodus 30:18
      Thou shalt also make a laver of brass, and his foot also of brass, to wash withal: and thou shalt put it between the tabernacle of the congregation and the altar, and thou shalt put water therein.
    • This is where they washed their hands and feet before going into the tabernacle.

And in the tabernacle there were two sections. The Holy Place and Most Holy Place.

The Holy Place had three furniture.

  • Table of Showbread.
    • Exodus 25:23
      Thou shalt also make a table of shittim wood: two cubits shall be the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof.
    • Bread represents the word of God that we must eat everyday.
  • And Altar of Incense.
    • Exodus 30:1
      And thou shalt make an altar to burn incense upon: of shittim wood shalt thou make it.
    • Incense is represented by prayer.
    • Psalms 141:2
      Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.
    • It represents our devotion to God in prayer each day.
  • Golden Candlestick.
    • Exodus 25:31
      And thou shalt make a candlestick of pure gold: of beaten work shall the candlestick be made: his shaft, and his branches, his bowls, his knops, and his flowers, shall be of the same.
    • The candlestick to give light represents the light that we must shine out to everyone every day in our character and through the lives that we live.

And in the Most Holy Place there was only one furniture which was the Ark of the Covenant.

  • This was the abiding place of God. This was where the presence of God was. This is where the glory of God abode.

The reason we don’t need to go to a literal sanctuary today and make sacrifices is because it was all fulfilled in Jesus. Jesus would be the ultimate fulfilment of the sanctuary.

  • Matthew 1:21
    And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.

    • Jesus came to save us from the bondage of sin. That is the first part of the sanctuary fulfilled.
  • Matthew 1:23
    Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.

    • Another name for Jesus was Emmanuel which means God with us. And all God ever wanted was to be with us. So ultimately God would send His Son.
    • This is the second part of the sanctuary fulfilled.

But in Christ we see every part of the sanctuary.

  • Jesus is our High Priest.
    • Hebrews 8:1
      Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens.
  • Jesus is the Lamb of God that would be sacrificed.
    • John 1:29
      The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
  • Jesus is the living water to wash away our sins.
    • John 4:13-14
      13 Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: 14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
  • Jesus is the bread of life.
    • John 6:35
      And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.
  • Jesus is the light of the world.
    • John 8:12
      Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
  • This is why we don’t need to sacrifice a lamb anymore or have a priest intercede for us. We can go directly to Jesus in prayer. We can confess our sins directly to Him. And He will heal, He will forgive.

The only question that remains for us is if we are willing, if we are open, to allow Him to dwell in us.

2 Corinthians 6:16
And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

God wants to be our God. Do you want to be fully His today? You must be willing. Willing to surrender to Him. Willing to allow the Holy Spirit to dwell in you today.

Where can we start today? Let’s pray for God to forgive us. Let’s pray that God would send His Holy Spirit to dwell in our hearts. Let’s pray that we would be willing to be made willing, to follow Jesus every step of the way. Let’s pray that God’s law would be written in our hearts and minds today.

This is the essence of the sanctuary. God to dwell with you wherever you go. Not just when you are in church. But that we would bring God into our work, we would bring Him into our families, that we would bring Him into our studies and schooling, and that we would bring Him with us into every social event with every friend that we have.

That was the life that Christ lived on this earth. A blessing to all around Him. May we be that blessing today.

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