Discovering Jesus in the Tabernacle
The Lord said to
Moses, "Tell the Israelites to bring Me an offering. You are to receive
the offering for Me from each man whose heart prompts him to give. These are
the offerings you are to receive from them: gold, silver and bronze; blue,
purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen; goat hair; ram skins dyed red and hides
of sea cows; acacia wood; olive oil for the light; spices for the anointing oil
and for the fragrant incense; and onyx stones and other gems to be mounted on
the ephod and breastpiece.
"Then have them
make a sanctuary for Me, and I will dwell among them. Make this tabernacle and
all its furnishings exactly like the pattern I will show you.
"Have them make a chest of acacia wood —
two and a half cubits long, a cubit and a half wide, and a cubit and a half
high. Overlay it with pure gold, both
inside and out, and make a gold molding around it. Cast four gold rings for it
and fasten them to its four feet, with two rings on one side and two rings on
the other. Then make poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. Insert
the poles into the rings on the sides of the chest to carry it. The poles are
to remain in the rings of this ark; they are not to be removed. Then put in the
ark the Testimony, which I will give you.
"Make an
atonement cover of pure gold — two and a half cubits long and a cubit and a
half wide. And make two cherubim out of hammered gold at the ends of the cover.
Make one cherub on one end and the second cherub on the other; make the
cherubim of one piece with the cover, at the two ends. The cherubim are to have
their wings spread upward, overshadowing the cover with them. The cherubim are
to face each other, looking toward the cover. Place the cover on top of the ark
and put in the ark the Testimony, which I will give you. There, above the cover
between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the Testimony, I will meet
with you and give you all My Commands for the Israelites.
Ex 25:1-22 NIV
Mercy Seat means propitiation, it means
substitution.
Jesus is our Mercy Seat; our propitiation, our
substitution.
Gold represents divinity, silver symbolizes
redemption, and bronze represents suffering. So in the tabernacle, we see the
divinity, redemption and suffering of our Savior as presented in the Gospel.
Beaten work (hammered work) v.18, speaks of the
suffering of our Savior by His priestly work.
Blue represents “The Son Of God”; purple presents
Him as “The King Of Glory”; scarlet presents Him as “The Messiah,” and linen -
“The Suffering Servant.”
Matthew presents Jesus Christ as “the King” (seen in
purple).
Mark presents Him as “the Suffering Servant” (seen
in linen).
Luke presents Him as “The Son of Man” (seen in scarlet).
And John presents Him as “The Son of God” (seen in
blue).
The King of Glory came into the world as the
Suffering Servant.
The Son of Man is the prophesied Messiah.
He is divine, and is The Son of God.
Goat hair presents Him as “the Greater Prophet.”
Abraham answered Isaac, "God Himself will
provide the lamb for the burnt offering,” instead, The Lord provided a ram for
the sacrifice (Gen 22:7-14).
Oil represents The Holy Spirit. It speaks of the
Anointing.
The cherubim are the guardians of God's Glory. They
protected the Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden. Literally, our Salvation was
preserved by the cherubs in the garden, after Adam sinned.
After God drove the man out, He placed on the east
side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth
to guard the way to the Tree of Life (read Gen. 3:24).
The Voice of God came through the Blood. The Lord
spoke to Moses from above the Mercy Seat, from between the two cherubim which
are on the ark of the Testimony (v.22).
The Blood speaks better things than the blood of
Abel (Heb.12:24). The Blood speaks Mercy.
When Abel made his first sacrifice of animal with
blood, he saw the cloud of Glory and knew that his sacrifice was accepted by
God. The Lord looked with Favor on Abel and his offering.
Cain knew his ‘sacrifice of fruits from the ground’
was not accepted by God.
“The cloud by day and the fire by night” which
guided the people of Israel in the wilderness were visible manifestation of
God's divine Glory. God’s cloud stayed over them, and He went before them in
their journeys in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.
This visible manifestation of God's Glory was
withdrawn from the Holy of Holies in Israel in a vision revealed to Ezekiel in
Babylon (read Ezekiel 8).
This visible manifestation of God’s Glory was not
seen any more through the years, until at the time of the birth of the Savior
in the City of David.
An Angel of The Lord
appeared to them, and the Glory of The Lord shone around them, and they were
terrified. But the Angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you Good
News of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a
Savior has been born to you; He is Christ The Lord. This will be a sign to you:
You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."
Suddenly a great
company of the heavenly host appeared with the Angel, praising God and saying,
"Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to
men on whom His Favor rests."
When the angels had left them and gone into Heaven,
the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing
that has happened, which The Lord has told us about."
So they hurried off
and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they
had seen Him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about
this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to
them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.
The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had
heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
Luke 2:9-20 NIV
This Glory was later revealed to three men in Matthew
17.
After six days Jesus
took with Him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a
high mountain by themselves. There He was transfigured before them. His face
shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light.
Matt 17:1-3 NIV
And at the Ascension of Jesus, the people beheld
God’s Glory (Lk 24:50-53).
At the Coming of The Holy Spirit at Pentecost, the
Glory and Power of God came down like a mighty wind storm and filled the
disciples in the upper room (Acts 2:1-4).
The Glory and Power of God today, is in our hearts—“The
Spirit of Sonship” Who cries out Abba, Father.
Because you are sons,
God sent The Spirit of His Son into our hearts, The Spirit Who calls out,
"Abba, Father."
Gal 4:6-7 NIV