The Tabernacle. Bible study question

sermonindex Feb 11, 2007

I've recently been reading in Exodus 25-40, and was struck by the fact that the order in which the furnishings are mentioned aren't always what one might expect. Can anyone shed light on this?

Of course, when the items were made, it could be because of the order in which they were made; and the Tabernacle itself obviously had to be set up before the furnishings were put in it!

The Altar of incense, and the laver are a bit of a puzzle though. The Ark is mentioned first in God's instructions to Moses (chapters 25-30), then the Table and the Lampstand. Going from the more to the less special, from the inner to the outward, makes sense. But the altar of incense isn't mentioned until late on, after the prisetly garments and instructions for the priests' consecration. The Laver is last of all the furnishings.

Why?

I can understand the symbolism of the Laver, as our cleansing from sin comes as a result of Christ's sacrifice.

Does the late mention of incense mean that we cannot come in worship and intercession until everything else is in place?

Maybe I'm reading too much into this, but all the details of Tabernacle and Solomon's Temple have a significance.

I used to have some books on this but had to leave them behind because of a move, and often the Lord reveals things from the Scriptures that are relevant to the here and now, that you can't necessarily get through books.

Jeannette

L

Lor_E Feb 12, 2007

Dear Sister,
For many years I read and re-read studying the tabernacles: both the one in the wilderness and Solomon's Temple and I do very much agree that there is important "symbolism" within every part of it- "shadows of things to come"....
as you stated:
"The Laver is last of all the furnishings."

(I never really considered the order in which things appeared in the Scripture, but since you have noticed them and have made such wonderful observations of them I'm thankful to be able to consider them.)

Isn't it marvelous that the Laver being such a wonderful picture would be mentioned lastly? When I consider it I am reminded about one of the first thing to be preached in the New Testament by John the Baptist: "Repent Ye!" which they did and signified it by John's baptism in the River Jordan. Even the Lord, who without sin, came and was baptised by John in the river. What perfect order all these things!

"Without the shedding of blood there is no remission." and there was no approach to ANYthing within the tabernacles without the shedding of blood, it's sprinkling, it's dipping.

"Does the late mention of incense mean that we cannot come in worship and intercession until everything else is in place?"

A favorite hymn of mine written in the mid 1800's mentions this:
"No pow'r have we to praise Thy name, O God of love; Until Thy Spirit raise our thoughts and hearts above; His grace avails in all our need, May He our priestly worship lead!"

How can there be any consecrated worship or annointed prayer lest first the worshipper and the pray-er has been through washing, through the outer courts and come through the veil that was rent into the very Holy of Holies? Forgive me if perhaps I have been to bold in the use of these types: Yet, Without the knowledge of the Holy One, without coming to the Mercy Seat, without recognizing the sacrifical Lamb and the spilling of it's blood, without looking into the covered faces of the cheribum and realizing that the salvation that we have been given is that very thing which angels have desired to look into; without having my heart consecrated by the oil- The Holy Spirit, what good are my mere words? Of what value are my mere songs?

Perhaps that is one reason that things are so askew within the "churches"; their order is not necessarily God's order.

Thank you for giving us all something to consider.

A sister in Christ,
Lori

J

Josiah777 Feb 12, 2007

Dear Jeannette,

You have a colossal study laid before you, but a very profitable one. I have benefited a great deal by seeing the Lord Jesus Christ in the tabernacle. I have studied a number of resources on it, but the ones I have found the most helpful are two--one by A. W. Pink called "Gleanings from Exodus". It can be accessed at this URL:

http://www.pbministries.org/books/pink/Gleanings_Exodus/exodus.htm

I have another 8-page PDF file that was very concise and simple and had a number of questions that were very helpful to see God's big picture. I tried looking for it if it was still on the Internet but it is not available. If you'd like a copy, I could e-mail you it. Just let me know.

The order is significant. There are two directions. The one in Exodus starts with the Ark of the Covenant and moves outward; this is God's perspective. The other direction is where man starts at the tabernacle door and moves toward the Holy of Holies. When we first start out in our Christian lives we experience the tabernacle after the manward direction: entering through Jesus the door to salvation, experiencing consecration at the altar of burnt offering, cleansing by the water of the word of God at the laver, which prepares us for service in the tabernacle itself. The Holy of Holies is this mysterious, veiled, unexplicable awesomeness. That is our first tastings of God; we spend much time dedicating ourselves, getting cleansed by the Word, and serving, and occasional tastes of the mysterious "presence of God".

In the New Testament all has changed. The shadows here are now in the blaze of full revelation. The best definition of the Holy of All I find is John 17:24--being with Jesus and beholding His glory. The Ark is an Old Testament picture of Christ's Person; the mercy seat His work (on the cross & exaltation in heaven as our abiding High Priest). The New Testament believer, after having come to the "Holy of Holies", is to live there, unlike the high priest who only came once a year. As we live beholding the Lord Jesus, we are transformed. Our service flows from our fellowship with Him. As walk in the light as He is in the light, we begin to have our "outer court" of sinfulness exposed more and more. Our union with Jesus brings an exposure at the laver that cleanses us. We then desire more consecration, like Isaiah who delightedly replied: "Lord, here am I; send me!" Anyway, it's a big study. The books can be helpful. The indispensible need in this (and any Bible study) is absolute, total reliance upon the Holy Spirit (who wrote it) to reveal to our hearts the Lord Jesus Christ. He will do it, if we will but hunger for it. :-)

May God richly bless you in your pursuit to grow in Him,

Ken

sermonindex Feb 13, 2007

Thank you so much, Lori and Ken

As I hoped, your responses weren't merely quoting sources, (though those are useful too) but much more. What is the Lord saying, in the here and now, through the Scripture? How does it affect my life and the life of the Church? How am I to respond to the truths the Lord reveals?

My tendency is to an academic approach, when digging into the Word, (often at the expense of the above questions,)so the replies were just what I need

The books I used to have were the ones by (A.W.?)Slemming; "Made According to Pattern" (the Tabernacle), "These are the Garments" (the priestly garments, and "Thus Shalt thou Serve" (the sacrifices); but its years since I read them. They were more of a meditation than a study for its own sake and a blessing at the time, but I can't remember many detaiols of what they said.

Thank you again; this is the only Forum yet visited where I would get such answers

Love in Him

Jeannette

sermonindex Feb 13, 2007

Josiah777 wrote:
...I have studied a number of resources on it, but the ones I have found the most helpful are two--one by A. W. Pink called "Gleanings from Exodus". It can be accessed at this URL:
http://www.pbministries.org/books/pink/Gleanings_Exodus/exodus.htm
I have another 8-page PDF file that was very concise and simple and had a number of questions that were very helpful to see God's big picture. I tried looking for it if it was still on the Internet but it is not available. If you'd like a copy, I could e-mail you it. Just let me know.
Ken

~~[b]~~Yes, I would like that please. My email is on the Forum
Thanks Ken

jeannette[/b]

sermonindex Feb 13, 2007

~~[b]~~ [color=0033FF]Here's something "discovered" a while ago, which will surely bless you - at least if it means what I think it does.... compare this in Leviticus 6 with the following verses in John 20[/color]

~~[i]~~8 The Lord said to Moses, 9 “Command Aaron and his sons, saying, This is the law of the burnt offering. The burnt offering shall be on the hearth upon the altar all night until the morning, and the fire of the altar shall be kept burning on it. 10 And the priest shall put on his linen garment, and put his linen breeches upon his body, and he shall take up the ashes to which the fire has consumed the burnt offering on the altar, and put them beside the altar. 11 ~~[u]~~Then he shall put off his garments, and put on other garments,[/u] and carry forth the ashes outside the camp to a clean place.

6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb; he saw the linen cloths lying, 7 and the napkin, which had been on his head, not lying with the linen cloths but rolled up in a place by itself. 8 Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; 9 for as yet they did not know the scripture, that he must rise from the dead.[/i]

[color=0033FF]When the Lord Jesus rose from the dead He put off His "old garments" that could experience death and pain, and put on "other garments", a risen incorruptable body - leaving behind the grave cloths as a sign!

"Up from the grave He arose
With a mighty triumph o'er His foes..."

HALLELUJAH!!!

Jeannette[/b][/color]

J

Josiah777 Feb 13, 2007

Jeannette,

I am glad you found these helpful. I will e-mail you the PDF file later this evening.

One comment about academics that you made mention of. We need the academic side of Bible study. Where we fail is if after we're done with the "donkey work" is we don't come before the Lord as a little child and ask Him to reveal Himself. He will turn the "water" that we can collect (our human efforts of study--commentaries, word studies, sermons, etc.) and come to the Lord Jesus to turn it into "wine"--the supernatural life that only He can do. Only God can reveal God, but He expects us not to be lazy Christians but diligently fill up those waterpots so He can do His work on it.

Ken