Read Part 6

(9/1) We have been studying the message of Stephen, a deacon in the early church, to the Jewish Sanhedrin. This rebuttal is the longest message recorded in the book of Acts, but it is actually a concise rendition of a much Bigger Story. In fact, today I am only going to teach from one verse of Stephen’s response to these Jewish leaders, talking to you about the tabernacle, which for all intents and purposes was a meeting place with God.

This is important, because it is impossible to fully appreciate who Jesus is and what he has done until you understand the tabernacle. You might be here week after week singing about being redeemed, singing nothing but the blood of Jesus, but until you go into the tabernacle and see the blood on the altar you won’t truly understand the impact of his blood. In other words, you can know the Bible stories, but you won’t really know what they mean until you understand that when Jesus went to the cross and died for your sins it was a business transaction that purchased you off the slave market of sin and set you free.

God told the children of Israel in Leviticus chapter seventeen, "The life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one's life" (Leviticus 17:11). In other words, it’s about substitution, it’s about justice, righteousness and holiness. The atonement is a life for a life and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness (Hebrews 9:22). And so, it’s only as you identify with Jesus as the Lamb of God, laying your hand upon his head, taking ownership for your sins, and recognizing that he was crucified as a sacrifice in your place; only then will you understand the cost of your redemption, and the meaning of Jesus’ blood that was shed just outside the gates of Jerusalem.

As we come to our text today in Acts chapter seven, Stephen is trying to communicate this truth to the Jewish Sanhedrin, getting through to their hardened hearts, increasing their awareness of the cost of sin, and he brings up the subject of the tabernacle in verse 44, saying, "Our forefathers had the tabernacle of the Testimony with them in the desert. It had been made as God directed Moses, according to the pattern he had seen" (Acts 7:44). And so, Stephen begins talking about the tabernacle, a meeting place, because from the beginning of creation all God ever wanted was to spend time with us. In other words, he created the garden of Eden so that you would have a place to hang out with him. He created you in his likeness and in his image, so that you might relate to him, and have a relationship with him.

But one day, he came down to the garden to meet with Adam and Adam didn’t show up. He wasn’t in the place where they were going to meet. And so, the Lord God called out to the man, "Where are you?" (Genesis 3:9). In other words, when God came down in the garden looking for Adam he was gone; he had cheated on him, he had fallen into temptation, he had sinned and run off with Satan.

Now, this put God in a compromising situation because he only had two choices; he either had to kill Adam, killing the one he loves, or to find a substitute because it is impossible for God to lie (Hebrews 6:18). And he had been very clear from the beginning, he had established safe boundaries, telling Adam and Eve, "You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it or you will die" (Genesis 3:3). Now, Adam had disobeyed, and the cost or the price, the wages of sin is death, and so if God doesn’t kill Adam, he would have lied. But since he cannot lie, compromising his holiness and integrity, God finds an animal as a substitute.

And so, the animal is slain, and the Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them (Genesis 3:21). In other words, God covers their sin, covering their flesh, covering their nakedness, and their awareness of right and wrong. Adam is allowed to live because an animal, most likely a lamb, died in his place. The innocent lamb covered his sins, became his substitute, and this was a magnificent foreshadowing of the Cross where Jesus Christ the Lamb of God died for you so that you could live.

This is what we are going to see in the tabernacle, it is a meeting place in the wilderness, types or illustrations of our redemption, symbols or images of our restoration, because the tabernacle was a foreshadowing of what Christ would and has done before the creation of the world. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace. He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29).

In the book of Genesis God walked with his people, but as we come to the book of Exodus, we are introduced to the concept of the tabernacle, a meeting place. God announced that he was moving in, that he wanted to dwell with his people, and so he said to Pharaoh, "Let my people go, so that they may worship me" (Exodus 8:1). Now, that doesn’t mean his intention was for Moses to lead the children of Israel out into the desert so that they could start singing and dancing; because worship involves much more than that, worship involves the whole person, demonstrating God’s worth with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength.

Jesus said that true worshipers, the kind of worshipers that the Father seeks, must worship in spirit and in truth (John 4:24). And so, everything that we are and everything that we do must flow out of our relationship with the Lord because he is into worship. And to ascribe worth to God involves seeking him, both going deeper and climbing higher, which is why after the children of Israel had crossed to the depths of the Red Sea, the Lord said to Moses, "Come up to the Lord" (Exodus 24:1-2).

And so, while the children of Israel were camped at base of the mountain, Moses and the others climbed higher and higher, until it was only Moses who continued moving even higher. And there on the mountain top Moses saw the glory of the Lord, he was given the plans for the tabernacle and the priesthood. This is what Stephen told the Sanhedrin, "The tabernacle of the Testimony had been made as God directed Moses, according to the pattern he had seen" (Acts 7:44). And then before he descended the mountain, God gave Moses the two tablets of stone containing the Ten Commandments because he was inviting the children of Israel to show him what he is worth; to remember that he is holy; and that he is very specific about how he wants to be worshiped.

And so, on the mountain God told Moses in great detail what he wants, what it is to do, and how it is to be built. He said to Moses, "Have them make a sanctuary for me and I will dwell among them" (Exodus 25:8). And so, now what began in the garden has moved to the wilderness, and God tells Moses to create a new place for us to hang out. He says, "Since you can’t come up, I’m going to come down and dwell among you." And it was there on the mountain that God gave Moses plans for the tabernacle that needed to be followed exactly as he said, because that sanctuary was a copy and shadow of what is in heaven (Hebrews 8:5). And so, not only did God provide detailed plans, but he also provided the materials, and anointed the workers with different abilities and gifts of the Holy Spirit. And the work of the tabernacle was completed about 1450 BC, and set up on the first day of the first month in the second year, or one year after the Exodus from Egypt (Exodus 40:17).

What I want to do in the remainder of our time this morning is to go into greater detail about the tabernacle, teaching about the layout of the tabernacle, the various pieces of furniture, and their spiritual meaning for us today as we prepare our hearts to celebrate Communion. And so, like Israel gathering around the tabernacle, as we gather together in this place, coming to the Lord’s table, it is our meeting place to have fellowship with God.

Now, as the worshiper approached the tabernacle to offer a sacrifice, the first thing they encountered was a tall fifteen-foot white linen fence, 100 feet long and 75 feet wide that surrounded the tabernacle. There was only one entrance into the enclosure, only one way to come to God, just as Jesus said, "I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved" (John 10:9). In other words, he is the Lamb of God, he is the gate, and no one comes to the Father except through him (John 14:6).

Once you have entered into the gate, the curtains created this private courtyard where the priests ministered to the people. They would meet the people, discussing their problems, struggles and weaknesses, and hearing their confessions. After examining their sacrifices to make sure they were acceptable, the worshiper would then put their hands on the head of the animal, identifying with the offering as a substitute, and the priest would slay the animal, spilling its blood on the bronze altar (Leviticus 1:2-4).

In other words, there is only one way into the presence of God, one way through the curtain, and it begins with dealing with your sin. "For if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9).

It was there on the bronze altar that an innocent animal was put to death for the guilty sinner, in the same way as Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, died on the cross for the sins of the world. And so, the bronze altar was necessary to enter in, because without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins (Hebrews 9:22).

Next, we come to the bronze basin, placed strategically between the bronze altar and the tent. The priests would stop here frequently to wash their hands and feet with its clean water, before going into the holy place, because their feet became dirty as they walked in the courtyard and their hands were dirty from handling the sacrifices and sprinkling the blood. And so, their hands and feet needed constant cleaning, that was possible at the bronze basin, and that water for washing is a picture of the Word of God. The Bible says in Ephesians chapter five, that "Jesus loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word" (Ephesians 5:25-26).

So far, we have been in the courtyard, at the bronze altar, the place of judgment and death. It was a messy business, dealing with sin, but then there was the bronze basin where the priest was able to wash away the guilt and shame of it all. Fortunately, on this side of the cross we have Jesus, the Christ, our great high priest who offered himself unblemished to God, a perfect sinless sacrifice. And therefore, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. But the Bible says, "he sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself" (Hebrews 7:27).

The problem with many people who call themselves Christians today is that they are still in the outer courts. In other words, they are still struggling with their sin and their guilt and their shame as if Jesus’ blood wasn’t enough, but Jesus came to set us free, he offered himself once, and said it is finished. And so, if you are here and you are still struggling with stuff that you should have left at the bronze altar and washed away at the bronze basin. If you are a believer, the Bible says, "In view of God's mercy, offer your body as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God — this is your spiritual act of worship" (Romans 12:1).

In other words, God invites you to go deeper, and so as we go into the tent, stepping out of the sunlight and into the shadows of the holy place. As our eyes adjust to the dim flickering light of the golden lampstand on our left, we see before us the veil and the golden altar of incense separating us from the holy of holies. We are relieved, thankful for that, because God had warned us that, "No one may see me and live" (Exodus 33:20).

And as our eyes continue adjusting to this new environment, this holy place, we notice on the right a golden table containing the bread of the Presence. It is a welcome sight because the Lord said this bread is to be before me at all times (Exodus 25:23-30). In fact, we see spread out on the table before us twelve loaves representing the twelve tribes of Israel and we can smell the aroma because it is fresh bread. It’s just like David said, "You prepare a table before me…" (Psalms 23:5). And these twelve loaves are a reminder to the children of Israel that they were constantly in the presence of God and that he is their daily bread. It’s as if Jesus was revealing himself, even then saying, "I am the bread of life… I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world" (John 6:48, 51).

Now as we look around the tent, we’ve become accustomed to the flickering light, and we are comforted because we’re in the presence of Jesus. On the right we are reminded that he is the bread of life, and on the left we are reminded that he is the light of the world. As we fix our attention on the lampstand of pure gold with its seven lamps, we must recognize that it is the only source of light available in the holy place (Exodus 25:31-40). In the same way as in the new heavens and new earth, the Bible tells us, "the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp" (Revelation 21:23).

And these lamps, there are seven of them, these lamps on the lampstand are fueled by oil and kept burning constantly, reminding us that as Jesus said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life" (John 8:12). And in the same way, Jesus tells us, "You are the light of the world" (Matthew 5:14). And so, we want to let our light shine before all people, being continually fueled by the oil of the Holy Spirit, and never putting out the Spirit’s fire (1 Thessalonians 5:19).

As our attention is drawn deeper into the recesses of the tabernacle, looking at the intricately detailed veil separating us from the Holy of Holies there before us is the altar of incense. Like the other pieces of furniture, Moses tells us that it was made from acacia wood overlaid with gold, but this piece was the tallest piece of furniture in the holy place (Exodus 30:1-6). It was the centerpiece standing before the veil that separates us from the Holy of Holies and it was there at the altar of incense that the priest burned incense each morning and evening. And the burning of incense is often a picture of prayer in Scriptures as David prayed, "May my prayer be set before you like incense; the lifting up of my hands like the evening sacrifice" (Psalms 141:2).

All of the furniture reminds us of the deity and the humanity of Jesus because it is wood covered with gold. In other words, there is a relationship between the wood which is perishable and the gold which is imperishable, because in order for Jesus to be our kinsman redeemer he had to become flesh so that he could understand the feeling of our infirmities. Otherwise, he would not have known what it is like to be hungry, tired, and weak, but as it is, we have a high priest who has been tempted in every way just as we are and yet he was without sin (Hebrews 4:15). And so, therefore, in him we can approach the throne of grace with confidence because Jesus is always interceding for us.

That brings us behind the curtain, to the most important piece of furniture associated with the tabernacle. It is called the ark of the covenant or the ark of the testimony and Moses was commanded to make this chest of acacia wood, overlaying it with pure gold, and then to make a golden lid called the mercy seat with two golden cherubim on each end. It was there that God told Moses I will meet with you (Exodus 25:10-22). It was that place, in the Holy of Holies that the high priest entered once a year offering a blood sacrifice for himself and for the people. And it was later that they put within the ark a gold jar of manna, Aaron’s staff that had budded, and the stone tablets of the covenant as a testimony or witness to the people of God.

Now, today we embrace the full manifest glory of Jesus Christ who is our mercy seat, and because of his precious blood shed for us the throne of God has become for us a throne of grace. And so, we have access into God’s presence through the blood of Jesus who died once for all the sins of the world. And so, no matter how common the tabernacle may appear on the outside, everything within the sanctuary was very costly, because it all pointed to the Messiah, speaking of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And so, we join with the psalmist who declared,

"How lovely is Your tabernacle, O Lord of hosts! My soul longs, yes, even faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God" (84:1-2, NKJV).

Stephen boldly tells the Sanhedrin that what their fathers had experienced in the wilderness, in the tabernacle, is what we have now experienced in Christ Jesus. All of the furnishings and ceremonies of the tabernacle were pointing to those better things that are found in Jesus Christ. And so, just as every spiritual need of the children of Israel was met by God’s provision of the tabernacle, in the Lord Jesus Christ we have everything that we need for life and godliness, and we want to dip down deep into the flow of living oil, trimming our lamps, receiving the comfort of the Holy Spirit, knowing that God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21).

Read Part 8

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