The Old Tabernacle Points Forward to the New

Lamech at the end of chapter 4, instead of protecting her from her.

The first lonely wanderer.

And so on and so forth.

And the patterns set in Genesis 3 continue to play themselves out

in the history of the world, in the history of our families, in the history of our lives.

Adam and Eve and all of their descendants not only lost their clear conscience,

they lost their access to God's presence,

and God's bountiful provision, and God's life-giving power.

They were exiled from God's tabernacle and sent into the wilderness.

Genesis 3.24, God drove out the man.

And at the east of the Garden of Eden, he placed the cherubim, mighty warrior angels.

That's what cherubim were.

And a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.

So stage one in creation, we see unhindered access to God.

And a clear conscience with no shame.

Stage two, after the fall, driven out of God's presence with no way back in.

Guilty, ashamed, and avoidant.

And this is the world into which we are born and in which we live.

It's what many biblical writers, including the author of Hebrews, refer to as the present age.

But thankfully, the story of the Bible doesn't end here.

Because God, in his mercy, continues to seek out a dwelling place with his people.

And this leads us to stage three.

The tabernacle in the wilderness.

We read from Exodus in our first scripture reading.

Exodus 25, where God commanded Moses to build a tabernacle in the midst of the wilderness.

Exodus 25, 8, let them make me a sanctuary.

In other words, a holy place set apart that I may dwell in their midst.

Exodus 29, 45 and 46, I will dwell among the people of Israel and I will be their God.

And they shall know that I am the Lord their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, that I might dwell among them.

And at the end of Exodus, as we read, the tabernacle was finally finished and the cloud of God's glory descended and came to dwell among his people and filled the tabernacle.

This is the conclusion of the book of Exodus.

It's the climax.

God has come to dwell among his people once again.

That's what the tabernacle was about.

What we had lost in the Garden of Eden was now being restored.

But not quite.

And that's what the author of Hebrews is pointing out.

If you turn back to Hebrews, chapter 9, he begins by saying,

Hebrews 9 · chapter mention

Even the first covenant had regulations for worship and an earthly place of holiness.

In other words, the tabernacle was limited by its earthly nature and by its regulations.

So first, the tabernacle was limited because it was earthly.

In other words, it was made out of temporary materials donated by the people.

Now, they were the best materials that we have.

But it wasn't made to last forever.

In fact, the tabernacle in the wilderness had already been destroyed and replaced twice.

First, it was replaced by Solomon's temple.

But then that was destroyed in the exile.

And then that was rebuilt after they came back from exile.

So the original tabernacle didn't even exist anymore.

The point is, it was a temporary structure that would decay over time.

And as it says in verse 9, that's a symbol for the world that we live in.

The present age of decay and a fallen world.

So the tabernacle was limited because it was earthly.

But second, it was limited by its regulations.

You know, it wasn't like the cherubim, the mighty warrior angels,

standing at the entrance to the Garden of Eden,

had just been, and that flaming sword flashing back and forth.

It wasn't like that was just suddenly removed,

and the gate was opened for any and everyone to come back into the Garden of Eden

and enjoy all of its bounty once again.

No, there were detailed regulations about how you could approach the presence of God.

So he says, and he talks about some of these here.

If you want to read all of them, you can read the full text in Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers.

But he summarizes some of the main ones here.

In verse 6 and 7, he says there are two sections in the tabernacle.

And he says the priest would enter regularly into the first section

to offer gifts and sacrifices.

Now, if you weren't a priest, you couldn't even go in there.

If you weren't a priest, you were pretty much on the outside, period.

But the priest could go regularly into the first section.

But then he says, but the second section,

the most holy place represented the very presence of God.

The most precious things were kept in the most holy place.

In particular, the Ark of the Covenant,

representing God coming to dwell with his people.

The promise that God had made to bind himself to his people

and the covenant that he had made.

That was put in the most holy place.

As well as the manna, a sign of God's provision for the people in the wilderness.

Aaron's staff that budded, a sign of God's life-giving power and authority.

And the tablets of the covenant, as we said.

And then he says, above it, verse 5, were the cherubim of glory.

The glorious angels overshadowing the mercy seat.

And if you read in Exodus, the description of that,

in Exodus 25, God says,

that's where I will meet with you.

He says, there I will meet with you,

above the mercy seat, between the two cherubim.

Exodus 25, 22.

That was the place where the presence of God would come to dwell

with his people in that innermost place.

But the problem was,

only the high priest could go in there.

And only once a year.

And only with a sacrifice.

And then he'd do his thing,

and then he'd leave.

And he couldn't go in for another year.

You see, the tabernacle in the wilderness was built to be

the dwelling place of God among his people.

But its very structure and its regulations

communicated the distance

and the barriers

that still remained

between people and God.

And all the sacrifices

that had to be repeated

over and over again

could never restore us

to the freedom

that Adam and Eve enjoyed

in the garden before the fall.

Because as he says in verse 10,

there were only regulations for the body.

Dealing with food and drink

and various washings.

They could never definitively

cleanse our conscience.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have had to be

repeated all over again.

They could never wash away

our guilt and shame.

Now, probably none of us here

are planning to go to a tabernacle in Israel

to be cleansed of our sins

and our guilt.

It doesn't even exist anymore.

Nobody's going there.

It was destroyed in 70 AD.

But think for a moment.

Think for a moment about all the other

bodily regulations

that we come up with.

Seeking to cleanse our conscience.

Seeking to bring us back

into that life with God

that Adam and Eve had

in the Garden of Eden.

I mean, isn't that the promise

of many diets?

Rules about food and drink

that promise cleansing

and freedom

and freedom

and long life

if you follow them strictly.

These foods are good.

These foods are bad.

If you follow these rules,

you can feel good about yourself

because you're better

than everybody else who doesn't.

Of course, it's unstable

because the rules are always changing.

If you read a dieting book

from 20 or 30 years ago,

it's completely outdated

and been proved wrong

by more recent research.

But isn't it interesting?

It's striking how we can look to food

as a means

not only to physical well-being

but even to spiritual well-being.

My wife and I are members

of the co-op down the street,

the Elm City Market.

And a few months ago,

I was walking by

and they had an advertisement

in the window

that said something like,

buy natural foods

here at the co-op.

Health for your body,

mind, and spirit.

And I thought, really?

You know, if eating raw foods

could make me

or keep me spiritually healthy,

I'll eat them every day of the year.

I mean, hey, I'm okay with kale.

I'm okay with broccoli too.

But neither one

will cleanse our soul.

Now, of course,

we can go to the other stream too.

Overeating.

Or compulsive eating.

Not so much to cleanse our conscience

as perhaps to dull our conscience.

When we're feeling lonely

or sad

or ashamed

or overwhelmed,

we turn to food

or coffee

or alcohol

or sweets

to comfort us.

But of course,

the more we eat

or the more we drink,

the less pleasure

we experience.

And then sometimes

we go back and forth

between rigid legalistic dieting

and unrestrained indulgence.

And neither of them works.

They only expose

our shame

and insecurity

and our need

for something more.

Which brings us to stage four

in God's plan

to dwell among His people.

verse 10 says,

the tabernacle

and its regulations

were a temporary measure

until the time

of reformation.

Reformation.

You might ask,

what does he mean

by that phrase,

the time of reformation?

Well, that word

reformation

could also be translated

reconstruction.

It referred to something

being reformed

or reshaped

or rebuilt.

Reformation was needed

when a building

was in disrepair,

when an account

was overdue

or when a law

became ineffective.

And the Old Testament

prophets,

including in particular

Ezekiel and Zechariah,

looked forward to a day

when the tabernacle,

God's dwelling place

with His people,

would be gloriously restored

and all the world

would see it.

And a river

would flow out from it.

Ezekiel described it.

A river flowing out

from the new temple

giving life

to all creation

like the Garden of Eden

once again.

Now the message

of the New Testament

is that in the coming

of Jesus Christ,

that day

has arrived.

That in Jesus Christ,

God has established

and anchored

a permanent dwelling place

among His people.

As we heard earlier,

Matt read this

at the beginning

of the service,

the Word became flesh

and dwelt among us.

We have seen His glory.

Jesus Christ

is now the place

where God

and humanity

meet together.

and are inseparably joined.

He is the one

through whom our conscience

can be cleansed,

not just temporarily,

but forevermore.

And because Jesus has come,

the physical tabernacle

and all its rules

and regulations

and all the other rules

and regulations

that we come up with

to try to cleanse

our own conscience

and make us right

with God

have been superseded.

Jesus said

in Matthew 12, 6,

I tell you,

something greater

than the temple

is here.

Or John chapter 2,

John 2 · chapter mention

Jesus goes into the temple

and He drives out

the vendors

and the money changers

and the religious leaders

confront Him

and say,

what are you doing?

You're acting like

you own this place.

And Jesus said,

destroy this temple

and in three days

I will raise it up.

They didn't get

what He was saying,

but John explains

He was speaking

about the temple

of His body.

Jesus' own body

that would be

demolished on the cross

but gloriously rebuilt

in His resurrection.

You see,

through Jesus' death

and resurrection

He has established

a permanent dwelling place

of God

with His people.

Because through Jesus'

sacrifice on the cross

He's made provision

for our conscience

to be cleansed,

for our guilt

and shame

to be removed,

for our access

to God's presence

to be restored,

for our lives

to be rebuilt.

Once more,

in Him.

When Adam and Eve

were sent away

from the garden,

God placed

at the entrance

the angels

to guard

the entrance

with a flaming sword

flashing back and forth,

the sword

of divine justice.

For Adam and Eve

had sinned

and the wages

of sin is death.

But when Jesus Christ

who was without sin

died on the cross,

He went under

that flaming sword

of divine justice.

And because He died,

the way is now

open for us

to enter into

God's presence

once more

without hindrance.

the price

has been paid.

And because Jesus

has offered

that once-for-all

sacrifice,

we now have access

to that life-giving river

that flowed

through the Garden of Eden

and that Ezekiel

foresaw

would one day

be restored,

the life-giving river

that never runs dry.

And when Jesus

was on earth,

He talked about that.

And He said,

that's the Holy Spirit.

John chapter 7,

John 7 · chapter mention

Jesus went to Jerusalem

for the Feast

of Tabernacles,

the feast

that celebrated

God's dwelling

among His people

when they came

out of Egypt

in the wilderness.

And on the last

and greatest day

of the feast,

He stood up,

John 7, 37,

and He cried out,

if anyone thirsts,

let him come

to Me

and drink.

Whoever believes

in Me,

as the Scripture

has said,

out of his heart

will flow

rivers

of living

water.

He said this

about the Spirit

whom those

who believed

in Him

were to receive.

You see,

through Jesus

we have access

once more

to the presence

of God,

to the life-giving

power of God,

to the provision

of God.

It's the same

promise that Jesus

made when He met

the Samaritan woman

at the well.

She had been

married and

divorced five times

and was living

with another man

who wasn't her

husband.

For all kinds

of reasons,

she would have

been excluded

from the temple

in Jerusalem,

not even able

to go in

to the outer court.

And yet,

Jesus comes to her

and she's sitting

at the well

and He says

to her,

everyone who

drinks this water,

He engages her

in conversation.

In the course

of the conversation

He says,

everyone who

drinks this water

will be thirsty

again.

But whoever

drinks the water

that I give him

will never

be thirsty

forever.

Because the water

that I give

will become

in that person

a river,

a spring of living

water,

welling up

to eternal life.

Jesus,

wow,

no one else

has ever

promised that.

That's what

Jesus promises.

No matter

what our past,

no matter

how qualified

we might seem

on the outside

before others,

Jesus offers

a way

into God's

presence

and living

water

that will

never run

dry.

When Jesus

talked about

the work

of the Holy

Spirit,

He said,

peace I leave

with you.

My peace

I give you.

I do not

give to you

as the world

gives.

Do not let

your hearts

be troubled

and do not

be afraid.

And then

He went on

to talk

about joy.

He said,

you will be

sorrowful,

but your sorrow

will turn

to joy.

You have sorrow

now,

but I will

see you again

and your

hearts will

rejoice

and no one

will take

your joy

from you.

Ask

and you

will receive

that your

joy may

be full.

This is the

promise that

Jesus offers.

Joy

and peace

from the

Holy Spirit,

the river

of life-giving

water

flowing through

us,

cleansing

from all

of our

guilt

and shame.

Finally,

stage five,

the tabernacle

yet to come.

You see,

what we have

now,

according to

the Bible,

it's only

the beginning.

Because at

the end

of the Bible,

Revelation 21

and 22

gives us a

picture of

the tabernacle

yet to come,

the eternal

dwelling place

of God

with His

people.

I want

to close

by simply

reading

some of

the

description

that it

gives.

Revelation

21,

then I

saw a

new heaven

and a

new earth.

For the

first heaven

and the

first earth

had passed

away,

and I

saw the

holy city,

the new

Jerusalem,

coming down

out of heaven

from God,

prepared as a

bride adorned

for her

husband.

And I

heard a

loud voice

from the

throne saying,

behold,

the dwelling

place of

God

is with

man.

He will

dwell with

them,

and they

will be

his people,

and God

himself will

be with

them as

their God.

He will

wipe away

every tear

from their

eyes,

and death

shall be

no more.

Neither

shall there

be mourning,

nor crying,

nor pain

anymore,

for the

former things

have passed

away.

And he

who was

seated on

the throne

said,

behold,

I am

making

all

things

new.

Verse 22,

he says,

I saw

no temple

in the

city.

There's

no need

for a

physical

structure

set apart,

for its

temple is

the Lord

God,

the Almighty,

and the

Lamb.

And the

city has

no need

of sun

or moon

to shine

on it,

for the

glory of

God

gives it

light,

and its

lamp

is the

Lamb,

Jesus

Christ.

Chapter

22,

then the

angel

showed me

the river

of the

water

of life,

brightest

crystal

flowing

from the

throne

of God

and of

the

Lamb

through

the

middle

of the

street

of the

city.

On

either

side

of the

river

the

tree

of

life,

with

its

twelve

kinds

of

fruit,

yielding

its

fruit

every

month.

The

leaves

of the

tree

were

for the

healing

of

the

nations.

No

longer

will

there

be

anything

accursed,

but the

throne

of God

and of

the

Lamb

will

be

in

it

and

his

servants

will

worship

him.

They

will

see

his

face

and

his

name

will

be

on

their

foreheads

and

night

will

be

no

more.

They

will

need

no

light

of

lamp

or

sun

for

the

Lord

God

will

be

their

light

and

they

will

reign

forever

and

ever.

You

see,

in Jesus

Christ,

we can

face our

greatest

problems

because

in

Jesus

Christ,

we

have a

completely

sufficient

solution.

The price

has been

paid.

The way

has been

opened.

This is

the promise

that he

offers.

So he

invites us,

let us draw

near to

God through

him.

That's how

the Bible

ends.

The spirit

and the

bride

say,

come.

And let

the one

who hears

say,

come.

And let

the one

who is

thirsty

come.

Let the

one who

desires

take the

water of

life

without

price.

Let us

pray.

Almighty

God,

we thank

you

that in

your mercy

you have

sought to

establish a

dwelling place

with us,

your people.

We thank

you,

Lord,

for the

price you

paid to

cleanse us

from guilt

and shame,

to open

the way,

a new

and living

way of

access to

your presence.

Lord,

we pray that

we might

come.

And Lord,

as we look

forward to

that day

when what we

just heard

will be

the complete

reality,

we pray

that we

would

experience

the

life-giving

river of

your Holy

Spirit

flowing through

us today.

We pray

that we

would experience

the assurance

of sins

forgiven,

of conscience

cleansed,

of death

defeated,

and life

without end.

In Jesus'

name,

amen.

Amen.

Well,

as the music

team comes

forward,

we're going

to sing

our closing

song,

Beautiful

Savior.

This speaks

about the

assurance and

the confidence

that we can

have in

Christ and

how he's

come to

dwell among

us.

So let's

stand as we

sing in

praise to

him.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

All my days

I will sing

this song

of gladness

Give my praise

to the fountain

of delight

Lord of history

You're the way

that we are

Lord of history

For in my heart

For in my heart

You heard my cry

And waves of mercy

Pour down on my life

Beautiful Savior

Wonderful Counselor

You're the way

Father

Cloth and majesty

Lord of history

You're the way

The truth

The light

Star of the morning

Glorious in holiness

You're the risen one

Heaven's champion

And you reign

You reign over all

And I will trust

In the cross

Of my redeemer

I will sing

I will sing

Of the blood

That never fails

Of sins forgiven

Of conscience closed

Of death defeated

And life without end

Beautiful Savior

Wonderful Counselor

Lord of the Lord

You're the faithful

Counselor

Cloth and majesty

Lord of history

You're the way

The truth

The life

Star of the morning

Glorious in holiness

You're the risen one

Heaven's champion

And you reign

You reign over all

And I long to be

Where the praise is never ending

Turn to dwell

Where the glory never fades

Where countless worshipers will shine

Will share one's soul

And Christ the Lord

And I long to be

Where the praise is never ending

And I long to be

Where the praise is never ending

Turn to dwell

Where the glory never fades

Where countless worshipers will share one's soul

And Christ the love worthy will honor the Lord

Beautiful Savior

Wonderful Counselor

Lord of majesty

Lord of history

You're the way

The truth

The life

Star of the morning

Glorious in holiness

You're the risen one

Heaven's champion

And you reign

You reign over all

Thanks for joining us this morning

We invite you to stay around either up here or downstairs

Where there is coffee and refreshments

To greet and encourage one another

I receive God's word of blessing

From the book of Revelation

He who testifies