How We All Can Contribute

Please turn with me in your Bibles to Exodus chapter 25.

Exodus 25 · chapter mention

We are entering the final section in the book of Exodus

where it talks about the building,

the instructions for the tabernacle

and the actual construction of the tabernacle.

And it takes extended time to describe

the specific dimensions of and the furnishings

within the tabernacle.

And then it spends more chapters later on

describing almost in identical words,

verbatim, that they did exactly what they were told to do.

And so we're gonna actually cover those two parts together

and I'm gonna explain why it's repeated in the text

as we go through this final section together.

So we're gonna look at Exodus 25 verses one to nine

and then Exodus 35 verses four to 29.

And then lastly, we're gonna look at Exodus 38

Exodus 38:21–31

verses 21 to 31.

So please have your Bibles open

and ready to kind of flip through and follow along.

And let me pray for the reading and preaching of God's word.

Heavenly Father, we want to lay aside our distractions.

This morning, some of us are distracted

by things that happen this week.

Some of us are distracted by what's gonna happen later today

or later this week.

And some of us are distracted with service here

during our worship.

But Lord, right now,

as we come to your word,

we want to sit at your feet

and we want to listen.

We want to hear from you.

So help us

to incline our ears and our hearts

as you speak to us from your word

that we might stand in awe of you

and your glory,

that we might rejoice

and delight in

the great grace you have shown us

in coming to dwell among us.

In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

If you are able,

please stand for the reading of God's word.

I'm gonna first read Exodus 25,

1 to 9.

The Lord said to Moses,

Speak to the people of Israel

that they take for me a contribution.

From every man whose heart moves him,

you shall receive the contribution for me.

And this is the contribution

that you shall receive from them,

gold, silver, and bronze,

blue and purple and scarlet yarns

and fine twined linen,

goat's hair,

tanned ram skins,

goat skins,

acacia wood,

oil for the lamps,

spices for the anointing oil

and for the fragrant incense,

onyx stones

and stones for setting

for the ephod

and for the breast piece.

And let them make me a sanctuary

that I may dwell in their midst.

Exactly as I show you

concerning the pattern

of the tabernacle

and of all its furniture,

so you shall make it.

Going ahead to Exodus 35, 4 to 29.

Moses said to all the congregation

of the people of Israel,

This is the thing

that the Lord has commended.

Take from among you

a contribution to the Lord.

Whoever is of a generous heart,

let him bring the Lord's contribution,

gold, silver, and bronze,

blue and purple

and scarlet yarns

and fine twined linen,

goat's hair,

tanned ram skins

and goat skins,

acacia wood,

oil for the light,

spices for the anointing oil

and for the fragrant incense,

and onyx stones

and stones for setting

for the ephod

and for the breast piece.

Let every skillful craftsman among you

come and make all

that the Lord has commanded.

The tabernacle,

its tent and its covering,

its hooks and its frames,

its bars,

its pillars and its bases.

The ark with its poles,

the mercy seat

and the veil of the screen.

The table with its poles

and all its utensils

and the bread of the presence.

The lampstand also for the light

with its utensils and its lamps

and the oil for the light

and the altar of incense

with its poles

and the anointing oil

and the fragrant incense

and the screen for the door

at the door of the tabernacle.

The altar of burnt offering

and with its grating of bronze,

its poles and all its utensils,

the basin and its stand,

the hangings of the court,

its pillars and its bases

and the screen for the gate of the court.

The pegs of the tabernacle

and the pegs of the court

and their cords.

The finely worked garments

for ministering in the holy place,

the holy garments

for Aaron the priest

and the garments of his sons

for their service as priests.

Then all the congregation

of the people of Israel

departed from the presence of Moses

and they came,

everyone whose heart stirred him

and everyone whose spirit moved him

and brought the Lord's contribution

to be used for the tent of meeting

and for all its service

and for the holy garments.

So they came,

both man and woman,

all who were of a willing heart

brought brooches and earrings

and signet rings and armlets,

all sorts of gold objects,

every man dedicating an offering

of gold to the Lord.

And everyone who possessed blue

or purple or scarlet yarns

or fine linen or goat's hair

or tanned ram skins

or goat skins brought them.

Everyone who could make a contribution

of silver or bronze

brought it as the Lord's contribution.

And everyone who possessed acacia wood

of any use in the work brought it.

And every skillful woman spun with her hands

and they all brought what they had spun

in blue and purple and scarlet yarns

and fine twined linen.

All the women whose heart stirred them

to use their skill

spun the goat's hair.

And the leaders brought onyx stones

and stones to be set

for the ephod and for the breast piece

and spices and oil for the light

and for the anointing oil

and for the fragrant incense.

All the men and women,

the people of Israel,

whose heart moved them

to bring anything for the work

that the Lord had commanded

by Moses to be done,

brought it as a freewill offering

to the Lord.

And finally, chapter 38,

verses 21 to 31.

These are the records of the tabernacle.

The tabernacle of the testimony

as they were recorded

at the commandment of Moses.

The responsibility of the Levites

under the direction of Ethamar,

the son of Aaron the priest,

Bezalel, the son of Uri,

son of Hur of the tribe of Judah,

made all that the Lord commanded Moses.

And with him was Oholiab,

the son of Ahisamak of the tribe of Dan,

an engraver and designer

and embroiderer in blue and purple

and scarlet yarns

and fine twisted linen.

All the gold that was used for the work

in all the construction of the sanctuary,

the gold from the offering

was 29 talents and 730 shekels

by the shekel of the sanctuary.

The silver from those of the congregation

who were recorded

was 100 talents

and 1,775 shekels

by the shekel of the sanctuary.

A becca, a head,

that is half a shekel

by the shekel of the sanctuary

for everyone who was listed in the records

from 20 years old and upward

for 603,550 men.

The 100 talents of silver

were forecasting the basis of the sanctuary

and the basis of the veil.

A hundred basis for the 100 talents,

a talent, a base.

And of the 1,775 shekels,

he made hooks for the pillars

and overlaid their capitals

and made fillets for them.

The bronze that was offered

was 70 talents

and 2,400 shekels.

With it, he made the basis

for the entrance of the tent of meeting,

the bronze altar

and the bronze grating for it

and all the utensils of the altar,

the bases around the court

and the basis of the gate of the court,

all the pegs of the tabernacle

and all the pegs around the court.

This is God's holy

and authoritative word.

You may be seated.

You guys were very patient

through a longer reading.

We've been in our sermon series

in the book of Exodus

for exactly a year

as of last week.

And of course,

we took some breaks here and there

for a sermon series

through Advent and Christmas

and with guest preachers

and whatnot.

And when we first began the series,

I'd mentioned to you

that chapters 1 to 18

tell us about the salvation of the Lord,

the deliverance of the Israelites,

the Exodus.

And then chapters 19 to 24

tell us about the law of the Lord,

the 10 commandments

and the book of the covenant

that we've been going through

over the last two months or so,

a few months or so.

And then finally,

chapters 25 to 40,

which is where we're at,

tell us about the presence of the Lord,

where Israel follows

God's detailed instructions

for the construction of the tabernacle

so that God may dwell in their midst.

This last section of Exodus

is the part that preachers

are often tempted to skip

for, I think, reasons

that are probably apparent to you.

They worry that the repetitive section

with its seemingly tedious details

about the tabernacle

would bore their listeners.

But the final section of Exodus

is actually an indispensable

and fitting conclusion

to the book as a whole.

Throughout the narratives

of the Exodus in chapters 7 to 10,

the Lord repeatedly said,

let my people go.

And there was a purpose for that,

that they may serve me.

And that's why the Lord

freed the Israelites from slavery

so that they might serve him.

That's why some theologians

prefer to call this

not emancipation,

but repatriation.

They're taking one master,

a cruel, harsh master in Egypt,

to a gracious and benevolent master

in Yahweh, the Lord.

And so God,

the serving God

and worshiping God

is the direction

in which the all of Exodus

has been pointing.

And now that's where we are.

Finally, the people

are now getting to serve the Lord,

to worship the Lord.

This is really not an afterthought

or an appendix.

It's the climax

of the book of Exodus.

And the theological significance

of the tabernacle

is highlighted

by just how many chapters

in the book

are dedicated to this subject.

By comparison,

it took only one chapter

to tell us about 80 years

of Moses' life.

It took only one chapter

to give us the Decalogue,

the Ten Commandments.

Even when you count

the subsequent book

of the covenant,

that's still only five chapters.

The entire Exodus narrative

from the time Moses and Aaron

first confront Pharaoh

to the crossing of the Red Sea

took nine chapters.

That climactic event

of divine deliverance

in the Old Testament

is told in nine chapters.

But this book

devotes 13 chapters

for the construction

of the tabernacle.

Chapters 25 to 31

is the blueprint,

seven chapters.

And then there's a break

in chapters 32 to 34

due to Israel's idolatry

and the worship

of the golden calf.

And then in the chapters

35 to 40

is the actual building

of the tabernacle

over six more chapters.

So 13 chapters in total.

And that makes us ask,

why so much emphasis

on all these hooks

and frames

and bars

and poles

and pegs

and cords

and linens

and curtains?

Well, because

it's not just a tent.

The word tabernacle

comes from the Latin word

that means tent.

So it is a tent.

But when the word

in the Hebrew Bible

is translated

as tabernacle,

it actually means

the dwelling place.

That's what the word

is translating.

Every time it says tabernacle,

it's not just saying tent.

It's saying the dwelling.

The dwelling place

of God.

And so it's called

sometimes the tent

of meeting

because it's where

the Israelites

would convene with God,

meet with Him.

And so this is

a significant development

in the biblical narrative

because we know

from Genesis

that Adam and Eve

had enjoyed

communion with God

in the garden.

And it says

in Genesis chapter 3

Genesis 3 · chapter mention

that God sometimes

even walked in the garden.

They enjoyed fellowship

with Him.

But because they

sinned against God

and ate from the tree

of knowledge of good

and evil

that they were forbidden

to eat from,

they were cut off

from the tree of life

in the midst of the garden

and then expelled

from the garden.

Ever since then,

humanity has been

living in exile

from the presence of God.

And this question

has hung over

all of Scripture

up to this point.

can God's people

ever be reconciled to God?

Can we ever be restored

to His presence again?

Will God ever dwell

with us again?

And the tabernacle

is God's temporary

but gracious yes

to that question.

And it points to

God's ultimate answer

to that question

in Jesus Christ.

That God does intend

to dwell with His people again.

And remarkably,

we learn from this passage

that not only does He

intend to do that,

the Lord invites us

to give to

and work for

the construction

of His very dwelling place

among us.

And we're going to explore

that in three phases.

First, we're going to look

at the loftiness

of God's dwelling.

Secondly,

the lowliness

of God's dwelling.

And third,

the costliness

of the people's offering.

So let's first look

at the loftiness

of God's dwelling.

Exodus 25,

Exodus 25:8–9

verses 8 to 9

clearly tell us

what the tabernacle

is meant to be.

The Lord says,

And let them make me

a sanctuary

that I might dwell

in their midst,

exactly as I show you

concerning the pattern

of the tabernacle

and of all its furniture,

so you shall make it.

This tent

that they are to build

for the Lord

is a sanctuary,

which is derived

from the Latin word

that means holy.

It's a consecrated place.

That's why

the inner tent

of the tabernacle

is called

the holy place.

It's divided

into two rooms,

the holy place

and the most holy place.

In the Old Testament,

sometimes a guilty fugitive

ran to the sanctuary

or the temple

in order to kind of

plead guilty

and seek clemency.

It was their way

of seeking asylum.

And it's because

of that association

with the sanctuary

that the word sanctuary

is nowadays often used

to mean a refuge

or a shelter.

But its original meaning

is simply a holy place,

a place that is set apart.

It's not an ordinary place,

a place that is uncommon,

a special place

that's unlike any other.

And the tabernacle

is one such place.

It's set apart

by its design

and by its building material.

So before starting

the construction,

of course,

you need to gather

all the required materials.

And that's what God

instructs Moses to do.

So in chapter 25,

verses 3 to 7,

we see this list.

It says,

this is the contribution

that you shall receive

from them,

gold,

silver,

and bronze.

So again,

those are precious metals

that have been prized

through centuries,

through millennia,

because of their luster

and because of their rarity.

And even now,

even nowadays,

during financial downturns,

investors often

put their money in gold

because gold is more likely

to retain its value

than dollar.

And so the gold

will be used

for the furnishings

within the tabernacle proper,

the holy place

and the most holy place.

The ark,

the mercy seat,

the cover for the ark,

the cherubim

attached to that,

as well as the altar

of incense

and the pillars

inside the tabernacle

will be all overlaid

with gold.

And then,

according to Exodus 38

to 27, 31,

which we read earlier,

silver will be used

for the bases

of the pillars

in the tabernacle

and for the capitals

and the fillets

and hooks

of the pillars

in the courtyard.

And then bronze

will be used

for the bases

and for the bronze altar

and the bronze basin

in the courtyard

of the tabernacle.

Why is this relevant?

There are levels,

there's a gradation

within the tabernacle structure

which sets God apart

as holy.

It's almost like

the tabernacle

has three stories.

The land outside

the courtyard

is just dirt,

but the courtyard

is made up

of bronze materials.

And the top tip

of the courtyard

is made of silver.

The rest of it

underneath

is made of bronze.

So if you go further in,

then the bottom

of the pillars

surrounding

the actual

tabernacle

of the tent

is made of silver.

And then the rest of it

above it

is gold.

And then once you step

into the tabernacle,

everything you see

is gold.

So there's a gradation.

You should get closer

to the most holy place,

to the holy place,

the more royal

and exquisite

and beautiful it gets.

And the further away

you get

from that place,

the more common

and ordinary

it gets.

the idea

is reinforcing

the important fact

that God

is holy,

set apart.

He is the sovereign

ruler of the universe

before whom

we should stand

in awe

and pay homage.

Let's return

to 2537

and look at

the rest of the

building materials.

In addition to gold,

silver,

and bronze,

which was given

in order of descending

significance or value,

we also get

blue and purple

and scarlet yarns

and fine twine linen,

which is again

listed in descending

order of value.

The colored yarns

were very expensive

and rare in those days

because this is

before the invention

of synthetic dyes.

So dyes had to be

extracted from

natural sources

and in this

region of the world

they would have to

rely on sea mollusks

like clams

and they would have

to get plant barks

and leaves

and berries

or precious minerals

to get the color

that they want.

So think about

the long

and painstaking

labor that would

be required

to extract

even modest

amounts of dye,

let alone

enough to dye,

enough to color

an entire skin

of yarn.

Skin of yarn.

So the next items

listed are

goat's hair,

tanned ram skins

and goat skins,

which I'll talk more

about when we get

to them.

And these are

the next three layers

of coverings

for the tabernacle.

So first the colored

yarns and the

fine twine linen

and then goat's hair,

tanned ram skin

and then what this

translation says

goat skins.

I won't go into

these details for now

but it's sufficient

to note that this

tabernacle doesn't

have a single

flimsy rain fly

like my tent.

It has three

hefty, durable

covers over the

blue and purple

and scarlet yarn.

So four total layers

of covering.

The next few items

are acacia wood

which is known

for its hardiness

and durability.

It's even stronger

than oak.

And then the oil

for the lamb,

spices for the

anointing oil

and for the

fragrant incense.

The spices

are specifically

described in Exodus

30 as the

finest spices

including myrrh,

sweet smelling

cinnamon,

aromatic cane,

acacia and

olive oil.

These are

ingredients that

are still used

nowadays in perfumes

and so it would

fill the tabernacle

with sweet

aromas that

are perhaps

even therapeutic

as you would

smell it

that would set

the tabernacle

apart from the

common orders

of life

that you're used

to smelling

with your animals

and with your

sweaty self.

So it's being

set apart

not only visually

but also in

your olfactory sense

it's being set apart

as a holy place

like no other.

And finally

verse 7 adds

onyx stones

and stones

for setting

for the ephod

and for the

breast piece.

I won't get

into this now

but these are

precious stones

of great value

that will be used

as attached

to the garb

of the priests

and of the high priest.

And so

all that to say

the rare

and costly materials

used for the

construction

of the tabernacle

show that it was

designed

to be beautiful,

designed to be

glorious,

so that it might

be a sanctuary,

a holy place

for Yahweh

so that the

Lord is not

cheapened

before the eyes

of his people.

Everything about

this place

screams royalty,

it screams

sovereignty,

majesty,

and according

to Numbers 2

the entire

Israelite camp

was arranged

around the

tabernacle,

the tabernacle

at the center,

three tribes

to the north,

three to the south,

three to the east,

three to the west.

The king

residing

at the center

of his people,

of his loyal subjects,

reigning over them.

And this is a lesson

for the Israelites.

God is not

to be regarded

lightly.

He is among you,

but he is not

like you.

He is holy.

He is set apart.

Listen to him.

Obey him.

The specific instructions

for the tabernacle

also tell us

the importance

of strict adherence

to God's commands.

Notice what God

says to Moses

in chapter 25,

verse 9.

Exactly as I show you

concerning the pattern

of the tabernacle

and of all its furniture,

so you shall make it.

The tabernacle

is supposed to be built

exactly the way

the instruction says.

The same thing

is repeated

in Exodus 25,

40,

and quoting that verse,

Hebrews 8, 5 says this,

the priests serve

a copy

and shadow

of the heavenly things.

For when Moses

was about to erect

the tent,

he was instructed

by God saying,

see that you make

everything according

to the pattern

that was shown you

on the mountain.

The tabernacle,

God's earthly dwelling place,

is a copy.

It's a shadow

of the reality,

which is God's

heavenly dwelling.

For example,

Psalm 11, 4 speaks

of how the Lord

is in his holy temple

and the Lord's throne

is in heaven.

And in John's vision

of God's throne

in Revelation 11, 19,

it says,

then God's temple

in heaven was opened

and the ark

of his covenant

was seen

within his temple.

There is in heaven itself

a temple for the Lord

and it's complete

with its own ark

of the covenant

of which the earthly temple

and its ark

is merely a copy,

a shadow.

So Moses

on the top

of Mount Sinai

got to see

this,

glimpse this temple

of God,

this heavenly temple.

He saw the archetype

of God's dwelling place

and now he's commissioned

to build

an earthly copy

according to that pattern.

So you can think

of the tabernacle

in a way

like almost

like a miniature,

a scale model,

representative replica

of the heavenly reality.

The temple

that Solomon built

for God

in Jerusalem

is no longer standing,

it's been destroyed

but in Jerusalem

they do have

a scale model

of the temple

which is helpful

for letting people

see what it would

have looked like.

I mean,

it's a lot smaller

but what would it have looked like

in this day and time

and also to show them

that this is a real thing,

it really used to exist,

this is a copy

of the original

and that's the purpose

of the tabernacle.

It tells us that

there's a real thing

out there.

This is just a copy.

It's a shadow

of reality

and this is why

it's so important

for that the Israelites

follow the blueprint

to a T.

That's why there are

seven chapters

of painstaking instructions

and then another

six chapters

to tell us

that they did exactly

according to the pattern

shown to Moses

on the mountain.

There is no room

for creative license here

because God's people

must know

that God's dwelling place

is real

and that it is not

a figment

of Moses' imagination.

The tabernacle

is a replication

not an innovation

and that's why

it is beautiful

and glorious.

It resembles God's

heavenly temple,

dwelling place.

So in this way

the loftiness

of God's dwelling

place communicates

His glory

but the relative

lowliness

of God's dwelling

communicates

His grace.

The tabernacle

was a splendid tent

but it was still

a tent.

It was merely

a copy

of the heavenly reality.

How can

the Lord God

Yahweh

stoop to such a level

to inhabit

that?

the Lord

commissioned

the building

of the tabernacle

in Exodus 25

8 saying

that I may

dwell

in their midst.

That's an amazing

statement.

God is not

merely visiting

or stopping

by

the Israelites.

He is moving

into the neighborhood.

As I mentioned

earlier

the word

tabernacle

is a translation

of the word

that literally

means the dwelling.

It's where

God will

take residence.

But think

about that

for a moment.

Last time

I went camping

my tent

collapsed twice

before I was able

to actually

put it up properly.

It was

pretty flimsy.

When we think

of the most

royal and glamorous

accommodations

we do not

think of tents.

No matter

how glorious

it is

the tabernacle

is still

a portable

shelter

used for

camping

in the wilderness.

That's why

later in 2 Samuel 7

2 David

laments to

Nathan the prophet

see now

I dwell

in a house

of cedar

but the ark

of God

dwells

in a tent.

So he

realized that

there is

a gross

incongruity

there and

he sets out

right away

to make

preparations

for the

building

of God's

temple

and it's

his son

Solomon

that

completes

that

task

and

even

Solomon

after

finishing

building

the temple

which is

grander than

the tabernacle

and twice

as big

in all its

proportions

1 Kings 8

27 he says

this

but will

God

indeed

dwell

on the

earth

behold

heaven

and the

highest

heaven

cannot

contain

you

how much

less

this

house

that I

have

built

if

even

the

temple

is

inadequate

accommodation

for the

Lord God

then how

can

this

tent

possibly

be

a

fitting

dwelling

place

for

almighty

God

remember

the last

time we

heard of

God

dwelling

somewhere

it was in

the previous

chapter

when it

said

that

the

cloud

covered

a

mountain

the

glory

of

the

Lord

dwelt

on

Mount

Sinai

and

the

cloud

covered

it

six

days

and

on

the

seventh

day

he

called

to

Moses

out

of

the

cloud

now

the

appearance

of

the

glory

of

the

Lord

was

like

a

devouring

fire

on

the

top

of

the

mountain

in

the

side

of

the

people

of

Israel

use

your

imagination

for a

bit

eruption

I'm

not

saying

that

it

was

a

volcanic

eruption

I

think

it

would

look

similar

there's

a

devouring

fire

atop

Mount

Sinai

consuming

everything

that

dares

to

cross

its

paths

and

the

clouds

with

billowing

crowds

with

the

massive

cauliflower

like

shape

just

ballooning

everywhere

and

covering

so you

can't

see

anything

around

you

how

does

God

whose

glory

is

like

a

devouring

fire

dwell

inside

a

tent

it's

an

absolutely

mind

boggling

proposition

can

you

catch

a

lightning

bolt

in

a

bottle

can

you

pour

a

tsunami

into

a

mug

how

can

the

glorious

creator

of

the

universe

dwell

inside

a

man

made

tent

the

level

of

condescension

required

even

the

level

of

humiliation

required

for

this

is

staggering

God

our

heavenly

father

comes

down

to

our

level

condescends

to dwell

in

our

midst

the

king

of

kings

the

lord

of

lords

the

one

god

overall

takes

residence

among

a group

of

stateless

refugees

nomads

wandering

through

the

wilderness

he's

not

offering

emotional

support

from

a

long

distance

phone

call

he is

coming

into

their

midst

to

live

among

them

to

let

his

people

know

once

and

for

all

I

am

with

you

and

I

am

for

you

and

I

am

going

to

lead

you

personally

into

the

promised

land

that's

what's

happening

with

the

building

of

the

tabernacle

and

this

gracious

condescension

of

God's

dwelling

in

the

tabernacle

points

to

God's

ultimate

condescension

to

his

people

in

Jesus

Christ

the

tabernacle

is a

symbol

of

Jesus

in

the

Old

Testament

in

John

2

19

to

21

Jesus

says

that

his

body

is

the

new

temple

of

God

and

that

and

that's

because

Colossians

2

9

tells

us

that

of

deity

dwells

bodily

the

word

we use

for that

to

describe

it

is

the

incarnation

the

divine

son

of

God

taking

on

human

flesh

and

dwelling

among

us

John

1

14

says

of

Jesus

the

eternal

word

of

God

and

the

word

became

flesh

and

dwelt

among

us

the

word

translated

dwelt

there

literally

means

he

pitched

a

tent

among

us

there

is an

intentional

allusion

to

the

tabernacle

in

the

gospel

of

John

Jesus

tabernacled

among

us

to

show

us

that

God

is

with

us

that

God

is

for

us

Jesus

it

tells

us

in

Philippians

2

6

to

8

that

though

he

was

in

the

form

of

God

he

did

not

consider

equality

with

God

a

thing

to

grasp

but

instead

he

humbled

himself

and

took

on

the

form

of

a

servant

by

taking

on

human

flesh

and

Adam

and

Eve

though

they

were

not

in

the

form

of

God

they

were

only

in

the

form

of

man

sought

to

become

like

God

and

to

grasp

for

equality

with

God

by

taking

from

the

tree

of

the

knowledge

of

good

and

evil

but

Jesus

who

was

in

the

form

of

God

did

not

seek

equality

with

God

but

instead

he

humbled

himself

by

becoming

a

man

and

dying

on

the

tree

of

God

summarizes

this way

in this

book

the

cross

of

Christ

man

asserts

himself

against

God

and

puts

himself

where

only

God

deserves

to

be

God

sacrifices

himself

for

man

and

puts

himself

where

only

man

deserves

to

be

man

claims

prerogatives

that belong

to God

alone

God

accepts

penalties

that belong

to man

alone

Adam's

sin

brought

humanity's

exile

and

it's

Jesus'

sacrifice

that

brings

humanity's

homecoming

bring

his

people's

homecoming

more

specifically

the

priests

in the

old

testament

went

into

the

tabernacle

or

to

the

temple

to

offer

atoning

sacrifices

for

the

sins

of

God's

people

but

their

sacrifices

along

with

the

tabernacle

and

the

temple

were

mere

copies

shadows

that

pointed

to a

greater

reality

but

Jesus

our

great

high

priest

he

says

in

Hebrews

9

he

did

not

make

a

shadow

sacrifice

he

made

the

actual

sacrifice

by

going

into

the

tabernacle

the

tent

in

the

heavenly

places

and

offering

a

one

central

sacrifice

at

his

own

blood

his

own

life

so

that

we

might

live

so

that

we

might

be

reconciled

to

God

so

that

now

it

is

true

that

it

is

on

earth

it

is

so

on

earth

as

it

is

in

heaven

what

Jesus

has

accomplished

in

that

heavenly

temple

and

heavenly

tabernacle

is

the

reality