Bible Study Radio

Exodus (Program #83) – The Vision of the Tabernacle and Its Furniture and Concerning the Materials and the Pattern (3)

When we consider the story of Moses on the mountain of God in Exodus, most recall that this was the time and place God chose to give the ten commandments, the law to man.  But the story does not end there, Moses lingered for 40 days and 40 nights.  After this extended period in God’s presence, Jehovah unveiled something even higher than the ten commandments.  Don’t miss today’s life study of the Bible with Witness Lee.

Particularly, we are touching this matter of the tabernacle.  The tabernacle is not something that enjoys a high degree of understanding or interest among most Christian, to be honest.  Nevertheless, it is very crucial and important to God.

Exodus (Program #82) – The Vision of the Tabernacle and Its Furniture and Concerning the Materials and the Pattern (2)

The Old Testament book of Exodus records the Exodus or exit of God’s people out of the bondage and slavery of Egypt. This is a marvelous type of our own salvation from the tyranny of sin and the world. Yet the actual Exodus occupies less than half of the chapter in the book of Exodus. So what is the focus of the rest of the book?

God’s revelation to Moses concerning the building of the tabernacle. This may be a fairly unfamiliar topic to many people. A brief word just what the tabernacle was in the Old Testament.

Actually was the goal of Exodus. This tabernacle was a material building, build out of specially designated materials that God reveal to Moses what to use and how to use it and detail. When you get the picture of the tabernacle as a whole. There is an outer court with a wall around it, not a board wall, nor a stone wall but a cloth wall goes all around the outer court. And at the entrance, that is from the wilderness where the Israelite lived coming into the tabernacle there is an entrance there with a curtain. When you come into the entrance right inside there is an altar on which the sacrifices were actually killed and offered there. Then when you go from that altar toward the door of the tabernacle proper still in the court right outside of the tabernacle proper is a laver, that is a big bowl of water. That laver was what the priest wash in before they went into the tabernacle to do their service. Then when you go into the first part of the tabernacle on the right there is a table and it has 12 loaves of bread on it. That is significant too as we will see. But you turn left there just the opposite side, there is a lamp stand with 7 lamps on it. Then when you turn back to the center and go straight ahead from the door you come to another entrance, but just before the entrance there is another altar, a golden altar, on which certain offerings were made there also. Then just inside of the veil that was covering that part of the tabernacle from the inner most part, as you come in to that inner most part there is an ark, not Noah’s ark but an ark that was made in specific way out a certain special kind of wood, acacia wood and overlay with gold. And it has over it an covering and on the covering there are two cherubims, angel like creatures facing each other. This is also very significant, but to get the picture of what is here is very helpful for our future. In that ark there are certain elements that we will discover later on. But this give you kind of a picture what the tabernacle was like there in the wilderness. A very peculiar kind of tabernacle with certain coverings over the whole thing. And the outer most covering was a skin of some kind of sea animal and was rough to protected from all the outward things and was not very attractive but the inward parts was full of attraction. There was embroidery work on that curtains between the two parts and there was gold all over the place on the inside. So just really a glorious picture inside but the outside it does not look all that attractive.

How about the tabernacle is it related ultimately to the temple of God?  Eventually the tabernacle was kind of portable building. And there were multitude of times when there took that down and took it to another place according to the travel. As you know there travel for 40 years in that wilderness, with that tabernacle. And so there was the taking it down, putting it up, taking it down, putting it up and there were detail instructions of how all that should be handled as they went from place to place. But eventually the goal was a permanent place. That will be God’s dwelling place on earth and that was called the temple. And the temple eventually replaced the tabernacle and the ark was then put in the temple. And this temple also has these kinds of divisions. The outer court, the holy place, and then the holiest of all which was the inner most part of the temple.

Mark (Program #34) – The Preparation of the Slave-Savior for His Redemptive Service (8)

Mark chapter 13, is a chapter that’s difficult to understand. In this chapter the Lord Jesus was speaking to His disciples by way of prophecies concerning events that must occur before the ushering in of the kingdom age.

Many people studied this chapter focusing on these prophecies while missing the real significance of His speaking.  For in this chapter He is not just predicting the future events in order to entice us to follow the prophecies but rather He was preparing the disciples as well as all those who would follow the disciples to become His believers in future generations. This preparation was with a definite goal and purpose. Not merely to strengthen our faith in His word by accurately predicting future events. No.  Much more than that.; His speaking in this portion of scripture is to prepare all His seeking ones for the producing and bringing forth of the New Man.

Exodus (Program #81) – The Vision of the Tabernacle and Its Furniture and Concerning the Materials and the Pattern (1)

Chapter 25 of Exodus brings in a major turn of Old Testament Economy.  After giving Moses the 10 commandments and the addition ordinances on Mt. Sinai, God reveals the plan for the building of the tabernacle, God’s dwelling place among men. This building occupies the central focus in the history of God’s people in the Old Testament. But it also has tremendous significance and importance for us, God’s New Testament people today.

Our main topic for the next several months is going to be the tabernacle.

We made quite a journey from chapter 1 to chapter 24, we saw how the children of Israel were in slavery in Egypt under Pharaoh. God prepared and called Mosses to be the sent ones to deliver them, there was the passover, the Exodus, the crossing of the Red Sea then there was the experience with the bitter water at Marah, the water becoming sweet through the application of the crucified Christ in resurrection. Then we have Elim with the 12 springs and the 70 palm trees.  We had the change diet with eating the Manna, the war with Amalek, the establishment of the kingdom and eventually God’s people was brought to the mountain of God. Where we saw the day and night aspects of the giving of the law. This may be a new way of referring to it and the hearing of some. But the day aspect means, the positive aspect function of the law as a revelation of God Himself. And the giving of the law is actually the enactment of an engagement covenant between God and His people. The night side is the dark or threatening side that comes in because God’s people do not know themselves and need the law to expose them, therefore to preserve them and keep them. We also saw that Moses went up to the very top of the mountain to be in the glorious presence of God to behold the Lord to be infused with the Lord and we saw that we can be in various degrees of fellowship with the Lord. With Moses at the mountain top in the glory receiving the divine speaking and now we will see he not only receives the law and he not only receives and an infusing of God’s element but now God opens His heart and shows us this through this marvelous revelation that the desire of His heart is to have a tabernacle, His dwelling place, with and through His redeem people.

As we get into the second half of Exodus, the matter of the tabernacle, the speaking are going to center very much around types and symbols in the building of the tabernacle.

Mark (Program #33) – The Preparation of the Slave-Savior for His Redemptive Service (7)

At a critical time during the final few days before His crucifixion, the Lord Jesus took the disciples to the Mount of Olives. From that spot looking across to the temple in all its’ splendor, He spoke to them of the coming events that would ultimately usher in the kingdom of God to the earth

Let’s pick up His word to the disciples in Mark chapter 13:1, “And as He was going out of the temple, one of His disciples said to Him, Teacher, behold, what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!

This phrase, birth pangs is a clear reference to a  coming delivery, a child is been born. But what is this birth that He spoke of and has it taken place,  even yet?  Many clear signs were unveiled in Mark chapter 13.

Exodus (Program #80) – The Vision of God in a Transparent and Clear Heaven

God’s aim in His salvation is to make His people, His dwelling place. The book of Exodus is a book revealing God’s full salvation. And the second half of the book is devoted to this crucial topic. Stay with us for today’s life study as we look ahead to the revelation of the tabernacle of God.

God is a covenanting God. And God’s desire to use the law as an engagement paper but also to expose God’s people and to keep them until Christ can come as the redeemer. This is precisely what we have in Galatians. Focusing on the crucial matter of the New covenant and the all-inclusive Christ versus religion and the law and Christ as the Spirit being the unique blessing and this is for the many sons who become the heavenly Jerusalem as the consummate corporate expression of the Triune God.

A transitional chapter Exodus 24, it really gives us an advance look at God’s additional revelation following the law He called Mosses again to the mountain of God and revealed to him the pattern for His dwelling place, the tabernacle. The tabernacle interestingly shows up three different times in three different context in Scripture. First the pattern that was given to Mosses on Mount Sinai, and then constructed by the children of Israel at the base of Sinai, that literal physical tabernacle. Then in the New Testament the gospels refer to the Lord Jesus particularly the gospel of John as the tabernacle. Then of course the ultimate final tabernacle pointing us to New Jerusalem.

Mark (Program #32) – The Preparation of the Slave-Savior for His Redemptive Service (6)

In the last few days of the Lord Jesus’ life on this earth, He was preparing His disciples for this great moment. His preparation to them was as Peter said in 2 Pet 1:19 “And we have the prophetic word made more firm, to which you do well to give heed as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.“

Mark (Program #31) – The Preparation of the Slave-Savior for His Redemptive Service (4)&(5)

In the Old Testament the selection and preparation of the passover lamb was of great importance. Exodus tells us that after selecting the top lamb from the flock, the one without any blemish or imperfection still that lamb would undergo a vigorous inspection during the 4 days prior to been offered up on the day of passover.

As New Testament believers we know that Jesus fulfills the type of the passover lamb, the real Lamb of God, Who is offered up on the day of passover for our sins.  But do we realize in the 4 days prior to His been crucified, He too was examined, tested and inspected by both the religious leaders as well as the leaders of the worldly government. In every way this wonderful one past the testing and was uniquely qualify to be the real Lamb of God.

Exodus (Program #79) – The Blood of the Covenant (2).

The Old Testament book of Exodus speaks of a covenant between God and man and this covenant was ratified by blood. In the New Testament the Lord Jesus speaks of a New covenant in Luke 22 and once again the covenant is connected to the shedding of blood. And finally in Hebrews the writer speaks of an eternal covenant enacted and ratified by the offering of eternal blood. What is the relationship between these covenants and the blood that enacts and ratifies us?

It has been an amazing journey to see so many places and to consider them and respond to them in light of the very things we’ve been ministering in this life study of the scripture. This present message on the blood of the covenant I find particularly apt in recent days a number of us have been fellowshipping again and again about what we may call a dispensational change brought about by the ministry of the Lord Jesus. And by dispensational change we mean the ending, the terminating of the old covenant and the introducing of the new covenant through the redeeming death of Christ.  But actually through His entire ministry the Lord was doing so many things to indicate that He had come not to abolish the Old but to fulfill it. By having fulfill it He is here to replace it and to bring in a better covenant, a New covenant which is the reality of so many things portrayed in the Old covenant. One thing that has impressed me very much is to see by examining the religious situation in Jerusalem. Actually how few of those who declared themselves to be Christians having a proper Biblical understanding of this dispensational change and are anywhere close to what is revealed in the New Testament concerning the believers experience of the New Covenant.  So, I am very happy at the end of this journey to share in some fellowship on the blood as the blood of the covenant, hopefully to point the way and to direct the way to our listeners to reconsider the New Testament revelation concerning the relationship between the blood and the covenant.

According to the Bible a covenant requires sacrifices for the covenant to be enacted and ratified. And those sacrifices imply the shedding of blood. So in Exodus 24 for the enacting of the Old covenant there is the shedding of the blood of the sacrifices of course that is animals’ blood, that’s not effective for the forgiveness of sins. It is merely a type a picture of the real thing which is found in the person and work of the Lord Jesus, Who is the fulfillment of all the sacrifices and eventually the replacement of them because He is the unique all inclusive sacrifice. He Who speaks of the better blood which is the blood of Jesus. Luke 22 and Hebrews 13 speak of the blood in relation the covenant.  The New Covenant with all of its tremendous bequests which are actually God Himself and all of that He had done for us in His full salvation. The New covenant with all these bequests could not had been enacted without the blood of Jesus being the blood of the covenant. But as we will see once this blood has been shed and covenant has been enacted and ratified it then becomes binding not only on man’s side, but especially on God’s side. And God is bond by His righteousness expressed in His covenant to give all of the items of this covenant to His people for their experience and enjoyment.

Mark (Program #30) – The Preparation of the Slave-Savior for His Redemptive Service (3) & (4)

The Lord Jesus enter into Jerusalem exactly six days prior to His crucifixion. During the first two of these days He was welcomed by the crowd who honored Him and exalted Him really for the first time in His earthly ministry.

The next four days were time of testing and examination by both the religious and the political leaders. These two groups who were natural enemies became united in their desire to defeat the Slave-Savior who had now won the hearts of the people. Various factions of these two groups plotted using the out most of their human cunning and reasoning to trap Him. But each attempt merely afforded the Lord another opportunity to display His marvelous wisdom confounding them on the one hand and inciting them on the other hand to do what they needed to so that He could do what He must do; and that is to be offer up a sacrifice at the hand of these very same leaders, a worldly religion and politics.