Exodus 25:8-9 and Acts 15:16
When we look at The Tabernacle of the Old Testament it was a type of the New Testament Christ. In this of the text we see the significance of the amazing work of this great part of history.
In Exodus 25:8 it says “And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.”
When looking at the depths of this text we see that God had one main purpose for building the Tabernacle, and it was so that He might dwell in a very special way among His people.
The word "sanctuary" in the Hebrew means a Holy place, a hallowed place, a place sanctified or set apart for God.
God wanted the Tabernacle to be a Holy; he wanted it to be a hallowed place. The word Hallowed means to be consecrated. That’s why he said in the Lord prayer hallowed be thy name, not hallowid, but hallowed, consecrated, sacred and sanctified.
God wanted the Tabernacle to be:
• A place sanctified or set apart for Him.
• A place looked upon as being where He dwelt in a very special way.
• A place where God could live in a special way among His people
• A place where He met with the people, and the people could meet with Him.
• A place where people worshipped God, received the forgiveness from Him, committed their lives to Him, and where God could bless them.
As we look into the Old Testament, we see a time when God had delivered his people out of the Egyptian bondage. He had a great plan for these people, which included the ability to commune with them. He wanted to develop a life of personal fellowship with each of them, and become their personal God. So he created (Don’t miss this), so he created the Tabernacle.
But as we study this, we find that it was much more than a sanctuary with a few fancy items, it was much more than a building that people got attached to, it was much more than the splendor or the brilliance that made you go ahhhhh, but instead it was a spiritual layout of the New Testament Christ.
And what was so great about this whole thing is that, every part of the Tabernacle, everything that was in the Tabernacle, every piece of furniture, every article, and every object pointed to Christ in some way. This Tabernacle was important for Israel: It was a sanctuary where God would dwell among them. Is there anyone that want God to dwell with you?
In this Tabernacle was a group of redeemed people, a group of changed people in their hearts, they were standing united in God, together in covenant relationship with God, and to the God of Israel, and Israel, the people of Jehovah.
When we read the text it says in Exodus chapter 25:1-9
1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
2 Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring me an offering: of every man that giveth it willingly with his heart ye shall take my offering.
3 And this is the offering which ye shall take of them; gold, and silver, and brass,
4 And blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats' hair,
5 And rams' skins dyed red, and badgers' skins, and shittim wood,
6 Oil for the light, spices for anointing oil, and for sweet incense,
7 Onyx stones, and stones to be set in the ephod, and in the breastplate.
8 And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.
9 According to all that I shew thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it.
At one time God called for Moses, Joshua, Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu to come to Mt. Sinai. They were seeking God face and his favor. As they approached the mountain, He called for Moses and Joshua to come to the top.
But then there was the massive, awesome presence of God. It was so great that a natural altar appearance. Now the reason Moses and Joshua were called to the top was because of God’s plan of leadership.
As they were there, God gave them the layout for the Tabernacle. So after receiving the instructions from God, they came down and shared it with the others, what God had showed them, they shared with the people what God was about to do among the Israelites. And may I share with you what God is about to do? He’s about to do some wonderful and marvelous things in your life.
After sharing with them the things that God had showed them, it is said that they were to gather the goods and begin to build the Tabernacle. And if we are going to build the Tabernacle we must seek God’s face like never before. If we are going to build the Tabernacle, we are going to have to get back into the Word of God. If we are going to build the Tabernacle we are going to have to seek the lost souls and bring them back to Christ.
If this tabernacle is going to be built the first thing that we are going to have to do is seek God’s face, and hear God’s voice, and to follow the instruction that he has laid out for us.
Spies what do you see, when I looked and this Word, the first thing I seen was the outer walls.
The bible teaches us that the outer walls of the tabernacle, was made of curtains made of double fine linens. These linens represented Christ’s perfect manhood.
In the Tabernacle there were 3 main colors used on the inner-part of the curtain.
Blue which represented his heavenly characters, then there was purple which represented his royal dignity, and then there was scarlet, which represented his human sufferings on the cross. Then there was goat hair which was to be used
for the tent's covering. God wanted the people's mind to be focus upon spiritual things.
In order for us to be right in the tabernacle we need to follow the directions of the Tabernacle, and the only way to do that, is that we must do that which he has called us to do, we must have what he had on the inside what God had inside the Tabernacle.
First we must have a heavenly character, the bible tells us that we need to be like him because he said to us 1st Peter 1:16 “Because it is written, be ye holy, for I am holy”. We must be like him. In Philippians 2:5 it says –“let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.”
In other for us to be right in the Tabernacle there must be a royal dignity. We must know who we are.
How, then shall we be royal Pastor? Well, in the next chapter 1st Peter 2:9 it says -For ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a Holy nation, a peculiar people, that ye might shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness and into his marvelous light.
In other for us to be right in the Tabernacle we must be overcomers, for revelation 12:11 says -they overcame by the blood of the lamb and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.
We have to know that in this Christian walk, we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, and against spiritual wickedness in high places. In this walk, we are not messing with any scared demons; we are dealing with some bold demons.
But when we know who we are, when we understand who we are in God, when we can rap our heads around the fact that he is our God, our Guide and our keeper, then we can understand the order of the tabernacle.
It is time to rebuild the Tabernacle of Praise, (which means you have the right to shout, you have the right to lift your hands, you have the right to cry out and you have the right to Worship). It is time to rebuild the Tabernacle of love. It is time to rebuild the Tabernacle of peace and understand.
Who made the rule up that you have to keep quite when you come into the house of God when clearly the bible says let everything that has breathe praise ye the Lord.
Who made the rule up that you can’t dance before the Lord, when David danced out of his clothes and the Lord was pleased?
Who told you that you can’t clap your hands, pat your feet or lift your voice? The devil is a liar.
Who told you that you can’t meet God in this place, when the bible tells us that he wanted the Tabernacle build so that he could dwell among the people, me with them and commune with them.
I’ll tell you where it came from. In Acts chapter 15 in the early church there arose a controversy over Circumcision as commanded in the Law of Moses.
It was decided that all of the Apostles and church leaders would meet in Jerusalem to discuss this matter and come to a consensus on what should be taught.
Peter spoke first about all the wonderful things God was doing among the Gentiles.
Then Paul and Barnabas gave an account of what God was doing in all the many places that they have been.
Finally, James (the leader in the church of Jerusalem) takes the floor. And in verse 13 And after they had held their peace, James answered, saying, Men and brethren, hearken unto me: listen to me, hear me.
James great declaration is that all men must be able to turn to God apart from the burden of ritual and law. This was James, who was the Lord's brother.
The point here is that God was calling a new people out, a new body, a new nation, a new race to be His chosen people, just as He had done with Abraham and the Jews. God was trying to show them that there is another dimension in him. A higher calling in him, and people wanted to keep God in a box.
Look at verse 14 Simeon hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name.
15 And to this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written,
But verse 16 is where I’ve been trying to get to. In verse 16 he says: “After this I will return, and will build again the Tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up.” We must return and rebuild the Tabernacle, the church, and the house of God, The Tabernacle.
In verse 17 “That the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called, saith the Lord, who doeth all these things. Which means the residue, all of those who are left might seek after God and the things that God has for us.
And when we look at Numbers 2:1-3 the bible says this.
1 And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,
2 Every man of the children of Israel shall pitch by his own standard, with the ensign of their father's house: far off about the tabernacle of the congregation shall they pitch.
3 And on the east side toward the rising of the sun shall they of the standard of the camp of Judah pitch throughout their armies:
The Tabernacle was in the center of the camp, the church/God needs to be at
the center of their lives, as it need to be the center of our life.
On the east side toward the rising of the sun was the same location as the entrance to the Tabernacle which housed the Ark of the Covenant.
God wanted the Children of Israel to pass through Judah to get into the Tabernacle.
He went on to instruct where the other Tribes should be positioned around the Tabernacle, but the very first set of people that he position was those of the Tribe of Judah.
He chose Judah. Pastor why did he chose Judah?
Well, we must understand what the Tribe of Judah represents to God.
Judah represents praise.
Judah Praised God.
Judah lifted their voices unto God.
Judah came to the Lord with thanksgiving in in their heart and praise on their lips in the Tabernacle.
And that’s what we must do to see the salvation of the Lord.
We just can’t sit with our arms folded; we must praise God in the Tabernacle.
We can’t give God a lazy Praise; we must praise him with our whole heart.
Is there anybody that’s going to praise him in the Tabernacle?
Here at the Tabernacle, you must know that you are free to rebuild the Tabernacle in your heart, you must know that you are free to run in the Lord.
You must know that you are free to Praise in the Tabernacle.
