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The Israelites were God’s chosen people.  God called Abram to be separated from among his own people, and go to a distant land God had set apart for him.  God made this promise to Abram: (Genesis 12: 2, 3 – “I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you.  I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.  I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”). 

When Abram went in obedience to God’s call, God’s promises were fulfilled, first in Isaac, then through Jacob, who was later renamed Israel.  At this time in history, nations did not really exist.  Each family that remained strong and loyal became their own tribe, and made up their own rules for conduct and survival.  Israel’s family became one of these strong tribes, and became known as the Israelites.  Much of the history found in the Old Testament focuses on these tribes and their relationships. 

Circumstances forced the Israelites to migrate to Egypt, where they became enslaved by the Egyptians.  Because of God’s promises to Abram, even in slavery the Israelites prospered.    When the Lord delivered the Israelites from the cruelty of the Egyptians, he made this promise to them through their leader Moses: (Exodus 20: 5, 6) – “Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession.  Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” 

God wants to be with his people, and the Israelites were no exception.  In all of his dealing with the Israelites, God’s holiness and glory prevented him from appearing directly to them.  Instead God only appeared to Moses, who passed on to the Israelites what God had said and done.  He eventually asked Moses to prepare a place where His presence could be in the midst of the Israelites: Exodus 25:8, 9  “Then have them (the Israelites) make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them.  Make this tabernacle and all its furnishings exactly like the pattern I will show you.” 

Tabernacle Description

Courtyard

• Outer Curtain – 75 feet x 150 feet

• Entrance 30 feet long on the short side, facing east

Tabernacle – also called the Tent of Meeting

• 15 feet x 45 feet
• 2 rooms – Holy Place was 15’ x 30’ with the entrance facing the courtyard entrance, & Holy of Holies was 15’ x 15’ located behind (on the west side of) the Holy Place
• Walls were made of 5 layers curtains hung on wood frames
• Covered by a tent made of 5 layers of goat’s hair curtains, with a further covering of animal skins
• Holy of Holies separated from the Holy Place by a curtain

 Tabernacle Furnishings

• Ark of the Covenant – located in the Holy of Holies – the physical place where the presence of the Lord dwelled – His presence could be observed by the Israelites as a cloud by day and as fire in the cloud at night.  The Ark contained the tablets with the ten commandments inscribed on them.
• Golden Lampstand – located in the Holy Place, on the south side, opposite the Table of Showbread.  It provided light for the Holy Place
• Altar of Incense – located in the Holy Place against the west side, next to the curtain separating the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies.  It was used to burn fragrant incense in the Holy Place
• Table for Bread of Presence – located on the north side in the Holy Place.  It continually held the bread of the Presence
• Altar of Burnt Offering –located in the courtyard near the entrance to the Holy Place.  It was used to burn animal and grain offerings presented by the Israelites to the Lord.
• Basin – located in the courtyard, between the Altar of Burnt Offering and the Tent of Meeting.  It was used by the priests to wash their hands and feet whenever they entered the Tent of Meeting

 The tabernacle and the courtyard were built in such a way that they could quickly be taken apart and carried by the Israelites wherever the presence of the Lord led them. 

Offerings

• Burnt Offering – bull, sheep, goat, dove, pigeon
• Grain Offering – as flour, or cooked in various ways
• Fellowship Offering – various animals
• Sin Offering – bull, goat or lamb
• Guilt Offering – only a ram, plus restitution must be made

Only Israelites could enter the courtyard, in order to present their various offerings to the priests to be offered up to the Lord. 

Only the priests could enter the Holy Place to minister to the Lord.  There were strict rules to be followed, and if they were disobeyed, the offender was destroyed by the presence of the Lord. 

The High Priest, who the Lord specifically required had to be a descendant of Aaron, was the mediator between God and the Israelites.  Only the High Priest could enter the Holy of Holies and only once each year, on the Day of Atonement. 

When the tabernacle was finally completed, we read the following, from Exodus 40: 34, 35: “Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.  Moses could not enter the Tent of Meeting because the cloud had settled upon it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.”  The Lord finally had a place where he could dwell among his people. 

There were extensive rules for the building of the tabernacle, for its transportation, and for its use once it was set up.  There were also many rules for how the priests were to minister and conduct themselves before the Lord, for the many different sacrifices that were to be made, by both the priests and the Israelites.  There were rules about how the Israelites were to conduct themselves, and even how the Israelites were to be encamped around the tabernacle.  The books of Leviticus and Numbers are mostly about these rules. 

The point of these rules was to convey to the Israelites that God is a holy God, who in turn requires that His people also live in holiness.  Only when the Israelites had prepared themselves in accordance with all the ceremonial rituals and requirements, could they present themselves before the Lord in the courtyard of the tabernacle.  Even then, only the priests were allowed the directly minister to the Lord on behalf of the Israelites. 

It was the observance of all the rules and the required sacrifices that gave the Israelites access to the presence of the Lord. 

His promise was certain: Exodus 29: 44, 45 “Then I will dwell among the Israelites and be their God.  They will know that I am the Lord their God, who brought them out of Egypt so that I might dwell among them.  I am the Lord their God.” 

Access to the presence of the Lord could only be achieved by those fulfilling every requirement of the rules and regulations handed down to Moses on Mt. Sinai.  Man’s perfect behavior and conduct through his own hard work and effort was the only way for him to be in right standing with a holy God. 

Years later, after the Lord had given the Israelites a land to call their own, King David eagerly desired to make a permanent place for the Lord to dwell.  Solomon was given the responsibility for building the temple, which he did by following the example of how the tabernacle was built.  When the temple was complete, he offered up a prayer of dedication and commitment, and we read in II Kings 8: 10, 11 “When the priests withdrew from the Holy Place, the cloud filled the temple of the Lord.  And the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled his temple.”.  But we also read the Lord’s challenge to Solomon in I Kings 9: 6, 7: “But if you or your sons turn away from me and do not observe the commands and decrees I have given you, and go off to serve other gods and worship them, then I will cut off Israel from the land I have given them and will reject this temple I have consecrated for my Name.”  

God knew how challenging it would be for the Israelites to be able to fulfill all the requirements for having His presence in their midst.  Much of the Old Testament contains example after example of how the Israelites were unable to meet the exacting standards laid out for them.  Consequently, it also contains just as many examples of how merciful and gracious God was towards his chosen people, for without his grace and mercy, there would be no one who could stand before him. God recognized man’s inability to achieve perfection on his own, and told the prophet Jeremiah (Jeremiah 31: 31 – 34): “’The time is coming’, declares the Lord, ‘when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.  It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them,’ declares the Lord.  ‘This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time,’ declares the Lord.  ‘I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts.  I will be their God and they will be my people.  No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,’ declares the Lord.  ‘For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.’

” How was this new covenant to come about?  Man was unable to come into the presence of the Lord because of the separation created by our sin and imperfection.  Because we could not approach him, God’s solution was to send his son to us.  John 1: 14 states “The word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.  We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the father, full of grace and truth.” 

Jesus was always in the presence of the Lord, but when he became a man, he not only had to leave the presence of his Father, he also had to take on the limitations of man, and specifically those rules and regulations regarding being in the presence of the Lord.  The writer of Hebrews goes to great lengths to describe how Jesus became our High Priest and made our access to the presence of the Lord possible once again. 

Jesus not only was our High Priest, but He also became the sacrificial lamb that the Mosaic law required be offered up in order to bring us into right standing with God.  Jesus, in his own body, because he was perfect in all ways, through his death on the cross fulfilled all the requirements of the law, which we, because of our sin, were not able to fulfill.  He gave himself up for your and my sake so that we might once again have access to the presence of God. 

One of the most powerful symbols of the redeeming work that Jesus did for us is found in Luke 23: 45b: which says that at the time of Jesus’ death “And the curtain of the temple was torn in two.”.  That curtain had been required in the original construction of the Tabernacle to separate the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies, which was the space occupied by the presence of the Lord.  No one of God’s people was allowed to be directly in the presence of the Lord, except for the High Priest, and him only once each year.  The temple curtain was a symbol of the separation of man from God, a reminder that we are unable in our own strength and ability to be in fellowship with God.  When Jesus died on the cross and the curtain was torn in two, it signaled the ushering in of the new covenant spoken of in Jeremiah. 

In order to be in right relationship with God, we no longer are required to fulfill all the requirements of the Old Testament laws.  Rather, we are required to believe that Jesus fulfilled all those requirements on our behalf, all those laws which we are not able to keep.  We read in Hebrews 10: 19 – 25: “Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.  Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.  Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another – and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”

What does being in the presence of the Lord mean to you?  Is it a tingling sensation you get when you are in church?  Is it a sense of peace when you pray?  Is it feeling comforted when you mourn?  Is it being healed when you ask the Lord?  Is it in the manifestation of supernatural gifts?  It can be some, or all, or none of these things. 

Let us not be like the Galatians (3: 1 – 5) “You foolish Galatians!  Who has bewitched you?  Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified.  I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard?  Are you so foolish?  After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?  Have you suffered so much for nothing – if it really was for nothing?  Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what your heard.”.  No matter how hard we try, we are not able, through our own efforts, virtues, and righteousness, to be in the presence of the Lord. 

Our faith in the finished work of Jesus gives us complete and unrestricted access to the presence of God.  We don’t have to earn that privilege, we don’t have to suffer for it, we don’t have to work for it, we don’t have follow rules and regulations for it – we simply have to trust in Jesus.  Will you trust him today?

March 02, 2008 Bible Study Lesson by Peter Joziasse