2020 6 7 – W. Pratt
This message was spoken for our congregation on the above date. I am sharing it here for your benefit. There are some good diagrams to go with this but I was unsuccessful in loading them. You can see them at the Youtube site where this message is recorded: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0JrGz70TS4&t=1483s
We have been camping with the Israelites in the Exodus story the past two weeks.
1. In the first week, we saw how God rescued them from slavery in Egypt and we also notice how God restored them to our high calling as priests and rulers in God's kingdom.
2. Last week, my good friend Matt Kitchener spoke about the special covenant God
established with them. God gave them words of wisdom for their life together as his people.
Now, God is finally ready to come and dwell on earth again. What an exciting moment it's been. Nearly 500 years since the call of Abraham. It's a major moment in the arc of God's story. This was the real physical in-person presence of God coming to be with humanity on a permanent basis again. This was nothing short of Eden being restored.
God's grand plan was still on track and God's great desire to be with us is being fulfilled. God tells Moses to build a tabernacle that is a special tent like structure for him to dwell in. It was meant to be portable so that it could travel with them on their journey. This is what God says: have them make a sanctuary for me and I will dwell among them. Then God gives him detailed instructions about its construction and its purpose, saying make this tabernacle and all of its furnishings, exactly like the pattern that I will show you.
What was that pattern? What did the tabernacle look like? It had a three-part structure.
1. There was an outer courtyard enclosed by a fabric fence.
2. Then there was a tent inside that was divided into two sections. The outer section was
called the Holy Place.
3. The inner section at the far end, at the back end was called the most holy place of all, the Holy of Holies.
It was a tent with three chambers, so we can ask ourselves the question, what did it signify?
This is where things get really, really interesting. It's three partitions have clear echoes back to earlier elements in the story.
So, allow me to drop in at three points in the past. This may sound a little bit technical but I promise to keep it simple. It will become clear as we connect the dots and the payoff will be
totally worth it. I promise that you won't be able to read those old stories in the same way again.
(1) First, think back to Genesis 1 and 2. God created the world, the cosmos, as a temple palace for him to live in. Remember also the important interpretive principle that we
mentioned right at the start of the series. Here it is again: the principle is this. The Bible is written for us but not to us. What does it mean? It was written for our instruction and for our benefit, but it was written for an ancient audience. It was written in the symbolic language that they were familiar with, where they stood; it worked with their conception of the world. Then, it slowly reshaped it so what do we see in the creation story is that the universe has a three-fold structure, as illustrated here.
1. First, there is the realm in which God lives, the realm beyond all the other realms.
2. Secondly, there is the celestial realm that is the domain of the visible heavenly bodies like the Sun and the moon and the planets and the stars.
3. Thirdly, there is the earthly realm, the space and the domain where we live and a place that we inhabit: the land, the sea, the rivers and the air.
What was striking about the Bible's unique story of creation was its different worldview: That the world was made by a single God, Yahweh, not many gods and also that the material world was a good place set up for Humanity and all the other creatures to thrive and to flourish.
This is mind-blowing stuff to an ancient who counted the world as chaotic and unpredictable and a dangerous place. There's more. Even more astounding than this is the fact that God chose to come down and to make earth, this place, his home and he chose humanity to rule as vice-regents and ministering priests in his kingdom for him. Mind-blowing stuff to an ancient: a good God doing good things for our benefit so we can flourish was totally unthinkable.
However, the important thing for you and I to see today is that God was to choose to be with us; God was coming down to dwell with us. This is what God was saying in their language. I'm pitching my tent here on earth with you. He was, in a sense, ‘tabernacling’ amongst them, so that's the universal picture.
(2) Secondly, what about earth? our dwelling place. It turns out that our domain has a three-part structure too, from the Genesis story. Eden was the sacred space or the sanctuary
with God's presence, where he came to rest, to reside.
Now, a close reading of the text allows us to see that Eden was in fact separate from the garden. This is what Genesis says: Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden and
there he put the man that he had formed. A little later it says this: a river watering the garden flowed out from Eden. From there we are told that it flowed out to the four corners of the known
world.
This is the picture that we get, as shown below:
1. First there is God's sanctuary on earth, where his presence resides. The River of Life flows out from Eden to the earth and it has its source right there.
2. The garden is alongside and it's where Adam and Eve live. They tend to it on God's behalf and they're also sustained by its abundance of trees for food.
3. Tthen, thirdly, beyond the garden is the rest of the world. it is not yet neat and orderly like the garden and they are commanded to multiply and to fill it and also to bring order to it.
Let's pause for a moment to take that picture in. God's desire is for his glory to fill the earth and his wise rule to be extended across the world. How was he planning to do this? Through Adam and Eve and we can say by extension through us, through you and through me. Consider this as we rightly live into our identity as image bearers and as we properly fulfill our calling as godly rulers. We take God's presence and God's glory with us into the world, yet God intends to fill the earth with his glory through us. What a noble calling we have as the people of God in Christ. We carry the kingdom of Jesus, the kingdom that he inaugurated with us wherever we go. Or rather, I could say it this way: we should be carrying the kingdom with us wherever we go.
The next question is, this whose kingdom is reflected in our life and witness? God's kingdom or the kingdom of the ruler of this world. That's a poignant question and let's be honest we see that being played out before us in America right now. Now let me say that Canada is not exempt from criticism either. We know that we have a similar track record in this regard - but this is topical in America at the moment, especially in light of the killing of George Floyd and the outpouring of anger over anti-black racism that has followed. The evangelical church there has been composed by the politics of nationalism in some quarters.
The agenda of the church has become somewhat conflated with the agenda of the state and the church seems to be endorsing power in order to bring about its version of the kingdom. You could say Jesus's kingdom looks like the kingdom of conservative America and many are watching and asking whose interests are you serving. More pointedly, whose image is shining through you?
So, I want us to remember Jesus's words to Peter when Peter drew his sword to defend Jesus at his arrest. Jesus said to him, put your sword back in its place Peter. Those who take up the sword will die by the sword. In other words, that's not the way that my kingdom will come in and that's not consistent with the values of my kingdom.
The thing for us to note is that God intended to extend the character and the rule of his kingdom through us. What an amazing privilege. Except - we were kicked out of the garden and we were sent into exile beyond Eden because we had become defiled by sin. We got banished from the personal presence of God and the way back to Eden was blocked and heavily guarded.
What does God do? God begins anew with Abraham and Sarah. He chooses this elderly pair to make a new start to achieve his purposes and his plan. He promises them a land of their
own and he also promises them that he will make them fruitful and they will become a large nation. He promises to extend his blessings to the rest of the world through them.
Where we are we today? Around 500 years pass and they have faced many hardships and tests including slavery. Then God steps in to rescue and restore them through Moses and makes a covenant with them as they prepare to enter into the Promised Land.
One more picture and then we will return to the sanctuary. Moses was told to hold the Israelites camped at the foot of Mount Sinai, but God calls Moses and 70 of the elders of Israel up
to the mountain to meet with him there. They go up but not all the way and God appears and they see what looks like the underside of God's footstool. They have a theophany, a vision of God. It's a powerful picture of God's feet resting on the mountain, in a sense showing that the earth has become his footstool. Later, only Moses can ascend to the top to meet with God to
receive the tablets of stone and while there Moses is engulfed in a cloud of God's presence.
As we consider the scene, again we notice a three-fold structure, as seen here:
1. There is the outer zone for the ordinary people. They must stay at the base of the mountain and not touch it and not approach it.
2. The middle zone is for the chosen representatives, those seventy elders. They can ascend and get closer but they can't go all the way up.
3. God's special presence is right at the top and only Moses can meet with God there.
The feature for us to note is the increased levels of holiness as you get closer to God. The closer you get the more restricted the access. Also important for us to see is that you can't just approach God in any way to get in close.
Now we come back to the tabernacle and I want us to note the gradations of holiness and the levels of access, again as illustrated:
1. The ordinary people could come into the courtyard for worship and in the courtyard, there was an altar for animals to be sacrificed by the priests and there was also a large basin for ritual washing and cleansing. Together they can note our need to be forgiven and to be washed and cleansed from sin.
2. Then the next part, the second, there was the middle part the, holy place only the priest could enter. It contained the seven-branched menorah, a reminder of the tree of life in
the garden. There was also a table for the bread of God's presence or the showbread reminding them of God sustenance in the garden. There was also an altar for incense, a symbol of the
prayers of the people going up before God. Again, a beautiful picture.
3. Then there was the innermost zone, what we refer to as the Holy of Holies. It contained the Ark of the Covenant with its two tablets of stone. The lid of the ark was called the
atonement seat or the atonement cover.
God spoke to Moses from above this cover. His voice could be heard from above the seat. Only the high priest could enter into that chamber and only once a year. This place symbolized the holy presence of God himself on earth. In a sense this was where heaven and earth came together once again and we could say just like in Eden.
As we think about this I want us to note that the outer zone is the zone furthest away from God. It's like the outer zone of the garden. I also want us to note the middle zone for the priestly representatives like Adam and Eve in the garden. Then note the most holy place where God dwelt is like Eden from which flows the river of life that sustained all of the earth.
This threefold pattern is full of resonances to God's original plan and God's great desire. The designs mirror each other because they reflect the same intent by God. The tabernacle brings us back to God's presence so that the blessings of Eden can flow out from God to the world.
Bringing this home for us today - if the Bible is written for us, what does all of this mean? That's a good question and important for us to consider.
1. Firstly, it shows that God's great desire remains to be with us and it also shows us the great lengths to which God will go to make that desire happen. He was slowly but surely
working out his plan. in a sense. the goal may have been long in coming from our standpoint but his sovereign hand was at work keeping things on track all the time. I want us today to take comfort in this. Take comfort in this thought. We so easily lose hope during those long stretches between the mountaintop experiences but these stretches call for patient steadfast faith and hope. It was 500 years between Abraham and Moses and it was also 430 years between Joseph and Mount Sinai. Faith is holding on
to God's promises even when the results that we expect are not immediately forthcoming.
Nothing can stop these purposes from being achieved for God’s people. How long between Eden in the beginning of the story and Sinai where we are right now? Who knows? Maybe millennia but eventually though things do come together for good according to God's plan.
2. Secondly, it also reveals that God by His grace makes a way for us to be restored into a right relationship with himself again. What wonderful news that is. The entrance back into
the garden in a sense has been reopened and the barrier has been removed through the sacrifice of atonement. We can be close to God again and we can approach God without being
consumed by the fire of his holiness because of our sin. God has established a way for us to be forgiven and cleansed and to be at peace with him.
3. Thirdly it highlights the centrality of God's presence and his word. Keep in mind the two are inseparable in worship and what we are doing today. We draw near to God's
presence and we listen to God's voice through his word. I could put it this way. There is no proper word apart from God's presence. If he is not there, there is no worship. Neither can we live out our call without being grounded in God's Word. His presence and his word are inseparable. ere in the story we see that God moves in the midst of his people to be at the center of their life together and to lead them in the way that they should go.
The tabernacle as we saw it was a portable tent to go with them on their journey. The temple that came later was God's fixed abode once they were settled in the land. The temple had the same design and structure. It's important for us to remember that that reality is the same for us today, whether we are wandering or whether we are settled, whether we are gathered for worship or whether we are scattered into the world.
In order to serve, Christ's presence is real and with us by the power of his spirit. Christ shapes and leads us by the power of his word so whether we meet virtually or whether we meet in person, worshipers offering praise and giving thanks to him for his great goodness.
We also come into God's presence as priests interceding for others and interceding for the world, bringing their needs to God and mediating God's love and God's blessing back to them. What a wonderful picture for us. We also come into his presence as disciples learning from his word how to live as his people and also how to bear witness as God's image bearers and as ambassadors for Christ.
God's great desire is to be with us and to fill us with this presence, to make this a reality in
our lives. The invitation is always open: will you follow Christ? Will you choose to become part of God's great love story for his world. This is what I hope that you will do today.
