Jesus, He is the Tabernacle

Jesus, He is the Tabernacle

As a young girl growing up in church, I used to recall hearing the seasoned saints praying and asking God to tabernacle with them. Lo and behold, I find myself praying this same prayer… Papa God, tabernacle with me this day and every day in Jesus name.

Today’s lesson is taken from Hebrews 9:11 and reads thusly, But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation”.

The first mention of the word tabernacle is found in Exodus 25:1-9

1 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:   2 “Speak to the children of Israel, that they bring Me an offering. From everyone who gives it willingly with his heart you shall take My offering.   3 And this is the offering which you shall take from them: gold, silver, and bronze;   4 blue, purple, and scarlet thread, fine linen, and goats’ hair;   5 ram skins dyed red, badger skins, and acacia wood;   6 oil for the light, and spices for the anointing oil and for the 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 show you, that is, the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furnishings, just so you shall make it”.

The word tabernacle means “tent”, “place of dwelling”, or “sanctuary”.

Upon further study of the Old Testament, you will find that in the tabernacle there was an Outer court, The Holy Place, and the Holiest of Holies.

The Outer court – This room was used for sacrificial offerings, judgment and cleansing. In the outer court, there were instruments constructed of bronze representing judgment and the need for justification.

The Holy Place – Only the Priests could go in this room and which contained the showbread, a type and shadow of (Christ the bread of Life); the lampstand, a type and shadow of (Christ the Light of the World); and the Altar of Incense, a type and shadow of (Christ our Intercessor). In this room was gold, silver and wood; representing the deity, redemption, and the humanity of Christ.

The Holy of Holies – This room contained the Ark of the Covenant or the Mercy Seat. Only the High Priest could enter here one day of the year on the Day of Atonement. On that day, the High Priest could enter the very presence of our Most Holy God, Yahweh. A veil or curtain separated this room from the other rooms. THE HOLIEST OF HOLIES IS WHERE GOD’S GLORY RESIDED!!! (KABOD) Halleluia!

Our High Priest Jesus would have to pass from the outer court, into the Most Holy Place, and then into the Mercy seat or the Holiest of Holies to give His life a ransom for many, when He became that sacrificial Lamb. At that very moment, when Jesus died, the veil which had separated the other rooms from the Holiest of Holies (Mercy Seat) was torn in two from the top to the bottom. (Matt 27:51).

What does that mean for you or for me? That means that our High Priest, Jesus, when He shed His blood on Calvary’s Cross redeemed us from a world of sin so that we could come boldly before God’s Throne and Mercy Seat as cleansed and sanctified priests. As priests, we can now come into the very presence of Almighty God to worship and adore Him and tell Him all about our troubles. We can now lay at His feet to love on Him and to allow Him to love on us and bask in His presence knowing that whatever troubles we might encounter, Papa God will make it alright.

Thank You, Jesus, for being better in every way! There is nobody like You! Jesus, our Priestly Tabernacle is better than the grandest cathedral or the biggest church with all of its modern day conveniences.

And guess what ya’ll? My Bible tells me:

“Christ in me, the hope of glory”. (Colossians 1:27). That means that as born again believers, we already have the tabernacle of Jesus residing on the inside of us. In other words, we have the love, mercy, and grace of Jesus in us. That’s good news my friends. I love good news and I pray that you do as well.

 

Prayer: Papa God, in the words of a song as written by Eddie Williams and popularly sung by Albertina Walker…..Lord, keep me day by day, in a pure, and perfect way. I want to live on in a building not made by hand. I’m just a stranger here traveling through this barren land. Lord, I know there’s a building somewhere, in a building not made by hand. Lord, keep my body strong, so that I can do no wrong. Lord, give me grace just to run this Christian race to a building not made by hand in Jesus name, Amen!

If you do not know Jesus as your Savior, and you want to accept Him now, you can click on the link under PRAYER, and pray the prayer of Salvation


Yes, Even Better than Moses

Down through the years, Yahweh God has used many men, women, boys, and girls to do mighty exploits in His name. Hopefully, a few names may come to your mind as you ponder on the many ways in which God has used people for His purposes. Moses was such a man. In the Bible, there is an Exodus account in which God used Moses in a powerful way to deliver the people of Israel out of Egypt and into the Promised Land.

Truly, Moses was faithful to God’s work from the building of the tabernacle, to standing up against the wicked Pharaoh, to putting blood on the doorposts.

Many are familiar with the fact that Moses was used of God to establish the Ten Commandments to the children of Israel. And although Moses was a man of faith and served Yahweh God, he was not perfect; and at one time was disobedient to God, killed a man, struggled with his calling, and oftentimes, wrestled with his own emotions–but at any rate, God used him mightily to do a great work in His name.

However, there is one greater than Moses and His name is Jesus Christ of Nazareth. The Word of God states this in Hebrews 3:1-3  “Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus,   2 who was faithful to Him who appointed Him, as Moses also was faithful in all His house.   3 For this One has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as He who built the house has more honor than the house.”

Moses performed good works for God, but Jesus was better in every way. And we will discuss a few of those ways on this platform.

First and foremost, Moses was given instructions on how to build the tabernacle and how to worship in God’s house. Basically, Moses served in God’s house–Jesus is the Son who rules over Gods house.

Both did many miracles, signs, and wonders–Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness (Numbers 21:8-9), Christ Jesus lifted Himself up on the Cross to draw all men. (John 3:14-16).

Moses was sinful (Numbers 20:7-13); Jesus was sinless. (Hebrews 4:15)

Moses delivered people from physical bondage (Exodus 14:13-31), Christ Jesus delivered people from spiritual bondage. (Luke 4:18-19)

Moses gave physical bread (manna) from heaven to sustain strength (Exodus 16:14-15); Jesus gave that spiritual bread from heaven that gives and sustains eternal life. Jesus is the bread of Life. (John 6:32-35)

Moses appears with Jesus Christ at the Mount of Transfiguration and was taken up, but the people saw Jesus, the beloved Son in Whom God was well pleased, as the only one left standing. (Matt. 17:8)

Moses’ assignment pertained to the people of Israel only (Exodus 3:1-9), while Christ’s assignment was ultimately to the whole creation. (Mark 16:15).

Moses was only a mere man (Exodus 2:2); while Christ Jesus is both man and God. (John 1:1; John 17:5; John 20:28; Titus 2:13; Hebrews 1:8).

Moses’s body was buried and saw deterioration and corruption (Deut. 34:6), Christ was spared corruption and decay. (Acts 13:37Yes, Jesus, the Son of God, the One Who Built the House and has More Honor than the House is better in every way–yes, even better than Moses.

Moses asked God, “Show me Your Glory”? JESUS CHRIST IS THE GLORY OF THE TRUE CHURCH OF GOD.

Yes, Jesus, the Son of God, the One Who Built the House and has More Honor than the House is better in every way–yes, even better than Moses.

 

Prayer: Father God, we thank You for Your Son, Christ in us (our spiritual tabernacle), our Hope of Glory. Papa God, we know that when this earthly tent (tabernacle) we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God Himself and not by human hands (2 Cor. 5:1) NLT. And Papa God, we thank You for these promises in Jesus’ blessed name, Amen!