The tent (or Tabernacle) that God’s people used for worship was constructed while the Israelites were en route to the Promised Land. It was a portable structure that could be taken apart and carried when the people moved from place to place. God’s instructions for building the Tabernacle are in Exodus 25–31.The tent had two rooms: an inner room (called the Most Holy Place) and an outer room. A priest on duty would enter the first room, called the Holy Place, each day to commune with God and to tend to the other elements located in this room. The lampstand, the menorah, was a seven-branched candlestick standing in the south side of the room (Exodus 25:31-40; 37:17-24). Its candles burned day and night and provided light for the priests as they carried out their duties. The light also symbolized God’s presence. The Menorah still remains as a major symbol of the Jewish faith.
The table was made of wood and overlaid with pure gold (Exodus 25:23-30; 37:10-16). On this table sat the loaves of holy bread. Once a week on the Sabbath, a priest would enter the Holy Place and set twelve freshly baked loaves of bread on a small table. This bread symbolized God’s presence among his people as well as his loving care in meeting their physical needs. The bread was to be eaten only by the priests on duty.
Beyond the first room, the Holy Place, there was a curtain (described in Exodus 26:31-33). This curtain prevented anyone from entering or even getting a glimpse of the interior of the second room called the Most Holy Place, symbolizing that sinful people could not approach the holy God. The curtain formed the separation between the holy God and sinful people. The original readers would have known of the magnificent curtain in Herod’s Temple. It was made of blue, purple, and scarlet woven linen. Figures of the cherubim were embroidered on it. The Most Holy Place was where God himself dwelt. Only the high priest could enter the Most Holy Place, and then, only once a year (on the Day of Atonement) to make atonement for the sins of the whole nation.
The elements in the Most Holy Place included a gold incense altar, placed just outside the curtain, for it was used daily (Exodus 30:6-8; 37:25-28; 40:5). The high priest burned incense on the altar twice daily. The Ark of the Covenant was a wooden chest, the most holy piece of furniture in the Tabernacle. The wood was acacia wood covered with gold on all sides (Exodus 25:10-22; 37:1-9). The Ark symbolized God’s covenant with his people. On the annual Day of Atonement, the high priest would enter the Most Holy Place to sprinkle blood on the top of the Ark (called the atonement cover) to atone for the sins of the entire nation.
The Ark of the Covenant itself contained certain holy objects. First described in Exodus 16:32-35, the gold jar containing some manna symbolized God’s care in providing food for his people in the wilderness. It was lost when the Philistines captured the Ark and held it for a time. Aaron’s staff that sprouted leaves is first described in Numbers 17:1-11. This staff showed that Aaron’s descendants had indeed been chosen by God to care for the priesthood. It certified their authority as priests. This staff was also probably lost during the Philistine control of the Ark. Also included were the stone tablets of the covenant with the Ten Commandments written on them. These two stone tablets were put in the Ark at Mount Sinai. When the Ark was placed in Solomon’s Temple, only the tablets of the Ten Commandments were still inside (1 Kings 8:9).
The place of atonement was also called atonement cover or the mercy seat. This place was significant because it was where sin was taken away. The blood from the sacrifice given on the Day of Atonement was sprinkled by the high priest on this cover (Leviticus 16:15-17) and the people experienced God’s forgiveness.
Having reminded the people of the basic arrangement of the holy rooms in the Tabernacle, the writer gets to the reason for this discussion. As part of the yearly ritual, the priest would enter the Most Holy Place with the blood of a bull. This blood would serve to cover his own sins. Then the priest would leave the room and return with the blood of a goat. This blood would cover the sins the people had committed in ignorance. The blood that the priest brought into the Most Holy Place would be sprinkled on the altar of incense and on the front of the place of atonement. (In the day of the original readers, the Ark of the Covenant was missing, so the priest would simply sprinkle the blood into the Most Holy Place.)
The ceremony carried out on the Day of Atonement revealed that people had no direct approach to God. Ordinary people could never enter God’s presence and had to depend on the high priest. A heavy curtain blocked the Most Holy Place; thus, this place was not open to the people. The way had not yet been revealed—Christ would do that. As long as the first room as well as the entire system were still in use, people would be unable to approach God directly.
The Holy Spirit revealed that the sacrifice system was ineffective for bringing unhindered fellowship with God, and that one day, people would experience a new kind of relationship with God that would effectively remove sin. The old covenant pointed to what Christ would do in the new covenant.
Under the old covenant, the people did not have direct access to God. But under the new covenant made available through Christ, God’s people can have access to God and be free from guilt. This guilt was never fully relieved in the old covenant, for the gifts and sacrifices that the priests offer are not able to cleanse the consciences of the people who bring them. These sacrifices symbolized atonement for sin and provided a way for the people to continue to worship God, but the sacrifices could not change the people’s hearts and lives. Only God can do that we He enters the heart of one who accepts His son Jesus.
SO WHAT? (what will I do with what i have read today?)
The old has gone, and the new has come.
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation."
2 Corinthians 5:17-19 (NIV)
He doesn't count my sins - numerous and many as they are - against me. Is there any greater truth than that? Is there any greater news than that? We must get the word out. We must tell everyone who will listen. Jesus saves. Who will you tell today? Who will you invite to church this Sunday, so they can hear the message of GOOD NEWS?
Pray for Sharon and I as we head up to Seattle this morning to watch Katie play in the first round of the NAIA National soccer championships.
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