Many times we miss the mercy and grace of God in the Old Testament. For some reason there is a tendency to think that God is holy and righteous (and therefore wrathful toward sin) in the Old Testament but not the least bit merciful.1 However, God’s mercy is quite apparent in the Old as well as the New Testament, and one of the clearest ways we can see this is in reading of the directions for and construction of the Tabernacle. It indeed echoes the mercy of God.
For many of us, however, we find ourselves struggling through this section of the Old Testament, with its repetition and seeming insignificance in the big picture of things. If we miss this, though, we miss something that not only needs to be seen, but something that needs to be understood in order to fully understand the person and work of Christ. It is on this note that I want to speak this morning. Therefore, let us first see how the Tabernacle teaches us the mercy of God and then see how it helps define the person and work of Christ.
God says to Moses in 25:8, “Let them construct a sanctuary for Me, that I may dwell among them.” And with that, God shows a clear picture of his mercy toward mankind, for the Tabernacle was to be the very dwelling place of God. God was saying, “Construct this tent so that I can be right in the midst of my people.” What a merciful declaration of God this is!
In order to put it in perspective, we must realize again that because man is utterly sinful in his nature outside of God, he is utterly helpless and at God’s mercy if he is to dwell in God’s presence (or have God dwell in his). Therefore, if man is to know God, God must be the one to initiate it. He is terribly wrong who thinks that God must be at his beck and call. This is quite unscriptural and borders on blasphemy. Our God is not one to be pitied as he is in so many “gospel” presentations today.
For not only is God so unattainable by man that God must be the one to initiate their coming together, but also when God does come to dwell in man’s presence, the Tabernacle must be constructed perfectly and his orders therein followed perfectly. The structure had to be made exactly to the specification or God would not dwell there (25:40). A curtain had to block the Holy of Holies lest someone enter and die (26:31-33). And Aaron, who was allowed to enter once a year, had to wear a particular garment or he would die (28:35). This is not the picture of a God who is anything less than perfectly holy and definitely not one to be pitied. The picture of the Tabernacle therefore shows a gracious God making a way to dwell in the presence of sinful people.
The way God specifically makes a way for the covering of man’s sin is through the sacrifices offered by the High Priest. Aaron was their representative before God. Therefore, he wore twelve stones on his garment representing those from the twelve tribes of Israel (28:17-21, 29). With the work of Aaron before God on behalf of the people, God allows his presence to dwell among a people who are in no way deserving of such a blessing. And therefore the Tabernacle drips of the mercy and grace of God. But it also points us to a greater grace to come in Jesus Christ.
Taking this one step at a time, let us remember again that the Tabernacle was the dwelling place of God (28:8; 29:45-46). It was just a tent, however. Therefore, years later David desires to construct the Temple to replace the Tabernacle. He says in 2 Samuel 7:1-2, “Now it came about when the king lived in his house, and the Lord had given him rest on every side from all his enemies, that the king said to Nathan the prophet, ‘See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells within tent curtains.’” The story goes on to tell how David’s desire to build the temple was denied, but that his son Solomon was allowed to construct it, as we read of it in 1 Kings 8:9-13. Therefore, the temple replaces the tabernacle as a more permanent structure in which the presence of God dwells.
Now with that understood, Jesus makes a great declaration in John 2:13-21. He had just cleaned out the temple, driving away the moneychangers, when someone asked him for a sign to show that he had the authority to do what had just been done. Jesus answered, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up” (John 2:19). Then John goes on to comment, “But he was speaking of the temple of His body” (2:21). Now, when one understands what the temple was and then hears Jesus’ statement, their conclusion should be that Jesus was claiming to be the very dwelling place of God. And indeed he was. That is why he can be called, “Immanuel” which means “God with us,” for he is the very presence of God among men.
Now with that in mind, do we realize our blessed position of having the Spirit of God dwelling within us? Paul drives the symbolism of our blessing into the minds of the Corinthians as he says to them, “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own” (1 Corinthians 6:19). That is a profound realization that should humble us.
But the picture of the presence of God is not seen completely until one beholds the scene of Revelation 21:1-4. John writes, “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, ‘Behold , the tabernacle of God is among men, and He shall dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God himself shall be among them, and He shall wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there shall no longer be any death; there shall no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away’” (emphasis added).
That picture is only made possible because the true temple – Jesus Christ – first came to dwell among us.
But Jesus is typified by more than the tabernacle/temple; he is the priest par excellence and the ultimate sacrifice for sin. Just as the High Priest would go before God as a representative of mankind to God, so Christ becomes like man that he might be his representative. However, the priest would offer a sacrifice of goats and bulls to be an offering the man’s sin while our great High Priest, Jesus, was himself the offering. He is both the one representing us before God and the sacrifice on our behalf. He is both the priest and the offering. Therefore, not only the Temple typifies Christ but the work that goes on within the temple serves as a foreshadowing of what Christ would do ultimately, paying our penalty before God and reconciling us to his Father through his atoning work.2
I will list four things to answer this question:
1. Enjoy the presence of God
So many times we read the stories of God’s presence dwelling in the form of a cloud and fire, or we read of the temple being filled with his glory so thick the priests couldn’t minister, or a dozen other things from the Old Testament, and we find ourselves longing to be in their shoes, in their time. Well don’t. We are the most blessed people in all of history. Paul calls our bodies a temple of the Holy Spirit. God’s presence dwells within us. The Israelites couldn’t have imagined the blessings that we now know. Forget spiritual pilgrimages, the God of the universe has allowed his dwelling place to be within his children. Therefore, enjoy the Holy Spirit’s presence in your life. Pray, cry, worship, and love God because you can. Enjoy him and in so doing fulfill your calling of glorifying the Lord in your life.
2. Strive for holiness
I do not say this because we need to do this in order to merit being a temple of the Holy Spirit; we couldn’t ever merit that. Nor do we have to merit that, for Christ has merited it on our behalf. However, we should strive for holiness because God’s Spirit within us longs for holiness and enables us to live that way. Therefore, as children of God who are right before him, do what you could not do otherwise and obey God from joyful hearts.
3. Renew your mind to the work of Christ on your behalf
We, like the Israelites, would have no hope of having God’s presence dwell with us were it not for the work of Christ on our behalf. He is our substitutionary sacrifice and representative before God who allows dirty sinners to dwell in the presence of a holy God. Therefore, remember this continually. This message is the power to be shaped continually to conformity with Christ.
4. Long for the day of Revelation 21:1-5
Just as the Israelites should have longed for our day, so should we long for the picture of Revelation 21. We should long and fast and pray for the return of Christ, knowing the world is not our home. This is Christ’s picture of the disciples after his ascension (Matthew 9:14-17). However, we will only do this as we enjoy his presence in our lives now, so let’s be a people who are obsessed with our God.
May we say, “For us, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” Amen.