108 - Not a Tennis Court

And you pick up your Bible and wonder, is there more here than meets the eye is a something here for me. I mean it's just words printed on paper may look like just print on the page but it's more than Inc. join us for the next half hour, as we explore God's word together as we learn how to explore it on our as we ask God to meet us there in its pages welcome to more than a favorite place rather be anywhere else. We just came back from one of ours. The Oregon coast so dishonest and so many for those suspenders. When the courts find out today as we read Exodus on Mrs. Dorothy and and We Are Studying Your Way in Exodus glad that you're joining getting a real close you of everything tabernacle oriented rate, how long do we sit sit still long enough to really digest these descriptions.

Most people just skim over that they would like throw away stuff you know it's with no size of the size of the tabernacle and everything only visionaries, but we have to remind ourselves that in God's very specific instructions about how the tabernacle was supposed to look in the tabernacle member is the is God's tent among the tents of Israel as they wander through this or that it's meant actually say something to instruct us about something it's meant to take us into an understanding of a heavenly realm of the reality of where God is in that sense it's supposed to tell us something instructionally so so so that's overdoing it it's there's no real horse. It is no right answers, but when you look at the imagery that's here. There are right answers and God steering a particular direction about telling us who he is and what he's all about nature's character as he lives amongst us, so that's what he so careful in these instructions, but exactly what this should look like. So were in the middle of all this very exact Stuff we started in this section from the inside of the holy of holies right and we should work our way out we came into the holy area in the tabernacle now and then we came out of the tabernacle proper into the courtyard around the tabernacle and we hit last time the bronze altar. That's right outside you when you come in the court to remove them from the inside to the outside of the tabernacle in the courtyard of the tabernacle and so today that's where we are. When the court of the tabernacle well and the court is dominated by that bronze altar, exactly, that when you sacrifice is come in the entrance that that is nothing you encounter, and when we were wrapping up last week's conversation we talk just a little bit about that verse in Hebrews 13 it says it's good for the heart to be strengthened by grace right that we have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat.

We talked about the eating of the sacrifices and becoming a participant in what was taking place at the alternate substitutionary sacrifice we might not have made real clear when we talked about that is that that you by participating in those old temple rituals were participating in the symbol shadow. According to the law but the New Testament, especially the book of Hebrews opens that happen says that was all symbol.

It was all a shadow was fulfilled in Christ. And so those who are still serving the law depending on themselves for righteousness based on their observation have no right to eat right. We have a right to eat by faith at the altar of the sacrifice of Jesus for us, so I don't know that we said that were clearly last week, so I thought. Maybe we should circle back to take many episodes to explain that fully taken at face. Now that's that's that minor comments about why we say as we look at this tabernacle from so long ago. It's pointing to Jesus at almost every turn, every turn and it's deliberate okay and when you say you know there's no right answers. Well, there are some very clear right answers. We have not decoded 100% know everything that is present in this image of the tabernacle, but we're pointing out to the obvious stuff you can learn the obvious stuff by reading it yourself that you think this is silly, but the correlation I mean the kind of example I'm thinking about this because this is all very visual know you write chair writings on big pieces of linen and stuff like that. I was thinking about when I was in grade school, I would sit in my classroom. In grade school, I would be learning stuff that you should be telling a stop, but all around the edges of the classroom were pictures of things that were meant to start teaching is almost just by absorption being dry and that's kind of the tabernacle is doing here visually and to your sense of smell and all these things.

It's telling you something very important about the character nature of God. Well, and he said that because teaching happens in a lot of ways and not just the verbal communication of information and so as you would be approaching the tabernacle and everything about it says this places differences something and arouses in you. This sense of oh, I'm coming to meet with the person who lives here right and their different means and they're different, and so that approach on our part to God who's in the tabernacle comes through the corridors and outer court around the tabernacle.

That court was there during the Temple times as well, and that was the place where most Jews get the closest contact to God she could not go inside the temple when the tabernacle I was just for the priest. But when you went to meet with God you went to the court that right. One day in your courts and thousands of that that courts in the Matt Redman song is this so relook at that today this court and where we are.

When chapter 27 through and follow this reading the ESV and were picking up in verse nine to talk about the court around the tabernacle itself which is super important to want to pick it up all reason, I always study verse nine you shall make the court of the tabernacle on the south side of the court shall have hangings of fine linen hundred cubits long for one side okay so that's pretty okay. It's 20 pillars in their 20 bases shall be of bronze, but the hooks of the pillars in the fillets shall be of silver, and likewise for its length on the north side. There shall be hangings 100 cubits long, its pillars, 20, and their basis 20 bronze, but the hooks in the pillars in the fillets shall be of silver, and for the breadth of the court, on the west side. There shall be hangings or 50 cubits, with 10 pillars and 10 basis. The breadth of the court on the front to the east shall be 50 cubits, the hangings, when one side of the gate shall be 15 cubits with their three pillars in three bases and on the other side, the hangings shall be 15 cubits when there are three pillars in three basis for the gate of the court. There shall be a screen 20 cubits long, blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen embroidered with needlework, it shall have four pillars with them for basis and all the pillars around the court shall be filled it with silver. Their hooks shall be of silver in their basis of bronze.

The length of the court shall be hundred cubits.

The breadth 50.

The height, five cubits with hangings of fine twined linen and the basis of bronze all the utensils of the tabernacle for every use and always pegs and all the pegs of the court shall be a bronze so there is the court. This is a larger rectangle around the tabernacle. Proper it's it's like a screen but an enclosed surround you and tells you you're entering the holy racing right you come into God's presence and it was big I mean when I being the nerd that I figured while I figured out that the tabernacle itself only occupied about 7% of the size of this court right was in the center rear of that, so this is a very large area it's meant to be able to accommodate a lot of people. This is where the people of Israel were going to come near to God. This is close they could get. And it's in this courtyard that you would you would see his bronze altar read sacrifice animals. I mean, was it was a meeting place with God. This is where you met with God.

But it was big.

It was a it says right here to rectangle 75 feet by hundred 50 feet was a very large thing in the end again itself to go in is 30 feet wide so it's it's meant for a lot of people. So this is God's, God's way of saying you can come near to me and you can come here and I've made accommodation for a lot of you to be here.

I want you to be in my presence, you can't come to my house proper because since a problem we talked with it before but I do want you in my courts and that's why you and I mentioned Matt Redman song innovators. One day he was reading Psalm 84) is one day your balances elsewhere all the time in your Old Testament readings are your soldiers here about the court that this is this is it. This is the area around the tabernacle itself, or you could go in and come close to God like the fenced front yard of the house. That's what I've always thought you know Eda and if you when you are visiting the town for the first time and you come across a particularly large or elaborate home know you well well who lives right and we just ran his description of that the entry gate. The curtain was on the gate and utilized all of the same colors and the rich fabrics that were used farther in so that the rest of the outer wall was just plain linen. But when you came round to the east side and came to this curtain hanging the colors told you this is the way in and it's unit is full. Yeah, this is meant to be unlike anything else that you're thinking about this for a second there in the middle of the desert. Everything is brown and sandy colored and here's the these just vibrant colors. The life and the beauty and the glory of who God is all very visibly there on purpose and as well as this is courtyard of we want to call us some. I will call sheets but I mean this in the material.

It makes hangings their curtains but also their stretched taut and they function as well and we know that there only five cubits tall one and 1/2×5 cubits to seven so that it's a it's a large wall that just makes a wreck and you couldn't see over it. Couldn't seal fortnightly important to remember what it was like when you came to someone's house. The courtyard was first that was your first taste of the person that's your first idea how this who this person is and what the light is there courtyard.

If you come to the team to the entry into their house. I think that's God's idea to set where we live it in our little town.

They have a front porch contest.

Every so often decorate their front porches and then you know somebody gets an award based on how lovely their front porch whenever participated now so yes you know your front porch is the entryway into your home.

It's really kind of the first room you come to began is still outside the house, but it says something about you and so that I think is a helpful idea here that this beautiful curtain says there's something going on in here. There's a person living in here that you want to meet you want to enter entry is beautiful and that the entry entry courtyard itself that does the colors of the linens around the edge also are kind of enticing to tell you what's on the inside what is going be like him into.

However, you can't go inside and again we talked about that. That's a priest job and because of sin, we can enter into their but the courtyard itself is a great foretaste in the sense of what the inside of the house of God is all about, and you can you can participate in that.

So I didn't strike you that the entry both to the holy place and to the whole tabernacle enclosure is on East on East both of yeah and I was think about that a little bit I thought you know why might that be, well, God is constructed the earth that the sun rises in the as and when we see the sun come up what we think it's a new day is a new beginning, and possibly that's one element here. I think it is facing. Entering God is a is a way to begin again new day of fellowship with God. Yeah opposite of thinking if the entrance is on the west side. That's where the sun sets. It would be like this is this is the end of the day. This is the end of things, but on the east side is the beginning of things and yet we know that they were offering sacrifices at sunrise and again at sunset. So all day every day there was sacrifice going on, just inside the entry of this enclosure but not significant to me.

Now we know that when the Lord Jesus comes back he will be coming from the east from the East that tells us that regular and will actually enter into the temple on its east from the east side and if if you don't, your geography well in Jerusalem. The kid in Valley is east of the temple area and then up the kitten Valley is the Mount of olives that east of the temple area and that's where Jesus ascended into heaven, east of the Templars.

Interestingly enough, the entrance to the garden to be yes it was to the disease. So God is telling us something we may not have decoded it completely. But God is telling us something well. It also speaks of the effective.

Again, if you're camping and it's dark you can't wait for the light from real surveys so so when you're living in a dark place. That's where we are right now. You always look to where the sun rises and so that's what he's trying to tell us is that this is where life this is with a new day comes is a lot of metaphoric that's what I mean that there's no right answer. These are all right answers. These are ways in which God wants us to wonder about the design.

Why am East what is it mean that's what is communicated. That's what's really fascinating. So anyway so that's the court of the tabernacle. It's big and I can't cannot accommodate a lot of people.

It's dominated by the bronze altar were sacrifices and take place people would bring their sacrifices to God come into this courtyard with all this beautiful linen around. It was as near as he could get to God, but according to the Psalms in Psalm 84 I'd rather spend the day here that thousand worlds. So was really a very joyous place in that sense to order or Psalm 100 enter into his courts or think you know if you think of a regular human royal court. If you are admitted to the outer court and beans your year in the place of access to King right you are in line to see the king. So I think that also is a helpful image exciting place and we talked about before how the tabernacle was constructed to teach us to put us in a particular mindset and earlier this week for another reason is reading Psalm 73 and it talks about the anguish and discouragement of comparing my life to other people's night air fat and happy and rich and wealthy and things are rotten when and it puzzled me some us as I pondered this to understand and it was troublesome in my site and verse 17 stopped me Trax this is some 7317 says it was troublesome in my site until I came into the sanctuary of God. This writer when I came in to that holy place all it set me straight. God reigns God is in our midst. God is in control and then as he works through the song he comes down his conclusion at the very end. He says you know. As for me, the nearness of God is my good defines good for me.

So the tabernacle enclosure and leading into the holy places designed to bring us to that place I can come in here and get sent straight this. This is the nearness of God. This is it. The great thing was push on rent on time.

Here we want to the oil of lamps and remit lampstand that's inside the tabernacle has to be lit.

Let me just read this force were and were in verse 20 of chapter 27 so you shall command the people of Israel, that they bring to you pure or beaten olive oil for the light that lamp may regularly be set up to burn in the tent of meeting outside the veil, that is before the testimony of Aaron and his sons shall tended from evening to morning before the Lord, it shall be a statute for ever to be observed throughout the generations by the people of Israel. So we really know about the lampstand. We saw that as we work away from the inside out in the tabernacle, but here he saying on what you put on it and I want that to burn constantly like to be in there constantly. Now wasn't burning when the tabernacle was being moved when they set up the camp right once that thing was let it needed constant tending so that it would stay and let you know we still use the expression keeper of the light to indicate constant devotion to a purpose maintaining the light persists in this order. That's were to do here is to keep it like going in the oil supposed to come from people is interesting in this post be the best oil the best on our best oil from the olive so that's a pretty good doing this. This triggers so many parallels when you think about a special New Testament about well in the Beatitudes, Jesus, Jesus, is that you're the light of the world, your city set on a yes. So in a sense that light that's in there is not only us but it's also got himself because he said Jesus is on the light of the world as long as I'm here so there is a real sense in which God's presence in his people. Whether it's Israel or officer. Jesus himself brings light to a dark place and that's that's just a very important thing like very simply gives you an understanding of the way things really are.

And so, as the creator as the designer he saying that through you, through Jesus, to anyone who is one of mine I can shine so that the whole idea of them contributing everybody oil kinda says that this is so many connections between the light and the foiled oils almost a universal symbol of the Holy Spirit diminishes. There's a lot of imagery tied up right here in the fact that the people know that this life is going 24 seven. But it's from the oil that they contributed.

That's a fascinating thing well and why all you will study tips for you who are wanting to track this down on your own. Take your concordance and search on oil oil E if you turn a alternate baton of Old Testament references, but concentrate on the New Testament references and you'll find that the oil is associated with the Holy Spirit Holy Spirit happens over and over and over and over again. So even in the Old Testament we have the, the anointing oil.

Oil is associated with fuel with fragrance with anointing with food with luxury luxury. So you know all of those things speak to the oil were to read a little bit later in Exodus about the making of the fragrant anointing oil great smell so all that the fuel the food, the anointing its medicinal home of that actually speaks to the ministry Holy Spirit. Yeah.

So in this lampstand and the oil that's used to make it go. It evokes evokes several very strong themes throughout the entire Bible things about the oil of the Holy Spirit things about light. You're the light of the world and over and over. These are all highly coupled so this lampstand just isn't just a lightbulb so you can see in the dark. In this first room in the tabernacle it means something quite profound and here we have we have Moses instructing the people from God. They need to be the ones provide that oil for that to keep it going is the location of that lampstand. We were told very specifically outside the valence before the testimony right right so it's very closely associated with that mercy seat place where God speaks their own meet with you for the mercy seat and when Jesus said I am the light of the world right he who walks with me will have the light of life and then later on he says the lights only with you for a little while one might have the life you may want to become sons of light. So there is that reflective quality about those who are walking in the light of God. Yep, that's a very strong theme very. So again, along with your concordance search and oil do a concordance search and yes, and even land. You will be in the New Testament because what's fascinating to me is that we know we set along with this lampstand points to Jesus as the light of the world about but go to Revelation 21 you where it says no will have no more need of the sun or the moon because God himself will be the light and its lamp will be the Lamb. Yeah, there it is decoded decoded forceps was great about the New Testament decodes what this is all meant to be symbolically of the reality we just got a couple minutes left and I want to state step just a little bit in the next chapter next chapter want to talk a lot about the priest, the high priest garments and just how it's is there's a lot of information on what he supposed to look like. Which makes me think that the high priest might be sort of important, as a symbol of visual yes angle you think she's a representative yet so let's just introduce that and then we'll get into a deep next time with this all caused ask questions when chapter 20 read for start #1 well you pay your page. This would be approved. Okay then, bring your you Aaron your brother and his sons with him from among the people of Israel to send me space Aaron and Aaron's sons not happen.

Abbott, who Eliezer and Mark, and you shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother for glory and for beauty.

I forgot where to cover this, shall speak to all the skillful, whom I have filled with the spirit of skill that they make Aaron's garments to consecrate him from my priesthood. These are the garments they shall make a brass piece and e-filed a robe coat of check or work turbine and a sash they shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother and his sons to serve me as priests they shall receive gold, blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen the same fibers and same fabrics that are used throughout the tavern which the colors speak of God's alright so this high priest how he dresses is very important and we don't, we'll catch this in modern in modern thinking. But the dress always reflected the person back in ancient times and so in this particular case dress reflect something extraordinarily important about the high priest in his role, but what you might like make notice of your before you finish is the fact that God says here 023 times as this preservice me serves me right, says there might priest and they serve me so that's a question we can ask next time we come back in what way does the high priest serve God in ways even needed in this picture at all. He's the one that can. You know he's the high priest is the only one from outside the court of the tabernacle go right past the bronze altar. Go right in the entry into the tabernacle going to the holies. Holy area and then if you high priest was into the holy of holies the only one they can go all the way from her man is to where God is.

So he has a very important role in as a result is clothing is very important well to read next week about the representative nature is clothing a couple of those parts of his garments completely bearing the names of the sons of his love for God so but I will circle back to this passage next week because there are some very important things to think about in terms of how clothing figures in the Scriptures right is an indication of my vanity occasion American edition and since God's trying to teach us something very important, and how things look here, at least at this point we can say there's something very extraordinarily heaven like an important about this high priest and course if you fast-forward in the book of Hebrews which lends more than half the book on Jesus is our high priest, you realize it's because Jesus is our high priest. He's the one that goes from man to God himself and bridges the gap that keeps us out of the tabernacle or the temple while will talk a lot about a little more this is just so much more to talk about.

So given the high priest is garments next time.

But we do know the six elements here of the high priest alright and if you if you heard those and said what in the world what it knows what to do for what Zabriskie well that is really kinda cool. So Jim and I'm Dorothy I'm glad you're with us and we hope we hope that in the process of looking at these incredibly rich pictures, that what happens with you is what he just mentioned here in verse two that these images are meant for glory and for meant to direct our attention to this, God loves us tremendously and wants us to be near provides a way for us to join us next time will be in chapter 21 pre-read and see what's there and thanks okay well this is this is more than mainstream church sitting solely responsible to contact us with your questions or comments. Okay, okay