The New Covenant, Part 4

Now for sermon number two. If you have your Bible, turn me to Hebrews chapter nine. And as you're turning there, hopefully, you have one of these pieces of paper. It was in your bulletin morning. If you don't, you can go out and pick one up because this is a simple sketch of the tabernacle. A simple sketch of an earthly sanctuary, but it is a sublime shadow of our Savior, Jesus Christ our Lord. You're going to need this for today and for next week as we go through the new covenant and help you understand exactly the uniqueness of the tabernacle and how it applies to your life and mine.

Think about it this way. There are two chapters in the Bible that talk about the creation. There are 50 chapters in the Bible that talk about the tabernacle. Two for creation, fifty for the tabernacle. One creation portrays the power of God. The tabernacle portrays the person of God. And so, what you're going to see as we go through Hebrews chapter 9 and into Hebrews chapter 10 is the uniqueness of this tabernacle and how it applies to you and me as we get to understand more and more about the supremacy and the sufficiency of our sovereign God, the Lord Jesus Christ. It's a beautiful picture.

So I want to introduce it to you this week by reading chapter 9. Verse number one, which says, "Now even the first covenant had regulations of divine worship and the earthly sanctuary," or the earthly tabernacle.

Remember, way back in the book of Genesis, Genesis chapter three, verse number eight, that God would walk and talk with Adam and Eve. In fact, in the book of Genesis, God would walk with his people. Enoch walked with God and God walked with Enoch. Genesis chapter 5. If you go on to Genesis chapter 6, Noah walked with God and God walked with Noah. If you read on in Genesis chapter 17 and Genesis 29 and so forth, you realize that God walked with the patriarchs, and the patriarchs walked with God.

In the book of Genesis, it's all about God walking among his people. But when you come to the book of Exodus, it's no more necessarily God walking with his people as much as it is God dwelling among his people. And in order for God to dwell among his people, he needed a place to dwell. And that's where the tabernacle comes in. In fact, it says these words in Exodus chapter 25, verse number 8: "Let them construct a sanctuary or a tabernacle for me, that I may dwell among them." God wanted to dwell among his people.

If you read further on in the book of Exodus, Exodus chapter 29, verse number 45, God says, "I will dwell among the sons of Israel and will be their God. They shall know that I am the Lord their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, that I might dwell among them, I am the Lord their God." God says, "I am going to dwell among my people. In order to do that, I'm going to need a dwelling place." And that's how the tabernacle came to be.

Because that tabernacle, as simple as a sketch is in front of you, and it truly is just a sketch, it is the most sublime shadow of the Savior himself. So much so that the Lord spends fifty chapters talking to us about how unique the tabernacle is. So, if I'm a Jew in the Old Testament, the more I understand God's dwelling place among his people, the more I live in anticipation of the coming of the Messiah. Very important to understand that.

So, Israel received great privileges. Paul says in Romans 9 these words in verse number 4: "The Israelites, to whom belongs the adoption of sons, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law and the temple service and the promises." What belongs to Israel is the glory. What's the glory? The glory is the shining forth of the presence of God. It's that Shekinah glory, that divine presence of God that dwelt among his people. Israel was given that. The nations of the world didn't have that benefit. Only Israel did. They were God's chosen people.

And God says, "I'm going to dwell among them. And as I dwell among them, they're going to come to know me. They're going to come to understand me." And that's why the old covenant was so important. Because all that took place with all the rituals and all the ceremonies and all the symbols and all the shadows would all point to one, one substance, the Savior, the Messiah of the world. How important is that?

You see, in Exodus chapter 3, God said to Moses, "I have heard the cries of my people Israel. I have seen their affliction. I've taken note of their oppressors, and I am coming down." In Genesis, he would walk with individuals. In Exodus, he would dwell among his people, Israel. And so we have told you over the years gone by, when God says he's coming down, he's coming down to do one of three things: that is, to deliver his people, to discipline his people or to destroy those who are against his people.

But in order for him to deliver his people, he would come down to dwell among his people. Because once he delivered them, he wanted to dwell in their midst. And sure enough, that's exactly what he did. And so in Exodus chapter 25, when God talks to Moses about dwelling among his people, he says this. He says, "Let them construct a sanctuary for me, that I may dwell among them, according to all that I am going to show you as the pattern or the copy of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furniture, just so you shall construct it." God says to Moses, "I'm going to give you a pattern. I'm going to give you a copy of something." Where is the copy? Where is the original? The original is in heaven.

Because you see, the better you understand the tabernacle, the better you're going to understand heaven. We have a hard time grasping heaven. Because we have a hard time grasping the six pieces of furniture in the tabernacle that point us to the Savior himself. In fact, if you got your Bible, turn with me to the book of Revelation, the sixth chapter. Let me show you how this happens. Revelation chapter 6. God gives Moses in Exodus chapter 25 a pattern. Pattern that originates in glory.

And in Revelation chapter 6, is the clearest indicator outside of what the prophet Ezekiel talks to us about in Ezekiel chapter 1 concerning what's going on in heaven. But it says in Ezekiel, I'm sorry, Revelation chapter 6, verse number 9: "When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and because of the testimony which they had maintained." In other words, what altar is that? Well, some believe it's the brazen altar. The very first piece of furniture, once you enter into the tabernacle, where they offered sacrifices because these people's lives were offered up as a sacrifice to the true and living God.

If you go over to chapter 8, it says in verse number 3: "Another angel came and stood at the altar holding a golden censer. And much incense was given to him, so that he might add it to the prayers of all the saints, on the golden altar which was before the throne." But which altar is that? Well, that's not the brazen altar, but that would be the altar of incense inside the holy place, right before you enter the holy of holies before the ark of the covenant, which is the throne of God, where he would dwell among his people.

And then you go back to Revelation chapter 4. And in verse number 1, it says, "After these things I looked, and behold, the door standing open in heaven, and the first voice which I heard, like the sound of a trumpet speaking with me, said, Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after these things. Immediately I was in the spirit, and behold, a throne was standing in heaven." So not only is there a brazen altar, not only is there an altar of incense, but there is a throne in heaven. A throne that you and I have already looked at in Hebrews, where our Lord Himself has been seated. And a place where you and I will sit with him on his throne, according to Revelation 3, verse number 21. We saw that just a few weeks earlier.

And then it says, "And behold, a throne was standing in heaven, and one sitting on the throne, and he was sitting, and he who was sitting was like a jasper stone and a sardius in appearance. And there was a rainbow around the throne, like an emerald in appearance. And around the throne were twenty-four thrones. And upon the thrones I saw 24 elders sitting clothed in white garments and golden crowns on their heads."

Now, that one verse will determine whether or not you believe in a pre-tribulational rapture, a mid-tribulational rapture, or a post-tribulational rapture. If you believe and understand, rightly so, that the 24 elders are the church of Jesus Christ, you believe in a pre-tribulational rapture. Because everything about the tribulation hinges on the identity of the 24 elders in the book of Revelation. Once you understand that, you can't help but be a pre-tribulational rapturist. Why? Because the number 24 is the number of representation. In 1 Chronicles 24 and 25, what does 24 represent? It represents the priesthood in Israel because there were 24 priests that represented the entire nation of Israel.

And therefore, we already know in Revelation 1, verse number 7, that we who have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb are called a kingdom of priests, a kingdom of priests, and those twenty-four elders which are representative of the church of Jesus Christ are priests to our God who is in heaven. In other words, we have access to his presence because we are a priesthood of believers.

But not only that, how the twenty-four elders are described tell you it's the church. Because they are on thrones, and only the church sits on thrones with the Lord. They are in white garments, and only the church is clothed in white garments. Revelation chapter 3, verse number 5, along with Revelation chapter 19, we come back with him in white garments, because they've been washed in the blood of the Lamb, and they are the ones who have crowned Stephanos, the victor's crown. Those three elements describing the 24 elders as outlined in Revelation 2 and 3 describing the overcomer, the believer in those churches, helps you identify the 24 elders, who are on thrones, who have crowns, who are dressed in white raiment, who have access to the presence of Almighty God.

And it says in verse 5: "Out from the throne come flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder, and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne." When you go past the brazen altar, then you come to the labor, which is for ceremonial cleansing. And then you enter into the holy place. To your left, you have the candelabra. To your right, the table of showbread. In front of you, the altar of incense. And then beyond that veil, the Holy of Holies, where the presence of God Himself would dwell. So Moses in Exodus 25 would be able to copy down what he sees in glory and therefore, construct a tabernacle and earthly sanctuary that would point everybody in Israel to their Messiah.

Soon there would be a temple, and the temple would be even a more beautiful, luxurious place. But in Hebrews 9, verse number 1, the writer of Hebrews uses the earthly tabernacle to help us understand exactly what was from the very beginning as outlined by God to Moses as it was a copy or pattern of that which was in heaven.

Oh, by the way, it says, "And before the throne, there was something like a sea of glass." In Exodus chapter 24, verse number 20, you realize that there is a sea, a crystal sea in what Moses sees in glory. And it says, "and there was around the throne four living creatures full of eyes," or four flying creatures, "full of eyes in front and behind. The first creature was like a lion, the second creature like a calf, the third creature like had a face like that of a man. The fourth creature was like a flying eagle. And the four living creatures, each one of them having six wings, are full of eyes around and within, and day and night they do not cease to say, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God the Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come."

What are these four living creatures? Ezekiel identifies them for us. He tells us that they in Ezekiel chapter 10 are cherubim. Cherubim. And when you go into the holy place and then move beyond to the holy of holies, there is the ark of the covenant. And on top of the ark were these golden cherubims whose wings almost touch, but in between those cherubims was where the presence of God Himself would dwell.

Oh, and by the way, in heaven, there was an ark. Revelation 11. If you want to know where the Ark of the Covenant is, Indiana Jones had a hard time finding it. But we do not. Revelation 11, verse number 19: "And the temple of God which is in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant appeared in his temple." If you want to know where the Ark of the Covenant is, it's in glory. Some would say, well, it's under the Temple Mount, there in Jerusalem. I don't think so. We tend to think that. But no man knows where it is, but God knows where it is. We don't have to know where it is.

And so Moses would be able to do all this construction of this tabernacle because it was set forth as a pattern. Why? Because everything was pointing to the Savior. Everything was pointing to the Messiah. So while we say it is a simple sketch, it truly is a sublime shadow of the Savior Himself as we begin to unfold for you all the different articles of furniture, what they mean and what the priesthood had to accomplish each and every time they were in that tabernacle and then go into the holy place and then go into the holy of holies once a year on the day of atonement. So very, very important.

Why is this crucial? God would make a prophecy, one of many prophecies. In Isaiah chapter 7, verse number 14, you know well it's a prophecy of the birth of the Messiah. It's a prophecy dealing with the virgin birth of the Messiah. "And his name shall be called Emmanuel," which translated means "God with us." Why is that important? Every Jew understands God above him. That's why those Jewish men wear those yarmulkes. Because it's a reminder that God is all around them as well as God being above them. It's that constant reminder that God rules over all, that God is sovereign, that God is above them.

So every Jew understands God above him. They all understand Psalm 103, verse number 19: "The Lord has established his throne in the heavens, and his sovereignty rules overall." They understand that God is above them. They understand that God was among them. That's what the tabernacle was about. That's why it was so disheartening, so sad in the book of Ezekiel when the glory of the Lord would depart from the temple. Why? Because the presence of God was departing from Israel. And that there would be this prophecy where the Lord would come again and he would dwell among his people. And they lived in anticipation of how it was during the days of the tabernacle when the Lord God of Israel would dwell among them.

And so, when you come to John chapter 1, it talks about the word, the word that was in the beginning. The word that was with God, the word that is God, was God, right? And then John 1:14: "and the word became flesh," and what? "Dwelt among us," and the word tabernacled among us. And every Jew who would read that would understand the tabernacle in the Old Testament, how God would dwell among his people, and that the Lord God of Israel came down and dwelt among his people. So they understood God above them, they understood God among them, but in order for them to understand that, God had to give them His Son.

So in John 3:16 it says, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son." So God gave His Son. Not just so that he could be among us, but something way better than that. So God would actually be in us. And the Jews never got that one. They had no idea about that. That was the mystery. The mystery that was concealed in the old but revealed in the new: Christ in you, the hope of glory. They didn't get that. But that was a uniqueness of Christ coming down, God in the flesh, coming down to man. Why? So he would fulfill the old covenant promise. So that in fulfilling that promise, he not only would just be among his people, he would actually be in his people.

And if Christ is in you, Christ is for you. If Christ be for us, if God be for us, who can be against us? Answer: nobody. So, if God gave us his Son, said God would be among us, so that God could be in us, that means that God is actually for us, so much so that now God sends us. "As the Father has sent me, so send I you." God sends us with his presence, with his person. Because everything that took place in the book of Exodus, with the pattern of the tabernacle, was all foreshadowing, all in anticipation of the Messiah who would come ultimately and dwell as people, that he might send them forth to be his representative to a lost world that somehow they might understand the beauty of the Christ. That's where we're going in Hebrews 9.

Let's pray. Father, we thank you for today, the opportunity you give us to study your word, how beautiful it is. How congruent it is. How one thing points to another thing that points to another thing that ultimately points us to the one thing that matters: Jesus Christ our Lord. The King of all kings, the Lord of all lords. This week, Lord, may we be used by you for your glory. In Jesus' name, amen.