Lesson 13
The Tabernacle
https://ssnet.org/lessons/25c/less13.html

"Then the cloud covered the tabernacle...and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. Ex. 40:34)

An elder lady looked at the picture at the top of the lesson. There a bright elongated cloud shines above the tabernacle.

She asked what the cloud meant and told it represented Jesus presence .

She looked puzzled, and asked why don't we see a pillar of cloud over our churches? Does it mean Jesus is not with us?

The answer given to her was -- we have the BIBLE.
Signs and wonders can be counterfeited, but God's word, is true. It needs to be carefully, prayerfully studied and God's Word will guide us in the right direction in which God wants us to walk..

Psalms119:105 Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

Lesson 13

The Sabbath

"The Jews have a saying:
"More than Israel kept the Sabbath, the Sabbath kept Israel."
What important role does Sabbath keeping have in keeping us as God's children?

In a world with gods many, and lords many, the Sabbath constantly reminded them
that they served the Creator God, the God that made everything, including them (and every one of us),
and He is worthy of worship, they (and all His followers) are His beloved people.


Ezek. 20:20 Keep my sabbaths holy; and they shall be a sign between me and you, that you may know that I am the LORD your God.
Psalms 100:3 All of you know that the LORD he is God: it is He Who created us, we didn't cret ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
Exodus 20:8,11 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. ...For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and everything that in them

It reminded them, and us, that they served the God Who could deliver them from bondage
be it the bondage of slavery or the bondage of sin.

Ex. 18:10-11 the LORD, who has delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of Pharaoh, who has delivered the people from under the bondage of the Egyptians.
Now I know that the LORD is greater than all gods:

Duet 5:6,7,12,15 I am the LORD your God, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. You must not have any other gods before me.... Keep the sabbath day set apart as a holy day, as the LORD your God commanded you....
And remember that once you were slaves in the land of Egypt, and that the LORD your God brought you out of that bondage with a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the LORD your God commanded you to keep the sabbath day.

Reminds them (and us) that He is the only One Who can make things HOLY.
He sanctified, and made the Sabbath hours holy time. He sanctifies, cleanses and makes us holy.
On the Sabbath we enter holy time to be with Him. To sanctify is to set apart, to consecrate, for holy purpose.

Ezek. 20:12 Moreover I also gave them my sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the LORD that sanctify them.

The Sabbath ties us close to our God, Creator, Deliverer, and Redeemer!
He alone is God! The Sabbath is specially consecrated holy time, to more full meet and spend time this Awesome God!

Lesson 13 is the last lesson in the quarterly.

THE TABERNACLE

It covers a lot of material, books have been written on this subject. This is just a very brief overview.

The Sanctuary.
The Sanctuary is full of meaning in so many ways! It is all pointing to Christ, His mission, His work, His matchless love for the human race and His desire to be with us.
That last part is often hard to grasp, why the One Who upholds all creation, wants to be with us! Yet is is true --

The sanctuary was built following very specific instructions.
It shows us how we, who are naturally outside that holy enclosure can come to God!

JOURNEY THROUGH THE SANCTUARY

1. The sanctuary shows the first move is God coming into our midst to dwell among us.
2. The white linen fence surrounding the sanctuary, shows His presence is in Holiness. We are still outside that holy place, in sin.
3. But there is a door -- a gateway. Jesus says, "I am the door!" John 10:9 I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved,
4. The first thing one sees when they enter is the altar of burnt sacrifice. The wages of sin is death. But there is a substitute! Symbolized by lambs, goats, and bulls, But Heb. 10:4 "It is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins. Heb. 9:12 But Christ by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. Only through Christ can we have Hebrews 10:19 "boldness to enter into the holy places by the blood of Jesus,

5. Just beyond the altar we see a laver, made of shining brass of mirrors. Here Jesus, our High Priest, invites us to wash, be cleansed in His grace. It symbolizes baptism and communion. A dying to self, and moving on reflecting the characteristics Christ's righteous character.

6. Now we begin our walk with Christ, we enter the sanctuary itself -- the holy place. The holy places symbolize Christ's work in the heavenly sanctuary. The first apartment is the life of sanctification as we walk with Christ.
A. Table of shew bread. Eating spiritual Food, being filled with truth and His life. Making Christ part of our lives.
B. Altar of Incense. Praying, constant communication with our Savior, our prayers being mingled with His merits and presented to the Father.
C. The candle stick -- walking in His Light as He is the Light! The light is to shine from us, empowered by the Holy Spirit, reflecting the Light of the World which is Jesus.
7. The Most Holy Place -- the mercy seat over God's law. Those Who have walked with Christ through the sanctuary have had their sins covered, and love to walk in the Light with Christ, they will be "fire proved" when the mercy seat is lifted, and the commandments stand unshielded.
All need that white robe to stand. And the tabernacle shows us how to obtain that white robe by which the fires of holiness will only make us glow for Him, and not destroy us.


THE FESTIVALS

We are so focused on being sure people understand those festivals are what were nailed to the cross in Colossians 2, that we often fail to see how they outline the whole plan of salvation!
By the way -- read the context in Colossians, it was our sins that were written against us that were nailed to the cross with Christ, not God's laws.

While we do not celebrate the festivals (aqricultural and sacrificial rituals) it would do us well to study their meaning.

1. The Passover -- signifies Christ's work to open the way of salvation and life and defeat the power of the devil over us. 1 Cor.5: 1-8 For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: Therefore let us keep the feast, not in the old way,, of ritually getting rid of all the leaven, but rather purge out the sinful, wicked things from our lives and be filled with sincerity and truth.

2. The day of Pentecost -- in remembrance of the law given by God Himself, and also to receive the Holy Spirit in order to live and work for Jesus. Jesus longs to fill us with His Holy Spirit, write His laws upon our hearts and minds and lead us on the path of righteousness and victory in Him..

3. The day of Atonement -- this feast is near the end of the ceremonial year. The Passover was at the beginning. So the Cross stands at the beginning of our journey with Christ, while the day of Atonement is "graduation" -- are we HIS, or have we chosen to walk on paths not of His leading. All Who are in Him can have the assurance of salvation. Christ wants to present our names before the Father and all the angels as His redeemed ones, to inherit the kingdom for which He suffered and died, so we could be part of it. His greatest desire is to give us those white robes and present us as overcomers in His name. (see Rev. 3:4-5) But let no one deceive you, those who chose to walk in the paths of disobedience will not inherit the kingdom with Christ. (ICor. 6:8-11)

4. The feast of tabernacles -- the celebration of victory and entering the promised land!
We are in the wilderness now, but someday very soon we may sing the song of Moses and the Lamb! The eternal deliverance and victory over sin which will never plague again.

I liked this part on Sundays lesson..

The Sabbath and its message was, is, and always will be about God?who He is and what His mighty works are. The Sabbath reminds us of His creative and salvific acts and focuses our attention on God, who wants to dwell with His people. In this way, the Sabbath and the sanctuary point in the same direction: God?s presence in our lives.

The Sabbath of the Old Testament church conveys a manifold message. One may summarize its essence in five crucial points:

(1) God is the Creator, and the Bible opens with this stunning and cornerstone proclamation
Genesis 1:1
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

(2) The vivid memorial of God?s creation is the Sabbath
Gen. 2:2-3
2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.
3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.
;
Exod. 20:8-11
8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

(3). From this truth?God as our Creator?all other biblical truths flow.
(a)
The Messiah will come, and this hope centers around God?s promise of the Seed, who would overcome the serpent (Satan) and bring victory over evil.
(b)
God will establish His kingdom, and the Sabbath is its foretaste.

(4)Salvation comes from the Lord, and God?s people testify that God is their Savior and Redeemer and that salvation comes as a result of His grace and His grace alone.

(5) God is the ultimate Judge of all people. Those who persistently defy and deny Him will have no future, but He freely gives eternal life to those who follow Him.