Too good not to be true! And yet our faith is sometimes weak. We need further support. According to the Temple Institute in Israel:. The courtyard pillars, amudim were composed of three main components: The acacia pillars themselves, which were reinforced by silver bands , chishukim ; the copper bases , adanim , into which the pillars were inserted; and the silver eyelets , vavim , which were fitted onto the tops of the pillars, for stretching the curtains, yeriot across.
We think that is correct. The Brazen Altar was the first item encountered in the Courtyard. It was five cubits square, and 3 cubits tall Exodus In each of the four corners there was a horn made from the same piece of acacia wood as the altar itself and the altar was over-layed with copper.
The Brazen Altar was used to burn up sacrifices placed upon it, such as during the consecration of the priesthood and the Day of Atonement. A Christian understands this altar is not an ornament of the Court, but a place where bulls and goats were killed and sacrificed , a place many times covered with blood and ashes, with the smell of burning meat, and much smoke. The grate of this altar was not on the top like a modern barbecue. It was placed half way between the bottom and the top of the altar:.
A Christian recognizes that Jesus has been sacrificed for him and starts to recognize that a similar sacrifice is needed from him if he is to enter beyond the next door. The sacrifice we have to offer, is as the Apostle Paul expresses it, in Romans For which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred?
It is Christ Jesus, our antitypical High Priest who alone is able to offer up the antitypical sacrifices. In other words, the New Creature must keep the old nature dead , hold it in subjection.
When our flesh is brought into contact with the fires of experience for its consumption, it is the old creature that weeps, not the New Creature. Let the goat weep if it will. The New Creature will rejoice in the Lord and in His providential care, as daily it grows in grace and in knowledge. See also Acts , Philippians Jesus allowed himself to be sacrificed for the entire world of mankind.
He was perfect and became flesh to do the will of his Heavenly Father John , John There is a thought that wood was used to make the articles of lighter weight and thus, more easily portable, than if of solid metal. This was an important consideration when they traveled. As gold and copper are much alike in their appearance , yet different in quality , so the human nature is an image and likeness of the divine, adapted to earthly conditions. The horns of the Altar of Burnt Offering were in themselves symbols of power ; yet this power came from the blood which sanctified it.
The Scriptures do set forth the fact that one guilty of a sin against his fellowman, when in danger of being apprehended, might flee for asylum to the altar — take hold of its horns, and find a safe refuge there 1 Kings ; There is curious detail in the directions of the tabernacle. The entryway, the door, is on the East side. What if I told you that once we get inside the tabernacle courtyard we will find things decorated with fruit and flowers, that there would be cherubim, knives, and fire all over the place.
Eden was the place where God walked in the garden in the cool of the day. It was a place of worship and praise. The tabernacle is a new eden, a new place where we can draw near to God, only the door is not barred, but we are invited to come. Sin cast us out not long after the beginning, but by placing the doorway on the East, God is already hinting that what he is doing in creating the tabernacle is about undoing that estrangement, that condemnation that came in the garden.
We were cast out East of Eden and now we find it very explicitly stated that the door to the house of God is on the East. Again, the point is that this hints that part of what the tabernacle is about is dealing with the sin of Eden. We will see this more explicitly in the coming weeks as we go inside the courtyard and into the tabernacle itself. One simple application for us this morning: Never take worship lightly. Worship is about drawing near to God. God gives us worship as a gift so that we can come before him.
We can all have our preferences when it comes to worship — style of music, style of preaching, whether the pastor should wear a tie or not, length of service. Some of those are important and some are not, but all of them should be subservient to the overall goal of drawing near to God. Worship is central to the mission of God because it is central to the heart of God.
After leading his people out of bondage into freedom, God tells them to build a house for his name so that they can worship him. Jesus is fulfillment of the tabernacle, the temple of God. If we want to see that God desires to dwell with his people, to be not just God for us but God with us so that we would be with God, if we want to see God holy and in his glory, full of grace and truth, if we want to know the way God will ultimately deal with the estrangement and condemnation of Eden, if we want to draw near to God, then we must come to Jesus.
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Notify me of new posts via email. Website Powered by WordPress. Not just how we worship — being hospitable to outsiders, welcoming and encouraging, all good things — but the fact of worship is at the heart of the mission because God is at the heart of the mission. Worship is central to mission. The church is sent so that we might be gathered in worship. Jack Zavada. Christianity Expert.
Jack Zavada is a writer who covers the Bible, theology, and other Christianity topics. Updated August 20, Cite this Article Format. Zavada, Jack. Courtyard Fence of the Tabernacle. Overview of Tabernacle Gate of the Court. Explore the Tabernacle in the Wilderness. Christian Symbols Illustrated Glossary. Scripture Readings for the Fourth Week of Lent.
Scripture Readings for the First Week of Advent. Gain a Christian Perspective on the Passover Feast. Your Privacy Rights. We want to go on to see Christ as our bread, our light and our life. These things we shall encounter as we enter the holy place which is the subject of the next study. And what did you do when you wanted to have a swim? Well, you looked left and right and when no one was looking you jumped the fence didn't you? Well, you did if you were like me! The worst that could happen was maybe some voice yelling 'Hey, what do you think you are doing There was only one way into His presence and that was through the single gate.
Jump the fence and you may end up dead! Many today think that they can come to God in any way that they want. Even some within the church and especially within the 'emergent church' movement are moving more and more to be more inclusive of all faiths as if Jesus was wrong when He said that 'no one can come to the Father except through me'.
Be careful to come to God in the way He has told us in His word, the Bible. Jesus said that on the day of judgement many will say did we not do this, and did we not do that in your name Solemn words. These are people that thought they could come to God without going through the gate and participating at the brazen altar and laver.
How wrong they were He is the one who came down from heaven blue. He is the royal king purple. He is the one who gave His life as a blood sacrifice scarlet. He was the only man that has ever been completely righteous fine linen. If salvation was to be found you had to come through Christ. That was the picture God gave then, that is the reality for all now. It was one of the first illustrations that spoke to the heart of H.
A Ironside as he would later recall:. It was of pioneers who were making their way across one of the central states to a distant place that had been opened up for homesteading. They travelled in covered wagons drawn by oxen, and progress was necessarily slow. One day they were horrified to note a long line of smoke in the west, stretching for miles across the prairie, and soon it was evident that the dried grass was burning fiercely, and was coming toward them rapidly.
They had crossed a river the day before but it would be impossible to go back to that before the flames would be upon them. One man only seemed to have an understanding as to what should be done. He gave the command to set fire to the grass behind them. Then when a space was burned over, the whole company moved back upon it. As the flames roared on toward them from the west, a little girl cried out in terror.
On Him Almighty vengeance fell, Which would have sunk a world to hell. He bore it for a chosen race, And thus becomes our Hiding Place. The fires of God's judgment burned themselves out on Him, and all who are in Christ are safe forever, for they are now standing where the fire has been. Eph 'Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word'.
James 'Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.
But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it - he will be blessed in what he does. A young believer went to his pastor and said 'It is no use! No matter how much I read the Bible, I don't retain anything of it. I'm like a sieve! But at least you'll have a clean sieve! If you don't remember much of what you read, the word of God will still be active and you will be washed with the water of the word!
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