Our Savior in the Sanctuary.
WWN 1989 Special 2 -- Light From the Throne -- Part 2 --
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE HOLY PLACE --
As the sinner (except the priests as individuals) stood at the Altar of Burnt Offering, he had approached the closest he could ever come to the presence of God in the Most Holy Place.
He had come willingly exercising his own will in harmony with what God required. (Lev. 1:3) He had placed his hand upon the head of the sacrificial victim, confessed his sin, and had slain the animal. Then he had watched as the priest took of the blood, fingerprinting it on the horns of the Altar before him, pouring the residue at its base. He had observed the priest separate the fat from the inward parts of the animal and place it on the Altar with the kidneys. Then he heard the priest say to him - "Thy sin is forgiven thee."
He left the court to return to his daily routine. He was still a sinner by nature. He would hear Moses proclaim the word of Jehovah to all the congregation - "Ye shall be holy: for I the Lord your God am holy." (Lev. 19:2) As holy in his sphere as the One who dwelleth between the cherubim is in His? How was this to be? He was not left to forget that beyond the Court, other services were being performed, and he was to be involved in that mediation both individually and collectively as a member of a covenant people. While his sin had been forgiven him, there was an on-going atonement.
In the Holy Place were only three articles of furniture.
Into this place, only the priests could come to minister.
In the original sanctuary services, it appears that only Aaron, the high priest, could come and minister at the Altar of Incense; could fill the lamps of the Candlestick; could place the bread upon the Table of Shewbread. (See Ex.1 30:7-8; Lev. 24:1-8)
Further it appears that when the two of the sons of Aaron intended to offer incense, they were killed by a flash of "fire from the Lord." (Lev. 10:1-2)
However, when the priestly functions were set up by courses, the common priests ministered in the holy place as evidenced in the service of Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist. (See Luke 1:9)
Whatever the meaning of the three articles of furniture, the fact remains that the significance to the individual, who had come to the Court with his sin offering, required the mediation of a priest.
The sinner was, however, to be involved in this on-going daily and weekly service as a member of the collective community.
The congregation was to supply the "pure olive oil" for the lamps, and the "fine flour" for the shewbread. (Lev. 24: 1-8)
Among the very first directives which God had given to Moses for the erection of the sanctuary and its services was the instruction that along with the "oil for the light," the children of Israel were to bring an offering of "spices for annointing oil, and for sweet incense." (Ex. 25:6)
We have recognized in our perceptions of the typical sanctuary that the articles of furniture in the Holy Place were symbolic of the promised Messiah (Anointed One) as the Word or Bread of Life, as the Light of the world; and the Holy Spirit as the continuance of that Light guiding into all truth.
We have connected the Altar of Incense with prayer, even as the children of Israel did. (See Luke 1:9-10)
In the Old Testament, little is found giving definitive symbolic significance to these articles. Isaiah captures the imagery of the golden candlesticks as the Spirit which was to rest upon the promised Messiah, the Branch who would grow out of the stem of Jesse. The central column was itself "the spirit of the Lord" and the six branches describe the fulness of that Spirit: - "the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord." (Isa. 11:1-2)
The Table of Shewbread - literally "the bread of His presence" - was to be renewed each Sabbath, and eaten by the priests.
Malachi states that the priest was to be "the messenger of the Lord of hosts" and that his "lips should keep knowledge" and that the people "should seek the law at his mouth." (Mal. 2:7)
This was vital to the spiritual well-being of the people in the time when the instruction which God had given for Israel could not be reproduced as can be done to day, through printing presses. The priests were to function as "the messengers of the Lord of hosts," Apostasy in Judah was marked when "for a long season Israel had been without the true God, and without a teaching priest, and without law." (II Chron 15:3)
The linchpin in this situation was the priest and his failure to teach the people the Word of God on the Sabbath.
He would eat of the symbolic bread; he would carry out the ceremonial functions; but the real need he did not meet to help the covenant people in their on-going atonement with God.
Forgiven sinners they were - they had brought the penalty for their transgression - but they were still in their uncleanness.
Only the word and the blood applied, cleanses. (John 15:3; 1 John 1:7; Rev. 1:5)
(((Joh 15:3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.
1Jn 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
Rev 1:5 And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood))))
The word reveals the lost image of God in man, and the provision for its restoration - the Spirit of life sent forth because of the mediation of the true blood. (Eph. 4:23-24; Rev. 5:6)
(((Eph 4:23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;
Eph 4:24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
Rev 5:6 And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth. ))))
The same spiritual decline as was evidenced in ancient Israel is all too vivid in the experience of God's professed Israel today.
Again the linchpin are the men of the pulpit who do not understand that the gift of pastoring on the Sabbath is but one gift interlocked with teaching. (See Eph. 4:11 Greek)
The ritual is performed - the order of service or liturgy is carried out - but for the most part, the people who come to be fed the Word of God, the bread of His presence, leave the service as starved as when they came.
In the book of Revelation, Jesus on the Sabbath is pictured as walking in the midst of His people, and holding in His right hand, His messengers. {Gr. angelos; KJV - "angels," a word transliterated, but not translated] It was God's intention that His people be fed with the bread of His presence ministered by Jesus through the Spirit on the Holy Sabbath. Here is the basis for the cold formality and lukewarmness which marks many of the Sabbath services of Laodicea. And the substitution of "celebration" is but offering of "strange fire" before the Lord. THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR THE PREACHING OF THE WORD!
[It should be noted the seven golden candlesticks in the first chapter of Revelation are not the same as the "seven lamps of fire burning before the Throne" in chapter four (4:5). The candlesticks are defined as "the seven churches," while the "lamps of fire" are denoted as "the seven spirits of God. " That there is a close relationship cannot be denied for to each of the seven churches is given the admonition to "hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches."]
In the sanctuary service of the model, God gave only three symbols to represent the means whereby the sinner could experience a victorious life day by day.
These symbols stand for prayer, the hearing of the Word, and the guidance by the light of the Holy Spirit into all truth.
Connected with each symbol was the ministry of the priest.
He could not "walk" alone.
The reality of this symbolism can be summarized by one verse "As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him. " (Col. 2:6)
As the sinner places his full dependence in the sacrifice provided at Calvary, so he must also place his full and unreserved confidence in the Holy Spirit to guide his daily life, "for it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps." (Jer. 10:23)
*******
More on this tomorrow by the GRACE of our LORD and SAVIOR!
In HIS LOVE!
WWN 1989 Special 2 -- Light From the Throne -- Part 2 --
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE HOLY PLACE --
As the sinner (except the priests as individuals) stood at the Altar of Burnt Offering, he had approached the closest he could ever come to the presence of God in the Most Holy Place.
He had come willingly exercising his own will in harmony with what God required. (Lev. 1:3) He had placed his hand upon the head of the sacrificial victim, confessed his sin, and had slain the animal. Then he had watched as the priest took of the blood, fingerprinting it on the horns of the Altar before him, pouring the residue at its base. He had observed the priest separate the fat from the inward parts of the animal and place it on the Altar with the kidneys. Then he heard the priest say to him - "Thy sin is forgiven thee."
He left the court to return to his daily routine. He was still a sinner by nature. He would hear Moses proclaim the word of Jehovah to all the congregation - "Ye shall be holy: for I the Lord your God am holy." (Lev. 19:2) As holy in his sphere as the One who dwelleth between the cherubim is in His? How was this to be? He was not left to forget that beyond the Court, other services were being performed, and he was to be involved in that mediation both individually and collectively as a member of a covenant people. While his sin had been forgiven him, there was an on-going atonement.
In the Holy Place were only three articles of furniture.
Into this place, only the priests could come to minister.
In the original sanctuary services, it appears that only Aaron, the high priest, could come and minister at the Altar of Incense; could fill the lamps of the Candlestick; could place the bread upon the Table of Shewbread. (See Ex.1 30:7-8; Lev. 24:1-8)
Further it appears that when the two of the sons of Aaron intended to offer incense, they were killed by a flash of "fire from the Lord." (Lev. 10:1-2)
However, when the priestly functions were set up by courses, the common priests ministered in the holy place as evidenced in the service of Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist. (See Luke 1:9)
Whatever the meaning of the three articles of furniture, the fact remains that the significance to the individual, who had come to the Court with his sin offering, required the mediation of a priest.
The sinner was, however, to be involved in this on-going daily and weekly service as a member of the collective community.
The congregation was to supply the "pure olive oil" for the lamps, and the "fine flour" for the shewbread. (Lev. 24: 1-8)
Among the very first directives which God had given to Moses for the erection of the sanctuary and its services was the instruction that along with the "oil for the light," the children of Israel were to bring an offering of "spices for annointing oil, and for sweet incense." (Ex. 25:6)
We have recognized in our perceptions of the typical sanctuary that the articles of furniture in the Holy Place were symbolic of the promised Messiah (Anointed One) as the Word or Bread of Life, as the Light of the world; and the Holy Spirit as the continuance of that Light guiding into all truth.
We have connected the Altar of Incense with prayer, even as the children of Israel did. (See Luke 1:9-10)
In the Old Testament, little is found giving definitive symbolic significance to these articles. Isaiah captures the imagery of the golden candlesticks as the Spirit which was to rest upon the promised Messiah, the Branch who would grow out of the stem of Jesse. The central column was itself "the spirit of the Lord" and the six branches describe the fulness of that Spirit: - "the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord." (Isa. 11:1-2)
The Table of Shewbread - literally "the bread of His presence" - was to be renewed each Sabbath, and eaten by the priests.
Malachi states that the priest was to be "the messenger of the Lord of hosts" and that his "lips should keep knowledge" and that the people "should seek the law at his mouth." (Mal. 2:7)
This was vital to the spiritual well-being of the people in the time when the instruction which God had given for Israel could not be reproduced as can be done to day, through printing presses. The priests were to function as "the messengers of the Lord of hosts," Apostasy in Judah was marked when "for a long season Israel had been without the true God, and without a teaching priest, and without law." (II Chron 15:3)
The linchpin in this situation was the priest and his failure to teach the people the Word of God on the Sabbath.
He would eat of the symbolic bread; he would carry out the ceremonial functions; but the real need he did not meet to help the covenant people in their on-going atonement with God.
Forgiven sinners they were - they had brought the penalty for their transgression - but they were still in their uncleanness.
Only the word and the blood applied, cleanses. (John 15:3; 1 John 1:7; Rev. 1:5)
(((Joh 15:3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.
1Jn 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
Rev 1:5 And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood))))
The word reveals the lost image of God in man, and the provision for its restoration - the Spirit of life sent forth because of the mediation of the true blood. (Eph. 4:23-24; Rev. 5:6)
(((Eph 4:23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;
Eph 4:24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
Rev 5:6 And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth. ))))
The same spiritual decline as was evidenced in ancient Israel is all too vivid in the experience of God's professed Israel today.
Again the linchpin are the men of the pulpit who do not understand that the gift of pastoring on the Sabbath is but one gift interlocked with teaching. (See Eph. 4:11 Greek)
The ritual is performed - the order of service or liturgy is carried out - but for the most part, the people who come to be fed the Word of God, the bread of His presence, leave the service as starved as when they came.
In the book of Revelation, Jesus on the Sabbath is pictured as walking in the midst of His people, and holding in His right hand, His messengers. {Gr. angelos; KJV - "angels," a word transliterated, but not translated] It was God's intention that His people be fed with the bread of His presence ministered by Jesus through the Spirit on the Holy Sabbath. Here is the basis for the cold formality and lukewarmness which marks many of the Sabbath services of Laodicea. And the substitution of "celebration" is but offering of "strange fire" before the Lord. THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR THE PREACHING OF THE WORD!
[It should be noted the seven golden candlesticks in the first chapter of Revelation are not the same as the "seven lamps of fire burning before the Throne" in chapter four (4:5). The candlesticks are defined as "the seven churches," while the "lamps of fire" are denoted as "the seven spirits of God. " That there is a close relationship cannot be denied for to each of the seven churches is given the admonition to "hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches."]
In the sanctuary service of the model, God gave only three symbols to represent the means whereby the sinner could experience a victorious life day by day.
These symbols stand for prayer, the hearing of the Word, and the guidance by the light of the Holy Spirit into all truth.
Connected with each symbol was the ministry of the priest.
He could not "walk" alone.
The reality of this symbolism can be summarized by one verse "As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him. " (Col. 2:6)
As the sinner places his full dependence in the sacrifice provided at Calvary, so he must also place his full and unreserved confidence in the Holy Spirit to guide his daily life, "for it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps." (Jer. 10:23)
*******
More on this tomorrow by the GRACE of our LORD and SAVIOR!
In HIS LOVE!
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