Christ in all the scriptures Heaven upon earth

 Christ in all the scriptures

Heaven upon earth   Exodus 36

We come now to a turning point in the Tabernacle story: "Then wrought Bezaleel and Aholiab, and every wise hearted man in whom the Lord had put wisdom and understanding to know how to work all manner of work for the sanctuary, according to all that the Lord had commanded"-36v1.  

This is a most thrilling narrative that has resonance in the present day.  It is a deeply spiritual chapter that measures the depths of Divine-Human relationships.  The contrast with chapter 32 could not be greater.  Moses came down from the mountain with more than the two tables of stone containing the ten commandments, the law of God.  He came also with detailed instructions to build a sanctuary in which God could dwell with men.  This section ends in chapter 40 with the glory of God descending on the tabernacle and God dwelling with men for the first time. This fact should immediately draw our attention; that God should dwell with men is surely the ultimate of all existence and the story continues  on into the future when in Revelation 21v3 it is written " And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying,  "Behold the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God".  This is the first glimpse of heaven upon earth, that will be the experience of all God 's people of all ages.  We move now from design to construction, from thought to practical reality.  

In the chapter there are heart warming themes which we can state now and expand a little later  We see in the chapter God and man working in HARMONY.   We also have a picture of overwhelming human GENEROSITY.    Also we have a picture of unbreakable UNITY;  then a vision of ultimate SECURITY.   Throughout the narrative we have a picture of exquisite BEAUTY; then we have the pillars of  STABILITY.  Overall it is a structure bristling with CHRISTOLOGY.  Sometimes in our weekly church services, we lose the wonder of what we are part of, and it is pictures like these which bring it to remembrance.

God and man working in HARMONY.   This is a persistent theme throughout..."then wrought Bezaleel and Aholiab, and every wise hearted man...in whom the Lord had put wisdom and understanding..."-36v1; "...every wise hearted man, in whose heart the Lord had put wisdom..."-36v2.   This was a physically demanding work, but it had a Divinely spiritual inspiration to it.  Any work for God must have those twin elements, the response of man to use the God-given ability, and the Lord inspiring its use.  This is what happened in the early Church-Mark 16v20, "They went forth and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them..."; Acts 2v46, "And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, praising God, and having favour with all the people.  And the Lord added to the church daily the saved ones".  There are numerous examples in the N/T of this harmonious work between man and God.  We sing hymns and songs, but it is "from the heart";  we preach sermons but it is "not in the wisdom of men's words, but in the demonstration of the Spirit and of power"; we do good works but it is not to be seen of men, not for self glory.   True prayer is that which is assisted by the Spirit (Romans 8v20).  God graciously uses the ability of men to effect His work.  Peter records "If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man serve let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified, through Jesus Christ"-1st Peter 4v11.  Was this the secret of the success of the early Church?  Is it the absence of this that has led to modern day failure?

Overwhelming human GENEROSITY   Moses had to restrain the people's giving.  This is the opposite to the modern trend of sending out begging letters.  It is the opposite of church authorities demanding an increase in giving from their members.  It is the opposite to preachers persuading audiences to give more on the basis that giving to them is giving to the Lord, only to find those same preachers are living in the lap of luxury.  God did not specify amounts to be given, but they gave spontaneously, they gave generously, and there was enough and more for the task, and they were restrained from giving more.  God is not in the business of  burdening His people.  Some have estimated that the material value of the Tabernacle could have been in excess of  25 million dollars in modern terms.  Its spiritual value is many times more than that.  In these days of publicising charitable efforts, when did we last hear of a church restraining the generosity of its people?

In the curtains we have a picture of unbreakable UNITY   We keep in mind that this Tabernacle was much more than a costly, earthly structure; it was a Divine institution.  It was in fact a "pattern of things in the heavens", an earthly symbol of the reality in heaven, beyond our world.  It was, indeed a little bit of heaven on hearth.  Prominent were the heavenly cherubims (v8), the creatures who dwell in the presence of God.  Heaven had come down to earth.   How do we think of  our church, and, indeed, the global church?  Is it just a religious gathering of people, or is it where God is, in this dark, ungodly world? Paul said to the Corinthians that their behaviour should be such that people coming in should be caused to worship and be able to say "God is in you of a truth"!-1st Cor. 14v23-25.  Is there a sense that God is among us, or is it just another social gathering?  Ten curtains, all of one size, joined together in one curtain.  There were no frayed edges, the selvedge seams were perfect. Over this there was the tent, the curtain of goat's hair, which covers the whole.  The Tabernacle symbolises the dwelling of God; the Tent, the congregation of people.  Together they represent God and man in harmony!  The fundamental message is that the Tabernacle is one, "so it became ONE tabernacle"-v13; "...to couple the tent together, that it might be ONE"-v18.  This principle is repeated in the New Testament...ONE pearl of great price, Matthew 13; ONE bread-1st Cor. 10v17; all ONE in Christ Jesus-Gal. 3v28; ONE new man-Eph.2; ONE body, ONE Spirit, ONE hope, ONE Lord, ONE faith, ONE baptism, ONE God and Father of all-Eph.4.  This is how God sees His people, this is heaven's view, this is the pattern of things in the heavens.  We know what God thinks of the division in Israel between the ten tribes and two.  He will not tolerate it forever, and the divided tribes will once again become twelve.  What He thinks of the present divided state of the Church, we can only imagine.  It is estimated that of all churches professing the name of Christ, there are over 42000 divisions (and counting!!).  In light of biblical revelation this is a disgrace and a dishonour to the name of the Lord.  The time has come for peacemakers to emerge, and for divided groups to find a way of co-operation.  The use of divisive rhetoric must cease, such as "we don't have fellowship with them", or something similar.  We should have fellowship with all those with whom the Lord has fellowship.  This is heaven's view and it is the only view that matters.

It is a vision of ultimate SECURITY     Pictures of coverings from the outside world, and boards standing tall in the presence of God on a foundation of silver sockets come together to proclaim absolute security from within and without.  The comment is that the boards were "standing up"-v20.  Bear in mind the biblical picture is of mankind in a fallen state before God.  The word sin in the bible means "missing the mark", or coming short of the standard required by the God of perfection-Romans 3v23.  This places all who are born into the race in a fallen state from birth.  Yet now they are standing on redemption ground, standing tall before God, overlaid with gold, the righteousness of God.  Also they are joined, indivisibly, with adjoining boards, through tenons and bars, and covered above from the elements around.  Beneath, before, around, and above, they stand together, on the merit of Christ's redemption, as symbolised in the silver foundation.

The Tabernacle is a structure of exquisite BEAUTY   From the God of perfection, who created and sustains the universe, a structure of excellence that withstood the storms of 40 years in a wilderness.  Striking features are:

Mathematical precision  Everything measured by the cubit, the most ready measurement being the length of the tip of the elbow to the tip of the middle finger on an average man's hand.  No need for any other measurement.

Variety of materials     From fabrics to precious stones to gems, to oil and spices.

Rich colours   Blue, purple, scarlet, gold, silver, pure white linen.

Skilled workmanship   Work of the engraver, cunning work in metals and fabric, and untold skilful work (35v35, and 36v8).  Crowns of gold, a lampstand of beaten work, a mercy seat of pure gold with cherubims of beaten gold with wings extended, a brazen laver made from the mirrors of women from burnished bronze, a brazen altar with a central grating, staves and rings to facilitate movement.  Superb embroidery with rich, attractive colours.  Pins and cords to stabilize the structure.  Utensils to perform the priestly work.  We bless God for the riches of gifts given to men.

The Tabernacle was aesthetically beautiful with its precision measurements, its connecting rods and tenons; it appeared ordinary on the outside, but breathtakingly beautiful inside.  Points to Jesus who was outwardly normal, but inwardly outstanding.  As it says in Isaiah 53, "When we shall see Him there is no beauty that we should desire Him".  However the view of the functioning priests was quite different.  Its constructed beauty is far outweighed by beauty of the New Jerusalem, the home of all the redeemed in Revelation 21.  Take a breath while you read about that.

The structure was marked by STABILITY     Pillars for the vail, pillars for the door of the Tabernacle, pillars surrounding the entire structure.  Pillars in scripture speak of strength and stability-1st Kings 7v21; Galatians 2v8, Peter James and John were, reputedly, called pillars in the church.  In a fluctuating, changing world, we need pillars, those who stand firm always.  The local church is called a "pillar and ground of the truth"-can suggest stability and also testimony.  The curtains secreting the Holy of Holies, and the Holy Place were upheld by 4 pillars and 5 pillars respectively.   In the house of God there is to be no place for "winds of doctrine", rather speaking the truth in love, for the stability and edification of the saints.  

The beautiful work of construction bristles with CHRISTOLOGY!   Every vessel, every fabric, every utensil, every pin and cord and tenon, and every embroidery, brought together by the work of divinely gifted artisans...they all speak of Christ.  It should be our life's exercise to see Him in every part of this, for without Him it is just another building.  From the materials offered, the gold is His Deity; the shittim wood, His humanity; the silver His work of redemption; the brass, His judgment of sin; the fine linen, His pure, holy righteous character; the blue, His heavenly nature; the purple, His royal majesty; the scarlet, His sacrificial devotion.  And so we could go on to see Him in the Ark and its Mercy Seat, in the Table of shewbread, in the Lampstand, at the Golden Altar, at the Brazen Altar, at the Laver of Brass.  He is everywhere and all these beautiful features can be traced in scripture of Him who is our Saviour, who is "the Bread of God" and the "Bread of life", and who is enough to satisfy us forever.  The Tabernacle was a "shadow of things to come"; what will the reality be?  The inspired Hymn by Christian Andreas Bernstein (1672-1699) seems relevant here.

1 O PATIENT, spotless One!

Our hearts in meekness train,
To bear Thy yoke, and learn of Thee,
That we may rest obtain.

2 Jesus, Thou art enough
The mind and heart to fill;
Thy patient life --- to calm the soul;
Thy love --- its fear dispel.

3 O fix our earnest gaze
So wholly, Lord, on Thee,
That, with Thy beauty occupied,
We elsewhere none may see.