Most Holy Place Christians
In this
lesson we move into the innermost sanctum of the tabernacle, a room that only
the High Priest of Israel could enter and even he could only come into the Most
Holy Place once a year on the Day of Atonement.
What will we learn here? How will
our relationship with God be changed and challenged by this most awesome room
in the tabernacle.
Let's review just a moment what we have seen so far.
The Outer Court- Salvation, Sacrifice and Sanctification
It was in
the outer court that we entered through the one gate. Standing in the foreground of the court was
the Brazen Altar and the behind it the Bronze Laver.
This all
represents Jesus Christ as we come to know Him at salvation. He is seen as the one and only way, as our
sacrifice upon the cross and through His blood the cleansing of our sin. These are the pictures of Jesus as our
Saviour and substitute.
It is in
the Outer Court that we are first introduced to Jesus. It is a powerful and moving introduction, yet
the Outer Court experience of salvation is only as the first step of
Christianity. Salvation is the most
important thing in the world until you are saved then it becomes the least
important. To dwell in the Outer Court
would be to only know Jesus in a single facet of who He is. It would be to limit our relationship to only
the salvation experience itself and there is much more.
The Holy Place – Sustenance, Sight, Supplication
Passing
from the Outer Court into the tabernacle we come into the Holy Place. We are immediately struck by the smell of
incense, olive oil and bread. Here we
see the Table of Shewbread, the Golden Lampstand, and the Altar of
Incense. Now we glimpse more of the
Saviour than just his death. We begin to
know Him as working and moving in our lives daily.
The Table
of Shewbread represents Jesus as our sustenance, the power through which we
live our lives everyday. The Lampstand
represents guidance, Jesus through the word is our sight, leading and showing
us how to live in this world. The Altar
of Incense represents supplication, prayer, our privilege to go to Him at all
times and know we are accepted and heard in his presence.
Yet this is
not all. To enter into the Holy Place is
a vast step from the Outer Court and a believer could spend a lifetime in
finding more of Jesus as our sustenance, sight and supplication. Yet one room remains, the most awesome of
all, a place where few enter. We next
enter into the Most Holy Place where the presence of God dwells.
The Most Holy Place.
The Veil Exodus 26:31-33
Just beyond
the altar of Incense a veil hung in the tabernacle. The veil stretched from wall to wall and
floor to ceiling. It contained the same
colors as the gate and the curtain that marked the entrance to the Holy
Place. These colors red, blue, white and
gold all point to Jesus.
Turn to Phillipians 2:5-11 and
read the passage. Can you point out the
four representations of Christ in this passage?
"In the form of God"; blue for God and
heaven. "The form of a
servant"; red for the giving of his life.
"found in fashion as a man": white the color of
sinlessness. "At the name of Jesus
every knee should bow": purple the color for royalty.
Woven into
the fabric of the veil would be intricate, cunning embroidery of cherubim.
Angels much like those which stood at the entrance of the Garden of Eden to
prevent entrance back into the Garden.
When Jesus
called out on the cross "It is finished" the veil in the temple was
torn from top to bottom. What do you
think this signified?
The barrier between God and man was removed by the death of
Christ. Now through Jesus we would have
direct access into the very presence of God.
The Room
The Most
Holy Place measured 15' by 15' by 15'.
It was overlaid with the coverings we studied in lesson one and the
pillars which made up its walls were fastened together with rings and rods to
form a solid wall. These pillars were
covered with solid gold overlaying acacia wood.
Entering into the Most Holy Place would be like walking into a room with
walls of gold and a ceiling of angels.
Read Hebrews 9:2-7, 23-24 and explain why the room was designed in such
a manner.
The tabernacle and later the temple were representations of
heaven, and the throne room of God. Gold
representing the presence of deity and the presence of angels would be
everywhere.
The Ark Exodus 25:1-22
The Ark of
the Covenant stood in the center of the Most Holy Place. It was the most
significant piece of furniture in all the tabernacle. It measured 2 1/2 cubits long, 1 1/2 cubits
wide and deep.
It was a
box constructed from acacia wood overlaid inside and outside with pure gold. Along the top edge of the ark a crown would
go around the box forming a raised rim.
A gold ring was fastened to each corner of the ark and a gold overlaid
pole would be inserted there for carrying the ark. On top of the ark the mercy seat was placed. This would be the exact dimensions to form a
lid upon the top of the ark. It was
constructed of solid gold not overlaid wood.
Two figures of cherubim, one on each end, knelt on top of the mercy
seat. They faced each other with their
wings spreading up and over the mercy seat itself.
Inside the
ark, God instructed Moses to place three items.
Read the following passages and tell what they were.
Exodus 25:16 The
tablets of testimony, the ten commandments.
Numbers 17:10 Aaron's rod which budded and brought forth
almonds.
Exodus 16:33 A pot of
manna.
Hebrews 9:4 All are mentioned here.
The Censor Leviticus
16:12-14
In addition
to the things that stayed inside the Most Holy Place, there was an article that
entered into the room with the priest.
This was a censer used to carry live coals from the Brazen Altar into
the Most Holy Place, once inside the high priest would pour finely ground
incense upon the coals in the censer.
This was to cover the mercy seat with smoke from the incense. Aaron would then sprinkle the blood from the
offering of atonement upon the mercy seat.
Applying the Most Holy Place to my life.
The Veil
Read Mt 27:51
and Heb 10:19-22. What happened to the veil upon the death of
Jesus Christ?
The veil was rent in two from top to bottom.
What does this signify for us as New Testament believers?
There is no longer a separation for us from the presence of
God. We are to come boldly into His
presence by the shed blood of Jesus Christ.
The Censer
Read Ephesians 5:2
What did the coals and incense represent?
The sacrifice of Jesus, which was to the Father a sweet
smelling savor. The smoke of the incense
hid the priest from the wrath of God.
The sacrifice of Christ shields us from God's wrath by covering us with
His sacrifice in the presence of God.
The Ark & The Mercy Seat
The Ark of
the Covenant, was a reminder of the utmost sacredness of God's relationship
with the Israelite people. Inside the
Ark were the symbols of this relationship.
First the tables of stone upon which the Ten Commandments were
written. These were the revelation of
God's person towards His people. Through
the law they could see the character and
holiness of God. Second was the
pot of manna, placed there to show the provision of God for His people. Finally, Aaron's rod was placed in the ark
this as a proof of Aaron as the true priest of God. Upon the top of the Ark was placed the Mercy
Seat upon which Aaron would offer the
blood of sacrifice for the sins of the nation of Israel. Above the Mercy Seat and between the cherubim
was the Shekinah Glory, the actual presence of God.
Entering the Most Holy Place
To enter
into this stage of maturity and spiritiual growth and dwell with God, to become a Most Holy Room
Christian, there are 5 aspects of God that I must be become aware of in my
relationship with God.
God's Person.
In the Ark
of the Covenant God told Moses to place the tablets of stone that contained the
Ten Commandments of God toward His people.
These were not the entire code of law, but a compacted intensified
summary of what the full law would spell out in detail. They also were a revelation of God's
attributes and character to the Israelites.
Through the Ten Commandments they would begin to see who God was.
If I am to
ever walk closely with God, I must know who God is. Not only is this revealed through the law or
the names of God, it is revealed most clearly in the Son of God who came to
earth. Read Hebrews 1:1-3 What is the greatest revelation of God
towards men?
The greatest revelation of God was in Jesus Christ, God the
Son as he walked up the earth.
The Most
Holy Room Christian looks to Jesus and yearns to know Him more and more with
each day. In this relationship the Most
Holy Room Christian truly comes to know God. We cannot know God in the way in which He
desires us to, except through Jesus Christ.
Notice how well Paul states this truth.
Read Paul's desire about knowing Christ in Phillipians 3:8-10. How great was Paul's desire to know
Christ?
He is willing to lose all in order to know more of Jesus
Christ.
What was the outcome of Paul's willingness to lose all?
To be found in Him, to know him, and the power of the
resurrection and sharing of his suffering, to be made conformable unto his
death.
God's Power.
God's power
was symbolized in the ark by the pot of manna. Jesus tells us that the manna
was a symbol of Himself. He was the true
bread of life. Read John 6:32-33. The
passage in John 6 followed Jesus multiplying the loaves and fishes for the
multitude. What does the New Testament
event share with God's provision of manna in the Old Testament?
In both the Old Testament manna and the New Testament loaves
and fishes, God was providing for those who followed him. His power was demonstrated in provision.
The Most
Holy Room Christian knows and has experienced the power of God. He not only has the provision of salvation,
but has learned in every circumstance of life that God will provide for his
needs. Therefore he has come to rely
solely upon God for all that God deems as needful for his life. This is real faith. This is the beginning of knowing God's power
in my life now.
Notice how
Paul reveals this in Phillipians 4:11-13.
What is the key to Paul's ability to do all things?
He has learned through his relationship with Christ that all
he really needs is Christ. If Paul has
Christ he can do all things. This is a
the reality of God's power toward us.
God's Priest.
Aaron's rod
was also kept inside the Ark. This rod
was a proof that Aaron and his sons were the family through which God would
establish His priests. The rod was an
undeniable token of God's will for Aaron to be the mediator of the tabernacle
sacrifices.
In the mind
of the Most Holy Room Christian there must be the preeminent concept of Jesus
as our High Priest, the mediator of the New Covenant written not on stones but
upon our hearts. This understanding is
vital for it brings us to a total dependence upon Jesus as our only means of
coming to God. This first occurs at
salvation but should continue with each day of life, accessing through Christ
to more and more of God's love, grace and peace. I will not have more of God by any of my own
ability, but only as I trust more, lean more, and cling more to Jesus, my high
priest.
God's Pardon.
One cannot
come to the Most Holy Place without touching on the action that took place
here. It was upon the Day of Atonement
the Aaron would come with the censor and the blood and as the smoke of the
incense filled the room he would sprinkle blood from the Brazen Altar upon the
mercy seat and then upon the ground before the mercy seat. This is the vivid picture of Jesus pouring
out His own life's blood upon the cross before God, that we might receive His
righteousness and be reconciled to God.
A forgiveness which by it's very nature is so powerful and so complete
that it will never be done again, not by Jesus Christ upon a cross nor by us
somehow losing the gift of God's redemption.
The writer of Hebrew says, "Wherefore he is able also to save them
to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make
intercession for them. Heb 7:25
Yet the
Most Holy Place Christian dares not leave forgiveness and mercy at the cross
with his salvation experience.
Forgiveness is a daily, hourly event of turning from sin and self and to
the one who shed His blood for us. The
Christian, at this level of relationship with God, yearns to dwell with
"clean hands and a pure conscience" in the presence of God's
holiness, therefore he constantly and sincerely seek forgiveness.
In the
letter of 1 John 1:8-10, John talks of forgiveness for us as New Covenant
believers. Read the passage and give
your thoughts.
Are any without sin?
No, only a liar or fool would believe this.
How are my sins forgiven, where is the power to
forgive?
He is faithful and just, only Jesus can forgive.
What is the trigger that releases forgiveness to me?
If we confess our sins.
When are we to confess?
Whenever we have sinned, nowhere does it tell us to wait
until punishment or getting caught. Once we know we have sinned confess it,
forsake it and accept God's forgiveness.
God's Presence.
The most
outstanding characteristic of the Most Holy Place was the presence of God which
dwelt above the mercy seat and between the cherubim. It was God's presence in the room that made
it the Most Holy Place. In Him it was a
place of reverence, a place of power and a place of wonder in the majesty of
the most high God.
Most Holy
Place Christians are those who have come to a place in their Christian life in
which they truly grasp the spiritual reality of the presence of God in their
daily existence. This is not a
manifestation of the Shekinah glory, nor is it a mystical experience or vision,
it is the clear and powerful acceptance of God's presence through the Holy
Spirit in our hearts and the change that such an existence makes in us.
Let's now read John 14:16-17.
What is Jesus promising to the disciples?
Jesus is promising the gift of the Comforter, the Holy
Spirit to indwell them.
The word
comforter is the Greek word, paraklete.
It means strengthener, comforter, advocate and standby. It literally means "one called alongside
to help." The paraklete is God's
gift of the new covenant, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in the heart of
every believer. This means that we are
never without God's presence. This is
more than just his knowledge of us, or of his Omnipresence throughout the
universe, but is a special relationship shared in the most intimate of terms
within our very souls. Every action and
even every thought is common to both God and
myself. The Most Holy Room
Christian is keenly aware of this and the reality of this relationship shapes,
changes and colors every detail of their thought processes and life actions.
David reflects on this in
Psalms 139. Read this chapter and record
your thoughts below.
What phrase(s) show the degree of God's knowledge of David?
You have searched me and known me. You know even my thought before I think them.
Did David consider this knowledge an invasion or a
comfort? Why?
To David it was a comfort, a wonder of God's relationship
with him. It said it was too wonderful
for me.
To what extremes does David say he could go and still God's
Spirit would be with him?
Heaven to Hell, darkest night, deepest sea still God's
spirit would be with him.
According to verse 17 how often does God think of David?
More than the sand of the sea more times than David can
count God is thinking of him.
Read verses 23-24. What is the result of God's presence in
David's life?
David comes to a place of asking God to search him and try
him even more, that there would be no wickedness in him, nothing that would
hinder his relationship with his God.
Conclusion
The Most
Holy Place is an ideal, a goal and a place where the mature believer who has
experienced God seeks to enter and stay.
This is not completely possibly until we sit in the real throne room of
Heaven with the Father, Son and Spirit for all eternity, yet if the slightest taste
or the smallest touch of God's presence here on earth can transport us even for
a moment into this Most Holy Place, then
we long, as a man in the desert thirsts for water, to experience the fullness
of God in every aspect of our lives until we do dwell with Him in that
tabernacle made without hands.
Let's
conclude with a paragraph from "Knowing God" by J.I. Packer.
"Not
many of us, I think, would ever naturally say that we have known God. The words imply a definiteness and
matter-of-factness of experience to which most of us, if we are honest, have to
admit that we are still strangers. We
claim, perhaps, to have a testimony, and can rattle off our conversion story
with the best of them; we say that we know God- this, after all, is what we are
expected to say; but would it occur to us to say, without hesitation, and with
reference to particular events in our personal history, that we have known
God? I doubt it, for I suspect that with
most of us experience of God has never become so vivid as that."
For the
Most Holy Room Christian it is this "vivid experience" of God that
they strive for in their relationship with God.
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