Chap 1 Overview God's Pattern
CHAPTER 1
AN OVERVIEW
In the preceding three books of this series, Needful Things, A Closer Walk and The Last Enemy we have discussed the present progressive ongoing nature of our walk with the Lord and the three different types, or aspects of salvation which God has in store for His mature sons (huios). What I would like to do in this volume is to examine in more detail one portion of the Old Testament which foreshadows that entire journey from the cross to the throne.
In chapter 4 of The Last Enemy we saw how the laver (basin for washing) symbolically applies to our current walk with the Lord, in that God's glory will be revealed only in those who have thoroughly washed and immersed themselves in the water of the Word (Eph.5:26). Now let's take a closer look at Moses' Tabernacle as a whole, to see how it foreshadowed this progression of spirit, soul and body.
At the outset allow me to point out where this progression is leading us and at the same time issue a word of caution. Ex.34:29 tells us that when Moses physically came into the presence of God, his face literally became radiant, and Ps.34:5 informs us that all who look to God will one day also be radiant. However, more than facial radiance is promised to those who are alive and remaining at His second coming (I Cor.15:51). Daniel prophecies in Dan.12:3 that there is a time coming when "... those who impart wisdom will shine like the brightness of the heavens." Needless to say, our physical transformation as set forth in II Cor.3:18; Ro.12:2 and 8:23 does not come about by a literal adherence to the Old Covenant laws which Jesus fulfilled (Matt.5:17; Heb.8:13 and Col.2:13-14), but through the leading of the Spirit (II Cor.3:7-8). The law is not the way to God's glory, but it is a clear foreshadow of it (Col.2:16-17).
Throughout the New Testament we are shown that Moses spoke of the future (Lk.24:27; Acts 26:22 and Heb.3:5). More specifically, we are shown that the Tabernacle in the wilderness was a copy and shadow of what was in heaven (Heb.9:23). For our purposes, it is important to note that according to Heb.10:1, this foreshadowing goes far beyond Jesus' life, death and resurrection, for it also points to "... THE GOOD THINGS THAT ARE COMING" (emphasis added).
As we have seen in previous studies, for those who have experienced the salvation of the spirit (Jesus, Passover, Outer Court of the Tabernacle), and are experiencing the salvation of their soul (Holy Spirit, Pentecost, Middle Court of the Tabernacle) the "good thing" that is coming, is the salvation Jesus brings with Him when He returns (Heb.9:27). This salvation is the redemption of our physical bodies (I John 3:2; Phil.3:20-21 and Ro.8:18-19 & 23) which points to the time when God's glory will shine forth from us.
Under the Old Covenant, God's Glory filled the Tabernacle (Ex.40:34 and I Ki.8:10). Under the New Covenant WE are the temple of God (I Cor.6:19 & 3:16 and Heb.3:6) and ARE "... being built into a spiritual house" (I Pe.2:5). That is present progressive in nature, and explains why we must "grow up" into our salvation (I Pe.2:2). The prophet Haggai tells us that the glory manifested in God's future temple will be greater then in the former (Hag.2:9). Since the priests under the old order could not minister when God's Glory was present (I Ki.8:11 and Ex.40:30), and new covenant overcomers are to rule and reign with, and in the presence of the risen Christ (Rev.3:21), it is obvious that the overcomers must become mature "... attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ" (Eph4:13) so that unlike the Levitical priests, priests which are in the order of Melchezidek will be able to minister in His presence.
Since ruling and reigning is also part of Christ's ministry, we should study Moses Tabernacle in light of more than Jesus' redeeming sacrificed alone. I Cor.10:1-11 lists several things which were experienced by the Israelites in the wilderness which "... are examples ... warnings to us ..." The majority of those who left Egypt failed to physically enter into the promised land, which was a foreshadow of the physical rest God has in store for His overcomers.
Their's was a failure to understand and follow the pattern of faith, obedience and holiness which God had established. This does not mean that we are under the written code. But then neither does it mean that our walk with the Lord is an aimless wandering about either. We are LED by the Spirit and the maturing process He leads us through is clearly foreshadowed in the tabernacle in the wilderness. Our understanding of this pattern can therefore serve as a type of guide throughout our journey.
According to Gal.3:24 the law, which includes the temple and its regulations, came into being to lead us to Christ. And as we have seen before, there is more to Jesus than our initial salvation experience. While there can be no doubt as to the importance of that redemption, God offers us more.
Since we know from I Pe.2:6 that Jesus is the cornerstone of our faith, it would appear that we would find Jesus at the very beginning of this study Not only is that true, but the very location of the Tabernacle within the camp of the Israelites during their wilderness journey literally focuses our whole attention upon Jesus' redeeming sacrifice.
Nu.23:28 and 24:2 tell us that prior to delivering his 3rd message from God to King Balak, Balaam climbed to the top of Peor and "looked out and saw Israel camped tribe by tribe." Now, what was the site that greeted him? Turn to drawing 1A at the end of this chapter in order to get an idea of how the tabernacle was situated within the camp. Notice that the tribes were camped on all sides. If we now turn to Numbers chapters 1 & 2 I believe that we will find the key which answers the question of what Balaam saw.
By combining the census figures given for each tribe in Numbers chapter 1 with their assigned camping position as found in Numbers chapter 2 we see that the encamped Israelites formed a giant cross, with the Tabernacle itself located in the middle. While Balaam didn't realize it, he was gazing down at a foreshadow of the cross of Jesus Christ (see drawings 1B and 1C). But God's attention to detail goes even further. When we turn to Exodus chapter 40 we see where God instructed Moses to place each article within the tabernacle. In so doing, we see that the layout of the tabernacle itself actually formed a cross (see drawings 1D and 1E). In reality what we have is a cross within a cross. However, before we proceed with our study of the Tabernacle itself, I would like to first examine two other areas. One deals with the actual size of the encampment, and the other concerns the limitations which were placed upon those who could and could not serve as priests.
According to Josephus, an early Jewish historian, the camp was close to twelve miles across. When the Israelites encamped, God's presence among them was made known by the cloud which was directly over the tabernacle (Ex.40:34 Lev.16:2; Nu.9:15-23 - see also Ex.13:21 and II Chron.5:13 - see drawing 1A) Therefore, although they were all in the Lord's camp, some of the Israelites were closer to God's presence then others. In this regard note that the tribe of Judah was camped directly in front of the entrance (Nu.2:1 & Ex.38:13). As we saw in chapter 15 of Needful Things the name Judah means "praise" (Gen.29:35), and I believe the Lord is again showing us here that which we have so often seen in our previous studies; namely, the praisers are the first to come into God's presence (Ps.100:4; Ps.95:2; Isaiah 51:11 & Matt.24: 27). The praisers are continually in His presence. Others, while still in God's camp (saved), figuratively speaking may be as far as six miles from His Glory.
You cannot be seeking God's Glory (Ro.2:7) and at the same time desire to remain far from it (Ps.22:26). To actively seek His Glory, as He clearly directs us to do, we must be praisers. Furthermore, if we remain at the very outside edge of God's presence (again figuratively speaking) we will fail to hear much of what He is telling us (I Ki.19:11-13 & Job 33:14).
The second point I wish to consider before entering the Tabernacle concerns the physical qualifications which the Levitical priests had to meet before they could actually function in their priestly capacity, and the significance these qualifications have for us today. While the Melchizedek order of priesthood is obviously not regulated by the physical requirements of the Old Covenant or dependent upon ancestral ties to the tribe of Levi (Heb.7:16 & 12), I believe that if we examine the physical impairments which would have disqualified a priest from service under the order of Levi (Lev.21:17-24), we will see a foreshadow of the spiritual imperfections which if present in us today, will greatly hinder our ability to serve as priests in the royal priesthood of I Pe.2:9 and Rev.20:6. This is an important concept for us to grasp. It would be tragic to truly understand the pattern of the tabernacle in the wilderness and then be unable to totally apply it to our lives as New Covenant priests simply because we failed to seek God's purifying touch in some area of our lives which needed to be changed.
My justification for applying SPIRITUAL concepts to the PHYSICAL qualifications of the Levitical priesthood is based upon the following. According to Ex.12:5, the Israelites were told that the Passover lamb must be free of any physical blemish or defects at the moment it was sacrificed. In fact, Mal.1:13-14 tells us that those who offered up physically injured or diseased animals were an accursed people.
We know that Jesus is our Passover Lamb (I Cor.5:7 & John 1:36). Yet, at the time He died, Jesus was physically mutilated almost beyond recognition (Isaiah 52:14), and had taken upon Himself every disease and sickness (I Pe.2:24 & Matt.8:17). Therefore, Jesus did not meet the physical qualifications which had been laid down for the Passover lamb, for at the time of His sacrifice He was blemished, injured and diseased. However, SPIRITUALLY He was without blemish, for He was without sin (Heb.4:15). The physical requirements of the Passover lamb were merely a foreshadow of Jesus' spiritual condition. This points out the fact that many (though certainly not all) Old Testament verses are prophetic in nature only when viewed in the light of the New Testament reality. As we have said before, the Old Testament is the New Testament concealed, and the New Testament is the Old Testament revealed.
Having established that, let us now examine Lev.21:17-21 (KJV) wherein we find that the functioning priest was to be free of the following physical defects: 1) blemish 2) blindness 3) lameness 4) flatnose (disfigured - NIV) 5) superfluous (limb to long - Amplified) 6) broken foot or hand 7) crookback 8) dwarf 9) blemish in the eye 10) scurvy (itch - Amplified) 11) scabbed (skin trouble - Amplified) 12) broken stones (damaged testicles - NIV). Under no circumstance should the foregoing Scriptures be interpreted to mean that God is prejudiced against those who are physically disabled. Many times verses in the Old Testament which provide a detailed description of something in the physical realm are in fact prophesying a spiritual reality. And I believe that is what we are being shown in this instance. In the realm of the Spirit, New Covenant priests are required to meet certain qualifications if they hope to physically come before the Lord without first experiencing physical death
Carefully note that the descendants of Aaron who exhibited these defects were not disqualified from being priests, rather they were disqualified from ministering as priests before the Lord. They could eat the Holy food (Lev.21:22), but they were not allowed to offer it before the Lord. They were not allowed to physically come before the Lord's presence within the Tabernacle. Under the New Covenant we are all priests (all saved in spirit and being saved in soul), but we will not all physically stand before the Father without first physically dying. Just as Ez.44:10-16 showed us that only the faithful priests could enter the Most Holy Place in Ezekiel's end time vision, so also does the New Testament show us that the New Covenant priests must meet certain spiritual qualifications if they expect to physically minister before the Father even though they are free to do so in the realm of the Spirit now (see chapter 9 of A Closer Walk).
To begin with, we see in Eph.5:27 that those priests who will physically stand before the Lord will be without spiritual blemish. They will have spiritual eyes that see (Matt.13:16 & Acts 26:18), and instead of being spiritually lame, they will be steady in their walk with the Lord (Heb.12:12 & I John 2:6). Along a similar vein, we see that they will not be unbalanced or over extended in any area, for they will seek the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:27). As opposed to having injured hands or feet - which often times signify power (Ps.145:16 & John 3:35) - we are to know God's power (Matt.22:29 & Acts 1:8). Crookbacked or twisted spiritual concepts will likewise not be acceptable in the last generation priests (I Tim.1:3-4, Col.2:21 ff, Gal.1:8 & II Cor.11:4), nor will they exhibit stunted spiritual growth patterns (Heb.5:12-14 & 6:1).
Jesus said He was going to build His Church on the rock of revelation (Matt.16:17-18). Therefore, those with spiritual vision blemishes which impair their ability to perceive God's revelation are at a distinct disadvantage as Jesus' fellow workers (Acts 2:17, II Cor.12:1 & I Cor.14:26). Those with spiritual scurvy (itch) are impulsive, and we are warned about them in II Tim.4:3. Likewise, spiritual scabs (spiritual skin trouble) can be likened unto leprosy which is a type of ongoing sin that eats away at our very being. Last generation priests who physically stand before the Father will not be engaging in continuous on going sin, for we are clearly told that such sin will hinder them in their walk with God (John 9:31 & I John 1:6). Finally, they will not be spiritually unproductive. They will believe the great commission, even if they go no further than to their next door neighbor (Matt.28:19). They will be used by God to bring others to spiritual birth (I Cor.4:15, II Tim.4:2 & Col.4:6).
