I'm Following Jesus – Page 1166 – Mark 8:34 And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

King James Bible Study – “And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” – Mark 8:34

Date: Sunday, February 07, 2021
Chapters: Exodus 25-27
Message: Tabernacle of God

Hello My Friend,

The Tabernacle was the very first house or worship built for God, each and every detail into building it came from God and everything from the design of the tent itself to the menorah had an exact place and a purpose. The most interesting fact is that the Tabernacle was designed upon the likeness of one man, Jesus Christ. Today, we do not need a tent or a building to commune with God, He lives within ever saved soul, and we know Him to be the Holy Spirit. [John 14:15-18 If ye love me, keep my commandments. 16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; 17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. 18 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.]

Before Jesus came here, the Holy Spirit did enter in the souls of the saved as God saw fit to use them, and if He did not like what they were doing, He would remove His Spirit in an instant. Moses was one of those whom God had given His Spirit to, remember, the burning bush? Well, it was when He turned back that God would use him. And while we do not need a physical building to worship God, it is necessary for spiritual guidance and also fellowship with those who have His Spirit in them also. Now, remember all those things that God had told the Israelites to borrow from the Egyptians before they left Egypt? Well, all of that was for a purpose. God calls Moses to the top of Mt. Sinai, while there He gives him instructions on building a sanctuary that would be used specifically for Him, a house that He would actually live in.

[Exodus 25:2-8 Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring me an offering: of every man that giveth it willingly with his heart ye shall take my offering. 3 And this is the offering which ye shall take of them; gold, and silver, and brass, 4 And blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats’ hair, 5 And rams’ skins dyed red, and badgers’ skins, and shittim wood, 6 Oil for the light, spices for anointing oil, and for sweet incense, 7 Onyx stones, and stones to be set in the ephod, and in the breastplate. 8 And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.]

[and shittim wood,] Pronounced as shi-teem wood, also known as Acacia, is a form of cedar, known to be the best quality, it is said to grow in the parts of Egypt at a distance from the sea; in the mountains of Sinai, at the Red sea. When God calls us to make something that is going to be for Him, He is going to require the very best, and that it be given willingly. Within the tent or Tabernacle, all the way in the back, would be a wooden box, made out of the shittim wood, an Ark.

[Exodus 25:10-16 And they shall make an ark of shittim wood: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof. 11 And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, within and without shalt thou overlay it, and shalt make upon it a crown of gold round about. 12 And thou shalt cast four rings of gold for it, and put them in the four corners thereof; and two rings shall be in the one side of it, and two rings in the other side of it. 13 And thou shalt make staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold. 14 And thou shalt put the staves into the rings by the sides of the ark, that the ark may be borne with them. 15 The staves shall be in the rings of the ark: they shall not be taken from it. 16 And thou shalt put into the ark the testimony which I shall give thee.]

[And thou shalt put into the ark the testimony which I shall give thee.] This would be the Law, the commandments, feasts, required sacrifices, and how they were to observe them all, it also included the very words we read in the Book of Genesis. The reason the Ark had rings build was for them to be able to carry it. Something would sit on top of the Ark, a pure gold plank called the mercy seat. [Exodus 25:17-18,21-22 And thou shalt make a mercy seat of pure gold: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof. 18 And thou shalt make two cherubims of gold, of beaten work shalt thou make them, in the two ends of the mercy seat. 21 And thou shalt put the mercy seat above upon the ark; and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee. 22 And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel.]

[and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat,] Do you see how God rests upon His Word? It is in His Word that we rest upon, He not only talks with us, but gives us the answers we need through it. There is not one problem that cannot be solved by getting in His Word. The items inside God’s house, the tables and lamps were also meant for a specific purpose. Next, God instructs Moses on what would be the table of shewbread. [Exodus 25:23-24,30 Thou shalt also make a table of shittim wood: two cubits shall be the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof. 24 And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, and make thereto a crown of gold round about. 30 And thou shalt set upon the table shewbread before me alway.]

[And thou shalt set upon the table shewbread before me alway.] The table shewbread was to be in the same place as the Ark and mercy seat, this part of His house would know known as the holy of holies. This is where the priests would place the bread, and the would commune with God, and actually eat with Him. The table itself is representative our communion with Christ, both in this life and the one to come as we feast with Him. [Revelation 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.]

Now, having a building does absolutely nothing if there is no light in the building to see where we are going. Since the tent had no windows, it was going to need some light, And now God gives Moses instructions on making the candlestick, also known as the menorah. [Exodus 25:31-33,37 And thou shalt make a candlestick of pure gold: of beaten work shall the candlestick be made: his shaft, and his branches, his bowls, his knops, and his flowers, shall be of the same. 32 And six branches shall come out of the sides of it; three branches of the candlestick out of the one side, and three branches of the candlestick out of the other side: 33 Three bowls made like unto almonds, with a knop and a flower in one branch; and three bowls made like almonds in the other branch, with a knop and a flower: so in the six branches that come out of the candlestick. 37 And thou shalt make the seven lamps thereof: and they shall light the lamps thereof, that they may give light over against it.]

[And thou shalt make the seven lamps thereof:] When Jesus had given John the revelation of what was to take place before and during His return, He gave him a vision of seven churches, [Revelation 1:13], these would be the churches judged by Christ, and the warning that He is giving them to repent before His returns. The candlestick itself is representative of Christ as being the Light that shines in the Church. Without Christ, there is no light in the Church. And since He only lives in His believers, we are the Light that gives light everywhere we go. [Matthew 5:14-16 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. 15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.]

[but on a candlestick;] If we are the light, then Jesus is the candlestick that we must be upon in order to both be our light and the light. Each and every soul saved is on that candlestick, and unless we take it into the building, there is not light in it. Now, the tent itself, God had specific instructions for it as well.

[Exodus 26:1-6 Moreover thou shalt make the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet: with cherubims of cunning work shalt thou make them. 2 The length of one curtain shall be eight and twenty cubits, and the breadth of one curtain four cubits: and every one of the curtains shall have one measure. 3 The five curtains shall be coupled together one to another; and other five curtains shall be coupled one to another. 4 And thou shalt make loops of blue upon the edge of the one curtain from the selvedge in the coupling; and likewise shalt thou make in the uttermost edge of another curtain, in the coupling of the second. 5 Fifty loops shalt thou make in the one curtain, and fifty loops shalt thou make in the edge of the curtain that is in the coupling of the second; that the loops may take hold one of another. 6 And thou shalt make fifty taches of gold, and couple the curtains together with the taches: and it shall be one tabernacle.]

[and it shall be one tabernacle.] The Church, Christ’s Church is not made up of different buildings, it is one, each and every saves soul is a member of His Church, we are all members of one body, and that is Christ. [Romans 12:4-5 For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office: 5 So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.]

God’s Spirit would dwell in the most holy place. A veil would be put in place to separate it from man, even the high priest, no one was ever allowed to go pass that veil and enter the most holy place. [Exodus 26:30-35 And thou shalt rear up the tabernacle according to the fashion thereof which was shewed thee in the mount. 31 And thou shalt make a vail of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen of cunning work: with cherubims shall it be made: 32 And thou shalt hang it upon four pillars of shittim wood overlaid with gold: their hooks shall be of gold, upon the four sockets of silver. 33 And thou shalt hang up the vail under the taches, that thou mayest bring in thither within the vail the ark of the testimony: and the vail shall divide unto you between the holy place and the most holy. 34 And thou shalt put the mercy seat upon the ark of the testimony in the most holy place. 35 And thou shalt set the table without the vail, and the candlestick over against the table on the side of the tabernacle toward the south: and thou shalt put the table on the north side.]

[And thou shalt make a vail of blue,] This is what separated God from them, while they could go into the holy of hollies to commune with Him, they were not able to go beyond the veil, if they did, they would die. Once a year, on the Day of Atonement, they would sprinkle some of the blood, where God rested, but they could only wave their arm back there. There is no way that we can stand directly before God and live, that was until Jesus became the Atonement for us. God ripped that veil and took it down when His Son died on the cross, [Matthew 27:50-51]. Any one of us, who are saved, can now stand before God and live to tell about it, [II Corinthians 3:13-14 And not as Moses, which put a vail over his face, that the children of Israel could not stedfastly look to the end of that which is abolished: 14 But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done away in Christ.]. Praise God!

Without a sacrifice there is no atonement, it cannot be just any sacrifice, not just offered anywhere, it as imperative that Christ be the sinless offering, and on the cross. Now, God gives the instructions for the pattern of the brazen or bronze altar, this would be where the sacrifices would be offered to Him.

[Exodus 27:1-3,8 And thou shalt make an altar of shittim wood, five cubits long, and five cubits broad; the altar shall be foursquare: and the height thereof shall be three cubits. 2 And thou shalt make the horns of it upon the four corners thereof: his horns shall be of the same: and thou shalt overlay it with brass. 3 And thou shalt make his pans to receive his ashes, and his shovels, and his basons, and his fleshhooks, and his firepans: all the vessels thereof thou shalt make of brass. 8 Hollow with boards shalt thou make it: as it was shewed thee in the mount, so shall they make it.]

[and thou shalt overlay it with brass.] Notice that the altar was covered in brass and not gold like everything else. This was because brass would be able to withstand the high heat, as gold would not. The altar was placed in the court before the holy place, it was there for the people to bring there offerings to God. When we come to God to the altar, it is Jesus who hold us up, and He truly is there to not only hear us, but clean us from the guilt of every care that we bear. Well, now, God gives instructions for the court.

[Exodus 27:9-11,19-21 And thou shalt make the court of the tabernacle: for the south side southward there shall be hangings for the court of fine twined linen of an hundred cubits long for one side: 10 And the twenty pillars thereof and their twenty sockets shall be of brass; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets shall be of silver. 11 And likewise for the north side in length there shall be hangings of an hundred cubits long, and his twenty pillars and their twenty sockets of brass; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets of silver. 19 All the vessels of the tabernacle in all the service thereof, and all the pins thereof, and all the pins of the court, shall be of brass. 20 And thou shalt command the children of Israel, that they bring thee pure oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamp to burn always. 21 In the tabernacle of the congregation without the vail, which is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons shall order it from evening to morning before the LORD: it shall be a statute for ever unto their generations on the behalf of the children of Israel.]

[to cause the lamp to burn always.] Pure olive oil was to be burned before God daily, it was never to go out. Since Christ is the Light, we are the light of the world, we are to always keep the light of Christ burning in us always. [II Corinthians 4:5-6 For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake. 6 For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.]

Jesus Christ Magnified: [Exodus 27:20 And thou shalt command the children of Israel, that they bring thee pure oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamp to burn always.]

Today’s Prayer: God, Thank You for sending Your Son, Jesus Christ to become the sacrifice needed that would redeem me of my sins and bring me to know that You are always with me. Thank You also for taking the veil off my heart so that I could see You, it is comforting to know that You indwell in me. Lord, I want to be a living sacrifice for You, to offer myself willingly, and be used in anyway that You need me. Lead me and guide me, help me know Your will and follow it so I can be the light so many desperately a searching for. Give me Your power to understand and know Your Word so that I can be ready and prepared to handle any situation You place before me, and let me shine through You every day. I ask this in Your name, Jesus. Amen.

God Bless You, I am praying for you,

Christina

Are You 100% Sure You Are Going To Heaven?: http://readytofollow.com/
Receive The KJB Daily Devotions In Your Email: http://eepurl.com/2WMzT
Missed A Message: http://imfollowingjesus.com/Biblestudy/
Visit I’m Following Jesus Missions: https://imfollowingjesus.com/Biblestudy/welcome/
I’m Following Jesus On Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/readytofollowJesus/
I’m Following Jesus On Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/imfollowingjesus