FINDING CHRIST IN THE TABERNACLE, PART 8.

Finding Christ in the Tabernacle, Part 8.

“For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ” John 1:17.
The Ark of the Covenant (Exodus 25:10-22).

We are now ready to go inside the veil into the Holy of Holies. But wait, for the Bible indicates we will face certain death unless we are the High Priest, access was only permitted once per year, on the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur). Access was restricted to one person only, the high priest. He had to come into the Holy of Holies with the blood of a goat to place upon the mercy seat, on behalf of his own and the people of Israel's sins.

Let us now read 1 Samuel chapters 5 and 6, note 1 Samuel 6:19 “Then He struck the men of Beth Shemesh (House of the sun) (because they had looked into the ark of the Lord.
He struck seventy men of the fifty thousand of the town’s people, and the people lamented because the Lord had struck the people with a great slaughter.”

This happened after the ark was returned from the Philistines, when Israel lost a battle the Philistines took the ark, but it caused nothing but boils and trouble to them, so they returned the ark to Israel, they placed the ark on a new cart driven by two milk cows, found in 1 Samuel 6. On the return of the ark to Beth Shemesh (House of the sun) 70 men of the town looked into the ark.

You see even when the ark was moved in the wilderness it was carried by the Levities and covered with badgers’ skin and a blue cloth and carefully concealed from all eyes, even from those that carried it. Dare we look into the ark today?
King David does “the right thing in a wrong way.” He tried to bring up the ark to Zion on a new cart, although God had given clear directions for moving it. The tribe of Levi was to carry the ark on their shoulders (Numbers 7:9).

David was copying man’s way, (the Philistines way) in 2 Samuel 6, when the ark rocked on the cart, the one that reached out to steady it, was killed by the Lord. Uzzah (UZ-uh: “strength”) was smitten dead because he should have known better than to touch it. “Hands off” was made abundantly clear in God’s instructions concerning the ark.

Man moving and dealing with the ark of God in his own strength. David then brought the ark up in a right way.
As we have studied the Tabernacle we have gone in reverse order of how it is revealed in scripture. We started outside the gate, and looked at the altar, the laver, the holy place, and now the Holy of Holies. That is how it is correctly approached and viewed from man’s point of view.
But it is not revealed that way in scripture, BUT from God’s viewpoint. The ark is mentioned first.

The ark went first always when Israel journeyed:
1. Those who bore it stepped into Jordan first and the waters parted.
2. When they marched around Jericho it was ark first, then the people, and then the walls fell flat.
3. The one time they supposed to go to war without the ark they were utterly defeated (Numbers 14). Why? They were not putting God first!
Now we are in the Holy of Holies, a perfect cube of 15 X 15 X 15’...a picture of the THREE fold holiness of God.

We do not know exactly what it would look like, but it would resemble a cedar chest, except covered with pure gold. We have something in our minds from an Indiana Jones movie, and it is not too far off.

The Ark itself was a small box made of acacia wood, overlaid with gold. It measured 1.15 metres long, 0.7 metres wide and 0.7 metres high, or 3 feet 9 inches and 2 feet 3 inches wide and high. A crown of gold is around the top, reminding us that we are approaching unto the KING of Kings, and gold rings on each corner through which golden poles also made of acacia wood overlaid with gold run through for transporting it.

The Ark of the Covenant (the ark was the box that held the items, and the lid was the mercy seat). The lid was a solid slab of gold, the value of this mercy seat would be unaffordable. Out of that same piece of gold were the cherubim atop the lid.

The Ark was God's throne in His dwelling place in the Tabernacle. The Tabernacle was built around the Ark of the Covenant; the Tabernacle without the ark is like a body without a soul, or the church without Christ in the midst.

The ark was to be overlaid within as well as without with gold. Every internal thought, feeling, and affection of the Lord Jesus was not only perfect as human, but spiritually and divinely excellent. In “Him dwelt all the fullness of the Godhead bodily,” and in Him the Church of God is blessed with every Spiritual blessing.

This crown of gold surrounding the ark, kept the mercy-seat in its place; even so was it with Jesus, “He for the joy that set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame; and, though for a season, made a little lower than the angels, He is now crowned with glory and honour.”
The obedient and humbled Son of man is now seated on the right hand of majesty and power, and glorified with the glory He had with the Father before the world was.

The wings of the cherubim, the two Cherubim on the Mercy Seat represented God's glory (Hebrews 9:5). Their wings meeting in the centre form a complete circle, and overshadow the mercy-seat. According to Psalm 103:17 “The mercy (loving kindness) of Jehovah is from everlasting to everlasting” a complete circle.

God's presence did not dwell inside the box (ark), but remained over the Ark, in between the two Cherubim. Here God dwelt “in unapproachable light” I Timothy 6:16; Psalm 104:2. The high priest had to shield his eyes, because “no man shall see Me (God) and live” Exodus 33:20.
This was where God met with Moses (Exodus 25:21-22; Leviticus 16:14-15). The glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle on the day it was set up and anointed (Exodus 40:9, 18, 34-35), exactly fourteen days short of one year since the Exodus from Egypt (Exodus 40:2; 12:6, 31). We are not told in great detail exactly what the Ark of the Covenant looked like.

The uncertainty should not unduly trouble us “for now we see dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I am known” I Corinthians 13:12. What we do know is that the wings of the Cherubim were stretched out, to cover the Mercy Seat; the wings of the two Cherubim touched one another to form a complete covering.

And will continue to manifest it, long as eternal ages roll. Romans 3:24-25 “Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed.”

Christ has died. The price is paid. To those who believe in Jesus Christ's death for their sins, there is now mercy not wrath. “God demonstrates His own love for us, in that while we are yet sinners, Christ died for us. Having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him” Romans 5:8-9.

IF YOU KNOW NOT THE CHRIST (SAVIOUR) OF THE TABERNACLE, WE ARE HERE TO HELP YOU FIND HIM, CONTACT US AT: Internetpreachersforchrist@gmail.com

Part nine coming on site soon!