FINDING CHRIST IN THE TABERNACLE, PART 9.

Finding Christ in the Tabernacle, Part 9.

“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).

When the lid has been removed so you can see the contents that fit inside the Ark:
1. The two stone tablets of the Law (Deuteronomy 10:1-5).
2. Aaron's rod that budded (Numbers 17).
3. The golden pot of 'hidden' manna (Hebrews 9:4).
Together these three items form the Testimony (Exodus 25:21); hence the Ark is called the Ark of the Testimony.

1. The Stone Tablets of the Law.
The Ten Commandments were written on these two pieces of stone, by the finger of God on Mount Sinai (Exodus 31:18; 32:16, 19; 34:1). The tablets of stone are also called the tables of testimony (Exodus 31:18), because they show us what God is like: jealous, caring, faithful and true. He is holy and righteous.

The Ten Commandments on the two stone tablets are the basis for God's covenant with the children of Israel (Exodus 19:5-7). They instruct what the righteous requirements of the law are, BUT there is no supply to help the children of Israel to obey the commandments. Because the children of Israel did not continue in their side of the covenant (it was impossible, Romans 8:3), God promised to make a new covenant.

“This is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law into their minds and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God and they shall be My people. No more shall every man teach his neighbour saying 'Know the Lord', for they all shall know Me, from the least to the greatest among them, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity and their sin I will remember no more” Jeremiah 31:33-34.

This is the New Covenant which Jesus has fulfilled by His blood (Luke 22:20). “When the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under law, so that He might redeem those who were under the law” Galatians 4:4. Jesus Christ has kept the law of God, loving the Lord His God with all His heart, and His neighbour as Himself.

Jesus had the law of God (the Ten 'Words' of God) in His heart, just as the Ark of the Covenant kept the stone tablets of the Testimony. The Word of God had become flesh and tabernacled among us, full of grace and truth (reality, Greek) (John 1:14). God undertakes to write His laws into our hearts and inscribe them on our minds, by sending forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts (Galatians 4:6; Hebrews 8:10-12).

2. Aaron's Rod that Budded.

A little history is required to begin with: the account is in Numbers 17.
God wanted to prove positively that Aaron was his choice for the priesthood (Numbers 17:5). A rod from the head of each of the twelve tribes was marked with the name of the tribe and placed before the Lord, at Ark of the Testimony (Numbers 17:4).

When Moses returned the next day, Aaron's rod had budded with blossoms and ripe almonds. God instructed Moses to place Aaron's rod back before the Testimony, “to be kept as a sign against the rebels” to prevent further murmurings and death (Numbers 17:10). That is the history.

The application comes in John 11. Jesus' friend Lazarus is quite seriously ill. Jesus loved the family: Lazarus, Martha and Mary. But Jesus did not go to see them straightaway, He waited two days. Martha cannot wait to tell Jesus what she thinks, meeting Him on the road. Mary was less vocal, but still made the same observation as Martha: “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died” John 11:21, 32.

It looks really bad. Jesus has let everybody down, just what the 'press' wanted to 'publish'. It is in this very environment of death, despair and hopelessness, WHEN Jesus announces “I am the Resurrection and the Life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live” John 11:25.
Jesus had no intention of preventing Lazarus from dying. He appears to have had every intention of waiting until he had died, so that people would see the glory of God that appeared in the Tabernacle, and that many would believe in(to) Him ('into' is the literal Greek)(John 11:40, 45).

Lazarus was not just a piece of wood, lopped from an almond tree somewhere, like Aaron's rod had been. What a sign of the Messiah! Who could doubt now that Jesus is who He says He is - the Resurrection and the Life? The Ark of the Covenant, which contained the budding rod that is fulfilled in Jesus, who is the Resurrection and the Life!

Aaron's rod that budded was a sign of God's continued choice of Aaron as a priest (Numbers 17:5). But Aaron's priesthood was interrupted by his death. The Lord Jesus Christ, though, has a priesthood that is constituted with an indestructible life (Hebrews 7:16).

3. The Golden Pot of 'Hidden' Manna (omer = 24 litres).
Manna was the food that came down from God to feed the children of Israel daily in the wilderness for the forty years of their journey to Canaan. It was given to the children of Israel in such a way that it required them to develop self-discipline. Manna only came in the early morning with the dew (Exodus 16:13-14). By the time the sun was up, it would have melted (Exodus 16:21).

It had to be gathered every day, any residue would breed worms and smell (Exodus 16:20), and they had to gather a double portion on the sixth day, because none would fall on the Sabbath (Exodus 16:22-27). It was called 'Manna', because that is Hebrew for 'what is it'. It looked like white coriander seed and tasted like wafer biscuits made with honey (Exodus 16:31).

The Lord commanded Moses to fill an omer vessel with Manna and keep it for a memorial to future generations of how God fed them in the wilderness (Exodus 16:32-33). The Golden Pot would last for ever. It is round, indicating eternal; it is gold, indicating 'of God, divine'. The Golden Pot indicates eternal life. Our life needs to be “hidden with Christ in God” Colossians 3:3 and we need to know “Christ our life,” the Zoe (Greek) eternal life (Colossians 3:4).

The Hidden Manna was a memorial of how the Lord had sustained His people in an impossible situation.
Christ is real and applicable to every person in every age in every circumstance. “This is eternal life that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent” Jesus prays in John 17:3.

I HOPE AND PRAY YOU HAVE ENJOYED THIS STUDY?

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