THE SANCTUARY – THE HOLY PLACE
Wednesday – January 3, 2018
Welcome back to this wonderful Bible Study taken from the Book of Hebrews. The picture above is an illustration (design) of the Tabernacle which as you will recall is a mirror image of the Heavenly Tabernacle. The pictures today are courtesy of Rose Publishing. The illustration above is of the whole Tabernacle and there is much to say as you might imagine. However, we are going to drill down into the Tabernacle Tent which may also be referred to as the Tent of Meeting (meeting with God) and that is shown below. Now, let’s review our primary Bible text.
Hebrews 9:1-7 (KJV)
1 Then verily the first covenant had also ordinances of divine service, and a worldly sanctuary.
2 For there was a tabernacle made; the first, wherein was the candlestick, and the table, and the shewbread; which is called the sanctuary.
3 And after the second veil, the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of all;
4 Which had the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant;
5 And over it the cherubims of glory shadowing the mercyseat; of which we cannot now speak particularly.
6 Now when these things were thus ordained, the priests went always into the first tabernacle, accomplishing the service of God.
7 But into the second went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself, and for the errors of the people:
Hebrews 9:2 starts with describing the instruments in the Holy Place of the Tent of Meeting or Tabernacle Tent. The following illustration is also courtesy of Rose Publishing.
Service in the Holy Place was a daily service by the Levitical priests however the Most Holy Place was entered just once a year of the Day of Atonement by the High Priest alone. So, let’s talk about the furniture in the Holy Place and its significance for them and for us. First there is the Golden Lampstand. I recently talked about this in the article about Hanukkah on December 10, 2017. The details of the making of what is referred to in our text as “the candlestick” is found in Exodus 25 starting with verse 31.
Exodus 25:31-33 (KJV)
31 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.
Notice Exodus 25:31 and all the references to “his”, what is with that, aren’t we talking about an inanimate object? In this case the discussion has to do with the Servant Lamp which is Christ. Twenty-five is the number for the forgiveness of sin and thirty-one the number for offspring. Interesting don’t you think? The Golden Lampstand which is also called a Candelabra or Menorah is made of pure gold indicating the purity of God (all good no evil) and the purity that we also possess in Him. The oil (not mentioned above) was a special oil and was the fuel for the flames of the seven candlesticks. The oil is the Anointing (Holy Spirit), the flame is the visible presence or work of the Holy Spirit, what is called the Glory or the Shekinah Glory of God. This flame also represents the Anointed Word of God in us and shinning out through us. The Holy Spirit is activated or put into action by the Word of God. The center lamp is called the Servant Lamp (capitalized because it represents Jesus) and it is used to light the other six lamps which represent mankind and the six days of mans’ workweek. Jesus is the Word of God and He is the flame that ignites the oil (Anointing) of each believer.
For just a moment I want to draw your attention to Exodus 25:33 (thirty-three is the number of Promise) and the mention of “almonds”. We can also find this in Jeremiah 1:11-12 and it has to do with “the first to come” and “watchfulness”. This was a prophetic Word of the people to be watchful for the first One to come and show the way, being the first light of the world (Jesus) and leaving many lights (you and I) of the world. For them this furniture and commanded rituals given by God (which was enough), for us it is a prophetic picture of the Messiah and the return of the Blessing into the earth.
As I close for today I want to bring something into our thinking that I think you will find most interesting. Look at the first picture above which shows the whole Tabernacle. The gate represents Jesus. Once we come through the gate having decided on salvation we are faced with the Bronze Alter representing the Cross. Here is where blood of the innocent animals was spilled and burned with fire symbolizing the destruction of sinful flesh, the combination needed for our salvation. Next, we see the Bronze Laver with water, water is the cleansing Word of God. The priests of old washed their hands and feet here before entering the Holy Place. Bronze is an alloy of copper and tin (plus or minus other metals) representing a degree of purity with an admixture. Ezra 8:27 calls fine copper as precious as gold.
God does not like an admixture, an alloy, and the Word washes the evil away. Right from the Garden of Eden they were not to partake of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. We are to be pure with no mixture from the world. You and I brother and sister are cleansed by the washing of water, the Word of God. We need Jesus and a certain washing of the Word to enter the Holy Place. After salvation and we are entered into the Holy Place (set apart for His use) we can partake of the Bread of Life. The Candelabra indicates that we can receive the Anointing, which is the baptism of the Holy Spirit with the speaking of other tongues. The Alter of Incense not only acts to purify our mouths but represents our prayers as a sweet savor before God.
One last thought as you look at the schematic for the Tabernacle. This is a three-part structure with the outer courtyard including the gate, Alter of Sacrifice, and the Bronze Laver. Than we have the Tabernacle Tent which is divided by two. The Holy Place with its furniture and the Most Holy Place with its furniture. The very presence of God was only in the Most Holy Place. The High Priest was the only one to come into the presence of God, and then only once a year. At the Crucifixion that partition (veil) between God and the people was torn top to bottom (Heaven to earth) so that we could all come into the presence of God not just the High Priest. The veil, the partition, was sinful flesh, that was taken out of the way when Jesus bore our sin in His flesh.
Consider this, we are three-part creations, spirit, soul, and body. The outer court represents our body, within that body is the Tabernacle Tent which is composed of our soul and spirit. The soul is the Holy Place, and our spirit man is the Most Holy Place. Our spirit man is the residing place of the Holy Spirit within us just as the Most Holy Place was His residing place in the Tabernacle. In our mind is where we choose the amount of Anointing to walk in, the amount of bread we want to eat, and the content of our prayers and the purification of our tongue. As we come through the gate accepting Jesus we lay our old life on the alter to be burned up and surrender ourselves to Him and wash our feet dedicated to walking only where He wants us to walk, and washing our hands representing our power and authority to be surrendered to His will. Interesting, don’t you think.
Until our next publication, I speak blessing into your life right now, receive it in the name of Jesus, confess it, and walk it out with thanksgiving.
Numbers 6:24-26 (KJV)
24 The LORD bless thee, and keep thee:
25 The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:
26 The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.
By: Dr. David Wood, Author, Bible Teacher, and Prophetic Voice
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