HAVE WE BECOME THE TABERNACLE OF GOD?

Shalom,

Have you ever been lost? How do you feel when you get lost? Without doubt, you panick as you find yourself in a strange place. Not knowing how long it will take to get to your destination, you will do things in a rush. You will, for example, recklessly drive at full speed. But the case will be different if you know exactly the way and the time it takes to get to your destination. Then you won’t need to rush.

But what about someone who is lost while following the Lord? One who is spiritually lost typically shows aggression in his actions, acting more than necessary to attract attention or admiration. Chances are that others may get impressed by his spectacular actions and follow him in the long run.

Do we still remember the way of God as outlined in the Tabernacle? God instructed Moses to have the Tabernacle set up by the Israelites. To refresh our minds, let’s go through the Tabernacle - the roadmap to heaven we are heading to. Let’s start right from the Gate all the way to the Most Holy Place.

· THE GATE → Jesus is the Gate (John 10:9)

· THE ALTAR OF BURNT OFFERING → Jesus as a sacrifice to redeem the sins of man (Hebrews 9:26)
· THE BRAZEN LAVER → Jesus as the life Transformer of the repented

Grace is given to those who enter through the Gate of Salvation. Jesus gives them faith to come closer to the Altar of Burnt Offering as the first step of reconciliation with God – repenting and asking for His forgiveness.

Those who have been forgiven will have a desire to have a good conscience instead of following their intuitions. To have a good conscience, they should make a decision to live a new life through water baptism. During the baptism, they should believe that they die along with Christ and rise from the dead along with Him as well.

· THE TENT → Jesus as the Baptizer of the Spirit

Those with a good conscience have no problems accepting the Holy Spirit into their lives. The Holy Spirit intercedes for them with inexpressible groanings (Romans 8:26). As a result, they will deliberately desire to serve the Lord.

This step-by-step process should be our personal experience to get closer to the Lord in a better way, and the Lord will use our lives as pinpointed by the instruments in the Holy Place below:

· THE GOLDEN LAMPSTAND

We become witnesses to unbelievers who do not know the Lord Jesus (yet). The Holy Spirit in us plays a role in granting us self-control (Cf. 2 Peter 1:6) as one of the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:23)

Please note that God uses self-restrained people to be His witnesses. Otherwise, their actions will bring shame on themselves and disgrace on God who have sent them. Our attitudes should demonstrate our self-control on a daily basis – how we treat our spouse, children, family and friends.

· THE TABLE OF SHOWBREAD

Our thirst and hunger for the Word of God make up our primary needs in order to serve Him well and to persevere in sudying His Word more than ever.

In fact, many regularly attend church year in, year out, but their knowledge of the Word of God is so minimal that their speech and actions do not display any life transformations. They go to church out of routine instead of need that can transform their lives in order to be a blessing to others.

· THE ALTAR OF INCENSE

We who live in godliness have a desire to help others, just like Jesus who takes the position of an Intercessor.

Tingkat kesalehan lebih tinggi dari kesucian karena bersifat proaktif untuk selalu introspeksi diri sementara orang suci lebih bersikap pasif sehingga memungkinkan dia menjadi tinggi hati/sombong.

In comparison to holiness, godliness is of higher-level classification because godliness spurs proaction as well as self-introspection whereas holiness induces passivity and may give rise to arrogance in the long run.

After leaving behind the Courtyard with its two Tabernacle instruments (the Altar of Burnt Offering and the Brazen Laver), we step into the Holy Place with three instruments in it (the Golden Lampstand, the Table of Showbread and the Altar of Incense) via the Door of the Tent. Then the spiritual progress finds its way to the Holy of Holies through:

· THE VEIL

The Veil that separates the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies was torn from top to bottom when Jesus died on the cross (Matthew 27:51). This indicates that God did not want to be separated from man. From the era of the Torah to the birth of Jesus, the Torah was well observed by the Jews. Consequently, it served as a partitioner/barrier for man to reach perfection.

· THE ARK OF COVENANT

The Ark of Covenant describes an intimate fellowship between devine man and Jesus Christ. Within the Ark, there are three objects: a golden pot with manna in it, Aaron’s rod that budded and tables of covenant (Hebrews 9:4)

The golden pot with manna shows God’s provison that sustained the Israelites untill they arrived in the Promised Land. The Aaron’s rod that budded – a dry, dead rod became alive and even budded – illustrates hope while the tables of the covenant points to the love of God as God’s laws include faith, hope and love.

The three objects were kept in a gold-covered wooden chest. This describes the bad nature of man concealed and made invisible by God’s divine nature.

The real story of these three objects was actually about the wickedness and the failures of the Israelites in regard to their obedience to the Lord. The evidence was clear. The Israelites got bored with manna sent by God as their food provision in the wilderness (Numbers 11:4-6). This incurred God’s wrath and He killed many of them because of their greed (vv. 33-34). Aaron’s rod that budded brought their grumbles and lawlessness to an end ( Numbers 17: 1-10).

Also, Mose had to break the Tables of Covenant that he took with him from Mount Sinai when he found out that the Israelites had turned away from God, worshipping a golden calf (Exodus 32). As a leader, Moses knew that if he had shown the Tablets to the Israelites, none of them would have survived. That’s why he smashed the tablets into pieces at the bottom of the mountain (v. 19), so that he could not afford to condemn the Israelites.

Peringatan bagi kita untuk mengingat bagaimana perjalanan hidup kita sebelumnya yang jauh dari baik dan kelayakan tetapi Allah Tritunggal (Tutup Pendamaian) dengan kasih-Nya menutup kejahatan kita dengan kurban-Nya.

We are reminded of our past lives – way far from being good and worthy. But the Triune God (the Mercy Seat) covered our wickedness with His love and sacrifice.

· The access to the Most Holy Place required a High Priest bringing some blood from the offering for his own sins and the sins of the people of Israel once a year (Hebrews 9:1-7).

Only one High Priest could enter the Most Holy Place and this priestly assignment was determined by lot. For example, Priest Zechariah, the descendant of Aaron (Luke 1:5-6). Before entering the Most Holy Place, the designated High Priest had to pray and fast, making sure that he was in a holy condition. If he was found unholy, he would surely die before the presence of the Lord in the Most Holy Place.

However, their offerings could not make them perfect because they were just regulations for human life (Hebrews 9:8-10). Everything remained abstract until the death of Jesus made it perfectly real. Therefore, He had the courage to proclaim Himself as the way, the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father but by Him (John 14:6).

Only Jesus with His sacrifice is able to lead us to perfection in the Holy of Holies where He takes the position of a High Priest according to the order of Melchisedec (Hebrews 7:17) and brings His own blood (Hebrews 9:11-12).

· It is said that God has not visited the (physical) Temple or other sacred places built by man ever since. Instead, He’d rather live in the living Temple, namely, man himself (cf. Acts 17:24). History has it that in the year 70 AD, the Roman troops under General Titus attacked Jerusalem and burned down the (physical) Temple, exactly as prophesied by Jesus that they would not leave one stone upon another for the Jewish priests had turned His house into a venue of business, rip-off and fraud (Luke 19:44-46).

It is true that the Law cannot make us perfect (Hebrews 10:1) but still it provides information on how God transforms us. The Torah was like the shadow of the upcoming salvation (Hebrews 10:1), but the shadow stimulates us to find out the manifestation of the shadow. This is where the Old Testament and New Testament are related to each another and where Jesus is revealed as the end of the Law (Romans 10:4). He not only sanctifies but also perfects us (Hebrews 10:10,14).

Reflection: Have we used the opportunity by appreciating what He provides to achieve perfection?

God claimed that we belonged to Him. Therefore, Jesus took every risk so that we might delight in perfection. He desires to live in our lives as His temple. If so, what is our responsibility to Him? Indeed, we are free from the Law, but we must exercise this freedom carefully and wisely. That way, we may not become a stumbling block to others (1 Corinthians 6:12-20).

For example, we may eat any food (considered clean), but if those around us who are weak in faith find it disturbing and even take offense because we eat it, we should have the courage to give in and leave the food untouched. Remember: food is for the stomach and the stomach is for food, but God will destroy both. Further, the body is not fornication, but rather for the Lord (1 Corinthians 6:13).

We are to take account of our bodies. With this in mind, we are to stay away from physical as well a spiritual fornication (1 Corinthians 6: 14-16). Our bodies should not be occupied, used or even controled by any other person but God, for He has the absolute right to call us His own. Truly, there is no blueprint for marriage in this world like the Christian marriage prototype in which the head of a husband is Christ and the head of a wife is her husband whereas the head of Christ is God (1 Corinthians 11:3).

Application:

A husband should not treat his wife as his accesory – worn when needed and kept lying around when unneeded. A wife is a precious gift from God mandated to be a helper suited to her husband. She is not to be taken for granted. Obviously, the one who receives help is weaker than the helper. But many times, the one who receives help feels stronger than the helper, mocking God’s kindness. If a husband disrespects his wife, he will come face to face with God Himself who has already given him His best creation.

Our bodies were bought at a price and paid off (1 Corinthians 6: 19-20). How to glorify Him? By serving Him. If we insist on shying away from ministries, we actually do not have the grace to do it and play hard to get.

Do we long to be with Him, the Heavenly Bridegroom, in the New Jerusalem? If so, let everyone of us make his body a Tabernacle that comes into His possession. For this reason, we must repent and get rid all of our sins, wickedness and vile deeds to experience a life transformation. And this will lead to serving Him as an expression of our gratitude until the day comes when we live with Him, the Owner of our lives, in the New Jerusalem. Amen.

BY LAY PASTOR JANCHE SOEHATAN

LEMAH PUTRO, SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2017