I. Intro Recap.
A. Moses and the Two Tents.
1. In Exodus 33:7 Moses would go outside the camp and pitch a tent where he would meet with the Lord. He called this the “Tabernacle of Meeting”.
2. The Hebrews encamped around the Tabernacle.
3. There were two tents where God would meet with His people during this time. He would meet with Moses outside the camp and the Presence rested over the Ark of the Covenant in the Tabernacle within the camp.
4. Every believer needs both in their lives, times of personal worship and times when they gather with the saints for corporate worship.
B. The Tabernacle shows us God’s plan of salvation.
1. We can look at this from God’s point of view or man’s point of view.
a. God’s view: Starts with the Ark of the Covenant and proceeds outward until He meets man at the Altar of Sacrifice. This declares God meeting us at the Cross.
b. Man’s view: Born in sin, we begin at the cross where our sin is dealt with. From there we begin the walk to God until we experience His presence in the Spirit.
2. Unless God had purposed in His heart to provide the altar and the perfect Lamb to be sacrificed for us, we would have no place to start in our quest to fellowship with Him.
C. The Tabernacle gives us an illustration of how to approach God in our own hearts.
1. When we study the Tabernacle we find a framework for a lifestyle of spiritual practice. This is an ongoing daily walk with the Lord.
2. A focused path where we are led by Holy Spirit to follow in the footsteps of Jesus to meet with our Father in our spirit.
a. I say follow in the footsteps of Jesus because we see Jesus in every article.
b. The only opening was in the East, we follow the sun (Son) into the door.
c. The light of the sun pointing the Son Who is the Light of the World.
3. This shows us that Jesus is the Way, just like He said.
a. John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
4. The Tabernacle was a physical structure where the Presence of God dwelled, but now the Presence dwells in us. (1 Cor 6:19; 2 Cor 5:4; 23 Peter 1:13&14)
5. The Tabernacle shows that our spiritual walk with God begins at the cross, and passes through the waters of baptism. We see Jesus in the Word as the Spirit gives us light, our soul feeds on His presence and our prayers got up before Him like incense. And as we keep following the Spirit into His Presence, we eat from the Tree of Life, we receive the hidden manna, which is the Word of God that is specifically spoken to us, and His law is written on our hearts by the very finger of God.
II. Recap of the Outer Court and the Altar.
A. The Tabernacle is symbolic of our Three Part Being.
1. We are made in God’s image and likeness, God is 3 in 1 and so are we.
a. Gen 2:7 “And the Lord God formed man (adam, the body) of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath (neshama, the spirit) of life; and man became a living being (nephesh, soul, self).”
b. 1 Thess 5:23 “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (pneuma, psyche and soma)
2. Three main areas of the tabernacle, three main parts of our being.
d. The Outer Courtyard is symbolic of our body, it is open to the elements of nature.
e. The Holy Place speaks of our soul, our mind, will and emotions.
f. The Most Holy Place speaks our spirit, where we commune with God.
B. The Altar and the Laver minister to the needs of our body.
1. The blood of Jesus on the Altar (the cross) purchased us for God.
a. 1 Cor 6:19-20 19 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? 20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.
b. Bought with what? The blood of Jesus
c. Rev 5:9 “And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll, and to open its seals; for You were slain, and have redeemed us to God by Your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation…”
d. redeemed: Gr agorazo to buy out of the slave market
2. Isaiah 53:4-6 The body and blood of Jesus on the altar (the cross)
4 Surely He has borne our griefs (sicknesses) and carried our sorrows (pains), yet we esteemed (considered) Him stricken, smitten (struck down) by God, and afflicted. 5 But He was wounded (pierced through) for our transgressions, He was bruised (crushed) for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes (blows that cut) we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
3. The Brazen Altar, also called the Altar of Burnt Offering, is symbolic of the cross. Jesus, was offered as a the final sacrifice on the cross for the sins of the world. By His sacrifice,
a. He bought us back to God, paid the price for our sin and took all of our sickness
and disease upon Himself.
III. The Bronze Laver.
A. After the Altar of Burnt Offering, we come to the Bronze Laver.
1. This was a basin made of bronze that was filled with water. After offering the sacrifice, the priests had to wash in the laver before going any further into the Presence.
a. At the Altar of Burnt Offering, their sin was atoned (paid) for.
b. At the Bronze Laver, they were cleansed from their sins.
2. The Bronze Laver speaks of washing and regeneration. Just like we have to wash our physical bodies daily, we must wash our soul daily in the Word and feed our spirit daily on the Word.
3. The Laver speaks of baptism and the daily washing in the Word.
a. Mark 16:16 “He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.”
4. Baptism separates us from our old bondage to sin.
a. ANALOGY: The Hebrews passing through the Red Sea.
b. The Hebrews were free from the bondage of Egypt in the wilderness, but passing through the Red Sea separated them from Egypt and judged their oppressors with death.
B. The Laver and the Lord’s ministry to our physical bodies.
1. What happens at baptism? Our bodies are immersed in water in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
a. Hebrews 10:19-22
19 Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, 21 and having a High Priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
2. After baptism, we are continually washed by the Word.
a. Ephesians 5:25-27
25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, 26 that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, 27 that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.
b. sanctify: Gr. hagiazo to cleanse, purify and renew
c. cleanse: Gr. katharizo to cleanse from the defilement of sin, to consecrate
d. ‘by the word’, word is rhema, the Living Word
3. Proverbs 4:20-22 The Word makes our bodies healthy.
20 My son, give attention to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. 21 Do not let them depart from your eyes; keep them in the midst of your heart; 22 For they are life to those who find them, and health to all their flesh.
a. health: Gr. marpe, healing, a cure, a medicine
4. Psalm 107:20 The Word heals and delivers. “He sent His word and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.”
a. ‘made them healthy and provided a means of escape from the pit’
5. Psalm 119:93 “I will never forget Your precepts, for by them You have given me life.”
a. ‘have given me life’: Gr. haya, sustains and preserves my life
6. John 6:63 “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.
C. Application.
1. So we’re following the Lord, into baptism and then into the daily washing of the Water of the Word.
2. Cleansing our conscience, renewing our minds and giving life to our bodies.
IV. The Looking Glass.
A. The Laver shows us another aspect of the Washing of the Word.
1. The Bronze Laver was made from mirrors that were donated for the construction of the Tabernacle and its furnishings.
a. Exodus 38:8 “He made the laver of bronze and its base of bronze, from the bronze mirrors of the serving women who assembled at the door of the tabernacle of meeting.”
2. 2 Cor 3:18 “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.”
3. Mirrors are often used in vanity and pride, but when these mirrors were submitted to the Lord, He turned them into an instrument of cleansing. When we read the Word, do we let the Spirit
convict us of any sin or error? Or do we read the word as a Pharisee and say “Yep, I always do that.”?
4. James speaks of the Word as a mirror that discovers our true condition.
a. James 1:22-25
22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; 24 for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. 25 But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.
5. The Word of God gives us a true and clear image of ourselves, as we are, as God sees us. But it also gives us a view of what we can be in Christ. The Word shows us our need for cleansing.
6. The Laver had both the mirror aspect and the water. The Word doesn’t just reveal our need for cleansing, it washes us of any defilement.
7. This is how we go from glory to glory, by washing daily in the Word as the Spirit convicts us of sin and we respond in confession and repentance.
V. Closing: These processes were started in us by God, now carry them on.
A. The Water and the Blood.
1. We see in the Outer Court, that by His sacrifice, Jesus has washed us in His blood and in the water of the Word.
2. At the Brazen Altar, we received justification for our sins. At the Brazen Laver, we are sanctified from our self.
3. We see both of these in Christ Jesus on the cross.
a. John 19:33&34
33 But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. 34 But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out.
4. 1 John 5:6-8
6 This is He who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not only by water, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is truth. 7 For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one. 8 And there are three that bear witness on earth: the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree as one.
5. It was in Jesus that the blood of animals and the ceremonial washings converged and was offered once and for all for the human race. Jesus simultaneously fulfilled and abolished the blood and water of the Mosaic Law.
a. He came by the water of baptism and by the blood of His sacrifice.
6. ‘…the Spirit, the water and the blood…’ The blood and the water on the altar and in the laver of the Outer Court show how the Lord ministered to our physical bodies by His death on the cross.
a. Take our sickness, disease and pain upon Himself.
b. Buying our bodies back from the bondage of sin.
7. The Spirit is in perfect agreement with this and declare it to us, reveals it to us. The Spirit is represented by the oil of anointing. When the Oil is applied to us for healing, it agrees with the water and the blood. It bears witness to the power of the water and the blood to heal and cleanse our bodies.
8. Prayer for healing with the anointing of oil.
9. James 5:13-16
13 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16 Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.
B. Keep this in mind as you meet with the Lord.
1. Imagine yourself entering the Tabernacle.
a. Thank the Lord for the sacrifice of Jesus, the Lamb. Reaffirm your faith in Him.
b. Offer yourself as a living sacrifice to God.
c. Thank the Lord for cleansing you from sin.
d. Ask the Spirit to convict you of sin, righteousness and judgment as you read the Word. Ask Him to show you your true condition as you look into the mirror off the Word.
e. Ask Him to wash you afresh and new as you meditate on the Word.
2. Keep in mind that you are developing a spiritual practice. As you do this daily, you are being taught by the Spirit to carry out the duties of a priest who ministers to the Lord.
3. Remember that you are not doing this for a degree, diploma or certification. This is not something to check off your bucket list. This is a walk into the Presence of God that goes deeper into His Presence until we finally arrive before Him in heaven.
4. And do this in faith. Hebrews 11:6
“But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”
C. Communion.