A Great Tabernacle
A Great Tabernacle
In the eighth chapter, we read about the Lord Jesus as the High Priest of the Heavenly Tabernacle. The earthly tabernacle was pitched by Moses. Now the Heavenly Tabernacle is pitched by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. “A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man” (v, 2). Just as in the Old Testament period, all those who were willing could take a share in the construction of the tabernacle by bringing offering such as gold, shittim wood, brass and iron: now as believers of Lord Jesus Christ each one of us has the privilege to become a part of the Heavenly Tabernacle. The material used for the tabernacle built by Moses was earthly: that is why it did not fast long. Now our Lord Himself is building an everlasting tabernacle in which each one of us can take some share. We do not offer a little of what we have, but we offer all. All of us are built together into a sanctuary according to the heavenly plan under the headship of the Lord Jesus Christ. The previous tabernacle was only a shadow of the true Heavenly Tabernacle, as God instructed Moses which we read in Heb. 1:5.
As we have seen earlier God kept Moses on mount Sinai for forty day. and forty nights before giving him the pattern of the tabernacle. Before that, he was kept in the wilderness for forty years. During that period he was completely and thoroughly emptied of his own wisdom, Then God gave the pattern and he had to carry out His instructions without any change. Even though the whole pattern was given by God Himself, yet it was only a shadow, Now the Lord Jesus Christ is building the true tabernacle without hands but with our co-operation. That is why believers are called by different names such as: God’s building, God's habitation, God’s temple, God’s co-workers, God’s peculiar treasure, the pearl of a great price, His bride and so on. All these names reveal our heavenly vocation. Here, the Lord is reminding us that our heavenly pattern cannot be changed by anyone.
In order to be fitted into that plan we have to be kept constantly under the Headship and the Lordship of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ, as the author of the New Testament, by the New Covenant writes divine laws upon our hearts (Heb. 8:8-11). By the old covenant all men were brought under condemnation. They were made to see their absolute corruption. The Lord Jesus Christ as the author of the new covenant conquered all temptations, fulfilled all the commandments and Himself became our righteousness by the power of resurrection. By the same power He writes His laws upon our hearts. Even the weakest believer can follow the Lord through the Holy Spirit. In Galatians chapter five Paul the apostle, uses three expressions for a Spirit filled life: walk in the Spirit (v.16); be led of the Spirit (v. 18): and live in the Spirit (v. 25). When we walk we go step by step, we do not jump. According to Prov. 3:6 in all our ways we must acknowledge His Lordship. That means at every step we have to seek His help. According to Psa. 37:23 our steps are ordered by Him. The Holy Spirit will govern and lead us and thus we can live in the Holy Spirit.
Those who are not born again cannot understand the mysteries in the Word of God in spite of all the Bible knowledge they may have. The moment our sins are forgiven and ‘we are born again, we are made partakers of the divine nature. When we receive the Lord Jesus Christ into our hearts by faith, divine nature ts formed in us. If we spend sufficient time upon our knees we will feel divine presence. While we are in His presence, we can pray asking the Lord to prepare us and guide us the whole day and give us His instructions to be followed. We should submit our ways to the Lord and ask Him to lead us to needy people either spiritually or materially and enable us to meet their needs. We can ask the Lord to show us His plan for the whole day, and prepare us for the hour of temptation or trial. For example, if we have to go for an interview or have to face some bad tempered person, we can ask the Lord for extra grace to bear the remarks or criticism without retaliating. Some have very trouble-some mothers-in-law. It is very hard to face them because they purposely try to find some fault with their daughters-in-law. The poor daughter-in-law may bear her humiliating remarks for a few days. Afterwards, she will _ begin to answer seven words for her mother-in-law’s one word, But that attitude will not solve the problem. Ultimately that will lead to an unhappy home.
We can pray to the Lord to overrule every situation, help us not to bring any reproach to His Name and give us grace to bear patiently all the unkind remarks, but not retaliate. In the same way we can claim His grace for any situation in the office or in other places. The Lord being our sympathetic High Priest will help us in our weaknesses in all situations. He will also write upon our hearts His laws and give us right words for every situation.
The Lord Jesus Christ as the Chief Engineer knows the plan of the Heavenly habitation, but He will not show us the entire plan at a time. We have to receive instructions from Him day by day. It is a daily exercise. But many times we fail to seek God’s help, wisdom and guidance for our daily tasks and ministry. When we are under God’s perfect plan, we can enjoy the true peace of God. That is why when the Temple was being built in the days of Solomon, no tool such as a hammer or an axe was used ( 1? Kings 6:7). God told David that the Temple was going to be built by his son Solomon. We read in 1 Chron. 28:19 that God gave David, the whole plan in writing. The workers had to follow that plan in every detail. They used very big stones beautifully cut for building the temple. There was no need for any instrument or hammer at the site: they were already cut to the size and shaped beautifully. Thus the work went on quietly. This speaks of peace and quietness. When we are under God’s heavenly plan there will be growing heavenly peace in our hearts.