Sermon on Tabernacle – Lessons from the Tabernacle*
Categories: Sermon Outlines, Topical Sermon OutlinesSermon on Tabernacle
INTRODUCTION:
A. The Old Testament’s laws and commands are not binding on people today
1. But there are many things in the Old Testament which are of great interest and importance to everyone who wishes to serve God in the Christian Age – Romans 15:4
2. And there are many types and shadows given in the Old Testament which are fulfilled in the New Testament (Heb. 10:1)
B. There are many New Testament truths illustrated by the various aspects of the Tabernacle.
1. This study deals with the beautifully clear, pictorial outline of certain things in the Christian system illustrated by the tabernacle – Hebrews 8:1-6
2. The Lord gave the design for the Tabernacle, the materials to be used, and all the significant details pertaining to its construction and its services – Moses was to do all things according to the pattern (Exo. 25:40).
3. The Tabernacle was to be a representative dwelling place for God
a. Exodus 25:8
b. Acts 17:24
4. God met with men in the tabernacle (Exo 25:22).
5. The church of Christ is the place where God meets with men today, and He dwells in the church indirectly.
a. 2 Corinthians 6:16-18
b. The Church is a dwelling place of God (Eph. 2:21-22)
DISCUSSION:
A. The Outer Court is representative of the world
1. The Israelites could enter the court, but since the average Hebrew was not a priest, he was not allowed to enter the Tabernacle proper. One had to have certain definite qualifications before he was permitted to enter the Holy Place.
2. Those who would enter God’s true tabernacle today (the church), must be converted from the world, and lose the stain of sin.
a. Isaiah 59:1-2
b. Acts 22:16
c. Christians are a royal priesthood (1 Pet. 2:9)
3. No one could enter the Holy Place without meeting the qualifications and receiving the purification of priestly appointment, so no one can enter the True Tabernacle without meeting the qualifications of gospel obedience (faith, repentance, confession), and receiving the purification provided by the blood of Christ in baptism (Rev. 1:5).
B. The Altar of Burnt Offerings is representative of the Sacrifice of Christ
1. The Altar was used in offering up the many sacrifices which God commanded Israel to offer (Lev. 9:7; 17:11)
2. The sacrifices included the offering of the blood of animals.
3. The Israelites provided the sacrifices, which were costly to the individuals.
4. Without the shedding of the blood of the animals offered, there was no means of their approaching God – Hebrews 9:22
5. The Antitype is in the Lord’s sacrifice of Himself for the sins of all men (Heb. 7:27; 10:1-4, 10. 16-19, 22)
C. The Laver has its counterpart in the New Testament System
1. The laver was a basin containing water (Exo. 30:18)
2. The Type involves the following particulars.
a. God specified its location: Between the tabernacle and altar (Exo. 30:18)
b. Those entering the tabernacle were to lay aside their old clothes before washing and putting on the priestly garments.
c. Those entering the tabernacle were to wash before entering lest they die – Exodus 30:17-20
d. After washing and before entering, they were to put on their priestly garments prior to assuming their priestly duties (Exo. 29:4ff).
e. They had to be ceremonially pure before they could perform their priestly services acceptably (Exo. 30:17-21)
3. The Antitype holds true to the pattern.
a. God specified the location of baptism: between Christ’s sacrifice and salvation.
1) Acts 2:36-38
2) 1 Peter 3:21
b. We must lay aside our practices of sin (by repenting) before we can be washed.
1) Luke 13:3
2) Acts 2:38
d. The impurities (guilt) of sin are removed in baptism.
1) Acts 22:16
2) Hebrews 10:19-22
e. After this washing, we put on our spiritual garments.
1) Galatians 3:26-27
2) Colossians 3:15-20
f. We are now spiritually pure and our services can be offered acceptably – 1 Peter 2:5, 9
D. The Holy Place typifies the church of Christ
1. Bible statements about the parallel:
a. Acts 15:16-17
b. 1 Corinthians 3:16-17
c. Hebrews 9:7-11
2. There are several items of significance pertaining to the Type.
a. There was only one entrance.
b. Definite qualifications had to be met before one was authorized to enter the Holy Place: he had to be of the right lineage and age. (Exo. 28:1; Num. 3:10; 4:1-3)
c. Only those who had been washed were permitted to enter.
d. Those who entered did not do so merely for their own pleasure and benefit; they entered to serve God according to his revealed will (Heb. 9:6)
e. Those qualified to enter the Holy Place were afforded the privilege of eating the showbread and burning incense upon the altar.
f. Those that were in the Holy Place had the benefits furnished by the candlestick.
g. The only entrance into the Most Holy Place was through the Holy Place.
3. The church is the great antitype
a. There is only one entrance: Obedience to the gospel which culminates in baptism at which point the Lord adds us to the church
1) Acts 2:47
2) Colossians 1:13-14
b. The qualifications required before one can enter the Lord’s church are: faith, repentance, confession of faith in Christ, and baptism for the remission of sins. Underlying this process is the fervent, loving commitment to serve the Lord.
c. One must be washed from his sins.
1) Acts 22:16
2) 1 Peter 1:18-23
d. While there are immeasurable blessings and privileges of being in Christ, yet we are not in the church merely for our pleasure; we are here to serve.
1) Ephesians 2:8-10
2) Titus 2:11-14
e. Only those who are faithful members of the Lord’s church have the privilege of eating the Lord’s Supper and praying. … Showbread & altar of incense
1) Psalms 66:18
2) Proverbs 28:9
3) Luke 22:16-20
4) 1 Corinthians 11:20-30
f. Faithful members of the Lord’s church see by the light of God’s word … Lamp stand or Candlestick
1) John 8:32
2) Acts 20:32
3) 2 Timothy 3:16-17
4) Hebrews 4:12
5) James 1:21
g. Only by going through the church can any accountable person have hope of entering heaven … the Holy of Holies
1) Ephesians 5:23-27
2) John 14:6 … Jesus is our High Priest
3) Only priests are authorized to enter the Holy Place and the only access to the Most Holy place is through the Holy Place
E. The Candlestick depicts the Word of God
1. The thick tenting material closed out all the natural light, dust, and rain. The candlestick of the Tabernacle was to burn continually, and furnished the only light for the Holy Place (Lev. 24:1-4)
2. The Word of God is the only light needed in the Antitype, the Lord’s church
a. All man-made precepts, commandments, and creeds are specifically excluded. We must insulate the church from all error!
1) Mark 7:7-13
2) Galatians 1:8-9
3) 2 John 9
b. God’s word gives light
1) Psalms 119:105
2) Psalms 119:130
3) Acts 26:18
4) 2 Corinthians 4:3-4
5) 2 Timothy 3:16-17
3. While we draw light and strength from the word, we must also be a proclaimer and a defender of the word.
a. Mark 16:15
b. Romans 1:14-16
c. 1 Timothy 3:15
d. Jude 3
4. Our lives, words, and attitudes are to be reflectors of the light of the word of God.
a. Matthew 5:14-16
b. Philippians 2:15-16
F. The Altar of Incense has its counterpart in the Lord’s Church.
1. Exodus 30:1-9
2. A morning and evening ceremony was held each day in obedience to God’s decree that this should be done perpetually. As the priests were burning the incense in the Holy Place, the people would be outside the tabernacle praying.
3. Prayer is the counterpart of this service in the gospel system.
a. Revelation 5:8 … In John’s vision, the golden vials full of odors (incense) represented the prayers of the saints.
b. Prayer is a perpetual privilege and obligation for members of the Lord’s church.
1) Matthew 6:6-15
2) 1 Thessalonians 5:17
3) 1 Timothy 2:8
G. The Table of Showbread has its counterpart in the Lord’s Church
1. This table contained twelve loaves of bread which were replaced every Sabbath.
a. The priests were to eat the loaves that were replaced (Lev. 24:3-9).
b. Only the priests were authorized to eat this bread.
2. The Lord’s Supper is the counterpart in the church of Christ.
a. Every first day of the week, the saints come together and eat this supper in remembrance of Christ. It is a perpetual command.
1) Acts 20:7
2) 1 Corinthians 11:20-30
b. Only Christians have the right to partake of it.
1) 1 Peter 2:5, 9
2) Acts 2:42
3) Luke 22:16-20
H. The Veil separating the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place has its counterparts
1. The Veil is described in Exodus 26:31-37 as a very costly and beautiful curtain:
a. It was made of fine twined linen of cunning work and dyed with the costly colors of blue, scarlet, and purple.
b. Only the High Priest could go beyond the veil, and that only on the Day of Atonement when he offered the blood of the atoning sacrifice for all (Heb. 9:7; cf. Lev. 16)
c. The Veil concealed the items in the Most Holy Place: the Ark of the Covenant and the mercy seat.
2. The Veil, and its being rent at the Lord’s death, depicts several significant things.
a. It symbolizes the mysteries of God’s eternal plan which were unrevealed until the New Testament was given.
1) Romans 16:25-26
2) 2 Corinthians 3:14-16
3) Ephesians 3:1-11
b. It symbolizes for us death by which we leave this world and enter eternity. Its having been rent depicts the great truth that Christ, by his death, burial, resurrection, and ascension into heaven, has won victory for us over death.
1) Isaiah 25:7-8
2) 1 Corinthians 15:20-22
3) 1 Corinthians 15:55-57
4) Hebrews 2:14-15
c. The rending of the veil at the death of Christ symbolizes the ending of the Old Covenant.
1) Matthew 27:50-51
2) 2 Corinthians 3:14-16
3) Hebrews 9:7-10
d. It symbolized the separation between God and men, and the need for a mediator which role the Levitical high priest filled. The rending of the veil proclaims that all men are on equal standing with God and need no human priest as mediator.
1) Matthew 23:8
2) 1 Timothy 2:5
3) 1 Peter 2:5, 9
4) Revelation 1:6 (ASV)
e. Its rending symbolizes the fact that Christ, our High Priest, is in heaven, and has offered the atoning sacrifice for us-Hebrews 9:6-17
f. The veil being rent pictures the fact that the way into heaven has now been opened.
1) Hebrews 9:8
2) Hebrews 10:19-22
I. The Most Holy Place represents Heaven.
1. The Ark of the Covenant rested there.
a. It contained the tables of the law, Aaron’s rod that budded and a pot of manna; the golden censer of Hebrews 9:4 is likely the one from the Holy Place which was taken into the Most Holy Place on the day of atonement (Lev. 16:12-14).
1) Leviticus 16:12-14
2) Hebrews 9:4
b. It was covered by the Mercy Seat made of pure gold.
c. It was in this place, at the mercy seat, that God met with His people – Exodus 25:22
d. No earthly light was in this place; the glory of God was sufficient light.
2. The Antitype is Heaven itself
a. The Ark of the Covenant and the tables of the law suggest the New Covenant.
1) Jeremiah 31:31-34
2) Hebrews 8:7-13
b. The manna suggests Christ who is the bread of life -John 6:47-51
c. The mercy seat suggests our Advocate and Mediator in Heaven – Christ – 1 John 2:1-2
d. The Most Holy Place itself is Heaven (Heb. 6:19-20; 9:8, 24)
3. There is no need for the sun, moon, or other light; the glory of God the Father and of the Son is Sufficient (Rev. 21:23)
CONCLUSION:
A. God gave the details pertaining the building and services of the Tabernacle.
1. He commanded the placing of the furniture and the other arrangements thereof.
2. The showbread was eaten and the incense was burned inside, not outside, the Tabernacle.
a. Leviticus 24:1-9
b. God warned that all things were to be according to his plan.
1) Exodus 25:40
2) Hebrews 8:5
B. Those who are in Christ do not need baptism.
1. Some try to move baptism and put it in the church, and speak of it as “Christian” baptism. But it is not for a Christian, but in order to become a Christian.
2. The Laver was outside the Tabernacle; the priests had to wash there before they were allowed to enter the Holy Place. Baptism puts one into the church (into Christ).
a. 1 Corinthians 12:13
b. Galatians 3:27
c. Ephesians 1:3
C. On entering the Holy Place (the church of Christ), one is prepared to serve.
1. We are not members of the body of Christ merely for our own pleasure and profit, but to serve God and our fellowman.
a. Mark 12:29-31
b. 1 Corinthians 15:58
c. Ephesians 2:8-10
2. Our obligations are ordained by the God of heaven:
a. To worship of God – John 4:23-24
b. To live pure lives – 2 Corinthians 7:1
c. To spread the gospel – Mark 16:15
d. To defend the faith – Jude 3; cf. 2 Tim. 4:7c; 2 Cor. 2:17
3. Thus do we prepare for Heaven!
*Lesson gleaned from Bob Winton