tabernacle Archives – Sonshine's Journal

June 17, 2024June 17, 2024

Christ the True God

Hebrews 9 Christ Our Sacrifice

Recalling the battle where the Philistines captured the Ark and their fear. The Hebrews author gives us a graphic picture of what it must have looked like and why they were so afraid. They had said unwittingly, a god is in our presence yet they turned not to the Holy God but to their false god, Dagon. Men clearly are blind to the power of the true God! Three times God revealed His power to them that they might turn to Him but they chose not.

Now the Hebrews author turns our attention to the true sacrifice of Jesus who entered, not the earthly structure made by men’s hands, but blessed by the Lord, but to the heavenly tabernacle by his death. “For Christ did not enter a holy place made with hands, a mere copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us”[Heb 9:24] Unlike the false god of the Philistines, our Savior is a true God who now intercedes for us to the Holy Father.

Be true to the True God, our Living and Interceding Savior, Jesus Christ!

January 23, 2020

Beautiful to Behold

exodus 25 beautiful withinresized picmonkey

Exodus 25-27 Today you can turn on the TV and watch the renovations of homes all with their glitz and glamour. God didn’t want to renovate but to build His home from the ground up with all of the beauty, of gold, silver, and precious ornaments. How do you build a house with no blueprints, no workmen, and no time frame? The master architect, God, gave Moses the plans and also set aside men to do the work. The materials didn’t come from Lowe’s or Home Depot but Egypt when the Lord commanded the Israelites to give the people gold and silver and other precious ornaments as their wages for 400+ yrs. of slavery.

God wanted to dwell amongst a people He had called for His own. He wanted his “house” to be built and centered so that all may see and come near. One reader noted that although shiny and gold and holy inside, it was protected from the elements without. Jesus warned the Pharisees that they were hypocrites and like whitewashed tombs that look beautiful on the outside, but inside they were full of dead men’s bones. Yet the child of God is beautiful to behold as it is renewed day by day by His love, even as our outer man begins to diminish.

How does the world see you? Are you just like a dead man’s tomb or are you alive and vibrant because Christ has redeemed you?

March 30, 2019

Earthly Stones vs Living Stones

1Kings 5 David had laid the foundation of friendship with Hiram of Tyre and Solomon reaped the reward.

Eccl 4:9 “Two people are better than one because they can reap more benefit from their labor”

In Exodus, we saw how the people gave willingly to build the Tabernacle. David willingly had accumulated wealth but it took Solomon to complete the dream. Hiram willingly shared from his wealth to assist Solomon all because David had laid the foundation of a lasting companionship.

Solomon built the Temple for not just the Israelites but for the nations of the world. In Exodus, it was only the Israelites that built but the Temple was built along with the Gentiles. And both were to be places of worship to the glory of God.

God desired that the Temple be built but also that the construction itself be recorded that we might honor and glorify Him. This speaks of our lives under His leadership. He continuously records our lives and one day we will stand before him to hear of our deeds. Will they be of wood, hay and stubble or gold, silver and precious stones?

The Temple was built from stones from under the earth; we are the living stones building the church. “you yourselves, as living stones, are built up as a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood and to offer spiritual sacrifices that are acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” [1Pet 2]

1kings 5 1pet 2 livngstones2a

June 17, 2016

Privilege and Responsibility

hebrews 9 worship god God presented the Tabernacle to be a symbol of His love, His forgiveness but “The Holy Spirit is making clear that the way into the holy place had not yet appeared as long as the old tabernacle was standing.” It was a symbol, a picture of what was to come. The old had regulations and only the High Priest could enter within. But, when Christ uttered those words, “It is finished” He entered the most holy place by his own blood, not the blood of lambs and goats. By doing this He secured our eternal redemption. The curtain that separated and restricted our movement towards God was torn asunder! Now the new has come and with it the freedom to move towards God and enter into the holy of holies. We are encouraged to “confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and find grace” [Heb 4]

However, as with each gift there comes not only privilege but also responsibility: “worship the living God.” As regenerated born again believers we are saved to worship and to serve. Salvation is a freedom from the tyranny of sin, a relationship of faith, obedience and service and it was paid by the precious blood of our Savior.

Consider the privilege which has been bestowed upon you to worship not an unknown god as Paul found in Athens but the living God whose throne is in heaven.

October 6, 2013

Camping Out With God (2Cor 5)

One of the things I never learned to enjoy is camping. I wish it were not so as everyone tells me how great it is, but truth be known, this author remembers the lengthy list of things you must pack such as lanterns and a sundry paraphernalia and of course the tent. Once there you get settled only to realize that the camping time has drawn to a close and you have to repack and move on. Unfortunately, my grumbling sounds like I need another lap around the wilderness just like the Israelites of old.

Paul uses the analogy of tenting to explain our life in this earthen vessel. He says beloved, it won’t be forever. I am sure the Israelites thought so too when they set up the Tabernacle. It was there for good, right? Wrong! God has a sense of humor and a way to get us to enjoy camping out with Him. He moves the light and the cloud and off we are again, packing up the Tabernacle and our tents to move on to another place. So too it is with our “tabernacle/tent” of our earthen vessels, this vessel, this outer man that is decaying day by day. Within we are new creation but our outer man is declining, frail and vulnerable as we said. But one day God will say it is time to fold up this earthly tabernacle and move on to the new destination and that is heaven where He is. Once there we will be outfitted with new camping gear and it won’t be that made with hands nor will it be temporary but eternal.

Until then, what is on God’s camping agenda for us? Vs 9: please Him; vs 11 persuade people to be reconciled to Him; vs 20 be His ambassadors; vs 21 be His righteousness before those whose minds are veiled and are perishing; 1Thess 4:2 walk and please Him; 1John 3:22, obey his commandments; Col 1:10 walk worthily of the Lord.

What should be our motive? Paul says it is the love of Christ that constraineth us and we are no longer to live for ourselves but for Him who died for us and was raised—just as the scriptures said. 1Cor 15:3-4 “that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day according to the scriptures.” Christ’s death accomplished the do’s and don’ts once and for all by paying for our sin and making us righteous.

So are you grumbling and groaning in this mortal “tent” like me? Take heart, I am sure Job , Noah and Enoch felt the same way along with a score of others. We won’t be on this earthly journey forever. One day we will see that the light and the cloud have moved and it is time to pack up our tent and head on to the new destination; heaven. Until then, let’s all learn to enjoy camping out with God and pleasing Him.