Messianic Prophecy CA314 LESSON 12 of 24 Louis Goldberg, ThD Experience: Professor of Theology and Jewish Studies, Moody Bible Institute In our last lesson we had suggested that in going through the very careful description of the dimensions of the furniture associated with the tabernacle there were also statements made as to God meeting with His people. We noted that in the construction of the ark in Exodus 25:16 21... in verse 22 God says, There I will meet with you, that is, in the setting up of the ark in the Holy of Holies and in the proper procedure especially when the high priest enters on the Day of Atonement and offers the blood first for himself and then on behalf of the nation. God says, I will meet with you. We note also in Exodus 29 and beginning with verse 38 the offering of the daily burnt offerings on the altar of burnt offering. This altar stood outside in front of the tabernacle. There is a description of the offering of the burnt offerings, the daily burnt offerings on behalf of the nation. A verse leaps out at us, and in verse 43 God says, I will meet there with the sons of Israel, and it shall be consecrated by My glory. On still another occasion we find in Exodus 30:34 35 there are careful instructions as to how to prepare the incense, and once this is prepared this becomes the offering, the offering of incense at the altar of incense. We note in this chapter, Exodus 30:36, God says, I will meet with you, that is, at the altar of incense in its offering. Now notice the way in which these three [statements] I will meet with you occur. The first time it occurs insofar as the ark and the mercy seat and the Holy of Holies experience is concerned. The second time it is associated with the dedication; it is the burnt offering of animals on the part of the nation. And the third time it occurs insofar as the offering of incense is concerned. I see something very significant here. In the start of any worship before God there is first the emphasis upon salvation. This is what was involved insofar as the ark is concerned and the offering of an atoning blood is concerned. The next step is the dedication; that is, after one comes to the Lord there is the emphasis upon 1 of 7
dedicating one s life. And then the third I will meet with you has to do with the incense or the communion, the prayer before the Lord. So I think that providentially in the midst of what some would say very dry dimensions as to building all of these pieces of furniture, we see the significance of this furniture insofar as our relationship with the Lord is concerned. Certainly we can suggest the following as type studies from the tabernacle and later the temple. First, in the Holy of Holies there is the ark, in which are deposited the two tables of testimony. There is also the mercy seat. There are also the two cherubim. Certainly we can see insofar as the ark is concerned the two tables of testimony, the emphasis upon the law and being called to account because we break the law. But right along with it goes the mercy seat because when the Israelites broke the law, there was always the possibility that sin could have its atonement. Certainly we see this to be true in the New Testament. It is the law that gives us the knowledge of sin, but right with that is the offer of salvation; in Romans 3:25 we can come to the mercy seat and have an atonement for our sins. Insofar as the cherubim are concerned, Ezekiel s vision throws some light concerning the presence of these cherubim in the tabernacle and later the tent that over their heads was enthroned the appearance of the likeness of the Lord. We see some of this in Revelation 4:6 8, where the living creatures [have something] over their heads [that is] is somehow involved the likeness of the Lord. There is the pot of manna in the ark, and perhaps we can see it in type when we realize that it is placed in the Holy of Holies as a further testimony to the way God provided for His people. As for Aaron s rod that budded, I m not so sure that we can find type studies here, but certainly it is a testimony as well to God s intervention on behalf of His people. There is the veil that separates the Holy of Holies and the holy place, and certainly there is a type; the veil here in the tabernacle or the temple and Christ Himself in His ministry and the fact that when He died, the opportunity is now possible whereby we can enter into the very presence of God. We note also the altar of incense. It s true, the altar of incense stands outside; it stands in the holy place, but it is placed in front of the veil. There are many scholars and Jewish scholars also who indicate that the altar of incense can be considered as a part of the Holy of Holies so that any time a priest goes in and burns incense at the altar of incense, it is as if he were burning his incense before the very presence of God, so that there is a very close association here with the Holy of Holies. 2 of 7
Insofar as the holy place is concerned, there are two other pieces of furniture: the table of shewbread on which was placed the shewbread, one cake for every tribe. There is also the menorah, or the seven-branched candlestick. Certainly there are also antitypes to these in the New Testament. Then outside the tabernacle or the later temple there is the altar of burnt offering, and along with that there is the laver. Certainly also we see symbolic actions, symbolic type actions of the priests in their ministry in many ways in their offering of the sacrifices, in their burning of incense at the table of incense, and their lighting the candles of the menorah, and certainly tremendous type studies insofar as the high priest is concerned on the Day of Atonement. Can we find types of the skins? Frankly, from my point of view, not as types, and again you have to keep in mind the principles, the hermeneutical principles that relate to types. But what we have said already with regard to holiness, the selectivity as one comes closer to the very presence of God, this can be also seen insofar as the skins are concerned. The least expensive of the skins would be hung on the outside separating the places from where the children of Israel dwelled and the outside court of the tabernacle. Then, as we come closer to the presence of God, the closer we come, the more refined or the best skin would be placed; again, highlighting this aspect of holiness. And I think we can see this without going to seed in a sense on the matter of types. What about the color of the skins? Again, I must insist that these are not types. There is certainly the possibility of symbols. Four colors are very prominent insofar as the tabernacle is concerned. There is the blue, which some have said is a reference to royalty. There is the purple and the scarlet, also in reference in some way to royalty. There is also the white, a symbol of purity and righteousness, and we see symbols here. But certainly, let us be careful not to press an unwarranted schema of types that brings disrepute to a Bible study of integrity. Now let s take one instance of the tabernacle and later temple worship. Let s see it in the sin offering of Leviticus 4. I m not going into all the details associated with this matter of the sin offering, but let s note a few so that we might see the great type involved in this offering and in the symbolic action of the priests. 3 of 7
We first of all have to see what it meant to the offerers under the Mosaic covenant. What kind of an idea is it that God wanted the Israelites to have when this particular offering was presented? We note in Leviticus 4:2 God says, Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, If a person sins unintentionally in any of the things which the LORD has commanded not to be done, and commits any of them. We note right away that the emphasis is upon an unintentional sin. But people may come back and say, How can someone be held responsible for something which he doesn t know? The older versions, the King James, puts sins in ignorance. But as soon as people become aware of it, they were to offer sin offerings. But again people still might persist. Why hold a person accountable for sins of which he is not aware? Ah, but that s the very point of this offering. We sin even if we are not aware, and we very naturally then ask the reason why, and the reason is that we have a sin nature. You see, the Bible never insists that we are sinners because of acts of sin which we have done, but the Bible says that we are sinners because of a basic sin nature. Highlighted here in this verse, chapter 4 verse 2, the fact that we sin in ignorance, we sin unintentionally, and so in a proper worship before the Lord the Mosaic covenant called for, first of all, the offer of a sin offering. In Leviticus 5 you have offerings there for specific sins, so that in the chataah or sin offering there is the offering for the nature and in the asham or the trespass offering in Leviticus 5 there are the offerings for specific sins. Second, we note the various offerings for those involved. Again in chapter 4 and in verse 3, the priest who sins brings a bull. In chapter 4 the congregation that sins, that is, a sin chargeable to a whole congregation the Achan affair would be one such sin on behalf of the congregation a bull was offered. In verse 22 of this chapter, when one of the civil authorities sinned, he brought for his offering a male goat. Then beginning with verse 27 we have a number of offerings which the laypeople could bring. In verse 32 a female goat; then in Leviticus 5:7, two pigeons or two turtledoves. I might also come back to verse 27 in which case a female goat; in verse 32, the lamb; in Leviticus 5:7, the two turtledoves, and then if the person was too poor in Leviticus 5:11, the handful of fine flour. Note in every case that there is the formula, let him offer. There were no questions asked here as to whether the person would like to offer. This puts an emphasis upon the must of the offering. As soon as a person was aware of a particular sin which he had committed, then he had to bring an offering. But at the same time let s note the mercy of God that is involved here. For example, with regard to the common people, there were a variety of offerings 4 of 7
possible from what we might call the middle class to one who is very poor, one who could not even bring an animal. He could at least bring some flour, the equivalent of one day s living. You might also ask why did the priest have to bring the most expensive offering, Leviticus 4:3, a bull? The answer comes in a most emphatic way. The priest had a very responsible position in the life of the nation, even more responsible than the civil authority. We have a kind of a turnaround sense of values today. We think that the president or anyone in Congress has a position more important than the person who works in some sort of a religious capacity; let s say he s a minister or he s a pastor. We seem to think that the civil authority is more important. God doesn t say so! God says that the priest, the religious leader, is more important, and why? Because, you see, it is the religious leader, it is the priest, the one who teaches the Word of God and the one who ministers on behalf of God; he has the most important position because he guides lives insofar as their relation to God is concerned and insofar as an ethic is concerned. If you have religious leaders who are not preaching the Word of God and who have become unfaithful to the things of God, then there is no other course for the nation to go but down. That s why the priest had to bring the most expensive offering in order that it might be born in upon the religious leaders that their sin was of grave consequence. Note also what happens now insofar as the offerings which are brought. For example, in Leviticus 4:4, the priest who sins brings his bull to the doorway of the tent of meeting. The same thing insofar as the elders on behalf of a congregation in verse 15. The same thing for the leader who brings his particular offering, and so on. The first thing that they do is lay their hands on the head of the animals, and this becomes the identification. In laying the hands upon the head of the animal, the offerer confessed his sins; he confessed a particular sin that brought him to this point. And so there s an aspect of identification. As soon as this was done, the animal becomes sin. In other words, the sin of the offerer is now transferred to the animal. The next step is that the offerer kills the animal. The lesson to be borne home here is the penalty of sin death. For this reason Ezekiel declared that the soul that sins shall die, so that in the killing of these animals and the one who brings the animal, he had to do the killing so that that lesson may be borne home upon him. The officiating priest on each occasion then takes the blood and offers it in the proper place. If it s an offering for a priest who sins, the officiating priest takes the blood, goes into the tabernacle, or later the temple; he sprinkles the blood seven times on the curtain as if applying this 5 of 7
blood to the mercy seat, he puts some of the blood on the horns of the altar of incense, and then he takes the rest of the blood and pours it out at the base of the altar of burnt offering signifying then that in forgiveness the blood is applied at every point of the priest s relationship with the Lord. The sin must be atoned for. The communion or the relationship between the priest and God is restored, and the priest is dedicated to his office again. Some sort of the same procedure is applied for the rest who bring their offerings. What was the lesson now that was to be learned? Several things; one we have already emphasized is that in the killing of these animals the offerer learned that the sinful life of the offerer is transferred to the animal causing the animal s death. That s only half of the picture, however. The other half that God wanted the people to learn is that in the death of the animal the offerer receives the life of that animal, and it becomes what I call an exchange of life principle. The offerer, his sinful life, is transferred to the animal, and that causes the death of the animal; but in the death of the animal, the animal gives its life to the offerer so that the offerer learns that whatever life he receives, whatever forgiveness he receives, is by grace. The offerer never dreamed up this aspect of the Mosaic covenant. The offerer cannot do anything but this in order to be clean, in order to have a new life, and the point to be made here is that if the offerer saw this, this is what saved him. This was his salvation. This was his redemption, if you please. I m going to say something that may shock you. It wasn t necessary for the Israelite in the Old Testament to see through these animal offerings to the ministry of the Messiah who is yet to come in the future. If he caught this principle of the exchange of life, this was his salvation. Now grant you, the more spiritual of the people saw beyond the mere animal. Isaiah, for example, emphasizes this; in Isaiah 53:6 we read that the Lord has laid upon Him the iniquity of us all, but on what basis was he able to say that? Because of what he knew to be a part of the Mosaic covenant insofar as the sin offering was concerned. By way of type what are we to learn? Certainly Christ is the antitype of this sin offering. One of the aspects of the ministry of Christ is to be an antitype of the sin offering. How do we see this? In the ministry of Christ and once the temple was removed, it is Christ who takes the place of the animal. And now we see the same procedure. These early Jewish believers didn t change the methodology, shall we say, or they didn t change the aspect of an approach to God whereby our sins can be atoned for. The principle of the exchange of life remains the same, but now instead of an 6 of 7
animal, it is Christ. And furthermore, it is not the life of an animal that is given back or, in a sense, given to the one who receives Christ; rather it is the life of Christ Himself. And we know, first of all, that the life that Christ gives is eternal life so that after, when I m receiving Christ, if I place my hands upon the head of Christ and I reckon that He died for me, taking my sinful life but in return He gives me eternal life. And furthermore, His life is of a tremendous intimate quality; a life that enables me to live victoriously and to live an ethic that is given in the Word of God. So certainly, by way of type, Christ fulfills this in a very beautiful way. Christ-Centered Learning Anytime, Anywhere 7 of 7