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February 21st
Today’s Bible reading is in Leviticus chapters 24,25.
Today’s text concerns Care for the Tabernacle and Care for the name of God.
The “Tabernacle” was also called “The House of God”...”The Tent of Meeting God”...”The Earthly Dwelling Place of God”...”The Sanctuary of God”...and I like what our Jewish Rabbi guide called the Tabernacle many years ago...” His Place”.
There was coming a day when The Tabernacle of God would be more than an excellent constructed tent. It would be Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem. But after that, the House of God was in the flesh and blood of Jesus Christ...for 33 years.
And then, after Jesus’ death and resurrection and His ascension to heaven, and following the celebration of Pentecost, the Tabernacle of God was and still is in the flesh and blood of everyone who believed and believes Jesus.
That means that you and I, whom the Holy Spirit lives in, we are His Place. We are God’s House. We are the earthly dwelling place of God. We are the Holy Sanctuary of God. We are the Tent where people meet God. We are His Place.
You think we ought to take care of “His Place”? Me too.......
“Father give us inner resolve...strength, and wisdom to take care of ourselves. Help us do our part to keep our bodies and our minds and our spirits healthy and strong...until they are not.
And then give us courage to trust You even more for Your grace to make us shine especially when we don't feel on top of our game. Because, as long as we live we are still “Your Place” where others can “meet You”.
Back to the text...
Inside the Tabernacle, the priests were to care for the furnishings. Today, God gives instructions on how to care for the Lamps on the Golden Lamp Stand.
“Have the people of God bring pure oil from crushed olives. Make sure the lamps are filled with oil and the wicks are appropriately trimmed each day and night”. This would be the only light for the Tabernacle.
What a foreshadowing of Jesus our Lord....the True Light. What did He say? “I am the light...”...all the time...no wonder the priests kept the lamps burning night and day.
And what did Jesus say about His followers? “You shall be the salt and light of the world...”
He was going to give them and us the oil of the Holy Spirit that would burn bright through our lives. And He would trim the wicks of our faith through trials lived in and trials lived through.
“Thanks for trusting in us Lord...keep helping us to burn bright for Your glory.”
After this...Aaron and his sons would care for the “Table of the Presence”...or...as is translated in other texts...”The Table of the Show Bread”.
This Table and the Bread thereupon and the priests eating the bread of the Presence was a visual aid in remembering the fellowship that God wanted with His people every day.
Enough Bread was baked and offered to the Lord on Friday so that the priests could have 12 loaves to keep on the Table in the Tabernacle from the Saturday sabbath...through the end of the week. The priests would eat in communion with the Lord...around that table of spiritual fellowship...in God’s presence...together!!
The word in Hebrew for our English translation “showbread”...means “face to face.” It is a powerful foreshadowing of something very important that Jesus would provide through His death and resurrection for those who would believe Him.
No more priests...no more veil between God and His sinful people. Now there would be “face to face” fellowship between God and His own treasured ones!
What a picture...kind of reminds you of our monthly times around the Table of Christ...humbly communing with and remembering Him together.
What a fellowship we have and we are in Jesus....from the wilderness of Sinai to right where God has us today.
Have a great day
