Disparity means by definition the condition or fact of being unequal. While Judy and I were travelling in a particular country in North Africa recently, we discovered what that word really means. We saw just how unequal this world can be. We live in Canada, the best country in the world in our opinion and rather than gloat about it as some nations do, we are grateful to be Canadians.....we were born and raised here. Canada is the second largest country in size in the world, second only to Russia. With only 33.5 million people or so, we have a lot of space left. The particular country that we were travelling in has approximately the same population figures as does Canada in fact they are 36 and 37th in the world as far as population goes, but in land mass
Canada is #2 and the country we visited is #57 in size. We have almost 10 million square kilometres; the country in question has only 446,550 square km's which makes our country over 22 times larger. Now that is disparity. Canada is rich in natural resources as well and compared to other countries we are rich beyond measure. But the real disparity between our two countries is not so much a physical thing but it is rather a spiritual situation...you cannot preach the gospel of Jesus Christ in that land. Christians, you had better be thankful and diligent concerning our freedom and we had best take advantage of every opportunity that we have to proclaim the good news...it might not always be this way. In contrast to the laws of that totally Islamic nation however, they are free to practice their religion in my country. They can pray anywhere they want to without fear of arrest or harassment of any kind. Again an example of disparity. An example from the Bible comes to mind and while I will not take time to quote the scripture verses, it is the story or parable if you will concerning the ten virgins...five of them were wise and five were foolish. The five wise had kept themselves prepared for the coming arrival of their heavenly bridegroom but the foolish ones had not. Take notice that they were all virgins which speaks of purity, however the foolish ones were not prepared...they had let their lamps run out of oil. Are we in tune with our heavenly bridegroom? Are we in a constant attitude of prayer? Jesus said "men ought always to pray and noy faint. Perhaps we too need someone to talk to about spiritual things, perhaps we need to increase our time spent with our bridegroom so that when the cry comes "go ye out to meet Him...there will not be any dirparity.
Monday, October 20, 2008
Thursday, July 10, 2008
The Veil
The Veil…Lo He is the Mighty Conqueror since He rent the veil in Two
Oh behold the Man of Sorrows Oh behold Him in plain view, for He is the Mighty Conqueror, since He rent the veil in two. John 14:6, “Jesus said unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by Me.” This scripture verse that I have just read is depicted in type to show us that Jesus is the real truth and life and the way and we will see this fulfilled in typology in the construction of the Gate, the Door and the Veil, and tonight(being the last night until next fall) we will confine our study to the Veil and if time permits perhaps a little review might be good as well.…The reason that I am starting with the Veil is the same reason that I started with the Holy of Holies…God came to us, not the other way round. He searched for me. In tenderness He sought me….when I was lost without hope, without God …He came to me. Why did He love me so? Why does He love you so? I’m glad He did. I’m glad He does tonight.
The Veil was a veil of separation between a holy God and unholy man. It hung between the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place that was called the Holy of Holies in which was the Ark of the Covenant and the Mercy Seat Let’s look at the scriptural setting, the background…tonight’s text if you will and it is found in Ex. Ch. 26 verses 31-33 Exodus 26:31-33 (New King James Version)
New King James Version (NKJV)
Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
31 “You shall make a veil woven of blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine woven linen. It shall be woven with an artistic design of cherubim. 32 You shall hang it upon the four pillars of acacia wood overlaid with gold. Their hooks shall be gold, upon four sockets of silver. 33 And you shall hang the veil from the clasps. Then you shall bring the ark of the Testimony in there, behind the veil. The veil shall be a divider for you between the holy place and the Most Holy.
Also look at Ex.ch. 36:35-38 Exodus 36:35-38 (New King James Version)
New King James Version (NKJV)
Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
35 And he made a veil of blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine woven linen; it was worked with an artistic design of cherubim. 36 He made for it four pillars of acacia wood, and overlaid them with gold, with their hooks of gold; and he cast four sockets of silver for them. 37 He also made a screen for the tabernacle door, of blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine woven linen, made by a weaver, 38 and its five pillars with their hooks. And he overlaid their capitals and their rings with gold, but their five sockets were bronze.
The Veil was supported by four pillars consisting of acacia wood overlaid with gold and grounded in silver foundations. We won’t occupy our time tonight with the pillars but rather with the Veil which they support…that was their function, the meaning for their existence and we will see more as we study the Veil. However everything about this Tabernacle building has significance because every minute detail in one way or another points us to Jesus and His sacrifice on the cross, so it is all significant, amen?
The Tabernacle was built after the pattern of the things in heaven That is why we look to Jesus Who is in heaven and came down from heaven to dwell among us.
There it is, in the book of Hebrews that we look for the interpretation of these truths regarding the Tabernacle. All other explanations have to line up with the one found in Hebrews.
The Veil was a veil of separation between a holy God and sinful man; it kept the O.T. saints of all ages from approaching God except for that once a year the high priest could go in to seek an atonement for the sins of the people and he would go there with the blood of an animal to offer upon the mercy seat in the hopes of having their sins covered up. That is what the word atonement means…it is an old testament word that means to “atone” or “cover up” After the Veil has been rent the word is “expiation” or “reconciliation” or “redemption” The blood of Jesus does not just “cover up” sin but rather takes it away. It fully reconciles a holy God with repentant sinners. David said in Psalm 32 “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, Whose sin is covered.” That is Old Testament, however the truth is still the same because when Jesus came and went to the cross and made an atonement for sin it was not only covered but it was also washed away. Are you glad your sins are not only covered but they are washed away? They are gone!
The Old Testament saints were unable to have their sins removed before Calvary. That’s why Ephesians tells us He led captivity captive and gave gifts unto men, speaking of course about Jesus after His crucifixion descending into the lowest parts of hell and leading them to freedom.
The Veil speaks of the flesh and the body and the life of our Lord Jesus Christ.
O/T. saints looked ahead in faith as we see in Hebrews chapter 11.even as we look back to Calvary. They by faith saw what He was going to do whereas we look to what He has done. However in saying that we know that according to Rev. 13:8 , He was slain from before the foundation of the world, so that in the mind of the Father He was already crucified.
There are four groups or companies of saints in heaven and they are all represented by the four and twenty elders that we find in Rev. ch 4:4
They do not cease to worship God through out eternity. They made it in because
Of the Veil being rent or torn in two. They are people who are redeemed and clothed in gold and grounded in redemption. These four and twenty elders represent the redeemed of all the ages and the scene is the time when asll the redeemed are gathered where the Lamb is the only One found worthy to open the Book…the Blood has been shared and the Veil has been rent.
I said that there were four companmies of believers who will be gathered, and the first company will be the Old Testament Saints. Acts 7:38
The church in the wilderness refers to the Israelites who came out of Egypt. They were under the Mosaic covenant right up until the Veil was rent in two. Their salvation as well as ours was and is totally dependent on the Lamb of God. He shed His blood for all men of all ages. As I said previously the 11th. Chapter of Hebrews is testimony to what He did in their lives. Read Hebrews 12:1,2.
The second group is the New Testament church Sants and that includes you and me, can you shout amen? Martt 16:16-16 -18. Read Col. 1:18-22
The third group would be the 144,000 Jewish church saints who have been martyred for their testimony. Look at Rev. 7:2-4 Also Rev. 14:1-3.
The fourth group is the Great Tribulation Saints. Rev 7:9-14. Rev 15:2-5
All four groups benefit from the Veil that was rent. Hebrews10:19,20We know undoubtedly that the Veil represents our Lord .Hebrews 10:19,20
Oh behold the Man of Sorrows Oh behold Him in plain view, for He is the Mighty Conqueror, since He rent the veil in two. John 14:6, “Jesus said unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by Me.” This scripture verse that I have just read is depicted in type to show us that Jesus is the real truth and life and the way and we will see this fulfilled in typology in the construction of the Gate, the Door and the Veil, and tonight(being the last night until next fall) we will confine our study to the Veil and if time permits perhaps a little review might be good as well.…The reason that I am starting with the Veil is the same reason that I started with the Holy of Holies…God came to us, not the other way round. He searched for me. In tenderness He sought me….when I was lost without hope, without God …He came to me. Why did He love me so? Why does He love you so? I’m glad He did. I’m glad He does tonight.
The Veil was a veil of separation between a holy God and unholy man. It hung between the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place that was called the Holy of Holies in which was the Ark of the Covenant and the Mercy Seat Let’s look at the scriptural setting, the background…tonight’s text if you will and it is found in Ex. Ch. 26 verses 31-33 Exodus 26:31-33 (New King James Version)
New King James Version (NKJV)
Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
31 “You shall make a veil woven of blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine woven linen. It shall be woven with an artistic design of cherubim. 32 You shall hang it upon the four pillars of acacia wood overlaid with gold. Their hooks shall be gold, upon four sockets of silver. 33 And you shall hang the veil from the clasps. Then you shall bring the ark of the Testimony in there, behind the veil. The veil shall be a divider for you between the holy place and the Most Holy.
Also look at Ex.ch. 36:35-38 Exodus 36:35-38 (New King James Version)
New King James Version (NKJV)
Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
35 And he made a veil of blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine woven linen; it was worked with an artistic design of cherubim. 36 He made for it four pillars of acacia wood, and overlaid them with gold, with their hooks of gold; and he cast four sockets of silver for them. 37 He also made a screen for the tabernacle door, of blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine woven linen, made by a weaver, 38 and its five pillars with their hooks. And he overlaid their capitals and their rings with gold, but their five sockets were bronze.
The Veil was supported by four pillars consisting of acacia wood overlaid with gold and grounded in silver foundations. We won’t occupy our time tonight with the pillars but rather with the Veil which they support…that was their function, the meaning for their existence and we will see more as we study the Veil. However everything about this Tabernacle building has significance because every minute detail in one way or another points us to Jesus and His sacrifice on the cross, so it is all significant, amen?
The Tabernacle was built after the pattern of the things in heaven That is why we look to Jesus Who is in heaven and came down from heaven to dwell among us.
There it is, in the book of Hebrews that we look for the interpretation of these truths regarding the Tabernacle. All other explanations have to line up with the one found in Hebrews.
The Veil was a veil of separation between a holy God and sinful man; it kept the O.T. saints of all ages from approaching God except for that once a year the high priest could go in to seek an atonement for the sins of the people and he would go there with the blood of an animal to offer upon the mercy seat in the hopes of having their sins covered up. That is what the word atonement means…it is an old testament word that means to “atone” or “cover up” After the Veil has been rent the word is “expiation” or “reconciliation” or “redemption” The blood of Jesus does not just “cover up” sin but rather takes it away. It fully reconciles a holy God with repentant sinners. David said in Psalm 32 “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, Whose sin is covered.” That is Old Testament, however the truth is still the same because when Jesus came and went to the cross and made an atonement for sin it was not only covered but it was also washed away. Are you glad your sins are not only covered but they are washed away? They are gone!
The Old Testament saints were unable to have their sins removed before Calvary. That’s why Ephesians tells us He led captivity captive and gave gifts unto men, speaking of course about Jesus after His crucifixion descending into the lowest parts of hell and leading them to freedom.
The Veil speaks of the flesh and the body and the life of our Lord Jesus Christ.
O/T. saints looked ahead in faith as we see in Hebrews chapter 11.even as we look back to Calvary. They by faith saw what He was going to do whereas we look to what He has done. However in saying that we know that according to Rev. 13:8 , He was slain from before the foundation of the world, so that in the mind of the Father He was already crucified.
There are four groups or companies of saints in heaven and they are all represented by the four and twenty elders that we find in Rev. ch 4:4
They do not cease to worship God through out eternity. They made it in because
Of the Veil being rent or torn in two. They are people who are redeemed and clothed in gold and grounded in redemption. These four and twenty elders represent the redeemed of all the ages and the scene is the time when asll the redeemed are gathered where the Lamb is the only One found worthy to open the Book…the Blood has been shared and the Veil has been rent.
I said that there were four companmies of believers who will be gathered, and the first company will be the Old Testament Saints. Acts 7:38
The church in the wilderness refers to the Israelites who came out of Egypt. They were under the Mosaic covenant right up until the Veil was rent in two. Their salvation as well as ours was and is totally dependent on the Lamb of God. He shed His blood for all men of all ages. As I said previously the 11th. Chapter of Hebrews is testimony to what He did in their lives. Read Hebrews 12:1,2.
The second group is the New Testament church Sants and that includes you and me, can you shout amen? Martt 16:16-16 -18. Read Col. 1:18-22
The third group would be the 144,000 Jewish church saints who have been martyred for their testimony. Look at Rev. 7:2-4 Also Rev. 14:1-3.
The fourth group is the Great Tribulation Saints. Rev 7:9-14. Rev 15:2-5
All four groups benefit from the Veil that was rent. Hebrews10:19,20We know undoubtedly that the Veil represents our Lord .Hebrews 10:19,20
Monday, May 5, 2008
The Tabernacle study for Tuesday night April 29(last week) This is the first part of that session//
How many caught what David Ravenhill said last Tuesday evening during his address to the three who were being ordained ? He said words to the effect that anytime the subject of the tabernacle was to be taught, or was being taught that it was correct to start with the furnishings and from the inside(the Holy of Holies) and to work your way through to the outer court, not the other way around. God always comes to man first, not the other way around. Iv’e been saying all along the same thing and we have done just that, started from the Holy of Holies and worked outward,
So now we have come to another area where I have struggled with in regards to the construction of the Tabernacle itself…this gets a little complex here in Exodus because in ch. 25 it talks about the furnishings and then interspersed with the furnishings as you go into ch. 26 it speaks about the curtains and then the boards and the sockets that the boards fit into and then the veil . As we go further in ch. 27 it goes back to the furnishings, which we have already covered. However the first thing you do when building a new house is to put in a foundation, amen? So tonight we will look at the silver sockets…the foundation.
In preparation then, we will read ch. 27 of Ex. Vs., 15-37 The Tabernacle I’m reading from the NKJV
1 “Moreover you shall make the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine woven linen and blue, purple, and scarlet thread; with artistic designs of cherubim you shall weave them. 2 The length of each curtain shall be twenty-eight cubits, and the width of each curtain four cubits. And every one of the curtains shall have the same measurements. 3 Five curtains shall be coupled to one another, and the other five curtains shall be coupled to one another. 4 And you shall make loops of blue yarn on the edge of the curtain on the selvedge of one set, and likewise you shall do on the outer edge of the other curtain of the second set. 5 Fifty loops you shall make in the one curtain, and fifty loops you shall make on the edge of the curtain that is on the end of the second set, that the loops may be clasped to one another. 6 And you shall make fifty clasps of gold, and couple the curtains together with the clasps, so that it may be one tabernacle.7 15 “And for the tabernacle you shall make the boards of acacia wood, standing upright. 16 Ten cubits shall be the length of a board, and a cubit and a half shall be the width of each board. 17 Two tenons shall be in each board for binding one to another. Thus you shall make for all the boards of the tabernacle. 18 And you shall make the boards for the tabernacle, twenty boards for the south side. 19 You shall make forty sockets of silver under the twenty boards: two sockets under each of the boards for its two tenons. 20 And for the second side of the tabernacle, the north side, there shall be twenty boards 21 and their forty sockets of silver: two sockets under each of the boards. 22 For the far side of the tabernacle, westward, you shall make six boards. 23 And you shall also make two boards for the two back corners of the tabernacle. 24 They shall be coupled together at the bottom and they shall be coupled together at the top by one ring. Thus it shall be for both of them. They shall be for the two corners. 25 So there shall be eight boards with their sockets of silver—sixteen sockets—two sockets under each of the boards. 26 “And you shall make bars of acacia wood: five for the boards on one side of the tabernacle, 27 five bars for the boards on the other side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the boards of the side of the tabernacle, for the far side westward. 28 The middle bar shall pass through the midst of the boards from end to end. 29 You shall overlay the boards with gold, make their rings of gold as holders for the bars, and overlay the bars with gold. 30 And you shall raise up the tabernacle according to its pattern which you were shown on the mountain. 31 “You shall make a veil woven of blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine woven linen. It shall be woven with an artistic design of cherubim. 32 You shall hang it upon the four pillars of acacia wood overlaid with gold. Their hooks shall be gold, upon four sockets of silver. 33 And you shall hang the veil from the clasps. Then you shall bring the ark of the Testimony in there, behind the veil. The veil shall be a divider for you between the holy place and the Most Holy. 34 You shall put the mercy seat upon the ark of the Testimony in the Most Holy. 35 You shall set the table outside the veil, and the lampstand across from the table on the side of the tabernacle toward the south; and you shall put the table on the north side. 36 “You shall make a screen for the door of the tabernacle, woven of blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine woven linen, made by a weaver. 37 And you shall make for the screen five pillars of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold; their hooks shall be gold, and you shall cast five sockets of bronze for them.
I have struggled all week with this as to where the Lord wants us to go and I want His direction in it all and as you can see God is specific in His instructions to Moses an ultimately to Joshua as well.This is quite complex elaborate planning,,..
Now turn to Ex. 30:11-1611 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 12 “When you take the census of the children of Israel for their number, then every man shall give a ransom for himself to the LORD, when you number them, that there may be no plague among them when you number them. 13 This is what everyone among those who are numbered shall give: half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary (a shekel is twenty gerahs). The half-shekel shall be an offering to the LORD. 14 Everyone included among those who are numbered, from twenty years old and above, shall give an offering to the LORD. 15 The rich shall not give more and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel, when you give an offering to the LORD, to make atonement for yourselves. 16 And you shall take the atonement money of the children of Israel, and shall appoint it for the service of the tabernacle of meeting, that it may be a memorial for the children of Israel before the LORD, to make atonement for yourselves.”
One more passage; Ex. 38:25-28, 25 And the silver from those who were numbered of the congregation was one hundred talents and one thousand seven hundred and seventy-five shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary: 26 a bekah for each man (that is, half a shekel, according to the shekel of the sanctuary), for everyone included in the numbering from twenty years old and above, for six hundred and three thousand, five hundred and fifty men. 27 And from the hundred talents of silver were cast the sockets of the sanctuary and the bases of the veil: one hundred sockets from the hundred talents, one talent for each socket. 28 Then from the one thousand seven hundred and seventy-five shekels he made hooks for the pillars, overlaid their capitals, and made bands for them.
The foundation of the Tabernacle consisted of eight large sockets of silver with a cavity made that the gold covered boards fit into. In total there were 100 of them because there were 48 boards with four pillars for the Veil. Each board needed two supports, one for each of the four pillars and someone has determined that would be 100 The weight of these sockets has been calculated at over six tons.
Where did they get the silver? Why did it have to be silver? And why so much? And of course …what does the silver represent? What does it typify?
But first before we loo into these questions we need to realize that this structure, the Tabernacle was being erected in th e desert on sand. Now if you are building a new building, let’s say an office complex which may include several stories, perhaps some shops, etc., first of all you would probably take your ideas to an architect to design such a structure and he in turn would take his plans and design to an engineer to plan a solid and proper foundation. The building is only as good as it’s foundation, amen? cont'd tomorrow
How many caught what David Ravenhill said last Tuesday evening during his address to the three who were being ordained ? He said words to the effect that anytime the subject of the tabernacle was to be taught, or was being taught that it was correct to start with the furnishings and from the inside(the Holy of Holies) and to work your way through to the outer court, not the other way around. God always comes to man first, not the other way around. Iv’e been saying all along the same thing and we have done just that, started from the Holy of Holies and worked outward,
So now we have come to another area where I have struggled with in regards to the construction of the Tabernacle itself…this gets a little complex here in Exodus because in ch. 25 it talks about the furnishings and then interspersed with the furnishings as you go into ch. 26 it speaks about the curtains and then the boards and the sockets that the boards fit into and then the veil . As we go further in ch. 27 it goes back to the furnishings, which we have already covered. However the first thing you do when building a new house is to put in a foundation, amen? So tonight we will look at the silver sockets…the foundation.
In preparation then, we will read ch. 27 of Ex. Vs., 15-37 The Tabernacle I’m reading from the NKJV
1 “Moreover you shall make the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine woven linen and blue, purple, and scarlet thread; with artistic designs of cherubim you shall weave them. 2 The length of each curtain shall be twenty-eight cubits, and the width of each curtain four cubits. And every one of the curtains shall have the same measurements. 3 Five curtains shall be coupled to one another, and the other five curtains shall be coupled to one another. 4 And you shall make loops of blue yarn on the edge of the curtain on the selvedge of one set, and likewise you shall do on the outer edge of the other curtain of the second set. 5 Fifty loops you shall make in the one curtain, and fifty loops you shall make on the edge of the curtain that is on the end of the second set, that the loops may be clasped to one another. 6 And you shall make fifty clasps of gold, and couple the curtains together with the clasps, so that it may be one tabernacle.7 15 “And for the tabernacle you shall make the boards of acacia wood, standing upright. 16 Ten cubits shall be the length of a board, and a cubit and a half shall be the width of each board. 17 Two tenons shall be in each board for binding one to another. Thus you shall make for all the boards of the tabernacle. 18 And you shall make the boards for the tabernacle, twenty boards for the south side. 19 You shall make forty sockets of silver under the twenty boards: two sockets under each of the boards for its two tenons. 20 And for the second side of the tabernacle, the north side, there shall be twenty boards 21 and their forty sockets of silver: two sockets under each of the boards. 22 For the far side of the tabernacle, westward, you shall make six boards. 23 And you shall also make two boards for the two back corners of the tabernacle. 24 They shall be coupled together at the bottom and they shall be coupled together at the top by one ring. Thus it shall be for both of them. They shall be for the two corners. 25 So there shall be eight boards with their sockets of silver—sixteen sockets—two sockets under each of the boards. 26 “And you shall make bars of acacia wood: five for the boards on one side of the tabernacle, 27 five bars for the boards on the other side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the boards of the side of the tabernacle, for the far side westward. 28 The middle bar shall pass through the midst of the boards from end to end. 29 You shall overlay the boards with gold, make their rings of gold as holders for the bars, and overlay the bars with gold. 30 And you shall raise up the tabernacle according to its pattern which you were shown on the mountain. 31 “You shall make a veil woven of blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine woven linen. It shall be woven with an artistic design of cherubim. 32 You shall hang it upon the four pillars of acacia wood overlaid with gold. Their hooks shall be gold, upon four sockets of silver. 33 And you shall hang the veil from the clasps. Then you shall bring the ark of the Testimony in there, behind the veil. The veil shall be a divider for you between the holy place and the Most Holy. 34 You shall put the mercy seat upon the ark of the Testimony in the Most Holy. 35 You shall set the table outside the veil, and the lampstand across from the table on the side of the tabernacle toward the south; and you shall put the table on the north side. 36 “You shall make a screen for the door of the tabernacle, woven of blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine woven linen, made by a weaver. 37 And you shall make for the screen five pillars of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold; their hooks shall be gold, and you shall cast five sockets of bronze for them.
I have struggled all week with this as to where the Lord wants us to go and I want His direction in it all and as you can see God is specific in His instructions to Moses an ultimately to Joshua as well.This is quite complex elaborate planning,,..
Now turn to Ex. 30:11-1611 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 12 “When you take the census of the children of Israel for their number, then every man shall give a ransom for himself to the LORD, when you number them, that there may be no plague among them when you number them. 13 This is what everyone among those who are numbered shall give: half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary (a shekel is twenty gerahs). The half-shekel shall be an offering to the LORD. 14 Everyone included among those who are numbered, from twenty years old and above, shall give an offering to the LORD. 15 The rich shall not give more and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel, when you give an offering to the LORD, to make atonement for yourselves. 16 And you shall take the atonement money of the children of Israel, and shall appoint it for the service of the tabernacle of meeting, that it may be a memorial for the children of Israel before the LORD, to make atonement for yourselves.”
One more passage; Ex. 38:25-28, 25 And the silver from those who were numbered of the congregation was one hundred talents and one thousand seven hundred and seventy-five shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary: 26 a bekah for each man (that is, half a shekel, according to the shekel of the sanctuary), for everyone included in the numbering from twenty years old and above, for six hundred and three thousand, five hundred and fifty men. 27 And from the hundred talents of silver were cast the sockets of the sanctuary and the bases of the veil: one hundred sockets from the hundred talents, one talent for each socket. 28 Then from the one thousand seven hundred and seventy-five shekels he made hooks for the pillars, overlaid their capitals, and made bands for them.
The foundation of the Tabernacle consisted of eight large sockets of silver with a cavity made that the gold covered boards fit into. In total there were 100 of them because there were 48 boards with four pillars for the Veil. Each board needed two supports, one for each of the four pillars and someone has determined that would be 100 The weight of these sockets has been calculated at over six tons.
Where did they get the silver? Why did it have to be silver? And why so much? And of course …what does the silver represent? What does it typify?
But first before we loo into these questions we need to realize that this structure, the Tabernacle was being erected in th e desert on sand. Now if you are building a new building, let’s say an office complex which may include several stories, perhaps some shops, etc., first of all you would probably take your ideas to an architect to design such a structure and he in turn would take his plans and design to an engineer to plan a solid and proper foundation. The building is only as good as it’s foundation, amen? cont'd tomorrow
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
A series: the church
A question that may be on the minds of many people in the day we live is this one...is the church still relevant today? As I mused upon this question; I pondered it in my heart, I decided to first of all look up the word relevant or relavency in a dictionary. (Makes sense?) An online dictionary that I frequently use in cases like this said, " bearing upon or being connected with the matter at hand., pertinent. Another explanation says, "connected with something important, with what is being spoken about or discussed. Then these three #1. Relieving, lending aid or support...(that fits)
#2. Bearing upon or properly applying to the case, pertinent, applicable.
#3. Sufficient to support the case.
After all just what is the case? What is the role (for want of a better term) of the church? Is it to provide a social network of believers? Or is it to provide social welfare for those in need? Or is it both or neither or somewhere in between? Maybe first of all we need to find out what the church is and then what it's purpose is. So where do I find the answers? In the Word of God the Bible of course. 1 Timothy 3:15 where Paul writes to Timothy is where the answer lies. Paul is instructing Timothy how people ought to act in "the house of God, the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth." This quote from the King James Version. The NRSV uses the term pillar and bulwark of the truth. The NIV says "the pillar and foundation of the truth. The rest of the versions that I read agree with this statement. One version refers to it as the pillar and bulwark of the truth; another the prop and support. The church of the living God...It is the living God that makes it what it is. Truth is more than a principal here....truth is a person, and that Person is Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God. In fact He Himself said, "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. By taking account of church attendance in some areas it would seem that church is no longer relevant...but it is only irrelevant to those who stay away from services on a regular week by week, service by service basis. The relevancy of the church is not measured by those who regularly or irregularly attend, or by those who don't show up at all or by those who say it is not relevant. The fact of it being relevant and pertinent is not dependant upon the above circumstances but rather upon its Founder and upon the fact that He ordained it to be and that He is the head of the real church...not the Pope(all due respect) not the Archbishop of Cantebury,(again with all due respect) not even the Queen, the head of the church is the Lord Jesus Christ...no matter what Oprah says about Him ...He is our God.
The question comes to mind, "what is the primary function of this body the church here on this earth?" And the answer is found in the words of the Lord Jesus in Matt 28:19, "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations" Before you can make disciples you must get people saved and the two go hand in hand and the church is still making disciples of those whom the Lord saves.
I quoted from 1 Timothy that the church is the household of God,the pillar and support of the truth...by the preaching of the unchanging gospel of Jesus Christ, even though good men fall and say that Jesus is not God, even though false teachers say absurd things like the Book of Mormon is superior to the Word of God, even though deceivers like Oprah say people are God...the Gospel has not changed and Jesus is still God and the church will triumph and the gates of hell can't stop it! Try to prove the Bible is true? Just proclaim it...let it loose and it will prove itself!
How do you prove a lion is a lion? Let it loose and it will prove itself....
The apostle said what the church needs to proclaim in his letter to Titus in ch. 2 vs. 11, "while we wait for the blessed hope and the manifestation of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ."
Oswald Chambers, one of the greatest missionaries of the early part of the last century said "Jesus is the only God the Christian knows". He came to show us what God is like. The church is relevant because He is its Founder, its Head, its Author and its Finisher...to be cont'd
#2. Bearing upon or properly applying to the case, pertinent, applicable.
#3. Sufficient to support the case.
After all just what is the case? What is the role (for want of a better term) of the church? Is it to provide a social network of believers? Or is it to provide social welfare for those in need? Or is it both or neither or somewhere in between? Maybe first of all we need to find out what the church is and then what it's purpose is. So where do I find the answers? In the Word of God the Bible of course. 1 Timothy 3:15 where Paul writes to Timothy is where the answer lies. Paul is instructing Timothy how people ought to act in "the house of God, the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth." This quote from the King James Version. The NRSV uses the term pillar and bulwark of the truth. The NIV says "the pillar and foundation of the truth. The rest of the versions that I read agree with this statement. One version refers to it as the pillar and bulwark of the truth; another the prop and support. The church of the living God...It is the living God that makes it what it is. Truth is more than a principal here....truth is a person, and that Person is Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God. In fact He Himself said, "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. By taking account of church attendance in some areas it would seem that church is no longer relevant...but it is only irrelevant to those who stay away from services on a regular week by week, service by service basis. The relevancy of the church is not measured by those who regularly or irregularly attend, or by those who don't show up at all or by those who say it is not relevant. The fact of it being relevant and pertinent is not dependant upon the above circumstances but rather upon its Founder and upon the fact that He ordained it to be and that He is the head of the real church...not the Pope(all due respect) not the Archbishop of Cantebury,(again with all due respect) not even the Queen, the head of the church is the Lord Jesus Christ...no matter what Oprah says about Him ...He is our God.
The question comes to mind, "what is the primary function of this body the church here on this earth?" And the answer is found in the words of the Lord Jesus in Matt 28:19, "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations" Before you can make disciples you must get people saved and the two go hand in hand and the church is still making disciples of those whom the Lord saves.
I quoted from 1 Timothy that the church is the household of God,the pillar and support of the truth...by the preaching of the unchanging gospel of Jesus Christ, even though good men fall and say that Jesus is not God, even though false teachers say absurd things like the Book of Mormon is superior to the Word of God, even though deceivers like Oprah say people are God...the Gospel has not changed and Jesus is still God and the church will triumph and the gates of hell can't stop it! Try to prove the Bible is true? Just proclaim it...let it loose and it will prove itself!
How do you prove a lion is a lion? Let it loose and it will prove itself....
The apostle said what the church needs to proclaim in his letter to Titus in ch. 2 vs. 11, "while we wait for the blessed hope and the manifestation of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ."
Oswald Chambers, one of the greatest missionaries of the early part of the last century said "Jesus is the only God the Christian knows". He came to show us what God is like. The church is relevant because He is its Founder, its Head, its Author and its Finisher...to be cont'd
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)