The Vision of the Tabernacle |
From Glory to Glory |
God’s original intention was that all the people of Israel would be both priests and kings, however, because of idolatry, these functions were separated. However, God’s desire did not change and in Christ as well as in the Christians these two offices have been joined together (Zech. 6:13, 2 Pet. 2:5, 9). We are the royal priesthood because we have the life of the One who is both the King and the High Priest. As priests we have the responsibility of bringing people to the Holy Place that they might serve God and from there, to the Holy of Holies that they might live in the spirit. As kings we must be joined to the Lord and live in such a way that we express Him among people and that He might reign through us.
We saw in previous chapters that the four pillars before the Holy of Holies represent the apostles, the ambassadors of Christ, who remain before the ark of the covenant, before God, speaking to Him face to face. We must long to have this uplifted function! We should not desire to have the position or title of apostle but rather the function of an apostle. We must long to always be in God’s presence that we might bring others there.
We must be the pillars of the Holy of Holies upon which hangs the veil that is embroidered with cherubim. Christ, typified by the veil, and His glory, typified by the cherubim, must be upon us. Just as the pillars stay in the Holy of Holies, we also should continually be in God’s presence. This is the goal! If we live in fellowship with God we are useful to Him because He can use us at any time and in any situation. Today we must serve the King of kings and the Lord of lords in our spirit.
There are three things in the Holy Place for the priests’ enjoyment: the table of the bread of the Presence, the lampstand and the incense altar. In the Holy of Holies and within the ark there were also three very important things for apostles’ enjoyment: the hidden manna, the tablets of testimony and Aaron’s rod that budded. While the priests are enjoying the bread of the Presence, the ambassadors are enjoying the hidden manna in the Holy of holies, which is Christ experienced in a more personal and intimate way. While the priests are enjoying the light of the lampstand, the ambassadors have the two tablets that express the love of God (cf. Matt. 22:34-40). While the priests are enjoying the altar of incense, the ambassadors are enjoying Aaron’s rod that budded, which represents the authority given to us through Christ’s resurrection life. All the elements of the Holy Place represent important and enjoyable spiritual realities, whereas the elements in the Holy of Holies represent spiritual facts that are enjoyed on a much higher, sweeter, more intimate and personal level. So we need to press on to the Holy of Holies to live there!
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