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Lesson 1: Why God Needed a Sanctuary |
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Written by Darwin Whitman, M. Rel. Edu.
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And God trusted the whole of His creation into the hands of Adam and Eve: Genesis 1:28 – “And God said unto them… (you are to) have dominion over the fish, foul, and every living thing that moveth upon the earth.” Even the naming of this new creation was given to Adam: Genesis 2:19 – “And the Lord God formed every beast, and every fowl; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was (their) name.”
Then something happened, causing a “wall,” as it were, to come between these friends. Genesis 3:6 tells us Eve “took of the (forbidden) fruit thereof, and did eat.” And this was from the very tree God told them “thou shalt not eat of it,” or, He said, There would be dire consequences; Genesis 2:17.
And what were those “consequences?” Separation, and then Death. Death first to an innocent animal, from which “unto Adam and his wife did God make coats of skins, and clothed them” Genesis 3:23.
Sanctuary in the Wilderness
Exodus 25:8 is God telling Moses: “Let them make me a Sanctuary, that I may dwell among them.
And we might safely add the word again to this passage; “that I may dwell among them again.” Because there was a time that God was able to dwell with His Creation, communing with them on a daily basis! And “able” is the key word, as we shall see.
Genesis 3:8 tells us; “And they (Adam and Eve) heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day (margin indicates “evening”). And it must have been a delightful time, Creator, and Created, now fast friends, walking and talking face to face!
And God trusted the whole of His creation into the hands of Adam and Eve: Genesis 1:28 – “And God said unto them…(you are to) have dominion over the fish, foul, and every living thing that moveth upon the earth.” Even the naming of this new creation was given to Adam: Genesis 2:19 – “And the Lord God formed every beast, and every fowl; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was (their) name.”
Then something happened, causing a “wall,” as it were, to come between these friends. Genesis 3:6 tells us Eve “took of the (forbidden) fruit thereof, and did eat.” And this was from the very tree God told them “thou shalt not eat of it,” or, He said, There would be dire consequences; Genesis 2:17.
And what were those “consequences?” Separation, and then Death. Death first to an innocent animal, from which “unto Adam and his wife did God make coats of skins, and clothed them” Genesis 3:23.
Isaiah 59:2 speaks to the “separation:” “Your iniquities (sins, acts of disobedience, against God), HAVE SEPARATED YOUR AND YOUR GOD, and YOUR SINS HAVE HID (HIS) FACE FROM YOU, THAT HE WILL NOT HEAR.”
This separation was painful for both parties, God, and the pair: Genesis 3:23 – for Adam and Eve, the separation was connected with Fear – fear of God: God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? And he (Adam) said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I WAS AFRAID, AND I HID.” Fear breeds distrust, and distrust separates friends.
That was God’s last visit with the pair in the Garden of Eden, because His next act was; “(He) sent him (Adam and Eve) from the garden of Eden. He drove out the man (which includes the woman); and He placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.”
Now they were also separated from the provisions God had made for them to live forever – to enjoy “Eternal Life; Genesis 3:22 says: “Let he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever.”
And God shared with Jeremiah, the cause of pain for Him, when He is forcefully separated from His beloved creation: “The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, (saying), Yea, I have loved thee with an EVERLASTING LOVE: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.” Latter, repeating what He did with Adam and Eve, God told Hosea: “I will go and return to my place, till they acknowledge their offence, and seek my face…” Hosea 5:15.
And then came the promised “Death.” And some question what God told the pair: “Of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: FOR IN THE DAY that thou eatest thereof THOU SHALT SURELY DIE” Genesis 2:17. But the records show they lived on for many more years! Was God joking, or was He bluffing them? Why did they not die? And the answer is really quite simple: There was a “Lamb slain from the foundation of the Earth” Revelation 13:8. His blood, and His life, were Heaven’s substitution for their own blood and lives, and they could, by faith, lay claim to it! But Death became a reality – the moment sin entered into man’s experience.
With time, the separation appeared to becoming permanent, as recorded in Genesis 6:5, 7 – “God saw the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. It repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; along with beast, creeping things, fowls of the air.”
But God’s love for His creation would not allow Him to totally destroy man! “Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord” Genesis 6:8. And there were others, both before, and after, Noah – including a whole nation, known as “the children of Israel.” And after hearing their cries, “by reason of their taskmasters…” Exodus 3:7 – God decides now is the time to show His everlasting love to those who would follow, and obey, Him – and in the process, He would re-establish fellowship, and communication, between Himself, and those He loved, and they loved Him!
So, in God’s time, along comes Moses, born to Levite parents, whose life was miraculously spared from the death decree of Pharaoh (Exodus 1:16-22), only to kill an Egyptian himself (Ibid, vv, 12-14). In desperation, and self-preservation, he flees into the wilderness – where he encounters God at the “burning bush” Exodus 3:1, 2.
And from that bush, God opens His plan to re-establish Creator, and His creation! First, “the Lord did bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their armies (tribes)” Exodus 12:51. Then, once they are in the wilderness – free from the bondage of Egypt – “the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Let them make me a Sanctuary; THAT I may dwell among them” Exodus 25:1, 8.
God had devised a plan to bring His family together again! But, by now, His family was not so anxious to re-establish ties with Him. There were more than one reason for their reluctance, but one was a carry-over from Adam and Eve, and that was their fear of God. “And they said unto Moses, Speak THOU with us, and we will hear: but LET NOT GOD SPEAK with us lest we die” Exodus 20:19. So, before the family could be truly united, God had to institute some “re-introductions.” To remove man’s fear of God, He had to re-establish the depth of His love toward them. To accomplish that, He designed the Sanctuary – not only as a structure He would dwell in, among His people; but also as a “system” that would re-introduce Himself to His creation.
And that is why God told Ezekiel to “show the (Sanctuary) house to the (family) house of Israel, THAT THEY may be ashamed of their sinning, and let them measure the heavenly pattern. But, God continues, “if they be ashamed of all that they have done, show them the form (arrangement) of the house” – because in its arrangement – God is showing His love, and the effort to which He is going in order to reunite His family! (Ezekiel 43:10, 11). And the message of the Sanctuary is summarized by John 3:16 – “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
The purpose of the Sanctuary is to rid the world of “Wall Building Material,” so God’s family can be restored, and that harmony in the universe can reign eternally. And God would remind us that it is He, not we, that always initiates the reunion! “We love him, BECAUSE HE FIRST LOVED US” 1 John 4:19. “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you…” John 15:16.
God loves you and me supremely – and is so anxious for His family to be together again, safe and sound, never to be separated. Are you as homesick for your Father in Heaven, as He is for you? Why not tell show Him today – that the Sanctuary has proven to you how great His love is for you, and that you want to respond by presenting your body, a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God” Romans 12:1 – and let the Family Reunion begin today – right here on Planet Earth!
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