Hidden treasures in unexpected places - part 3

Leviticus chapter 8 and Exodus chapter 28 both contain a really in depth description of what the priests wore. Why do I care what they wore?! What is this supposed to teach us?

Why did they have priests anyway? Well think of it this way. The priests are like actors about to put on a gospel show. Aaron as the high priest is acting the part of Jesus.  The priesthood teaches us about having someone do something on our behalf. As we learn about the priests we learn about what Christ has done for us. Keep that in mind as you read through Exodus and see how your view of the text changes.

Have a read through Exodus 28 and keep your eye out for the following:

The ephod – we’re told it’s made of the same stuff as the curtain in the tabernacle. This shows us that Jesus ‘clothed’ himself with the same stuff as us; He took on humanity.

The onyx stones – had the names of the tribes of Israel engraved on and the priest carried them over his heart. This represents the church and the priest carrying them with him wherever he goes. Christ is clothed with the church and He carries us with Him into the Father’s presence. Carrying us isn’t easy – those stones were pretty heavy! The weight of the stones is to represent the weight of sin which Jesus carried for us.

The breastpiece – also made of the same material as the curtain and had 12 precious stones on it to represent the 12 tribes of Israel. It was tightly fastened to the priest and in the same way we are firmly fastened to Jesus. He promises He will not lose anyone that the Father has given to Him (John 6:39)

Anointing oil – Priests were anointed with oil as a reminder of their reliance on the Holy Spirit. Also Jesus is the “Anointed One” who fully relies on the Holy Spirit. Aaron is given a wash and then anointed with oil. Jesus was washed in baptism and then anointed with the Holy Spirit. Psalm 133 describes how the oil the priests were anointed with overflowed onto the stones on the breastplate. Jesus is full of the Holy Spirit which overflows to His church.

Hidden treasures in unexpected places - part 1

There are certain books in the Bible that just seem really dull and make you wonder "Why is this in here? What's it got to do with me?"  The books of Exodus and Leviticus certainly fell into that catergory for me but all that changed when I heard some really great teaching on them earlier this year. I found the notes I took the other day and just had to share this stuff with you all. This will BLOW YOUR MIND and I'm sure these will become your new favourite books.

John 5:39-45 - Jesus says the books of Moses (ie Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy) are all about Him. Really? What does the stuff about pigeons and goats and tents and men wearing fancy dresses have to do with Jesus?!

Exodus 24:18 - Moses spends 40 days up the top of the mountain with the Lord. What were they doing up there? Jesus was showing Moses the reality of the whole of creation and giving him instructions for how to build the tabernacle as a picture of creation. So all that crazy detailed description in Exodus about how the tabernacle was built and what goes where is actually really important. The order of the tabernacle teaches us about the order of creation. Have a read through Exodus 25 and look out for:

The Holy Place – represents earth

The Most Holy Place – represents heaven. There is a curtain between the holy place and most holy place to represent the divide between heaven and earth.

The Ark of the Covenant – the place where God is enthroned between the cherubim and meets with us.  Represents God the Father enthroned in heaven.

The Table – The bread of the presence sits on here. Represents Jesus who is described elsewhere as the ‘bread of life’ (John 6:48) and who is present with us through all of history. He was around on earth from the beginning, not just from the incarnation!

The Lampstand - represents the Holy Spirit. The Spirit illuminates Jesus in an otherwise dark place.

The altar of incense - represents the prayers of the saints (that’s us followers of Jesus).  The altar is right in the middle of the whole tabernacle showing that we are at the centre of God’s creation.

Notice that the Ark, the Table and the Lampstand were all made before the tent itself was made. This shows us that the Trinity existed before the creation of the heavens and the earth.

Look at the description of the layers of the tent. The colours are not just random. White represents purity; blue represents God’s faithfulness; red represents sacrifice; and purple symbolises royalty. There is a curtain separating the Holy Place (earth) from the Most Holy Place (heaven) and on the curtain are two cherubim. Where else in the Bible do we read about two guardian cherubim? Check out Genesis 3:24. God banished Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden and placed cherubim there to keep them out. They were banished to the East. God’s presence is therefore in the West. In the tabernacle the Holy Place (earth) is in the East and the Most Holy Place (heaven) is in the West.

I think that’s enough insight for one day but more to follow shortly. Next blog post I’ll be looking at the hidden message behind the long boring descriptions of offerings and sacrifices.