Let's take our Bibles and turn
with me to the book of Hebrews chapter 9. Hebrews chapter 9. Let's call upon our Lord and
ask His blessing. Our Father, how wonderful it
is to be able to call upon You in the name of the Lord Jesus
and to know that for Him, by Him, in Him, we are able to enter
to the very presence of the throne on high and ask, because of the blood,
Your blessing and that You hear us for Christ's sake. Lord, would
You bless the Word tonight? May this Word be a comfort to
us. Teach us. Save your people. We
pray for Christ's sake. Amen. In our last study, the Spirit
of God through the Apostle revealed the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ
as he was set forth in the actual construction of what the Scripture
refers to as the worldly sanctuary. We looked at the size of that
building, just got a visual of how big that sanctuary was, the
actual tabernacle itself, that tabernacle that made up the holy
place, which was two-thirds of the size of the building, and
the Holy of Holies, which was the last third of it. Now that building was made, the
Scripture sets forth, it was made out of a wood that was highly
resistant to decay corruption called Shittemwood. Shittemwood,
the Scripture says, was what the actual framework, overlaid
with gold, the framework of the sanctuary actually set forth
the Lord's strength and His perfect incorruptible humanity. It had a wooden frame. overlaid
with gold. Inside, once you went inside
that framework, there was the actual sanctuary itself, the
tabernacle. Inside that framework, it was
fine twined linen, Scripture says. It was blue, it was purple,
it was scarlet. And the Scripture says it was
made with cherubims. Embroidered, cunning work. That's
what it means. They were embroidered all through. And the cherubims were those,
the Scripture, Revelation 4, 5, sets forth that the cherubim
are living, living things. Living things that reveal and
set forth in representative splendor, the glorious persons of the Godhead,
and the eternal counsel of God's everlasting covenant to redeem
His elect in and through the Lord Jesus Christ. So what I
just said was as closely as I can find in Scripture, the cherubim
represent They are real. We do find symbols of them. On
the mercy seat, when we look at the mercy seat, Scripture
speaks of cherubim. It was actually made. The mercy
seat, that lid, made out of pure gold in one piece, they were
cherubim. And the wings of the cherubim
came and touched each other. God said, I'll meet with you
between the cherubim. But the cherubim. They're actually
living creatures. That's what Scripture sets forth.
Isaiah said, I saw them. Ezekiel said, I saw them. Daniel
saw them. Scripture says a cherubim was
at the Garden of Eden, a flaming sword that kept the way. And I'm convinced not to keep
from the way of life, but to keep the way to the tree of life. These cherubim set forth the
Godhead, Father, Son, and Spirit, and all of the majesty of the
Godhead in the redemption of God's people found totally in
the Lord Jesus Christ. Now overlaying that framework
inside the tabernacle. The tabernacle itself was the
fine twined linen. That was referred to as the tabernacle. The wood held it up. On top of
the wood there were three curtains. The first curtain was the curtain
of goat's hair, that animal that was slain for sin, the goat.
The goat was the sin offering. setting forth our precious Savior
who was made sin for us. On top of the curtain of goat's
hair, there was a curtain on top of that of ram's skin dyed
red. The ram was used, I found, in
the consecration or the induction into the office of the priest,
the ram. skins dyed red, sent forth our
Lord's devotedness to be the substitute of the Lord's people."
We think of the beautiful picture of that when Abraham and Isaac
went up. Remember, Isaac was on the altar. The Lord stopped Abraham. He
said, don't do the boy any harm. Take the ram. Right there. Take
the rent substitute. On top of the second curtain,
there was another curtain made of badger skin. And that top
covering set forth the humility of our Lord in human flesh, in
humanity. By and large, people, Scripture
says, when they looked upon Him, there was no beauty in Him that
anybody would desire. I know how He's portrayed in
the movies, you know, and He always looks a certain way. He's
always just really dynamic looking. Scripture says you would have
never picked Him out. You'd have looked at Him and
thought He was anybody else. Well, tonight, that was in verse
1 of Hebrews 9. And tonight, I'd like to, Lord
willing, look at verse 2. We want to continue. with the
Holy Spirit's revelation of our Lord as He's beheld in the furnishings
that is found within the tabernacle. Now, I want to tell you something. I know we know this, but I want
to bring something out. I think it's good to repeat things. There's one thing that we need
to remember as we're studying these scriptures. You know, you
might look at that and you'd say, well, you know, that tabernacle, it was in the
wilderness, and I mean, that was for a certain period of time,
and now those pictures and types, and they're gone. Yeah, yeah, they're gone. Yeah,
that order, the order of Aaron ended. But while we're getting
ready to go through this chapter, especially this chapter 9, take
our time and look. But what was going on in the
wilderness for 1,500 years? What was set forth in shadow,
types, pictures, When that high priest that had the regalia on
would go into the holy place and the Holy of Holies one time
a year, what was going on then in picture and type is actually
fulfilled and going on right now in heaven. So what we're
looking at back then is not merely historical. We are actually experiencing
the fulfillment of it. That high priest back then, the
priest and the high priest then, was a picturing of what would
actually be going on after the Lord Jesus Christ came into this
world, died as the substitute of God's people and ascended
into heaven itself, into the true tabernacle made without
hands. So what we're going to look at
tonight and, Lord willing, the rest of this time, Whenever you
look at the tabernacle in the Old Testament, remember that
was a picture then of what's going on right now. So let's
look at this. The Scripture says in verse 2,
For there was a tabernacle made, the first wherein was the candlestick,
and the table, and the shoulder-bed, which is called the sanctuary. So the first part of that tabernacle. There was a tabernacle made,
the first part of it, the two-thirds of it, called the Holy Place. There was a tabernacle, the Scripture
says, and the first, meaning the first part of it, the part
of it that was two-thirds of the totality. It had certain
pieces of furniture in it. We've said before, the furniture
that's going to be looked at in the Holy of Holies, the furniture
that we're looking at right here, sets forth our precious Savior,
our relationship to Him, and what is actually going on right
now. So this is happening tonight. First, the Scripture says, wherein
was the candlestick. The golden candlestick, and it had seven candlesticks,
come on, seven of them. It was never to go out. It stayed continually lit. The only light in the tabernacle
was the candlestick. If the priest saw anything, that
tabernacle was made with the way it was constructed, with
the wood and the sanctuary inside and the three curtains on the
top and it was wrapped around the veil on the front. If that
candlestick were to go out, it would be like you being in a
cave You know, if you've been inside a cave and they shut the
lights off, it is pitch black. There was no light from the outside. There was no window in the tabernacle. The only light that was found
in that tabernacle was the candlestick itself. If that priest wished
to walk by the light of nature, by the sun, If he wished to have
any kind of natural light, I can look outside and see. I can see
what's happening outside because the sun has not completely gone
down yet. If he wished to go outside, he
was going to have to leave the tabernacle. You leave the light
of the candlestick and you're not going to see the wonder of
that sanctuary. Leave the light of that candlestick
and no longer Could that priest behold the face of the cherubim
that were embroidered into the tabernacle itself, into the fine
twined linen? To not be able to see the beauty
that was within that tabernacle in the blue, in the purple, in
the scarlet, and to see the cherubim and remember this, to see those
cherubim was to be able to look in tight and to know that God,
Father, Son, Spirit, was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself. No longer could they see, without
the light of that candlestick, no longer could they see the
blood from the brazen altar. Now, the tabernacle is that place,
that sanctuary wherein the priest ministered. The tabernacle. Outside
of the tabernacle, the tabernacle, remember how big it was? Right
here. Outside in the courtyard, it
was completely surrounded by the linen. It had a wall. all the way around it, and right
in when you first came in, if you were coming out of the wilderness,
and you came and there's the exterior wall. Inside, inside
that court is that tabernacle, and out here under the sky, you
walk in that walled area, and the first thing, it's aiming
east, this wall where you actually came in, To that outer court
that's aiming east, the first thing that you're going to have
to get past is the brazen altar. That brazen altar, that's where
the sin offering was offered right there. The coals from that
sin offering are the coals that would be taken and brought inside
and placed in that golden that censer, that laver where the
incense would burn. If you did not have the light
of that candlestick, you could not see that golden altar of
incense that was right just before, not the first veil to go into
the holy place, but that second veil that went into the holy
of holies. There was a golden altar of incense. And it continually was to be
sprinkled with the incense to have that savor. Morning and
evening, incense had to be put on. But the coals on that came
from the brazen altar. And that which sent forth the
glory of our Lord's satisfaction before His Father. What was a
sweet-smelling savor to God Almighty is that from the brazen altar
where the sin offering was offered. The coals from that was put in
that altar of incense and God continually smelled the savor
of satisfaction. Now you take that candlestick
away and you couldn't see that anymore. One time a year before
that high priest could go through the veil, one time a year, one
day a year, he could go in behind the veil into the Holy of Holies.
That golden altar of incense, it was a square box. It was a
cubit and a half, cubit and a half, about four feet tall, about 22,
23 inches wide, square. And it was open. It had coals
on top of it. And it had four golden horns. Speaking of the power, power. And one time a year, that high
priest would come in there And he was going to take some coals
off of that altar of incense and he would put them in a censer.
In a censer. And he would sprinkle blood on
that one time a year. Sprinkle blood on those four
horns. Satisfaction. Continual satisfaction. Take
some coals off of that altar of incense and put them in a
censer. And he would go also with blood in that censer. Golden censer. incense in that
and the smoke and the savor, satisfaction of Christ, the prayers,
the incense of the prayer of the Lord Jesus Christ ever living
and He would sprinkle the blood on that mercy seat. Take away
that golden candlestick and you couldn't see that anymore. Pitch
black. There was nothing inside that
tabernacle that would reveal anything that was inside. The
light of the candlestick was the only light that was in there. Now here is the sad thing concerning
when men try to set forth the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ
and actually they're walking in natural light without the
light of the candlestick and they're preaching by human reason. Anything that is not set forth
concerning the Lord Jesus Christ according to these scriptures
is to not see the truth of the tabernacle himself in light of
himself. That candlestick, Christ himself,
is the light of his people. Now, all of that, that was the
type back then. Here's the reality of it tonight.
Christ is the candlestick Himself. He is the light, not of the world. John 9, 5 says this, the Lord
said this, as long as I'm in the world, I'm the light of the
world. But I want you to realize where
He is right now. Think about where that Old Testament
tabernacle was. That tabernacle was in a desert,
right. It was in a place where Almighty
God arranged that it would be ordered to be facing a certain
way, east. And in that tabernacle, that
priest went in for Israel. For Israel. He interceded for
Israel. Not the Canaanites and the Hittites
and the Habibites. and the Perizzites or any of
the other iths. That high priest in the Old Testament
went in for Israel. That incense that he went in
bearing with the blood into the Holy of Holies, the savor, the
prayers, incense sets forth satisfaction, the prayer of our blessed Savior
in satisfying God Almighty interceding for His people. That prayer right
now is for the saints. The Lord Jesus Christ said, John
17, 9, I pray for those that you've
given me. I pray not for the world. The Lord Jesus Christ
right now is our candlestick, our light within the heavenly
tabernacle right now, ever burning, ever living to make intercession
for His bride. Candlestick back then, we have
a candlestick right now. He is our light right now. In regenerating power and grace,
God's people right now are taught by the Spirit of God that the
light, Christ Himself, is in the very presence of God Almighty
as our great High Priest interceding for all that He's everlastingly
loved. Right now the Holy Ghost conveys
the light Himself through this Word. We see right now just as
that priest in that tabernacle could see. He saw. He could look around. He could
see the glory of that tabernacle. He saw the embroidered cherubim.
He saw the candlestick. He could see the veil. He could
see. We'll look at the table and the
showbread in just a minute. He could see all that. Right
now, we see. We have eyes to see and ears
to hear. We see, and we don't see this
by natural light, by natural reason. The flesh does not receive
the things of God. It takes the light Himself to
behold the light. He is the light. What we see
by faith right now, soon, by the grace of God, we'll see Him
face to face. No more. The next thing in verse 2, it
says, and the table, the table. That table was that upon which the showbread,
and we'll look at the showbread in just a second, set. The table,
again, was made out of shidom wood, overlaid with gold. And
that table sets forth the communion that we have with our Lord. Right
now. Right now. In 2 Samuel 9, King
David asked this question, Is there any left of the house of
Saul that I can show mercy to, kindness to, mercy to for Jonathan's
sake? Are there any left? And they
said there's one One young boy, his name is Mephibosheth. That's Jonathan's son. And he's
in Lodibar. He's out in the pasture. He's
out in the wilderness somewhere. And Mephibosheth had been crippled
in a fall. You know the story. His nurse
was carrying him, and she was going to try to escape from some
marauders. She fell with him. Both his legs
were broken. And he was crippled. Here was
this young boy, Jonathan's son. And you remember how Jonathan
and David, they had made a pact, a covenant. And Jonathan had
told David, he said, when the Lord makes you king and removes
the throne, from my family, would you show kindness to my family?"
David said, I will. I will. And Jonathan had a little
boy and that little boy was crippled. Boy, you look at that picture
right there and you see the indescribable mercy of Almighty God and the
mercy of God Here is David saying, Is there any left of the house
of Saul that I can show mercy to for Jonathan's sake? Our Father said these words,
Are there any left of the house of Adam that I can show mercy
to for my son's sake? Well, there is an old boy over
in central Louisiana. He's blind. He's crippled on
both his spiritual legs. He don't know anything. He's over in false religion.
He thinks he knows something. He thinks he's somebody, you
know, teaching a Sunday school class. False religion. Why don't you go fetch him? And you bring him to me. And
he, in the day of his power, brought me to himself. And David
said concerning Mephibosheth, he said, Mephibosheth is going to eat bread at my table
always. The table. The table within the
holy place set forth that fellowship and that communion that we enjoy
and possess right now with our Lord. He who ever lives to make
intercession for us. By the light of that candlestick,
we are taught, we see that we are brought into the understanding
of our union with Christ. In regenerating grace, this union,
here's the union. In regenerating grace, we understand
that according to Ephesians 1-4, we're in union with Him in electing
grace. God chose who He was going to
be in union with. We understand that by Christ's
purchase, In redeeming grace, we're in union with Him. He bought
us. You're bought with a price. Paul
said, you're not your own. You're not yours. You're not
yours, Carl. He has bought union. By the Spirit of God, we're taught
that we're made willing in the day of God's power in quickening
grace, union, God's people, God's sheep, they come to Him. He said,
all that the Father giveth me shall come to me. Him to cometh
to me. I will in no wise cast out. Union. You look at that table in that
tabernacle in the wilderness. It was a golden table. It was a wooden table overlaid
with gold. You looked at that table. That
table right there set forth the glorious union. fellowship. It's like David said, a fellowship
is going to sit at my table. Fellowship union with me forever. And then lastly, in verse 2,
to show bread. Upon that table there were twelve
loaves of bread. That table set forth that we're
in fellowship with our Lord. But you know, in the fellowship
that we enjoy with our Lord, our Lord is going to feed His
people. The showbread is Christ Himself. The bread of heaven. Right now,
God's people hear that you're sitting here and you're listening
and you're looking at these pictures that we're seeing. You see the
tabernacle. You see the candlestick. You
see the veil. By faith, you see it. And you
know Christ, that veil, is His flesh. You know it is. It was
rent from top to bottom. And the Scripture says that that
was His flesh. That was rent, opening the Holy of Holies to
the people of God. You look at that candlestick
and right now you say, I do see. I do see. I see. By faith, I
see. You look at that table right
there and you say, I do have fellowship with Him. I do believe
that God chose to show mercy to me. I do believe that Christ
redeemed me by blood. I do believe that the Spirit
of God has quickened me. And right now, by faith, you
eat of that bread. He that eats my flesh and drinks
my blood. He said, if you don't eat my
flesh and drink my blood, you have no part of me. Right now,
God's people eat. of Christ who is the bread of
heaven. We feast upon Him and we feast
upon Him. We feast upon Him. He is the
true bread. That's what He said. The sustaining
bread. The bread of sustenance. Everything
else fades. I can't keep it up. I can't keep
myself pumped up, Mike. I need Him who is life itself,
the bread, oh, the beauty of beholding that which was pictured
in tides and shadows and realizing that what I'm looking at right
now describing what happened Hundreds and hundreds and hundreds
of years ago, it's actually going on right now in the true tabernacle,
the true sanctuary in heaven by the great high priest who
ever lived to make intercession for His people. May the Lord
teach us these things and feed our hearts and cause us to feast
upon Him and to rejoice in Him for Christ's sake. Amen.