THE COMMANDMENT TO BUILD A SANCTUARY

Dear Friends, I thank God Almighty for keeping us well and enabling us to live so that we might understand more of His character and develop a deeper relationship with Him. I again wish to thank us for maintaining this forum through which we share Gods Word and His mighty works for us. There are certain issues writers do not know where to begin from. The Sanctuary and its Service is one such study. I have been impressed by the Spirit of God to have this discussion this time but I believe that the doctrine of the Sanctuary is totally new to some among us and confusing to many. It is, however as we will learn, one of the fundamental pillars of the faith of God needing to be studied at this crucial time. Introduction It is from the book of Exodus that we first learn of the word sanctuary, i.e. from Chapter 25 onwards. Verse 8 reads:
Ex25:8 And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them.

This, God explained to Moses in the mount in reference to the children of Israel. They were supposed to make the sanctuary according to Gods blueprint. The study will, therefore, intend to answer the following questions. (Please add your questions to the list so that we make the exploration richer): i. ii.
iii.

iv.
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vi. vii.

What was the sanctuary heretofore referred? Why did God take all the trouble to ask the Israelites to do this? How was it built, and what was the significance of that? What again did the instruments and furniture of the Sanctuary represent? What was the nature of sacrifices offered therein? Does the Sanctuary meet its fulfillment in Jesus, and were its services nailed to the cross as well? Is there a Sanctuary today, or did the service end at the First Coming of Jesus when He died on the cross? What therefore is the message we can get from the Sanctuary and how significant is that message to the people of today?

We earlier mentioned that God has always wanted to communicate with man and, besides Jesus Christ, has done so through prophets, nature,

conscience, the Bible and the sanctuary. We want to see how He has done it through the Sanctuary. Below, we quote David who said:
Psalm 77:13 Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary: Who is so great a God as our God?

David shows that if one wants to know the way of the Lord, he/she has to study the sanctuary and he/she will not be disappointed. But then, here is a significant statement by Christ, a very popular verse:
John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

The Way to the Father is Christ. And the Sanctuary is also a conduit, Gods way is in it. In other words, a careful study of the Sanctuary will reveal Christ, the Way, in it. In John 5, Christ rebukes the Pharisees for their superficial knowledge of the scriptures thinking that a knowledge of the scriptures (the Old Testament at this time) would save them instead of seeing Christ in them.
John 5:39 Ye search the scriptures, because ye think that in them ye have eternal life; and these are they which bear witness of me;

Yes, the Sanctuary is one Old Testament relic within which we find a powerful testimony of Christ. But why did God give Moses the trouble to do this? Psalm 14:2 The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, [and] seek God. Psalm 14:3 They are all gone aside, they are [all] together become filthy: [there is] none that doeth good, no, not one. Psalm 102:19 For he hath looked down from the height of his sanctuary; from heaven did the LORD behold the earth; Psalm 102:20 To hear the groaning of the prisoner; to loose those that are appointed to death; This was a merciful act of God, to reveal Himself in a way that His people would understand His ways and be saved through faith in the unborn Christ. In their present state, they could not. So He came up with a simpler plan. They were supposed to see the promise of a Saviour through the sanctuary.
1 Peter 1:10 Concerning which salvation the prophets sought and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you:

1 Peter 1:11 Searching what time or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did point unto, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glories that should follow them. Heb 11:13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. Heb 11:39 And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise:

The Sanctuary again answers the question: By what manner were the children of Israel saved in the Old Testament? Was it through faith or through works? The Sanctuary boldly says that it was through faith. It was faith in the coming Saviour. Our faith is in the risen Saviour. Perhaps it even required more faith in their time than in ours because we have much evidence of the resurrected Saviour and have the New Testament as well.

THE EARTHLY SANCTUARY For a reason that will be shortly understood, we shall call Moses sanctuary the Earthly Sanctuary. We now go to Verse 9 of Exodus 25
Ex 25:8 And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them. Ex 25:9 According to all that I show thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the furniture thereof, even so shall ye make it.

Concerning the Sanctuary, three things were done by God right there in Mount Sinai. God tells Moses to tell the people to build the sanctuary. But he is not left alone to ruminate as to how it is to be built. God also gives him a model (a pattern) as to how it should look like. God Himself draws the pattern. But it is a pattern of what? Of the tabernacle. And what is the tabernacle? It is the dwelling place of God, His temple. Rev 11:19
And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail.

Heb 9:8 Heb 9:9

The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing: Which [was] a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience;

Heb 9:11

But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building;

In the book of Hebrews, we learn that there was a first tabernacle, but that Christ on His ascension started to minister in a greater and more perfect tabernacle. So God shows Moses in vision where He dwells, then he says, You must make Me something that looks like this. But no man can design Gods dwelling place, for even the heavens cannot contain Him. So God draws and gives him a specimen a miniature structure, a model, that resembles the temple of God in heaven including a symbolism of the furniture thereof. Everything in the Sanctuary was by Gods design, nothing was left to sinful human devising. Everything, we will learn, had a purpose.
Psalm 29:9 And in his temple everything saith, Glory.

So is the plan of salvation, it is by the grace of God with none of our help needed. It was drawn up in heaven by God and implemented by God through the Person of Jesus Christ, His Sanctuary. Rev 13:8
And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. Col 1:26 Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations: but now is made manifest to his saints

Christ was slain before the world was created, pre-ordained to die for man if he sinned. Salvation was not an afterthought, rather a plan hatched by God in the beginning. To live under the shadow of death through ceaseless ages is a thought we cannot fully comprehend. Its like to be sentenced to death and waiting for that time through ages and generations. Its true Christ was a Man of Sorrows. But why should they build a representation of His tabernacle? Reread verse 8: so that I may dwell among them. God was not satisfied with dwelling at a far distance, and neither is He today. He wants to connect with His people to dwell among them. Now even the word dwell entails permanent residence. A common tabernacle among the Hebrews was actually a tent. And when a man wanted to dwell there, he would pitch his tent there. So, God wanted to pitch His tent among the people.

Matthew 1:23 Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, And they shall call his name Immanuel; which is, being interpreted, God with us.

The sanctuary pointed forward to the coming of Jesus, Immanuel, to be with us, to pitch His tent among us, dwelling within humanity in the form of humanity. It showed that although God abhors sin to the point of death, He does not abhor the sinner.
Rev 21:3 And I heard a great voice out of the throne saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he shall dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God:

Moreover, the Sanctuary signified the time when we will dwell with God forever and ever because that has been Gods wish since creation. The First Coming of Christ was not the final consummation of the gospel of grace. The consummation will be full when we shall dwell with Him not only ransomed (paid for), but also redeemed (reclaimed). Christs earthly time was for payment of the ransom but we now await the redemption from this earth to a more habitable place, even the house which God has built.
Heb 11:9 By faith he (Abraham) became a sojourner in the land of promise, as in a land not his own, dwelling in tents, with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: Heb 11:10 For he looked for the city which hath the foundations, whose builder and maker is God

Finally on this part, since the earthly sanctuary was a pattern of the tabernacle, we shall call that tabernacle the Heavenly Sanctuary. Lets quote again Psalms: Psalm 102:19 For he hath looked down from the height of his sanctuary; from heaven did the LORD behold the earth;
Heb 9:23 Those things, which are copies of the heavenly originals, had to be purified in that way. (GNB)

There is therefore a sanctuary in heaven (more on this later) as there was one on earth which served until Christs death as the Lamb slain for our sins. The Sanctuary on earth is the embodiment of the gospel in the Old Testament unabashedly pointing to Christ, the gospel in the whole Bible. Paul had the same thought when of the Israelites he writes in Hebrews 4:2 extending from Chapter 3 that:
Heb 4:2 For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.

Why is a correct and more nearly complete understanding of the sanctuary so vital to those who are preparing for the second coming of Christ? Because here, in visible and tangible form, easy to be understood by young and old, learned and unlearned, God has given us in type a symmetrical and complete view of His way of salvation - the path to the throne of God. In the sanctuary, David, that hero of faith, that man after God's own heart, saw God's power and glory (Ps 63:1,2); and he calls upon us to bless God and to praise Him in His sanctuary (Ps.134: 2; 150:1). Asaph, a Levite who wrote several of the Psalms, was one of King David's choir leaders (1 Chron. 6:31, 39) and "chief of the singers." Neh. 12:46. Although an inspired prophet too (2 Chron. 29:30), Asaph had his own perplexities even until his "steps had nearly slipped," but his problems were solved and his faith restored when he went into the sanctuary of God. (Ps. 73:2, 17). If more people would follow the example of Asaph and King David, there would be fewer backsliders in the church today. The Materials "This is the thing which the Lord commanded, continued Moses. Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring Me an offering: of every man that giveth it willingly with his heart ye shall take an offering." Ex. 35:4; 25:2, No unwilling offering for the building of the sanctuary was to be received, for only a willing gift - a gift of love - could fitly represent God's gift to man. "God so loved the world that He gave." John 3:16. In the gift of His Son, God gave all. The Son of God loved me, and gave Himself for me." Gal. 2:20. God and Christ gave their all willingly and with heartfelt love. Our gifts to God, for them to be acceptable, must be of the same spirit. If we do less than give our all for Him, do we really appreciate what He has done for us? Again see the commandment that it wasnt required to take from each one according to the value of the thing. It was to take from all that offered willingly, the amount notwithstanding. The church today appreciates men who offer high amounts. This may appear good but God looks at the desires of the heart and accepts only those that offer willingly. It is love, and not the amount, that matters. "They came, both men and women, as many as were willing hearted." Down Chapter 35, we learn all the materials that were brought. Some brought

gold, some brought goats hair. White, blue, scarlet, purple were all brought. God will use any resource as long as it is offered willingly. We also learn later that they brought these materials until Moses stopped them. So much for willingness! Today, we have to make appeal after appeal so that Gods people have to contribute to His work. We even resort to such frivolous activities, such as Gospel Disco, dubbed as fundraising events. Lets search our hearts and amend our ways because God does not endorse such methods. And being used to it does not make it acceptable. The Builders and Workmen There is a lesson in everything that God does. God didnt just design the pattern, He also chose the workmen. He said to Moses,
Ex 31:2 See, I have called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah: Ex 31:3 And I have filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, Ex 31:4 To devise skilful works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, Ex 31:5 And in cutting of stones for setting, and in carving of wood, to work in all manner of workmanship. Ex 31:6 And I, behold, I have appointed with him Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan; and in the heart of all that are wise-hearted I have put wisdom, that they may make all that I have commanded thee:

It is easy for us to believe that God calls consecrated, godly men to the ministry, or to fill some other position of importance and sacred responsibility in His work. But how about men who work with their hands? Is the work of a carpenter or a worker in metal and stone of sufficient importance for God's notice? If this was true of Bezaleel, why should it not be true of godly workmen today? God filled Bezaleel with the spirit of wisdom, understanding and knowledge in all manner of workmanship. He can fill us, in our working environments, with that same kind of spirit. He also called Aholiab "to work all manner of work of the engraver.... and of the embroiderer, in blue, and in purple, in scarlet, and in fine linen, and of the weaver." Ex. 35:34,35. Nor were Bezaleel and Aholiab the only ones whom God called to the work of the sanctuary. Those who made the priests garments were "called" to this work by God.

Ex 28:3 And thou shalt speak unto all that are wise-hearted, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they make Aaron's garments to sanctify him, that he may minister unto me in the priest's office.

Women also "that were wise-hearted" were laborers together with God. Of them it is written
Ex 35: 25 And all the women that were wise-hearted did spin with their hands, and brought that which they had spun, the blue, and the purple, the scarlet, and the fine linen. Ex 35:26 And all the women whose heart stirred them up in wisdom spun the goats' hair.

For God said to Moses:

Ex 31:6 And in the heart of all that are wise-hearted I have put wisdom.

God puts wisdom in "all who are wise hearted," i.e. all who from the heart dedicate their talents to Him. Bezaleel Who were these young men, Bezaleel and Aholiab, whom God called "by name"? The name Bezaleel means in the shadow of God. This would suggest that when he was born his parents were suffering the cruelties of Egyptian bondage, and to them it seemed as if they were under a cloud, "in the shadow of God;" but their trust was in Him. So they named their child Bezaleel. Bezaleel was of the tribe of Judah, the strongest and most influential of all the tribes. Of Judah it is said, Thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise." Gen. 49:8. And again, "Judah prevailed above his brethren." 1 Chron. 5:2. Why was this? It was because of Judah's personal character of justice and unselfishness and integrity to principle. Judah was the tribe that was loyal to Davids kingship at the split of the kingdom immediately after Solomons death and was the last to be captured by Babylon. I Chron. 9:1. An illustrious line of descendants is the fruitage of a character like that of the tribe of Judah. From Judah descended Daniel, who stood the test of the lion's den at the court of Babylon, and his three worthy companions who stood the test of the fiery furnace (Dan. 3; Dan 6; Dan. 1:6). Christ Himself was of this tribe.
Gen 49:9 Judah is a lion's whelp; From the prey, my son, thou art gone up: He stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up?

Gen 49:10 The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come: and unto him shall the gathering of the people be. Rev 5:5 And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book and to loose the seven seals thereof.

He was the foretold "Lion of the tribe of Judah." Bezaleel was the great grandson of Caleb, the grandfather of Caleb the spy. Caleb with Joshua on their return from spying out the land of Canaan stood so nobly in the face of unbelief and opposition of all the other spies and declared with loyalty and courage, "Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it." Num. 13:30. Bezaleel was again the grandson of Hur - the same Hur who with Aaron stayed up the hands of Moses in the battle with Amalek at Rephidim on their way to Sinai. Jewish tradition is that Hur was the husband of Miriam, the prophetess, who after crossing the Red Sea, led all the women in the joyful song of deliverance in the words: "Sing ye to the Lord, for He hath triumphed gloriously." Ex. 15:21. What famous pedigree Bezaleel had! He came from a family with a noble background, a royal family, the family of David and the family of Christ. Aholiab How different the ancestry of Aholiab from that of Bezaleel! He was of the tribe of Dan. Of their father Dan, it was prophesied:
Gen 49:17 Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward.

And because of this backbiting, criticizing disposition and practice, which he never overcame, the name Dan is omitted from the genealogies of the tribes in 1 Chronicles, and also from the list of those who are sealed, the 144 000, as given in Revelation 7. If we are ever tempted to "backbite" or speak unfavorably of anyone, or indulge in unkind criticism, we would do well to remember the fate of Dan. Another glimpse into the character of the tribe of Dan is given in Leviticus 24:10-16. Here is a son of the tribe of Dan whose mother was an Israelite and his father an Egyptian. One day the son strove with a man of Israel in the camp, and in his anger he "blasphemed the name of the Lord, and cursed."

To speak lightly or disrespectfully of the name of our Creator and Redeemer, that name "which is above every name," that name at the mention of which every knee should bow," Phil. 2:9-11, that name which "there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved" Acts 4:12, is regarded by God as one of the chiefest of sins, a sin punishable in a most terrible manner, that of stoning to death (Lev. 24:13-16). We have among us brethren who are steeped into that kind of music and movies which belittle the name of God, the curse of the tribe of Dan. The actors and singers have been showing their contempt of Gods name, cursing, blaspheming and swearing, but we do not cry and sigh for these sins. Let us repent and remove such things from within reach of our homes. Because of this sin, this son of the tribe of Dan was put "in ward," and finally stoned outside the camp. Later it is written of the children of Dan that they set up an idol, even "Micah's graven image, which he made, all the time that the house of God was in Shiloh." (Judges 19:30, 31) But was Aholiab of the character of Dan? No, he was not. He was among the wise hearted that God called by name. The noble character of Aholiab, though a descendant of the tribe of Dan, shows that whatever our environment, ancestry or pedigree, we need not be like those who disobey God, even though our lot may be cast among them. We need not be like our parents drinking like them, worshipping like them or dressing like them just because we were born therein. Through Gods grace we can steer clear of the wickedness of our environment and honor God, for there is no excuse otherwise. Aholiab was the son of Ahisamach. And who was Ahisamach? The only record left is that he was the father of Aholiab, - surely an honored father of a noble son. Had it not been for his noble son, the name Ahisamach would never have been mentioned in the Bible. Probably both these young men, Bezaleel and Aholiab, had wise, devoted mothers. The history of Bezaleel and Aholiab furnishes a most excellent demonstration of the truth that Peter perceived:
Acts 10:34 And Peter opened his mouth and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: Acts 10:35 But in every nation he that feareth Him, and worketh righteousness, is acceptable to Him.

Lastly, we remember that Christ was born from the tribe of Judah. It was therefore necessary that Bezaleel, a descendant of Judah, be the Chief

Architect of building the Sanctuary. The act signified that Christ would be born in a family of Judahs descent. This also showed that God provides the means of salvation (the blueprint of the Sanctuary), and He also gives us a part to play that of exercising faith by obedience.
Phil 2:12 So then, my beloved, even as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling;

We are nowadays being fed with a false gospel, that Christ has done all and you need not do anything. If that were true God Himself would have built the Sanctuary Himself. But its construct shows that there was need for cooperation between heaven and earthly agencies for this to come out. Christs coming was to save us not in our sins but from our sins. As man sinned, He was no longer able to obey Gods law. He needed help, a higher enabling power. And God gave Christ not only to pay the penalty of sin but to restore man into the image of God reflecting His character. He is not only able to forgive, Hes also able to make us obey.
Rom 5:6 For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. Jude 24 Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory without blemish in exceeding joy Matthew 1:21 And she shall bring forth a son; and thou shalt call his name JESUS; for He shall save his people from their sins.

What we needed was the power to obey and that power is in Christ. More on this later as we progress through the Sanctuary studies. But how was the Sanctuary built? The next study will be quite interesting. There are vital truths in the Bible indeed.