March 13, 2016 - Tabernacle Worship

Tony and Michelle Pawlak

MEMORY VERSE
For you, Lord, are the Most High over all the earth;     
Psalm 97:9a (NIV)

 All this quarter we've been talking about worship in all its various forms.  In class we've been calling it WORTHSHIP because we are showing God how much He is worth to us.  

     Today, we talked about the Tabernacle in the wilderness and how the Jews would have worshiped God.  God told the Israelites to build the Tabernacle as a place to meet and worship Him.  The word "tabernacle" means tent or dwelling place.  It was often called the Tabernacle of Meeting because that is where God met with Moses or the High Priests.  While in the wilderness, God would lead His people with a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.  Then this pillar would settle over the Tabernacle until God wanted them to move again.  

     Here is a brief description of the function of the Tabernacle.  In the Sinai Desert, Jewish worshipers would come to the Tabernacle to offer sacrifices to God.  They would bring the best animals of their flock and offer it to God.  The priests would sacrifice the animals and then offer it to God on the Altar as a burnt sacrifice.  There were many other types of sacrifices and offerings as well.  Then, the priests would have to wash themselves in the Laver (wash basin) before they could go into the Tabernacle itself.

     After washing their hands and feet, they would go into the first room of the Tabernacle called the Holy Place.  In this room you would find the Lampstand/Menorah, the Table for Showbread (which only the priests could eat), and the altar for incense.  Once a year, the High priest would offer a sacrifice for the sins of Israel on the Altar and then take the blood and put it on the horns of the Altar of Incense. 

      The High Priest would then go into the innermost part of the Tabernacle called the Most Holy Place, also called the Holy of Holies.  There he would find the Ark of the Covenant.  The Ark was a wood box covered in gold and contained the Ten Commandments, a jar of manna, and the staff of the first High Priest; Aaron.  The Ark was covered by the Mercy Seat which was made of solid gold and had two Cherubim (the only angels that have wings) on the top.  The High Priest would put the blood on the Mercy Seat so God would forgive the sins of Israel for that year.  A description of the Priests and how the Tabernacle was set up can be found in Exodus 40.

    Since God knew that animal sacrifices would only temporarily atone for man's sins, He gave us one final sacrifice that would allow for our sins to be forgiven forever:  His son Jesus Christ!