WHERE GOD LIVES
Introduction: Where would kings,
prime ministers, presidents, religious leaders, diplomats, dignitaries,
including tourists from various nations when they come to the USA go? Is it the White House? Why? Every President,
since John Adams, has occupied the White House, and the history of this
building extends far beyond the construction of its walls.
The White House is the home of the
President of the United States and his family and a museum of American history.
Though Thomas Jefferson, who saw the White House as the "people's house,"
getting onto the White House grounds is not easy, even when you have an
appointment to be there. It is likely to get even more difficult as the U.S.
Secret Service weighs options to keep tourists and others farther away from The
White House due to security reasons.[1]
When you visit the white house, most
of us are satisfied by getting a photo in front of it from a relative distance.
Access to see the President is strictly limited, regulated, and probably
denied. Suppose if that is how it is with an earthly president and his dwelling
place; I wonder where the God of the universe would reside? What kind of a home
is it where he chooses to live? Who gets to go directly into His presence? Is access to God open to all or only a few?
We have been journeying through the
book of Hebrews. Last week we learned about the New Covenant and how we are to
live as people under grace. We realized what that practically meant is to love
God with all our hearts, soul, mind, and love our neighbor as ourselves.
As New Covenant Christians, let us
love and be gracious, by our love for one another; the world will know we are
His disciples. From this morning's reading, we will see how the writer of the
Hebrews is taking his audience on a virtual tour, to where God once lived in
ancient times and then introduces them to Where God Lives today. Hebrews
9:1-15.
I.
THE FIRST EARTHLY RESIDENCE OF GOD: THE TABERNACLE. (1-5)
That first covenant between God and
Israel had regulations for worship and a place of worship here on earth. 2
There were two rooms in that Tabernacle. In the first room were a lampstand, a table, and sacred loaves of bread on the
table. This room was called the Holy Place. 3 Then there was a curtain, and behind the curtain was the second
room called the Most Holy Place. 4 In that room were a gold incense altar and a
wooden chest called the Ark of the Covenant, which was covered with gold on all
sides. Inside the Ark were a gold jar containing Manna, Aaron's staff that
sprouted leaves, and the stone tablets of the covenant. 5 Above the Ark were
the cherubim of divine glory, whose wings stretched out over the Ark's cover,
the place of Atonement. But we cannot explain these things in detail now."
From the creation of the world onwards,
God's abiding presence has always been with His people. In the Garden of Eden,
He would walk in the cool of the evening. (Gen 3:8). When He led the children
of Israelites out of Egypt, He accompanied them with a pillar of cloud during
the day and a pillar of fire at night to help the Israelites travel day and night.
(Exodus 13:21-22).
God's presence accompanied them until
they camped at Mt. Sinai, where God appeared to Moses in a thick cloud and gave
him the ten commandments and other laws. (Ex 19:9). It was a powerful
manifestation of God's presence, after that; God gives a clear command with
specific instructions to Moses to build a dwelling place for him, which is
called the Tabernacle.
In Exodus 35, we read about the
formal establishment of the Sabbath and how the whole community should appear
at the Tabernacle that contained the Ark of the covenant. When finally, the
Tabernacle was completed, the glory of the Lord filled it in the form of a
cloud. The presence of God was so strong that even Moses could not enter the
tent. The thick cloud was a reminder to God's people that His presence was with
them.
When the cloud lifted, they moved,
but when it remained on the tent, they stayed put; that was how the Lord
directed them. In the O.T., some 50 chapters were dedicated to signify the
importance of the Tabernacle. A simple way to describe the Tabernacle was the
portable sanctuary that the Israelites carried with them. It was a place of
worship here on earth. In Heb 9:1-10,
the author briefly describes its architecture and different items placed in it.
The Tabernacle's design physically
represented a gradual increase in holiness, from the outer courtyard to the
Most Holy Place. There were two rooms in it. The first room was called the Holy
place. It contained a lampstand (menorah) and a table containing showbread or
the bread of presence. The priests ate this bread weekly. At one point, even
David ate this bread.
The second room was the Most Holy
Place. It contained a gold incense altar, a wooden chest covered with gold
called the Ark of the Covenant. Inside the Ark were a gold jar containing Manna,
Aaron's staff that sprouted leaves, and the stone tablets of the covenant.
Above the Ark were the cherubim of divine glory, whose wings stretched out over
the Ark's cover, the place of Atonement. Borrowing the author's phrase, "I
cannot explain them in detail now."
Let me share a few observations. The
Tabernacle was called a Tent of Meeting, where God and humans interacted with
each other. Some items were made of bronze and wood, symbolizing humanity, and
others were made in gold, representing divinity. A curtain separated people and
priests alike from a Holy God, lest the power of His holiness consume them.
Access into the Most Holy place was limited,
regulated, and for many, even denied. Only the High priest was allowed to enter
once a year on the Day of Atonement or Yom Kippur. The Holy Spirit revealed these
to us to indicate that as long as the Tabernacle was in place, access to the
Most Holy place where God dwells is not open to all people all of the time.
Eventually, the Tabernacle was replaced by the Temple in Jerusalem, built-in 957 BC by King Solomon.
II. THE SECOND EARTHLY RESIDENCE OF GOD: THE
TEMPLE
During the dedication of the First Temple in Jerusalem,
when the Ark of the Covenant was placed in the Most Holy Place, we read, "When
the priests came out of the Holy Place, a thick cloud filled the Temple
of the Lord. The priests could not continue their service because of
the cloud, for the glorious presence of the Lord filled the Temple of the Lord."
I Kg 8:10-11.
What
do we see here? The transfer of the manifest presence of God from an inferior
tabernacle to a glorious temple. That magnificent presence of God in Jerusalem
drew people from all over the world to worship the great God Jehovah. As sin
increased in the holy city and the sacred Temple, at one point, the glorious
presence departed from the Temple. Ezekiel saw this horrifying vision of God's
glory leaving the Temple, recorded in Ezekiel 10th chapter.
After
God's presence left from the Temple, both the city of Jerusalem and the Temple
were destroyed by Babylonians on August 17, 586 B.C. The Israelites were sent
into exile for seventy years. After their exile, the remnant of Israel returned
to Jerusalem and rebuilt the Temple again. Did the departed glory of God ever
return to the Second Temple in Jerusalem?
During
my study of the O.T. Survey, I learned that there was no direct evidence of
God's glory returning to the Second Temple. There was no Ark of the Covenant
either. (Ezra 6:13-18). It is particularly noteworthy, given that God's
glorious presence is central to God's plan of restoration. It is mind-boggling;
why didn't God's presence return to the Temple as promised?
Could it be that God was teaching His
people a lesson as He spoke through his prophet, Isaiah, "This is what the
Lord says: "Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. Could you
build me a temple as good as that? Could you build me such a resting place?
Isaiah 66:1-2 Imagine if God
occupies both the heavenly and earthly realm who could build a home for Him and
where? If God doesn't live in the Tabernacle and the Temple, where does He live
then?
III WHERE GOD LIVES (His present and
future resting place)
In Verses 11-16, the author points out that the
human-made Tabernacle was only a poor imitation of a perfect Tabernacle in
Heaven, of which Jesus entered not through animal sacrifices but through His
blood. In our previous sessions, we learned that unlike the high priest who
entered the Most Holy Place once a year on the Day of Atonement, Jesus, our
Great High priest entered this heavenly Tabernacle once and for all.
Another
important lesson that the author wants us to learn today is that under the old
system, if the blood of the animals could cleanse people's bodies from
ceremonial impurity. Just think how much more the blood of perfect and sinless
Christ will purify our conscience from sinful deeds? so, that we can bypass the
earthly priests and enter into the Most Holy Place directly and worship the
Living God. You may be wondering how could that be possible?
Recall
the events that took place at the very moment Christ died on the cross as a
perfect sacrifice for the sins of humanity. The curtain was torn in two from
top to bottom, forever granting access to God for all people who
would enter through the way of Jesus Christ, the cross.
Our
question remains, If God doesn't live in Tabernacle and the Temple, where does
He live? Consider these scriptures: John 1: 14, "The Word became human and
made his home among us." During His ministry, Jesus promised that He and
the Father would live in the hearts of those who will love Him and obey His
commands. John 14:23.
Before
He ascended to Heaven, He assured His disciples that one day He will come back
and take them with Him so that they will be with Him always. John 14:3. In the
meanwhile, He sent His Holy Spirit to be with us and to live in us. Later on,
the Apostle Paul reminds the Corinthian believers that together they are the
Temple of God, and the Spirit of God lives in them? Let us leave today with this
truth that God is living in us By His Holy Spirit, Amen!
[1] https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2014/09/23/people-used-to-be-able-to-walk-into-the-white-house-legally/
