The tabernacle, however, was not stationary. Rather, it moved about from place to place in the wilderness. God did not want just a movable tabernacle in the wilderness; He needed an established temple in the good land. Although the tabernacle we see in the last chapter of Exodus was good, it was temporary; it was not established. Although the children of Israel had the tabernacle and were God’s dwelling place, they were not yet fully established because they were still in the wilderness. Hence, they had to go on to enter into the good land.
According to the Bible, the good land is a complete picture of Christ. Christ is the Angel of the Lord, the speaking Moses, the redeeming Lamb, the unleavened bread, and the manna. Now we must see that even the good land is a type of Christ. Christ today is our good land, and we must enter into Him as the good land. We have enjoyed Him as the Angel, the Lamb, the unleavened bread, and the heavenly manna, but probably we have not yet entered into Him as the good land and experienced Him as the land.
Formerly, the children of Israel were in Egypt. After they crossed the Red Sea, they were in the wilderness. In order to enter into the good land, they had to cross the water again, this time the river Jordan. In the Red Sea, the Egyptian forces were buried. However, the children of Israel themselves were not buried. Hence, although they enjoyed Christ, they were still very much in themselves. Because they were so much in themselves, they had to cross the water another time so that their old man could be buried. When the Israelites crossed the Jordan, God told them to take twelve stones, representing the twelve tribes of Israel, out of the river and to place another twelve stones at the bottom of the river (Josh. 4:2-4, 8-9). This signified that the old man of the children of Israel was buried. Their natural being was buried, and they became a resurrected people. They were not only redeemed and delivered; they were also resurrected. They had been redeemed out from under God’s judgment, they had been delivered from Egyptian bondage, and now they were resurrected that they might depart from their natural being. This is deeper than redemption and deliverance. Those who still live in their natural being must cross the Jordan so that their old man can be buried and that they themselves can be in resurrection. When we are resurrected, we immediately find ourselves in the good land, in Christ.
The Christ portrayed by the good land is very rich. This land is very spacious and rich. The good land is rich in four categories of things: water, food, animal life, and minerals (Deut. 8:7-10; 32:14). These categories signify the richness of Christ as our good land. Christ is not only the manna and the water flowing from the rock. In the good land we have streams, rivers, and fountains. These streams flow from the mountains, and the valleys are full of water. Now that we are in Christ we do not lack water. Wherever we are, on the mountain or in the valley, water is flowing. Both during pleasant times on the mountaintops and during sorrowful times in the valleys, there is an abundance of water.
In Christ as our good land there are also many types of food: wheat, barley, figs, vines, olives, and pomegranates. Christ is wheat, barley, grapes, figs, olives, and pomegranates. He is the wheat and the barley as bread for us to eat. He is the grape wine to make us happy and the fig tree to satisfy us. He is also the oil, signifying the fullness of the Holy Spirit, and the pomegranate, signifying the expression of the riches of life. He is also the cattle, signifying His redeeming and nourishing life. Christ is so rich! If you would know the details of all these aspects of Christ, I encourage you to read the book, The All-inclusive Christ.
Christ is not only the water, the food, and the cattle; He is also the minerals dug out of the mountains. He is the stones, the iron, and the brass. If we read the Bible carefully, we shall see that the stones are for God’s building. Stone signifies Christ as the building stone (1 Pet. 2:4-6) to establish the kingdom (Dan. 2:35). Iron and brass are metals used in making weapons for war. These weapons are used to subdue the enemy.
After the children of Israel entered into the good land, they still had to face many enemies. God’s intention was that the Israelites would build the temple in the good land. However, because the enemies were still present, God could not build the temple. Therefore, He raised up David, an excellent fighter, to defeat the enemy and gain the ground for the building of the temple. Furthermore, David even gave the design of the temple to Solomon, his son, and charged him to build the temple. Solomon did so. After the temple had been built, the glory of God came down again and filled the temple. On earth there was something more than a movable tabernacle; there was an established temple.