In the previous chapter it has been made clear to us that the tabernacle as God’s dwelling place is the center of everything. With a bird’s-eye view we realize that three kinds of cities are in opposition to this tabernacle of God. In contrast to God’s building we have seen Satan’s counterfeits. He intervened firstly to build the city of Enoch, and later attempted to erect the city of Babel. Out of the realm of Babel, the realm of idolatry, God called Abraham, the first forefather of the builders of the tabernacle. When Abraham was separated from the realm of Babel, he was in a position to attain the goal of God’s building. He was also kept from the sinful city of Sodom, though his nephew Lot drifted into that city. By living in a tent, Abraham took the position of looking forward to the city which has foundations, the New Jerusalem, which is the very tabernacle God will eventually build up in this universe. Abraham’s position of separation from Satan’s cities was not a doctrinal standing. It was an intensely practical stand for the real, future building of God.
Neither Abraham, his son Isaac, nor his grandson Jacob would build a city or live in a house; they were all satisfied to dwell in tents. They looked for that city with foundations, the New Jerusalem, God’s tabernacle that was to be built. They expected to move from their tents into that eternal tabernacle, of which their tents were but a very small shadow.
However, their descendants, the children of Israel, fell in another direction. They went to Egypt to satisfy their appetites. They were enslaved by Pharaoh and forced to build two cities of worldliness, treasure, and enjoyment. But God mercifully redeemed them through the passover and saved them by the deliverance of the Red Sea. God’s redemption and salvation brought these fallen people out of the cities of worldliness and back into a proper position for God’s building. By God’s deliverance from the bondage of Egypt, the children of Israel were finally free from all of Satan’s counterfeits. God brought them into His presence at Mount Sinai in the wilderness, where they saw His glory and heard His voice. This is the first record in Scripture of any group of persons abiding so deeply in the presence of God. Man could enjoy God’s presence because he was separated from all the satanic cities.
The Israelites were not only freed from bondage, they were also spoiled for anything other than God’s building. They were no longer good for Babel, Sodom, or the treasure cities of Egypt. They no longer had anything to do with them. Day by day they dealt with the tabernacle of God; they beheld the glorious cloud and listened to the voice. In one sense they were jobless-they had no stores, factories, or farms. They had nothing but the glory of God and the voice of God. Continually, from morning to evening, they dealt only with God and His dwelling place. Day and night they talked only about God and His tabernacle. This was real freedom; a freedom from all Satan’s counterfeits of idolatry, sins, and worldliness; a release unto the presence of God and His building.
Our first need today is to be separated from idols. Secondly, we must be preserved from sins. And thirdly, we must be delivered out of worldliness. Then we are in the position of being available for God’s building.
The tabernacle is the first full picture of God’s building in the Scriptures. Concerning the tabernacle there are three main parts: the outer court, the holy place, and the holiest of all. Whenever a person enters the tabernacle, he must pass through the outer court. Within the outer court there are two things: the altar and the laver (Exo. 40:29-30).
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