God also commanded that the top portion of the produce of the good land be eaten in the place He had chosen. Regarding the enjoyment of the produce of the good land, God seemed to say, “When you enter into the land, you must keep aside the top portion of your crops and your herds. You have no right to eat this portion within your gates. You must bring it to the place I have chosen for My name and for My habitation. Three times a year you must bring the choice portion to this place.” As I read this as a young man, I was troubled and thought that it was not at all economical. Everything other than the top portion could be eaten either in the homes of the Israelites or in any other place of their choice, but the top portion could be enjoyed only in the place God had chosen for His name and for His habitation. To me, this requirement was very strange. Probably you have never heard a message telling you the significance of this in typology.
The good land is a type of the all-inclusive Christ, and all the rich produce of the land is a type of the riches of Christ. Moreover, as we have seen, all the offerings of the produce of the good land are also types of Christ. Based upon this principle, we may ask the following question: Is there a portion of Christ that we cannot enjoy in our private place, but only in the place chosen by God? If you have seen that there is such a portion, I would ask if in your Christian life you have ever experienced Christ in the place He has chosen. If you have had this experience, I would like to hear you testify about it. You should be able to testify that wherever you are, you enjoy Christ by calling on His name. But you should also be able to testify that the top portion of the riches of Christ can be enjoyed only in the place of His choice. I can testify that I have not been able to enjoy the choicest aspect of the riches of Christ in my private fellowship with Him. In private, I enjoy only the common portion of Christ, not the special portion. I can enjoy this choice portion of the riches of Christ only in the church, in the place chosen and appointed by the Lord.
Therefore, we have seen two important points: the chosen place and the special portion of the produce of the riches of the good land. I doubt that in Christianity you ever heard a message giving you the significance of these matters.
Based upon the principle that everything related to the history of the children of Israel has a significance in typology, we must now consider the significance of the Lord’s choosing the unique place of worship. Although I first thought the Lord was unreasonable in this matter, later my eyes were open to see how wise He was. He chose the unique place for His people to worship Him and to offer sacrifice to Him for the purpose of preserving the oneness of His people. Without this regulation, restriction, and limitation, dozens of worship centers would have been established throughout the land of Israel, and consequently the people would have been divided. The subtle people of Dan (who are likened to a serpent in Genesis 49:17) probably would have said, “We are not happy with those in Judah. We prefer to be by ourselves. Let us have a worship center here in Dan.” Other tribes might have said, “We are a long way from Jerusalem. Let us set up a center where we are.” If all the tribes had done this, they would have been divided and could never have sung Psalm 133, which was always sung in the three yearly feasts—the feast of Passover, the feast of weeks, and the feast of tabernacles (Deut. 16:16). As the children of Israel ascended Mount Zion, they sang these words: “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!” Suppose some Israelites from the different tribes had problems with one another. Three times a year, they still had to go to the chosen place to worship. One Israelite could not say, “I’m not happy with you. Because you are going to Zion to worship God, I refuse to go there.” If he had done that, he would have lost all the blessings. Although these Israelites might not forgive one another prior to the day of the feast, at least at the time of the feast they had to be reconciled to one another in order to sing Psalm 133. Here God’s wisdom is displayed.
The unique worship center chosen by God was a powerful uniting factor. Throughout the centuries, the children of Israel have not presumed to build a temple for the Lord on any other site. They realize that on the whole earth there is only one site for God’s temple—Mount Zion. They may have different concepts, opinions, desires, and ambitions, but the site for the building of God’s temple is uniquely one. This unique site kills all their concepts, opinions, desires, and ambitions. God does not give them the opportunity to fulfill their ambitions. Certainly a good number of intelligent Jews throughout the centuries have been very ambitious. However, none of them has dared to construct a temple on any other site. Choosing a specific place as a worship center was God’s wisdom to maintain the unity of His people.