The Tabernacle: The Blasphemed Tabernacle

Bible Reading:  Revelation 13:1-9

Key Verse: Verse 6 - “And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.”

Key Words: to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle

 The verses in our Bible reading speak, I believe, of a revived Roman empire.  We say revived, but in actuality, Rome has never been destroyed completely.  Rome’s political system has continued to “smolder” from underneath the ruins of the old Roman empire.  The religious system of Rome, though weakened, has continued to play an active role in world politics.

The anti-Christ religious headquarters will be in Rome. I believe it will be the Catholic Church, or a form of the Catholic Church.  It’s this religious system headed by the anti-Christ that will blaspheme God and His tabernacle.

I believe our world is set up for the coming of the anti-Christ.

Our world is fast becoming a madhouse and the inmates are trying to run the asylum.  It is a strange time when the patients are writing the prescriptions, the students are threatening to run the schools, the children to manage the homes, and church members not the Holy Spirit to direct the churches.  Such lawlessness always brings a dictator and the last of the line will be the anti-Christ, now in the offing awaiting his cue. 

Amen and amen!!

                                                                                            Dr. Mike Rouse  

What to do:

      ✞Make your calling and election sure.  God has elected you to be saved, but you, with your free will, must elect Him as your Savior.

The Tabernacle: A Feast

Bible Reading:  John 7:1-9

Key Verse: Verse 2 - “Now the Jews' feast of tabernacles was at hand.”

Key Words: feast of tabernacles

         The Feast of Tabernacles is a fall festival celebrating the abundance of God’s blessings as they would gather their fall crops.

It is also a memorial of Israel’s exodus from Egypt.  It represents the protection and promises of God’s provision.

“Back in the depression days of the early '30s, my husband pastored a small country church.  We then had three little children.  Many times our weekly income was less than $10.  One day, we found ourselves out of bread and with only some rancid bacon grease for shortening.  I used it, however, in making hot biscuits and we managed to eat some of them for lunch.  Later, as we put the remaining biscuits on the supper table, our five-year-old daughter prayed very earnestly, ‘Dear Jesus, help us to eat these biscuits or else send us some better ones.  Amen!’  Later that evening, the doorbell rang.  There, at the door, stood a member of our church who had a bakery route.  Before we could tell him our story he began unloading his large bakery basket with all kinds of tempting sweet rolls, buns, biscuits, besides dark and white bread.  ‘You know,’ he said rather apologetically, ‘I was tired tonight and seven miles out here in the pouring rain seemed so far.  I was tempted to wait until tomorrow evening and bring these bakery things on my way to prayer meeting as I usually do.’  Then he added, ‘But I was strongly constrained to come tonight!  Hope you can use these things!”

~  Anne S. Alexander

All blessings are ultimately from the Lord!

                                                                            Dr. Mike Rouse 

What to do:

      ✞Praise God from Whom all blessings flow.

 

The Tabernacle: Not Three But One

Bible Reading: Matthew 17:1-8

Key Verse: Verse 4 - “Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou    wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias.”

 Key Words: let us make here three tabernacles

         Outside of God, the Father, and God, the Son, five people are here on the Mount of Transfiguration: Moses, who represents the Law, Elijah, who represents the Prophets, and Peter, James, and John who represented the New Testament.

When Peter said “let us make three tabernacles” he put Moses and Elijah on the same level with Jesus, which reminds me of Matthew 4:10, “Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve.”

Today, many believers are confused about worship.  They mistakenly call emotionalism worship.  The word worship mean to fall down prostrate before God.

Several years ago we had a Dachshund dog.  That dog loved both my middle daughter and me.  Often the two of us (my daughter and I) would sit on the back porch and Fritz (the dog) would get so excited, he would run around the back yard a couple of times and then get directly in front of us and begin to crawl on his belly toward us.  Finally arriving at our feet, he would begin to lick us.  As strange as it may sound, that’s a picture of true worship.  Worship is not the running around the back yard in excitement.  The worship is when he bowed down before us.

We worship only God Jehovah and Jesus Christ.  We do not worship man!  Today, let me encourage you to worship God and Him only.

                                                                              Dr. Mike Rouse 

What to do:

            ✞ Worship God!

The Tabernacle: A Place of Safety

Bible Reading: Isaiah 4

Key Verse: Verse 6 – “And there shall be a tabernacle for a shadow in the daytime from the heat, and for a  place of refuge, and for a covert from storm and from rain.”

Key Words: And there shall be a tabernacle for a shadow in the day time

The Tabernacle (tent) was a place of safety from heat and storms which raged through the Middle East.  The tent was not only needed but a necessity.

The “spiritual” Tabernacle was a place of spiritual safety where people would make sacrifices to God and confess their sin and cry out to God for His provision and protection.

In much the same way today, our Biblical churches are a place for protection and spiritual provision.

The following statistics reveal church is the safest place of all.

Automobiles account for 20 percent of all fatal accidents, while 17 percent of fatalities occur at home.  Fourteen percent happen to pedestrians on streets and sidewalks.  Travel by air, rail, or water causes 16 percent of the deaths.  Yet, of all reported deaths, only .001 percent occur in worship services.

Moral:  You are safer in church than any other place.  Think about it!

                                                                                Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do:

            ✞ For self-preservation, go to church.

The Tabernacle: A Flourishing Tabernacle

Bible Reading: Proverbs 14:1-11

Key Verse: Verse 11 – “The house of the wicked shall be overthrown: but the tabernacle of the upright shall   flourish.”

Key Words: but the tabernacle of the people shall flourish

It’s interesting to me that the wicked have a house but the upright have a tabernacle.

You see, the tabernacle is the dwelling place of God.  God doesn’t dwell in the house of the “wicked,” only in the tabernacle of the upright.

Some years ago we were selling our house in order to move closer to the church.  As you know, when you are selling your house people come through quite often.  I remember on one occasion on a Saturday afternoon the realtor had scheduled a showing of the house.  The prospective couple arrived at the appointed time and began their tour of looking in every room, including all closets and corners.  After about forty-five minutes or so they came in and talked with my wife and me about the house: why we were selling and if there were any problems with the house or the neighbors.

As they were leaving the lady turned and looked at my wife and me and gave one of the greatest compliments when she said, “The greatest thing about your home is that God dwells here.  You can tell that God dwells here.”  And that’s what makes the house a home…God dwells there.

                                                                                                    Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do: 

      ✞Give up on you and rely solely upon the Lord.

The Tabernacle: David's Tabernacle

Bible Reading: Psalm 15

Key Verse: Verse 1 – “LORD, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill?”

Key Words: who shall abide in thy tabernacle?

David also asked “who shall dwell in thy holy hill?”

As you read Psalm 15, it almost sounds as if our salvation (our dwelling) depends on our good works, but this is not about our salvation, but about our dwelling (our fellowship) with God, a close relationship with God.

The answer is found in verses 2 – 5.  Verse 2: those who walk uprightly and speak the truth in his heart.  Verse 3: those who do not backbite, nor those who do evil to his neighbor, nor take up a reproach against his neighbor.  Verse 4: those who fear the Lord.  Verse 5: those who aid people, not use people.

It appears to be the more Christ-like that we treat others, the closer our relationship to God.

Mamie Adams always went to a branch post office in her town because the postal employees there were friendly.  She went there to buy stamps just before Christmas one year and the lines were particularly long.  Someone pointed out that there was no need to wait in line because there was a stamp machine in the lobby.  “I know,” said Mamie, “but the machine won’t ask me about my arthritis.” 

                                                                                    Dr, Mike Rouse 

What to do:

      ✞Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

The Tabernacle: A Place of Witness

 Bible Reading:  Numbers 17:1-9

Key Verse: Verse 7 – “And Moses laid up the rods before the LORD in the tabernacle of witness.”

Key Words: in the tabernacle of witness

 In the Tabernacle of Witness the people could “witness” the power of God.

J. Vernon McGee says:  Now God confirms his priesthood in a most remarkable manner. God had the prince of each of the twelve tribes bring a rod.  These rods were picked up out on the desert—probably whittled out and decorated by carvings—but they were dead wood.  Then these rods were placed before the Lord in the tabernacle.  Aaron’s rod was there among the others, and his rod was as dead as all the others.  But what happened?

“And it came to pass, that on the morrow Moses went into the tabernacle of witness; and, behold, the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi was budded, and brought forth buds, and bloomed blossoms, and yielded almonds” (Numbers 17:8).

This is life out of death.  Aaron’s priesthood was confirmed by resurrection.  Aaron’s rod brought forth buds, and blossoms, and fruit!  Life out of death.  Resurrection.  In the springtime the blooming of plants which have been dormant all winter does not illustrate life out of death.  Neither does the egg.  There is a germ of life in the egg.  The perfect illustration of the resurrection of Christ is Aaron’s rod that budded.

The priesthood of the Lord Jesus Christ rests upon the fact of His resurrection.  We are told very frankly in the seventh chapter of Hebrews that if He were here on earth, He would not be a priest.  He did not come from the priestly tribe of Levi. His resurrection made Him a priest.  Then it tells us that not every man becomes a priest.  “And no man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron” (Hebrews 5:4).   Aaron was God’s called priest.  The evidence was the budded rod—the resurrection.

The Lord Jesus Christ was raised from the dead and He became our High Priest.  He has an unchangeable priesthood and so “… he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them” (Hebrews 7:25).

Amen & amen!!

                                                                                Dr. Mike Rouse 

What to do:

 Remember that we still serve the same God now that the witnesses of Numbers 17:7 worshipped.

The Tabernacle: A Lesson on Priorities

 Bible Reading:  Joshua 18:1-7

Key Verse: Verse 1 – “And the whole congregation of the children of Israel assembled together at Shiloh, and set up the tabernacle of the congregation there.  And the land was subdued before them.”

Key Words: And the land was subdued before     them

         The principle of our text is clear.  The Tabernacle was the dwelling place of God; and when we take care of the things of God first, then God takes care of us (“the land was subdued before them”).  Keep God as the priority of your life.

The sun is a light twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.  All year long, all decade long, all century long, the sun just keeps on shining.  The problem, however, is that the earth gets dark.  How can there be all that light and the earth still gets dark?  It’s because the earth turns.  The earth gets dark because the earth is spinning on its axis. Therefore the side that faces the sun gets light and the side that is facing away does not.

If there is darkness in your life, it’s not because God, the Father of Lights, is turning; it’s because you are turning.  He is the Father of Lights and in Him there is no shadow. There is no darkness in Him.  Because God is faithful, He’s consistent.  Just like the sun, He is always shining and in His light, there is no shifting or moving shadow.  We just have to make sure we are turned toward Him.

                                                                         Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do:

            ✞ If your life is filled with darkness, stop turning from God and turn toward Him.

The Tabernacle: "A Charge"

Bible Reading: Deuteronomy 31:14; Matthew 28:11-20        

Key Verse: Verse 19 – “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:”

Key Words: Go ye therefore

God summoned Moses and Joshua into the Tabernacle to give a charge.  Interesting!  Today, as a believer I am and you are the “Tabernacle” of God (II Corinthians 5:1, 4).  It is the place where God gave us our charge to “go into all the world and preach the Gospel.”

In our war against terrorism, there are Special Forces, the Army Rangers, the Green Berets, the Navy Seals, the Delta Force – these are special people who are cut out from the crowd, who are set apart from the rest of the general armed services.  These are no ordinary soldiers; they are cut out from and a cut above the rest.

God is calling men to be sanctifiers, men who set themselves apart, and are set apart, for the purpose of the transformation of their fellow man from where they are into what they ought to be. 

That’s sanctification, requiring a Savior first.

Today, you have been charged to “go” and make a difference in “your world.”

                                                                                Dr. Mike Rouse 

What to do:

            ✞ Good soldiers always obey orders.  Are you a good soldier?

The Tabernacle: A Picture of Resurrection

 Bible Reading: Numbers 17:1-9

Key Verse: Verse 8 – “And it came to pass, that on the morrow Moses went into the tabernacle of witness; and, behold, the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi was budded, and brought forth buds, and bloomed blossoms, and yielded almonds.”

Key Words: the rod of Aaron…was budded

A rod made from a dead stick was budded, bringing forth life.  That’s a miracle, but it also is a picture of the resurrection…life after death!

As a young man, D. L. Moody was suddenly called upon to preach a funeral sermon. He hunted all through the Four Gospels trying to find one of Christ’s funeral sermons, but searched in vain. He found that Christ broke up every funeral He ever attended. Death could not exist where He was. When the dead heard His voice they sprang to life. Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25).

C.H. Mackintosh wrote: “There is power in the presence of a risen Savior to solve our difficulties, remove our perplexities, calm our fears, ease our burdens, dry our tears, meet our every need, tranquilize our minds and satisfy every craving of our hearts.”

I once heard a story about Robert Ingersoll, the famous atheist of some decades ago.  It is told that at one time he sought to show how the miracle of Lazarus being raised from the dead by Jesus was just a trick to bolster His waning fortunes.  To clinch his point, Ingersoll said to the audience, “Can anyone tell me now why Jesus said: ‘Lazarus, come forth!’” (John 11:43)?  An old Christian in the back got up and said: “Yes! Because if He had not said ‘Lazarus,’ He would have had the whole graveyard of Bethany coming out to Him.”

The budding rod…a picture of the resurrection!

                                                                                                    Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do:

      ✞The question is not about where you spend your life today, but rather, where you will spend your life in eternity.  Think about it; act upon it.

The Tabernacle: A Lesson on the Veil

 
Bible Reading:  Leviticus 16:1-2; Hebrews 10:19-25

Key Verse: Verse 20 – “By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil,             that is to say, his flesh;”
            

Key Words: through the veil

The veil separated man from God; but at Jesus’ crucifixion, the veil was torn asunder.  Now we are able to enter into God’s presence because of the blood of Jesus Christ (Hebrews 10:19).

Fred Jordan once went into Oviatt's, one of Los Angeles exclusive men's stores.  He says, "A clerk came up to me: ‘Can I help you?’ he asked.  ‘Yes, if you sell secondhand clothing,’ I answered.   He looked around the well-appointed shop and murmured, ‘I'm afraid we don't.’  Then he studied my clothes, and said, ‘If you wear secondhand clothes, they are pretty good.’  ‘They are secondhand all right.’  I glanced at my shoes.  ‘They used to belong to a cow, and my coat once belonged to a sheep.’  The man laughed, but I had made my point, and was able to explain that as an animal died that we might have clothes, so the Son of God had to die that we might be clothed in His righteousness." ~ Moody Monthly

                                                                                Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do: 

      ✞Enter into His presence with singing because of the blood of Jesus Christ.

The Tabernacle: A Lesson on the Provision of God

Bible Reading: Hebrews 9:1-12

Key Verse: Verse 4 – “Which had the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about   with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron's rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant;”

Key Words: the golden pot that had manna

The manna is a picture of the provision of God.

Normally, when people eat a balanced evening meal, it includes vegetables.  Those vegetables will have been purchased at a grocery store.  Of course, a grocery store bought the vegetables from someone who farmed and harvested them.  The farmer had those vegetables to sell because he planted seeds in the ground.  The land in which the seed was planted was also supported by both rain and sunshine.  Rain and sunshine are dependent on heaven.

Rain from heaven must come down upon the land in which the seed has been planted – so the fruit and vegetable can sprout, so the farmer can deliver it to the grocery store, so that we can pick it up when we go shopping, so that we can have a nice evening meal.  If a person gets stuck appreciating the grocery store, then they’ve missed the source.

The grocery store is simply the mechanism of delivery.  Now, if God stops the sunshine and rain, stops the replication of the seed, or does not allow the land to be fruitful, then there is no trip to the grocery store.

The Tabernacle reminds us that our God will supply all of our needs according to His riches.  Amen!

                                                                            Dr. Mike Rouse 

What to do: 

            ✞ Thank God for His provision in your life.

 

The Tabernacle: Lessons from the Ark of the Covenant

 Bible Reading: Numbers 17:1-10

Key Verse: Verse 10 – “And the LORD said unto Moses, Bring Aaron's rod again before the testimony, to be kept for a token against the rebels; and thou shalt quite take away their murmurings from me,  that they die not.”

Key Words: Aaron’s rod

The purpose of the rod was to stop the rebels from murmuring (complaining).  The rod was used as an instrument of correction and to make believers out of doubters.  It was primarily a tool of discipline.

The rebellious murmurers remind me of Victor Frankenstein.  He is known for bringing a lifeless creature to life.  If you don't know about Victor Frankenstein, you know about his creation because the monster became synonymous with his creator's last name.  The word Frankenstein conjures up thoughts of the monster, not his creator.

After going through a tragedy, Mr. Frankenstein desired to do something good.  He decided to take lifeless items and make them come alive.  He went to slaughterhouses, graveyards, and even coroner’s offices to steal what he needed for his creation.  He then put all of his materials together and brought his creation to life.  This lifeless, dead entity did come alive.  His goal was to take this monster and give it life.  Well, he did it.  He created it, and these days we know it by his last name – Frankenstein.  What he didn’t know is that he had created a beast.

The tragedy of Frankenstein is that after he was created, after he was given life, after he was nothing and then made into something, he turned on Victor and made his maker a victim of his own creation.  Frankenstein became a monster because he took the life that was given him and used it for his own purpose.

You and I have been given life by our Creator.  Yet many of our lives are nothing short of monstrous because we have taken the life that He has given us and used it for something other than the Creator had in mind…and that, my friend, is a tragedy!

                                                                                     Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do:

      ✞Live your life in accordance to what your Creator has purposed for you.

The Tabernacle: A Lesson on the Tablets

Bible Reading: Deuteronomy 10:1-9; Hebrews 9:4

Key Verse: Verse 1 – “At that time the LORD said unto me, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first, and come up unto me into the mount, and make thee an ark of wood.”

Key Words: two tables of stone

 

The Ark of the Covenant held three things inside.  One was the tables of stone, the law, the Ten Commandments.  Israel carried the Word of God with them everywhere they journeyed.

We, as well, are to take God’s Word with us wherever we go.  We read in Colossians 3:16, “Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.”

A couple decided that they should do something together to strengthen their marriage. They decided to go duck hunting together.  They’d heard of other people going duck hunting with dogs, so they figured they needed to buy a good hunting dog and buy the dog they did.  They got all of their equipment and their dog and took off to go duck hunting for the day.  They tried getting some ducks, but they came to the end of the day and hadn’t gotten one.  The husband looked at the wife and said, “Honey, we’ve got to be doing something wrong here.  We haven’t caught a duck yet.”

The wife said, “Well, maybe, if we throw the dog up a little higher, he can catch a duck this time.”

That’s what a lot of us are doing.  We’re trying to get a dog to do what a gun was meant to do.  We’re trying to accomplish things in our lives with tools that don’t work or don’t make sense.  A dog is not the right weapon to get ducks.  You need firepower to bring a duck down.

A lot of us have “hound dogs” trying to fix our marriage.  We’re on the phone with “hound dog” girlfriends or guy friends.  All they’re doing is barking us up into more mess.  We’re doing everything but using firepower from heaven.  It’s not that we’re not trying.  The question is, what are we trying?

The Word of Christ must dwell in us richly.  It has to be the basis of our decisions.

                                                                                        Dr. Mike Rouse
What to do:  The Word of God: don’t leave home without it.

The Tabernacle: A Lesson In Presence

Bible Reading: Exodus 25:10-22; Hebrews 13:5

Key Verse: Verse 10 – “And they shall make an ark of shittim wood: two cubits and a half shall be the l ength thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth t  hereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof.”

Key Words: And they shall make an ark

The Ark of the Covenant was a chest made of acacia wood, about four feet long, two and a half feet wide, and two and a half feet high. It was overlaid with gold inside and out (Exodus 25:11) and a ring of gold at each corner or foot through which poles were passed to carry it.  The lid of the ark the kappo,,reth or “mercy seat” (Exodus 25:17), was made of pure gold.  At each end of the mercy seat was a cherubim made of hammered gold.

It symbolizes the presence of God, Who promised never to leave us nor forsake us.

 Most of us have experienced our children's dependence on us to face their fears when they have nightmares or when it's thundering and lightning during a storm. They'll wake up, scream, and jump out of their bed. They will walk through the valley of their bedroom, down the valley of the hall, to the valley of your room.  They jump in your bed, because what they need is somebody to be with them.

Your hugging them doesn't stop the rain, the thunder, or the lightning, but it changes how they face it.  They'll fall asleep in your arms.  The fear that they have alone, they no longer have, because Mama or Daddy holds them.  You help them face their fears in the midst of their struggles.  This is exactly what the heavenly Father does for us when we face our own fears and insecurities.

We have to face them, but we do so knowing that we are in the presence of God.

                                                                                 Dr. Mike Rouse 

What to do:  

      ✞Remember, as a born-again believer we are never alone.

The Tabernacle: A Lesson About Incense

Bible Reading: Exodus 30:1-10

Key Verse: Verse 1 – “And thou shalt make an altar to burn incense upon: of shittim wood shalt thou make it.”

Key Words: to burn incense

The altar of incense (which is not to be confused with the brazen altar) sat in front of the curtain that separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies.

God commanded the priests to burn incense continually.  The incense was made of precious spices, stacte, onycha, galbanum, and frankincense.

The incense was symbolic of prayer.  God wanted His dwelling to be a place where they could approach Him and pray to Him.

The principle is that we are to be a people of prayer (pray without ceasing).

Early African converts to Christianity were earnest and regular in their private devotions.  Each one reportedly had a separate spot in the thicket where he would pour out his heart to God.  Over time the path to these places would become well worn.  As a result, if one of those believers began to neglect prayer, it would soon be apparent to the other.  They would kindly remind the negligent one, “Brother, the grass grows on your path.”

There is an old saying that goes, “He who runs from God in the morning will scarcely find Him the rest of the day.”

Pray!!

                                                                        Dr. Mike Rouse 

What to do:

            ✞Don’t let the grass grow on your prayer path.

 

The Tabernacle: A Lesson On Light

Bible Reading: Exodus 30:8; Leviticus 24:1-3; John 8:12-20

Key Verse: Verse 12 – “Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall   have the light of life.”

Key Words: I am the light of the world

Just as the candle of incense was to burn continually so was the lamp to light the inner court of the Tabernacle.

Today Jesus is our Light and He desires to shine through us (Matthew 5:14).

Perhaps you don't know what fifth columnists are.  It goes all the way back to when the Spanish army would invade a nation and they would march the soldiers in four columns.  The soldiers would march in four columns and do a frontal assault on whatever nation or city they were going to attack.  The nation being attacked felt pretty secure, because they could see the four columns coming.  But what they didn’t know about were the fifth columnists.

The fifth columnists had moved into the city a year beforehand as covert operatives.  They had become doctors and lawyers, politicians and business people, and they infiltrated the land that would be attacked a year later.  In other words, they were saboteurs.  What they did was to set things up for the army invasions.  When the four columns marched, the fifth columnists would have already caused havoc on the inside.  The four columns could do what they needed to do, because there were subversives internally.

God expects every Christian who is functioning in a secular, non-Christian society, business, or school to be a fifth columnist.  He expects you to be part of His army that works behind enemy lines.  He wants you to represent the interests of heaven in the locality of earth where He has placed you.  Fifth columnists don’t become part of the culture, they just function at the level they need to in order to bring about the bigger plan of the nation that they are a part of.

Today, we are to make a difference by letting Christ shine through us.

                                                                    Dr. Mike Rouse 

What to do:  ✞Let your light shine where you are.

 

The Tabernacle: A Lesson On The Bread

Bible Reading: Exodus 25:23-30

Key Verse: Verse 30 – “And thou shalt set upon the table shewbread before me alway.”

Key Words: shewbread before me alway

The table of shewbread, or showbread, was placed on the north side of the first apartment of the sanctuary. The table was two cubits long, a cubit and a half in width, and a cubit and a half in height.  It was overlaid with pure gold, and like the altar of incense was ornamented with a crown of gold around the top (Exodus 25:23-30; 40:22).

On the Sabbath day the Levites made twelve loaves, or cakes, of unleavened bread (1 Chronicles 9:32, Leviticus 24:5). These cakes were placed on the table hot, each Sabbath day (Leviticus 24:8; 1 Samuel 21:3-6; Matthew 12:3-4), arranged in two piles, six in a row, with pure frankincense on each row (Leviticus 24:6-7).

During the entire week the bread lay on the table.  By some translators it is called "the bread of the presence."  At the end of the week it was removed and eaten by the priests (Leviticus 24:9).

Which brings us to Jesus, the Bread of Life (John 6:48).

It is told of Sadhu Sundar Singh that many years ago he was distributing Gospels in the Central Provinces of India and he came to some non-Christians on the railway train and offered a man a copy of John's Gospel. The man took it, tore it in pieces in anger and threw the pieces out of the window.  That seemed the end, but it so happened, in the Providence of God, there was a man anxiously seeking for truth walking along the line that very day, and he picked up as he walked along a little bit of paper and looked at it, and the words on it in his own language were 'the Bread of Life'.  He did not know what it meant; but he enquired among his friends and one of them said: 'I can tell you; it is out of the Christian book.  You must not read it or you will be defiled.'  The man thought for a moment and then said: 'I want to read the book that contains that beautiful phrase': and he bought a copy of the New Testament.  He was shown where the sentence occurred- our Lord's words 'I am the Bread of Life'; and as he studied the gospel, the light flooded into his heart, he came to the knowledge of Jesus Christ, and he became a preacher of the gospel in the Central Provinces of India. That little bit of paper through God's Spirit was indeed the Bread of life to him, satisfying his deepest need.

He that has never eaten from the Bread of Life will never be satisfied.

                                                                                    Dr. Mike Rouse 

What to do: 

      ✞If you are still starving spiritually, try the Bread of Life.