Tent life

God’s original intention was to dwell with man in His Creation and sin threw a monkey wrench into that. What God does with Israel is He educates them about how He’s going to re-establish Himself in the earth and He gives them a place where His dwelling is going to be manifest.

God would dwell on the earth in a tent made out of skin that Israel was in charge of. Amos calls it the tabernacle of David; the skin of David. You go all the way to Revelation and discover that it all begins to be accomplished there. In the between-time you have Jesus Christ come on the scene and ‘the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.’ He becomes the one through whom God's dwelling with man is to be accomplished.

"So the great issue in the universe all along has been God dwelling in His creation and sharing His life with His creation," says Jordan. "Now, the tabernacle God gave Israel is a foreshadowing of that. As the verse says, ‘The Lord chose Zion and desired it for his habitation. This is my rest forever; here will I dwell for I have desired it.’ His intention is to put His throne in the city of Jerusalem on the hill of Zion. That special place in Jerusalem that was the dearest to David’s heart.”

******

The tabernacle, built by Moses, is a picture of the first coming of Christ and the temple, built by Solomon, is a picture of the Second Coming of Christ.

“The tabernacle was a temporary structure--made to be moved from place to place—but the temple was a permanent place built in the city of the great king, Jerusalem,” explains Jordan. “It was built by the king, Solomon. You remember David prepared all the stuff for it and wanted to build it but God said, ‘You can’t do it! You’re a bloody man!”?

“God was saying, ‘We’re not gonna build the temple by the bloody man, we’re gonna build it by the son of David.’ There’s another first and Second Coming comparison. Moses is the prophet and he builds the tabernacle. It’s the king who builds the temple. The temple is the second meeting place; the tabernacle was the first.

“The temple was renowned for its glory, majesty and beauty. It was like the city on the hill. It was gorgeous. People would come and marvel at its majesty.

“The tabernacle was just the opposite. It wasn’t built in the city; it was built for life in the wilderness, moving from place to place. Life, not in the kingdom reign of glory, but in the wilderness of nomad life. It was humble and unattractive in its outward appearance.

“When you walked up on the tabernacle what you saw was a funny-looking wall made out of boards and skins and post. It was not outwardly attractive. What does Isaiah say about Christ in His first coming? ‘There was no comeliness about him.’ He was a man of sorrow, acquainted with grief.

“The tabernacle was a place where God’s majesty dwelt but it was veiled behind the skins of that building. I keep emphasizing that the building was made out of badger skins and goat skins and all kind of skins. Well, where does god put His life? If He puts it in you, where does He put it? He puts it in a body of flesh. That’s the idea back there.

“By the way, the tabernacle was the center of life for the nation Israel. When Israel, in the wilderness, moved from one encampment to the next, the way they would settle in a location is the tabernacle would be in the center. And on one side there would be three tribes of Israel, and on another side there would be three tribes, and another side three other tribes, and another side three other tribes.

“Numbers, in the first few chapters, tells you specifically where each tribe was to be and everything about how they were lined up and encamped was determined by the tabernacle."

*****

In the Ark of the tabernacle were three things--the two tables of stone, a little pot of manna and Aaron’s rod that budded.

“The tabernacle is where the sacrifices were made,” says Jordan. “It’s where the priestly family, Aaron and his sons, were fed. It’s where all worship for God was accomplished. Deuteronomy 16:16 says that there were three great feasts in Israel—Passover, Pentecost and Tabernacles—and the only place they could be celebrated was at the door of that tabernacle. That’s a serious matter. That tabernacle was the center of everything that went on in Israel’s life.”

*****

Jordan says there is a fascinating comparison between the tabernacle that Moses built and the Book of John because, “just like this system is a system for Israel to approach to God, in the Four Gospels, which tell Israel how to approach God, whether John knew it or not, or intended it or not, God wrote the book in such a way that it follows the pattern of the tabernacle.

“When you come in the tabernacle, there are basically seven pieces of furnishing. The first thing you see is the brazen altar where the sacrifices were brought.

“You come through the gate, from east to west, and you see an altar where there’s fire and they’re killing and offering animal sacrifices, pouring out blood. Can you imagine how on a hot summer august afternoon, when they’ve offered sacrifices all day and all night for the nation, what a bloody mess that would have been?!

“Have you ever been around people where they killed animals and the blood’s all shed out? You know what immediately shows up? Flies. Gnats. It gets nasty. That tabernacle was not a sweet, wonderful place. The brazen altar spoke about blood (for atonement of souls).

“The reason it had fire in it was because the sacrifices had to be burned. It was like a big barbeque grill and it had a grate on it. The first thing when you walk into that tabernacle, it tells you, ‘You can’t approach God till you deal with sin and the only way is with blood and fire.’ ”