Chapter 1

Getting it All Backwards

Take me past the outer courts

Through the holy place

Past the brazen altar

Lord I want to see Your face

Take me past the crowds of people

The priests who sing Your praise

I hunger and thirst for your righteousness and it’s only found one place

Take me into the holy of holies

Take me in by the blood of the Lamb

Take me into the holy of holies

Take the coal, cleanse my lips, here I am

When I was a teenager, the Christian rock group Petra put out an album called Petra Praise. This was B.C.D. (Before CDs) when groups put their music out in two forms, vinyl records and cassette tapes. I had a cassette copy of this album and played it so many times that it stretched out and began to drag. It kept getting slower and slower until it started sounding like a record played at on 78!

This song was my favorite, Take Me In. What a powerful song! I would play it over and over again and weep before the Lord. Unfortunately, when I became a worship leader years later, I found out that I could not sing the song because the distinctive voice of the Petra lead singer had been imprinted in my mind to such an extent that I would try to imitate him. I would end up passionately screaming like a banshee while bawling like a baby. Everyone else would be reduced to tears because I can barely carry a tune much less sing like him.

While this is a beautiful song and I have had intense times of worship with it, I have recently begun to question the underlying message the song conveys. The song is based on the teaching that the tabernacle or temple shows us the pattern we should follow to approach God. This assumes that we are far from God and must approach Him in the same way today as when the physical tabernacle/ temple was in operation on the earth. We start from the outside and must come into the courtyard to the bronze altar where the sacrifices were made, representing how we can only enter God’s presence through the sacrifice of Jesus. Then if we are hungry enough we press on to enter the holy place. Then, if we get really spiritual, and really press in, we will go beyond the veil to worship in the holiest place[i], God’s throne room on earth.

The problem with this message is that it reinforces two concepts which no longer apply in the New Testament age. The first is that God is far off and hard to approach, the second is that we come to the “house of the Lord” to visit Him. The danger is that we will begin to see these “visits” as something we do from time to time. We visit in His dwelling place and then leave Him there while we go on with our lives.

It makes no sense to say we believe that the blood of Jesus has replaced the blood of bulls and goats but we keep the format of the sacrificial system and say that we must approach Him in the same old way. The message of Christianity is that God has approached us. Jesus came as the Word in the flesh and at the cross He removed the barrier that kept us from God. Actually, He didn’t remove the barrier so we could approach God, He removed the barrier so that God could approach us! This changed the entire process. But we want to continue using the old pattern.

We have to let go of the old pattern and embrace a new one. The old pattern was religion. When man wants to approach God (religion), he works from the outside inward. When God wants to approach man (Christianity), He works from the inside out. We are now His temple, His physical dwelling place on the earth, and He is trying to work His way out through us to touch a lost and dying world. This is a study of the tabernacle from that point of view.

Have you ever come to a portion of the Bible that was, well, a little repetitive? What do you do? If you are like me, you skim over the repetitive part. Or you just skip past that second version and are glad you can check that chapter off as read in your Bible reading program. I am sure none of you do anything like that, just me.

The problem with doing that is that any education major would tell us that people learn by repetition. Could it be that the parts that God repeats and that seem to bore us might contain important information? Maybe we should read those sections more carefully to find out why God is repeating Himself. Many times we will find that what we thought was an exact recitation of previous information is actually slightly different. In those slight differences, we usually will find some very important information.

This happened to me a few years ago. I was at a conference one day talking to a friend of mine, Dr. Don Beasley, who pastors in Illinois. He mentioned in passing that when God gave Moses the instructions for the tabernacle (Exodus 25), He started with how to make the ark of the covenant and the holiest place. He then proceeded to give instructions for the holy place, the lampstand, the table of showbread, and the golden altar. Only then did God tell Moses how to put together the outer courtyard. But when Moses relayed the instructions to the people of Israel (chapter 36ff.), he started with the outer courtyard and then proceeded to the furniture of the holy place, and last of all, he tells them how to put together the holiest place. Even though God has just instructed Moses to start from the inside and work outwards, Moses reversed the instructions to start with the outside and work inward.

I went back to my room and opened my Bible and sure enough, he was right. I had read these passages many times and never noticed this reversal. I had even taught through the book of Exodus verse by verse and not noticed the difference. I was truly shocked to see that Moses brazenly reversed God’s instructions. As I write this, I find myself moving portions of the text into different places. With all the cutting and pasting, some bits and pieces get left in the wrong places. I doubt Moses had a computer so that wasn’t what happened. So what exactly was Moses thinking? Was he hard of hearing? Was he saying, “Hey God, this all sounds good but You got the instructions mixed up, I will tell the people what You really meant…”? Actually, I don’t think Moses was being malicious or rebellious. After all he could have just recorded the instructions his way and left out God’s version. But he records both set of instructions. Why?

The two sets of instructions seem to show the difference in points of view. God was describing things from His vantage point and Moses was describing them from his. Moses’ point of view was colored by thousands of year of history. Mankind has always sought a religious system. The idol worshippers of the time made sacrifices to appease the gods so they would not be angry at them. Or they went through rituals to make sure the diety would bless their crops. It was completely natural for Moses to want to start from the outside and work his way into the throne room of God.

Even today, we seem to be comfortable with going through steps and jumping through hoops. We tend to think in terms like, “If I do this, God will not be mad at me” or “if I do that, God will bless me.” This kind of religious thinking is no different than pagan theology. Seeing the pattern of the tabernacle as the pattern for approaching God reinforces this kind of thinking.

What is interesting is God’s point of view. God described the pattern to follow as starting with His throne room and proceeding to the outside world. Way back then God was giving a hint at how He intended the relationship with His people to work. He intended for us to let Him start on the inside and work His way out.

Work Out Your Salvation…

When we are born again, God takes up residence in our spirit. He comes into the holiest place of our being and begins to work His way out through our lives. That is why Paul tells us to …continue to work out (our) salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose… (Phil. 2:12b-13; emphasis added).

Anything less than allowing God to work Himself out through our lives is not Christianity. When we start with the outside, we become like the Pharisees who …clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence (Mt 23:25b). When God wants us to allow Him to …First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean (26b). Holiness is not not doing things. It is being so in love with Jesus that we don’t want to do them.

This is why we need to take a fresh look at the tabernacle. We need to stop thinking we have to work our way to God from the outside. We need to start with the understanding that His presence has entered the holiest place of our spirits when we were born again and let Him work His way out to where our friends and neighbors can see Him.

The conversation I had with Don that day has radically changed the way I look at my relationship with God. It set me on a path that has lasted many years. This is a path where I strive to allow God to work His way out through my life. It is also a path where I am determined to eradicate religious thinking so that I and others can walk in the freedom God intended for our lives. As you read further, I pray God kindles a like passion in your spirit.

But right now, if you will excuse me, I’m going to go listen to my new CD of Petra Praise. I still love that song…