Review:
Lesson One - The purpose of the sanctuary is to remove the barriers of sin and guilt that keep us
from face-to-face communion with God.
IN this lesson we will be tracing the history of the sanctuary over the years, and looking at the
work of God that was going forward through all the changes and developments. This study
provides an impressive example of a Biblical principle known as “progressive revelation.”
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Genesis 4:3–5 - And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of
the ground to the LORD. Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the LORD
respected Abel and his offering, but He did not respect Cain and his offering.
This is the first specific mention of sacrifices to the Lord, which means that some elements at
least of the ceremonial ritual came long before the physical structure of the sanctuary.
Notice that the first story of sacrifice to the Lord also includes a false sacrifice. Cain’s fruit was probably very nice produce, but it wasn’t a lamb, and couldn’t represent faith in the coming Messiah. Instead, it represented what Cain could do by himself.
In Genesis chapter 8, Noah built an altar and offered sacrifice to God after the flood, and in
chapter 12 we read of Abram doing the same. There’s no mention of the religious practices of the
nine generations between these two, but it seems reasonable to assume that altars and sacrifices
were a part of their worship of the true God.
Genesis 9:9 - And as for Me, behold, I establish My covenant with you and with your
descendants after you.
Genesis 17:7 - And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants
after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your
descendants after you.
In the stories of Noah and Abram, God introduces the new idea of a covenant. Though never
mentioned before, the covenant is confirmed to Noah eight times. A long silence on the subject
takes us to Abram, to whom the covenant is confirmed in no less than eleven different verses.
More important than the number of references, though, is the greatly expanded idea of the
covenant as compared to what was said to Noah. But these are not two different covenants; this
is just the normal path of progressive revelation.
Exodus 12:11 - And thus you shall eat it: with a belt on your waist, your sandals on your feet,
and your staff in your hand. So you shall eat it in haste. It is the LORD’s Passover.
The next element of the sanctuary to be introduced was the ceremonial system, or at least the
first of those ceremonies, the Passover.
Exodus 19:5–6 - Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant,
then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. And you
shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.
The sanctuary services are only for those who have entered into God’s covenant, and central to the
whole process is the work of a priest. Symbolic of Christ, of course, the priest we normally think of
was the mediator between God and Israel. But here we have the whole nation of Israel acting as the
mediator between God and the rest of the nations. Sadly, this is a role the Jewish people largely
neglected. In a later lesson we will see that this idea is picked up and expanded in the New
Testament.
Exodus 25:8 - And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them.
Finally! God commissioned the Mosaic sanctuary about three months after the Exodus,
approximately 1445 B.C. This is when all the details were laid out for Moses, when the heavenly
sanctuary was shown to him, and God commanded “you shall raise up the tabernacle according
to its pattern.” (Exodus 26:30)
This was no small task. Still, just twenty-one months later, “in the first month of the second year,
on the first day of the month,” the tabernacle was set up for the first time. (Exodus 40:17)
When the Israelites crossed the Jordan, they set up camp about three miles to the west, in Gilgal.
(Joshua 4:19) This was the time when the land of Canaan was being divided among the tribes of
Israel, and the initial battles of conquest were being fought. The ark is mentioned separately in
Joshua 6, in the story of Jericho (about four miles northwest of Gilgal), and evidently the
sanctuary was erected there, for it is recorded shortly after that “the children of Israel camped in
Gilgal, and kept the Passover.” (Joshua 5:10)
When the most threatening of the Canaanites were defeated, Shiloh (eighteen miles northwest of
Gilgal) was designated as “the place where the LORD your God chooses, out of all your tribes, to
put His name for His dwelling place.” (Deuteronomy 12:5)
Joshua 18:1 - Now the whole congregation of the children of Israel assembled together at Shiloh,
and set up the tabernacle of meeting there.
This was approximately 1400 B.C. The sanctuary would remain intact in this location for about
300 years.
1 Samuel 4:1–3 - Now Israel went out to battle against the Philistines.… and when they joined
battle, Israel was defeated by the Philistines, who killed about four thousand men of the army in
the field. And when the people had come into the camp, the elders of Israel said, “Why has the
LORD defeated us today before the Philistines? Let us bring the ark of the covenant of the
LORD from Shiloh to us, that when it comes among us it may save us from the hand of our
enemies.”
This was during the disastrous high priesthood of Eli, and after God’s judgment on his household
had been announced by the child-prophet, Samuel. The blindness of disobedience led many
even of the “elders of Israel” to regard the sacred ark as some kind of magical charm that would
ensure victory in battle. They were wrong.
1 Samuel 4:11 - The ark of God was captured; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and
Phinehas, died.
It would be seven months before the ark came back to Israel, and many years before it was
restored to a sanctuary setting.
The ark did not go back to Shiloh. It’s possible that Shiloh had been overrun by the attacking
Philistines (there’s apparently some archaeological evidence for that), but “the tabernacle of the
LORD and the altar of the burnt offering” are next mentioned located in the priestly town of Nob,
just two miles northeast of Jerusalem. (1 Samuel 21:1) What became of the laver, the table of
showbread, and the altar of incense is not clear.
After a brief period at Beth Shemesh, the ark was taken to Kirjath Jearim were it remained for the
next twenty years. Then David decided to take it to Jerusalem. Careless as to the specific
directions given to Moses in regard to the proper means for moving the ark, they began the
journey using a “new cart” as had the Philistines. (2 Samuel 6:3; 1 Chronicles 13:7)
2 Samuel 6:6–7 - Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen
stumbled. Then the anger of the LORD was aroused against Uzzah, and God struck him
there for his error; and he died there by the ark of God.
Following Uzzah’s death, David’ plan was tabled, and the ark was taken to the home of Obededom.
His household was so abundantly blessed in the next three months that David decided to
try again—this time following the proper procedures.
There were no further mishaps, and the ark was placed in a tent prepared for it in Jerusalem. (2
Chronicles 1:4) But this was only a tent, not the sanctuary, which by this time (approximately
1000 B.C.) had been re-located once again to the town of Gibeon, six miles northwest of
Jerusalem. (1 Chronicles 16:39)
1 Kings 3:2 - Meanwhile the people sacrificed at the high places, because there was no
house built for the name of the LORD until those days.
This is not what God had planned. Perhaps the most that can be said for it is that it was the best
they could do under the circumstances.
Now it came to pass when the king was dwelling in his house, and the LORD had given him
rest from all his enemies all around, that the king said to Nathan the prophet, “See now, I
dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells inside tent curtains.”—2 Samuel 7:1
David’s idea was to build a temple for the Lord. God, however, had slightly different plans.
Apparently He had seen enough of warfare and bloodshed, and didn’t want to be associated with
that. He sent His prophet to tell David
1 Chronicles 22:8 - You shall not build a house for My name, because you have shed much
blood on the earth in My sight. Behold, a son shall be born to you, who shall be a man of
rest.… He shall build a house for My name.
But David didn’t just drop out of the picture entirely. As God directed Moses at the construction of
the original sanctuary, so He worked with David now.
1 Chronicles 28:11–12, 19 - Then David gave his son Solomon the plans for the vestibule,
its houses, its treasuries, its upper chambers, its inner chambers, and the place of the mercy
seat; and the plans for all that he had by the Spirit, of the courts of the house of the LORD, of
all the chambers all around, of the treasuries of the house of God, and of the treasuries for
the dedicated things.… “All this,” said David, “the LORD made me understand in writing, by
His hand upon me, all the works of these plans.”
It is interesting to note that even though the Mosaic sanctuary and Solomon’s temple were both
designed by God, still there were differences. The most obvious of these were the size and
permanence of the temple as compared to the Mosaic sanctuary. But other differences are many:
Instead of a single lampstand in the holy place, Solomon’s temple had ten; in addition to the
cherubim on the mercy seat, Solomon’s temple had two 18-foot tall cherubim in the most holy
place.
2 Chronicles 7:1 - When Solomon had finished praying, fire came down from heaven and
consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the LORD filled the temple.
Construction of the temple was completed in the eleventh year of Solomon’s reign, 958 B.C. (1
Kings 6:38) Though often neglected during the reigns of ungodly kings (Ahaz, for example, in 2
Chronicles 28, and Manasseh in 2 Chronicles 33), the temple remained until finally destroyed by
Nebuchadnezzar’s army in 586 B.C. (2 Kings 25:3–4) All told, it lasted 372 years.
Deuteronomy 28:64 - Then the LORD will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of
the earth to the other, and there you shall serve other gods, which neither you nor your
fathers have known—wood and stone.
Centuries before, God had said what would happen if His people proved unfaithful. Not
surprisingly, He was right. The Babylonians took many of the Jews captive, and forcibly resettled
others in different locations around the empire. There were, of course, some who did not serve
gods of wood and stone. Daniel, Ezekiel, and, in later years, Mordecai, for example.
The Bible gives no answer to this. Jewish historical sources say that the prophet Jeremiah
managed to hide the ark in a cave just before the destruction of the city. Where’s the cave? Who
knows? But it is interesting to note that there is still interest in the subject today.
Before we look at what was, let’s take a look at what might have been. Ezekiel chapters 40–48
present a single vision in which the prophet is given a detailed view of a new temple, a new
division of the land of Canaan, and a near-heavenly reign of peace and righteousness. Though
key features resemble earlier designs, there are also major differences. Ezekiel’s temple, for
instance has a square courtyard, rather than rectangular, but the holy and most holy places are
nearly the same dimensions as they had been in Solomon’s temple.
Ezekiel was writing during the time of the Babylonian exile. The sanctuary, indeed, the whole city
of Jerusalem, was in ruins. Were the plans given Ezekiel intended for actual construction?
Perhaps, but when later leaders such as Ezra and Nehemiah began the restoration of the city and
the temple, there is no evidence they made any effort to follow them.
Ezekiel 40:4 - And the man said to me, “Son of man, look with your eyes and hear with your
ears, and fix your mind on everything I show you; for you were brought here so that I might
show them to you. Declare to the house of Israel everything you see.”
Ezekiel 48:35 - The name of the city from that day shall be: “THE LORD IS THERE.”
There are two points that are obvious: God wanted this vision recorded and reported, so there
must be some importance to it; and, the final goal remained the same as always—God dwelling
among his people.
People have long debated the significance of Ezekiel’s vision. He himself was likely the first to do
so. Notice:
1 Peter 1:10–11 - Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who
prophesied of the grace that would come to you, searching what, or what manner of time, the
Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of
Christ and the glories that would follow.
If something as central to God’s plans as the sufferings of Christ was not entirely clear to the
prophets, it wouldn’t be too surprising if there were other issues that weren’t immediately
understood. This is just one of them. Progressive revelation is still going on, so don’t give up.
After the exile, when the Jews were allowed to return to their land, one of the first things they set
out to do was rebuild the sanctuary—with somewhat mixed results.
Ezra 3:10, 12 - When the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the LORD,… many of
the priests and Levites and heads of the fathers’ houses, old men who had seen the first
temple, wept with a loud voice when the foundation of this temple was laid before their eyes.
Yet many shouted aloud for joy.
It was a bit of a rocky start, with half the participants at the groundbreaking ceremony weeping
instead of cheering. The problem was a lack of size and elegance. With a budget more limited
than Solomon had at his disposal, the builders set out to construct a far more modest sanctuary.
But one prophecy which stretched their imaginations was
Haggai 2:9 - “The glory of this latter temple shall be greater than the former,” says the LORD
of hosts.
This was hard to believe for many reasons, but chief among them was the absence of the ark. Hidden in a cave somewhere unknown, it was beyond their reach. Thus the Roman historians Tacitus and Cicero both noted that the most holy place stood empty. Only by the personal presence of Christ more than half a millennium later, would this temple be more glorious than Solomon’s.
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John 2:19–21 - Jesus answered and said to them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I
will raise it up.” Then the Jews said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will
You raise it up in three days?” But He was speaking of the temple of His body.
Herod, never popular with the Jews, needed something to boost his approval rating. Recognizing
that the sanctuary was more than 500 years old and in need of significant maintenance, he
settled on a reworking of the temple complex as a way to make the Jews happy glorifying himself.
The Jews, however, were wary that he would tear down the old structure and simply never
rebuild. So Herod devised a method of construction that was more like an endless emodeling.
This is why the Jews said the temple had taken forty-six years to build.
Matthew 24:1–2 - Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples
came up to show Him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said to them, “Do you not see
all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that
shall not be thrown down.”
This was unthinkable. In fact, the only imaginable scenario which might destroy the temple was the end of the world as a whole. This is why the disciples asked
Matthew 24:3 - When will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of
the end of the age?
Thirty-nine years later, in the summer of A.D. 70, the Roman army crushed the heart of the Jewish revolt, destroying Jerusalem, and burning the temple. In an effort to reclaim the molten gold of the temple, even the pavement stones were pried from their places. According to the Jewish historian Josephus, more than a million Jews lost their lives, and nearly 100,000 were taken captive.
Hebrews 8:1–2 - Now this is the main point of the things we are saying: We have such a High
Priest, who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, a Minister of
the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle which the Lord erected, and not man.
Yes, there is another sanctuary which took the place of Herod’s temple. But that didn’t happen when the Romans destroyed Jerusalem. Herod’s temple had lost its importance long before. Just days before the crucifixion, as Jesus left the temple for the last time, after pronouncing the oes
on the scribes and Pharisees, He said
Matthew 23:37–38 - O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those
who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her
chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! See! Your house is left to you desolate.
The “fullness of the Godhead” had been driven from His own temple by unbelief, pride, selfishness. The sanctuary, established so God could dwell among His people, had
come so thoroughly under the control of evil that Jesus was unwelcome there. It was
no longer “My Father’s house,” but now only “your house.”
It was not long, however, before Jesus was to enter “into heaven itself… to appear in
the presence of God for us.” (Hebrews 9:24) The work of the sanctuary would continue!
- Proverbs 4:18 - The path of the just is like the shining sun, that shines ever brighter unto the
perfect day.
This is one of those questions that the Bible doesn’t answer directly. But verses like the one above speak to what we call “progressive revelation.” For reasons of His own, God doesn’t often
publish His whole plan in advance. He lets things develop over time, and gives out information on
what the military would call a “need-to-know” basis.
2 Peter 1:19 - We have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light
that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.
What makes this especially interesting is the focus on prophecy. This is one of the most amazing
evidences of God’s wisdom, but we seldom think of it. Much of the sanctuary service, the
symbolism of the sacrifices, the timing of the feasts, etc., is really prophetic. And even though it
wasn’t clear to human beings from the very beginning what God was going to do, we can look
back at it now and see that He knew. That’s one reason we study the sanctuary.
My Response: I appreciate that Christ, my High Priest, ministers for my salvation in the
Heavenly Sanctuary.
Next Lesson: The Meaning of the Courtyard
Lesson Summary:
- The sanctuary service didn't happen all at once but was given in
parts; first the sacrifices, next the ceremonies, third the covenant
and finally the sanctuary building.
- Over the years the sanctuary existed in different forms; first the
wilderness tent, next Solomon's, third Zarrubabel's, and then
Herod's.
- Ezekiel was given a vision for a temple but it was never built.
- Herod's temple was succeeded by the temple in Heaven where
Christ ministers as our High Priest even today.
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