The Sanctity of the Camp

As the second year after God delivered the children of Israel from Egypt began, the tabernacle was completed and God’s presence entered; He took up his residence in the middle of the camp of Israel! Because of God’s presence in the camp, the entire camp had to maintain a state of cleanliness. The tabernacle is long gone as is the temple that followed it. What does it mean today to maintain the cleanliness of the camp? Who is the camp?

 

Marching Orders

The Book of Numbers opens with a listing of the tribes of Israel, the number of men available as soldiers and where each tribe is located in the camp. The opening chapters of the book of Numbers makes for some dry reading. We wade through lists of names and families. Why did God include these disconnected names and endless numbers of people in the Bible? What does this reveal about God and His character? How does this point to Yeshua our Messiah?

 

The Land Shall Have Its Sabbaths

The weekly Sabbath was first observed by God on the seventh day of creation. He rested from all His work and set aside the seventh day as holy because of it. When the children of Israel entered the Promised Land God told them not only to observe the weekly Sabbath, but to observe a Sabbath for the land. Does the Sabbath of the Land, also, have its roots in the creation? What does the Sabbath of the Land tell us about God? What is its prophetic significance?

You Have and Appointment With God!

God set up specific times that He wants His people to gather together, spending time with each other as well as with Him! The usual translation calls these appointed times feasts. What are these appointed times or feasts? Why did God choose these times? How does observing these times help us to draw near to God?

From the Cloud Above the Mercy Seat

The Day of Atonement, In Hebrew called Yom Kippur, is the one day of the year that the High Priest goes into the Holy of Holies and sprinkles the blood of the sin offerings right on the mercy seat. Why is this day necessary? Sin offerings for the priests, the nation, the rulers, and the individual people are brought continually throughout the year. What is different about bringing the blood into the Holy of Holies and why is it important?

 

Biblical Leprosy, a Sign or a Scourge?

Probably one of the oddest topics in the Bible is that of a person who has leprosy. The Bible spends two full chapters just talking about it. It begins with the diagnosis and ends with what to do if a house has leprosy. Clearly, this is not an ordinary disease! In fact, the instructions on how to treat leprosy would at times almost ensure that the disease would spread. So what is leprosy as described by the Bible? Why is so much time spent on it? And why is it so important?

 

The Mystery of the Sin Offering

When we think of the ministry of the priesthood, we think of bringing the offerings of the people before the LORD. When the tabernacle was dedicated and Aaron brought the first offerings before the LORD, he did so for himself and his sons as well as the collective children of Israel. The scriptures describe Aaron bringing the offerings for the people in Leviticus 9:15-17. What happens after the required portions of the offering are burnt on the altar? Parts of the offerings are set aside for the priesthood. Are these portions just part of the compensation package for the priesthood, or is there a spiritual significance to these portions?

 

Keep the Fire Burning

When God is giving Moses the instructions on how to draw near to Him, which we covered in our last blog, When You Draw Near, God elaborates on the importance of keeping the fire on the altar burning. This verse alone states twice that the fire must always be kept burning. The entire passage states this requirement five times! God doesn’t want us to miss this point!

 

When You Draw Near

God’s desire is to have a relationship with the people He created, both individually and collectively. He chose the Children of Israel specifically to be His people. He told them to build a Tabernacle for Him so He could dwell among them. When the Tabernacle was completed, God’s glory entered the Tabernacle. God was dwelling in the middle of the camp of the Children of Israel. But there was a problem; no one could approach the Tabernacle, not even Moses. Even though the physical Tabernacle of God was right in the center of the camp, no one could actually enter the Tabernacle. How could God have a relationship with man if no one could approach Him? How could man relate to God when they had to keep their distance? How could man know God and be able to trust Him to care for them when they couldn’t draw near?

The Day of Completion

After the construction of all the articles for the tabernacle and its furnishings, Moses gave an accounting of all the materials used. He verified that it was done according to all the instructions given to him by God! The Tabernacle of God was built from items willingly given for that purpose by the children of Israel. They gave so much that Moses had to stop them from bringing more! Gifted artisans among them, led by men chosen by God, carefully and lovingly constructed the tabernacle and all its furnishings according to the pattern God gave to Moses. This entire account is an incredibly deep and multi-faceted picture of Yeshua and His congregation.