EXODUS 25:8-9 THE PATTERN God had a gracious purpose in mind when He gave the design and the list of materials to Moses. He wanted a place to dwell with His people and enjoy the fellowship of kindred spirits. For His glory to be evident in a physical way in every place would be impossible because of the nature of His holiness. In our natural state we could not live in the presence of His absolute holiness. The pattern was given to Moses and had to be followed from the most visible part, the hanging curtains that formed the fence, to the smallest instruments used in the service of the Tabernacle. No independent decisions were to be made in regard to this place where God was going to dwell with His people. We are facing conflicting situations today as "evangelical" churches have turned away from the pattern of God's dwelling place today, the Church, and have substituted what is pleasing to people. For some reason people want to keep their "Christian commitment" casual so those who come God will feel "comfortable" like they would be in the company of a benevolent grandfather.
We need to be reminded that the holiness of God has not deteriorated in any way. He is still "of holier eyes than to look upon sin." Our access to God is still through our Great High Priest. There is still only "One
Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus." As the Tabernacle was to be made "after the pattern of the Tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it," v 9, what we are to do in the dwelling place of God today is to be according to the pattern of scripture as it relates to the assembly. The reason the pattern is so important has to do with what it is a type of. Even as the Tabernacle was more than a house to live in but was a type of the Living God Himself in the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ, so is the Church and the house of God today. God dwells in the body of the Lord Jesus Christ. "In Him dwelleth the fullness of the Godhead bodily." In the Church, He is the Head and we are members in His body. "Now ye are body of Christ, and members in particular." In a similar fashion, the "house of God," the local church, displays in a visible form that which is true in spiritual form. The Tabernacle wasn't God, it was a type of Him who is unseen. The same is true in the assembly of God's people. We are a type in the visible fashion of what is true in the church composed of all believers in this age of grace.
Hebrews 8:5 refers to Tabernacle and priesthood as examples and shadows of heavenly things, so Moses was "to make all things according to the pattern." Hebrews 9:24 tells us that the Tabernacle was "the pattern of things in the heavens." Hebrews 10:1 says the system of law, including the Tabernacle, was a "shadow of good things to come." In the Tabernacle we have examples of God's salvation, His plan for the way we live and act, the way we worship and the way we grow in Christ and in our understanding of Him. The seeker for God could find Him in those days as they sought to approach Him "according to God's pattern."
One who earnestly desired to know God could approach the Tabernacle and would only be able to see a little bit of the badgers' skins covering, over the top of the seven and a half-foot fence of hanging curtains set on posts with brass plates (sockets). The curtains were held together with silver hooks and bands and the tops of the posts were covered with a cap of silver. The posts were held upright by ropes connected to brass pegs. One coming may have come from the west looking east toward the sunrise and would have found no gate there. He would find only one gate and that was unmistakable as it was a linen curtain made of blue, purple and scarlet colors. The posts that held the curtain were separated from the earth by the brass sockets speaking of judgment that had taken place in the heat of the fire of suffering. The posts capped with silver, and curtains held together with silver clasps, speaks to us of Divine grace in redeeming us and unifies those individuals into one complete whole. Outside the fence one was lost; inside he was saved and there was only one gate to enter through. There would be no questions as to where the gate was. The colors made it obvious. There was no question as to whether one was in or out. The blue identifies the Lord Jesus Christ as the Lord from heaven. Purple showed Him to be the kingly Person, the One with authority on earth. Scarlet tells us of Him as the Christ who has "redeemed us with the precious blood of Christ" - the Son of Man. No symbolic figures were woven into the gate. The God of grace invites all to enter. To lift up that gate or to pull aside the curtain to enter would give a glimpse of the Tabernacle that a person could admire. A glimpse of Christ today may make us admire Him and even tell others of Him. But unless one enters, he will not be saved [Jn.10:9; Acts 4:12]. The gate was wide enough for "whosoever" to enter. Those outside, are there because they choose to stay outside.
A person coming to God for salvation must come in God's way through the One gate, the Lord Jesus Christ. He cannot prescribe his own way to God. A sinful man cannot approach a sinless God. He must come according to God's pattern that cannot be altered in any way to suit mans' wishes. God's way of salvation is unalterable. Once a person entered that gate, things would open up to him and he would see what he had never seen nor understood before. The first action a person could make to approach God was to move that curtain by faith alone and enter on his own volition. He would enter because he wanted to, and in faith trusted in the Living God. The shadow and type is now past and gone. The reality is, Christ is the Door. When we enter in we are saved. The Tabernacle was movable. The ark never stopped moving until it was placed in Solomon's temple. The opportunity to enter the door of salvation will soon be past.
I was going to change it to a way I thought was better And make it more appealing as I thought to men's eyes When it was almost done, I saw it didn't quite fit together The thickness of material I chose was of a different size.
So before I could begin again I had to take it all apart And do it over again by the pattern given in the beginning If I had not inserted my will into the project from the start Time would not have been wasted and I lost what I thought I was winning.
When we do things God's way and pay no attention to what others say The work He gives us to do is able to go ahead as He has planned
Time and material won't be wasted when we follow in His way And the outcome will be lasting benefit to God and our fellow man.
When we approach God with dignity there is evidence others see That can impress onlookers and angels with what we are to do And they may be assured that this is what God intended to be In that way His presence among us can be shown to be what is true.
Moses had a pattern to follow to build the Tabernacle when The Israelites made that place that God with His own would dwell In similar fashion we too must carefully do things by His plan So when asked what we are doing, "Thus saith the Lord" is what we tell.
To alter what God intended just to please the will of men we'll find God had His own good reasons for how and why His work is done He gave the pattern so we must never suit things according to our minds The smallest thing we choose to do and bring is a reflection on His Son.
"Father in heaven, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray that this day I will in every act of labor or service, not turn away from Thy will and insert my own plans in its place. Amen."