PART ONE OF A SERIES ON DAVID’S TABERNACLE
“In the Old Testament, God had a hard time getting the children of Israel away from the idolatry of Egypt. So, He used the Mosaic Law as their schoolmaster to teach simple truths through object lessons and rituals: the Tabernacle, the Ark of the Covenant, and animal sacrifices. These were types and shadows, analogies, mere pictures of the spiritual realities and eternal truths that He was trying to lead them into, almost like you would do with little children (Galatians 3:24-25). He had to take what they understood–the forms and ceremonies with which they were familiar in the religions of Egypt and other heathen nations around them–in a fatherly attempt to audio-visualize the genuine spiritual truths of the true, mature worship of God Himself. As the apostle Paul says, these were all types of the true (Romans 5:14), mere visual likenesses or illustrations of the unseen realities of the spirit world.
Paul says, “When that which is perfect has come [Jesus’ Second Coming], then that which is in part shall be done away. When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known” (1 Corinthians 13:10-12 KJV).
Paul was saying that even the gifts of the Holy Spirit of this New Testament era are almost like toys, gifts from a loving Father to His simple little children, to help communicate understanding of Himself and His will.
How much more then, were the material object lessons of the temple worship of the Old Testament childish toys for even tinier children spiritually, to help them understand their heavenly Father’s love? But “God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son” (Hebrews 1:1-2).
When Jesus came, He told the Samaritan woman at the well, “The hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:23-24). This is the spiritual era in which we are now living.
In the Old Testament were the illustrations, and in the present, New Testament era, are the spiritual truths that we have now by faith alone (John 1:17).” Go to part 2
Excerpt taken from “Flesh or Spirit”
by Moses David
“I’ve often said most churchy Christians are like retarded children!–They’re still on the floor playing with toys, & haven’t learned much & are even undernourished because they haven’t been fed much!–They don’t even know they’re supposed to grow up & have a job to do! ” (Be Not Unequally Yoked with Unbelievers! [#2535])
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