God Drew The Plans

Scripture: Exodus 25:8, Psalms 77:13, Hebrews 8:1-2

We all know that 4,000 years ago, on the grand summit of Mt. Sinai, God gave Moses
the Ten Commandments. But most people don't know that at the same time, the Lord
gave Moses the blueprints for one of the most mysterious structures ever built - the
sanctuary. It must have been important, because the Israelites could not enter the
Promised Land until it was completed. This unique portable temple represented God's
dwelling place among His people, and its services showed the nation of freed slaves a
three-dimensional panorama of the plan of salvation. A careful look into the secrets of
the sanctuary will crystallize your understanding of how Jesus saves the lost and leads
the church.

God Himself gave Moses the plans for the sanctuary.

The Lord asked Moses to erect a sanctuary, a special building that would serve as a
dwelling place for the great God of heaven.
"And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them." Exodus 25:8.

As God's people we learn from the sanctuary….

God's way, or plan of salvation, is revealed in the earthly sanctuary. The Bible teaches
that everything in the sanctuary or connected with its service was a symbol of
something Jesus would do in saving us. This means we cannot fully comprehend the
plan of salvation until we understand the symbolism connected with the sanctuary.
Thus, the importance of this Study Guide can hardly be overstated.

"Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary: who is so great a God as our God?" Psalms
77:13.

The sanctuary and its services were to demonstrate the plan of salvation.

The sanctuary blueprints and full specifications for its construction were given to Moses
by God. They were a copy of the original sanctuary in heaven, which was the pattern for
Moses' sanctuary.

Furnitures was in the courtyard

A. The altar of burnt offerings where animals were sacrificed was located in the
courtyard, just inside its entrance (Exodus 27:1-8). This altar represented the cross of
Christ. The animal represented Jesus, the ultimate sacrifice (John 1:29).
B. The laver, located between the altar and the entrance of the sanctuary, was a large
washbasin made of brass. Here priests washed their hands and feet before offering a
sacrifice or entering the sanctuary (Exodus 30:17-21 38:8).

The water represented cleansing from sin, or the new birth (Titus 3:5).

5. Furniture in the holy place?

A. The table of shewbread (Exodus 25:23-30) represented Jesus, the living bread (John
6:51).

B. The seven-branch candlestick (Exodus 25:31-40) represented Jesus, the light of the
world (John 9:5 1:9). The oil represented the Holy Spirit (Zechariah 4:1-6 Revelation
4:5).

C. The altar of incense (Exodus 30:7, 8) represented the prayers of God's people
(Revelation 5:8).

The mercy seat represents God's throne in heaven, which is also located between two angels.
6. Furniture in the most holy place

The ark of the covenant, the only piece of furniture in the most holy place (Exodus
25:10-22), was a box or chest of acacia wood overlaid with gold. Standing atop the
chest were two angels made of solid gold. Between these angels was the mercy seat
(Exodus 25:17-22), where the supernatural presence of God dwelt. This symbolized
God's throne in heaven, which is likewise located between two angels

(Psalms 80:1).

The Ten Commandments were inside the ark. They represent God's character, which He implants within His people.

7. What was inside the ark?

The Ten Commandments, which God wrote on tables of stone with His own finger, and
which His people will always obey (Revelation 14:12), were inside the ark
(Deuteronomy 10:4, 5). But the mercy seat was above them, which signified that as long
as God's people confessed and forsook sin (Proverbs 28:13), mercy would be extended
to them through the blood which was sprinkled on the mercy seat by the priest
(Leviticus 16:15, 16). The blood of the animal represents Jesus' blood that was shed for
us to bring us forgiveness of sin (Matthew 26:28; Hebrews 9:22).
 The animals sacrificed represented Jesus, who sacrificed His life for all people.

8. Why did animals need to be sacrificed in the Old Testament sanctuary

"And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood
is no remission." Hebrews 9:22. "For this is my blood of the new testament, which is
shed for many for the remission of sins." Matthew 26:28.

The sacrificing of animals was necessary to help people understand that without the
shedding of Jesus' blood, their sins could never be forgiven. The ugly, shocking truth is
that the punishment for sin is eternal death (Romans 6:23). Since all of us have sinned,
all of us should die. When Adam and Eve sinned, they would have died at once except
for Jesus, who stepped forward and offered to give His perfect life as a sacrifice to pay
the death penalty for all people (Revelation 13:8). After sin, God required the sinner to
bring an animal sacrifice (Genesis 4:3-7). The sinner was to kill the animal with his own
hand (Leviticus 1:4, 5). It was bloody and shocking. And it indelibly impressed the sinner
with the solemn reality of sin's awful consequences (eternal death) and the desperate
need of a Saviour and a substitute. Without a Saviour, no one had any hope for
salvation.

The sacrificial system taught, through the symbol of the slain animal, that God would
give His Son to die for their sins (1 Corinthians 15:3). Jesus would become not only
their Saviour, but also their substitute (Hebrews 9:28). When John the Baptist met
Jesus, he said, "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." John
1:29. In the Old Testament, people looked forward to the cross for salvation. We look
backward to Calvary for salvation. There is no other source of salvation (Acts 4:12).

Animal sacrifices taught the shocking truth that sin would cost the death of Jesus.

9. How were animals sacrificed in the sanctuary service, and with what
meaning?

"And he shall put his hand upon the head of the burnt offering; and it shall be accepted
for him to make atonement for him." "And he shall kill it on the side of the altar
northward." Leviticus 1:4, 11.

Answer: When a sinner brought a sacrificial animal to the door of the courtyard, a
priest handed him a knife and a basin. The sinner laid his hands on the animal's head
and confessed his sins. This symbolized the transfer of sin from the sinner to the
animal. At that point, the sinner was considered innocent and the animal guilty. Since
the animal was now symbolically guilty, it had to pay sin's wage--death. By slaying the
animal with his own hand, the sinner was thus graphically taught that sin caused the
innocent animal's death and that his sin would cause the death of innocent Jesus.

10. When a sacrificial animal was offered for the entire congregation, what
did the priest do with the blood? What does this symbolize?
"And the priest that is anointed shall bring of the bullock's blood to the tabernacle of the
congregation: And the priest shall dip his finger in some of the blood, and sprinkle it
seven times before the Lord, even before the vail." Leviticus 4:16, 17.

When a sacrifice was offered for the sins of the entire congregation, the blood was
taken by the priest, who represented Jesus (Hebrews 3:1), into the sanctuary and
sprinkled before the veil which separated the two rooms. The presence of God dwelt on
the other side of the veil. Thus, the sins of the people were removed and symbolically
transferred to the sanctuary. This ministry of the blood by the priest foreshadowed
Jesus' present blood-ministry for us in heaven. After Jesus died on the cross as our
sacrifice for sin, He arose and went to heaven as our Priest to minister His blood in the
heavenly sanctuary (Hebrews 9:11, 12). The blood ministered by the earthly priest
represents Jesus applying His blood to our record of sins in the sanctuary above,
showing that they are forgiven when we confess them in His name (1 John 1:9).

As our sacrifice, Jesus brings us a completely transformed life with all sins forgiven.

11. Based on the sanctuary services, in what two major capacities does
Jesus serve His people? What fantastic benefits do we receive from His
loving ministry?

"Christ our passover is sacrificed for us." 1 Corinthians 5:7. "Seeing then that we have a
great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast
our profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling
of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us
therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find
grace to help in time of need." Hebrews 4:14-16.

Jesus serves as the sacrifice for our sins and as our heavenly Priest. Jesus' death as
our sacrificial lamb and substitute, and His continual powerful ministry as our heavenly
Priest, accomplish two incredible miracles for us:

A. A complete life change called the new birth, with all the sins of the past forgiven
(John 3:3-6 Romans 3:25).

B. Power to live right in the present and future (Titus 2:14 Philippians 2:13).

These two miracles make a person righteous - which means a right relationship exists
between the person and God. There is no possible way for a person to become
righteous by works (his own efforts), because righteousness requires miracles
which only Jesus can accomplish (Acts 4:12). A person becomes righteous by
trusting Jesus to do for him what he cannot do for himself.

This is what is meant by the biblical term "righteousness by faith." I ask Jesus to
become the ruler of my life and trust Him to work the needed miracles as I cooperate
fully with Him. This righteousness, which is miraculously accomplished for me and in me
by Jesus, is the only true righteousness that exists. Every other kind is a counterfeit.
 Jesus, by His miracles, will cause us happily to do only the things that please God.

Six sublime promises does the Bible give us about the righteousness
offered to us through Jesus?

A. He will cover our past sins and count us as guiltless (Isaiah 44:22 John 1:9).

B. We were created in God's image in the beginning (Genesis 1:26, 27). Jesus
promises to restore us to God's image (Romans 8:29).

C. Jesus gives us the desire to live right and then grants us His power to actually
accomplish it (Philippians 2:13).

D. Jesus, by His miracles, will cause us to happily do only the things that please God
(Hebrews 13:20- 21, John 15:11).

E. He removes the death sentence from us by crediting us for His sinless life and
atoning death (2 Corinthians 5:21).

F. Jesus assumes responsibility for keeping us faithful until He returns to take us to

Jesus is ready to fulfill all these glorious promises in your life. Are you ready? Kneel
down now and ask Him to take control of your life. He will not fail you.
 Our role in salvation is to lovingly and willingly follow where Jesus leads.

13. Does a person have any role at all to play in becoming righteous by
faith?

Yes, Jesus says we must do His Father's will. In Old Testament days, a person who
truly had been converted kept bringing lambs to sacrifice, indicating his sorrow for sin
and his whole-hearted desire to let the Lord totally lead in his life.

"Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven;
but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven." Matthew 7:21.

Today, though we cannot work the miracles needed to become righteous, we must daily
recommit to Jesus (1 Corinthians 15:31), inviting Him to control our lives so those
miracles can take place. We must be willing to be obedient and to follow where Jesus
leads (John 12:26 Isaiah 1:18-20).

Sin causes us to want to have our own way (Isaiah 53:6) and, thus, rebel against the
Lord as Satan did in the beginning (Isaiah 14:12-14). Permitting Jesus to rule our lives
is sometimes as wrenchingly difficult as having an eye plucked out or an arm torn off
(Matthew 5:29, 30), because sin is addictive and can be overcome only by God's
miraculous power (Mark 10:27).
Many believe that Jesus will take all who profess salvation to heaven, regardless of their
conduct. But this is not so. It is a fabrication of Satan. A Christian must follow Jesus'
lifestyle (1 Peter 2:21). The powerful blood of Jesus can accomplish this for us all
(Hebrews 13:12), but only if we give Jesus full control of our lives and happily
follow where He leads, even though the path may sometimes be stony and rough
(Matthew 7:13, 14, 21).

The Lord's goat represented Jesus, who would die for our sins.

14. Can you help me understand the day of atonement?

Answer: A. Once each year, on the day of atonement, a solemn day of judgment took
place in Israel (Leviticus 23:27). All were to confess every sin. Those who refused were
that very day cut off forever from the camp of Israel (Leviticus 23:29).

B. Two goats were selected: One, the Lord's goat the other, the scapegoat,
representing Satan (Leviticus 16:8). The Lord's goat was slain and offered for the sins of
the people (Leviticus 16:9). But on this day the blood was taken into the most holy place
and sprinkled upon and before the mercy seat (Leviticus 16:14). Only on this special
judgment day did the high priest enter the most holy place to meet God at the mercy
seat.

The sprinkled blood (representing Jesus' sacrifice) was accepted by God, and the
confessed sins of the people were transferred from the sanctuary to the high priest. He
then transferred these confessed sins to the scapegoat, which was led into the
wilderness (Leviticus 16:16, 20-22). In this manner, the sanctuary was cleansed of the
sins of the people, which had been transferred there by the blood sprinkled before the
veil and had been accumulating for a year.

Israel's day of atonement was a symbol of the final judgment, which will forever settle the sin question throughout the

universe.

15. Does the day of atonement symbolize or foreshadow a part of God's

"It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified
with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these."
Hebrews 9:23.

Answer: Yes. That day's services pointed to the blotting out of sin by the real High
Priest in the heavenly sanctuary. Through His shed blood applied to those written in the
book of life, Christ would confirm the decisions of His people to serve Him eternally.
This special judgment day, like that of Israel's Yom Kippur, foreshadowed the final
atonement to be made for planet Earth. From the yearly type of the ancient day of
atonement, all of humanity is assured that our faithful High Priest, Jesus, still mediates
in heaven for His people and stands ready to blot out the sins of all who will exercise
faith in His shed blood. The final atonement leads to the final judgment, which settles
the sin question in the life of every individual, culminating in either life or death.