BOOK SUMMARY: THE CHRIST KEY - CHAPTER 6A - THE SANCTUARY GARDEN OF GOD, PAGES 109-116

INTRO: The architecture, furnishings and layout of the temple revealed God’s character and will for Israel.  The Lord’s OT homes look backward (creation) as well as forward (re-creation). There is a Christological Architecture in God’s house. The layout of God’s homes in Scripture is as follows

(1).       Genesis and the Creation Account

(2).       The Tabernacle as the New Eden

(3).       The Temple as the Tabernacle/Eden Expanded

(4).       The Work of the Messiah and His Church

(5).       The New Heavens and New Earth

The tabernacle was fashioned after the garden of Eden. In the garden, Adam and Eve served as priests in God’s temple-garden.

WORLD-CREATING AND TABERNACLE-MAKING

The creation account bears the marks of priestly literature. It’s presented in an orderly fashion. Divine acts are formal, systematic, and repetitive like sections of Leviticus. Creation week ends with the Sabbath which was crucial to Israel’s worship calendar. To read the creation account is like reading about a cosmic liturgy overseen by a Divine Priest. Genesis contains priestly language. 

• BADAL - The Hebrew word badal means to separate or make a distinction. God separated light and darkness, waters above and waters below and heavenly lights. In the rest of the OT the same word is used primarily in ritual contexts. The Most Holy Place was separated from the Holy Place (Exodus 26:33) and the priests had to make a distinction between holy and unholy things (Leviticus 10:10).

• MO’ED – It means a place of meeting or appointed time. The tent of meeting (mo’ed) is spoken of in Leviticus 1:1, 3. The same word is used in Genesis 1:14 in regard to seasons or appointed times. Heavenly lights are for appointed times connected with sanctuary worship.

• A SEVEN-FOLD PATTERN – Seven times God said creation was good or very good. God gave Moses blueprints for the tabernacle in seven speeches that started with “The Lord spoke.” See Exodus 25:1, 30:11, 30:17, 30:22, 30:34, 31:1, 31:12. The creation week ends with the Sabbath and the tabernacle instructions end with a speech about the Sabbath (Exodus 31:12-17).

• RA’AH / ASAH – Ra’ah means see. Asah means do/make. Both words are used at the completion of creation week and the tabernacle (Genesis1:31, Exodus 39:43).

• KALAH / M’LAKAH – Kalah means finished. M’lakah means work. God finished his work (Genesis 2:2). Moses finished the work (Exodus 40:33). The completion of the tabernacle is linguistically being linked to creation week.

• BARAK / KOL M’LAKAH – Barak means blessed. Kol M’lakah means all the work. Both are used in Genesis 2:3 and Exodus39:43.  Blessing or benediction followed the completed work.

• BEGINNING OF TIME / BEGINNING OF THE MONTH – Creation started time. The tabernacle was erected on the first day of the month (Exodus 40:2).

• THE SPIRIT OF GOD – The Spirit of God hovered over the face of the waters (Genesis 1:2). The Spirit of God was upon Bezalel to fill him with all knowledge and abilities to build the tabernacle (Exodus 31:3-5). 

The connections between creation and the tabernacle are undeniable. Creation was meant to be a cosmic tabernacle/temple where God dwells with humanity.  God had priests in His creation-temple (Adam and Eve). Sin ruined this ideal plan. The later Jewish tabernacle and temple were not God’s final plan. God would need a perfect priest to come and restore things and bring in a final new creation temple.

THE PRIESTLY COUPLE AND THE GARDEN TABERNACLE

Adam and Eve were placed in the garden and told to work (avad) and keep (shamar) it (Genesis 2:15). These two words are used together in regard to priestly duties. Avad is usually translated at serve. Shamar is translated as guard. Priests were to guard the tabernacle and serve the Lord (Numbers 3:7-8). Later priests were modeled after what Adam and Eve did. Adam was to serve in the garden and guard it, which he failed to do. Adam was to be careful to guard the command of God to not eat of the forbidden tree. A threat of death followed. The same is true of the OT priests. A threat of death came after the priests were given specific commands regarding their service (Exodus 28:35, 28:43, 30:20-21). Adam and Eve were to guard the garden from the serpent and his lies just as later guards and gatekeepers were to make sure that no one unclean should enter the temple (2 Chronicles 23:19). Adam and Eve failed at their priestly duties. They were exiled from the garden-temple and placed cherubim with flaming swords at the entrance of the garden-temple to guard it and the way to the tree of life (Genesis 3:24). Another priest was promised who would defeat Satan (Genesis 3:15) and eventually remove Him from God’s eternal dwelling place with humanity.

The later tabernacle and temple were laden with images from the garden of Eden. There was the menorah which was a lampstand that was a flowering tree just like the tree of life (Exodus 25:33, 1 Kings 7:49). On the tabernacle curtains were images of cherubim (Exodus 26:1).  The two doors leading into the Holy of Holies were covered with images of cherubim, palm trees and open flowers (1 Kings 6:32). Floral life, animal life and cherubim where everywhere in the temple remind us of the garden-temple of Eden. Israel was given a new mobile Eden—a home where God would dwell among them.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

(1).  Why is it necessary to see this massive theme of God’s home in Scripture?

(2).  Consider Jesus’s name Emmanuel. How is that connected to what we’re learning about?

(3).  If humanity was created to be priests of God, what do you think is required of us?

(4).  How does the notion of you being a royal priest shape your understanding of your life (1 Peter 2:9)?

(5).  If you were to glance at the layout of God’s homes on earth, what sort of forward movement do you see?