Jesus in the Sanctuary
To see Jesus in the Sanctuary is to see the everlasting gospel in types and figures. The entire building of the sanctuary, every part of it, every article, every rite, every festival associated with it had a lesson to teach to those who had eyes to see and ears to hear what the Spirit was saying to them through these things. (Inside the Sanctuary – It’s All About Jesus)
The system of sacrifices and offerings, all the rites and rituals of the sanctuary service, was all designed as an object lesson of salvation.
Immanuel, God With Us (Matthew 1:23)
Gods command to Moses for Israel was:
Exodus 25:8 Let them make Me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.
Why? For what purpose? That He, God, might “dwell with them.” And He abode in the sanctuary, in the midst of His people. The sanctuary was set in the very center of the camp of Israel, indicating that God was to be the very center of their lives. And for as long as they wandered in the wilderness, this symbol of His presence was with them. Here is prefigured in types and symbols the incarnation of Christ. It is written: “they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.” (Matthew 1:23).
John 1:14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
As a Root out of Dry Ground (Isaiah 53:2)
The roof or covering of the tabernacle consisted of four curtains of cloth or skins. The innermost curtain, glittering in the light of the seven branched candlestick, was glorious beyond description. This interior curtain was of fine linen. It was embroidered with blue, purple and scarlet threads. Cherubim made with threads of pure gold were sewn into it by highly skilled, indeed, divinely inspired, workers. This formed the ceiling of the tabernacle, and as glorious as it was, it was but a faint shadow of the canopy of glory above the throne of God, and of the myriads of angels surrounding that throne, ready to fulfill His commands.
Over this were three more layers of curtains made of various skins. All perfectly protecting the whole sanctuary from whatever weather may come, heat, cold, wind or rain. This represented the perfect shelter the Christian has from the storms of this life. Come what may, the Christian can stand secure and safe in the presence of God.
The outermost layer of skin had no outward beauty. It bore the brunt of all that the wilderness could throw at it, the heat, the cold, the rain, frost, the sand and dust storms. It protected the sanctuary against all. Consequently, though the sanctuary glittered with gold on the inside, from the outside there was nothing special about its appearance. Likewise of Christ it was prophesied of Him:
Isaiah 53:2 He has no form or comeliness; And when we see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him.
In the eyes of the world He possessed no beauty that they should desire Him. Yet He was the incarnate God, the light of heaven and earth. That we might behold Him and not be destroyed, the manifestation of His glory was shrouded. His divinity was veiled with humanity, the invisible glory in the visible human form, that He might draw near to sorrowful, tempted men.
1 Samuel 16:7 For the LORD does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.
The Shadow of the Almighty (Psalm 91:1)
Over the tabernacle rested the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night. The very pillar of cloud and fire by which God led the Israelites in all their wanderings in the desert. In the midst of the desert heat those who came to the tabernacle to worship found a cool, refreshing shelter beneath that pillar of cloud, while beyond there was only the scorching heat of the desert. This is symbolic of God’s protective covering over all His people in the midst of this wicked world. The Christian is to stand so close to God as to stand in His very shadow.
Psalm 91:1-2 He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.”
Moreover, when the scorching heat of day gave way to the chill and darkness of night, that pillar of cloud became a pillar of fire, giving warmth and light to the whole camp of Israel. God’s immediate, visible presence in the midst of His people lit up the entire camp so there was light for all, and none need to stumble through the darkness.
John 8:12 Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”
The world may be bitterly cold and wrapped in a spiritual darkness darker than the deepest midnight, but for the Christian there is warmth and light that the world knows nothing of.
David understood this when he wrote;
Psalm 89:15 Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O, Lord, in the light of Thy countenance.
This is also symbolic of the Christian walk. In Christ the Christian also becomes a channel of light to this darkened world.