YESHUA – THE WAY
Lynda
Mac Donald, Nova Scotia
“And
let them make Me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them. According to all
that I show thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all
the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it.” (Exodus
25:8)
We
have been looking at the Tabernacle and how it is a shadow of Yeshua (Jesus).
In
this article we will see the Tabernacle picture as it flows through the Book of
John. John writes this gospel as if it were a walk through the place that God
came to dwell in.
We
have just come inside the Tabernacle through the only entrance called
the “Way”. John, with great authority, declared that Yeshua called himself “the Way”. (John 14:6)
John
introduces us to the Messiah in chapter 1 as “the Lamb of God who takes away
the sin of the world”. (John 1:29) A visit to the wilderness Tabernacle would
bring us first to the brazen altar just inside the outer enclosure. We
would not be able to get any closer to God without first dealing with the need
for a sacrifice.
The
act of sacrifice is step one in the Tabernacle and it is no accident that John
fits it into the first chapter.
In
the Tabernacle, the next place that we would need to go to was the laver-
the place of cleansing.
In
John 3:5, John leads us there next as Yeshua declares “ verily, verily, I say
unto you, except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he can not enter
into the kingdom (presence) of God.”
How
important is this washing? John continues to walk us through a “washing”
process (John 3:23) called “baptism (mikvah). This was not a brainstorm of John
the Baptist but an ancient “God ordered” action. (Leviticus & Numbers)
The
next “water” picture is in chapter 4 where Yeshua meets the Samaritan woman at
the well and tells her that he can give her “living water”. In chapter 5,
Yeshua pays a visit to the Pool of Bethesda. (John 5:2-9) This is a place that
provides healing.
The
next Tabernacle article that we would see is the Table of Showbread.
John 6:48 describes Yeshua as the “Bread of Life”
He
said” I am the Bread of Life…I am the Living Bread that came down out of
Heaven. If any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever.”
Next
on our visit we would see the beautiful menorah- the light that shone in
the Holy place.
Yeshua
in John 8:12 said, “I am the light of the world. He that follows me shall not
walk in darkness but shall have the light of life.”
In
the following chapter (9:1-11), Yeshua goes on to heal the blind man giving him
light where darkness once reigned.
From
chapter 10 to17, Yeshua shows us that He is the Altar of Incense- the
next item that we find in the Tabernacle. Hebrews 4: 14-15 tells us that He is
our High Priest, ever making intercession on our behalf before the Father.
Psalm 141:2; Rev 5:8; Rev 8:4
The
Book of John proceeds with the arrest of Yeshua and then his death on the
stake.
The
Tabernacle layout takes us to the Holy of Holies from the Table of Incense. The
Holy of Holies is where the very presence of God dwells. It is called the
“Shekinah”. In the Holy of Holies we would find the Ark of the Covenant.
There
was no seat for man in the presence of God. Here Jehovah alone sat on the
throne of glory and righteousness. Yeshua, after his resurrection, was on
the earth for 40 days after which He returned to the Father’s presence. In John
20:17, Yeshua said, “I ascent unto my Father, and your Father; And to my God,
and your God.”
It
is exciting to walk through the Gospel of John and see the development of the
order of writing, as it is parallel with the plans of the Tabernacle. It seems
to be John’s plan to show the importance of the order to which we have access
to God.
God set the plan firm for the Tabernacle. In
chapters 25-27 of Exodus, we read 3 times how God warns the Israelites to “
obey His plans for every detail”. If we want to come into the presence of The
Most High, we need to follow the same order- come through Yeshua, the “Only Way”,
to the altar where His blood was given for us, baptized by the washing of
water, into the light of His presence, made alive by Him who is the Bread of
Life, offering up prayers (incense) to our Father and entering into his very
Presence made available by the death of Yeshua, trusting in His covenant
promise to us.
The
Veil has been removed! The Way to the Father is opened!
Mike
Clayton, a wonderful teacher of The Tabernacle, says it this way, “When the
pattern is right, the glory will fall.” (See www.joinedtohashem.org)
Do
you want to feel His glory? Try coming through the pattern of the Tabernacle.
Shalom!
Lynda
