Written for Our Learning

From our Tuesday Morning Bible Study:

Has this happened to you? You make a New Year's resolution to read the Bible through in a year. In January you begin with Genesis. You read Genesis and the first half of Exodus and think, "Wow, this is really good." Then you read the last part of Exodus and get bogged down in the detailed description of the tabernacle construction...but you soldier on. Then, you come to Leviticus with its precise instructions of the various sacrifices...and you quit.

Admittedly, part of the first five books of the Bible (the Pentateuch) is difficult to read. These parts contain detailed descriptions of the construction of the tabernacle, of garments for priests, and of a sacrificial system that is no longer practiced. Why are these portions in the Bible? What good is it for us today? Can modern Christians in 2009 gain any benefit from reading these passages about a system that has long been obsolete?

The short answer is yes.

There are two reasons why we have these detailed sections in the Bible on sacrifices and tabernacle construction. First of all, the Bible was not only written for people in the 21st century. It was written for God's people living in every century. The first five books were initially written to the children of Israel living in the wilderness almost 3500 years ago. It gave them God's plan for their worship and provided subsequent generations with the historical basis for their faith.

Secondly, and just as importantly, all things in God's word were written for our learning. (Romans 15:4) The description of the tabernacle and the rituals of the Law were filled with types and allusions to the sinful condition of man and the redemption that God purposed to accomplish through Jesus Christ. The tabernacle was a living object lesson to the people of Israel about the plan of God. We read the Old Testament and our faith grows because we see that God's plan did not unfold haphazardly but was in the mind of God from eternity past and was being worked out even even among the Children of Israel in the wilderness.

The next time you try to read through Exodus and Leviticus, I encourage you to read the New Testament book of Hebrews along with it. The writer there does a magnificent job of tying the Old Testament ritual to the completed work of Jesus Christ on the cross.

Read it...and let God bless you.

Tony

Audio from Tuesday's Session
The Tabernacle
Handout