ENTERING THE HOLY PLACE

Adapted and excerpted from Dr. Brian Bailey's books, Tabernacle of Moses and Leviticus

Copyright © 2009 CreationSwap LLC

It is our desire to go out of the outer courts and enter in the holy place, and into the holy of holies!
In 1 John 2:12-14, we know that the three parts of the tabernacle of Moses correspond as well to the degrees of Christian maturity: Children, Young Men, Fathers.

1 John 2:12-14
I write to you, little children,
Because your sins are forgiven you for His name's sake.
I write to you, fathers,
Because you have known Him who is from the beginning.
I write to you, young men,
Because you have overcome the wicked one.
I write to you, little children, Because you have known the Father.
I have written to you, fathers, Because you have known Him who is from the beginning.
I have written to you, young men,
Because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you,
And you have overcome the wicked one.

Here, the description of young men is that they have overcome the wicked one (twice said) and that they are strong and the word of God abides in them. It is this people who are able to enter in the Holy Place.

The Holy Place has three pieces of furniture. As one enters from the entrance, to his right will be the table of shewbread (north), facing him will be the alter of incense, and to his left will be the golden lampstands.

The door of the Holy Place is described for us in Exodus 26:36-37:
"You shall make a screen for the door of the tabernacle, woven of blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine woven linen, made by a weaver.
And you shall make for the screen five pillars of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold; their hooks shall be gold, and you shall cast five sockets of bronze for them."
The hanging door is made of fine linen with a needlework of blue, purple, and scarlet thread. Revelations 19:8 tells us that fine linen represents righteousness:
"And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints."
Indeed, this is the basis of entrance to the Holy Place. To enter the Holy Place, we must have the righteousness of God in our lives.

BLUE speaks of the Word of God = WE MUST WALK IN OBEDIENCE
Numbers 15:38-39
"Speak to the children of Israel: Tell them to make tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and to put a blue thread in the tassels of the corners.
And you shall have the tassel, that you may look upon it and remember all the commandments of the LORD and do them, and that you may not follow the harlotry to which your own heart and your own eyes are inclined."

PURPLE speaks of a kingly ministry = WE WANT TO RULE AND REIGN WITH CHRIST NOT ONLY IN THE FUTURE BUT IN THIS LIFETIME!

Judges 8:26 speak of purple robes which were on the kings of Midian.
Luke 16:19
There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day.
John 19:1-3
So then Pilate took Jesus and scourged Him. And the soldiers twisted a crown of thorns and put it on His head, and they put on Him a purple robe. Then they said, "Hail, King of the Jews!" And they struck Him with their hands.

Romans 5:17
For if by the one man's offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.
SCARLET is the color of blood, and speaks of the priestly ministry as they are the ones who offer the sacrifices. = WE WANT TO OFFER OUR LIVES AS A LIVING SACRIFICE BEFORE THE LORD AND FULFILL OUR PRIESTLY MINISTRY

This door was placed upon gold hooks, which hang on five pillars. The entrance having FIVE pillars speak that we can only enter the Holy Place by the grace of God, as five is the number of grace. (It is the number of virgins who were able to enter the marriage feast, the number of stones that David picked, etc.).

It is the priest that is qualified to enter into the Holy Place, and what the priest does is to offer sacrifices. Therefore, it makes sense that to enter the Holy Place, we should be priests as well, even as 1 Peter 2:9 tells us that we are "a royal priesthood."

The five pillars of the door to the tabernacle speaks of the five qualifications that are found in the Altar of Burnt Offering. These are the five offerings that the priest makes. If these things are worked out in our lives, we will qualify to enter and minister in the Holy Place.

It is in the Outer Court that these sacrifices are offered, and it is in the outer court where we qualify to enter into the holy place.

Fulfillments of each offering:

- Fulfilled ceremonially by the Israelites
- Fulfilled historically by the Lord Jesus Christ
- Fulfilled spiritually by Christians

1. BURNT OFFERING
- Is an offering made on a voluntary basis
- Depending on the wealth of the individual, either a bullock, sheep, or fowl is offered
- Romans 12:1: "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service."
- Paul tells us that we are the offering, we are to present our bodies as a living sacrifice unto the Lord. Doing this is an expression of our love for our God.
- Offering this offering speaks of loving the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.
- The Lord has chosen a way for the animals to be offered. We cannot offer sacrifices on our own.
For bulls, they have to be cut into quarters and washed. Speaking that before we are to be acceptable to our God, we need to be washed and cleansed spiritually.
- The offering was divided into four parts, and each part is thoroughly washed with water. This spiritually speaks that each of these parts in our lives must be cleansed and purified by the waters of the Word of God, even as it says in Ephesians 5:26 that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the Word.
  • The head - everything that pertains to the head (our mind, our eyes, our lips, our ears, our senses) MUST be consecrated to the Lord. Romans 12:2 says "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." We are to have the mind of Christ. 1 Corinthians 2:16 says our thoughts need to be purified. 
  • The fat - speaks of our energy, our human strength. It must be surrendered and consecrated to the Lord. We have to redeem the time for the days are evil. Ephesians 5:15-17 says "See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
  • The inward parts - speak of our affections, what is on our hearts. These must be consecrated and purified before the Lord. Many of God's people have divided hearts because their affections are divided as well. Psalm 86:11 says "Teach me Your way, O LORD; I will walk in Your truth; Unite my heart to fear Your name."
  • The legs - speak of our walk. We should walk in the light, walk in truth, walk circumspectly and walk in the Spirit.
This offering has a progressive fulfillment. There are levels and degrees of consecration and grace. We must continue to give more of ourselves to the Lord and continue to surrender everything unto Him until we are completely wholehearted for Him.

2. THE MEAL OFFERING
Leviticus 2:1
When anyone offers a grain offering to the Lord, his offering shall be of fine flour. And he shall pour oil on it, and put frankincense on it.
- No blood was shed
- Consists mainly of the fruit of the soil
- This is an offering of grain or fine flour
- Represents duty of man to man ("Love thy neighbor as thyself")
- The offering is made of fine flour and then topped with oil and frankincense
  • FINE FLOUR - In order to love others, we should be ground like fine flour. We must not have any lumps or rough parts remaining in our character, meaning that no irritation or complaining mars the smooth flowing love of the Holy Spirit toward others.
  • OIL - represents the anointing of the Holy Spirit
  • FRANKINCENSE - faith tested and tried in the fire
According to Leviticus 2:11, this must NOT be offered with:
  • LEAVEN - represents a type of sin, hypocrisy, or false doctrine.
  • HONEY - represents a type of human sweetness and love. Honey loses its salient properties when heated, it becomes acidic and it ferments. Human sweetness is a natural way of appearing to be nice, but in reality it lacks true feeling and purity that only divine love can manifest.
3. PEACE OFFERING

- We must enter into the peace of God
- The purpose of this offering is to bring us to peace with God and man (Peace as relationship being restored).
- Jesus Christ offered this offering for us. Isaiah 53:5 says "But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed."
- In order for there to be peace, someone has to pay a price.
Ephesians 2:14-18
"For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father."
- Two aspects : Having peace WITH God, and having the peace OF God:
  • Peace WITH God - means having right standing with the Lord. Romans 5:1 says "Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." As we are "justified" by faith (corrected or rectified and make us straight and upright), we have peace with God.
  • Having the peace OF God - John 14:27 says "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." This is an impartation of HIS PEACE which is divine, and passes human understanding.
Philippians 4:6-7
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

This is a wonderful thing to have because in times of turmoil, we can have inward quietness and peace, and not be troubled by outward circumstances. Having the peace of God is a higher level of peace than having the basic state of peace with God.
- Requirement: The animal should not have any blemish (Leviticus 3:1). Christ was a blameless Lamb. 1 Peter 1:9 says "But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot." This is the standard of Christ for His Church as well. Ephesians 5:27 says "That he might present it to Himself a glorious church, not having a spot or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish."

In Leviticus 3:7-13, the offerer lays his hand upon the head of the animal to identify himself with the animal. The animal becomes the substitute for the one who deserved death. We must identify ourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ who died in our place!

The sacrifice includes the inward parts - God wants to search us and cleanse every hidden sin and bondages. Psalm 139:23-24 says "Search me O God and know my heart, try me, and know my thoughts, and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."

The fat is taken from the backbone of the animal sacrifice: strength of burden or burden-bearing. We are burden bearers, so that the unity and peace will be preserved. Ephesians 4:3 says "Endeavoring to keep unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." The word translated "endeavor" means that with all our strength, we must try to keep the peace.

This fat is offered in the fire and Leviticus 3:5 says that it is a pleasing aroma unto the Lord. This represents all of our strength being totally expended in the service of the Lord. ALL FOR JESUS!!! This is precious in the sight of God. We want to be among those who will spend all of our strength and energy in the work of the Gospel. Like Paul who said in 1 Corinthians 15:10: "But by the grace of God, I am what I am: and His grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me."

4. THE SIN OFFERING
- Spiritually deals with the sinful nature which we were born with
- God wants to deal with our lives so we can enter into the Holy Place.
- The weaknesses and strong wrong tendencies should be surrendered to God: the easily offended nature, the carnality, the laziness, the selfishness, the lusts, the indifferences, the passivity, the pride and false humility should be surrendered to Gd
- Even as these natures have been passed down to us by our parents, it is our responsibility to seek the Lord and meet with Him, allowing Him to deal with our sin nature. God wants to cut all these away, and "circumcise" our hearts, so that the beauty of Jesus is seen in our lives.
- instituted to deal with unintentionally committed sins - sins of ignorance. IGNORANCE IS NO EXCUSE for breaking the laws of God. Leviticus 5:17 says "If a person sins, and commits any of these things which are forbidden to be done by the commandments of the LORD, though he does not know it, yet he is guilty and shall bear his iniquity."
- Paul said that God was merciful to him because he sinned in ignorance. 1 Timothy 1:13 says "Who was before a blasphemer and a persecutor and injurious: but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief."
- There is forgiveness for sins of ignorance.
- According to Leviticus 4:3, if a priest sins, he had to offer a bullock for sin offering. This is the most expensive and highest form of offering. It is equivalent to the sin offering for the whole congregation, as seen in Leviticus 4:13-21. Therefore, we see the gravity of a minister's sin. His sins can stop the whole congregation from moving on with the Lord.
- The priest will present the animal in the tabernacle, lay his hands on its head, and kill it then the blood will be collected and will be brought to the tabernacle. The blood will be brought before the veil that separates the Holy of Holies from the Holy place, and the blood was sprinkled seven times before the Holy of Holies in the very presence of God. Seven represents perfection and completeness and symbolizes Christ's perfect work of atonement for our sins.
- Then some of this blood will be put upon the horns of the altar of sweet incense before the Lord (this denotes that the prayer of the priest was sanctified and accepted by the future sacrifice of the blood of Christ). Then the rest of the blood will be poured at the bottom of the altar of burnt offering.
- Then all the fat will be removed - the strength and power of the sin must be broken. Otherwise, they will continually fall into that sin in that area of their life. The strength of sin is destroyed by the fire. We should ask the Lord to destroy by the spirit of burning, the root and strength of that which has caused us to sin as in Isaiah 4:4: "When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the spirit of judgment and by the spirit of burning."
- Leviticus 4:11-12 says that the skin and flesh, head, legs, inwards, dung are to be carried and burnt outside the camp in an unhallowed place where the refuse was burnt. This portrays Christ who suffered outside the gate. Hebrews 13:12 says "Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered outside the gate."
- We are called to suffer without the camp among the heathen and unbelievers... even as we are exhorted in Hebrews 13:13: "Therefore let us go forth to Him, outside the camp, bearing His reproach."

5. TRESPASS OFFERING
- deals with transgressions and specific sins we have committed.
- there is a difference between the sin and trespass offerings.
- the sin offering is for the sinful NATURE which produces the specific sin.
- the trespass offering is for the specific acts of sin which the nature produces.
- NO TRESPASSING SIGN - if you cross it, you tresspass. A person who leaves the paths of righteousness and walks on forbidden territory commits a trespass.
- It is to purify and cleanse us of these transgressions that the offering must be offered spiritually.
- It is also called the guilt offering.
- Leviticus 5:14-19 says that if a man commits a trespass, he shall bring for his trespass unto the Lord a ram without blemish. The context here is that an Israelite has done wrong by not paying his tithes or other dues in the sanctuary, and the sanctuary has suffered loss thereby. A ram had to be offered
- this helps understand the gravity with which the Lord views a Christian who does not pay tithes since He requires a costly sacrifice to atone for this sin.
- Those who do not pay tithes are considered thieves in God's eyes. This is made clear in Malachi 3:8-11.

When these five offerings are fulfilled in our lives, we begin to enter into the Holy Place.

** Each of these offerings is progressively offered throughout our lives. We are to continue offering them!
** Fire is an essential part of any sacrifice - No sacrifice is complete without the FIRE.
Come, let us offer unto Him Who alone is worthy to receive our sacrifices of praise!
Romans 12:1
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.
- This is the whole point of studying the offerings, that we seek their fulfillment in our lives by the grace of God!

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