Entering through the Blood-Dwelling Place Series 1.1

Exodus 25:8, "And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them."

For a moment, I want you to close your eyes. Okay, you better open now or you won’t be able to read the rest! But think now about your home, the place that you are from. There is no place in the world that you are so comfortable. I can still picture my bedroom when I was growing up. Our homes are a place of comfort, security, and rest. We all love to be at home!

God also has a home, or a dwelling place that He prefers above all others. The God of the universe wants to live inside of you and me. As we study the Scripture, we find at least seven distinct dwelling places of God. Through studying these dwelling places (which are mainly natural, historical buildings) we find keys to qualities we need in our lives in order for God to dwell among us. Over the next few weeks, we will consider each of these dwelling places.

The 7 Dwelling Places of God revealed in Scripture are the following:

1) The Tabernacle of Moses
2) The Tabernacle of David
3) The Temple of Solomon
4) The Restoration Temple
5) Herod’s Temple
6) The Church
7) The Temple of Ezekiel

We will start with the first dwelling place, the Tabernacle of Moses. This tabernacle was built in the wilderness, about two years after God had delivered the children of Israel from Egypt. God declared that the reason He brought the children of Israel out of slavery was so that He could dwell among them. And that is the same reason God delivers us from sin and the world! We are saved for fellowship with God.

The tabernacle of Moses contains countless lessons for us, many more than we can look at today. The main lesson of the tabernacle of Moses is that we enter the presence of God through the blood of Jesus. In short, the tabernacle was divided into three basic sections-the Outer Court, the Holy Place, and the Holy of Holies. The Ark of the Covenant and the manifest presence of God was in the Holy of Holies. All Israelites were allowed in the Outer Court with their sacrifice, only the priests could come into the Holy Place, and only the high priest was allowed in the Holy of Holies, and only once a year. Each time he came in, he had to bring the blood of the yearly sacrifice. What does this mean for us?

It shows us that the way into the presence of Jesus is through the blood. Of course, it’s no longer the blood of an animal, but rather through the blood of Jesus Christ. And since He died, one time for all of our sins, we can live in His presence. We no longer have to only come in once a year (like the high priest)-we can now come into His glory daily and be changed by Him.

But each step we take into God’s presence is not through our merit. We must always remember it is only through the blood, the sacrifice of Jesus, that we come to God. Make much of His blood. Ask Christ to cleanse you in His blood, to cover you in His blood, to strengthen you through His blood. Fellowship with God is all about Christ and the work He has done. We did not deserve it and we cannot earn it. All we can do is have faith in the work He has done! So ask God to take you into His holy of holies, into deep relationship with Him, through Christ’s work on the cross.