quite a chunk of. This will comprise of over 280 verses that we'll cover in our study, and this is just focusing on the furniture. I mean, we're talking about so many other aspects of the tabernacle, and everything that went on, and the feasts, and the sacrifices, and the clothes. I mean, we could just go on and on, and I've actually asked Brother Wagner if he'd do some things on the feast, and I know of one message I want to do, but cover those, maybe even do have an actual feast together and be able to see some of those things firsthand and have that fellowship around that feast. So there's a lot of other things that we could talk about, but this was really going to be honed in, as I have told you before, on the furniture and the connection, the undeniable pointing to the Lord Jesus Christ. So that's what the thrust of the study was. And I noticed as it got bigger and bigger and bigger, I figured to myself, well, I'm going to have to ask some people if they want to come and listen to it. And we'll do three or four hours and get it done. And so we've done pretty well. And we'll see how I get done here. I think I could be home by midnight. Yeah. But we'll move on from where we're at. We've dealt with the altar, the burning sacrifices there, as you first entered the tent, as it were, the courtyard, as you came through that one opening. It's only one way. Saw that burning sacrifice, the altar there of sacrifice. Then as you travel to the laver, and we saw all the things that are applicable to us going into the holy place, you see first that table, and there that table, and then as you turn from that table, the candles, the golden candlestick, all of the aspects of that light, of the oil, of the wicks, of the, all the things that we saw there as well, and that's where we've kind of hit the pause button, and now we're gonna pick up in part two, and now we're gonna get to the golden altar of incense, the golden altar of incense, and so, As we head closer, we have our little map here, as we head closer to the Holy of Holies, that very dedicated, that very sacred place there in the tabernacle, we come first to the altar of incense. And from this, we'll go to Exodus chapter 30. Exodus chapter 30 is gonna give us a description of this furniture and what the Lord had to say about it. Exodus chapter 30, verse one then says, and now shall make an altar to burn incense upon of Shittim wood, and thou make it. A cubit shall be the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof. Four square shall it be, and two cubits shall be the height thereof, and the horns thereof shall be of the same. Thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, the top thereof, the sides thereof round about, and the horns thereof, and thou shalt make unto it a crown of gold round about. Two gold rings thou shalt make to it under the crown of it. By the two corners thereof, upon the two sides of it shalt thou make it. And they shall be for places for the staves to bear it withal. Now shall make the stays of shinim wood, and overlay them with gold. And now shall put it before the wall, that is by the ark of the testimony, before the mercy seat, that is over the testimony, where I will meet with thee." We'll deal with that here in just a little while. Verse 7, "'And Aaron shall burn thereon sweet incense every morning. When he dresseth the lamps, he shall burn incense upon it. When Aaron lighteth the lamps at even, he shall burn incense upon it. perpetual incense before the Lord throughout your generations." I haven't been keeping up. I apologize. Verse 9. There's your slide. Verse 9. Throughout your generations, it is most holy unto the Lord. Thank you now, Lord, as we have this privilege, this opportunity once again to come before your word. Lord, help us to illuminate the things in our lives and our hearts that can draw us closer to you and have a greater value for the sacrifice you have made. Thank you for the cross of Calvary. Thank you for the blood that was shed on our behalf. And Lord, as we look and continue to study these furnishings, this furniture of the tabernacle, we just help us, Lord, to be able to see the significance as believers, as the New Testament grace has been bestowed upon us through your Son, and see those connections and parallels. And we'll be careful to thank you in Jesus' name. Amen. Well, here we find the description of the incense altar. And as you saw on the map or the drawing there, this would be positioned in front of the veil. The veil that leads into the Holy of Holies. And it was made of wood and covered in pure gold. It was a foot and a half square, if you will. Three feet in height, according to the dimensions here in the Old Testament. And it had a crown around the top and horns on the corners. All very significant to Significant to the design and to the function and to the of course the pre-picture of our Lord and Savior But it's it's it's here where the high priest would would burn the incense and every morning and every evening according to the Word of God we just read that in verses 7 and 8 of Exodus 30 and the incense here would be that would be used would be special and It would never be used anywhere else. It was a very special incense. And the coals that used to heat and to burn the incense was taken from the altar of sacrifice. And so Leviticus 16, 12 gives us a picture here. And he shall take a censer full of burning coals of fire from off the altar before the Lord, and his hands full of sweet incense, beaten small, and bring it within the veil. on that incense altar, there would also be a blood applied once a year on the Day of Atonement. And as we read in verse 10 of Exodus 30 just a few minutes ago. So what is the picture here? And that's of course the questioning as we want to get out of each particular piece and what the Lord is talking about. And what is it that God is drawing and pointing to in this altar? And what we have, I believe, is one of the most precious realities for the believer. Probably the most commonly overlooked and unappreciated gifts that God has given to us. And that is Christ's intercessory prayer for you and I. He has come now between man and God to represent, to be the mediator in that intercessory prayer. Now, we've already learned that the wood showed his humanity and yet, of course, without sin, wrapped in gold. Okay, the picture there. And the horns now of the incense altar represent for us all authority. All authority in heaven and in earth. Who does it belong to? It belongs to Jesus Christ. Think about the very, the Great Commission call, right? And Jesus came speaking to them saying, all power is given unto me in heaven and earth. Again, verse 10 of Exodus 30, I've mentioned it again. And Aaron shall make an atonement upon the horns of it once a year with the blood of the sin offering of atonements. Once in the year shall he make atonement upon it throughout your generations. It is the most holy unto the Lord. So this blood being applied to the incense altar, literally, annually, I should say, as well, further verifies the authority, further verifies the authority that He carries based on His, I say His blood atonement on the cross of Calvary. And we see there in that verse, it also points that this incense altar was, look at it, most holy unto the Lord. That's right there in verse 10. Most holy unto the Lord. All indicative of the acceptance of Jesus Christ by the Father. And certainly He was. And still is. And the intercessory prayer, that function, that office that he holds, as it were, for you and I, is never snuffed out. It never escapes his attention. The prayer, the repentance, when needed, you know, it's always heard. It's always forgiven. And when we call on heaven's throne, that is, as it were, the perpetual burning. day and night of this altar. Hebrews chapter 7 verse 25. Wherefore, he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. And see, it's going to be verses like this. Yeah, you know them really well. You probably have them memorized maybe. But now there's a new connection maybe with some of these that hopefully you won't be able to forget anytime soon. And our prayers are accepted in Jesus Christ. You realize that? When you come before the throne of God, even the prayers themselves, as the Bible describes, are as incense smoke going upward to heaven. That is the picture here. Psalm 141, verse 2. Let my prayer be set forth before thee as what? As incense. And the lifting up of mine hands as the evening sacrifice. Revelation chapter 5, verse 8. When he had taken the book, the four beasts and the four and the twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having one of them lamps and the golden vials full of odors, which are what? The prayer of the saints. The prayers of the saints. Do you know that's why we pray in Jesus' name? You know, the words are not mere a religious ritual, okay? We don't just say that verbatim because we think that's what we're supposed to do. We need to call in prayer on the authority of His Son. It's in Jesus' name we pray. and to address that authority, to address the ownership of that prayer, and as it will be handled and brought before the Father by the Son. Man, we understand a greater gravity, a greater understanding in prayer. When we realize that's really what's going on, I think it would revolutionize our prayer life. I think it would give us a different view when we come before the throne and we realize what's really going on for us. And it never goes out. It never extinguishes. John chapter 14, verse 13. I'm sorry. And whatsoever he shall ask in my name, that will I do. That the Father may be glorified in the Son. that it would be done instinctively and divinely, not by tradition, not by vain repetition, okay? That's not how it's accomplished and that's not how it's carried to the Father. And of course, probably one of the favorite behind Jesus wept of memory verses of all time, pray without ceasing, right? Everybody can memorize that verse, pray without ceasing. So it should be a perpetual state of mind. It's not as if I just walk around life with my eyes closed and I'm always praying because I'm super spiritual. No, the idea is I'm always in a state of going to prayer over something that God can be involved in in my life. It's a mind and a heart for the believer, just as this incense, this picture, as it is a sweet savor as unto the Lord. and our overall worship of him. That worship must be pure, it must be holy, as the very recipe, think about it, of this incense. It was very specific. And he's very specific about the worship that we bring to him. And it's a picture of that as well, and the attitude that never must allow us to mix other things into our worship, right? The things of the world don't get to creep into our worship. No strange incense. No strange oil. No strange fire. You know, that's one of the safeguards of the under-shepherd is to watch those things, right? To watch the wolves in sheep's clothing, and to watch the worldliness, and to watch the thing, and be very guarded about that. And we see many of so-called churches today that have left that guard down, and the floodgates have been opened, and they just let whatever come in. We've seen it. But God requires that we worship in truth. And so if God takes it seriously, then so do I. For John 4, 24, God is a spirit, and they that worship him must worship him in truth and in spirit, or spirit and in truth. So now we get to enter. Now at this point, after we've accomplished this, after we've seen the things that God has wanted us to see, we get to now enter into the Holy of Holies. The Holy of Holies. The most sanctified place of this whole entire area, this whole tabernacle. and uh mikdash is the word it's it's it's it's the word that houses the the ark of the covenant and the two tablets of the law are there and and only the high priest was permitted to enter there and only yam yam kapoor in the in the center of the the holy of holies there stood the foundation stone on which the ark rested right there. And there also you would see an anointing oil that was placed in there. And then you would find the container of manna and Aaron's staff. And we'll be talking about that Aaron's staff that had blossomed. The inner measurement of the Holy of Holies there was a 20 cubic square. That is to say 15 feet wide and long and high. And this, this is the place. This is where God, God's presence came down to dwell among men, literally. I don't know what all that looks like, exactly what all transpires, but it's awesome. It's here that the presence of God dwelt. Now, we'll be looking at these items specifically within the Holy of Holies, but again, I think he behooves us to see this veil. This separated and enclosed very sacred area and what gave it that enclosure. So that'll take us to Exodus 26 before we ever get in there, okay? We need to see this for sure. Exodus 26, we'll start in verse 31. Now shall make a veil of purple blue and purple and scarlet and fine twine linen of cunning work with cherubims shall it be made And thou shalt hang it upon four pillars of shin and wood, overlaid with gold, for their hooks shall be of gold upon four sockets of silver. And thou shalt hang up the veil under the thatches that thou mayest bring and thither within the veil the ark of the testimony. And the veil shall divide unto you between the holy place and the most holy. Now shall put on the mercy seat upon the ark of the testimony in the most holy place. Verse 35. Now shall set the table without the veil and the candlestick over against the table on the side of the tabernacle toward the south. Remember I showed you the north, south, east, west. Now shall put the table on the north side. Now shall make a hanging on the door of the tent of blue and purple and scarlet and fine twined linen wrought with needlework. And thou shalt make for the hanging five pillars of shit and wood, and overlay them with gold, and their hooks shall be of gold. And thou shalt cast five sockets of brass for them." So first off, we see, I notice here, the re-mention of the colors. God had called for these colors to be brought in, remember, for that offering, and he was looking for all the components and the materials that he was going to need. for them to carry out this goal here, to make this, and we see the color that God chose for this veil. Blue, purple, scarlet, really all very indicative, all depicts for us the sinless God-man. The Lord from heaven, the King of kings, the Savior of all mankind, And think about the first convert, Lydia, was a seller of purple, the Bible says, Acts chapter 16, verse 14, and a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshiped God, heard us, whose heart the Lord opened, and she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul. So as we see the veils of the tabernacle, the first was passed through as you entered and saw the brazen altar, and the second one that you would enter would be that holy place. And now this one would be of heightened holiness now, of a very important separation. And that veil behind it stood the Ark of the Covenant in the Holy of Holies. The very meaning of the word veil is to separate, is to have separation. It was in this very place, we just looked at that, where God met man, this communion with a holy God. God had told Moses that he would commune with him there in verse 22 of Exodus 25. And there I will meet thee and I will consume with thee from above the mercy seat and between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony of all things which I will give thee in the commandment unto the children of Israel. There was, you know, there was set up here a great gulf. There was a separation. There was a veil, as it were, between God and between man. And to enter into that holy of holies, one would have to enter the first veil. And one would have to pass the brazen altar and the laver have to pass through the next veil into that holy place and there to trim the lamps and keep the oil, you know, and to place the incense upon the altar and maintain the coals for its heat. All these things that were going on, and the only one, once a year, did Aaron, on that day of atonement, go beyond the veil of the tabernacle and enter this holy of holies. I'll remind you here, we'll read it again at the end, Hebrews 9, verse 7 and 8 told us, and into the second went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood which he offered for himself, but for the errors of the people. The Holy Ghost, this signifying that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while the first tabernacle was yet standing. Through the directing, through the very words of the Holy Ghost and into the way into the holiest of all had not been yet made manifest, had not come to fruition. It would not be presented and clear and fulfilled until what? Until the veil of that temple would be rent from top to bottom. When Jesus Christ would die on the cross of Calvary. And that would be accomplished. The testator, the testator must be, think about it, well, don't think about it, the word tells us, the testator must be pronounced dead before the will or before the inheritance, as it were, can be claimed or can be brought forth for legal settlement. That's just, we know that just by life in itself. Hebrews chapter nine, verse 16, we saw it already, for where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. So in that mindset, in that very understandable reality, It would be, I believe, I believe it would be fair and right to claim, we're just having this conversation over lunch, that, dinner, whatever you want to call that, the whole Bible is one book, is it not? I know we have the Old Testament and the New Testament and the Old Testament, and we can sort of divide those in our mind, but all scripture is given by inspiration, it's all profitable, it's all, so we understand that, especially as independent Baptists, I know there's some people that would take, and just cling to the New Testament. Oh, we're New Testament, we only preach and teach the New Testament, you know, and so that mindset, we don't subscribe to that. But when we talk about the New Testament, we talk about the Old Testament, when we talk about law, we talk about grace, we have to consider what we're looking at here in Hebrews 9, verse 16, I believe, just to get kind of the proper standing of where we are when we talk about Old Testament and New Testament. And here's my mindset on this, if you will, It says there, I just read it, we'll read it again, for where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. I think it would be fair and right to claim that the New Testament does not officially, does not technically begin until the death of the testator. The death of who? The death of Jesus. Think about that. Because all the world still lived under the law while he walked on earth. Oh yes, that very moment, think about it, that is still Old Testament. Although we would open up our book here and we'd say, well Matthew, that's the start of the New Testament, right? And there was only, even as we saw Wednesday out of Isaiah, a forerunner of preparation given, remember? Yes, we have the virgin birth of Christ. Yes, we have the accounts of Him raising the dead and shifting into His earthly ministry there as He grows up, right? And what a ministry it was. I mean, He's purging out devils. He's healing. He's doing all this. He's teaching. We do not enter the holy of holies, though, in the New Testament sense, until he willingly lays down his life for all of mankind. Now that thought might shake around your view of where the Old Testament ends and where the New Testament begins, literally, and maybe it's not a hill to die on, I'll admit that, but certainly a slightly clearer perspective, I think, has been afforded through what? Through the death of the testator. That's when the New Testament begins. That's when it can be relinquished. That's when it can be enjoyed. That's when the inheritance comes. That's what Hebrews 9 is talking about. A New Testament. The gospel of Jesus Christ. And in that transaction, the Bible says that the veil was torn in half all the way from the top to the bottom. Right down to the ground. Mark chapter 15 verse 33. When the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour, Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabacchio, which is being interpreted, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Some of them that stood by when they heard it said, behold, he calleth Elias. One ran and filled a sponge full of vinegar, put it on a reed, and gave it him to drink, saying, let alone, let us see whether Elias will come to take him down. And Jesus cried with a loud voice and gave up the ghost. And the veil of the temple was rent in twain from top to bottom. And there that day, there that great gulf between man and God would now be opened up, would now be available to all. That separation, that veil would now be rent. We were looking earlier at the golden candlestick before we went to dinner there. And all of its teachings, of course, was the light of the world, right? The light of the world, which is Jesus. And how we can be a reflection of that light. And we ought to be. And we too can have a glow of sorts, right? After we have spent time with God. After we've been around the Word of God. There's an overflow. There's a glow, right? Certainly was the case for Moses when he stepped down off of Mount Sinai. That Shekinah glory was upon him as a result of spending time with God. I believe that God is teaching us something through even that account. The Bible says in Exodus 34, verse 28, yeah. He was there with God 40 days and 40 nights. He didn't either eat bread nor drink water, and he wrote upon the tablets the words of the covenant, the 10 commandments. Appropriate, we're gonna be looking at that here soon. It came to pass when Moses came down from Mount Sinai, the other two tablets of testimony in Moses' hands, when he came down from the mount, that Moses was not, that the skin of his face shone while he talked with him. And when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come nigh him. And Moses called unto them, and Aaron and all the rulers of the congregation returned unto him, and Moses talked with them. And afterward, all the children of Israel came nigh, and he gave them In commandment, all that the Lord had spoken with him in Mount Sinai, verse 33. Let me catch up here. Until Moses had done speaking with them, he put a veil on his face. But when Moses went in before the Lord to speak with him, he took off the veil until he came out. And he came out and spake unto the children of Israel, which he was commanded. And the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses' face shone. And Moses put the veil upon his face again until he went in to speak with him. So Moses must cover. He must separate that glory. The fear that was emanating in the hearts and the minds of those that was only getting a reflection of God. Forget being in the presence of God. And so he had to keep that covered. And that veil of Moses was used to separate man, think about it, from the very presence of God. It was not needed in the presence of the Holy One. Did you notice that? You notice he pulled it back when he went to go spend time with God, and he would remove it, and then it was returned when he would come, and he would speak to the people, and they could only see probably a glimpse of God's glory. Undoubtedly, maybe from the seams or from the edges of that veil, whatever it was, but I'm sure they saw something. I'm sure they still saw something creeping out from the edges of that veil. So it was, the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ, His public ministry, showed glimpses of His glory. In that same kind of mindset, I believe, by divine revelation, think about it, His disciples, time and time and time again, were able to witness firsthand the fact that He was, in fact, the Son of God. Did we not see that in John 1, verse 14? And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory of the only begotten Son of the Father, full of grace and of truth." Did you see that? We? See that circle of that we? Who's that? The disciples. They saw it firsthand. They were front row spectators of glimpses of glory, of the edges of that Shekinah glory, kind of coming out around the seams, as it were. John chapter 2 verse 1 through 11 gives us the water into wine miracle, that wedding. And that initial glimpse of His glory is recorded in that passage as well. I won't read it all, but I'll read verse 11. This beginning of miracles did Jesus of Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth His glory, and His disciples believed on Him. Wow. Matthew 17 gives us, of course, the Mount of Transfiguration. Think about that. After six days, Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John, his brethren, and bringeth them up to in the high mountains apart. We saw this recently in the book of Luke in our travels. He was transfigured before them. Verse 17. I'm sorry, verse 2 of chapter 17. He was transfigured before them, and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light. Of course, the light again. We're back to that. It all comes full circle, but we're back to the light. Just thinking along this line, Peter. Peter would later write as he reflected back upon that day, I believe. I believe he's thinking about this day when he's writing 2 Peter chapter 1. And in verse 16 he says, For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were, look at it, eyewitnesses of his majesty. He said, the eyewitness that we had, it speaks volumes. I was there. I saw it. I saw it firsthand, Peter said. I had a glimpse of his glory. These glimpses of a glory were only a small taste of what was to come. Mark chapter 15, verse 37 says, And Jesus cried with a loud voice and gave up the ghost. And the veil of the temple was rent in twain from top to the bottom. That veil, which was some 30 feet tall, 30 feet wide, as thick as a hand spread. Not this way, not this way. Think about the thickness and the fabric that went into that veil. It was rent by the power of the Almighty God. Rent this veil the moment Christ gave up the ghost and died for the sins of all mankind. And now the gap, that gap now once separated or veiled, the holy righteous God from a sinful depraved man is now bridged by the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary. The full redemption. The full redemption will be proven with His resurrection in three days. And through that death, burial, and resurrection, those who entrust themselves in that finished work may now have continual access. There's no veil. There's no interruption. There's no barrier there between us now and the holy of holies. We have an opportunity. We have now, as Hebrews chapter 10 verse 19 tells us, having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus. Maybe that's the verse you'll see in a different way now. Verse 20, by a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us through the veil, that is to say, his flesh. Now instead of once a year, now instead of someone representing for us, now with one man coming before God for all, there is an ever available access daily for all that will put their faith and their trust in the finished work. Now we'll look at that final, most sacred, I would say, piece of furniture in the Holy of Holies, and that would be the Ark of the Covenant. The Ark of the Covenant. It's very, now it's very important. It's very important that we not get our study or knowledge of this very important piece of furniture from Indiana Jones, okay? Let's just, that's not where we get our theology from, okay? Or any such Hollywood films, right? Our theology does not come from Harrison Ford, okay? Let's just, you know. And we laugh at that, but I guarantee the average person on the street out there today would point to like Raiders of the Lost Ark. Oh, that thing you're talking about in that movie, right? Right? For us as believer, we turn to scriptures. Amen? We turn to scriptures. We don't allow Hollywood to give us our theology or teach us things, okay? And as we step into the last veil containing the last of the furnishings in this holy of holies, we arrive at the ark. The ark. The word ark itself suggests a chest for safekeeping of cherished articles. Maybe some of you have what's called a hope chest at the foot of your bed or something, and in there you keep the quilts and the photos of the kids and the grandkids, and you keep things that the kids have drawn for you, and you put them in that place for safekeeping. They're cherished articles. That certainly would be applicable to Noah's ark, would it not? Since those articles would have to be cherished, right, to save the human and animal race of all, Yeah, those were cherished articles. But this ark, the Ark of the Covenant, was to hold the Ten Commandments. They were there on two tablets. It also contained a pot of manna, a golden pot, and Aaron's rod that budded, as we mentioned earlier in our candlestick portion of our study. And those articles within the ark, within that container, all signify the very mighty hand of God. For them it did, at that point it still does to this day. His miraculous deeds on Israel's behalf. The ark rested there in the center of the Holy of Holies. And on both sides of the ark were poles that were used to carry. And these poles were 10 cubits long and yet, and protruded towards the curtain. And so you would come in, they would be pointing right at you like that. Entry into the Holy of Holies was only permitted by the high priest while officiating during the service of Yom Kippur. And he was dressed in white garments. And on this day, on this day the high priest would enter into the Holy of Holies four times according to the Word of God. The first time he burnt the incense. The second time, he sprinkled the blood of the bull once upward and seven times downward. And on the third time, he sprinkled the blood of the goat that was offered to God in the same manner. And on the high priest's fourth entry into the Holy of Holies, he removed the incense vessel and the coal shovel. You say, how do you know? Well, the Word of God tells us. Exodus chapter 25. Guess I was already there. Verse 10 is where I want to start. Exodus 25.10. And they shall make an ark of shillom wood, two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof, and a cubic and a half the height thereof. Thou shalt overlay it with pure gold. Within and without shalt thou overlay it. Thou shalt make upon it a crown of gold round about. Sorry, verse 12. Now shall cast four rings of gold for it, and put them in the four corners thereof, and two rings shall be the one side of it, and two rings on the other side of it. Now shall it make staves of shit and wood, and overlay them with gold, and shall put the staves into the rings by the sides of the ark, that the ark may be born with them. That's the only way they could carry it. So, what's that testimony? We have a little more detailed list in Hebrews 9, our main text. A little more detailed list here in verses 3 and 4. Or verse 4. But verse 3, let's do that one. And after the second veil, the tabernacle which is called the holiest of all. which had the golden censer and the Ark of the Covenant, overlaid round about with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron's rod that budded, and the tables of the Covenant." So he gives us these three things, these three items that are in here, well four really, but three sections, three things represented. This was a rectangle box measuring, just to break it down, three and three quarters feet wide, two and a quarter feet deep, as it were, and two and a quarter feet high, okay? And its construction was a very specific species of wood covered in gold, all inside and out. And on the top had a crown, and that went to the edge of the ark, all around about. The only history, the only history we could find today is by the time that the ark was placed in Solomon's temple, the pot and the rod had disappeared. 1 Kings chapter 8 gives us that account. So it's worth looking at. Then Solomon assembled, verse 1, the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the chiefs of the fathers of the children of Israel, unto King Solomon in Jerusalem, that they might bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of the city of David, which is Zion. And all the men of Israel assembled themselves unto King Solomon at the feast of Ithium, which is the seventh month. And all the elders of Israel came, and the priests took up the ark, and they brought up the ark of the Lord and the tabernacle of the congregation and all the holy vessels that were in the tabernacle, even those did the priests and the Levites bring up. And King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel that were assembled unto him were with him before the ark, sacrificing sheep and oxen that could not be told nor numbered for multitude. Verse six, am I on the right one? Yep. The priest brought in the ark of the covenant of the Lord unto this place, into the oracle of the house, to the most holy place, even under the wings of the cherubims. For the cherubims spread forth their two wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubims covered the ark and the staves thereof above. And they drew out of the staves, and the ends of the staves were seen out of the holy place before the oracle. And they were not seen without, and they are there unto this day. And there was nothing in the ark save the two tables of stone which Moses put there in Horeb, when the Lord made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt. Verse 10. came to pass when the priests were come out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the Lord, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of the Lord. How many of you remember a few weeks ago when I brought up the Queen of Sheba and how she had traveled from afar, remember that, to glean from the wisdom of Solomon? I don't know if you picked up on that in the message, and I hope you did. But what did she want? She wanted his wisdom. She wanted to be able to ask him questions and glean from this wisdom that God had given to him. Remember that? And the only theory or widespread speculation found Only in the words of men. Not in Scripture. So this is outside the Bible now. We're going to step outside the realms of Scripture here. That the ark is kept in the church of Our Lady Mary of Zion in Ethiopia. That is hearsay. I'm not saying that is the fact. And it's believed though that the ark was brought to Ethiopia 3,000 years ago by a man named Menelik. Legend states, and we'll leave it just at that, legend, that he was the son of Queen of Sheba and King Solomon. So they had gotten together. The queen was from Ethiopia, but met the king, of course. We saw that in the passage when she went out of her way to seek him out and was believed to have had a relationship with him while visiting Israel. She returned home before giving birth, of course, and as this young man grew, grew older, Okay, verse 11. As he grew older, returned to Israel to study with Solomon, his father. I'm going to go back and see dad, right? During one trip, it is told that he stole the ark and brought it back to Ethiopia, where reportedly it remains. It's even told, the other legend is that the security who stands guard of the ark at that church has allegedly been trained to kill with their bare hands. I don't know how you stop bullets with bare hands, but somehow they're okay. Now that sounds more like a movie to me than actual history. But that's the story, okay? That's the only kind of story that we have. We really don't know. That's the real answer. We don't know. But I thought it was interesting that her name came up again through this account. So what about the ark? What is the significance? What are the historical values? Forget the historical values. What are the spiritual values found in this thing? This very important element. The lessons, examples, they're manifold. We wouldn't even have time to spend on this piece alone and cover it all. Because you would be here until midnight, and I'm not going to do that to you. But I'm drawn to a few things. A few accounts that I hope will be a challenge and a reminder tonight. And it's important to notice some things here. Of course, the Ten Commandments themselves, right? That would be enough to preach another two hours on, right? But those Ten Commandments, those represent for us Jesus Christ bearing the law, right? The law of God in his heart for his very being. Now listen, we use the law as a mirror, the Bible says. We look at the law and that proves the sinfulness of our own lives. We look at that law and we say, well of course I don't keep the law. Well, that's the whole point of the law. Yes, exactly. And the holy sinlessness of the Son of God is the only way to cure that thing called sin. Proverbs chapter 40 verse I'm sorry, Psalm 40, verse six. Sacrifice and offering thou does not desire. Mine ears hast thou opened. Burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required. Verse seven. Then said I, lo, I come in the volume of the book. It is written of me. I will delight to do thy will. O my God, yea, thy law is written in my heart, within my heart. Exodus chapter 25, 11. Well, that's something worth mentioning. It would be easy to recognize this one. That the crown detail of the ark gives to us Christ as king. Is he not? He is the king of kings. He is the Lord of lords. He does own the crown. I mean, think about it. He was born as a king. Matthew chapter 2 verse 1. Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, saying, where is he that is born? And here's, here's his title. Are you ready for it? King of the Jews. For we have seen his star in the east, and we are come to worship him. Worship him so he was born as a king and he rode into Jerusalem as a king John chapter 12 verse 13 took branches of palm trees and went forth to meet him and cried Hosanna blessed is the king of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord and Jesus when he had found a young ass sat there on as it is written fear not daughter of Zion behold thy king cometh sitting on an ass's colt perfectly fulfilling the Old Testament prophecy And yes, they would say, Hosanna. Yes, they would say, bless him. And then they would say, crucify him. Crucify him. And he was crucified as king. 1 Timothy 6, verse 14. That thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebukable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which in his times he shall show who is the blessed and only potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords. Didn't cooperate, now I got it. And let's not forget, he will return as king. Revelation chapter 19. And I saw heaven open, and behold, a white horse. He that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, verse 12, and on his head were many crowns, and he had a name written, that no man knew but he himself. And he was clothed in a vesture dipped in blood, and his name was called the Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in white linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword With it he should smite the nations, he should rule them with a rod of iron, and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. He hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, you know the name, King of Kings and Lord of Lords. How about the manna? The manna kept there certainly would show us the provision of God. We see that all throughout God's provision. The very bread of life, we've already hit that. We saw that pre-picture in the showbread. Remember John chapter 6, verse 35, and Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life. And that bread of life provides eternal life for all that will partake of his grace, that all that will come and taste. And of course the rod. The rod, which we've cited it earlier, but that budded and flowered rod. Speaking of Christ becoming a man, think about it. Speaking of Christ dying and raising again from the dead, that something could bloom from something that was dead, is exactly the picture of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Moreover, brethren, 1 Corinthians 15 verse 1, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received wherein ye stand. Verse 3, for I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, and that he was buried and rose again the third day according to the scriptures. What a picture. And that takes us to the mercy seat. The mercy seat. We have to go to Exodus 25 to see a few verses pertaining to the mercy seat. Exodus 25, verse 17, now shall make a mercy seat of pure gold. Two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof. Now shall make two cherubins of gold of beaten work. Shall thou make them in the two ends of the mercy seat, verse 19, and make one cherub on the one end and the other cherub on the other end. Even of the mercy seat ye shall make the cherubims on the two ends thereof. And the cherubims shall stretch forth their wings on high, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and their faces shall look one to another toward the mercy seat, shall the faces of the cherubims be. Now shall I put the mercy seat above upon the ark, And in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee. Of course we saw what that all entails. Verse 22. And there will I meet with thee. and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat. I think this is the third time we've seen this verse. From between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony and all the things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel. And this seat would be, this seat would be the cover of the ark of the covenant, okay? Literally the lid, this was a seat. It was made of solid gold. This is where God's presence dwelt. It's recorded for us that this is where his glory entered. When the tabernacle was first set up and completed, this is where God came down. So again, to repeat another verse, but profitable for us, Exodus 40 verse 33. And he reared up the court round about the tabernacle and the altar, and set up the hanging of the court gate. So Moses finished the work. Maybe it was 34. The glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. And so this would be a perfect and complete fit. A perfect covering, a perfect seat. And just in that fact, think about it, just in that alone would give to us the completeness in Jesus Christ's atonement. And that's exactly what it is. The crowning jewel of this seat is the cherubim. Are those cherubim, I should say plural, giving us the very presence of God. that He is ever present in our lives today, is He not? And the cherubim on the top of that mercy seat there are described as facing each other. On the mercy seat itself, their wings are outstretched and overshadowing the mercy seat. These cherubims are an interesting feature, I would admit. Really, that's really not explained anywhere in detail, but I do know this. You search out other scriptures, and we'll see some conclusions. We'll draw some things about these cherubims that we could draw a conclusion from. The first mention of cherubim in the Bible would be, of course, in Genesis chapter 3. There we are. Genesis 3, verse 24. And he drove out the man. Why did he drive him out? Because of their sin. And he drove out the man and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden, what did he place? Cherubims. With a flaming sword which turned every way to keep the way of the tree of life. The garden at that point of creation, the garden that represented God's presence on earth. The fellowship that was broken in their sin, don't forget that, right? And so the cherubim also seemed to serve as gatekeepers at that time, of God's presence in that very special place. 1 Samuel chapter 4 verse 4 would be another example in Scripture. So the people sent to Silo and they brought, they might bring from thence the ark of the covenant of the Lord of hosts, which dwelleth between the cherubims. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God. I preached this quite a while ago, probably a year and a half ago, but they had brought that into battle as a good luck charm, remember? That day did not end well, not for a lot of people. Not at all. Listen, God is not our rabbit's foot that we pull out as a good luck charm when we need Him. God is not the one that we run to when things get bad. When we get in trouble. No, that's not the case. He's not our good luck charm. In other places, God is described as being enthroned between the cherubim over the ark. Psalm chapter 18, verse 10, and he rode upon a cherub and did fly, yay, and he did fly upon the wings of the wind. Describing God, think about it, as mounting the cherub and flying. Wow, what an amazing picture. I must have missed my slide. I'm not sure where that one went. Either way, it seems like cherubim are closely associated with God's presence in any of these cases. And so, these images of the cherubim atop the mercy seat could symbolize God's presence, God's holiness. See, no image of God was allowed. But the images of the cherubim point point to God's presence. So it is in every piece of furniture here in the tabernacle and in its courtyard. Including the white coverings. Including those, even those outside. All around. Speaking of God's purity. Think about that. So we conclude. We must conclude, right? I desire to conclude. Maybe is the right word to use. With a new mind's eye, freshened, and acquainted with the tabernacle, to some degree. I know the study's not exhaustive, although it seems exhausting, being so long, but it's not exhaustive. Oh, we've only scratched the surface. Trust me. Hebrews chapter nine, verse one. Here's where we end up. Here's where we will reread that passage that we started with. My prayer now as we read this together, as you look at these words, as you think about the things that we have studied tonight together, that you would see afresh and anew what God is saying here. Then verily the first covenant and also ordinances of divine service in a worldly sanctuary. For there was a tabernacle made, the first, wherein was the candlestick. Oh, we saw the candlestick. And the table, and the showbread. Yeah, we saw all of that. Which is called the sanctuary, verse 3. And after the second veil, the tabernacle, which is called the holiest of all, which had the golden censer and the Ark of the Covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein was the gold pot that had manna, and Aaron's rod that budded in the tables of the covenant. And over it the cherubims of glory shadowing the mercy seat, of which we cannot now speak particularly. Now when these things were thus ordained, the priest went always into the first tabernacle, accomplishing the service of God. But into the second went the high priest alone. Once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself and for the errors of his people. The Holy Ghost, this signifying that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest. while as the first tabernacle was yet standing, which is a figure for the time then present, which were offered both gifts and sacrifice that could not make him that did the service perfect as pertaining to the conscience. Verse 10, which stood only in meats and drinks and divers washings and carnal ordinances imposed on them until the time of reformation, but God being come in high priests of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building, neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood, he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. For if the blood bulls and goats and the ashes of an heifer sprinkled the unclean sanctify us to the purifying of the flesh how much more shall the blood of Christ who with the eternal spirit offered himself without spot to God purge your conscience from dead works and serve the living God verse 15 for this cause he is the mediator of the New Testament that by means of death for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance. Praise the Lord. Verse 16. For where a testament is, there must also of necessity by the death of the testator. For a testament is of force after men are dead. Otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth. You only get a glimpse of his glory until he actually rents that veil, praise the Lord. Whereupon neither the first testament was dedicated without blood. For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats and water and scarlet wool and hyssop and sprinkled both the book and all the people, saying, This is the blood of the testament which God hath enjoined unto you. Moreover, he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry. And almost all things are by the law purged with blood, and without the shedding of blood is no remission. It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. Oh, it's better. For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the truth, but into heaven itself now to appear in the presence of God for us. Nor yet that he should offer himself often as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others. But then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world. But now once, in the end of the world, that he appeareth to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself, he willingly laid down his life. Verse 27. And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment, so Christ, verse 28, was once offered to bear the sins of many and unto them that look for him that he shall appear the second time without sin unto salvation. Lord, we just come before your throne and we're Overwhelmed with the humility it requires to even digest a fraction, Lord, of your word. Lord, we're full tonight. Lord, we have been shown so many things. I understand it's a lot. But I do know this, Lord. You are pleased. I do know that when God's people assemble, when your word is proclaimed, When almost 300 verses are read from the pulpit, proclaimed and taught, Lord, you are well pleased. I pray, Lord, that it would be accomplished in the lives individually of the believers tonight. Lord, that we could leave this place understanding something more about you. Not to have knowledge, that puffeth up, but to glean and show the perfect picture of your son in every part of this book. Lord, the tabernacle is a big one, but it's in every part. It's in every page, it's in every verse, every chapter. Thank you for that. What an amazing God you are. Lord, we're humbled with that thought tonight. Thank you for the privilege to be able to gather together, have the fellowship with these dear saints, and Lord, the opportunity to open your word I've never reconciled a sinful man preaching a perfect book. Lord, it's your choice, it's your vessel, and Lord, so we have to be humbled in order to gain the confidence to be able to proclaim it. Thank you for this season of life that we're able to enjoy, and Lord, we don't take that for granted either. We ask you, Lord, that we be reminded of your truth. We thank you for all that you do for us. We look forward to what you're gonna do on the Lord's day, your day. Lord, if you tarry your coming, and I look forward to coming together once again around the word, around the fellowship, around the edification of each other, even to hear from this dear missionary that we support. Lord, be able to once again leave full and pleased, taught, convicted, encouraged, And Lord, remind it to be able to shine that light from the seams of our own being. Bring that to a lost and dying world that's so darkened out there. Help us all to magnify, to reflect your goodness in Jesus' name. Amen. Thank you.