Entering the Tabernacle
Entering the Tabernacle
Leviticus 1:1 And the LORD called unto Moses, and spake unto him out of the tabernacle of the congregation, saying, 2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, If any man of you bring an offering unto the LORD, ye shall bring your offering of the cattle, even of the herd, and of the flock. 3 If his offering be a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish: he shall offer it of his own voluntary will at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD. 4 And he shall put his hand upon the head of the burnt offering; and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him. 5 And he shall kill the bullock before the LORD: and the priests, Aaron's sons, shall bring the blood, and sprinkle the blood round about upon the altar that is by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. 6 And he shall flay the burnt offering, and cut it into his pieces. 7 And the sons of Aaron the priest shall put fire upon the altar, and lay the wood in order upon the fire: 8 And the priests, Aaron's sons, shall lay the parts, the head, and the fat, in order upon the wood that is on the fire which is upon the altar: 9 But his inwards and his legs shall he wash in water: and the priest shall burn all on the altar, to be a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD.
Now that the tabernacle has been built, Moses goes into it; which is a symbol of the Lord’s priests’ being able to go into the tabernacles of their own bodies, and receives instructions for the rest of the populous to deliver the directions of how they are being given the right to interact with the Lord from an external state. The ones who bring ox to the tabernacle for the priests to sacrifice are ready to move into the priesthood themselves. The priesthood in Old Testament ties was reserved for the ones born into the Levitical lineage, and in the New Testament the ones who are equipped to become priests are born through Jesus’ lineage and are passing through the third stage of the congregational hierarchy. The upward movement of the Christian journey is opposite to the upward movement of the world in that the ones who serve are the ones who are the leaders, and instead of getting more worldly things through service, they actually receive heavenly rewards instead. Cutting of the offering in its pieces represents His people being rearranged into what He desires them to be and the washing of their inwards and legs signifies the deepest desires and the ability to travel being recreated for the new creation in Christ.
