Skia of the Skene! (Shadow of the Tabernacle)

1 And the Lord called unto Moses, and spake unto him out of the tabernacle of the

congregation (tent of meeting NIV) 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. Leviticus1:1-4

These opening verses of Leviticus contain several gems ('and', tabernacle of the congregation, burnt offering, voluntary and atonement). Wrapped up in these words are the promises of fellowship, free-will and salvation wholeness (physically, mentally and spiritually - body, soul and spirit wholeness)

Leviticus 1:1 opens with the word 'And'! This tells you something right away. Leviticus is connected to Exodus. In Exodus chapter 40, the tabernacle (Link - skene-tabernacle) was set up and ready for business. In verse 33, it says Moses finished the work and guess who stops by?

32 When they went into the tent of the congregation, and when they came near unto the altar, they washed; as the Lord commanded Moses. 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. 34 Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. Exodus 40:32-33

The desire of God's heart is to have a relationship with each of His sons. Moving from the mountain to the tent of meeting was a starting place. Eventually He would move from the tabernacle to the temple; then to Jesus Christ (John 1:14 - tenting among us); then on the day of Pentecost into the hearts of men and women who believe.

The book of Leviticus is  an inspiration as well full of information about God's heart. It is a curious book to many but very necessary for our learning as it contains shadows (Link -skia), symbols and patterns of things to come.

Grace is Not That Complicated!

Years ago I found the concept of 'grace' difficult to understand clearly. Part of my confusion rested in  different teachings of various teachers in the doctrine as well as practice of grace. People define it, connect it, compare it to the law, equate it with mercy, read into it, and sadly invoke what I call 'worm theology', accusation and guilt with it.

I remember distinctly an 'aha' moment on grace I had when I walked by a display of the Pentecost scene portraying the holy spirit as it was poured forth on the twelve apostles(Acts 2:40-47). On the display the word, 'POWER' was written over the tongues of fire. Right then and there I got it! 'Grace' is what God has given us. God on that amazing day gave the opportunity to all who believed, to connect with Him and have bold access to the throne of grace, the source of all power.

And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, Praising God, and having favour ('charis' Greek for grace) with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved. Acts 2:46-47

When we truly recognize the power of God in our lives, it affects us. We change, we love and in those moments we don't think about sin. We think about how great God is!

The first use of 'grace' is in connection to Noah. God bestowed grace on Noah. The earth had become corrupt and was 'filled with violence' (Genesis 6:11). God is not the author of evil, He is a God of justice and all that is right. Evil is destructive and destroys those committed to it. This breaks God's heart. He created an earth to lavish His love on man, and man allowed evil to take over. Noah was an exception (Genesis 6:9) and God provided Noah with help in a time of need against the violent activity of men. He helped Noah build a boat so that he and his family would survive. I suppose the God of the universe could have spoken into being a fancy cruise liner and plopped it down in front of Noah and his family. Instead he taught him how to build it and gave him the information, power and stamina to complete the task. Noah had to build the boat!

Grace makes us strong.  On the day of Pentecost God gave those who believe an amazing tool belt of power to provide strength. The book of Acts reveals some tough times that assaulted the 1st century believers. As they applied the tools, strength replaced weakness in face of adversity. It was God's grace that made them strong.