In my last post, I shared some thoughts about God’s sanctuary. If you’re not familiar with the sanctuary, it shows up in the book of Exodus, after God rescued the Israelites from Egypt. He instructed the Israelites to build a sanctuary and use it for religious services. While it is layered in meaning and symbolism, it’s primary purpose is described in Exodus 25:8, “And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them.”  

It’s all about God taking centre stage in our lives and in the places in our heart. 

In the sanctuary, the main services that took place were sacrifices. There were sacrifices when a person became convicted of sin and there were the annual cleansing sacrifices as part of the day of reconciliation. These services were not an end in themselves; the entire structure, its furniture, and the services pointed towards the Rescuer. 

“Through the teachings of the sacrificial service, Christ was to be uplifted before all nations, and all who would look to Him should live. Christ was the foundation of the Jewish economy. The whole system of types and symbols was a compacted prophecy of the gospel, a presentation in which were bound up the promises of redemption.” – {White, Acts of the Apostles, pg 14.1}

Paul said the same thing in Romans 5:8: “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” This is a life changing revelation. Dig into it:

Us/We – all humanity.

Sinners – carnal, rebellious, disconnected, angry, broken, incapable of saving ourselves.

Love – unconditional acceptance, action based – it’s real and impacts our lives.

Christ died for us – clearly the cross but we must remember that he is the lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

The deepest message of the sanctuary reveals God’s sacrificial love so that he could draw us to himself.  He was showing that he not only had a way to reconcile our angry and distant hearts he was the only one willing to do what it takes to make it happen. 

Do you truly believe the message that God loves and delights in you? Do you accept his acceptance of you? What are you doing now that comes from not believing this message? If you really believed it – all the time – what difference would it make in your life?