The Journey

Automated transcript, lightly edited for readability. Scripture appears as spoken; the video is the authoritative teaching.

God's Blueprint for His House

And we have the Father speaking. He says, "It's fascinating because God had a pattern that he showed Moses, a blueprint. When you see that word pattern, I want you to think of blueprint." And we see this word later on in scripture with David. David says when he talks to Solomon about building the temple of God, he says, "The Spirit has given me the pattern. The Spirit has given me the blueprint, and David gave it to Solomon." And even in Ezekiel's temple—Ezekiel 40 through 44—we see the same thing: measure the pattern, review the blueprints of God's temple. There are heavenly blueprints for the house that God wanted.

The Hebrew word is significant, maybe you won't realize it now, but it's significant later on in the series. The Hebrew word for pattern is tavneet. Tavneet. If you want to write that down: TA-V-N-I-T. The tavneet. Measure the blueprints, the pattern. Tavneet. And so we know that the Mishkan traveled around with Israel in the wilderness and in the desert. And then something fantastic happened. We had a small incident where the spies went and came back with a bad report. And God was like, "Oh, that's no big deal. I'm just going to wait for this whole generation to die out before we go into the land and take it.

We're going to have another generation that's going to rise up that's actually going to have the faith and the courage that I've told them. They're going to have the confidence in me that I will carry them into the land." And so we had to wait 70 or so years until finally, finally, Joshua stands up.

Crossing the Jordan

And we have in Joshua 4 and 19: "The people came up out of the Jordan on the 10th day of the first month and they encamped at Gilgal on the east border of Jericho." You see, this is when Joshua takes up the role of leadership over the camp of Israel and they spy out Jericho, of course, and you have the whole Rahab and the spies incident. And then they crossed the Jordan carrying the tabernacle, God's portable house, with them. They settle and they make a camp at a place known as Gilgal. This is the first place that the tabernacle is pitched in Canaan. In Canaan. In the land. Yeah, I got a little map here.

Look at this. I got it out of an awesome book I had. Let's see here. So here are the plains of Moab where they settled. They crossed over the Jordan right here. And here's Gilgal, right up near Jericho, if you will. Right? And this is where they camped. And I believe—have the verse here. I believe it's in the Talmud in Zevakim 118, it asserts that they stayed there for 14 years. It's a good number. I like it. Continuing on, when we're on the subject of the people crossing over, I want to show you something very interesting because we know that Moses is, of course, the prophet of Israel. He was the one that God gave the commandments, the Torah.

Listen, Moses, you need to teach the people how they're going to dwell with me in my kingdom because they're not just a bunch of nomadic tribes anymore. They're not just a bunch of families, just a bunch of individuals. At Mount Sinai they became a nation. They became my nation and they made me their king. They enthroned me their king and every nation has a set of rules, has a constitution, has limits, if you will, and justice systems of justice and righteousness. And so Moses, you need to tell them what my reign looks like and what the law will be in my kingdom, how I want things.

A Prophet for a King

And this was given through the act of giving the Torah, the commandments to Israel. We're familiar with this. It's fascinating because Moses didn't come into the land. Moses didn't lead the people into the land. Who led the people into the land? Joshua. Yehoshua. Yeshua, if you will. I love that because even though the reign of the king was supposed to be on the people's hearts and minds in the wilderness, it still did not limit God's promise for them to have the inheritance that he told them they were going to have. It still did not limit God's promise of the salvation and the benefits that he gave them. It did not limit God's promise of what he was going to fulfill for his people. Moses didn't lead the Israelites into the land. Yeshua did. Now, what's fascinating, if we look at Joshua 5, verse 2, we see something interesting. "At the time, the Lord said to Joshua, 'Make flint knives and circumcise the sons of Israel a second time.'" Oh, men. Everybody, repeat after me: Ouch. Flint. Is that like an arrowhead, Brad? It'd be like an arrowhead.

Men, ouch. Why'd they need to circumcise them a second time? Like, what, twice in one? Like, how does that work, right? Why'd they need to circumcise them a second time? So Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the sons of Israel at Gibeah Haaraloth, and this is the reason why: "Joshua circumcised them. All the males of the people who came out of Egypt, all the men of war, had died in the wilderness on the way after they had come out of Egypt. Though all the people who came out had been circumcised, yet all the people who were born on the way in the wilderness after they had come out of Egypt had not been circumcised." What I wanted to show you is that the people who came out, the people who were at Mount Sinai, the people who came into the covenant—even though they were circumcised—their offspring never got circumcised. There's a debate whether they even celebrated Passover most of the time in the wilderness. We don't know. Exodus says very clearly: you have to be circumcised to eat of the peace offering, the Pesach.

Holiness Defined by Boundaries

My point being this: them not being circumcised didn't prevent them from coming into the land. After they came into the land, that's when God said, "All right, we need to work on this now. After you've come into the promise that I've given, after you've come into this thing that I've given to you—this free gift that I've given to you, that I promised to you—after you've come into this, now it's time to get serious. Now you will wear the sign of the covenant. Now we're going to review Passover. Now we're going to review the feast, Shabbat, kosher, clean, Mishkan. If I'm going to dwell among you, you need to have a level of holiness. Kedusha. Holiness is defined by what restricts. I've got a few people who've been paying attention, that's good." And so I want to point that out: how many of you didn't realize that the sons of the people, that the first generation never got circumcised? You read? You read only the top verse a second time? What? Hmm.

The Tabernacle in Shiloh

And of course, after Gilgal, they continue all the way through Joshua 18. We have them taking over Jericho and Ai. And then they start ejecting the northern leaders of the land of Canaan. I mean, they're going in to claim the land, claim the inheritance that God has given to them. And in Joshua 18, it says, "Where? Shiloh. And set up the tabernacle of the congregation there, and the land was subdued before them."

So they first set up the tabernacle in Gilgal, and then they set it up in Shiloh. You guys remember what the tabernacle looked like? Something like this, right? That comes to mind, right? What was it made out of? Fabric and all kinds of nice stuff and gold and everything. And you just fold it up like a big tent. And that's what they made in the wilderness. But I want to show you a couple of verses that opened up a very interesting discussion in Jewish thought about the development of the tabernacle in Shiloh. We know that the tabernacle was in Shiloh for over 300 years. Like I said, the Talmud states the rabbis believe it was 369 years.

Seems pretty accurate. They're pretty good at adding stuff up. I want to show you something real quick. See, we're going into 1 Samuel, and the tabernacle is still in Shiloh. And I know I'm jumping around in scriptures, and I'm jumping through a lot of stories, because the thread through this message is about the Mishkan. It's about the tabernacle. It's about God's house, okay? And we're going to be discussing specifically all the places God's house went to. Also, all the things that God's house went through before arriving in Jerusalem.

A House, Not a Tent

And so, 1 Samuel 1, verse 24, we have the whole story of Hannah, right? I want to show you this verse. It says, "I was going to say 'tent,' but what's it say? House. House. The house of the Lord in Shiloh. And the child was young." You don't really describe a tent as a house. You describe it as a tabernacle, a mishkan, a tent, an Ohel, if you will, even the Ohel Moed, the tent of meeting. You don't describe it as a house. Why would he describe it as a house if it wasn't a house? We'll keep reading. In chapter 2, verse 22: "And Eli was very old, and he kept hearing all that his sons were doing to all of Israel and how they lay with the women and were serving at the entrance of the Ohel Moed, the tent of meeting."

So now here we have Scripture calling the same structure a tent of meeting. Is it a house or is it a tent? Because when we go to Sukkot, there's a difference between a house and a tent. No one says, "My house is over there next to the Burmese. And we're having a good time. You should come back for some chicken." No one says that. It's "My tent." Why would they call it a temple? We'll just keep going. Chapter 3, verse 2: "At that time, Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that the cloud he could not see, was lying down in his own place, and the lamp of God was not yet gone out."

Samuel in the Temple and the Ark's Dwelling Place

And Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord where the ark of God was. The hakel. The temple. Is it a house? Is it a tent? Or is it a temple? Well, maybe they're all kind of synonymous with each other. Maybe a house is just the dwelling place of the Lord, even though the Hebrew word is bait, and it's a house. Chapter 3, verse 15, Samuel lay until morning. Then he opened the curtains of the house of the Lord. Then he opened the doors to the house of the Lord. Guys, these verses and the confusion that has caused struck a study for the early sages before the first century. We know in the Mishnah, right, second and third century writings, which display what was believed about Judaism in the scriptures in the first century—just a reference point, a historical document.

In Tractate Zevakim 14, section 6, it states that at Shiloh, they had the walls and they had the canopy over the tabernacle, but the walls of the actual structure were made of stone, and it had doors. It didn't have a roof. They put the same canopy over top of it because it was there for almost 400 years. They made it a more permanent structure. Does that mean it had stone walls? I don't know. It means they called it a house and it had doors. So I wanted to introduce you to that idea. Mark of an educated mind as to what? Entertain an idea without accepting it? Yeah, testing. So it's believed among Jewish scholars, even till this day, that the Mishkan when it stood in Shiloh, it had stone walls.

No roof—the roof was still a Mishkan. Mishkan still had to have a canopy, so they put the canopy over top. Interesting? Interesting. I know.

The Philistines Rise Up

Then things get very interesting for the house of God. You see, there was this group of people known as the Philistines. And you're familiar with the Philistines? Okay. We're about to read an account in Scripture, and it's going to be a few verses long. Is that okay? I'm jumping around. We're going to get to Jerusalem in no time. Don't worry. Philistines, good guys, right? Allies of Israel? Not so much. No. Invaders of Israel? Oppressors of Israel? Fight. We've got to fight them. Fight these Philistines. If you have your Scriptures, you can turn with me to 1 Samuel chapter 4, and we're going to read quite a bit of this chapter. And what we're discussing today is the Mishkan. It traveled across the Jordan. Why didn't they just build the temple? I mean, they really carried it around for 400 years before they wanted to build the temple that God said would be built in Deuteronomy 12. I mean, 400 years. What were they waiting on? Gilgal got to pick up, go to Shiloh, right? Travel around. Now we're going to see an incident with the Philistines that made the whole situation rather grim.

Israel Defeated and the Ark Captured

Starting in verse 1: And the word of Samuel came to all of Israel. Israel went out to battle against the Philistines. They encamped at Ebenezer, and the Philistines encamped at Ephak. And the Philistines drew up in the line against Israel, and when the battle spread, Israel was defeated before the Philistines, who killed about 4,000 men on the field of battle. And when the people came to the camp, the elders of Israel said, "Why has the Lord defeated us today before the Philistines? Hey, I got an idea. Let us bring up the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord here from Shiloh." What a brilliant idea. Listen, guys, let's go into the holiest of holies and pick up this box that people die whenever they're going to see, die whenever they touch it.

It's so restricted that only one man can even mess with it once a year at a specific time of the year. Let's go pick it up and let's carry it into battle like a boss. And then we'll just defeat everybody. Lightning bolts are going to shoot out of this sucker. I mean, it's going to be great. We will use the power of God. We are going to pick God's throne up with him on it and we're going to march into battle and he's going to be cool with it because he loves us. So the people sent to Shiloh and brought from there the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord of Hosts, who is enthroned on the cherubim—God's throne with him sitting on it—and carried it around.

And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the Ark of the Covenant of God. And as soon as the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord came into the camp, all of Israel gave a mighty shout, so the earth resounded. And when the Philistines heard the noise of the shouting, they said, "What does this great shouting in the camp of the Hebrews mean?" And when they learned that the ark of the Lord had come to the camp, the Philistines were afraid and they said, "A god has come into the camp." And they said, "Woe to us, for nothing like this has happened before. Woe to us—who can deliver us from the power of these mighty gods?

These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with every sort of plague in the wilderness." Verse 1. Guys, it is always a mistake to take the presence that God has revealed to you and use it for your own agenda. It will never end well for you. The reason that God gives you His presence, His Spirit, the gifts, the blessings, is not for you. The Bible is not about you. The Bible is about Him and His kingdom. Don't pick up God's throne. Don't use God's spirit. Don't use the blessings that God has given you for your own agenda, because it's supposed to be for lifting up his name, not your name, his kingdom, not your kingdom.

That's the takeaway from this passage. I would hope it strikes deep because it certainly did for Israel. Philistines, man, they got a big God in their camp. Listen, guys, they're going to attack you and you're going to become their slaves. Is that really something you want to happen? Well, no.

Then you better just fight. Be a man. Fight. If you die, you die. At least you won't be a slave. All right, let's go fight. Killed them all. Took the ark.

The Terrible News Reaches Israel

A man of Benjamin ran from the battle line and came to Shiloh that same day with his clothes torn and dirt in his head. And when he arrived, Eli was sitting on his seat by the road watching, for his heart trembled for the ark of God. And when the man came into the city and told the news, the city cried out. When Eli heard the sound of the outcry, he said, "What is this uproar? What's all this about? What happened? What could have possibly been so bad?" Then the man hurried and came and told Eli. Now Eli was 98 years old, and his eyes were set so that he could not see. And the man said to Eli, "I am he who has come from battle. I fled the battle today." And he said, "How did it go, my son?" Eli seems pretty optimistic. I mean, how'd it go? What happened? Would you be pretty upset if you just found out your two sons are dead? You might be a little bit more upset than the ark. I mean, you can always get the ark back, right? I mean, it's fine. We'll get it back somehow. Your two sons are dead, right?

A Wife's Grief and Ichabod's Name

Now his daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant. We're not done yet. And when she heard that the ark of God was captured and that her father-in-law and now her husband were dead, she bowed and gave birth, and her pains came upon her. And about the time of her death, the women attending her said, "Do not be afraid, for you've born a son. I mean, God has blessed you. It's a blessing." But she did not answer or pay attention. She named the child Ichabod, saying, "The glory has departed from Israel because the ark of God has been captured and because of her father-in-law and her husband." This was a bad, bad scenario. So not only is the ark taken, now the guy who is facilitating the entire services at the Mishkan—he's dead, right? His sons are dead. What are we gonna do about that? And the ark's gone. Wow, what are we supposed to do now? I mean, the Mishkan was kind of set up for the ark, but the glory has departed.

The Philistines and Dagon's Fall

When the Philistines captured the Ark of God, they brought it to Ebenezer to Ashdod. Then the Philistines took the Ark and they brought it into the house of Dagon and set it up beside Dagon. They were proud of this thing they had captured. Going to take it in the temple. We're going to set it up right beside Dagon. Dagon's looking down on it, right? Man, no one could go before the Lord and not bow. No one could go before the Lord and not pay reverence. No one could go before the Lord and just stand there and look down on the ark. The priest wasn't even allowed to turn his back after he sprinkled the blood—had to back out through the curtains.

And we know what happens. You're familiar with the story. What happens? Dagon fell down. The priest came in. Dagon fell down. Oh, Lord, we've got to pull him back up. I don't know how big he was, but whatever, pull that statue back up. And then guess what? Dagon fell down again. This time his head popped off and his hands came off. God's not going to allow another deity, whether real or not, to stand over his throne. Get down. Fascinating. You guys know Dagon? All right, so there's a lot of sensational stuff out there on the internet, a bunch of junk. Everybody say amen. Amen. Amen. If something seems really sensational and, ooh, I've never thought of that, right?

Just because you've never thought about it and it seems like some type of new knowledge to you, does that mean that scholars and people with big PhDs haven't already seen ideas like that on the internet, found them sensational, and discarded them? You guys know what I'm talking about?

Dagon: God of Grain

Dagon was a deity of grain. In the Ugaritic language of Canaan, in Canaanite myth, Dagon—if you will—meant grain. In archaic Hebrew as well, it meant grain. We have writings talking about him swinging his sickle. In the Ugaritic tablets, the Rosh Ha'avimah tablets discovered in 1929, Dagon is depicted as the father of Baal, Baal-Hadad. Baal means lord, means master. Baal is not a pagan name per se—it just means master or leader, the guy on top. The full name of the deity Baal in the Bible was actually Baal-Hadad until he overtook his father's throne in Canaanite myth, and then he just got shortened to Baal because he was the Baal of Canaanite myth.

In one tablet of the Rosh Ha'avimah tablets, which depicts ancient Canaanite myth written by the priests who recorded the myths—we discovered them back in the 1920s—it states that Dagon was the father of Baal. Okay? Baal was a storm deity—lightning and showers—and he carried a big old mallet around, could be thunder, right? He brought the rain. It goes with Dagon—grain—rain for the grain, right? Dagon was a god of grain. Around the 4th century, the rabbis had an idea. Because they weren't familiar with Canaanite myth, they wrote that Dagon was possibly a fish god. Why? Because the Hebrew word for fish is "dag."

Fitz, Dagon, Dagon, right? And sometime in the Middle Ages, this thought process became standardized in Jewish culture and Christian culture. In the 1800s, some Christian authors who wrote books that fabricated ancient pagan myths spread this stuff. Dagon was never a fish god.

Dagon Was Never a Fish God

Matt, why do you bring this up? Because there's junk out there that talks about Catholic priest hats. You guys seen this junk? The mitre that the Pope wears—because it's filleted, right? And it looks like maybe a fish mouth opening, right? Well, people go and they say, "Oh, that's Dagon— fish mouth." There were fish deities—Juanes was a prophet, and so on and so forth, and he wore a fish suit. There were fish deities in the ancient Near East. The issue with looking at junk like that and spreading it on the internet—the Catholic Church worships Dagon because of the hat they use? Guys, anyone who has studied the attire of the bishops and the popes in the Catholic Church will realize that the filleted mitre is the most recent evolution of the pope's mitre.

The first one looked more like a helmet. Not until the Middle Ages did the whole filleted thing happen. So I tell you this, not because it's a big, big deal, but don't believe everything you see on the internet, please. Because you're a messenger of reconciliation, right? Regarding messages, Paul says your job is to be a messenger of the message of reconciliation. Your job is to tell the world that God would stop at nothing—nothing—to ensure an intimate, close relationship with all of mankind, not even sending his own son to die so that he can restore the Edenic covenant that he had with Adam—with you.

This is the gospel, and this is very important. So you can spread 99.8% of the gospel. And if you spread one piece of information that is just crap—that is not true—then guess what happens to your 99% of information, your witness? It is also now affected by that one piece of information that was not true. And so now you've become disqualified in the world as a messenger of reconciliation. It's important to make sure that you don't just spread sensational information just because, "Oh, look at that! That's pretty cool!" Think before you share. Think before... Matt, you trying to control what I share on the internet?

I'm trying to remind you who you are and what the world sees you as. Before you hit that share button, will this promote your status as an ambassador of Christ or will it stain it? Will it edify the message of the gospel? Will it be a distraction?

Samson and the Ark

Dagon was a god of grain. Philistines worshiped a god of grain? That's interesting. I don't know. This thought just came to my head. Remember when Samson tied the foxes up, their tails up, and set them on fire? What kind of twisted thing—he tied some foxes together by their tails and set them on fire, and did they go and burn the fields of grain that they had? Was it the grain? I think it was fields of grain. The Ark of the Covenant was placed beside one of the chief deities in Canaanite myth and of the Philistines—Dagon. And God decapitated the statue. Now, we know what happened. They began to be afflicted, and they said, "We need to get this guy out of here—this ark out of here."

So they took the ark to Gath, and everybody in the city started to have tumors. There's some commentary that mentions very specific boils, but I won't go there. Tumors! We'll just leave it at that. Started to have tumors. You know what I'm talking about? Tumors, right? Everyone started being afflicted because the Ark of God was in town. Philistine town. Nah, get it out. We're going to take it to Ekron. Guess what happened there? The folks didn't even want it. Nah, we heard about all them tumors. People have it. Nah, we don't want any tumors. Go take it away. They finally hooked the Ark to two dairy cows and just set them off.

Go on. Go on. The cows just kept walking straight, and it led to Beit Shemash, an Israelite camp where people rejoiced that they had it. And they were so proud of it that they were staring and gawking at it. And I guess it turned into a casual spectacle. And then people started getting afflicted by God and dying, I guess, because they were gazing on it. So then they took the ark to the house of Abinadab and consecrated his son Eleazar to take care of it, and it remained there for 15, 20 years, something like that. It remained in this guy's basement in a town by the name of Kirath-Jerim.

What Happened to Shiloh

What happened to Shiloh, the temple of God, the house of God, the tent of God, the tabernacle of God? We don't really know. Scripture doesn't tell us what happened. In Jewish commentary— and I'm not saying that all Jewish commentary is fact by any means—but they spent a lot of time researching this, and their opinions carry some weight with me. They believe that Shiloh, the Mishkan, was destroyed. Now, the scriptures don't necessarily say that. But we do have two compelling scriptures here in Jeremiah 7 where God is speaking. He says, "'Go now to the place in Shiloh where I first made my dwelling with you, for my name, and see what I did to it because of the wickedness of my people Israel.

While you were doing all these things, declared the Lord, I spoke to you again and again, but you did not listen. I called you, but you did not answer. Therefore, what I did to Shiloh I will now do to the house that bears my name, the temple you trust in, the place I gave to you and your ancestors.'" So God is threatening to do something to the temple that he did in Shiloh. We also have Psalm : "'When God heard he was full of wrath and he utterly rejected Israel, he forsook his dwelling at Shiloh, the tent where he dwelt with mankind.'" So this may just be talking about his glory leaving because the ark left, or it may be indicating that Shiloh was destroyed. We know that Shiloh was dismantled because it was moved.

It was moved to a place known as Nov, or in the King James Version, Nob. So now the Mishkan is in a place by the name of Nob, no longer in Shiloh. And this is speaking about when David is running from Saul. David came to Nob, and Ahimelech the priest came to meet him. "'If the young men have kept themselves from... from women.'" And David answered the priest, "'Truly women have been kept from us as always when I go on an expedition. We haven't been made unclean recently. The vessels of the young men are holy even when it is an ordinary journey. How much more today will their vessels be holy then?'" So the priest gave him the holy bread.

There was no bread there but the bread of the presence, which is removed from before the Lord to be placed fresh on the day it is taken away. There you go. The holy bread. The holy bread was in the Haikel, the inner court of the sanctuary of the Mishkan. That's where David went in Nob. So we see that the sanctuary was set up in Nob now. So it's set up in Nob. Where's the ark? The ark's not there. The ark's still over in—what's the town's name? Kirat Yerim. It's still sitting in that guy's basement, right? When David was anointed, he began to make plans to bring the ark to Jerusalem because he understood that's the place where God is going to put his name.

You guys still with me? I'm jumping around. You still with me? Does this journey sound like a fun journey of the Mishkan? Not so much. It sounds really complicated. It sounds like the Mishkan went through a lot, In 1 Corinthians 15:1, "'David built houses for himself in the city of David,'" which is just south of the Temple Mount today, around the Gihon Spring, "'and he prepared a place for the ark of the God and pitched a tent for it there.'" Okay? This tent that David pitched for the ark, this is not the Mishkan. Okay? This is not the Mishkan.

The Tabernacle of David

This is something called the Ohel David, the tent or tabernacle of David. You've heard of it— this is what it is. It is the place that David built near the Gihon Spring, almost a mini tabernacle, if you will, specifically for God's throne to sit in. The tabernacle of David, the tent of David. Then David said that no one but the Levites may carry the ark of God, for the Lord has chosen them to carry the ark of the Lord, to minister to him forever. And David assembled all of Israel at Jerusalem to bring up the ark of the Lord to its place, which he had prepared. So he's bringing this thing to Jerusalem.

In 1 Samuel 22, we know that Saul got really mad because David was messing around with the priest over at Nob, and he destroyed Nob, essentially. The Mishkan gets set up in a place known as Gibeon. It's about five miles north of Jerusalem. So we have the Mishkan about five miles north of Jerusalem, and then in Jerusalem, south of the Temple Mount, we have the Tabernacle of David with the ark sitting inside of it. Anyone else kind of confused? Because they're not supposed to be separate from each other. Now, they are separate from each other, but who is the guy that was overseeing ministering to the presence of God in the tabernacle?

What was his name? His role? The high priest, right? So there would have been a high priest in Gibeon, right? But the ark—I mean, the only guy that can really mess with the ministering of the ark is which guy? The high priest. So there needed to be a high priest going back and forth, right?

Two High Priests

Israel set up two high priests at this point in time in history. They had one from the line of Aaron through Ithamar, and then they had one from the line of Aaron through Eleazar. And he left Zadok, the priest, and his brothers, the priests, before the tabernacle of the Lord in the high place of Gibeon to burn offerings to the Lord on the altar, burnt offerings regularly every morning. So we have Zadok there from the line of Eleazar, and we have Abiathar, the son of Ahimelech, from the line of Ithamar. He was appointed by David to take care of the ark. The other guy was appointed actually by Saul to take care of the Mishkan earlier. Things were a mess during this time in Israel. A big mess.

The Journey of the Mishkan

Big recap. Shiloh—this is after Gilgal, right? Shiloh gets taken, the Ark is captured, the Tabernacle Stone, the Ebenezer Ark gets captured in battle here at Aphek, gets brought down to Ashdod, over in Gath, got those tumors that are just not very fun to have, goes to Ekron, rejected, finally gets towed off with the cows to Beth Shemesh. Then it gets placed in the basement in Kiriath Urim, right? About five miles north of Jerusalem, or you see this place right here? Jebus. What's Jebus? Before Jerusalem was called Jerusalem, it was the city of the Jebusites—Jebus. So it wasn't called Jerusalem yet, but it was Jebus.

So that's where the ark went. The Mishkan was taken down, traveled to Nob, and then it finally came to Gibeon as well. The ark went down to Jebus. I'm stressing all of this, and I'm jumping around a lot to try to emphasize how much of a mess this was. We know finally what happened. David's son, Solomon, built a permanent resting place for God's glory in his holy temple. The Mishkan went on quite a journey, didn't it? A little bit? Quite a journey. Sometimes it was a nice smooth journey. Gilgal—nothing really bad happened, you know. Sometimes it was a journey filled with sadness and anxiety. Sometimes it was a journey with death.

Sometimes it was a journey that made people doubt what was going on— Eli. But God was still in charge of the journey that the Mishkan was on every step of the way. God still had a plan. God still knew where his glory was going to end up. Why? Because God made a promise. God stated, listen, I know where this is going to be. There's going to be a journey, but my glory is going to rest on that holy mountain, and I'm going to put my name there, and it'll be exalted for everybody to see.

God Made Sure

Let me tell you something about the tabernacle. God made sure it made it to the place that it was supposed to be. Now there are some of you in the room possibly that can relate to the story of the tabernacle. Maybe you feel as if you're getting torn down because the enemy has taken something from you that you don't feel like you can live without. You don't feel like you have a purpose without. You don't feel like you can continue without. You are not defined by the circumstances of your journey. You are defined by where God is taking you and where you are going. You are not defined by what is happening right this second.

That is not who you are. That is not your destiny. That is not the end of the road. That is not where God said he was going to take you. That is not the plan that God had for you in your life. As a believer, you have not arrived yet. No matter what your current situation is, your circumstances, God knows where you're going. Your life may be so scattered, so scattered right now, that you feel like you need two high priests to manage all the pieces. That's not where you're going. Your journey's not over. The walls may be cracking, things may be collapsing all around you. Your journey's not done yet. That's not where you're going.

You may feel like the presence of God has forsaken you. Your journey's not done yet. That's not where you're going. You made a mistake in your life, and the enemy is now using it to make you feel like you have nothing left to live for. Your journey's not done yet. That's not where you're going.

Where God Is Taking You

God knows exactly where your destination is. And when you get there, when you arrive at the place that God has taken you by the hand, that you have committed to be in because you made an oath to God and you said, "God, I know I am a sinner. I know I am nothing. I know I am not great. I know I have nothing to offer you in your kingdom. Will you take whatever my heart has? Will you use this heart of flesh, Father? Will you pour your love into this vessel? Will you allow me to be a servant in your kingdom?" Guess what? You got the job before you even gave the resume, which was worthless anyway. And he said, "You're hired, and I'm going to make you an ambassador, and you're going to be an ambassador that represents the love and the commitment of what my Son did on the cross.

You will be a messenger of a ministry—my ministry, the ministry of reconciliation. And you will be on this journey, and my tour is filled with the blessings that you will have in this journey." Yeshua talks about the blessings that you are having on this journey. Sometimes it gets hard, but when you get where God is taking you, when you get to the place where your journey is going to end, weeping may stay for a night, but joy will come in the morning. That's the promise of the Father. Don't you ever, ever, ever settle for where your circumstances make you feel like your destination is. Your journey is not over yet.

That's the story of the Mishkan. That's the story of the tabernacle.

The Place God Chose

And so we know that what happened in Jerusalem. There was a mountain, Mount Moriah, right? And David went up there, bought a threshing floor. It was a whole little incident with a big plague that was going on. He had to stop it another time. It was the place that God chose to put his dwelling, put his name, put his temple. And if you turn with me to 2 Samuel 7, verse 1, we find something fascinating. We find David's desire to build the house of God. He says, "Now when the king lived in the house of the Lord, had given him rest from all the surrounding enemies, the king said to Nathan the prophet, 'See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells in a tent.'

And Nathan said to the king, 'Go and do all that is in your heart, for the Lord is with you.' And therefore, thus you..." And then God went to Nathan and said, "Hold up, hold up, hold up. Don't say that. And now therefore, thus says the..." You know, it's fascinating because in those first couple of verses we just read, it's a very enigmatic verse or passage because it almost sounds like God doesn't want a temple. He's like, if you keep reading—I think I cut it out in the slides, I apologize—if you keep reading, God says, "Why do I need? I've been hanging out in a tent for 400 years and I'm just fine.

You're going to build me a house?" I've actually seen people online that say, oh well, obviously God didn't want a temple and David was transgressing. No, that has nothing to do with it. God was going to make sure that a dynasty was going to be set up that his name would also represent.

A House Before a House

In other words, what's this last sign say? "The Lord declares to you that the Lord will make you a house." God said, "Before you make me a house, David, I'm going to make you a house. And it's not going to be a physical house. It's going to be a lineage. And it's going to be the lineage that rules my kingdom forever. And there's going to be a seed that comes through your lineage. Oh, let me tell you about this seed. Everyone will look at this seed and he will glorify me in everything he does. David, I'm going to make you a house before you even start building me a house."

God's Promise to David

Right? God, I lost my place here. When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will rise up your offspring after you. Who shall come from your body and I will establish his kingdom. And he shall build a house for my name and I will establish the throne of the kingdom forever. And I will be to him a father and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will disciple him with a rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men. But my steadfast love will not depart from him as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me.

Your throne shall be established forever." In accordance with all these words and in accordance with all the vision, Nathan spoke to David. So God didn't let David build the house. David's son was going to build the house. I mean, David was willing, right? He was ready to go. David had the tavernit. He had the pattern. He was ready to go. "I'm going to build God a house. We're going to do this. We're going to do it." God says, no, you're not going to establish this. Your son will. Why? I mean, God wanted to build the lineage of David, but he could have done that afterwards. Why couldn't David build the house?

I must have missed the sign up. We know in 1 Chronicles 22:8, David's recounting why he can't build the house of the Lord. And he says, "But the word of the Lord came to me saying, 'You have shed much blood and have waged great wars. You shall not build a house to my name because you have shed so much blood before me on the earth.'"

Why Not a Bloodthirsty Warrior? And so essentially we see this and we read it just like, well, David killed some folk. Okay. So be honest: is that a prerequisite for building the temple? Yeah, I can never kill anybody? I hadn't seen that in the Bible. I don't see that as a prerequisite. So why is God having such a big problem with this? No, you've shed too much blood. See, we come to a few chapters later in 1 Kings 5, we find the missing puzzle piece when Solomon is speaking to Haram the king of Tyre up in Lebanon, if you will, and Solomon actually states why he gets to build the temple and his father David does not.

And if you read it, he doesn't state that his dad was just a bloodthirsty warrior. I mean, he was like, man, those guys in 300s didn't have nothing against his dad, man—he just wah just get everybody. He doesn't state that. What's he state? Now Haram, the king of Tyre, sent his servants to Solomon when he had heard that he had anointed him king. For Harem always loved David, and Solomon sent word to Harem. This seems to assert that it wasn't necessarily the fact that David was just a really good fighter. I mean, if David was just not a good fighter, he never killed anybody, always missed his arrows and stuff, he'd be eligible.

Maybe there's room for that opinion in building the temple. But this seems to assert that it wasn't because David had shed much blood and had been a murderer—he killed Uriah the Hittite and all that mess. It seems to state that there were still enemies, the borders were not secure yet, and David was a warrior. He had instigated and participated in so many wars protecting Israel. It's not time yet.

A Prerequisite for Peace

Okay, is that a prerequisite for building the temple? Actually, it is. In Deuteronomy 12, God is speaking to Israel, and he's talking to them about building the temple, and he says this: "But you will cross the Jordan River." That was the prerequisite. Israel had never secured its borders before. Not only had Israel never had a leader whose progeny was going to stand up in his place and take the throne from their father. That had never happened before. Not only that, but Israel had never been in a state when there was peace. So Israel had enemies in the time of David, and God put them to rest. I mean, they're outside.

They're not attacking you, but there was not peace. Solomon created peace through his wisdom that God gave to him. Check this out. It gets even better. In 1 Kings 8:6, it's fascinating because Solomon is going to start building the temple and he's still talking to this Haram guy, King Haram. "And now therefore command that the cedars of Lebanon be cut for me, and my servants will join your servants, and I will pay you for your servants such wages as you set. For you know that there is no one among us who knows how to cut timber like the Sidonians." The who? Israelites? Sidonians? Pagans? Gentiles? Gentiles.

Okay. "As soon as Haram heard the words of Solomon, he rejoiced greatly and said, Blessed be the Lord this day who has given David a wise son to be over his people. And Haram sent to Solomon saying, I have heard the message that you have sent to me, and I am ready to do all you desire in the matters of Cyprus timber and cedar of Lebanon. While Solomon gave Haram 20,000 cores of wheat and food for the household and 20 cores of beaten oil, and Solomon gave this to Haram year by year. And the Lord gave Solomon wisdom as he had promised him. And there was peace between Haram and Solomon, and the two of them made a treaty."

A Covenant With the Nations

Now, we read in the last slide that Haram, this king in Lebanon, if you will, loved David. They were buds, but they didn't have a peace treaty. They didn't have a covenant. Such a thing of this magnitude had never happened in Israel before. Never. I want you to notice something. God's house, when it was built, there was a plan from the Father in the very beginning in Deuteronomy 12. There was a plan. God's house in Jerusalem was literally built from materials given from Gentile nations. It wasn't just Israel that contributed to the building of the house of God. It was the nations. That's what Deuteronomy 12—that's what that was a requirement.

David, you got some people that are still kind of upset with all them soldiers that you killed. We're just going to take a break. Your son, we're going to give him a little bit of time, let them cool down. That way they can come and they can contribute to the building of the house that's going to lift up my name, for I am the God of the earth. Queen Sheba, you remember that story, right? From Ethiopia or whatnot. Queen Sheba comes to visit, and according to 1 Kings 10, 4 through 9, she was speechless at the beauty of God's temple. She states, blessed be the Lord. In 1 Kings 8, 41 through 43, I paraphrase this, Solomon's prayer, the dedication of the temple: "As do your people Israel, and that they may know that this house that I have built is called by your name."

A House of Prayer for All Peoples

As we discussed last week, the temple is the place where God's name is exalted for all to see, right? Right? What is taking place right now in the scriptures is a reversal of the Tower of Babel, guys. People stood up and wanted to make a house, a tower for their name. No. No. Now people are setting up the house of God and coming to the mountain of the Lord, looking up. He is a strong tower. Yes, he is, and his name is exalted. Now all the nations are coming back together to say, blessed be the Lord your God. That's exactly what's taking place. The idea of the temple is just a building with outer core, inner core, holiest of holies, a little lamp manure, right?

Guys, there's so much more behind the structure in the temple of our God that has been neglected. And we need to understand that there is honor in it. And it's something that needs to be studied. And when spoken about, it isn't just a house. It was the place, the central shrine in which God's presence would be known throughout all of the world. That was the function. Solomon's boy kind of messed that up, but that's regardless. So the verse comes true with the intention spoken of in the words of the prophet Isaiah 56:7: "Even those I will bring to my holy mountain and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted by my altar.

For my house will be called a house of prayer for all peoples." All nations—not just Israel. That was never the intention of God. The intention of God is that all nations would come together and be part of the kingdom of God.

Lessons From the Journey

Guys, we have a lot of lessons I think that we can learn from looking at the journey of the Mishkan. There were ups and downs. There were times where folks thought everything was over. Times when things got hard. Two high priests? What? Dismantle it? Tear it down? Until finally, the journey was over. And there was great joy. Not just from Israel, but from all nations who looked upon the people that God had chosen to establish his name on that mountain. The same is true today. The same is true today. If, if, and I don't want to jump ahead to the next series, but if we are likened to a temple, a temple.

Yeshua has his enigmatic phrases. The temple's going to be destroyed and rebuilt in three days, the gospel says, and he was talking about himself. If Yeshua was a type of temple and we worshiped have died and raised to life in Yeshua, then perhaps, perhaps, maybe, we are, if we are types of temples, has the function changed? Has the function changed? Are we still supposed to be representing the place of God's dwelling where his name is exalted? Are we doing that in our lives? When people look at us, do they see us? God's name exalted?

Do they know what to run to? That's what being a witness is about. Can you pray for me? Can someone come to you and say, hey, will you pray for me? Will you join me in prayer? I see the glory of God manifesting in your life. Why? Because if you're a temple, then your function is supposed to be that of the building that was just a building up on Mount Moriah. It was supposed to be the place that all nations look to and say, God's with them. And then we duplicate it. So everybody is brought into the presence of God.

Being a Witness

I want you guys to think about that this week. With the words that you speak, with the things that you do, with the things that you say, stupid share on Facebook, whatever, everything, you're a witness. People are watching. Are you promoting the name of the Lord? Or are you promoting your own name? Hey guys, I'm Matthew Vanderels, pastor at Founded in Truth Fellowship and I really hope you enjoy this message. If you would like to see more messages and teachings like this one, please subscribe to our YouTube channel by clicking here. You can also visit our website to find out more information about our ministry and what we do right here. And if this message has been edifying to you, please consider supporting us and the ministry through our secure online giving portal here. This will ensure this message along with many others will continue to reach those who find themselves far from God. If you'd like to write us, you can do so at Founded in Truth, P.O. Box 38042 Rock Hill, South Carolina,

facebook.com/foundedintruth. I pray that you stay blessed. I pray that you guys stay encouraged. And I pray that you stay fit. Founded in Truth. We'll see you guys next time.