POSTURE, POSITION, PROVISION

A Spiritual Tabernacle For the Ark of the Covenant

Today, I’d like to take you on a journey with me to explore some Old Testament parallels to the New Testament as they pertain to the Ark of the Covenant. We’ll begin this journey with a study of David’s kingship over Judah and Israel and how history testifies to Yahweh’s redemptive plan for all mankind which would and did come to pass through our Savior, Yeshua HaMashiach (Jesus Christ). Above is the 2-Part Podcast for this blog post for those who like to listen and follow along.

This teaching was initially shared in a group setting to serve as a prelude to series called the “The Tabernacle Series” which is an in-depth study on the Tabernacle pattern that Yahweh (I Am Who I Am) gave to Moses on Mt. Sinai, and how that same pattern applies to us today as being spiritual tabernacles in the New Covenant of Yeshua.

I am releasing it as a blog post, and as the Holy Spirit leads, the full Series will be released via blog posts, podcasts, and possibly an e-book. If you find this teaching of value, please press the “Like” button below and share with someone. Thank you, as your likes and comments are appreciated and help us know if they have value to you. Open your Bible and follow along because while some scriptures are listed, there are some that are too long to insert so you will want to have them near to read.

Let’s begin with reading 1 Chronicles 15:1-14

1David built houses for himself in the City of David; and he prepared a place for the ark of God, and pitched a tent for it. 2Then David said, “No one may carry the ark of God but the Levites, for the Lord has chosen them to carry the ark of God and to minister before Him forever.” 3And David gathered all Israel together at Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the Lord to its place, which he had prepared for it.4Then David assembled the children of Aaron and the Levites: 5of the sons of Kohath, Uriel the chief, and one hundred and twenty of his brethren; 6of the sons of Merari, Asaiah the chief, and two hundred and twenty of his brethren; 7of the sons of Gershom, Joel the chief, and one hundred and thirty of his brethren; 8of the sons of Elizaphan, Shemaiah the chief, and two hundred of his brethren; 9of the sons of Hebron, Eliel the chief, and eighty of his brethren; 10of the sons of Uzziel, Amminadab the chief, and one hundred and twelve of his brethren.

11And David called for Zadok and Abiathar the priests, and for the Levites: for Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel, and Amminadab. 12He said to them, “You are the heads of the fathers’ houses of the Levites; sanctify yourselves, you and your brethren, that you may bring up the ark of the Lord God of Israel to the place I have prepared for it. 13For because you did not do it the first time, the Lord our God broke out against us, because we did not consult Him about the proper order.”

14So the priests and the Levites sanctified themselves to bring up the ark of the Lord God of Israel. 15And the children of the Levites bore the ark of God on their shoulders, by its poles, as Moses had commanded according to the word of the Lord. (1 Chronicles 15:1-14)

Notice in the above scriptures four specific things: 1) David prepared a place; 2) who could carry the ark of God; 3) sanctification; 4) order!

Some might ask the question: What was so important in the Ark of the Covenant of Yahweh that there was such concern over where it resided let alone who could carry it? To answer that we need to look in the book of Exodus 25:8-9. There we learn of it’s importance and why Moses was instructed by Yahweh on precisely how to build the tabernacle for the worship of Him. An important point to know is that the pattern was given to Moses after He had given him the ten commandments. Let’s read:

8And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them. 9According to all that I show you, that is, the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furnishings, just so you shall make it. (Exodus 25:8-9)

The importance is because Yahweh wanted a sanctuary so as to dwell among the people for the worship of Him.

The Ark of Covenant housed three sacred things that would be applicable to mankind forever:

1. The Ten Commandments (God’s law) – Exodus 20:10, Exodus 25:16

2. The Rod of Aaron (God’s chosen priesthood, holy service unto Him, & His power) –Num 17:10

3. A Jar of Manna (bread that came from heaven) – Exodus 16:33-34

In the Old Testament, the physical Ark of Covenant was put in place to function as the throne of God in the Holy of Holies until the appointed time of the promised Seed of Abraham, in the person of Yeshua, son of God, son of man. In essence, not only was the Ark of Covenant integral in the Old Testament times for the Israelites, it was also a type and foreshadow of what was to come in accordance to the will of Yahweh for all nations (peoples, tribes, tongues).

Something to keep in mind is that Yahweh had brought the Israelites out of Egypt at the end of 430 years of slavery to the Egyptians. He was teaching them how to worship, trust, and obey Him and to walk in His statutes. All they had known for generations were rules to live by, so in Yah’s grace, He gave them statutes to guide them, to protect them, and to draw them back unto Him. He was faithful to them and the Ark was to commemorate His covenant promise with them. With that being said, we will move forward in time approximately 400 to 480 years to the beginning reign of King David.

When David was first crowned King, he started out as the King of Judah only and he lived in Hebron, a city approximately 20 miles south of Jerusalem. The Ark of Covenant was kept in a town west of Jerusalem. David reigned from Hebron for the first 7.5 years before he relocated to Jerusalem, the capital city and became King over all Israel. We read about this in 2 Samuel 5:4-5.

4David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years. 5In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty-three years over all Israel and Judah. (2 Samuel 5:4-5)

Most people don’t give consideration to these years, but they are important as they pertain to the tabernacle for the Ark. Many can reason in their mind that Yahweh had chosen David to be king of Israel when he was a child because of his childlike faith and how he was a faithful shepherd boy over his family’s flock. It’s almost presented like a fairy tale in some movies. For most people, this reasoning is easier to understand, but in fact, there was so much more behind Yah’s plan.

Three things to ponder:

Posture – Position – Provision

1) A man after God’s own heart. (Posture)

13And Samuel said to Saul, “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the commandment of the Lord your God, which He commanded you. For now the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever.
14But now your kingdom shall not continue . The Lord has sought for Himself a man after His own heart , and the Lord has commanded him to be commander over His people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.” (1 Samuel 13:13-14)

David was a man after Yah’s own heart. We tend to look at David as a faithful shepherd over his flock and the kid that slayed Goliath, but Yahweh looked beyond. He looked at the heart of David. Being a man after His own heart meant that David knew Yahweh was Creator of the heavens and all the earth. His belief in the Creator is what grew his faith. David understood being a king would be a great responsibility; yet as a child, he could not possibly understand how this would come to be. What David did have was his faith and a healthy reverence for God. As the new king of Judah, he sought Yahweh for just about everything. Being a mortal man, however, brought with it some fleshly bad decisions on his part, which brought consequences and chastening upon him personally and sometimes upon the nation of Israel.

The difference between David and Saul was humility vs. pride. When David was called out for his sins, he repented with a pure heart. He recognized the error of his ways and made sure he didn’t make the same mistake twice. He had the right heart posture before Yahweh and Yahweh was gracious to forgive. We can glean valuable lessons from David’s victories and failures, but mainly we are to learn about the condition of his heart. Yeshua referenced this in His sermon on the mount when He spoke of the Beatitudes which begin with, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” David knew the principles of the beatitudes and he lived by them. He had a heart of repentance where repentance was due.

Posture – Position – Provision

The Father searches for a people who will seek after His own heart and not live by following their own heart. Yahweh has a standard of righteousness for all those called by His name, and a higher standard for leaders of His people (spiritual and world leaders alike). Teachers and leaders will be held to a higher account before Yahweh on judgment day. Let’s read in Acts 13:16-22 what Paul said as a teacher and leader (bondservant) to Yeshua:

16Then Paul stood up, and motioning with his hand said, “Men of Israel, and you who fear God, listen: 17The God of this people Israel chose our fathers, and exalted the people when they dwelt as strangers in the land of Egypt, and with an uplifted arm He brought them out of it. 18Now for a time of about forty years He put up with their ways in the wilderness. 19And when He had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, He distributed their land to them by allotment.

20“After that He gave them judges for about four hundred and fifty years, until Samuel the prophet. 21And afterward they asked for a king; so God gave them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years. 22And when He had removed him, He raised up for them David as king, to whom also He gave testimony and said, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all My will.’ (Acts 13:16-22)

Just as Yah was gracious to king David, we are reminded of His patience and mercy even in the midst of His chastening. He is a faithful God who will move mountains out of the way to make a way for those who have a heart after Him and desire to do His will. We are also reminded that He will allow the free will of man to determine their own fate. When the people choose to have a king of man to rule over them like other nations versus the King of Kings, or make themselves like little gods, He will give them what they want to their own demise. Saul is the example. He was able to take back the Ark of Covenant from the Philistines during his reign, but sadly he did not honor it in his heart. David respected and honored Saul’s position as king because he knew Yahweh had appointed him, but the King of his heart was Yahweh God, his creator.

2) Crowned as king. (Position)

David’s crowning as king began long before the physical event. Yahweh had appointed and ordained him when he was a child. It was Yah who anointed him through His Prophet, Samuel, and by His Spirit trained him up. He put a warrior spirit in David and at the same time a righteous and merciful spirit. He graciously raised him up to become a king by having him serve under king Saul. What better way to learn the pros and cons of ruling over a nation than seeing it up close and personal! David knew Saul’s weaknesses and strengths. He saw how Saul behaved once the Spirit of Yah had departed from him so David chose to remain steadfast in his faith in Yahweh God above all things while still giving honor to Saul as king until his death. Yahweh’s favor was upon him and He put it in Saul’s heart to keep David close to him and safe until the appointed time for David to take the throne. For years, Saul had no clue David was to be his successor. Talk about a plot twist! It was not an easy transition for either David or Saul. There was a battle of pride on Saul’s part to relinquish his crown even when he knew it was God’s will. Saul’s end was a result of self-destruction.

Our God does not make mistakes. He orchestrates our lives in ways we can not see nor understand until the appointed time He calls us out of the world and unto Himself. Think about a circumstance in your life, perhaps where you work and who you work for. Is Yah’s favor, grace, and protection upon you even though your employer may not have the spirit of Yah upon him/her? Are you obedient to His voice and His Will when it’s time for a change of season in your life? Or, do you hold on in stubbornness trying to prove something to yourself and others? Do you seek Him in times of trials to determine if He is training you up, or are you able to discern when the door is closing and He wants you to walk through a new one. Pride, arrogance, fear vs. humility, faith, and obedience. It is a choice.

In Yahweh’s redeeming love and promise to have a nation of people unto himself, David was given an earthly crown because his heavenly Father knew he would do His will, but more importantly, Yahweh gave him a heavenly crown—five heavenly crowns in fact, by the time his life was complete on earth.

The Crown of Righteousness – (2 Timothy 4:8)
“Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.”

Beloved, we may not be called to be a king over a nation in the earthly sense, but in
Yahweh’s plan for mankind, we were created and are called to be a royal priesthood
and a holy nation unto Him, the One True King. There is no greater honor and purpose. Yeshua’s death on the cross was for this very purpose. His resurrection from the grave unto eternal life was for this purpose. It is our abiding in Him under His Kingship in our lives that we are joined together to Him. In our abiding (our Posture),
He blesses us with the crown of righteousness (Position).

We can only inherit this crown through the righteousness of Christ, because it is obtained and possessed in a righteous way, and not by force and deceit as earthly crowns sometimes are. It is an everlasting crown, promised to all who love Yeshua
our redeemer, and eagerly wait for His return. Like king David, it is our endurance through out our life, including discouragements, persecutions, sufferings, even unto
death that we can rest assured that our reward is with Yeshua in eternity (Philippians 3:17-21) (Provision).

17Brethren, join in following my example, and note those who so walk, as you have us for a pattern. 18For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: 19whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame—who set their mind on earthly things. 20For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself. (Philippians 3:17-21)

The crown of righteousness is not for those who depend upon their own sense of righteousness nor on their own works. Such an attitude breeds only arrogance and pride, not a longing and fervent desire to be with God forever more. For further
scriptural reading on the five crowns (Imperishable, Rejoicing, Righteousness, Glory, Life), click HERE.

3) Hebron and Seven and A Half Years. (Provision)

The Hebrew meaning of the word Hebron is: Friendship, to join, to connect, alliance.

It was at Hebron where David would step into the fulfilling of Yahweh’s covenant with him. A key part of that covenant would also include the ability to join and connect with the elders of Israel as their king. He needed them as much as they needed him to accomplish Yahweh’s will. Israel was divided with some loyal to David, others still Saul worshipers. Yah’s favor upon David would also bring favor by the people. David began his reign as King over Judah only. It would take time for the rest of Israel to trust him to be their king as well. Even though Yahweh had already purposed it, David still had to earn it through his conduct and obedience to His will.

Also worth mentioning is that Hebron was also the place of burial for some Patriarchs before David (Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebekah, Jacob, Rachael and Leah). The patriarchal tombs would also serve to be a foreshadowing of Christ’s promise of land and life eternal for those who had faith in Him. (Hebrews 11:8-16). They all died in faith of the promise to come. As do we who have and will fall asleep before His final return.

King David had no experience on how to be a king. He needed more than anything to be joined together with Yahweh and the Spirit if he was to govern His people for His glory. David had seen and experienced first hand the consequences of disobedience through Saul. He knew he needed to be a friend to Israel and earn their trust in his leadership. Everyone in Israel knew their lives depended on the kingship of David and David knew his life and theirs depended on the Kingship of Yahweh. It was a non-optional cause and effect situation of blessings or curses, life or death. It was not easy, but God was with them.’

Why 7.5 years before moving to Jerusalem? Seven means completion, perfection, holiness, rest.

On the seventh day, Yahweh rested and sanctified time. His work was complete, holy, and perfect (Genesis 2:1). Six or six months represents turning back to Yahweh and heeding His word. It symbolizes a time of restoration, renewal, and the faithfulness of God in fulfilling His promises. On the sixth day, God said, “Let us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness…” (Genesis 1:26)

Side Note: In the sixth month, through the prophet Haggai, Yahweh stirred the spirits of the people to rebuild the temple. This call to action signifies the importance of responding to Yahweh’s prompting and actively participating in His plans (Haggai 1 and 2). Also, please click on link to read the post on The Command To Build God’s House. Beloved, I can’t express enough the importance of understanding these things and applying them to your life. Building a house does not happen overnight, it’s a dedicated process from start to finish.

The 7.5 years of David’s reign in Hebron was necessary to rebuild, renew, and restore the nation of Judah and to gain the people’s trust in his leadership. It was a time to bring back the holiness of Yahweh to the people and also in the land. It was a process led by the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit even then.

Hebron was David’s city of refuge and it is also symbolic of Yeshua being our sanctuary and refuge–offering us protection from the avenger of blood. He is our friend and He wants us to become joint heir to His throne. Our Redeemer was promised to come from the line of David, the root of Jesse, and because of Yahweh’s promise to Abraham, all nations would be blessed through Him. Let’s read Hebrews 6:13-20:

13For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, 14saying, “Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you.” 15And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. 16For men indeed swear by the greater, and an oath for confirmation is for them an end of all dispute. 17Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath, 18that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us.

19This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil, 20where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. (Hebrews 6:13-20)

Read verse 19 and 20 again. Think about this in regard to the tabernacle and the Ark of the Covenant in the tabernacle.

19This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil, 20where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.

In the Old Testament days, the Ark resided in a tabernacle made with hands, stationed beyond the veil in the Mercy Seat, Holy of Holies. Only the high priest could enter into the Holy of Holies once a year to atone for his own sins and for the unintentional sins of the people by sprinkling the blood of an animal on the Ark of the Covenant and if he was not sanctified and pure in heart, he would die. During king David’s rule, he restored the priesthood to holiness for a time. Unfortunately, every king since him has failed and the kingdom of Israel was divided and scattered until the Redeemer comes.

STOP here and Read all of Hebrews 9:1-28.

If you read it, you know that today we have a better hope through a New Covenant and Testament in Yeshua HaMashiach. Yeshua is the Holy of Holies. He sits on the seat of mercy on the Throne of Yahweh and He is God. When He died on that cross, His blood that was shed was indeed the final atonement for the sins of man. The Word tells us that there was a great earthquake and the earth and old tabernacle was shaken to its core. The veil was torn in two signifying that a New Covenant was now in place for those who have a heart after the Father’s heart. We are His tabernacle where He desires to reside. He is the High Priest forever and we are his royal priesthood called to His service. We hold the Ark of the Covenant in highest regard in heart–our spirit, soul, and body. This is worshipping Him in Spirit and Truth.

I can only imagine the excitement for the nation of Israel to have David as their King, and his desire to bring he Ark of God to its new resting place in the tent David had pitched. David had built his houses of cedar (a permanent structure made by hands) and the Ark of Covenant was near by, but David at some point desired to build a house of cedar (a permanent structure made by hands) for the Ark of Covenant. God needed His servant, David, to understand something and He spoke to him through Nathan the prophet:

3But it happened that night that the word of God came to Nathan, saying, 4“Go and tell My servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord: “You shall not build Me a house to dwell in. 5For I have not dwelt in a house since the time that I brought up Israel, even to this day, but have gone from tent to tent, and from one tabernacle to another. 6Wherever I have moved about with all Israel, have I ever spoken a word to any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd My people, saying, ‘Why have you not built Me a house of cedar?’ ” ’

7Now therefore, thus shall you say to My servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: “I took you from the sheepfold, from following the sheep, to be ruler over My people Israel. 8And I have been with you wherever you have gone, and have cut off all your enemies from before you, and have made you a name like the name of the great men who are on the earth. 9Moreover I will appoint a place for My people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own and move no more; nor shall the sons of wickedness oppress them anymore, as previously, 10since the time that I commanded judges to be over My people Israel. Also I will subdue all your enemies.

Furthermore I tell you that the Lord will build you a house. 11And it shall be, when your days are fulfilled, when you must go to be with your fathers, that I will set up your seed after you, who will be of your sons; and I will establish his kingdom. 12He shall build Me a house, and I will establish his throne forever. 13I will be his Father, and he shall be My son; and I will not take My mercy away from him, as I took it from him who was before you. 14And I will establish him in My house and in My kingdom forever; and his throne shall be established forever.” ’ ” (1 Chronicles 17:3-14)

Did you catch it? Yahweh was never talking about a four-walled building to be built by man to be called the house of God. He was talking about Yeshua HaMashiach and His kingdom. Yahweh said Yeshua would build Him a house. He did not say to David, “your son, Solomon.” He said, “I will set up your seed after you, who will be of your sons; and I will establish his kingdom.” With this revelation, we can now understand why Yahweh said to Solomon what he did in 2 Chronicles 6 & 7. We also understand why, when Solomon defiled the temple of Yahweh, the kingdom was striped from his descendants after him. Beloved, we are the house Yeshua is building and though we live in this world, we are not of this world but of His kingdom. Just as the Israelites were foreigners in a strange land, so are we who follow Yeshua. We know our residing here is temporary.

I’ll finish this post with some scriptures.

(1 Corinthians 3:16-17)

16Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? 17If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.

****

(1Peter 2:1-10)

1Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, 2as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, 3if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious.

4Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, 5you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture,

“Behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, elect, precious, and he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame.” 7Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who are disobedient, “The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone,” 8and “A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.”

They stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed. 9But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; 10who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.

*****

(Isaiah 66:1-4)

True Worship and False

1Thus says the Lord: “Heaven is My throne, And earth is My footstool. Where is the house that you will build Me? And where is the place of My rest? 2For all those things My hand has made,
And all those things exist,” Says the Lord. “But on this one will I look: On him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, And who trembles at My word.

3“He who kills a bull is as if he slays a man; He who sacrifices a lamb, as if he breaks a dog’s neck;
He who offers a grain offering, as if he offers swine’s blood; He who burns incense, as if he blesses an idol. Just as they have chosen their own ways, And their soul delights in their abominations,
4So will I choose their delusions, And bring their fears on them;
Because, when I called, no one answered, When I spoke they did not hear;
But they did evil before My eyes, And chose that in which I do not delight.”

The prophet Isaiah had prophesied of the new and better covenant to come 700 years prior to the Messiah Yeshua arriving in the flesh. It was about Yeshua’s appointed time of redemption. Isaiah was Yahweh’s spokesperson and he was foretelling of the day
Israel would miss the day of their visitation and as such, the temple sacrifices would
be come an abomination unto Yahweh. In fact, four days prior to His crucifixion, Yeshua fulfilled this prophecy when He was on His way to Jerusalem with his disciples.

He cursed a fig tree by the road declaring that no fruit would ever grow on it again.
His action was prophetic! He did this because although the tree had leaves on it, the
tree had no fruit, for it was out of season. See Mark 11:12-14. That prophetic act was Yeshua declaring that a change of priesthood was coming. He was declaring annnulment of the Mosaic law which was out of season and not producing any fruit to those who were hungry for Truth. Yeshua was declaring to His disciples His new Blood Covenant was about to be put in place. (See the blog post “An Appointed Time” for more on this.)

Yeshua has come and He is building His house, a holy place for His Ark of Covenant to reside, and He will come again to gather His people from every tribe, tongue, and nation to rule and reign with him under His Kingship forever more. He is the way, the truth, and the life, and all who have a heart after God are those who are redeemed and have been sanctified in Him. Yeshua is our bread of life, the very manna (word) that sustains us. His Ark of the Covenant resides within us–His law, priesthood, holy service, and word. We are to be His holy tabernacle, and said tabernacle is to be a city on the hill made manifest to the world. Amen and Amen!

Remember that it is about Posture, Position, Provision. It is our posture before the Father that determines our position within the Body of Yeshua. He knows our heart! Yahweh will provide everything we need for our position (training, equipping, resources), with our ultimate position being a royal priesthood, a bride to Yeshua for eternity. Amen! Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven.

This concludes the prelude to the “Tabernacle Series.” Be sure to subscribe so you can receive an email notification as new posts/podcasts are available for “The Tabernacle Series” and others. Until then be blessed and know that you are loved.

Norma Umphress

NOTE: All scriptures with underline emphasis are mine to highlight a point.