Tragedy Strikes the Household of God!
This is part 2 of our series on Building the Covenant Familyly. To read part one, click here. Instead of obeying the owner and builder of the magnificent dwelling, our forebears rebelled and tried to take ownership. God comes into His garden and finds Adam and Eve hiding. He pronounces curses to Adam that his work will be tough and fruitless. Eve’s childbearing will be extremely painful, the serpent is to crawl on stomach forever and in vs 19: we read the punishment promised if they disobeyed: “By the sweat of your face You will eat bread, Till you return to the ground, Because from it you were taken; For you are dust, And to dust you shall return.” and then they are driven out of God’s house, Genesis 3:23-24.
Remarkably, in the middle of this tragic event, God shows his covenant family mercy and gives the gift of grace, 3:15. Their sin has brought death into God’s house, and everyone born after this is born under the curse of death being “dead in their trespasses and sins”, Romans 5:12; Ephesians 2:1-6. In the scriptures, death is seen as that which causes defilement and uncleanness. It is this defilement and uncleanness that is the reason for their and our subsequent expulsion from our Creator’s presence.
Looking further at Genesis 3:15, though Adam and Eve were driven out of God’s house, God being rich in mercy and abundant in grace has provided the “way” back into His house, and from this first proclamation of the gospel until its fulfillment at the incarnation of the eternal Son of God, God is progressively revealing how we may return and dwell with Him in His glorious house.
The end of chapter 3 of Genesis reveals the obstacles we face if we desire to come back home to our Creator on our own works or efforts. In verses 23-24, we read: “So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden(His home) to work the ground from which he had been taken. After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden (Interesting to note about the east side is that the door of the tabernacle and the temple both face east, leading many to see the Garden as the first tabernacle or temple, Exodus 27:13-17; Ezekiel 43:4, etc.) cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.” The way back into God’s house is closed and “guarded” by cherubim and a flaming sword. The word “guard” in vs. 24 is the same word that God gave to Adam in chapter 2:15. So since Adam and Eve didn’t guard His house as they should have, the angels now guard the entrance along with a flaming sword. These obstacles are impenetrable. It is impossible for sinful man to return home to his God.
Jesus came to accomplish the impossible. Jesus came to bring us (mankind) back home to God. This is Jesus’ point in John 14:6: “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life, No one comes (enters) unto the Father, except through me.”
There are many similarities to Genesis 3:23-24 in Jesus’ words found in this verse. When you look closer at John 14, you find Jesus telling His disciples he is going away to “prepare” rooms for them, that they may dwell with Him in “[His] Father’s house”. Like all true disciples of Jesus, the twelve don’t want to live without Him. They are dismayed to hear He is leaving, so Jesus comforts them and tells them that He is constructing new and improved living quarters so they can live and dwell with Him, John 14:1-5.
However, we are getting a little ahead of ourselves and so let us return to the tragic problem that has arisen because of our parents' (and our) rebellion. The magnificent dwelling that God created in Genesis 1-2 has become defiled and corrupted and fellowship and living with our Holy God is now impossible and the “way” back is guarded by impenetrable security.
From Genesis chapter 4 to chapter 11, we read of mankind being driven further and further from our home with God, Cain in the beginning of chapter four murders Abel so he will not get his birthright and moves further away from God, vs. 19. Lamech’s boast of being a greater murderer than Cain, Genesis 4:23-24, man’s wickedness corrupts everything is described in Genesis 6-9, which leads God to destroy everything except Noah and his family, and finally in chapter 11 we have the tower of Babylon in which mankind tries to build a tower so as to enter God’s dwelling and are exiled throughout the world by the “confusing of the languages”.
The Remedy for the Tragedy
Starting in chapter 12 of Genesis, the way back home starts with God calling a major figure in His plan of redemption and ultimately to bring us home. God calls Abram out of idolatrous Babylon and promises to make him a great nation and give him a land to dwell in. God tells him that He will accomplish through Abram’s seed, Genesis 15:1-5, c.f. 3:15. The apostle Paul speaks of this in Galatians 3 and says the “seed” of Abraham that is promised is Jesus in verse 16, and then says all who believe and are given the gift of faith in Him are Abraham’s seed and therefore heirs to the same promises, verse 29! As we progress through the scriptures from the first promise of a “seed” or “son”, to Abraham’s seed, Isaac, when we get to the book of Exodus, Abraham’s descendants have grown to a great multitude and are enslaved to the “seed” of the serpent, the Egyptians.
God hears their cry and appoints Moses to bring them out. When Moses comes before Pharaoh to request their release from bondage, in Exodus 4:22 we read these remarkable words, “Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘This is what the Lord says: “Israel is My son, My firstborn.” Just as we have seen in Genesis where God is choosing and preserving the “seed” promised in 3:15, in the book of Exodus God is choosing and preserving the promised “seed” by redeeming them from slavery and bringing them to their afore promised inheritance. It is also now in Exodus that God commands Moses and His “son” (being ancient Israel) to construct Him a sanctuary where He can dwell among them and meet with them. He gives them the blueprints to this earthly abode and gives strict instructions to follow the blueprint to the letter, Exodus 25:8-9. This sanctuary is a replica of the real heavenly sanctuary, see Hebrews 8:1ff.
God’s Tabernacle as the Tent of Meeting
What is interesting to note at this point in our discussion is that the writer of Hebrews mentions God’s earthly dwelling in Exodus and says that it is patterned after the Heavenly Tabernacle, Hebrews 8:1-5. So this sanctuary is called the tabernacle and is where God comes to dwell among His people. Dwelling among His people is not the only purpose or reason for constructing the tabernacle. As we have seen above, the purpose of God dwelling with His people is to meet and fellowship with them. This brings us to the next stage of God’s building project. Transforming His dwelling into a house/tent of meeting.
Two words in the OT are important to know to understand the purpose of building a house. The first word is “michkhan”, which means a dwelling or house. The second is two words put together, “ohel” and “mo’ed”, and is commonly translated “tent of meeting”.
In Exodus, Moses and the people of God are instructed to construct an earthly replica of the Heavenly tabernacle, so that God may dwell in the midst of His people. However, the book of Exodus presents its readers with a major dilemma. While they have the blueprint given to them by the hand of God to Moses, and they construct it accordingly to YHWH’s specifications, in Exodus 33:7, the “tent of meeting” is outside the camp and not in the middle. Furthermore, the book ends by saying that God’s glory enters the tabernacle (dwelling), but not even Moses the mediator could enter to meet with God, “ohel’moed”, Exodus 40:35. The tabernacle in which God’s glory resided was not approachable! Makes one think of the end of Genesis 3, and the“way” into God’s house is still guarded.
Temporary Glimpse into God’s Redemptive Plan:
In the book of Leviticus, a glimpse into the final stage of God’s redemptive plan to transform His cosmic dwelling into a home of fellowship and communion with Him is presented. Five sacrifices are given to the O.T. church to bring to the door of the tabernacle to make them holy and able to meet with Him: 1) whole burnt offering, 2) grain offering, 3) guilt offering, 4) sin offering, 5) peace offering. Each has a unique and specific role in bringing His people into fellowship with Himself, but it is beyond the scope of this article to explore them. It is sufficient to say that they all, in their specific ways, point to Christ and His ultimate sacrifice upon the cursed cross.
Another glimpse in the final construction phase is chapter 17, famously called the Day of Atonement chapter. Located in the exact centre of the book and the exact centre of the Pentateuch. Its location at the centre points us deliberately to the ultimate Day of Atonement, which is Jesus’ death on the cross. The significance of the book of Leviticus is its centering focus upon the sacrifice that will ultimately bring us back home. The blood of bulls and goats and spotless lambs could only be a temporary solution because when they are sacrificed, they stay dead. The sin is expiated only temporarily, and the curse of death still remains, Hebrews 10:1-4. Said in another way, the five sacrifices given in Leviticus to bring God’s people to the door of the tent to meet with God could not permanently remove their sin and guilt. So while we are able to speak with and meet with God, we are still not allowed into His presence to rest and commune with our God because the sin and its curse have not been permanently removed.
A brief summary is due before we look into the final phase of God’s building project. In Genesis 1, God builds Himself a cosmic dwelling with the purpose of fellowship with those created in His image. Created to worship and commune with our Creator forever, our first parents are kicked out of God’s house for transgressing His house rules. He, being rich in mercy, provides his fallen ones with a “way” back home. He tells us in Genesis 3:15 that through the “seed” or son of the woman, He will crush Satan’s head and bring us back home, where we belong. Through the first eleven chapters of Genesis, man is being pushed farther and farther from home (Eden). Then, in chapter twelve, God calls Abram from Babylon and promises to bless him and make him a great nation through his son, through whom all the nations will come and worship the Creator and be blessed. In Exodus, Abraham’s “seed” has multiplied, but is enslaved in Egypt. God again calls His “son” out of bondage and brings them to their promised inheritance. It is through the “seed” or son that God will bring us back home, and through whom God will transform God’s house into a household!
The Final phase of building:
In 2 Samuel 7:1-7, God has secured the kingdom of Israel under the reign of King David. David decides that since he is living in a nice house made of cedar, YHWH, who is dwelling in a tent, should live and dwell in His own magnificent house. However, the LORD turns this around and tells him that he will not build His house, but the LORD will give him a “seed”, or son, in vs. 13, and through him will build a permanent dwelling for the LORD. God also says David’s son will be His “son” and through him will build David a household vs. 8-16.
In 1 Kings 6-7, Solomon, David’s son, constructs the Covenant LORD a “house,” and in chapter 8, assembles all Israel for the dedication ceremony, vs. 1-11. We do not have space here to look in depth into Solomon’s prayer of dedication. We commend it to your own reading and study. But one verse we need to take the time to look at for the purposes of this article: “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you, much less this house that I have built!", vs. 27; cf. 2 Chronicles 6:18.
Solomon acknowledges his complete inability to build God an adequate house in which to dwell, for if the universe, which He created, is not big enough, how could he possibly build a house that could contain the Living God? However, this is the whole point of this building project of Solomon’s. If we try to build our Creator a house to dwell in, it will never fulfill its purpose. We cannot come back home into God’s presence unless He, the Master Builder, calls us home!
Brought Back Home
As we have discussed above, it is through the “seed” or a “son” that God will bring us back home to Himself. It is also through that “seed” or “son” that He will transform His house into a household. This theme is carried forth into the New Testament, and it is there we find God accomplishing His great purpose started in Genesis.
Matthew 1:1, “The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.” The promised Son has arrived! Isaac is born to Abraham, but he is a sinner and does not follow God wholeheartedly. Israel worships other gods. Solomon, in all his wisdom,is drawn away from following God wholly. But Jesus arrives, and Hebrews 4:15 says is tempted in every way but without sin. What every other son in the OT couldn’t accomplish, Jesus the Son of God does!
In the context, we find Matthew quoting in vs. 23 from Isaiah 7:14, “Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.” It is through God’s Son that He is bringing us back home to Himself! John adds to this in John 1:14, “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” The word highlighted “dwelt” in the Greek word, “σκηνόω” which means, “To dwell in a tabernacle” and could be translated “tabernacled among us.” Jesus is the heavenly tabernacle that the one Moses built is patterned after, Hebrews 8:2,5. Then in Revelation 21:5, we read, “And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.”
This all brings us to the John 14:1-6 passage we considered above. Jesus has told His disciples He is leaving them to return to the Father. Naturally, they wish to follow, but are not at this time permitted. To comfort them, He tells them He is going for the purpose of preparing a room in God’s house for them, and in vs. 3, says, “...[I] will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.”
Some may say at this point, “If Jesus is with the Father preparing rooms for us, then He is not dwelling with us, or if Jesus is with the Father, how can He be dwelling with us?” This brings us back to the role of the Holy Spirit we mentioned earlier in this article.
In our passage, in vs. 16-26, Jesus promises to send the Spirit, and having the Spirit is the same as having Christ dwell with them. Paul teaches this to the church in Rome, saying in chapter 8:9-11, “However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.”
Jesus goes to the Father and sends the same Spirit who raised Him from the dead to dwell in you, for the purpose of raising you from the dead after you have died! Another purpose for sending the Spirit is to recreate and regenerate His wayward people. Jesus satisfies the wrath of God for our rebellion, through dying on the cross as the whole burnt offering. In His resurrection, He goes home to the Father to prepare our rooms, and sends the Holy Spirit, who regenerates and creates in us a new heart that will not rebel against our God. Because of this recreated heart we can now repent and be cleansed, 1 John 1:9. Now as living stones, 1 Peter 2:5 says, “you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house(hold) for a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices that are acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”
We give one more passage of Scripture that teaches God is building us into a household by Jesus’ sacrifice and the regeneration of the Holy Spirit. Ephesians 2:17-22, “And He came and preached peace to you who were far away, and peace to those who were near; for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.”
Through Jesus Christ, the promised seed from Genesis 3:15, God the master builder, has crushed the head of Satan and provided the “way” back home! Faith in Jesus, who is the true temple (John 2:19-20) is required to gain entry back into the house of God, Hebrews 10:19-20. Through the Spirit’s regeneration and indwelling us, He brings us into union with Jesus and transforms us into His earthly dwelling place, 1 Corinthians 6:19-20: “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore, honor God with your bodies.”
When an exiled sinner who has been thrown out of God’s house and therefore out of fellowship with the Creator, is called by God to come home, the Spirit is sent to recreate and bring them to life by faith in the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, this faith and repentance cleanses us and we are declared righteousness and fit to enter God’s presence. The Spirit who indwells us transforms us into the temple of God on earth.
Why This Is Important
There are more than two things that flow from understanding our theme in this article, we are going to look briefly at two important applications.
Do you know the “way” back home? Have you heard the call like Abraham or Moses to come out of your idolatry? Have you trusted and do you believe in Jesus alone as the only way back home to God? Has the Holy Spirit recreated your heart and transformed your heart into His dwelling place on earth? Only through faith in Jesus can you call God Father and have the communion your soul is longing and to which you were created.
The second flows from the 1st application. If you have been transformed and built into the temple of the Living God, love for your brothers and sisters in Christ characterizes how we treat and fellowship together, consider Paul’s word in Galatians 6:10, “So then, while we have opportunity, let’s do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith.” or Hebrews 13:1 “Let brotherly love abide constant” or John 13:34-35, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” With the same love and forgiveness that our Creator has shown us in Jesus is the same love and kindness and forgiveness we must love each other. Praise be to God who through the eternal Son, Jesus has secured the way back into fellowship with our Creator and brought us back home!
Softly and tenderly:
“Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling—
Calling for you and for me;
Patiently Jesus is waiting and watching—
Watching for you and for me!
Refrain in bold:
Come home! Come home!
Ye who are weary, come home!
Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling,
Calling, O sinner, come home!
Why should we tarry when Jesus is pleading—
Pleading for you and for me?
Why should we linger and heed not His mercies—
Mercies for you and for me?
Time is now fleeting, the moments are passing—
Passing from you and from me;
Shadows are gathering, death-beds are coming—
Coming for you and for me!
Oh, for the wonderful love He has promised— Promised for you and for me!
Though we have sinned, He has mercy and pardon—Pardon for you and for me