TODAY’S SCRIPTURE
Have them make an ark of acacia wood—two and a half cubits long, a cubit and a half wide, and a cubit and a half high. Overlay it with pure gold, both inside and out, and make a gold molding around it. Exodus 25:10-11
Read: Exodus 25:10-22
Listen: Exodus 25
TODAY’S MESSAGE
The centerpiece for God’s presence is a magnificent box rich with symbolism. He places this box in the center of the tabernacle, called the Holy of Holies, partitioned off by a thick curtain. The box and items surrounding it remind the people of God’s absolute holiness and their unworthiness to approach him on their own. The box contains the Ten Commandments—the agreement for what God requires to enter into relationship with him. The cover shows people cannot live up to God’s standards on their own but through the atonement, or covering, of their sin. The elements of the box all represent God’s movement to restore what has been lost to sin.
Generations later, Jesus arrives to make the final restoration of what sin destroyed. The thick curtain in the temple that separated people from God’s presence tears in two at the moment of his death (see Matthew 27:50-51.) Hebrews explains Jesus is the curtain and has opened a new living way for us to enter God’s presence with confidence. He urges us to draw near to God in faith because Jesus has made the final and ultimate sacrifice to cleanse us from our sin (Hebrews 10:19-22). Watch this video clip as Pastor Jeff Manion shares how Jesus provides our access to the Father.
Jesus did what we could never do. He opened the door for us to meet with God, but not in the special place of a tabernacle or a temple. Rather, God’s Spirit dwells in each of us who follow Jesus. We have now become the temple, the place of God’s presence (1 Corinthians 6:19).
IN YOUR CHAIR TIME TODAY
Memorize Hebrews 10:22a, “Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings.” Ask God to help you draw near to him in this Christmas season and focus on why Jesus came.
NEW TESTAMENT READING PLAN
Join us this year as we read through the New Testament.
Today’s reading is Revelation 6.
Download a printable PDF of the BTW week here.
