THE CHURCH IN THE TABERNACLE ~ CHAPTER TWO

FELLOWSHIP- the SOVEREIGNTY of GOD and the FREEWILL of MAN
After describing the offerings, which the children of Israel should bring, God's instructions were very explicit. Exo 25:8 And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.
Exo 25:9 According to all that I show thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it.

In examining the Tabernacle and its service, there is no better thought with which to begin. The writer of the book of Hebrews referred to the final verse of this same chapter of Exodus. Heb 8:5 Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern showed to thee in the mount.

In these verses the following thoughts stand out.
1.God has a desire for fellowship with his people.
2.As with any real fellowship it must be mutually desired .
3.Since God is holy and omnipotent there can be no compromise. It must be on his terms.
As we enlarge upon the first thought, we reflect upon God's relationship with man up to this point in history.
Creation itself was a manifestation of God's desire for fellowship. Gen 1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. Surely there can be no doubt that he could have created any kind of being he desired. Why, then, did he choose to bring forth a creature with the built-in possibility of sinning? Why not a being who could do nothing but worship and adore his creator?
The answer is simple enough. Such a being might have been a remarkable worshipping machine, but there is no fellowship to be had with a machine, however well and faithfully it might function. For real fellowship, there must always be present at least the possibility of disagreement. For this reason it was essential that man be given a free will.

God will never use his omnipotent power to override man's will in order that fellowship might be either attained, retained or restored when broken. We might hold a gun on a person and demand fellowship, but the best to be hoped for would be a grudging agreement.
When Jesus was berated and threatened by the Jews for calling himself the Son of God, he reminded them of an Old Testament statement; John 10:34 Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods? His reference was to a passage found in the Psalms; Psa 82:1 A Psalm of Asaph. God standeth in the congregation of the mighty; he judgeth among the gods. To think that this might refer to the gods of the heathen would make him break his own first commandment. This is inconceivable. A further look into this Psalm shows that it was the people to whom he referred. Psa 82:6 I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High.
Psa 82:7 But ye shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes.

In the 22nd chapter of Exodus, God gave instructions as to the method of judging some of the everyday disputes which would arise among the people. He tells those who are to act as judges, how to render just decisions and in verse 28, speaks to the people about their respect for those who judge; Exo 22:28 Thou shalt not revile the gods, nor curse the ruler of thy people. The gods who are not to be reviled in this case are those judges who have rendered their decisions.

One of the attributes of God is his ability to make decisions. He decided to create the heaven and the earth. Blind chance could never have made this choice. He chose to make the earth fit for human life. In all the order of the universe there is the evidence of God selecting the best options for the intended purpose.

In creating man, He made a purposeful decision to give to this portion of his creation, a divine attribute, which is shared by no other part of the material creation. He gave to man the ability to make decisions, a free will, if you please, so that while all the creation might declare his glory, only man has the potential to share in it through fellowship with him.

When sin entered through Adam's disobedience it was the result of a wrong choice. The fellowship was broken. Seth became the first of a line of men in which fellowship was restored. When the men of this lineage looked upon the 'daughters of men' [those in the lineage of Cain] and took wives of them, it was in disobedience. The choice was made and fellowship was broken.
Fellowship was finally restored as Noah made the choice to obey God and prepared an ark for the saving of his household. It was broken again when men decided to build a tower that would reach into heaven. God was forced to scatter them abroad upon the face of the whole earth.

Abraham made a conscious decision to obey God
[Rom 4:3 For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.] Through his obedience, fellowship was restored and a nation was founded.

In each of these instances, man's will had to be exercised in order that fellowship be restored.
During their enslavement in Egypt we are not told much about the relationship of Israel with God. It is clear, however, that while God had made every provision for their delivery, even to having a man [Moses] waiting, prepared for the job, and a plan ready, they were not delivered until they exercised their free will in a way which was compatible with God's desires.
Exo 2:23 And it came to pass in process of time, that the king of Egypt died: and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage.
Exo 2:24 And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.
Exo 2:25 And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God had respect unto them.

It was only after they exercised the ability to make a choice and cried out, that God notified the man who had been waiting in Midian for forty years, that the time of deliverance had indeed come. Exo 3:7 And the LORD said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows;
Exo 3:8 And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites.
Exo 3:9 Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me: and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them.

Even the Passover ,which was to be the means of their final deliverance from bondage, required that each man decide for himself that it be offered.
Since fellowship has in it, the idea of willing association, it is no chance choice of words which is used as God issues the instructions for the gathering of the material for his house. His desire is to dwell in the midst of his people and to have fellowship with them, but they too, must be willing. Thus the instructions are given, Exo 25:2 Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring me an offering: of every man that giveth it willingly with his heart ye shall take my offering.

God's desire for fellowship is also dependent upon the second thought; It must be willing and desired by both parties.
As we extend these thoughts into our present day relationship with God it is evident that he still has a desire to have fellowship with man and to dwell with him. This relationship is still dependent upon man’s willingness to enter into it on God's terms. He will not force himself and his companionship upon man.

This is true in the plan of salvation. God's desire is; 1 Tim 2:4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. And yet in order that the divine attribute of freewill be protected, it is necessary that man must exercise it. Rev 22:17 And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. While the Holy Spirit convicts and draws all men [
John 12:32 And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.] only those who WILL believe receive eternal life.

After salvation,it is God's desire that we should serve him in a New Testament Church, but he has never forced this service. It was to express this truth, that Jesus said, "Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house." Mat.5:15. It is certainly the sensible thing to do, but one must decide for himself and perform it. IT MUST BE WILLING SERVICE. 2 Cor 8:11 Now therefore perform the doing of it; that as there was a readiness to will, so there may be a performance also out of that which ye have.
2 Cor 8:12 For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not.

Willingness is not ALL there is to it, however in service to God. It must also be done exactly as He commands. As the tabernacle was the house of God then, the church is His house now.
1 Tim 3:15 But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth. Peter expressed it, 1 Pet 2:5 Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. It would be strange indeed, if God were to be so particular about the tabernacle, the priesthood and its sacrifices that he cautioned Moses to build everything according to the divine pattern; that He killed Nadab and Abihu when they deviated from the prescribed service as priests; that He rejected the sacrifices of the entire nation, according to Malachi, because they didn't meet his standards, and THEN, in the Lord’s Church, the REAL HOUSE and the anti-type of the tabernacle, allow men to build anything they desire, offer anything which strikes their fancy and serve any way they choose! [Prov 14:12 There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.]

God still desires fellowship with His creatures. It must still be on a willing basis. but it must still be on HIS terms. The idea that God leaves man great latitude to decide for himself the terms of his worship and service is a discredit to God. In fact it comes dangerously close to the action of Lucifer as described in the 14th chapter of Isaiah. He wanted to exceed his designated authority and become greater than God. Since God gave us the power of choice, we must be careful lest we too, try to rise above the throne of the most high by saying that the power of choice enables us to make decisions which will be binding on God.

God has determined the plan of salvation by which man can be saved. There can be no other.[ Acts 4:12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.]

He has appointed the place of our acceptable service in his church; There is no other satisfactory place.[ Eph 3:21 Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.] He has determined the qualifications of those who should serve him in various positions, and no man has the authority to change or to lower these requirements.