S

Abiding in the VinePart 5

Garry Glaub

The seven “I am” statements of John

and the furniture of the tabernacle

7

“I am!”

This statement reveals much! It does not say, “I was!” Nor does it say, “I will be.” It points to

S

“I AM” designates that God always has been, is and always will be.

First, let’s understand the biblical significance of “I AM!”

Exodus 3:3-6 3 Then Moses said, “I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush does not burn.” 4 So when the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” 5 Then He said, “Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.” 6 Moreover He said, “I am the God of your father—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God.

Exodus 3:13-1413 Then Moses said to God, “Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they say to me, ‘What is His name?’ what shall I say to them?” 14 And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ”

E-he-YEH ah-SHER e-he-YEH

אהיא אשר אהיה

Let’s look at another verse that shows the power of this statement:

John 18:3-63 Then Judas, having received a detachment of troops, and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, came there with lanterns, torches, and weapons. 4 Jesus therefore, knowing all things that would come upon Him, went forward and said to them, “Whom are you seeking?” 5 They answered Him, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus said to them, “I am He.” And Judas, who betrayed Him, also stood with them. 6 Now when He said to them, “I am He,” they drew back and fell to the ground.

Remember, a word in italics in the Bible was placed there by translators for ease of translation. It is not there in the original language!

Jesus said to them, “I am He.” And Judas, who betrayed Him, also stood with them. 6 Now when He said to them, “I am He,” they drew back and fell to the ground.

I Am!

Jesus claims to be God!

But not only does He claim to be God, also notice what occurs with the claim! The troops fall over! In the same manner that Jesus breathed the universe into existence, His breath continues to have all power! How does it feel to be in His army? He is living within us! Why do we ever worry?

שר …אהיא א

אהיה

Now, let’s lookat the 7 “I am”statements in John.

Remember, the number 7 in the Bible refers to completeness. It is amazing how often this number occurs throughout the Bible!

Bible “I AM” statement.John 6:35 And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to

Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.

John 8:12 Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”

John 10:9 I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.

John 10:11

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.”

John 11:25

“I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.

John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

John 15:5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.

The TabernacleThese are all amazing statements!Studying them, it seemed that there might be a connection to the articles of furniture in the tabernacle, as some were obviously similar. You be the judge!

S

Let’s begin by looking closely at

the TabernacleRemember, the Tabernacle points to Jesus. John 1:14 said, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt [was tabernacled] among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” The word “dwelt” is the same as “tabernacle!”

Item BibleReference

Length Width Height

Gate Exodus 27:16 30 feet20 cubits

-- 7.5 feet5 cubits

Brazen Altar Exodus 21:1-8 7.5 feet5 cubits

7.5 feet5 cubits

4.5 feet3 cubits

Bronze Laver Exodus 30:18 Unknown Unknown Unknown

Lampstand Exodus 25:31-39

Unknown Unknown Unknown

Table of Showbread

Exodus 25:23-30

3 feet2 cubits

1.5 feet1 cubit

2.25 feet1.5 cubits

Altar of Incense Exodus 30:1-10

1.5 feet1 cubit

1.5 feet1 cubit

3 feet2 cubits

Ark of the Covenant

Exodus 25:10:16

3.75 feet2.5 cubits

2.25 feet1.5 cubits

2.25 feet1.5 cubits

WestEastNorth

South

Inside the Tabernacle…

Let’s begin with the entrance to the tabernacle, the gate, as the connection between these two seems very obvious!

I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. John 10:9

S

If we go out and find pasture, it sure

sounds like we are those dumb sheep

from Psalm 23, desperately in need

of a Shepherd!

The Gate

The gate of the tabernacle was the ONLY entrance, just as Jesus is the ONLY way to enter into heaven. For the Israelites, entering the gate of the tabernacle was the only way to fellowship with God and receive His forgiveness.

The GateSo many people want to believe that if there is a heaven and a God, that God will look upon their lives and see that they accomplished more good than bad, and that will “earn” them heaven.But the Bible tells us that all we “earn” with our lives is death, as “the wages of sin is death.” If we sin even once, we become sinners, and a righteous God must punish that sin.

The Gate

Let’s say that one of us commits a murder and goes before a judge and says, “Judge, I committed this murder in anger, but I promise never to do it again.”Can anyone imagine a righteous judge who would say, “That’s alright. As long as you promise never to do it again, everything is fine.” Not even an atheist would see that as the proper solution!

The Gate

Instead, God designed a system where sinners could be forgiven. This began in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve sinned, and God covered their sin with an animal skin, showing us that sin must be covered by the spilling of innocent blood.Then God continued this lesson, with the sacrificial system of the Old Testament. That was difficult to abide by, with many rules and regulations, but it still allowed their sin to be forgiven, once again, by the spilling of innocent blood.But these all pointed to what occurred in the New Testament…

Jesus died so that we might live!He was judged for our sin, and if we accept Him as our Savior, we are judged for His sinlessness. Imagine, standing before the Judge and having Him say, “The punishment for your sin already has been paid in full!”

S

24 This is the service of the families of the Gershonites, in serving and carrying: 25 They shall carry the curtains of the tabernacle and the tabernacle of meeting with its covering, the covering of badger skins that is on it, the screen for the door of the tabernacle of meeting, 26 the

screen for the door of the gate of the court, the hangings of the court which are around the tabernacle and altar, and their cords, all the furnishings for their service and all that is made for these things: so shall

they serve. Numbers 4:24-26

S

Next, let’s go to the brazen altar…

22 So Samuel said: “Has the LORD as great delight

in burnt offerings and sacrifices, As in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,

And to heed than the fat of rams. 1 Samuel 15:22

The Brazen Altar

The brazen altar is also called the altar of burnt offerings. Just inside the gate, this was where the offerings of the sacrificial system were sacrificed. These offerings symbolized that in order to approach a Holy God, a sinful man must first be cleansed by innocent blood. In John 1:29, John the Baptist said of Jesus, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”

The Brazen AltarBecause of the sacrifice Jesus made, we can approach the Holy God! Jesus is the only way to God, as we have no other way to cover our sin. Isaiah 53:9 reminds us that Jesus had no deceit in His mouth, which makes Him the Truth. “And they made His grave with the wicked -- but with the rich at His death, because He had done no violence, Nor was any deceit in His mouth.”And we can have no life without Him! This points to:

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6)Life

WayTrut

h

Did you notice that there are two articles of furniture without any measurements given? Why?

They both point so strongly to Jesus, and He is immeasurable!

The first is the Bronze Laver…

The priests were to wash in the bronze (brazen) laver. We are to come to Him in confession. First John 1:9 tells us that “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

This laver of brass pictures our sanctification. We must wash if we are going to serve God. We must wash if we are going to be used by God. We must be clean. Not only should our garments smell like sweet incense, but our bodies should be washed with pure water. The pure water is the Word of God. “The Word” is a title John used for Jesus!

This is a place for washing. Water gives life, as we cannot live without it. Water also symbolizes our need for cleansing every single day, to help us to continue to walk in the Spirit and abide in Jesus!

The Laver

The laver was made out of brass. The women brought their highly polished brass mirrors to make the laver, as they did not have glass mirrors back then. The mirrors revealed dirt and that was the purpose of the laver. The laver cleansed the priest, and the laver pictures the Word of God.

The Bible is a mirror and when we look into it, our sin is revealed. We then need to confess our sin and be cleansed.

The Bronze Laver

Jesus reminded us, “apart from Me, you can do nothing.” According to John 15:3, we are already clean through the word He has spoken to us!

Remember, the word “prunes” used in John 15:2 in Greek is ka-THAI-ro (καθαίρω), and it means “cleanses.”

The Father, who is the Vinedresser, takes the branches stuck in the dirt, lifts them up and cleanses them! We are washed by His Word! We also are washed clean by His blood. “Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow,” according to Isaiah 1:18.

The LaverIn the Bible, bronze always points to judgment, and we will not be judged because Jesus cleansed us when He was judged on our behalves!For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. 2 Corinthians 5:21

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing.” John 15:5

Review

“I AM” is more than a statement or claim. It is a title of God! Jesus spoke to Moses from the burning bush. When Jesus uttered these words in the Garden of Gethsemane, those who came to arrest Him fell over like bowling pins!

Two weeks ago, we looked at the Gate, the Brazen Altar and the Bronze Laver.

Review

The Gate shows a direct correlation to John 10:9: “I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.”

The Brazen Altar is where they performed sacrifices, as there cannot be forgiveness of sin without the spilling of innocent blood. Without the death of the innocent Lamb of God on the cross, we would not be forgiven. This tied into John 14:6. “Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.’”

Review

The Bronze Laver was next. This is where the priests washed before entering the Holy Place. It was made with brass mirrors, so they could see the dirt. In the same manner, when we read the Bible, it reveals our sin. This points to John 15:5: “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from Me, you can do nothing.” That passage speaks of cleansing, as that is what the Father did with the vines that He lifted up!

Now, we go inside!

The second article without a measurement is the

Lampstand… This is the most perfect picture of Christ that

we find in the tabernacle, as the lighted lamps represent the Holy Spirit and point to Christ in the center of the menorah. The lampstand is symbolic of Christ, who sent the Holy Spirit into the world. The Spirit of God takes the things of Christ and shows them to us. In much the same way that Jesus always does the work of the Father, the Holy Spirit always points to Jesus!

The Lampstand

The lampstand (menorah ה ָ ור ׄ נ ְ is ( מhammered out of one piece of gold and it points to the fact that Jesus is pure gold. It speaks of His deity. He is GOD! Worship is walking in His light, abiding and obeying.Natural light is available outside the tabernacle. If we want to walk in the light of the menorah, though, we must go inside the tabernacle! The lampstand was made of one piece of gold, beaten and ornamented. Before His crucifixion, Jesus was beaten!

The lampstand had a central shaft, and extending from that shaft were three branches on each side, making a total of seven lamps in all. The one in the center is called the shamash ׁשמׁש, which means “servant.” That comes from the same Hebrew root word for “sun,” which is shemesh. Each branch was like the limb of an almond tree with fruit and a blossom. At the top was an open almond blossom, and it was there that the lamps filled with oil were placed.

Menorah or

Lampstand

There is so much symbolism going on here. First, notice the number of lamps in the menorah. In the Bible, seven is a number of completeness. Six, on the other hand, is the number of man. (Think of the “mark of the beast,” 666). The number one points to the unity of God. 6 + 1 = 7, and man + God = completeness! Without God, man is incomplete, but Jesus makes us complete! At Chanukah, the Jews use the candle in the middle, the shamash, of a nine-candled candelabrum, to light the other candles. This points to Jesus, who lights the world, and came as the servant to all!

The Lampstand

The almond blossoms that ornamented the menorah looked like wood, but were gold. Six branches point to us! (We are the branches and He is the vine!) This also symbolizes Aaron’s budding rod, a dead branch that came back to life to bear fruit. Without the resurrection of Jesus, none of us could possibly bear fruit! The death of Jesus would have meant nothing without His resurrection!

Notice that the lampstand held up the lighted lamps. In turn, the lamps revealed the beauty of the lampstand. The oil in the lamps represents the Holy Spirit.

When Jesus spoke again to the people, He said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walkin darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12)

(See also John 9:5)

S

Next, is the table of showbread!

During the exodus, God provided sustenance for the Jews in manna. The name manna was a derogatory term meaning “what is it,” given by the Jews for this miracle of God. Each morning, they could go out and gather whatever they wanted of this wafer-like food that tasted of honey and coriander.

Bread from heavenWe know that manna was filled with nutrients as the Jews never suffered with beriberi or scurvy (vitamin B and C deficiencies). God wanted them to rest on the Sabbath, so the day before, they would gather twice as much. Except on that one day each week, whatever they gathered and did not use rotted, but miraculously, on the Sabbath, that did not occur..

S

30 Therefore they said to Him, “What sign will You perform then, that we may see it and believe You? What work will You do? 31 Our fathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” 32 Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is Hewho comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 34 Then they said to Him, “Lord, give us this bread always.”

35 And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.

S

36 But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe. 37 All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out. 38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. 39 This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. 40 And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”

JOH

N 6:30-40

Table of Showbread

The table of showbread speaks of sustenance, provision, and supply. It also is the table of salvation. In Matthew 22, Jesus told a parable of invited guests, who did not attend the wedding feast. When the invited guests did not attend, the King told his servants to invite anyone they could find. Jesus came to save the Jews, but when they did not see Him as their Messiah, the LORD invited us!

Remember, God supplies food to believers and non-believers, alike. God even rains upon flowers no one ever will see. This table also points to the LORD’s supper, where He provides healing and fellowship to believers!

and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” 25 In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” 1 Corinthians 11:24-25

Now, let’s look at the Altar of Incense

This points to Jesus, our good Shepherd!

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” John 10:11

Altar of Incense

The altar of incense was directly in front of the Holy of Holies, just outside the veil that separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies, also called the Most Holy Place. Incense is a symbol of intercession as our prayers are a sweet aroma to God. In the same manner, Christ is our intercessor! After claiming to be our good Shepherd, Jesus goes on to say, "The good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep." He died instead of us! What better way to demonstrate that He is our intercessor!

Just as our prayers send a pleasing aroma unto the Lord, the Shepherd, who laid down His life, created a pleasing aroma. Isaiah 53:10 reminds us, “Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him.”

The Altars of the Tabernacle

Burnt (or Brazen) Altar

Location: just past the entrance of the Tabernacle.

Points to the earth. This points to what

Jesus did for us on this earth.

This is where God dealt with sinners.

Altar of Incense Location: inside the

tabernacle in the Holy Place, and just outside of the Holy of Holies.

Points to heaven and holiness.

This is where Jesus is acting for us as Intercessor in heaven today.

This is where we are able to come to the LORD in prayer!

S

As Christians, one of the greatest gifts we are given is prayer. We can act as intercessors for our friends and families. Notice that in John 17, when Jesus is about to endure the cross, He momentarily prays for Himself, for strength. But the bulk of the prayer is for His disciples and ALL believers to come! Today, He continues to pray for us! The altar of incense is about worship, but Jesus is the One who truly worships God on our behalves and prays for us. He is our intercessor!

ALTAR OF IN

CENSE

1 Timothy 2:5-6

5 For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time,

• Worship is not meant for the Brazen Altar, filled with blood. We are there as sinners, until we accept Jesus as our Savior. To worship God, we must enter the Holy Place and come to the Golden Altar, or Altar of Incense! There is no sacrifice at the Altar of Incense because the sin question already has been settled outside.

• To truly worship God, the sin question needs to be settled already. Once a year, on the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur), this altar was consecrated with blood. “Consecrate” means to make holy. Exodus 30:1-10 tells us that the high priest entered on that one day. As believers, we are accepted in Jesus, our Beloved, before God the Father. God hears our prayers because of what Christ has done, and Jesus is our High Priest forever!

S

Finally, we get to the final piece of

furniture…The Ark of the Covenant

The ark was a chest covered inside and outside with gold. It was constructed with shittim (acacia or gopher) wood, hard and almost indestructible. This article of furniture is a perfect symbol of our LORD Jesus in His deity and in His humanity, with His deity represented by the gold and His humanity represented by the wood.

Ark of the Covenant

J. Vernon McGee said this: “The ark could not be spoken of as merely a

wooden chest because it also was a gold chest. It could not be called a golden chest because it was also a chest of wood. It required both gold and wood to maintain the symbolism pointing to Christ as the God–man. There is no mingling of the two. To overlook this duality is to entertain a monstrous notion of His person. There is no doctrine in Scripture so filled with infinite mystery and so removed from the realm of explanation as the hypostatical union of Christ, the God–man.”

Ark of the Covenant

The ark of the covenant was a simple box, and it is a symbol of God and man in one body. That simple box tells the whole story, as far as man can understand, of the mystery of the blessed, Lord Jesus Christ. It was covered with gold both inside and outside. Colossians 2:9 tells us, “For in Him dwells all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.” We all know what it is like to be human, but we can only try to imagine the ways of God! The poles were for carrying, as the ark was not to be touched.

1 Samuel 6:1919 Then He struck the men of Beth Shemesh, because they had looked into the ark of the Lord. He struck fifty thousand and seventy men of the people, and the people lamented because the Lord had struck the people with a great slaughter.

2 Samuel 6:6-7

6 And when they came to Nachon’s threshing floor, Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled. 7 Then the anger of the Lord was aroused against Uzzah, and God struck him there for his error; and he died there by the ark of God.

Jesus spoke as God, and claimed to be God. In John 14:1 and John 14:9, He says,

“Let not your heart be troubled: you believe in God, believe also in me… Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He that has seen Me has seen the Father…”

Yes, He was God and is God!

Jesus also was perfectly man! It is amazing to think that Jesus grew tired. To live, He needed sleep, food and water. He laughed and cried, and certainly, Jesus felt physical and emotional pain. Most importantly, as a man, Jesus suffered and died!

All of those mentioned are human characteristics. Symbolically, the gold and the wood in the ark were both necessary, but notice that neither was mixed with the other. Those two might have been joined into one article of furniture, but the gold was separate from the wood.

Jesus was 100% human and at the same time was 100% God. That is hard for us to fully grasp!

Christ was both God and man. What He did was perfectly human and perfectly divine.

2 For a tabernacle was prepared: the first part, in which was the lampstand, the table, and the showbread, which is called the sanctuary; 3 and behind the second veil, the part of the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of All, 4 which had the golden censer and the ark of the covenant overlaid on all sides with gold, in which were the golden pot that had the manna, Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tablets of the covenant; 5 and above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat. Of these things we cannot now speak in detail. Hebrews 9:2-5

A change in symbolism…

Notice that in Hebrews 9 the Altar of Incense has changed locations from the Holy Place to the Most Holy Place (or Holy of Holies). WHY?

When Jesus died on the cross, Matthew 27:51 says that the Temple Veil split in two, from top to bottom. That Veil weighed an estimated 4-6 tons!

Now, our place of worship is inside the Holy of Holies, as Jesus told us in John 14:6: “no man comes to the Father but by Me!

Inside the Ark of the Covenant

Manna

Aaron’s budding rod

Two tablets of the 10 Commandments

The pot of manna symbolizes Jesus Christ as a prophet. He openly and directly spoke for God the Father: 32 Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” (John 6:32-33)Jesus Christ was also God’s message to man.

PROPHET

Aaron’s rod that budded points to the resurrection and it symbolizes the work of Jesus as priest. While the prophet spoke for God to men, the priest spoke for men to God!

As priest, Jesus offered Himself, and in that same role, He passed into heaven, where He now sits at the Father’s right hand.

PRIEST

The tablets of the covenant symbolize the Kingship of Christ. When Jesus was born, only a few knew that He was the King prophesied about. When He rode a foal of a donkey down the Mount of Olives road, the people even acknowledged Him as King. Even at His death, Pontius Pilate identified Him as King. God’s plan includes the return of Jesus to Earth to rule and reign. Earth needs a ruler and mankind needs a King. Someday He will return as King of kings and Lord of lords!

KING

S

Don’t forget the Mercy Seat!

Mercy Seat

The mercy seat rested on top of the ark, but was a separate piece of furniture. It was made of pure gold and the mercy seat had one cherubim on each end, with wings spread, looking down to where the blood was placed. On Yom Kippur, this is where the high priest sprinkled the blood of the sacrifice. That blood was on the mercy seat, as there can be no forgiveness of sin without the spilling of innocent blood. Jesus, as our High Priest, offered His blood to atone for each of our sins!

S

The Mercy SeatBecause of our High Priest, Jesus, who is sitting at God’s right hand, we can approach God the Father. We can go to Him at any time for mercy and help, especially needed in this world that Satan has been given dominion over for a time. We do not have the power to fight through this world alone, but Jesus does! He offers us His power!

These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”John 16:33

4 For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world— our faith. 5 Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? 1 John 5:4-5

Defined as not getting what we deserve. What we deserve with our lives and our sin is death.

This is the power we need!

17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, 18 the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power 20 which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, Ephesians 1:17-20

God’s power is available to us because we have a High Priest who is at God’s right hand. That power can overcome any sin we are battling!

Ark of the Covenant

The ark of the covenant was the ultimate atonement for the Israelites, just as Jesus is our ultimate atonement. Through His resurrection, we have life!

The ark of the covenant and mercy seat are Old Testament symbols of the coming Messiah. Only in Jesus do we have mercy!

S

This points to the last “I am” statement:

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in Me will never die.” John 11:25-26

Bible “I AM” statement. Articles of furniture

John 6:35

And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.

Table of Showbread

John 8:12

Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”

Lampstand

John 10:9

I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.

Gate

John 10:11

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.”

Altar of Incense

John 11:25

“I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.

Ark of the Covenant

John 14:6

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

Brazen Altar

John 15:5

“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.

Bronze Laver

• Every word of the Bible is there for a reason.

• Remember, it all points to Jesus!• This is another example of the author

being the Holy Spirit, who artistically has woven a scarlet thread throughout the Old Testament and New Testament.

• God wants us to know His love, and wants to give us the power to live this life for Him.

• Are you ready, willing and able to follow Him?

• All Jesus needs to do is speak “I AM” and every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is LORD!

Much of the information on the articles of furniture in the tabernacle came from J. Vernon McGee’s Commentary “Thru the Bible.” Thanks, good and faithful servant!

McGee, J. V. (1991). Thru the Bible commentary: Nashville: Thomas Nelson.