God’s Covenant: God with Us

May 6, 2007

By 
Melanie Ching

Aloha! and Good Morning!

Ever been on a trip and after a week or about 10 days and you start thinking, “I can’t wait to go home!”? Well, I just got back a few days ago from a two week trip on the mainland and it was a bit too long to be gone. I am so happy to be “home” and here at Manoa Valley Church.

A little while ago, Kahu Kaina mentioned the “new look” of the altar. I had noticed that with the veil behind the altar, it looked like the section of the temple that was referred to as the “Holy of Holies”. As it so happens, I was in a Bible Study on Friday nights and we learned about the Ark of the Covenant and the Holy of Holies. I thought to myself, if I ever have a chance to speak at Manoa Valley Church again, I want to share a message about God’s Covenant with His people and how the Holy of Holies has meaning for us even in this day and age. Then, when Sue Yamamoto asked if I was available to preach for this Sunday, I knew it must be God-divined.

The following description of the Temple is taken from Faith Lessons on the Prophets and Kings of Israel, a part of That the World may Know Miniseries with Ray Vander Laan, from Focus on the Family.

The Temple Courts

The temple in Arad and the temple in Jerusalem were built with different materials and were influenced by different architectural designs of the times. “Yet, both temples contained the same courts and accomplished the same worship functions.”

The Holy of Holies

“(God’s dwelling place) in Jersusalem contained the ark of the Covenant, which held the tablets of the covenant (the Ten Commandments). In the temple in Arad, this area was reached by climbing two steps—symbolizing going up to God. Two standing stones were found in the temple in Arad. These stones may have represented the tablets of the Ten Commandments—God’s covenant with Israel.”

The Holy Place

 “(Priest’s court) was a rectangular room between the worship court and the Holy of Holies that contained the table of showbread, golden lampstand, and the altar of incense. The showbread was placed as an offering in the presence of God. This offering symbolized a thanksgiving gift to God as well as a request for His provision of food. The priests, on behalf of the people, ate the bread as a symbol of their relationship with God.

The Worship Court

(The people’s place), a large outer court in which the people stood to worship, contained the altar of sacrifice and the laver or basin (the bronze Sea).

In Exodus, chapters 25 and 26, you can read about the very specific instructions that God gave Moses for building the Tabernacle, down to measurements and types of wood that should be used.

Our church sanctuary mimics the layout of the Temple of times before. We have the “Worship Court” for the people (though our congregation sits in pews most of the time instead of standing the whole time during a service.) The “Holy Place” for our Pastor is the pulpit, however, we give license to the preacher to speak from the pulpit or stand amongst the congregation. And our “Holy of Holies” is the altar and the veil, where we also put our “lampstand” or candles and our offering.

The Ark of the Covenant

In Exodus 25:22, the Lord tells Moses specifically how to build the Ark of the Covenant, which contained the stone tablets with God’s terms of His covenant (the Ten Commandments). Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will meet with you there and talk to you from above the atonement cover between the gold cherubim that hover over the Ark of the Covenant. From there I will give you my commands for the people of Israel.”

Psalm 99:1-3 describes God’s holiness: “The Lord is king! Let the nations tremble! He sits on his throne between the cherubim. Let the whole earth quake! The Lord sits in majesty in Jerusalem, supreme above all the nations. Let them praise your great and awesome name. Your name is holy!”

“The ark assured (the people of Israel) that the holy God of Abraham was sovereign over all things and was a protecting, forgiving presence in their lives.” God sat upon the throne of the Ark of the Covenant and spoke to the prophet Moses to convey His message to the people.

God is Holy and He ordained a place of worship for us to praise Him and listen to His Word. God gave Moses the Ten Commandments as His covenant of relationship with His people.

When covenants, or legal undertakings, were made back in Israelite culture, one copy was given to each party in the agreement. In the Bible Study I was in, I was surprised to learn that it is culturally accepted that all ten commandments were written on each of the stone tablets given to Moses (not split with 1-4, describing our relationship with God  on one tablet and 5-10, describing our relationship with others on the other tablet). It was the two copies of the complete Covenant, 1-10 on each tablet. Wow! God entrusted Moses with both copies of this legal document! “God gave both copies to Moses because God’s sacred place and Moses’ sacred place were the same: the Ark of the Covenant.”

“God’s Covenant with Abraham demonstrated the promise of God. He declared His commitment to the Israelites by walking the blood path to make a covenant with Abraham and his descendants.

Through the tabernacle, the ark of the covenant, and the temple, God’s people experienced the presence of God. God began restoring His presence among His people.

The tablets of the Ten Commandments sealed the relationship between the people and their God.”

The rest of Psalm 99 calls us to praise and exalt God’s greatness and His awesome name.

“Mighty king, lover of justice, you have established fairness. You have acted with justice and righteousness throughout Israel. Exalt the Lord our God! Bow low before His feet, for He is Holy! Moses and Aaron were among His priests; Samuel also called on His name. They cried to the Lord for help, and He answered them. He spoke to them from the pillar of cloud, and they followed the decrees and principles He gave them. O Lord our God, you answered them. You were a forgiving God, but you punished them when they went wrong. Exalt the Lord our God and worship at His holy mountain in Jerusalem, for the Lord our God is Holy!”

God’s holiness can be a soothing comfort for believers when we cry to Him for help, but God will not tolerate and will punish those who sin.

All of God’s covenants with His people were preparation for Jesus’ Coming and a fulfillment of God’s Promise. God demonstrated His love for us by sending His Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross for our sins. He seals the covenant he made with the Hebrews by giving them Jesus. Thus, Jesus could say, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them” (Matthew 5:17).

God is with us. “God’s choice of the covenant to describe His relationship with His people highlights the degree of His love for us. Not only did the great sovereign Creator of heaven and earth descend to be in relationship with sinful human beings, He offered His life to provide escape for the very people who would violate His covenant! People of the ancient Near East cultures understood what a covenant was and recognized the indescribable gift of relationship God had given to those who believed in Him. It should be no less for us.”

If you would like to experience God’s love and be in relationship with Him. It is very easy. Please repeat this prayer after me:

Dear God,

Thank you for sending your son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross for my sins. I confess that I have sinned. Please forgive me of my sins. I accept Jesus as my Lord and Savior. I open my heart to your love, please come into my life. Thank you for your covenant and blessings. In Christ’s name I pray, Amen.

If you prayed that prayer for the first time, please let me or Kahu Kaina know. We want to be partners with you as you begin to learn more about God’s love and you grow in relationship with Him.

When I preached in September last year, I spoke about the Four Candles: Peace, Faith, Love, and Hope. Please remember that whatever situation you’re in, there is always hope. And if you put your faith and hope in God, He will be with you.

When I preached at the end of the year on December 31^st, I talked about “A Year of Praise”. Let us continue to “Praise the Lord!”, exalt His Holy name and keep practicing “Random Acts of Kindness” to each other and whoever we meet in our life’s journeys.

May God Bless each of us. Let us pray:

Almighty God of Israel, You were in covenant with Your people and You are in covenant with us even today. Help us to accept a relationship with You. You love us so much, we want to be in love with You and to share Your love with others. Remind us throughout this week that You are with us.  Amen.
 
References:

Faith Lessons on the Prophets and Kings of Israel, That the World may Know Miniseries with Ray Vander Laan, Focus on the Family, 1999.

 
Life Application Study Bible, New Living Translation, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 1996.