and the earthly sanctuary (Exodus 25:8). For there was a tabernacle prepared, the outer one, in which were the lampstand and the table and the sacred bread; this is called the holy place (Exodus 25:23-29). Behind the second veil (Exodus 26:31-33) there was a tabernacle which is called the Holy of Holies, (Exodus 26:33). having a golden altar of incense (Exodus 30:1-5) and the ark of the covenant (Exodus 25:10) covered on all sides with gold, in which was a golden jar holding the manna, and Aaron’s rod which budded (Numbers 17:10), and the tables of the covenant; and above it were the cherubim of glory (Exodus 25:1) overshadowing the mercy seat; (Exodus 25:19). but of these things we cannot now speak in detail. Now when these things have been so prepared, the priests are continually entering the outer tabernacle performing the divine worship, but into the second, only the high priest enters (Exodus 20:10) once a year, not without taking blood, which he offers for himself and for the sins of the people committed in ignorance (Numbers 15:25). The Holy Spirit is signifying this, that the way into the holy place has not yet been disclosed while the outer tabernacle is still standing, which is a symbol for the present time. Accordingly both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make the worshiper perfect in conscience, since they relate only to food and drink and various washings, regulations for the body imposed until a time of reformation.
The New Covenant: “But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation; and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? For this reason He is the mediator of a new covenant, so that, since a death has taken place for the redemption of the transgressions that were committed under the first covenant, those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance (Hebrews 9:1-15).
By Christ initiating the New Covenant the Old Covenant was rendered obsolete. Righteousness was no longer obtained by obeying the Law but, according to God’s covenant with Abraham, it was forgiven by faith in Christ. Christ fulfilled all of the laws for us. No longer are we obligated in ourselves to keep the law; Christ did it for us. Christ said: “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. “For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke [jot or tittle] shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished” (Matthew 5:17-18).
Ancient Israel, for whom the law was written, was never able to fulfill the Law in themselves. Their failure became our tutor, showing us that the law cannot be fulfilled through our own efforts. “But before faith came, we were kept in custody under the law, being shut up to the faith which was later to be revealed. Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor” (Galatians 3:23-25).
Therefore the Old Testament, and the Books of Moses, become the foundation of our faith. The law becomes our fulfillment, not our obligation. We, as Christ, will become the Law. As Hebrews 8:10 says: “For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel After those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws into their minds, And I will write them on their hearts. And I will be their God, And they shall be My people” In other words it will become our nature not to sin which will unlock all the promises of God to us. When our ways are pleasing to the Lord we inherit His Kingdom.
Hopefully this book will convey an understanding of the Old Testament as it relates to Christianity today. Rather than being an obsolete recitation of history it is a living reality in Christ. Jesus said to the Pharisees: “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me;” (John 5:39). So we too receive Christ’s life from the Old Testament as well as the new. .
The Book of Beginnings; Creation to Noah’s Flood
Genesis is the book of the beginnings of beginnings. It is the only book, scientific or otherwise, that sets the time of creation of this physical reality we call home at a fixed point. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). God Himself existed, prior to the creation, in the realm of Spirit, what we colloquially call heaven. “God is spirit” (John 4:24). The world of Spirit is distinguished from this natural world. “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit” (John 3:6). Creation, as recounted in Genesis, is the creation of a material world separate from the world of spirit, with the intent that both realms become one at some point.
Many definable events were in existence in God’s heart prior to the creation of our world. Christ was in existence before physical creation. …” You loved Me before the foundation of the world” (John 17:24). Christ existed as the Lamb of God, slain for the sins of the world, before the world was created. Revelation 13:8 says: “And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world”. In the spirit realm there was the reality in the heart and the plan of the Father, and it had that form before it finally came and manifested itself in the physical world that we call reality. Through the centuries it had to have reality in the spirit world and reality in the heart of the Father before we could finally see its reality. (Stevens, John Robert, This Week, 1973 Vol.IV, p.328).
God hints in the scriptures about how He created this realm we currently dwell in. Isaiah 40:21-22 states: “Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been declared to you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is He who is enthroned above the circle of the earth, And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain”. And He told Job:“Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding, Who set its measurements? …Or who stretched the line on it? “On what were its bases sunk? Or who laid its cornerstone, When the morning stars sang together And all the sons of God shouted for joy?” (Job 38:4-7). His ways are past finding out!
Genesis is not only an account of the creation of the heavens and the earth. It is a history of mankind, from God’s standpoint; of its perfected state, to its sinful state and the redemption that returned him to a perfected sinless existence. Taken as a whole the Book lays out the framework upon which God built a Kingdom of Sons which became His Bride and His family. The end is known from the beginning so we speak of it as it is before it is actually manifested.
To understand Genesis is to know God, the way He thinks, why He does certain things, His feelings and His reasons, which are in addition to His mighty power, his great omnificence, omnipresence and overwhelming glory. Despite His greatness He is willing that man can individually know His heart, His ways, and He is willing to share that with the men/women who are willing to be chosen to receive it.
The book begins with the re-creation of the earth which God found (in verse 2) to be: “formless and void [a waste and emptiness], and darkness was over the surface
