I was reading in the old testament about Moses up on the mountain receiving the plans for the temple, and the temple implements, when God opened my mind about the parallel between temple implements and our lives.
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Exodus 27:3 states:
“Make ash buckets, shovels, basins, meat forks, and firepans, all of bronze.”
We can see the scripture is concerning the Plans for the Altar of Burnt Offering. However, when we go a little further to , we can see that God has granted the vision of what needs to be made to Bezalel son of Uri, through the Spirit of God, and he will make everything in and for the temple according to God’s plans.
Not focusing on the artist, but instead on the tools needed in the temple, the implements are like us.
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Temple implements were created with a purpose, to serve a purpose. They were created by the will of God, to His design specifications. They were constructed by God’s chosen builder. Then they were cleansed (in water), water-cleansing is not spelled out in scripture, however, bronze must be cleaned prior to putting oil on it – or the creator of the implement would be sealing in contamination from the construction process. Then the implements were anointed with oil. After being anointed, they were placed in the Temple, where over time they became more and more holy from the close proximity to God’s holiness. We see this in Moses, because after spending time with God, Moses’ skin glowed.
Whenever we see the Temple being dedicated, we see blood sacrifice, and the sprinkling of blood on all the Temple implements to prepare them for service and to further consecrate them in holiness.
We were created by God to serve Him. He appointed our parents, set our DNA in motion, and oversaw the process of our creation and birth. We are cleansed in water (baptism) and anointed for his work (baptized with the Holy Spirit). We are placed in the heavenly temple – the Holy of Holies, through the work of the cross (the tearing of the curtain from top-down). We furthermore have been dedicated by Christ’s blood, and prepared to be used by God. In Exodus 40, we notice that the most holy place of the temple is behind the curtain (the place where God dwells). Christ has in fact taken us to the most holy of holy places with His work on the cross. Now we stand in the very presence of God becoming more Christ-like through the process of sanctification, and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
One could take an implement from the temple and use it to perform a profane thing like cleaning up animal feces. Once a temple implement was used in such a way, it would have to be re-cleaned, re-anointed, re-covered in blood, and replaced in the temple where it’s holiness would start to develop again. We call that process in our lives repentance.
This parallel is easy to draw, and hard to deny. I am not saying that we are tongs, or meat forks. I am saying that we were created to do the things God has for us to do since before time began. That we were created with a specific purpose and plan, by the people who God appointed. That we have been called to live in close proximity to our Holy creator. That proximity to God changes and transforms us. And finally, that sin costs us something (through separation, and scorn), because it cost God something.
We are not called to live in this world as a part of it, contributing to the betterment of society for society’s sake. We are called to serve God through His spirit – joined together through the same spirit which empowered Christ, therefore one with Christ, united to His purpose – the reconciliation of all humanity to God through Him.
