The Center (part 2)

The first part of The Center looked at the arrangement of the Israelite encampment around the tabernacle as an image of God being the center of our lives today.

But there seems to be much more to this image.

The desert tabernacle also is a powerful illustration of how the farther we are from God the less holy and righteous we become in some practical ways.

I think of it like the radiation zone around a nuclear detonation. God's burning holiness is most intense in his presence in the tabernacle, but diminishes the farther one goes from "ground zero".


Holiest of Holies was Ground Zero for God's Presence
When a nuclear bomb explodes the radiation is most intense at ground zero then decreases in radial fashion with distance from the center (geeky math warning... Did God's radiant glory diminish following an inverse square law?) So that when moving away from ground zero the radiation level drops rapidly and eventually there is a point where it reaches zero. For the Israelites, the Holiest of Holies was ground zero, the presence of God resided there like no other place on earth at that time. God's glory and majesty was intense with radiance and power. On the Day of Atonement, once per year, one man, the high priest could enter this place, it would be like walking into the blast area with Geiger counters ticking a million times per second. You can't even distinguish the individual ticks. Entering this most holy place took almost 100 steps of ritual, sacrifice and offering. Perhaps like putting on a radiation suit (picture the space suit guys in the movie ET).

When the high priest was in the Holiest of Holies in the very presence of God how likely was he to sin or fall to temptation? With God thundering before him on the mercy seat, I'm guessing that the priest is going to win most every battle of temptation. Sin and everything unclean is consumed entirely in God's unshielded presence. This is why the high priest had a rope tied to his leg so others could pull him out if he died in there. People wouldn't go in to retrieve the body in the "hot zone". But the Holiest of Holies is a picture of our future eternity with God, where we will be in His literal presence always (not just one day a year), able to see Him face to face in all his glory, and completely free from sin.

When Moses spent 40 days on Mt. Sinai with God his face literally glowed (Ex 34:29-35 Ex 33:18-23) and the people insisted he wear a veil. We are also transformed by the presence of God and radiate holiness when we are in His glorious presence.

(Note that the glow eventually wore off of Moses' face, like what happens to a glow in the dark frisbee eventually. In this life when we are removed from the radiating glory, our holiness likewise diminishes with time. Not our positional holiness and righteousness in Jesus, but our practical righteousness. Ex 24:17 says that to the Israelites the glory of the Lord looked like a consuming fire, so the nuclear detonation analogy works well, perhaps more than we suspect.)

With God at the center of our lives we reflect his glory, and the closer we are to him, the more we glow.

The Holy Place
Moving out from ground zero of the Holiest of Holies in the tabernacle, God's radiating holiness diminished somewhat (in the effect on the priests' lives). The geiger counter is ticking along at a steady clip (tick, tick, tick, tick) but not the piercing buzz as in the Holiest of Holies). In the Holy Place the Levitical priests would serve on a daily basis. They were more likely to sin in that place because God's holiness is not as intense (this is where Aaron's sons Nadab and Abihu were killed for offering unauthorized fire). These priests were chosen by God, consecrated and set apart from the Levites to serve. They were less "sanctified" than the high priest on the day of atonement. Much of the time I feel like this is where my life is spent. Not in the fiery furnace and blazing presence of God, but the day to day rituals. Going about my life, paying homage to Him but also pretty busy with other tasks. God not exactly the center and full focus of who I am.

Outer Courts
And then God's holiness was diminished even more in the outer court of the tabernacle where the rest of the Israelites and even aliens could come to congregate and make offerings. The geiger counter might tick once every 20-30 seconds. These people were milling about, gathering for social occasions. Not stretching the analogy too far, but there have been times in my life where God is sidelined because the cares and worries of this life move me farther from the center, and I'm more prone to sin and lose the battle.

The Encampment and "Outside" the Camp
Move further out beyond the walls of the tabernacle to the encampment and the effect of God's holiness diminished significantly. The geiger counter is ticking once every 5-10 minutes perhaps. The people had occasional moments of dedication to the Lord (Ex 15 singing the song of Moses, confirming the Covenant in Ex 24:7) But for the most part the Israelites were characterized for 40 years in the desert as stiff necked, grumblers, quarrelers, weak, unfaithful, complaining, sinful, disobedient, covenant breakers, whiners, etc.. Because they were fairly removed from the center of God's presence they were less holy (and visa versa it can be argued. Sort of a chicken and egg issue.) It can be argued that many unbelievers are those in the camp and beyond.

Outside the camp the people considered unclean had to dwell. These were lepers, ceremonially unclean, and various classes of outcasts. These may might be considered the "lost sheep", ones who know God but are far from him. The Geiger counter ticks slowly here. They can be made clean, drawn closer to the center, but some spend their whole lives outside the camp, never fully enjoying the blessings of drawing near to God.

The Gentile Nations
Farthest from the center of God's presence in the Holiest of Holies are the Canaanites, those gentile nations occupying the land promised to Israel as part of the covenant. These people on a whole are not spoken well of in scripture. They are called evil, Molech and Baal worshipers, child sacrificers, practicing every kind of sexual sin and deviancy as a way of life. Maybe a tick on the Geiger counter every couple of years. Maybe. Sin flows like a river, not the milk and honey promised to the Israelites . But these "aliens" are not beyond hope and may partake in the Israel blessings in part if they become circumcised. There have been time in the OT where God directly blesses them. God sent Elijah to a gentile widow in Sidon and blessed her with the bottomless jar of flour and oil during a famine (1 King 17:1-15). Also Elisha cleanses the Syrian military general Naaman of leprosy (2 King 5:1-14).

In fact some of these gentile people of "the nations" are the ones promised by God to be blessed through Abraham's offspring, that is Jesus (Gen 12:3). God doesn't love them any less than the Israelites but their sin is grievous enough to merit punishment, judgement and wrath (as is ours!)

Application
How close to The Center do I live my daily life? Am I living before the mercy seat within the Holiest of Holies? Milling around the outer courts? Living outside the camp? Or assembling firewood for the altar of Molech?

The whole analogy is flawed in some ways, but works in more ways than not. Proverbs 17:3 says, "The crucible for silver, the furnace for gold, but the Lord tests the heart." Our hearts are purified and made clean in this life (sanctification) to the degree we spend time in the holy, burning presence of God. It's a paradox, because if God is omnipresent how can we ever be far from Him? We need to make a choice to enter in, draw near. He's a consuming fire, but His awesome glory consumes the dross in our hearts, purifies us, refines us, so that what is left looks more and more like His image.