"One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple." Psalm 27:4

One of the things we learned on Sunday was that God gave David grace to overcome fear, anxiety, and worry by regularly prioritizing one thing: abiding in God's presence, beholding His beauty/seeking His face, and fellowshipping with Him in prayer. What did it mean for David to behold His beauty? And how does this apply to us?

Although the tabernacle in Jerusalem was of a different configuration than the tabernacle in the wilderness, we can get an idea as to why David would associate seeing the beauty of the Lord in the context of the tabernacle. Before a priest could ever go into the tabernacle, to behold the beauty within, he would always have to come by way of the blood of an innocent sacrifice. The first stop would be at the brazen altar were the innocent sacrifices atoned for the sins of the guilty. For us, that is a reminder that our access to God was made possible due to the beautiful, sacrificial, and sufficient sacrifice of the Lamb of God, Jesus Himself. Because of Christ's death, we can now draw near to behold the beauty of all that God is in His holy, loving, faithful, and missional character.

As you would leave the altar of sacrifice, you would next approach the brazen laver and wash your feet and hands. For us, that would translate into our beholding the beauty of God in Christ by devoting ourselves to "the washing of the water of God's Word." This is foundational for beholding the beauty of God in Christ.

From there, the priest would enter the Holy Place where he would see the light shining from the Golden Lampstand lighting up the beauty of all of the gold and colored tapestry that was in the room. It was a reminder that the Lord Himself is our beautiful light and our salvation, and we need not be afraid. The priest would smell the fragrance coming from the altar of incense, which was a reminder of the importance of prayer being regularly lifted up to the Lord by God's people. And even better for us, a reminder of the intercession that Jesus Himself is forever and always making for us to the Father. Praying and being prayed for is a means of grace to see the beauty of God in the face of Christ! And the priest would also see and smell the bread on the table of showbread. Twelve loaves were placed here and were a constant reminder of God's presence and provision for all of His people, which for us points us to the beauty of Christ's Words that He would never leave us or forsake us and would always provide for us and sustain us.

The High Priest, once a year, would bring the blood of the sacrifice into the Holy of Holies,  representing absolute intimacy with the Lord in the presence of the glory of the Lord. The blood would be sprinkled on the Mercy Seat, which sat above the stone tablets of the Ten Commandments. Thanks to the blood, the punishment for breaking the law was satisfied, and now mercy could be extended. Also in the Ark of the Covenant was Aaron's rod that budded, which foreshadowed the coming day when life would conquer death through the resurrection. And, there was some manna placed there too, reminding us that between the death of the innocent sacrifice and our future resurrection, God will provide for all that we need because He provided what we most needed in the salvation Christ has given us and will be faithful to finish what He began.

The more we remember the beauty of God and His glory in the face of Christ and His sacrifice, in meditating on the Word of God, in being guided by the light of Christ, in fellowshipping with God through the prayer and having assurance from Christ in His prayers for us, in feeding upon God's covenant love and faithfulness, in remembering that Christ satisfied the demands of the law through both perfect obedience and perfect sacrifice for us, that He is with us every moment and that He is coming again...it is easy to see how God would give us grace through Christ to overcome our fears, anxieties and worries. Seeing God's glory in the face of Jesus means that we have full assurance that our sins are forgiven and that in Christ, God is smiling over us with the smile of perfect welcome and acceptance and joy because we have been counted righteous in the righteousness of Jesus!!

Let's be a ONE THING church! Let's help each other be a ONE THING church! The Lord bless you, keep you, guard you, and guide you with His peace!!!