NAME: Lanz Cameron Khrystoffer D.

Ege
Title of the Article: Genesis 1 and the Building of the
Israelite Sanctuary
Publisher: Ministry Magazine
Date/Time: March 25, 2020; 2:00PM – 4:00PM
Location: Home
Reading Log: #1
Reference:
https://www.ministrymagazine.org/archive/2002/02/genesis-1-and-
the-building-of-the-israelite-sanctuary.html%20
Annotation:
The building of the Israelite Sanctuary finds its parallels
on the Creation week narrative of Genesis. Dr. Rodriguez reminds
us here that every topic in the Bible finds its “roots” in the
book of beginnings.
The parallels the author points out are (1) Six days plus a
seventh day (2) Seven divine speeches (3)Seven and the
construction of the tabernacle (4)Linguistic parallels (5)
Presence of the Spirit of God
Just as there were Six days plus a Seventh day in the
Creation narrative, there were also Six days plus a Seventh day
when Moses climbed up to Mount Sinai to receive instruction for
the building of the Sanctuary from the Lord (Ex. 24:15-17). It
is the same sequence that we find in Genesis 1 and 2. The
reference to six and seven days suggests a connection between
the two narratives.
There were also seven “The Lord said to Moses” speeches
when God gave instructions to Moses concerning the Sanctuary
(Ex. 25:1; 30:11, 17, 22, 34; 31:1, 12) with the seventh being a
call to keep the Sabbath (31: 13, 17). In Genesis we find God
speaking during the Seven days of Creation and rested on the
seventh day. Just as in Creation, it is also the pattern that is
being followed in the building of the Israelite Tabernacle.
In connection of the building of the Sanctuary, the phrase
“as the Lord commanded Moses” is used seven times. “It is in
obedience to God and following His specific instructions that
the sanctuary is progressively built. The emphasis on seven
suggests a movement from nothing to a completed creation or
construction.”
Some linguistic parallels are also found between the two
such as the separation of the light and darkness in Creation and
the separation of the Holy and Most Holy in the Sanctuary and
the priests were to separate or distinguish from or between the
holy and the common, the clean and the unclean (Lev. 10:10). The
emphasis is on the fact "that the creator-God is a God of order.
Lastly we find the Presence of the Spirit of God in both
accounts.
The significance of the parallels gives us a new encounter
with God. Here we find a God who descends to meet His people
where they are. We also find a new orderly creation wherein God
is also a God of order. “God's act of creation seems to serve as
a model for the building of the tabernacle. Both, Creation and
sanctuary, "are the products of the divine command. Just as the
creation through the word of God meant that the creation was
completed precisely according to the will of God, so also the
completion of the tabernacle according to a heavenly 'pattern'
(25:9, 40) meant that it corresponded exactly to the divine
will."
The God who was present in Creation is also the God who is
present in the Sanctuary. The building of the Sanctuary in all
it minute details mirrors the God’s own perfect work of
Creation.
As God’s original creation was “very good”, the contruction
of the Israelite Sanctuary was also “very good”. “The sanctuary
itself was also very good, but it was built in the midst of a
world characterized by chaos and rebellion. In this creation the
Lord was separating vying elements from one other.”
The parallels of Creation and the building of the Sanctuary
tells us it is all connected in God’s plan to be with His people
where they are and in His plan of Salvation and Re-creation of a
new and better world.