October 8-14, 2000
MEMORY VERSE: “Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary: who is so great a God as our God?” Psalm 77:13.
STUDY HELP: Patriarchs and Prophets, 343–358.
INTRODUCTION: “God sought to impress Israel with the holiness of His character and requirements, and the exceeding guilt of transgression. But the people were slow to learn the lesson. Accustomed as they had been in Egypt to material representations of the Deity, and these of the most degrading nature, it was difficult for them to conceive of the existence or the character of the Unseen One. In pity for their weakness, God gave them a symbol of His presence. ‘Let them make Me a sanctuary,’ He said; ‘that I may dwell among them.’ Exodus 25:8. ” Education, 35.
“When I see the Blood, I Will Pass Over You”
1 What was the first sacred service introduced among the Israelites? Exodus 12:14–20.
NOTE: See Desire of Ages, 77.
2 Which homes were assured of deliverance from death? Exodus 12:7, 13.
NOTE: See Patriarchs and Prophets, 277.
“It is the Blood That Maketh an Atonement for the Soul”
3 What strict prohibition did God make regarding blood? Leviticus 17:10–14.
NOTE: “From the earliest times, man was prohibited from eating blood. When permission was given for man to eat flesh, the command was imperative that blood should not be eaten. ‘Flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.’ Genesis 9:4. Repeatedly Israel was forbidden the eating of blood. ‘Ye shall not eat anything with the blood.’ Leviticus 19:26. ‘Only be sure that thou eat not the blood: for the blood is the life; and thou mayest not eat the life with the flesh.’ The eating of blood was so great a sin that the record states: ‘Whatsoever soul it be that eateth any manner of blood, even that soul shall be cut off from his people.’ Leviticus 7:27.…To this day the orthodox Jew refuses to eat any flesh with the blood.…The instruction to refrain from the eating of blood is carried over into the New Testament. The first general council convened by the apostles in Jerusalem commanded all the Christian churches to abstain from eating blood. Acts 15:20. This command was reinforced by the Holy Ghost. Verse 28. The precious blood of the Son of God, which was spilled in Gethsemane and shed on Calvary, made atonement for the soul of man. The blood of God’s son cleanseth from all sin. God desired that man should recognize the purpose of the blood.”
F. C. Gilbert, Messiah in His Sanctuary, 17, 18.
4 What is necessary for the remission of sins? Hebrews 9:22.
NOTE: “This has a special meaning for us. If it was necessary in ancient times for the unclean to be purified by the blood of sprinkling, how essential for those living in the perils of the last days, and exposed to the temptations of Satan, to have the blood of Christ applied to their hearts daily. ‘For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?’” Testimonies, vol. 4, 123.
“After the Pattern”
5 What was Moses shown while he was on Mount Sinai with God? Exodus 25:8, 9, 40; 26:30; 27:8; Numbers 8:4.
NOTE: See The Great Controversy, 413.
6 How much of the design for the sanctuary was shown to Moses by God? Exodus 36:1; Hebrews 8:5.
NOTE: “It was Christ who planned the arrangement for the first earthly tabernacle. He gave every specification in regard to the building of Solomon’s temple. The One who in His earthly life worked as a carpenter in the village of Nazareth was the heavenly architect who marked out the plan for the sacred building where His name was to be honored.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 349.
“The Lord demands uprightness in the smallest as well as the largest matters. Those who are accepted at last as members of the heavenly court will be men and women who here on earth have sought to carry out the Lord’s will in every particular, who have sought to put the impress of heaven upon their earthly labors. In order that the earthly tabernacle might represent the heavenly, it must be perfect in all its parts, and it must be in the smallest detail like the pattern in the heavens. So it is with the characters of those who are finally accepted in the sight of Heaven.” In Heavenly Places, 154.
“Thy Way, O Lord, is in the Sanctuary”
7 What was the purpose of the sanctuary and its symbols? Hebrews 4:2.
NOTE: “The gospel of Christ reflects glory upon the Jewish age. It sheds light upon the whole Jewish economy, and gives significance to the ceremonial law. The tabernacle, or temple, of God on earth was a pattern of the original in Heaven. All the ceremonies of the Jewish law were prophetic, typical of mysteries in the plan of redemption. The rites and ceremonies of the law were given by Christ Himself, who, enshrouded in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night, was the leader of the hosts of Israel; and this law should be treated with great respect, for it is sacred. Even after it was no longer to be observed, Paul presented it before the Jews in its true position and value, showing its place in the plan of redemption and its relation to the work of Christ; and the great apostle pronounces this law glorious, worthy of its divine Originator.” Signs of the Times, July 29, 1886.
8 How does Paul show that the sanctuary prefigures even the saving work of Christ in heaven? Hebrews 9:21–24.
NOTE: “I was also shown a sanctuary upon the earth containing two apartments. It resembled the one in heaven, and I was told that it was a figure of the heavenly. The furniture of the first apartment of the earthly sanctuary was like that in the first apartment of the heavenly. The veil was lifted, and I looked into the Holy of Holies and saw that the furniture was the same as in the most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary. The priest ministered in both apartments of the earthly. He went daily into the first apartment, but entered the most holy only once a year, to cleanse it from the sins which had been conveyed there. I saw that Jesus ministered in both apartments of the heavenly sanctuary. The priests entered into the earthly with the blood of an animal as an offering for sin. Christ entered into the heavenly sanctuary by the offering of His own blood. The earthly priests were removed by death; therefore they could not continue long; but Jesus was a priest forever. Through the sacrifices and offerings brought to the earthly sanctuary, the children of Israel were to lay hold of the merits of a Saviour to come. And in the wisdom of God the particulars of this work were given us that we might, by looking to them, understand the work of Jesus in the heavenly sanctuary.” Early Writings, page 252, 253.
“Perfected Forever”
9 What could the sacrifices of the earthly sanctuary never achieve? Hebrews 10:1, 11.
NOTE: “Before Christ came, a ceremonial holiness could be obtained by offering the blood of bulls and of goats; but these sacrifices could not cleanse the conscience. They were but a representation of Christ, the great sacrifice. The substance of all the sacrifices and offerings, He came to this world to do God’s will by offering Himself. He came as the world’s Redeemer, to stand at the head of humanity. The Holy Spirit comes to man through Christ. We are given a decided testimony regarding the value of Christ’s offering. God’s word declares, ‘By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.’ It was a whole and entire sacrifice that was made for us.” Review and Herald, July 25, 1899.
10 By contrast, what work does the sacrifice of Christ do for those who are sanctified? Hebrews 10:14.
NOTE: “How vastly different was the true High Priest from the false and corrupted Caiaphas. In comparison with Caiaphas, Christ stands out pure and undefiled, without a taint of sin. ‘By one offering He hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified’ [Hebrews 10:14]. This enabled Him to proclaim on the cross with a clear and triumphant voice, ‘It is finished.’ Christ entered in once into the holy place, ‘having obtained eternal redemption for us’ [Hebrews 9:12]. ‘Wherefore He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them’ [Hebrews 7:25]. Christ glorified not Himself in being made High Priest. God gave Him His appointment to the priesthood. He was to be an example to all the human family. He qualified Himself to be, not only the representative of the race, but their Advocate, so that every soul if he will may say, I have a Friend at court. He is a High Priest that can be touched with the feelings of our infirmities.” Manuscript Release, vol. 12, 392, 393.
“Our Great High Priest”
11 What important qualification did Christ need in order to be our High Priest? Hebrews 2:17, 18; Hebrews 5:1, 2.
NOTE: “Adam was in the perfection of manhood, the noblest of the Creator’s works. He was in the image of God, but a little lower than the angels. What a contrast the second Adam presented as He entered the gloomy wilderness to cope with Satan single-handed. Since the fall, the race had been decreasing in size and physical strength, and sinking lower in the scale of moral worth, up to the period of Christ’s advent to the earth. In order to elevate fallen man, Christ must reach him where he was. He took human nature, and bore the infirmities and degeneracy of the race. He who knew no sin became sin for us. He humiliated Himself to the lowest depths of human woe, that He might be qualified to reach man and bring him up from the degradation in which sin had plunged him. ‘For it became Him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. And being made perfect, He became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey Him.’” Confrontation, 32, 33.
12 How does the knowledge of having such a High Priest affect our relationship to God? Hebrews 4:15, 16; Hebrews 10:19, 22.
NOTE: “The throne of grace is itself the highest attraction because occupied by One who permits us to call Him Father. But God did not deem the principle of salvation complete while invested only with His own love. By His appointment He has placed at His altar an Advocate clothed with our nature. As our Intercessor, His office work is to introduce us to God as His sons and daughters. Christ intercedes in behalf of those who have received Him. To them He gives power, by virtue of His own merits, to become members of the royal family, children of the heavenly King. And the Father demonstrates His infinite love for Christ, who paid our ransom with His blood, by receiving and welcoming Christ’s friends as His friends. He is satisfied with the atonement made. He is glorified by the incarnation, the life, death, and mediation of His Son.” God’s Amazing Grace, 68.