With interest I read about about Tabernacles.
Inside the arch of covenant in the Tabernacle were 3 items, there
was the manna, the 10 commandments and also Aaron’s rod. Many of the
miracles performed in Egypt and in the desert involved Aaron’s rod being used. Like the Manna, this stick reminded the Israelites of their
formative years, when God controlled every aspect of their lives in a
way that was apparent.
Historically, in keeping with custom Jesus
also attended synagogue on the Sabbath to worship and honour his Father
(Luke 4:16). Prayer, preaching, teaching (Mark 1: 21-22), healing (Mark
1 23-28) (Luke 4: 33-35), scripture reading and gatherings (Acts 13:
14-16) (Acts 13: 42-44) took place on the Sabbath in synagogue. The
Temple and the synagogue shared responsibility for worship until the
Temple was destroyed around 70 AD in Jerusalem. Features of worship at
the Temple such as the baking of the bread of the Presence which was to
be shared by priests on the Sabbath was performed in the Temple.
In
the inner Temple situated the Holy Place which could only be used by
the priests. The Holy Place within the inner Temple was only accessible
to the Priests for ministry work and used to consume the Bread of
Presence on the day of rest that the Levites baked. The Levites would
bake and present the Bread of Presence and place it at the altar of the
Holy Place. Levites where also responsible for many of the supportive
roles and care-taking roles in the Temple. The Levites went onto retire
about 50 after starting the job many around 18.
In the Temple the Holy
of Holies or otherwise known as the oracle was a Holy meeting point with God's Divine Presence that would
be accessed by the high priest once a year during Yom Kippor. Jesus and
the apostles also used the Temple for aspects of worship. Believers of
God could visit the Temple courtyards to offer physical atonement and
pray. Gentiles which were believers of God could not though enter into
the inner Temple to worship.
Synagogue worship which largely
centred around worshiping the Word of God(liturgy) in different forms.
Women had their own area called the Court of Women where they worshipped
with other Holy Jewish women. Holy women such Anna in the New Testament
would worship in the court of women. The characteristics from Temple
worship and Synagogue worship impacted on Christian churches when they
were established. Healing was performed on the Sabbath in the synagogue
by Jesus. This brought Jesus to the attention of Jewish religious
leaders (Luke 13:14-17) for not upholding the commandment of rest. Jesus
was not a law breaker in not upholding the rule of rest, but he brought
forward a new logical conclusion.
As Christians Jesus became the
embodiment for our atonement. Over time it became customary to move
from homes (Acts 2: 46) and hidden places to break bread and share the
Eucharist (the spiritual body and blood of Christ) in church buildings
(or modern day Christian assemblies).
Paul would debate in the
Temple with Jesus. Jesus was more than worthy to take the Bread of
Presence. It is not known to my knowledge if he did though. The
Eucharist became our new everlasting Bread of Presence as Christians.
https://stanthonyshrine.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Temple-and-New-Testament.pdf
https://stanthonyshrine.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Temple-Ministry.pdf
https://stanthonyshrine.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/From-Tent-to-Temple.pdf
