Make a courtyard for the tabernacle. The south side shall be a hundred cubits long and is to have curtains of finely twisted linen, with twenty posts and twenty bronze bases and with silver hooks and bands on the posts. The north side shall also be a hundred cubits long and is to have curtains, with twenty posts and twenty bronze bases and with silver hooks and bands on the posts.
“The west end of the courtyard shall be fifty cubits wide and have curtains, with ten posts and ten bases. On the east end, toward the sunrise, the courtyard shall also be fifty cubits wide. Curtains fifteen cubits long are to be on one side of the entrance, with three posts and three bases, and curtains fifteen cubits long are to be on the other side, with three posts and three bases.” (Exodus 27:9-15, NIV)
“This translates to an area 75 feet wide by 150 feet long. The tabernacle, including the courtyard fence and all the other elements, could be packed and easily moved when the Jews traveled from place to place. The fence set the holy ground of the tabernacle apart from the rest of the camp. No one could casually approach the holy place or wander into the courtyard.
Linen was a valuable cloth made from the flax plant, widely cultivated in Egypt. Workers stripped long, thin fibers from inside the stems of the plant, spun them into thread, then wove the thread into fabric on looms. Because of the intense labor involved, linen was mostly worn by rich people. This fabric was so delicate; it could be pulled through a man’s signet ring. Egyptians bleached linen or dyed it bright colors. Linen was also used in narrow strips to wrap mummies.
The linen of the courtyard fence was white. Various commentaries note the contrast between the dust of the wilderness and the striking white linen wall wrapping the grounds of the tabernacle, the meeting place with God. This fence foreshadowed a much later event in Israel when a linen shroud was wrapped around the crucified corpse of Jesus Christ, who is sometimes called the “perfect tabernacle.” Jack Zavada
The fenced-in Tabernacle grounds at 75 feet by 150 feet are about the size of a city lot. The white linen was about 300 feet long by 7.5 feet high. It surrounded the Outer Court, where all people had access. The greater number actions of praise and worship took place within the Outer Court. Yet this is the lowest stage of spiritual communion, yet it stands for whatever was the most fundamental and most important. From this place the Altar of Sacrifice (redemption) and the Brazen Altar (repentance) were widely visible and was the absolute center of the sacrificial system.
“Blessed is the one You choose and bring near to dwell in Your courts! We will be satisfied with the goodness of Your House – Your holy temple”. Psalm 65:4
“For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand anywhere else”. Psalm 84:11
As we enter into the Outer Court through the Gate of the Tabernacle, we see the fence from the inside, the white linen fence. When I meditated on this, I suddenly had a flash. The fence is there to close us in, not keep us out. There is a gate to the Tabernacle and everyone is welcome to come in.
The fence is a type and shadow of the Tallit, the Jewish prayer shawl. We all know but we don’t think about is the fact that Jesus wore a tallit. Just like any good Jew, Jesus wore His tallit all of the time as a reminder of living a lifestyle of prayer, and His tzitzit, the fringes hung out just as we see how orthodox and Hassidic Jews wear their tallits today. We are familiar with what happened to the woman with the issue of blood in Matthew 9:20-22, Mark 5:25-34 and Luke 8:43-48. This woman had the audacity to reach through the pressing crowd and grab onto the fringe of Jesus’ Tallit, the tzitzit of His Tallit so she can be healed! But this woman wasn’t the only person who touched the tzitzit of Jesus’ tallit for healing. Many did this, read Matthew 14:34-36, Mark 6:56.
In Mosaic law, the Lord instructed His people regarding the corners of their garments, they were instructed to make fringes or tassels to hang from the corners of their garments (Numbers 15:37-41). It doesn’t make sense to us because of our own culture, how we wear our clothes today. Our garments no longer have “corners” like the outer cloaks of the ancient Middle Eastern people. They wore as an outer garment a large piece of cloth with a hole in the middle for their heads. After putting it on they would tie it around their waist with a piece of twine, cloth or leather. The ancient Middle Eastern people would mark the corners of their outer garments as part of their identity. The Lord, when He called the children of Israel to be His own, called them to place tassels on the corners of their outer garments to mark them as His own people. The children of Israel were to take on the LORD’S identity from now on. No longer were they to identify themselves as slaves of the Egyptians, they are now entering into their own destiny as a kingdom of priests, serving the Great I AM. (Exodus 19:6)
Remember the story of Ruth? In Ruth 3:9, this woman asked Boaz to “extend the borders of his garment and cover her”. What Ruth was asking of Boaz was she wanted to be one of his people, one of God’s people. She was requesting for herself to be identified with him.
In Ezekiel 16:8 the Lord used a word picture of spreading His garment over His people to cover their nakedness. He was reclaiming His people.
When David cut off the corner of Saul’s garment in I Samuel 24:5, what he did was cut off one of the fringes from Saul’s Tallit. Today we might wonder why David’s heart was pierced. We think, “big deal! He just cut off a piece of Saul’s robe. What’s so terrible about that?” We don’t understand that what David did was that he defaced Saul’s identity and his divinely authorized kingship.
Today, because they no longer wear long robes with 4 corners, over the years the Tallit was constructed. This prayer shawl with its fringes is a symbol of their covenant with the Lord. The Lord has extended His garment to cover them / cover us with His grace.
The Prayer Shawl is symbolic of the Tabernacle.
Whenever the prayer shawl is properly used, the face is covered. This is symbolic of being closed in with the Lord. We wear the prayer shawl to “close us in” away from the distractions of the world so we can spend that time communing with the Great I AM.
Around the Tabernacle was a long white linen fence. The fence around the Tabernacle was a type of Tallit. The fence was not there to keep out. The fence was there to keep us in. The linen fence of course couldn’t keep anyone or anything out. It was made of linen fabric and that fabric could easily tear if someone wanted to get in badly enough. Linen is an expensively made delicate fabric
The Lord wants to cover us with His presence.
Genesis 3:8-11 relates how Adam & Eve suddenly realized they were naked, and they became ashamed and hid from the Lord. The reason why they suddenly realized they were naked was because of their sin they lost the covering of God’s Presence. Without His covering, they were naked! Up to that point, Adam & Eve were “covered” by the Lord’s Tallit. Then, as we know the Lord slaughtered animals to cover them. They only can be “covered” through the shedding of innocent blood.
This is a picture of the Tabernacle. The entire Tabernacle: Outer Court and Inner Court are surrounded by the white linen fence. That is a picture of the Lord’s covering. In a sense, the fence is a shadow of the covering of the Lord’s Presence as what Adam & Eve had before they sinned. Just inside the Gate there is the Altar of Sacrifice, where the shedding of innocent blood was performed daily. That, as we know is a type & shadow of the price Jesus paid on the cross at Calvary. As we enter into the Lord’s covering, we cannot go any further until we see the Cross. We must accept the Cross and the price Jesus paid so that we can enter in.
WHAT THE TALLIT, THE FENCE DOES FOR US:
The Tallit, the fence covers our eyes so we won’t be distracted by the world (Psalm 101:3).
The Tallit, the fence covers us, protects us from prying eyes as we enter into the Lord’s Presence.
The Tallit, the fence protects at that moment from caring about other’s opinions of us.
The Tallit, the fence protects us from physical harm or danger (Psalm 91).
The Tallit, the fence protects us from exposure to the world and feeling like we are at another’s mercy.
As we remain in the center of the Lord’s will, we are safe. The safest place we can be, whether we are in the midst of war, or in a far-off jungle, whether we live in a dangerous neighborhood, or whether we live in prosperity in a nice middle class home; the safest place we can be in right in the center of God’s will. It doesn’t matter where we are. We can be confident of the Lord’s protection. We can rest in the Lord, “like a weaned child resting against his mother” (Psalm 131:2).
Right now, if you’re in a place of victory, go in and shut the door. Go into the Tabernacle and have a “praise party”. Go in and rejoice with the Lover of your soul. Sing and dance wildly! The Lord loves it when you crazily and loudly praise Him. Cut loose and praise the One Who created you and gives you victory!
Right now, if you are in a place of confusion or distress, if your spirit is restless and unsettled and you don’t know where to go or who to turn to, I encourage you to go inside the Tabernacle. Go inside and gaze at the linen fence. The Lord is here. Go in, shut the door. Put your head in the Lord’s lap and weep, cry out and travail. You are safe in this place. You have the Lord’s permission to emote. Shut yourself in. Turn off the TV, computer, cell phones. Shut out all external noises and go in.
Right, if you’re in the doldrums, just barely living your everyday life, go into the Tabernacle. Shut the door. Listen for His voice. The Lord wants to speak to you. The Lord wants to share His secrets with you. Go in and sit before your Lord and your God. Wrap your prayer shawl around your face, remove all distractions, go in and meet the Lover of your soul.
When I was in Israel 11 years ago, I found this wonderful book called “A House of Prayer For All Nations” by Rabbi Chaim Richman, who runs the Temple Institute. He’s not a believer in Jesus, in fact he’s an orthodox Jewish leader. One of the things he wrote in this book, which captured my heart: “For the Jew, nearness to God is the truest, the highest, the only conception of what ‘goodness’ really is. Without this aspect to his life, without this Godly relationship which uplifts his physical existence and imbues his life with a sense of connection to the Divine, he feels himself to be….devoid of that which makes him into a human being.”
As we’ve been praying through the Tabernacle, I found in this book a small snapshot of the daily morning Temple ritual, especially at daybreak. According to Rabbi Richman, at every daybreak as the Levites would open the gates (which always faced east), the priests would blow their trumpets and “….the Levitical choir stood atop the platform located in the Outer Court facing the outer altar…..and sang the song for that particular day…..” Each day a different psalm was sung and during the holy days there were other more specific psalms sung. The order of the daily songs has a deep significance, and there is a mystical connection which each song had for the particular day it was sung. Although the Levites sang upon many occasions in the Holy Temple, one of their most important and basic musical tasks was the daily song. Each day, the Levite choir stood atop the platform located in the Court of Israel facing the outer altar, just inside the Nikanor Gates, and sung a special song for that particular day. On the Festivals and New Moon, different songs were sung. All of these songs, with their instrumental arrangements, were performed while the morning and evening wine libations were poured out on the altar by the officiating priests. Thus the Levites accompanied the Divine service of the priests with a service of their own. They complimented each other; in many ways, the Levitical songs were as important a Temple function as the priestly service of the sacrifices itself, for the one could not function without the other. Each day, during the wine libation, the overseer of the choir stood atop one of the horns of the altar and signaled to the Levites “with a kerchief in his hand” to begin their song. At three points in their song, they would pause, when the priests would sound the silver trumpets and all the people in the court prostrated themselves before the Presence of G-d. The order of the daily songs have a deep significance, and there is a mystical connection which each song had for the particular day it was sung. The Oral Tradition has preserved the listing of the Levitical songs that were sung each day in the Holy Temple, and various commentators and sages have explained some of the connections which can be seen between these songs and the days of the week..” (Based on Tamid 7:4)
Following is the daily psalm for each day:
Sunday – Psalm 24 (“The earth is the Lords & fulness thereof”…..the first day of creation)
Monday – Psalm 48 (“Great is the Lord, greatly to be praised in the city of our God… ” this day when the waters were divided, and land appeared)
Tuesday – Psalm 82 (“God stands in the congregation of the mighty…..” upon this land judges stand to render decisions)
Wednesday Psalm 94 (“Oh Lord God to whom vengeance belongs….” this was the day when sun & moon were created)
Thursday – Psalm 81 (“Sing aloud unto God our strength….” living createures were created on this day)
Friday – Psalm 93 (“The Lord reigns, He is clothed with majesty…..” man was created on this day)
Saturday (Shabbat) – Psalm 92 (” Psalm or Song for the Sabbath Day”….the day which complete Sabbath tranquility, for everlasting life)
Can you imagine living in Jerusalem during that time, see the doors of the temple suddenly opened wide at sunrise, the sun hitting the gold walls inside the temple? There would be a blazing light of Glory that blasted over the city. Then the sound of hundreds of shofars announcing the beginning of the new day, followed by the Levitical choir proclaiming their praises to God. This is the beginning of a new day! What an incredible sight and sound!
When I visited the Temple Institute, I was struck by all of the Temple paintings that hung on their walls. I was taken aback because I saw all of that as a foreshadowing when our Messiah returns again, His feet touching the Temple Mount in victory and in glory! What an amazing powerful picture!
Today as we pray using the Tabernacle or Temple format of prayer, let’s close our eyes, enter through the Gates with a song of thanksgiving and praise. Let’s picture that Glorious Day when our Messiah will return once again. Can you hear the thousands of trumpets heralding Jesus’ arrival?
This morning as I was seeing that picture, I Peter 2:9 came to my thoughts: “But you are a chosen people, a ROYAL PRIESTHOOD, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the praise of the One Who called you out of darness into Hi marvelous light”.
I looked up the Scripture and found other cross-references:
Exodus 19:6 “So as for you, you will be to Me a KINGDOM OF PRIESTS and a holy nation….”
Revelation 1:6 “….and made us a KINGDOM, PRIESTS to his God and Father – to Him be glory and pwoer forever! Amen!”
We all today as, we’ve fully surrendered ourselves to the Lord, we’ve been born again into a KINGDOM OF PRIESTS! Can you imagine yourself part of that powerful holy Levitical choir blowing your trumpets at daybreak, singing praises to the One Who created you? I believe this is a small picture of eternity in heaven. What an incredible sound! What a joyous sound! But then a question came to my mind: what is a “priest”? Not how we are familiar with or what we see around us. We are called into the “priesthood of believers”, I wondered what that looked like? I went online, found a Hebrew dictionary and looked up the word “Cohen” or “Cohanim”. This is what I found, which was quite interesting:
This is whatt the Abarim Publications Hebrew Dictionary said:
Cohen (singular)
Cohanim (plural)
The original word “priest” or cohanim is a noun which means “minister” or servant, denoting someone who either served a person or a god or maintained their dwellings. The word “cohen” in Hebrew was also used to describe the Egyptian Potiphera (Genesis 41:45). Certain Philistines were also called “cohanim” (I Samuel 6:2 and 2 Kings 10:19). The first time the word cohen occurs is in Genesis 14:18 where it is ascribed to Melchezedek, who would be a type of Messiah who is to come. Although in Exodus 19:6 the whole of Israel is called a “memelekot kohanim” – a kingdom of priests – the priestly caste of Israel was supposed to be filled by the sons of Aaron (Exodus 29:9). However, by the time of David, the people from Judah could become priests as well (2 Samuel 8:18). The noun Kohen or Cohen comes from the unused root KHN. The verb Kahan derives from Kohen and it means to minister in a priest’s office or function.
So, a Cohen, or Cohanim, or a kingdom of priests serve in these priestly functions:
One who is an ambassador. One who represents God here on earth.
One who prays for others.
One who shares or reminds others of the awesome holiness of God.
We, the “wild olive branch grafted into the root” are called to be a kingdom of priests.
Lord, as we contemplate this, give us a greater revelation of our priesthood and our priesthood? Show how to become more honorable, more powerful priests as we repesent You here on earth?
Teach us how to minister, how to serve others, especially how to pray for those who are lost and dying?
Teach how to be a Kingdom of Priests to glorify You in every way? Amen.
This is the Outer Gate, the door that faces east. To get to this gate, you have go through the Tribe of Judah (Praise). You walk through praise and thanksgiving. You will also have to walk through the High Priest’s camp (Moses & Aaron). You must walk in our priestly office of prayer and intercession.
This Gate is the only door in. There is no other gate. There is no other door. The only way we can fully enter into the Manifest Presence of God is through the Gate of praise, thanksgiving and prayer. There is no other way. This is a place of humility, not a place of pride. This is also a place of decision. We can call ourselves “Christian”, we can call ourselves “believers”, but if we rarely enter through this Gate, how much of us has truly been surrendered to the Holy, Righteous, Eternal God?
This Gate is a beautiful Gate, a colorful Gate. The colors are red, blue and purple. Scarlet represents the Blood of Jesus. It also represents our humanity. The word “Adam” in Hebrew means “out of the Red Earth”. Red is the color of our flesh, our weakness, our humanity. Blue is the color of Heaven. Red is the color of flesh, that which is temporal. Blue is the color of all that what is Eternal. Both red and blue are primary colors and mixed together, a secondary color unfolds. It is the color “purple”, which is the color of Royalty. The Lord is calling us to become co-heirs, co-rulers with Him. The Lord is calling us to a holy “wrestle”. The Lord wants to change us, transform us from “Jacobs” (liar, deceiver, manipulator) to ISRAEL, co-heirs, co-rulers “Prince with God”.
The Gate is held up by 4 pillars. The pillars are named Matthew (Lion), Mark (Ox), Luke (Man) and John (Lion). As we enter through this beautiful Gate we remember all the stories in these 4 Gospels, the wonder and the majesty of the One who was sent as a Gift to us.
This Gate is a welcoming Gate, a beckoning Gate. Daily we must make the decision to go through this Gate. Daily we must make the decision to follow Jesus, follow the Lamb. As we approach the Gate, we may begin to feel a longing, an ache to enter in. There is a part of us that longs, yearns to be in God’s Presence. The Lord created us that way. Just as we long to be near those who we love, there is a longing deep within us that aches to be with the Lord. Daily we must make the choice. We have to make the decision and then walk through the Gate. The Gate could be a decision to spend the first waking moments with the Lord. We could make the decision to follow that loving voice deep within us, leading us, guiding us deeper into His Presence. We must make that choice, or we will miss it. We may miss God, our encounter with the Eternal, all-encompassing omnipotent God.
Today Lord, I choose to walk through the Gate. I choose today to walk through the door. I want to enter into Your Presence. I hear Your voice welcoming me in. Just as the Father was waiting, waiting waiting for his prodigal son to return home again, I see You at the top of the hill, at the Gate waiting for me to enter into Your Presence. You are waiting at the Gate……for me! For us! I hear You say: “Return to Me. Return to Me, My child. Awake oh sleeper, rise from the dead and Christ will shine on you.
I have much to teach you. Return to ME My beloved one.”
Acts 3:1-10 “Now all the people saw him walking and praising God. They began to realize he was the one who used to sit begging for the Tzedakah at the Beautiful Gate of the Temple and they were filled with wonder astonishment over what had happened to him”.
I read this Scripture as I was “entering” into the Tabernacle Gate in prayer one morning. I started wondering, how many of us sit outside the Gate begging for crumbs where inside is the rich fullness of God’s Manifest Presence? There is everything we have longed for or long desired – and even beyond our wildest imaginations? Yet it remains inside the Gate. And yet we don’t enter in. Why don’t we enter in?
“You will show me the Path of Life, In Your Presence is fullness of Joy, At Your Right Hand Are Pleasures forevermore” Psalm 16:11 NKJV
All we have to do is go through the Gate. We know and we acknowledge that in the LORD there is fullness, joy, healing, and restoration. Yet we still sit outside the Gate, never daring to enter in.
Or….
We enter into the Outer Court, but never into the fullness of God.
Why?
Too many of us have been rejected, neglected or ignored. Some of us have been abused. All of us have been lied to. Others told us that we have to “clean ourselves up” or stop sinning in order to enter through that Gate. We’ve been told we are not “worthy” to enter in. We aren’t “good enough”. We’ve been lied to by the enemy of our souls. We think and believe the lies of satan who mocks us, ridicules us. He tells us we aren’t “good enough” because of this weakness or that addiction. We are led to believe that we must meet certain requirements, or certain criteria before we can enter through the Gate, that Beautiful Gate. We are made to believe the Lord doesn’t want to have anything to do with us because of the filth of our sin. So, we continue to sit outside the Gate begging for crumbs when there are treasures inside. We don’t feel “good enough”.
Or….we are too sick or too weak to enter in. We don’t have the strength to get up and walk in. We are in pain, we are crippled, we lost our ability to walk. Life has bashed us over the head, life has beaten us up. Severe losses came our way and we’re filled with pain. We may be filled with sickness and our bodies are literally consuming us in pain. We suffer outside the Gate, not having the strength to enter in.
Then there are those of us who pass by the weak ones, ignoring those who are begging outside the Gate. Or, we give them our “crumbs” as we pass by. Our crumbs may come in the form of a little prayer, a “blessing bag”, or maybe even a hot meal. But do we ever bring them in through the Gate? Do we ever proclaim to them: “Silver and gold have I none, but one thing I do have: RISE UP AND WALK”. Do we take the time to minister to someone who can’t find the strength to enter into the Gate? Truly minister to them? Do we ever take the time to pour ourselves into someone in need, even to the point of carrying them inside the Gate?
Jesus is knocking on the door. “Behold I stand at the door and knock” (Revelation 3:20). He’s on the inside of the Tabernacle, beckoning us to come in. He’s calling us to come in. He’s welcoming us in. It’s time to go through the Gate. We don’t have to be “good enough”. We don’t have to look a certain way or act a certain way. The Lord embraces us, even in the stink of our sin. He wants us, He’s looking for us. We don’t even have to repent. All we are required to do is make the decision to enter in, and then go in. Sin and all. Filth and all. Pain and all. Even crippling pain. Even the crippling pain of anger, bitterness and hostility. Even anger and bitterness at God. Even in unbelief. Even if we are struggling with what all of this is about and are unable to wrap our minds around it. We walk through the Gate, not sure, not understanding what we’re walking into. Yet we hear Jesus’ knock on the door and His welcoming voice calling us in. And we make the decision to enter in.
Today, make it your decision to walk through the Gate. Stop whatever you’re doing, or wherever you’re going. Take a side trip. Take the time to walk through the Gate. See what pleasant surprises are waiting for you inside the Gate!
“You will show me the Path of Life, In Your Presence is fullness of Joy, At Your Right Hand Are Pleasures forevermore” Psalm 16:11 NKJV
History of Tabernacle Prayer Over 50 years ago, Dr. Yongghi Cho was praying before he was to start teaching at a pastors’ conference in the country of Formosa. As he was praying, the Lord revealed the Tabernacle to him in a way he never saw before. The Lord showed him how to use the Tabernacle as a prayer pattern or a prayer model. Dr. Cho then began praying the way he heard and saw. He said his whole prayer life dramatically changed. He prays 3-5 hours a day and has seen many marvelous answers to prayer. Today he’s now retired, but for most of his ministry he founded and pastored the world’s largest church in South Korea. Yoido Full Gospel Church has a membership of over 4 million meeting in over 20 satellite churches, 160 branch churches, and over 300 prayer houses. Dr. Cho attributes almost all of this to prayer, especially the “Tabernacle” format of prayer.
What is Tabernacle Prayer? Very simply put, Tabernacle Prayer is a prayer model that uses each of the different stations in the Tabernacle as a prayer focus or prayer guide. Each of the 6 stations represent a different aspect in our walk and our relationship with the Lord. When we follow the pattern of the Tabernacle, we are drawn deeper and closer into a more intimate relationship with the Lord. All prayer is wonderful, there are many ways and many different prayer patterns that can be used. The difference between the Tabernacle and other forms of prayer is that as we follow the Tabernacle Prayer, we become more aware of the Lord’s Presence in every moment of our lives. We also become more aware of what is keeping us from fully entering into the Lord’s Presence in a deeper, richer and fuller way. Tabernacle Prayer has a unique way of transforming our minds, binding us even more closely into God.
Why Study the Tabernacle? The Tabernacle is the first House of Prayer, and the original design came directly from the mouth of God. (Exodus 26) If this came directly from the Lord, shouldn’t we study it, study the design? Shouldn’t we study the purpose of this original House of Prayer? I have a sense this pattern, since it came directly from the mouth of God, might be something we as a body of believers should pay more attention to. There is much to glean from this. Most churches don’t teach on the Tabernacle. If they do, it’s presented just as a “history lesson” from the Old Testament, not as a pattern filled with types and shadows that we can utilize today.
The God we serve is a specific God. The Lord has a specific plan to reveal Himself. Through studying and praying through the Tabernacle, we gain a more comprehensive understanding on the character and nature of God, and how we can enter more fully into intimacy within His Presence. What the Lord is revealing to us is that the Tabernacle, this original House of Prayer should be studied further. We at House of Good Hope are called by the Lord to use this as our prayer model as we spend time in prayer.
Overview of the Tabernacle
See where it is positioned: The location on where the Lord called the Tabernacle to be positioned was right in the middle of the camp with the children of Israel surrounding it.
This speaks of:
God wanting to dwell among us (John 1:14)
In a sense, the Lord has “set up camp” right in the middle of Israel’s camps
In other pagan cultures, their temples or places of worship was at a distance from where they lived. Some have household gods, but they were always in a separate place, they were “venerated”. The whole perspective was the people had to go “up” to a high and holy, unreachable god. But our Lord from the very beginning wants to dwell among us!
Jesus, God in the 2nd Person, set aside His divinity and He dwelt among us…..He TABERNACLED with us.
The Lord is in the MIDST of us! The Lord desires to be involved in our everyday lives. He’s here with us, every day of the week, every moment of the day. We don’t just meet with the Lord periodically, whether its once a week in our houses of worship or in our daily devotional times. He is Yahweh Shammah: the God Who is there. He dwells among us, the Lord has His “tent” set up right next to ours. He wants intimate relationship with us, 24/7. He is LORD and He is not about to be “shoved into a box”. He is God of our everyday, not just our spiritual lives.
I marvel at how specific the Lord is as I look on the setting of the Tabernacle location.
LOCATION OF TRIBES The Lord has been talking to us at House of Good Hope about DIVINE ORDER. The Lord positions each of us exactly where He wants us to be. The positions we hold, whether we are high level leaders or we hold what we consider “low-level jobs”; we are there exactly at that moment in time according to the Lord’s specific agenda. If we are “smack-dab in the center of God’s will”, the Lord positions us to places where we could potentially be extremely powerful and effective. The Lord can (and does) anoint our words that can potentially be flaming arrows piercing the hearts of those around us…..if we are in the center of God’s will. It doesn’t matter where we are or what kind of job we hold. All we are called to do is yield ourselves to the Lord Jesus and allow HIM to position us exactly where we are called to be.
Every person who was part of Israel was strategically placed in exactly the right place where the Lord called them to be. If they weren’t, they were immediately eliminated. (Korah). The children of Israel were separated by tribes and they camped around the Tabernacle in 4 specific locations according to the Lord, 3 tribes on each side. The location of each tribe was specifically chosen by God. All of this paints a picture of heaven.
The Tabernacle is God’s design for HIS House of Prayer and each person in HIS house was was called to live in a specific location, wherever they camped.
The Lord chose heads for each grouping of 3 tribes: Judah on the east, Benjamin on the west, Reuben on the north, and Dan on the south. Interesting how their tribes played out over the years. A son of Judah became king and his children inherited the dynasty, with Jesus born into the tribe of Judah. Benjamin were the only tribes that survived, the other 10 were lost. Saul, Israel’s first king was from the tribe of Benjamin. Also, their flags or banners, as they flew over their camps, were visions that both Ezekiel and John saw when they were translated into heaven: Ox, Lion, Eagle, and Man.
The Gate was opposite of Judah – PRAISE. We had to go through Judah (Praise) in order to get in the door.
The Golden Candlestick was facing Reuben. His banner was Man.
The Table of Showbread was facing Dan. His banner was the Eagle.
The Holy of HOLIES was facing Benjamin. His banner was the Ox.
What does all that mean?
What does Heaven look like? Is the a portrayal of the Tabernacle is the portrayal of positions in heaven? I have a sense this is a picture of what goes on in heaven: The Throne of God in the middle with His people camped out surrounding Him.
Construction of the tabernacle the tabernacle was constructed by two different workman. They were anointed and filled with the Holy Spirit, the first one ever mentioned in the Bible who were filled with the Holy Spirit. The names of these two workmen are found in Exodus 31:1-6. The names of the two workmen were Bezalel and Oholiab. Bezalal means in the shadow of God or God is my protection. Oholiab Means tabernacle or 10th of my father. Ahisamach means brother becomes the habitation of God by the Spirit of God.
Bezalel what is the third generation down from HUR, Who came out of Egypt. If you remember, Hur held Moses’ hands up when Joshua was fighting against their enemies. He was from the tribe of Judah which means praise the measurements of the tabernacle.
WHO WERE THE BUILDERS? THE LORD’S CALLING: Exodus 31:1-6
Bezalel
Aholiab
There is a “Law of First Mention” in the Bible, which I believe in. This is the first time mentioned in the Bible of anyone being “filled with the Spirit”. Bezalel & Aholiab were master craftsmen the Lord put in charge of building the Tabernacle. These men were handpicked by God to build the Tabernacle, it was given to no one else. He who the Lord calls, the Lord equips. These men were equipped through the infilling of Holy Spirit: the Ruach haKodesh.
BEZALEL: the name means “in the shadow of God”, or “God is my provision”. Bezalel was a descendent of Hur, the 3rd generation down. Hur was the first generation man who came out of Egypt, one of the men who held Moses’ arms up during the battle Joshua and the children of Israel fought against the Amelekites.. Exodus 17:12. Hur, and Bezalel were from the tribe of Judah (Praise).
AHOLIAB: His name means “Tabernacle or Tent of my Father”. His father’s name was Ahisamach from the tribe of Dan. Ahisamach means “brother of strength”.
THE UNIQUE GIFTINGS OF AHOLIAB
1.) He was spiritually sensitive to God and responded heartily to the Lord’s call.
2.) Aholiab was called of God to be a “master builder.” He was a designer or “inventer of designs” able to perform every kind of work.
3.) Even as the Lord called or chose Moses and Aaron for the work that they did. God selects men and women to be artisans, or craftsmen or craftswomen for His specific purpose. 4.) Aholiab was both a faber, a master in metal, stone, and woodwork. Because God does not use the general term for “mason,” here, it appears that the reference to stone carving is more to the specialized work, such as that of the breastplate of the High Priest. The Tabernacle, Hebrew “ohel, tent; ‘ohel mo’ed, tent of meeting; ‘ohel ha-‘eduth, tent of the testimony; mishkan, dwelling; mishkan ha- ‘eduth, dwelling of the testimony; mishkan ‘ohel, dwelling of the tent,” was made in such a way that it was a portable sanctuary, which could be moved as the Israelites traveled, with the entrances being made of linen. (Aholiab was a man known of God)
1.) The Lord knows the heart of every man, woman and child. God called him Aholiab by name. He knows where you live and work, just as Yeshua appeared in Acts 9 to instruct Saul of Tarsus to go to Strait Street to the house of a tanner. Aholiab was a sanctified man, consecrated to the work of the Lord, and the Spirit of God came upon both him and Bezalel. Consecrated men are not to be left to themselves, to labor in the ability that they have within themselves or to act out of their own ideas and personal dictates. The Spirit of God came upon him. Why? There was a God given pattern to be carried out. Even the most devoted people, devoted to the cause of Yeshua haMashiach/Jesus Christ cannot do the Lord’s work out of themselves, without the moment by moment anointing of the Spirit of the Lord. Each facet of our lives in the Lord are just that strategic.
The white curtains surrounding the Tabernacle tells us to “keep out, keep out, keep out”.
The colorful Door or Gate attracts us to come in, and there is only one Door we can enter in. There’s no back door, no side door. We can’t dig under the fence. There is only one way in and one way out: through the Gate that faces east.
The Gate faces east, where the sun rises. Also, no matter where you were in the camp, you could see, possibly even smell the Shekinah Glory that was released from the Holy of Holies. Exodus 13:21 “And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night”. This describes the Shekinah. It was there before the Tabernacle was built, but when Moses gave the blueprint for the Tabernacle to be built, the Shekinah dwelt there.
Exodus 40:34 “Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the Glory of the LORD filled the Tabernacle.”
MY ADVENTURES IN JESUS-LAND
Hi, my name is Audrey Church McIntyre and I’m the senior leader of House of Good Hope in Hartford. I’ve written many articles here in the past, but have never written what I consider a formal “blog”. As one of my goals for this year, today, January 1, 2019 I’m starting this blog. This will be about what I call my “Adventures in Jesus-Land”: My personal and ministry walk with the Lord.
My prayer is that you join with me and pray for me as I share my heart with you?
Many years ago the Lord had laid it on my heart to write a book about my spiritual journey. Over the years I’ve written notes in many various places, filled many journals and books with all that I’ve been hearing from the Lord. But the notes were never organized and the book never fully came into fruition. My sister – a web designer and teacher on how to use social media – has been encouraging me to write a blog, One thing she said that especially struck my heart is this: “If you start a blog and faithfully write in it daily, by the end of the year your book would be written.” So here it is, the start of a new year, 1-1-19. Wouldn’t this be a great time to start a blog? I don’t know if I can do this daily, but if I write even just a weekly or monthly blog, this book may finally be born! Whoever reads this, please pray for me? Pray that I be consistent in this new adventure? I’ve started many projects including a YouTube channel, but have never followed through. As you join with me in this journey through my blogging, pray that a book would be born?
Here’s my story:
I’ve always had a passion for Jesus since the day I fully surrendered my life to Him. There was a holy hunger that consumed me. I was madly, passionately in love with the Lord ever since I gave my life to Him and this was never a half-way thing for me. I belonged to Jesus and He belonged to me! That day so long ago, July 22, 1978 was the beginning of a lifelong wild and crazy adventure, and it hasn’t stopped since. I pray that it never stops until the day I meet my beloved Lord and Savior in heaven. There have been excruciatingly dark times in my life, but I’ve always been given a deep joy and hope that always carried me through.
Over the years I became a single mother, along with all of the financial struggles, hard work and the loneliness that accompanies single motherhood. Those years drove me to press into God even more. Many long, lonely hours were spent in relentless travail and prayer. I pressed into God as never before, because as what Simon Peter once said, where else can I go? Who else can I turn to? Through all of the many hours of prayer, the Lord revealed Himself to me in such sweet miraculous ways! I started a small weekly prayer group in my home, and invited my friends to join me in pursuing the Lord through worship and prayer. As we prayed, the Lord started speaking to me about my laying everything down and entering into full-time ministry. He told me He was raising me up in leadership, that what was to be birthed through me would affect the 4 corners of the world. I was astounded when I first started hearing this. I certainly didn’t look like someone the Lord wanted to use in that capacity! I’m a poor single mother, twice divorced. I didn’t think leaders or for that fact, anyone in the organized church ever took me seriously. And the Lord was speaking this….. to me!
One day at sunrise one of my prayer partners and I were prayerwalking a local school as we usually did the weekend before school started. We would pray for the teachers, the schools – for their protection and the Lord would permeate the school grounds. This time Holy Spirit – the Ruach Ha Kodesh came to us as we prayed and He overwhelmed both of us. We both had to hang onto a nearby fence in order to remain upright, His Presence was so heavy upon us!
I heard Holy Spirit ask one question to me:
“Are you willing?”
I wasn’t even sure exactly what the Lord was asking me to do at that time, what it would look like or where I was to go. But whatever it was, I knew it was BIG!!! I told God I was a twice-divorced woman, a single mother with no money. And no one took me seriously! How could I do whatever He was asking me to do? Even though I wasn’t quite sure what was asked of me, I knew it was going to be huge, even worldwide. I was so painfully aware of how incapable I was to accomplish this, whatever it was. I was painfully aware that I couldn’t do it.
Then I heard the question again:
“Are you willing?”
I then raised my hands and said: “Yes Lord, I am willing”. At that moment a heavy burden for the lost overwhelmed my heart. Later that day I was at a store and broke out in tears, on the verge of travailing prayer. The store was packed with people, but how many of them know Jesus? I felt so incapable, yet my heart ached for their souls. I knew at that moment I felt just a small taste of how the Lord’s heart breaks for those who don’t know Him. At that time I wasn’t called to evangelize. I was called to pray.
STARTING HOUSES OF PRAYER
In 2001, the LORD called me to build Him a house of prayer. He kept saying this to me over and over whenever I prayed: “Build ME a House of Prayer”. In 2004, the Lord revealed this house of prayer was to be located in Hartford and it’s name is to be HOUSE OF GOOD HOPE. At about that time I discovered that was the original name of the city of Hartford when it was an old Dutch fort located on the banks of the Connecticut River. I knew that I knew that I knew there was to be a house of prayer in Hartford, Connecticut’s state capital and it was to prophetically take on the original name of it’s settlement. Hartford was to rediscover it’s destiny – it is called to be a city of hope….good hope……GOD’s hope. I saw this as an “intercessory assignment” and began praying it in, asked the Lord to raise up someone who would start this house of prayer. Little did I know the person God wanted to raise up was me! Again I tried to argue with the Lord about His choice. I’m not the “right kind” of person to lead a house of prayer! I’m a poor middle-aged woman who no one took seriously. I didn’t see myself as a good leader, in fact I didn’t even know how to be a leader. Especially a leader of a house of prayer! But the Lord made it very clear to me that I was to move to Hartford and I was to start this house of prayer. Over the years I was given many prophetic words, even those who were my spiritual leaders and authorities asked me when am I moving to Hartford? So, even though I don’t like cities, and especially didn’t like Hartford, in 2005 I sold my home in Stafford and moved to Bloomfield. I felt I needed to move into Hartford by degrees. I needed to get used to this. I was alone, my daughter was in college at that time and the city frightened me. Hartford, with it’s crime and poverty, and not being a “white” city scared me. I’m a country girl from the Midwest, this was something totally out of my paradigm.
In 2007, I was shown a house on Brown Street, and used all of my money to buy it. A house of prayer was finally born in Hartford! I didn’t know how to bring people in and spent many hours praying alone. Every time I did, I declared: “Lord, there is now a House of Prayer in Hartford and there is someone praying in it, even if it’s only me!”
In 2012 HOUSE OF GOOD HOPE was born
I knew I needed to learn how to run a house of prayer, but at that time there were not a lot of manuals written to teach us how to do it. There also were no other prayer houses in Connecticut that I knew of. Where was I going to learn how to do this? Here I am, alone in doing this and not knowing who to ask for help or how to learn to do it. So I started to visit other houses of prayer outside of New England, spent most of my time reading books and watching video teachings from Mike Bickle and the International House of Prayer in Kansas City (IHOPKC). Almost every house of prayer I encountered used the “harp & bowl” format of worship and intercession that came out of IHOPKC . When I visited other houses of prayer, I saw how they all patterned their prayer “sets” or prayer meetings after IHOPKC. They all had at least one prayer meeting using the harp & bowl format of worship and intercession. I love this format, it is so beautiful! It seemed to flow and encourage prayer sets & meetings to last for hours. I saw how it worked for them and I desperately wanted something similar in House of Good Hope. There was such a great longing in me for the harp & bowl format of worship and intercession, I carried this longing inside me for years.
BUT I HAD ONE BIG PROBLEM
Problem is: harp & bowl never worked here, not at House of Good Hope. We don’t have musicians, even though we prayed (and are still praying!) for the Lord to bring them in. Musicians have come and gone during different seasons, but no one stayed. No one caught the vision or had the heart to help with building this house of prayer. The Lord also revealed to me that I’m not to lead worship even though I had been a church worship leader in the past. I’m not to learn to play a guitar or a keyboard, in fact I wasn’t allowed to even purchase a guitar or keyboard for others to use to lead worship. The only thing I’m to do is continue to use YouTube or worship cds. So we continue to pray for musicians. We’ve been praying for musicians for years, and even though we’ve had visiting musicians come in and out, no one stayed. No one became part of House of Good Hope. No one had a vision for this house of prayer or wanted to partner with us in this work. The harp & bowl format really never took off here on a consistent basis. We’ve held many powerful prayer meetings with visiting musicians on special occasions, but that’s it. Also, when musicians did come to lead us, It never was true harp & bowl, just variations and mostly prophetic worship. No one stayed. I wanted musicians so much! I wanted someone to lead us into the Presence of God. I would have even taken a teenager who knew only 2 chords on a guitar! But for some reason no musicians came, and if they did come, they didn’t stay or partner with us. They all left after very short seasons.
NEW REVELATION / NEW SEASON
On my way to church one Sunday morning, I suddenly felt a huge urge to repent. In fact, my heart was so tenderized, I wanted to pull over so I could have a good cry. But I was on the highway, almost to church and was running late. After I got to the church, I took out my notebook and wrote down all that I was hearing the Lord say to me. Tears came to my eyes as I wrote this:
“Audrey, stop trying to copy someone else’s format and someone else’s blueprint of a house of prayer. I want to give you a NEW blueprint, but you keep trying to copy others! Do not use what others have done. Your house of prayer is called to be different. You are called to be unique. Dare to be different. Dare to imagine! Dare to be unique!.
I am redesigning you. I am redesigning House of Prayer, the whole House of Prayer movement. Would you dare to go in a different way…..for ME??
Use what I am giving you. I am opening a door to show you what I am calling you to do. Would you dare to go through that open door? Would you dare to be different? Do you have the courage to be unique?
I’m giving you a blueprint for prayer. Look in MY Word for the blueprint. Look at the Tabernacle. This is MY blueprint. This is the blueprint I had designed and I gave it to Moses. Now I give this to you.
The harp & bowl blueprint is what I gave to someone else. This prayer model is from ME, and yes, it’s beautiful, powerful and effective. But I did not give it to you, I gave it to someone else. I am now giving something different to you. Would you dare to use it? Do you have the courage to develop it? Do you have the courage to break the mold?
Develop the Tabernacle format of worship, prayer and intercession. Take it further. Use it.
Behold I’ve given you Bible verses to use in the Tabernacle. I will give you more. Tabernacle prayer and worship is throughout My word but it has yet to be fully discovered by My people. Will you go on a treasure hunt with Me? Will you be willing to look for this, use this and teach it to your people?
Take your people into the Tabernacle. Take your people into the Holy of Holies. I DARE you to use this! I will show you how to use this. Take it further than Cho. Dare to use this in every prayer that you lead.
• I am giving this to you. • It is My gift to you. • Steward this well. • Develop this well.
It is MY Gift and I give it to you. Use it.
DR. CHO’S TABERNACLE PRAYER PATTERN
Over the last several years I’ve used many different prayer patterns as I lead prayer – from John Eckhardt and Cindy Trimm’s prophetic declaration and spiritual warfare models to the Courts of Heaven. I even used ancient prayer models such as contemplative prayer or Lectio Divina.
One of the prayer models we used was developed by Dr Yongghi Cho in South Korea, called the “Tabernacle Prayer”. This is an anointed prayer revealed by Holy Spirit to Dr. David Yongghi Cho. Dr Cho is the pastor of Yoido Full Gospel, a Korean church that is one of the largest churches in the world today with over 4 million members. God revealed this prayer to Dr. Cho over 50 years ago in the country of Formosa when he was teaching ministers how to preach and how to pray. He says that prayer is like “jogging: you decide the course or track to follow before you start.” He’s a strong believer in the use of prayer patterns or prayer models on a daily basis. He believes we all need some sort of prayer structure to keep us focused. “You cannot pray effectively unless you decide the course to take”. Now Dr. Cho attributes the success of his 50 years of ministry efforts to faithfully worshipping God and praying using the Tabernacle format during his devotional times. He’s taught this prayer model to many others, including Marilyn Hickey.
In my next blog, I will start sharing what Holy Spirit has been teaching us on how to use the Tabernacle Prayer model and what has happened when we use it.
Again I ask whoever reads this, please pray for me?
