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The Tabernacle burnt offering. There the blood was shed that pointed on to Jesus, "the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world" (John 1: 29). As the high priest, on the Day of Atonement passed on into the Holy Place, he sprinkled the blood upon the sacred vessels. As he entered the Most Holy Place, he sprinkled the shed blood on and before the mercy seat. God was teaching His children that "with- out shedding of blood is no remission" of sin (Heb. 9:22). Men may preach a social gospel; they may deny the efficacy of the atoning blood of Christ; but when they do, they are trying to enter a man-made way, which is not the way to God. They are thieves and robbers, who seek to enter the sheep-fold without entering the only door, which is Christ. They are "blind leaders of the blind,,. "wolves in sheeps' clothing." And they are turning the never-dying souls of men away from the only Saviour of sinners; they are serving Satan and all his hosts. To deny the virgin birth of Christ, His sinless life, His blood atone- ment, His bodily resurrection, His ascension into heaven, His intercessory work at the throne of grace, and His coming again in power and great glory-to deny these precious truths, is to crucify afresh the Son of God and to trample under foot the precious blood of the covenant. (See Heb. 6:6; 10:29.) 4. The Gate for Sinners. The Jew who entered the gate of the tabernacle took with him an offering, a sacri- fice. And by this act he confessed his guilt, his need of a Saviour. There is no other way for sinful man to approach a holy God. "All have sinned"; and all must go to Him in penitence and confession of sin. The Pharisee may pray "with himself"; but his prayer does not reach the throne of God. The publican knows the secret of answered
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The Tabernacle prayer; for he cries out, from his sense of guilt, "God, be merciful to me, a sinner!" 5. A Wide, Low Gate-for All. The gate of the Jew- ish tabernacle was twenty cubits wide, but only :five cubits high. It met the need of the child, as well as that of the full-grown man. The gate had the same area as the door; yet the door was twice the height of the gate and one- half the width. Why? Because the door was used only by the priests, who represent the saints of God. The lesson is very plain: The Gospel invitation is to all the world. "Whosoever will" may be saved! But how few, compara- tively, enter in through the gate and on into the Holy Place of prayer and communion with God by faith in the cross of Jesus and His empty tomb! Yet the wide, low gate of invitation to all the world still stands open. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3: 16) . 6. The Gate to Eternal Security. Once the sinner entered the gate, bringing his sacrifice that pointed on to Christ, he was surrounded by the fine white linen court- safe because of the atoning blood. Sin had separated him from God; but he confessed his sins, :figuratively trans- ferred them to the great Sin-Bearer, and was accepted be- fore Him. The white linen hanging that had shut him out from the court now enclosed him. The righteous law of a holy God which had condemned him was now mag- nified and vindicated in the Person of the coming Re- deemer, in whom the sinner had put his trust. It had been only a step from without the gate into the court that now enclosed him and spoke to him of pardon and peace and eternal life. It is only a step from darkness to light, an acceptance by faith of the Lord Jesus as the only Saviour
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