SANCTIFICATION

"For by one offering He has perfected forever them that are sanctified" (Heb10:14)

Devotion 3 of 16

THE SANCTIFICATION OF THINGS

Under the Law, God instructed His people about things being dedicated to Himself. Such things were not to be employed for general or mundane purposes; they belonged to God. When they were employed, the Lord was to be dominant in the minds of their users. An acute consciousness of the Living God was developed through this appointed means.

The sanctification of these things accomplished at least two things. 1) It provided a means of awakening the human conscience toward God, and 2) it gave God a means of communicating to sensitive people.

The tabernacle and its articles sanctified

"And there I will meet with the children of Israel, and THE TABERNACLE shall be sanctified by my glory" (Exo 29:43). "And Moses took the anointing oil, and anointed the tabernacle AND ALL THAT WAS THEREIN, and sanctified them" (Lev 8:10). "And it came to pass on the day that Moses had fully set up the tabernacle, and had anointed it, and sanctified it, AND ALL THE INSTRUMENTS THEREOF, both the altar and all the vessels thereof, and had anointed them, and sanctified them" (Num 7:1).

There was only one reason for the tabernacle and its components: INVOLVEMENT WITH THE GOD OF HEAVEN. Apart from this appointed affiliation, there was no need for the tabernacle or any of the furniture and vessels associated with it.

This unique portable structure, although impressive within, was not provided for appearance. It was not a rallying point for military endeavors, nor was it a family center. If God was not communicating with the Israelites, there would have been no tabernacle. He was the reason for its origin and use, and He alone.

The temple and its articles sanctified

"For now have I chosen and sanctified THIS HOUSE, that My name may be there for ever: and Mine eyes and Mine heart shall be there perpetually" (2 Chron 7:16). Solomon's temple was much larger than the tabernacle, but served the same purpose. It was a facility related to approaching and serving the God of heaven.

The sanctification of "things" introduced the idea of dedicating something exclusively to the Lord. In this exercise, a sensitive conscience was developed. These "things" were not appointed for the enjoyment of man, but for the service of God. That is a concept with which men still wrestle. Sanctification is related to the dominance of God in both thought and deed.

PRAYER POINT: Father, I thank You for revealing that You are superior to everything that is made. I seek for grace to approach life as something given to me for dedication to You. Bless me with a keen sense of this, in Jesus' name.

-- TOMORROW: THE SANCTIFICATION OF PEOPLE #1 --