"The Earthly Character"

 "Then verily the first covenant had also ordinances of divine service, and a worldly sanctuary." (Hebrews 9:1 KJV) 

  "Sir," the woman said, "you must be a prophet. So tell me, why is it that you Jews insist that Jerusalem is the only place of worship, while we Samaritans claim it is here at Mount Gerizim, where our ancestors worshiped?" Jesus replied, "Believe me, dear woman, the time is coming when it will no longer matter whether you worship the Father on this mountain or in Jerusalem. You Samaritans know very little about the one you worship, while we Jews know all about him, for salvation comes through the Jews. But the time is coming - indeed it's here now - when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way. For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth."" (John 4:19-24 NLT)

 If you read my post, from many years ago, the one where I shared about my first teaching to the High School students in our church youth group; it was based upon this portion of Scripture when it says Jesus, "must," go through Samaria. (John 4:4 KJV) It is really not the way Jews traveled, as it were, the Samaritan's were people that were, shall we say, unclean, and they really tried to avoid them. 

 The main point that God was showing me in this, was that Jesus knew that He was going to do a mighty work on that mountain, so He had to travel through there to minister to that city. Not only did He share with the woman at the well, but after she ran down the mountain, she shared her conversation with Him, and people from the village started streaming up that mountain to see Him. 

 When we moved our church from Palo Cedro to Shasta Lake City, a few of the mothers from the youth group made a quilted tapestry of a Dove in the middle of it, with the heading, Calvary Chapel Shasta Lake; and at the bottom it says, "Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes, and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest." If you know anything about the Samaritans in the region, the men all had white turbans on their heads. So, what Jesus was describing, as He told them to look, was those white turbans winding up the mountain to come and see Him.    

 That tapestry is currently on the living room wall, as it was going to be thrown out to the dumpster, by one of the Pastors that had taken over the church. As soon as I heard him say he was tossing it, I knew that I had to rescue it and take it home. It has hung on two living room walls since then. It is there for a reminder of the Lord's amazing work! 

 As it turned out, Jesus stayed with those Samaritans in their village for two days, sharing and having fellowship with them. When they heard Him speak, the told the woman, "Now we believe, not just because of what you told us, but because we have heard him ourselves. Now we know that he is indeed the Savior of the world." (John 4:42 NLT) 

 Now about this title, which seems rather daunting, to say the least; it is the easiest way to explain what the writer is saying, and how it really looks. For starters, the divine services were such, because they were put forth by God, as He designed every detail; but those who performed those services were not perfect, even the High Priest. Therefore, the worldly sanctuary is speaking towards those who perform the services and for those to whom the service is meant for, which would be the people. 

 I hate to keep repeating myself, but the second day of creation was the only day that God did not say it was good. But then He focused on the earthly character of His creation, marking the third day, as twice as good...

"Don't let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ. For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body. So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority." (Colossians 2:8-10 NLT)