Continuity Between Moses and Christ: A Puritan’s Doorway to Traditional Liturgy (Part 2)
Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.
~Hebrews 1:1-2
God has given us many glimpses of Heaven throughout history. But two particular covenantal administrations stand out. First that of Moses, to whom YHWH gave the law and the priestly order, and second and greater than Moses, is Jesus Christ, the new Adam, our covenant head. In Christ God’s glory is made manifest. All we need to know about Heaven we learn from Christ.
So when Jesus says to pray “thy kingdom come, thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven,” he is telling us to pray for a reality of which he is the very revelation. In fact, the Book of Revelation is called “the revelation of Jesus Christ.”
But let’s take a step back. Clearly, as we read from Hebrews, the glory of Christ replaces and overwhelms the glory of Moses. But does that mean that the Old Mosaic administration is completely useless when it comes to teaching us about worship? What exactly is the glory of Moses to begin with?
Often when one turns to the Mosaic Tabernacle administration to glean insight into how Christian worship is to be done, he is told, “You cannot do that. That is the Old, and we are living in the New. The forms and rituals of the priestly administration are past, to be replaced with worship in spirit and truth.”
I don’t think such a dichotomy can be supported by Scripture. In fact, the closer we look at passages specifically regarding worship, the more we will see a continuity between administrations. The Old is surpassed and supplanted by the New . . . but rather than something completely different from what has passed before, the New is actually a fuller and more glorious realization of the Old!
When one replaces old clothing with new, one does not reinvent the way clothing is structured or the way it works. A new shirt will have sleeves and buttons and the rest, just like the old, even if the new is made of silk and the old is made of ragged coarse wool. Both bear the same design and serve the same purpose, that is to clothe the upper body. Illustrations break down at some point because they cannot capture the richness of the covenant. But this one serves to highlight a single point:
We should expect to see continuity between revelation of Heaven in the Old Testament and that of the New, as both of these have the same designer—God—and also serve the same purpose, that is to draw God’s people into His presence to serve Him and to be served by Him at His table. And, in fact, we do find continuity. The New is clearer, less hidden, and more glorious. But the Old was true revelation just the same, of the same Heaven.
The Tabernacle was designed to represent Heaven on Earth to God’s people. The entire structure and administration was itself a model of Heaven. The mercy seat on the Ark of the Covenant, where God sat and was present among His people, was flanked by cherubim. The curtain that veiled the Holy of Holies was purple, embroidered with cherubim. Everything was overlaid with gold. The Holy of Holies was the very throne room of YHWH, and was the most separate place from the unsanctified world. As we move outward from that room, we have the Holy Place, the Outer Court, the camp if Israel, and then finally, the desert outside the camp.
One of the most significant differences between the Mosaic picture of Heaven and the New Covenant is that in the Tabernacle and the Temple, only the High Priest could enter the Holy of Holies, and he only once a year to pour blood on the mercy seat. But in the New Covenant the veil no longer divides God’s throne room from His people, having been torn by Christ in his sacrifice on the cross. Therefore we no longer approach the mercy seat remotely through an earthly representative, but boldly as God’s gathered people, through our only mediator, Christ, who is also our only sacrifice.
The view has changed somewhat, but the symbols are the same because the Old Covenant symbols represented to Israel the New Covenant reality. Specific symbols commanded to be pictured in the Tabernacle are really present before God in Heaven and in the Church on Earth. So when we do away with the Old, we must at the same time embrace the reality of the New.
If the Old Covenant house of God and Israel’s place of worship was designed to picture Heaven on Earth, should we expect Heaven to be lifted up and taken away from our presence in an administration of greater and richer glory? Certainly not. At least not while we pray, “Thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven.” The Tabernacle was designed to picture Heaven on Earth, but the Church gathered in worship is designed to be Heaven on Earth:
But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
~Hebrews 12:22-24
Next: Continuity between the Prophetic Worship and the New Covenant
Tags: cherubim, earth, heaven, Liturgy, Moses, Reformation, Reformed, Regulative Principle, tabernacle, temple, worship
eschatology, History, Liturgy, Theology | Christopher Kou | 
April 17, 2009 9:41 AM
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Not too sure why you change the word "covenant" to the word "administration". If the Holy Spirit used the word "covenant" then we should also use the word "covenant". There are two covenants – the old and the new – Hebrew 8:13 – "When He said, "A new covenant" He has madethe first obsolete". The old covenant (mediator Moses) and the new covenant (mediator Jesus) is not like an old shirt and a new shirt but much more profound.
Of course it's much more profound. It is like old/new shirt ONLY in the sense that the two serve the same purpose–to draw God's people into His presence–and that they have the same design and shape.I use "administration" simply because that's a word used in classical theology. You are correct. Covenant is a better and more precise word.
"Obsolete" in Hebrews 8:13 does not mean "irrelevant." Whenever the administration of the covenant changes, God gives specific instructions as to how those changes will affect our service of Him. If the new covenant were unrelated to the old, we would find gallons of explanations for the sudden change, and gallons of new instructions on how to worship within the new framework.We only find a few explicit commands, the most prominent being "Do this unto my memorial."
Thanks, Pete. Yeah, "obsolete" doesn't necessarily mean in Hebrews what it means in the modern sense. The Old is passing away and fading because it was useful only in that it was a picture of the New. Now that the Reality has come . . . we should no longer be living in shadows.We should note that for the Old to really be a picture of the New, it must LOOK like the New in some sense. If the New Covenant is so different from the Old that it is unrecognizable, then we could not properly say that the Old was a foreshadowing. If a portrait looks absolutely nothing like the real person who is supposedly being pictured, then it is a false and useless picture.
We need to take Hebrews 8 in the context of chapter 9:"Now even the first covenant had regulations for worship and an earthly place of holiness . . . Thus it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these rites, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself . . ."The pictures are done away with BECAUSE we have received the reality in Christ.
Thanks, Chris.
Hey, where is part 1 ?
Hey, where is part 1 ?
Another great post
Looking forward to the next one.
)
"In fact, the closer we look at passages specifically regarding worship, the more we will see a continuity between administrations."OK, which ones?"To be dynamic you have to be specific" – John S.When it comes to man's desire for a perfect liturgy it comes down to this, Hosea 6:6 and Matt 9:13. We need to bring God's kingdom out of the church and stop with the idea that a perfect liturgy will be our means of salvation or a dominion here on earth.
>>>OK, which ones?<<<Stay tuned. That's what this series is all about. Although I must wonder if you missed everything I wrote here about the Tabernacle of the Mosaic priesthood and how it relates to the NT.>>>We need to bring God's kingdom out of the church and stop with the idea that a perfect liturgy will be our means of salvation or a dominion here on earth.<<<Todd, I think you're missing my point. I am not expecting to find a "perfect liturgy" on earth, and I am certainly not suggesting that a perfect liturgy is a means of salvation. I am only saying that the Bible gives guidelines, both general and specific, for Christian worship that we Reformed Christians often miss when we don't consider the implications of certain passages such as the Lord's Prayer.What do you mean by bringing "God's kingdom out of the church"? Liturgy, as worship, is a means to dominion, as it relates to discipling the nations, baptizing them, and teaching them to observe Christ's commandments.
You need to take Hosea 6:6 in context. First, no one is suggesting we reinstitute blood sacrifices or burnt offerings. The only thing this verse could directly apply to today would be the tithe and offering or to once and for all sacrifice of Christ on the cross which we claim as our own.Second, God is clearly not telling them to cease the Temple services in that verse, since the Mosaic order is still in effect. The point of the passage is that sacrifice without covenant love (berith) is worthless. Especially as it relates to animal sacrifice.Obviously God is not saying here that he desires NO sacrifice, otherwise He would not have sent his only-begotten Son to be the Lamb to take away our sins.Since Jesus is quoting Hosea in Matthew 9, I think this covers that as well.