Luke 1:67-80; 1 Chronicles 16:1-36; Psalm 24
In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Something occurred in England last year that had not occurred in over half a century – On May 6, 2023, a new king was crowned as Charles III was coronated the sixty-third Monarch of England. The crown placed upon Charles’ head weighed five pounds and was made of solid gold bedecked with over four hundred gemstones. A coronation anthem composed by George Frederick Handel rang out as Charles was coronated king. The anthem was titled “Zadok the Priest,” based upon 1 Kings 1:38-39, the account of Solomon, the son of David, riding into Jerusalem on David’s mule to be anointed King of Israel. Indeed, the glory of God filled Westminster Abbey!
Even British pomp and circumstance at its best, however, is but rubbish compared to the glory of God in the journey of the Ark of the Covenant. David’s song of thanks in the tent of meeting was preliminary to Solomon’s later dedication of the ark in the temple recounted in 2 Chronicles chapter 5. Asaph, the great liturgist, hymnist, and leader of the Asaphite guild of musicians, offered songs of praise before the ark with harps and lyres, cymbals, and trumpets, as it was carried into the tent of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the house of God.” Burnt offerings to atone for sin, and peace offerings of thanksgiving and praise, were offered before God who made His presence amongst His people. Then David blessed the people with the blessing of God’s grace, and they ate a festive meal of breads, and meats, and cakes as they recounted with praise and thanksgiving the mighty works of the LORD, and His promises made and kept for generations of their fathers before them.
Charles III processed with great pomp and circumstance to Westminster Abbey where he was crowned King of England in the midst of his subjects. The ark of the covenant processed to the tent of meeting with great praise, thanksgiving, sacrifice, and worship, and the glory of the LORD took up residence there above the mercy seat in the midst of his people. Yet even this most glorious and holy event was but a foreshadowing and a type of what was to come when the Son of God became incarnate of the Virgin Mary and the King of heaven and earth pitched his tent amongst us as one of us, taking our flesh and blood and nature upon himself that he might fulfill the will of his Father and atone for us, his people, by his selfless, holy, innocent, suffering and death upon the cross.
For, Christ the King is the new, eternal Monarch, who sits upon the Davidic throne, world without end. Jesus is the new tabernacle, according to His human nature, made not by human hands, or by the will of a man, whereby he “pitched his tent” among us in human flesh and blood, body and soul. And we, his worshippers, his people, are the new Israel, both Jews and Gentiles, who are united in Christ alone.
Our God and King is he who seeks to dwell amongst his people. So, it was in the beginning in Eden that the LORD walked and talked with our First Parents in paradise. But after their sinful fall and rebellion this was no longer possible lest God’s holy and righteous wrath consume and destroy them. Therefore, he exiled them from his presence even as he began his passionate work of restoring them to communion in his presence once again. The tabernacle, and then the temple, housing the ark of the covenant, was a typological stage in this work as the LORD located his glory within a tent of animal skins and provided a means by which he could look away from his people’s sins for a time through the sacrifice of bulls and lambs and goats. Yet this was still but a type and a foreshadowing of the work the LORD would complete in the flesh and blood sacrifice of his only-begotten Son for the sins of the world.
“But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.” The Word became flesh and made his dwelling amongst us. A young Jewish maiden conceived by the word of the Lord and became for us the dwelling place of God with man. The Virgin Mary was made to be the dwelling place of the glory of God, foreshadowed by the burning bush, the ark of the covenant, the tabernacle, and the temple. And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
Like the ark of the covenant before her, so Mary made the journey to the hill country of Judea, just outside of Jerusalem. There she was greeted with rejoicing as the child in Elizabeth’s womb, John the Baptist, leapt for joy in the presence of his LORD. On the night of Jesus’ birth, shepherds, angels, and all creation rejoiced. Wise men from the east came to worship the newborn king and to present their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, confessing him to be our great Prophet, Priest, and King. Forty days after his birth Mary and Joseph brought their son to the temple in Jerusalem to make sacrifices in accordance with the law of the LORD. They were greeted there by Simeon and Anna who were waiting for the redemption and salvation of Israel and who confessed their hopes fulfilled in the Christ Child Jesus. At age twelve, our Lord Jesus remained at the temple amazing the rabbis with his questions and answers. When his worried parents found him, he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?”
The priest Zechariah was serving in the house of the LORD, the temple, when the angelic messenger visited him and proclaimed that his wife Elizabeth, who was barren, would conceive and bear a son who would be the promised forerunner of the Messiah. Zechariah burst forth in prophetic song saying, “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David.” The LORD God of Israel has visited and redeemed his people in the incarnation of Jesus the Christ. Rejoice! The LORD has set up a tent among us!
In the + Name of Jesus. Amen.
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