David’s Tabernacle Restored, Part 5

 

Reprint: December 29th, 2023

 

You will remember that there are three specific events in the Word in which we are told that God’s intent and purpose was to restore again the Tabernacle of David.  He never said he was going to again restore the Temple of Solomon.

 

Men have attempted to do that several times throughout history, and it continues to be destroyed each time.  Why?  Because a temple — the real Temple of God — is not made with hands.  It is a divine creation which takes place in the realm of the Spirit.

Take a look at the prophecies.  Let’s start with God’s reason for raising up the Tabernacle of David.  We quoted Amos last week, but here it the central theme of Amos’ prophecy.  Recall what we quoted from Chaim BenTorah last week, and then put that in context with the following.

 

Amos 9:11-12: In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old:   That they may possess the remnant of Edom, and of all the heathen, which are called by my name, saith the LORD that doeth this.

 

 This is spectacularly significant in view of Isaiah’s prophecy many years earlier.

 

Isaiah 16:5:  And in mercy shall the throne be established: and he shall sit upon it in truth in the tabernacle of David, judging, and seeking judgment, and hasting righteousness.

 

You will remember our earlier sharing on the fact that only five kings of Judah arose, after the days of David and Solomon, who restored the ministry of praise and worship as it had been in David’s time.  Each time that ministry was abandoned, the nation fell to its enemies.  Israel — the remaining tribes — was already in the throes of alternating periods of contending with their enemies, famine, pestilence and captivity  Because there was no crown of the presence of the Lord among them — no real authority of God present — seekers after leadership recognition began to abound.  Hence, the rebuke of Amos concerning the “show-boating” that took place at Bethel and Gilgal.

A little history is in order to understand the significance of these two places.

 

Genesis 12 gives us an early picture of Bethel as the first place where Abram built an altar unto the Lord, calling it “The House of God.”  It became a focal point in Israel for centuries as a place where one could find the presence of the Lord.

 

Gilgal, on the other hand, was the place west of the Jordan where Joshua and the elders of Israel placed twelve stones, signifying what God had done for them in drying up the Jordan River so that all Israel could cross and begin the conquest of Canaan.  Gilgal signified the mighty hand of God.

 

Gilgal became the place where the prophet Samuel offered up sacrifices and burnt offerings on behalf of Israel.  It became a place of anointing, and a place where the authority of God was being manifested.

 

In case you are wondering, the old Tabernacle of Moses was set up about 10 miles north of Bethel in a very secluded spot.  This took place during the time of the conquest of Canaan (See Joshua 18), and it remained there throughout Joshua’s time, as well as the period of the Judges — several hundred years.  The Ark of the Covenant was taken from Moses’ Tabernacle by the Philistines (see I Samuel 4), and was never returned to its old resting place.

 

So, why the focus on Bethel and Gilgal, and not Shiloh where the Tabernacle of Moses was set up?  The answer is pretty simple.  Both Bethel and Gilgal marked prominent points in what God had ordered for this land of promise.  The Ark was long gone by the time Amos prophesied.  In fact it was in hiding, having been hidden by the prophet Jeremiah prior to Israel being taken into captivity.

 

But we are getting ahead of ourselves.

 

We’ve already talked about David’s anxiety to recover the Ark of the Covenant, but because of his understanding of its significance, he brought to it a very prominent location on one of the seven hills that make up the city of Jerusalem.  He wanted to ensure that the covenant was visible for all Israel to see — that whether they could actually see the simple tent that made up his tabernacle, they would certainly know that the Ark was on display for the nation.

 

We won’t go back over all the history of events that unfolded once the Ark took up residence on Moriah, and then Zion, except to highlight something that has been lost in our focus and understanding: the crown of God’s rulership in the land.  What makes this significant is that the crown is directly related to the presence of ongoing praise and worship to the Lord.  Maybe you think I’ve lost it, or at least gotten way off track here, so lets take a look at a much later prophesy.

 

And to the angel — the Heaven-sent messenger — in the Ekklesia in Philadelphia, write the following:  this message comes from the One who is Holy, He who is Truth (and speaks nothing but Truth), He who holds the Key of David, He who opens and no man shuts, He who shuts and no man opens;

 

I am well aware and know your labors, your deeds, and that in which you continue to expend your energies; see and consider that I have placed before you an opening door of access, and no one can shut or lock it: You are in possession of a small amount of strength, force and power because you have maintained My Word and have not contradicted or rejected in any way My onoma (character, personality, makeup or the essence of Who I AM).

 

Watch and consider the fact that I will cause those who assemble themselves together under the direction or inspiration of the Accuser of the Brethren who say falsely that they belong to the nation of Believers and lie to your face; Watch!  I will cause them to do obeisance and reverence before your footstool, and to know, perceive and have revelation of the fact that I love you (and that we have a love-relationship together),

 

In that you have cheerfully kept, guarded and maintained the Word of My Endurance and constancy; therefore, I will keep and protect you in the midst of the hour of testing that is about to come upon the entire world, designed to test, scrutinize and discipline all those who dwell upon the earth.

Once again, watch!  I am appearing lightly and suddenly: seize, take hold of with strength and retain that place of rulership you have come to [in the place of praise and worship]; let no one contaminate that rulership or get a hold of your crown.  (Revelation 3:7-11, RAC Translation and Amplification)

 

I’m pausing here in this narrative from Revelation to emphasize certain very important points that the Lord makes in His commendation to this Ekklesia.

 

Notice, first of all the reference to the Key of David.  Have you ever stopped to consider that this is the only place in Scripture where we have this phrase, “the Key of David?”  What was David’s key for in the first place?  Why would the Lord make such a point of this in the letter to the Ekklesia in Philadelphia?

 

Let’s see if we can break this down.

 

Acts 13:22-23:  And when he had removed him, he raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also he gave testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will.  Of this man’s seed hath God according to his promise raised unto Israel a Saviour, Jesus:

 

I haven’t retranslated or amplified this passage, but let me simply point out some key words.

 

The phrase, “a man after mine own heart” refers in the Greek text to someone who chased after fulfilling the thoughts and purposes, and completing the very heart’s desires — the most intimate desires — of the Lord God.  The reference to David as being someone who would fulfill all God’s will only amplifies and emphasizes the fact that David’s number one purpose was to make the Lord complete in His desire for a people whom He had designed and set apart to Himself.

 

In other words, David knew in the core of his being the desire of the Lord that had existed since Creation for a people with whom He could be One.  Based on my own conversations with David the first time I went to Heaven, the experiences he had while sitting on the hillsides, watching the sheep and just ministering to the Lord on his harp gave him insight into the very heart of the Lord like nothing else could ever do.

 

It prepared him for the time some 13 years later (after Samuel anointed him to become King over Israel) to begin the recovery of the Ark of the Covenant and the establishing of the 24-hour praise and worship that replaced the Golden Candlestick in Moses’ Tabernacle.

 

David had seen into the heart of the Lord and knew just how He responded to those whose focus would be on ministering to Him.  Isaiah also saw into the heart of the Lord and prophesied the following:

 

Isaiah 40:29-31: He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall:

But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

 

This reads a bit differently in the Hebrew text.

 

But the ones waiting upon the Lord shall change and increase in strength; they shall grow wings as eagles, they shall run and not tire, they shall proceed and not hunger. (The Apostolic Bible)

 

This is where it gets interesting.  This concept of “waiting upon the Lord” comes from a Hebrew root (qavah) which means: to wait or look eagerly for, to linger for.  It is a word born out of desire.

 

Thus, those who look eagerly for and linger for the heart’s desire of the Lord to be met will, themselves, experience renewal, provision, strength and stamina.  Put that together with David’s desire to see that the heart of the Lord was ministered to, and you begin to understand “the Key of David.”  You begin to see the emphasis of “the crown” in the letter to Philadelphia.

 

This brings us back to the prophecy of Amos.  Notice, again, that the Lord isn’t saying that He will rebuild the Temple of Solomon, despite the fact that that temple had the expanded praise and worship David had ordered and ordained before he turned the throne over to Solomon.  Praise and worship on a continuous basis came out of the heart’s desire of David to minister to the Lord.  God was David’s focus.  Pleasing and fulfilling Him was David’s pursuit.

 

Watch.  Notice the condition of Israel when Amos prophesies.

 

Amos 9:8-15:  Behold, the eyes of the Lord GOD are upon the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from off the face of the earth; saving that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob, saith the LORD.  For, lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, like as corn is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth.  All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword, which say, The evil shall not overtake nor prevent us.

 

In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old:  That they may possess the remnant of Edom, and of all the heathen, which are called by my name, saith the LORD that doeth this.

 

Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed; and the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt.  And I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them. And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the LORD thy God.

 

You see what happens, don’t you, when the Tabernacle of David is restored?   The same rulership returns that existed with David.  The same prosperity returns to the land that existed when 24 hours of praise and worship went forth.  What you have is the picture of a people whose focus and pursuit is the heart of the Lord being fulfilled.

Now we see the promise to the Ekklesia in Philadelphia because their heart’s desire is the heart of the Lord being completed and fulfilled. Before we go there, take one more look at Isaiah’s prophecy concerning the Tabernacle of David.

 

Isaiah 16:5:  And in mercy shall the throne be established: and He shall sit upon it in truth in the tabernacle of David, judging, and seeking judgment, and hasting righteousness.  (emphasis, mine)

 

When Isaiah begins this particular prophecy, he opens up with a revealing statement, and it makes clear the “He” in verse 5 is the Lamb.  Take a look.

 

Isaiah 16:1: Send ye the Lamb to the ruler of the land from Sela to the wilderness, unto the mount of the daughter of Zion. (emphasis, mine)

 

Notice where the Lamb is sent: to the “mount of the daughter of Zion.”  Isaiah frequently uses this phraseology to describe the difference between Israel as a whole, and the place of the Bride — or the Tabernacle of David.  Whenever you see Isaiah use this phrase, “the daughter of Zion,” he is referring to that core of overcoming people who represent the Bride of Christ.

 

This is where we stop for today.  We will pick up more of the prophecy from Revelation 3 to the Ekklesia in Philadelphia next week.

 

In case you are missing out on real fellowship in an environment of Ekklesia, our Sunday worship gatherings are available by conference call – usually at about 10:45AM Pacific.  That conference number is (712) 770-4160, and the access code is 308640#.  We are now making these gatherings available by Skype.  If you wish to participate by video on Skype, my Skype ID is regner.capener.  If you miss the live voice call, you can dial (712) 770-4169, enter the same access code and listen in later.  The video call, of course, is not recorded – not yet, anyway.

 

Blessings on you!

 

 

           

Regner A. Capener
CAPENER MINISTRIES

RIVER WORSHIP CENTER
Temple, Texas 76504

Email Contact: CapenerMinistries@protonmail.com

 

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