What did Israel's tabernacle services and worship practices point to?
Israel's tabernacle services and worship practices pointed forward to the plan of salvation and the coming of the Redeemer. The priesthood, sacrifices, feast days, and entire law system were a picture of how salvation would be experienced, not merely empty religion. They anticipated the redemption believers now experience.
Les explains that the "service of God" in Romans 9:4 refers to the tabernacle, priesthood, and sacrifices that began when God gave the tabernacle to Moses and set up the priesthood with Aaron as high priest. Those services were part of the system of law, and the big picture of law included everything pertaining to worship and sacrifices, not just the Ten Commandments. The priests' operations, the tabernacle and later temple, the sacrifices, and the feast days throughout Israel's religious calendar were all indicative and looked forward to our own plan of salvation. Les emphasizes that this was not just religion with nothing behind it; the practice of the law that Israel enjoyed was a picture of the coming of the Redeemer and the plan of salvation as we experience it today.
Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises;
More Questions
What did the Old Testament services and law point forward to?
All of Israel's practice of the law was a picture pointing forward to the coming Redeemer and the plan of salvation that believers experience today.