Purpose of The Tabernacle Old Testament Pictures tabernacle!k'v.mi mishkan = dwelling place; the tabernacle was the place where God met with man and communicated with him. It was there that man could approach God through a sacrifice to worship. Exodus 25:8-9 - Construction of The Tabernacle v8 that I may dwell among them v9 according to all that I am going to show you - pattern of the tabernacle & furniture Hebrews 8:1-2; 5 - NT Commentary v5 make all things according to the pattern which was shown you on the mountain Exodus 40:17-33 - The Tabernacle and Furniture just as the Lord had commanded Moses Q: Did the people have the freedom to build the tabernacle any way they desired? Q: Does this give us a perspective on the way God is to be worshiped? Ex 40:34-38 - The Lord s Glory filled the Tabernacle v34 the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle (v35) v38 the cloud of the Lord was on the tabernacle by day and there was fire in it by night Compare Ex 25:8 that I may dwell among them Through this portable tabernacle, God dwelt among His people for almost 500 years. Then God s presence moved to the temple built - at God s command - by King Solomon. During the final siege of the Babylonians against Jerusalem in 586 BC, the cloud of God s presence left Solomon s temple, never to return (Ezek 10-11). Solomon s temple was destroyed. When the Jews returned from the Babylonian exile, the temple was rebuilt. Then, under Roman occupation, Herod refurbished and enlarged the temple. However the cloud of God s presence never again hovered over the Holy of holies. The glory of His presence was not seen again until New Testament Realities John 1:1-2; 14 v1 in the beginning was the Word the Word was with God the Word was God v14 the Word became flesh and dwelt among us glory as of the only begotten from the Father 1 Corinthians 3:16 v16 you are the temple of God the Spirit of God dwells in you 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 v19 your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you v20 glorify God in your body Revelation 21:3 - The Final Fulfillment Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He shall dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be among them The tabernacle was a specific dwelling place for God, a place for the cloud of the glory of the Lord by day and for the cloud of fire by night. When the cloud was taken up, the sons of Israel would set out. If the cloud was not taken up, they did not set out. When God moved, the people moved. If He didn t move, they didn t move. For the people, this required unconditional surrender. Q: How does this relate to our worship of God? Q: Could it be that worship is more than a time of singing at the beginning of a church service a worship service? Copyright Jeffrey Loh 2003 www.2tim2-2.com
Exodus 25:8-9 8 And What For whom let them construct a sanctuary for Me, 9 that What purpose I may dwell among them. How According to all that I am going to show you, 1/ as the pattern of the tabernacle and 2/ the pattern of all its furniture, The Tabernacle = sanctuary (a sacred, holy place) just so you shall construct it. A. The Purpose for God to dwell among them B. The Pattern - the tabernacle - the furniture C. The People Israel / God s people D. The Patron God Himself according to all that God showed them Copyright Jeffrey Loh 2003 www.2tim2-2.com
Tabernacle (Ex 40:17-33) When: 1 st day, 1 st month of 2 nd year (v17) What: 1/ The Materials - sockets (v18) - boards (v18) - bars (v180 - pillars (v18) - tent and covering (v19) - veils (v21,28,33) 2/ The Contents a) Holy of holies - ark of the testimony (v21) b) Holy Place - table of showbread (v22-23) - lampstand (v24-25) - altar of incense (v26-27) c) The Court - bronze altar (v29) - laver (v30,31) Cloud (Ex 40:34-38) Where: covered & settled on the tent of meeting (v34-35) What: 1/ taken up - would set out (v36) if not taken up did not set out (v37) 2/ cloud on the tabernacle by day & fire on it by night in the sight of all the house of Israel * cloud = glory of the Lord (v35) * the cloud was a visible manifestation of God Copyright Jeffrey Loh 2003 www.2tim2-2.com
An Overview of the Traveling Hebrew Sanctuary The Illustrated Plan of Salvation (1) The Sacrifice of the Lamb (2) The Brazen Altar (3) The Laver (4) The Golden Candlestick (5) The Holy Place (6) The Altar of Incense (7) The Table of Showbread (8) The Ark of the Testimony (9) The Holy of Holies The graphics of the sanctuary are adapted, with very minor revision, from an illustration by Tom Dunbebin.
Copyright Cecilia Perh 2002 The Tabernacle 9 Mercy Seat C 8 6 5 B 7 Veil, a palm breadth 60 feet long 30 feet wide 72 squares! needed 300 priests to manipulate it 4 3 A Christ entered the greater and more perfect tabernacle! with His own blood! once for all! having obtained eternal redemption (Heb 9;11-14) 1 How Can a Sinner Approach the Thrice Holy God? 2 Seriousness of Spurning God s Offer of Salvation (Heb 10:26-31)
A This is the outer court, which was 150 feet long and 75 feet wide. The children of Israel could enter through the door (1) into this outer courtyard. B This is called the holy place and / or the Tabernacle proper. It was 45 feet long, 15 feet wide, 15 feet high. There dimensions include the part beyond the veil called the Holy of Holies. Only the priests could enter the holy place. They would do so daily. This was also called the Tent of meeting (Exo 40:24). C The Holy of Holies, included in the Tabernacle proper, was 15 X 15 X 15 and therefore took up 1/2 of the Tabernacle. It was separated from the Holy Place by a veil. This part of the tabernacle was only entered by the High Priest on one day of the year, the Day of Atonement. 1 There was only one door giving access to any part of the Tabernacle and that was the door leading to the outer courtyard. This door was always facing east. It was 30 feet wide and 7 1/2 feet high, giving free access to the children of Israel. Jesus is the door (Jn 10:9). 2 The first article of furniture in the outer courtyard was the altar of brass. It had four horns, one on each corner. It stood 4 feet off the ground. When the people brought an offering to the Lord, either for reconciliation because of sin or for consecration, the sacrifice was tied to the horns of this altar. The coals of fire were inside this 7 1/2 square-foot box. A brass grate covered the coals of fire that held the sacrifice as it was consumed by the fire. The altar of brass was God's picture of His Lamb, Jesus, nailed to the cross for our sins, baptized with a baptism of fire. 3 The laver was where the priests washed daily. They could not enter the Holy Place without washing. It too, was made of bronze which was a symbol of judgment. Jesus, the word of God, said, we are made clean through the Word He spoke to us (Jn 15:3, Eph 5:26). 4 The table of showbread, made of acacia wood and overlaid with gold, was to the right as one entered the Holy Place. The table was 3 feet long, 1/2 foot wide and about 2 1/2 feet off the ground. On it were twelve loaves of bread representing God's covenant people, Israel. Every Sabbath these were eaten by the priests and fresh bread placed upon the table. Jesus is the bread of life (Jn 6:48) 5 Opposite the table of showbread was a seven-branched candlestick made of pure gold. It burnt olive oil night and day, serving as the only light in the Tabernacle. Jesus is the light of men (Jn 1:4) 6 The altar of incense, made of acacia wood and gold, was either in the Holy Place (Exo 30:6; 40:26), or in the Holy of Holies (Heb 9:3-4). It was 3 feet in height, standing above the table of showbread and above the height of the ark of the covenant itself. Thus its fragrance wafted across the mercy seat and above the other furniture. Incense was to burn perpetually showing us Jesus as our High Priest who ever lives to make intercession for us (Heb 7:25) 7 The veil, made of blue, purple and scarlet fine and twisted linen, separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies. No priest could enter except through the veil; it was the only way to approach the ark of the covenant. This was the picture of Jesus whose torn flesh, like the rent veil, gave access to the very presence of God (Heb 10:20) 8 The ark of the covenant, made of acacia wood covered with gold, occupied the Holy of Holies. This box was 2 feet wide, 3 feet 9 inches long, and 2 feet high. On top of the ark was a lid called the mercy seat. Hovering above the mercy seat were two cherubim, with outstretched wings. The ark contained the tables of stone, a pot of manna, and Aaron's rod that budded. There we meet Jesus, God incarnate, who, before Abraham was born, was the I AM, one with the Father (Jn 8:58; Jn 10:30-33). 9 The mercy seat was made of solid gold and covered the ark of the covenant. One time a year, on the Day of Atonement, the blood of a goat was placed on the mercy seat to cover the sins of the people. It was there above the mercy seat that God hovered in the pillar of cloud. The mercy seat was a picture of the throne of God where Jesus' one sacrifice for sins for all time would sanctify us forever (Heb 10:10-13). Adapted from Covenant, Precept Upon Precept, Kay Arthur, Precept Ministries of Reach Out, Inc. of Chattanooga, Tennessee.
With permission
1. Mosaic Tabernacle (1430 BC 960 BC) The Mosaic Tabernacle is frequently called Tent of Meeting or Tent of the Testimony. Mishkan, dwelling place, designates the ohel, tent, as the residence of the glorious abiding Presence. Built under Moses leadership at Mount Sinai, the tabernacle was God s sacred dwelling place and the centre of Hebrew worship for more than 4 centuries. Under the theocracy, God was Israel s Supreme Ruler, and in the Most Holy Place of the tabernacle, the visible glory symbolic of the Divine Presence, sometimes called Shekinah, which is a rabbinical term. The visible glory hovered above the mercy seat of the ark between the 2 cherubim. During the original conquest of Canaan the tabernacle remained at Gilgal the initial camp in Canaan and Joshua s headquarters near Jericho. With the completion of the conquest the tabernacle was moved to Shiloh, where it remained through the period of the judges until the capture of the ark by the Philistines; then Shiloh was evidently destroyed and ceased to be a centre of worship. During the reign of Saul the tabernacle was at Nob, and during a considerable part of David s reign and until the dedication of Solomon s Temple it was at Gibeon. With the erection of the latter the tabernacle was brought, along with the ark and the sacred vessels, to the new structure. The Tabernacle in Israel s History Copyright Jeffrey Loh 2002 2. Solomon s Temple (960 BC 586 BC) The original Temple of God in Jerusalem was constructed during the reign of King Solomon, which took 7 years. Although far greater in size and magnificence, the structure was similar in layout to the Mosaic Tabernacle. Solomon's Temple was repaired by Jehoshaphat in 870 BC, renovated under Jehoash in 780 BC and was destroyed by the Chaldeans in 586 BC. 3. Zerubbabel s Temple (537 BC 37 BC) Cyrus, king of Persia, authorized the return of the Jewish captives, the return of the Temple vessels Nebuchadnezzar had looted, and the reconstruction of the Temple (about 537 BC). Zerubbabel s Temple was completed in 516 BC under the exhortation of the prophets Haggai and Zechariah. The completed Temple was smaller than and inferior to Solomon's. It was defiled by Antiochus Ephiphanes in 162 BC and taken by Pompey in 63 BC. 4. Herod s Temple (20 BC 70 AD) Zerubbabel s Temple was renovated under the leadership of Herod the Great. The main part of the Temple building was completed in 10 years, but the erection of the outer courts and the embellishment of the whole were completed only 65 AD. But it was destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD. 5. The Millennial Temple / Ezekiel s Temple Ezekiel 40-48 details the dimensions of the Millennial Temple during Christ s 1,000 year reign on earth. 6. The New Jerusalem (Eternity Future) Revelation 21 gives a description of God s future tabernacle which is among men.