Exodus 25-31 The Tabernacle Series

Why? Because the High Priest - a sinful man - was going into the dwelling place of the Holy God as a resprentative of his people. And in that Holy Place was placed the ark of the covenant. Now the word “ark” just means “chest” and back in 1611 when the King James version was translated – “ark” meant “chest” and the word has just stuck in English. So in the Holy of Holies, this most Holy Place was this golden chest, and inside it was placed the covenant – the agreement that God made with the Israelites. That is – it was the central point of the Israelites’ relationship with God.

And on top of this chest was no ordinary cover – Moses is told in Exod 25.17: Exo 25:17 "You shall make a mercy seat of pure gold.” And the ark, or golden chest, was covered with this golden cover and this word “mercy seat” in the ESV, “atonement cover” in the NIV - in this case the NIV is closer in meaning to the original Hebrew. This cover was the place of atonement – or propiation. In everyday English that means the place where the Holy God was appeased by sacrifice - a price, penalty paid for sins. And once a year the High Priest would go in there, and sprinkle it over this atonement cover as it says in Lev 16:15-16:

Lev 16:15 "Then he shall kill the goat of the sin offering that is for the people and bring its blood inside the veil and do with its blood as he did with the blood of the bull, sprinkling it over the mercy seat and in front of the mercy seat.

Why did he have to do that?

Lev 16:16 Thus he shall make atonement for the Holy Place, because of the uncleannesses of the people of Israel and because of their transgressions, all their sins. And so he shall do for the tent of meeting, which dwells with them in the midst of their uncleannesses.

Wow – all that because God was there – dwelling in the Israelites midst – the Holy God dwelling in the midst of their uncleanness – their sin. And the tabernacle was in two parts: the Holy of Holies and the Holy Place. In the Holy Place was some other furniture - the table of the Bread of God’s presence, and the golden incense altar and the 7 stemmed golden lampstand. All these items stressed the presence of God, but not in such a profound way as the Holy of Holies. And because the Holy of Holies was so set apart – even from the Holy Place - there was a curtain – or a veil – between the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place, as it says in Ex 26:33:

Exo 26:33 And you shall hang the veil from the clasps, and bring the ark of the testimony in there within the veil. And the veil shall separate for you the Holy Place from the Most Holy.

This veil of a curtain is very important as we shall see soon. And so that was the tabernacle. But the tabernacle itself was surrounded by a courtyard, and in the couryard were two items. The bronze alter for offering sacrifices, and there were all sorts of sacrifices that needed to offered there and the book of Leviticus describes those sacrifices in detail. And there was a bronze basin. That was for washing and it was important: