Exodus 25-31
The Tabernacle
Manuscript
Last week we looked at God meeting with the Israelites on Mt Sinai. What was that meeting like? Was it a run-of-the-mill meeting? A nice, gentle affair? No – it was shock and awe! There was thick smoke and the whole of Mt Sinai shook violently. It was a scary experience and the Israelites were frightened – terrified - as well they should have been, because if any of them got too close to the presence of God on the mountain then they would die. Last week we looked at that terrible meeting of God with the Israelites at the mountain and we saw how far short of God’s standards that we come up to, that as sinful people – we have a problem when we come into contact with the perfect and holy God.
You know – one of the biggest problems we have in evangelism today is trying to convince people that they need Jesus. Why? – because they don’t think they need Jesus! Most people don’t think they need Jesus and what He did for us on the cross. Why? Because most people think they are already okay with God! They see God as some grandfatherly figure, as some cute and cuddly teddy bear in the sky. And most people also don’t think they are sinners – well, not real bad ones anyway. So people don’t see the distance there is between themselves and God. But just because they don’t see it, doesn’t mean it isn’t there!
Perhaps just a small example will help us see this. We’ve had a famous visitor to Australia recently. She only left yesterday – who was it? Yes – the Queen. Who got to meet with her? Who would have liked to have met with her? I remember in the 80s when I was a kid she visited Brisbane. We all went to the Queen St Mall to try and see her. Guess what? The crowds were to thick and we couldn’t even get close - we didn’t see her! Everyone wants to see her, but not everyone can. Why? She is royalty, she is separate to us. But every now and then of us ordinary people is privileged enough to meet with her or one of her family, and we find out that the royals are normal people, just like us.
But God is not a normal person just like the rest of us. He is holy, perfect. And so over 3000 years ago God met with the Israelites at Mt Sinai and told them that they would be His people and He would be their God. And He made a covenant – an agreement with them. But – there is a problem, because as we saw last week when we looked at what happened when God visited Israel on Mt Sinai - Shock and Awe. It was terrifying and the Israelites could not handle the presence of God. How was God to live among the Israelites if there was this great gulf in holiness between them? How was there to be a covenant - an agreement – between two such unequal parties? Well at the end of Exodus 24 God summons Moses to come up to the mountain, and Moses went up there for 40 days and nights and Moses met with God and God gave him instructions about how God was to dwell among the Israelites. Well let’s open to Exodus 25:8-9 (pg 65)
Exo 25:8 And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst. 9 Exactly as I show you concerning the pattern of the tabernacle, and of all its furniture, so you shall make it.
The solution was the building of the tabernacle, which was a tent that the Israelites built and it was there that they worshipped God. And today we’ll be looking at this tabernacle and what it meant for the Israelites as well as what it means for us today. These two verses tell us a lot about the tabernacle. Firstly - it’s interesting to notice the two words used for the tabernacle. In verse 8 it is called a sanctuary: מִקְדָּשׁ - Michdash – which means a holy place. A special place which is holy. We’ve seen how God is holy – so therefore a place where God dwells is holy. And that’s where we get our English word sactuary from – a holy place. But unfortunately we often use the word “sactuary” in the wrong way. We tend to use the word “sanctuary” to describe a peaceful place. But that’s not what sactuary means in the Biblical idea of what a holy place is. We saw last week that God’s holiness is more about shock and awe than necessarily about peace! So this place – this holy place – was the place of the holy God. And why did God tell the Israelites to make Him a sanctuary – a holy place? Well we read in verse 8 - that I may dwell in their midst. Wow – this amazing, awesome God, the creator of the universe, was to dwell – that is, live among the Israelites in their midst! And then in verse 9 there is another word for this place: מִשְׁכָּן - Mishkan – which means dwelling place. It actually comes from the same word as “dwell” that we see in verse 8. That is – if you want to put verses 8 and 9 more literally in English it is something like:
Exo 25:8 And let them make me a holy place, that I may dwell in their midst. Exactly as I show you concerning the pattern of the dwelling place, and of all its furniture, so you shall make it.
So there are two words for the tabernacle – holy place and dwelling place, and they are very important as we shall see. And whenever you see the word “tabernacle” in the Bible – remember that it means “dwelling place.” That is, the tabernacle is the holy place where God dwells with us. Well we might ask, how can the holy God dwell among sinful people? Well, that’s the whole point of the tabernacle. It is designed in such a way that sinful man can approach the Holy God. The first tabernacle in the wilderness was a tent, which makes sense as the Israelites at that point in time were nomadic. A tabernacle that was a tent meant the Israelites could dissasemble and re-assemble the tabernacle. Later on when they settled in the Promised Land, they built a temple to the same basic plan – courtyard, Holy Place and Holiest of Holies - a permanent building for a settled people. And a temple stood there in Jerusalem at the time of Jesus’ ministry. But the temple – and the Hebrew word for “temple” just means “house of God” - had the same plan and function as the tent tabernacle in the Sinai desert.
And this tent tabernacle in the wilderness - it was not some open sided tent where you could wander in at will, where you could just pop in for a minute or two dressed in your stubbies, t-shirt and thongs. No! In the next few chapters in Exodus God gives Moses very detailed instructions about how to build this tabernacle – this holy, dwelling place. Instructions that must be followed to a “t”. And the basic premise is – you can’t just rock up. Here’s a picture of what the tabernacle possibly looked like. Notice – it is closed - there is only one way in. And it is surrounded by a courtyard – again with only one entrance. And throughout the tabernacle and its courtyard there are various furnishing which all mean something significant, and which are explained in detail from Exodus 25-27 and 30. Here is schematic diagramme of the tabernacle and its courtyard with all the different items in it. The actual tent itself had two parts: the Holy Place, and the Most Holy Place – also called the Holy of Holies. Its details are described in chapter 26. The Holy of Holies symbolised the presence of God, and not just anyone could go to this most inner sanctum. In fact, only the High Priest could only go there and only once per year, and the details of how this annual entry into the Holy of Holies was to be done are described in Leviticus 16. It involved a lot of purification and sacrifice. Wearing of special clothes. Certain sacrifices having to be done. Inly the High Priest could go in, and had to prepare himself thoroughly beforehand – if not – he could die.
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:
Exo 30:21 They shall wash their hands and their feet, so that they may not die.
Wow – God really meant business! So the overall impression we get from this tabernacle, this holy dwelling place, is that it was built as a way for God to live in the midst of a sinful people. The very presence of God was symbolised in the Holy of Holies. But to get there – first you had to go into the courtyard. Offer sacrifices. Wash yourself. Then and only then – go into the tabernacle – into the Holy Place, where more sacrifices and the burning of incense was to be made. And then and only then and only once per year, one representative – the High Priest - could go into the very presence of God. Wow. And not just anyone could go in – it had to be the High Priest. And in chapters 28 and 29 it talks about those priests. The high priest had to specially consecrated – or set apart – according to a very strict procedure. And a whole chapter is given over to the clothes that he had to wear, very specific instructions. That is, everything had to be done perfectly, exactly as God says. If we go back to Exod 25:9 we see that:
Exod 25:9 Exactly as I show you concerning the pattern of the tabernacle, and of all its furniture, so you shall make it.
Exactly. There’s no room for improvisiation, for bending the rules. It has to be exact. Why? Well it was to follow an exact pattern, and we see that again in 25:40:
Exo 25:40 And see that you make them after the pattern for them, which is being shown you on the mountain.
You see, the tabernacle that Moses and the Israelites built wasn’t the original tabernacle. When Moses was on the mountain, God showed him the pattern for the tabernacle. Let’s fast forward now to over 1000 years later. The time is the early church. Stephen has just been arrested for preaching about Christ and he gives a speech, and in Acts 7:44 he says:
Act 7:44 "Our fathers had the tent of witness in the wilderness, just as he who spoke to Moses directed him to make it, according to the pattern that he had seen.
Moses already saw the pattern there on the mountain. That is – it already existed! There was a heavenly tabernacle. And in the Book of Hebrews it tells us about Jesus that He is:
Heb 8:2 a minister in the holy places, in the true tent that the Lord set up, not man.
Notice the words here – holy place, tent – that is, the tabernacle. The true tabernacle is in heaven. Now let’s fast forward in time to the end of the days – to the book of Revelation, which also mentions this heavenly tabernacle:
Rev 11:19 Then God's temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple. There were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail.
Yes – that’s where the original tabernacle – or temple - is. And look what it is in – the Ark of the Covenant! The central thing in the Holiest of Holies that is the very presence of God! And a few chapters later as God’s judgements are poured out on the earth we read about the tabernacle:
Rev 15:5 After this I looked, and the sanctuary of the tent of witness in heaven was opened, 6 and out of the sanctuary came the seven angels with the seven plagues, clothed in pure, bright linen, with golden sashes around their chests. 7 And one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God who lives forever and ever, 8 and the sanctuary was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power, and no one could enter the sanctuary until the seven plagues of the seven angels were finished.
Wow! Shock and Awe! Sounds like the events on Mt Sinai doesn’t it – yet these are future! But notice what happens when when the tent - the tabernacle - the true original tabernacle in heaven is opened? Not just shock and awe, but the wrath of the Holy God upon sinful people! Just like on Mt Sinai! So what then was this tabernacle in the Sinai wilderness that God told Moses to build? Well, it was a copy of the real thing in heaven. That’s why Moses had to follow the pattern exactly, because the one the Israelites built was a copy, or as you may have heard another word – a type. Some of you may have heard that many things in the Old Testament are types of things that Jesus would fulfil in the New Testament. The word “type” comes from the Greek word τυπος (tupos) which means “pattern, example” or “model.” So when you hear someone talking about types in the Old Testament, it means “pattern” or “example” or “model.” That is – going back to Exod 25:9:
Exod 25:9 Exactly as I show you concerning the pattern of the tabernacle, and of all its furniture, so you shall make it.
So this tabernacle in the Sinai desert was the pattern, the model of the real heavenly tabernacle! As Stephen in Acts 7.48 reminds us:
Act 7:48 Yet the Most High does not dwell in houses made by hands.
So the tabernacle in the wilderness, and the later temple, where models and representations of the real thing which is in heaven, and they modelled both God’s presence – dwelling with us, as well as His holiness – His separateness from us. And in the tabernacle and the temple we see so clearly that even though God dwelt among the Israelites, they did not have easy access to Him. And that was most evidently seen with this curtain that was placed in front of the Holiest of Holies – to protect us from the holiness and wrath of God, but which also denied us direct access to God.
Well, how do we all feel about this? And what’s that got to do with us? Well as I said last week, we serve the same God as the Israelites did all those years ago. And even though the physical, man made temple was destroyed long ago – in AD 70 actually - the real thing, the real temple is still there in heaven. So then – how do we approach God? Does God want to dwell with us? Remember for the Israelites – the High Priest stood before God on behalf of the people. Do we have such a high priest? Yes, we do! His name is Jesus! In the Gospel of John we read this about the coming of Jesus 2000 years ago:
John 1:14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
What did Jesus come and do? He came to dwell amonst us! Now there’s a number of Greek words for living, or dwelling, but this particular one is σκηνοω (skeno-ow), which is the same word that the word for tabernacle comes from. That is – Jesus Christ, the Son of God – God Himself, became flesh – like us, so He could tabernacle with us! Dwell with us! He came as our High Priest, but unlike the Israelite High Priests, Jesus came without sin! So that when He died on the cross, He died as the perfect sacrifice. And when Jesus died on the cross something amazing happened which we read about in Matthew 27:50-51, which tells us what happened when Jesus died on the cross:
Mat 27:50 And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit. 51 And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.
The curtain in the temple. That curtain that curtained off the Holiest of Holies. That symbolised the very barrier between the Holy God and sinful us, was torn in two from top to bottom!!!!! Hallelujah! Who thinks that’s exciting! That that’s good news worth telling everyone about! The barrier between us and God was broken! When Jesus Christ died on the cross, He went through that curtain in the heavenly –the real tabernacle - and brought Himsef – the ultimate, once for all sacrifice, to make atonement for us at the mercy seat of God. To pay the price for our sin, so that we could have direct access to God through Christ without fear of incurring God’s wrath! In fact, there’s no better way of explaining the tabernacle and what Christ did for us than the way it says in the Book of Hebrews in chapter 9:
Heb 9:1 Now even the first covenant had regulations for worship and an earthly place of holiness. 2 For a tent was prepared, the first section, in which were the lampstand and the table and the bread of the Presence. It is called the Holy Place. 3 Behind the second curtain was a second section called the Most Holy Place, 4 having the golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant covered on all sides with gold, in which was a golden urn holding the manna, and Aaron's staff that budded, and the tablets of the covenant. 5 Above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat. Of these things we cannot now speak in detail. 6 These preparations having thus been made, the priests go regularly into the first section, performing their ritual duties, 7 but into the second only the high priest goes, and he but once a year, and not without taking blood, which he offers for himself and for the unintentional sins of the people. 8 By this the Holy Spirit indicates that the way into the holy places is not yet opened as long as the first section is still standing 9 (which is symbolic for the present age). According to this arrangement, gifts and sacrifices are offered that cannot perfect the conscience of the worshiper, 10 but deal only with food and drink and various washings, regulations for the body imposed until the time of reformation. 11 But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) 12 he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption.
and then from verse 24
Heb 9:24 For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. 25 Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, 26 for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.
Christ has paid the price! So that those who are His have a great hope for the coming judgement as Hebrews goes on in verse 27:
Hebrews 9:27 And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, 28 so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.
Friends, there is a judgement coming, when the world will be done away with, when Christ comes again and the presence of God is revealed. And this future judgement will make the shock and awe on Mt. Sinai look like trying to light a match on rainy day in comparision. And at the coming of God there will be judgement for all those who continue in sin, but for those who repent of their sin and are eagerly waiting for Christ, we will be saved from the wrath of God!
Hallelujah!
Are you eagerly waiting for that? For Christ? If not – come and see me after the service to talk to me about how you can repent and have your sins paid for and be saved from God’s wrath. And if you are eagerly waiting for Christ, if you are His, then stand with me as we sing with joy There is a Redeemer!
