The Tabernacle: “Approaching Holy God” Exodus 25:1-9
We are looking at the Old Testament Unfolding of the Drama of the Gospel. It is interesting that God first redeemed Israel and then He gave them the Law. When God saw the people He had chosen were struggling in Egypt, He did not give them the Law first and say, “If you do everything I demand, then I will save you.” NO! He redeemed them and then gave the Law in order to help them to live as they should in the presence of the God who had saved them.
We spent several weeks looking at the first four commandments in which God teaches us about our relationship with Himself and how those commandments involved worshiping the One True God. The “Gospel Drama” continues in Exodus 25:1-9 with God’s command to build the tabernacle. The setting for this begins in Exodus 24:15-18: “Then Moses went up into the mountain, and a cloud covered the mountain. 16 Now the glory of the Lord rested on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days. And on the seventh day He called to Moses out of the midst of the cloud. 17 The sight of the glory of the Lord was like a consuming fire on the top of the mountain in the eyes of the children of Israel. 18 So Moses went into the midst of the cloud and went up into the mountain. And Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.”
We can only imagine Moses’ personal experience in the very presence of God’s Glory which was “like a consuming fire.” Yet, in all of Moses’ writings, he never describes God’s person or presence but only God’s communication concerning man’s duty to this awesome and fearsome God.
Earlier in Exodus 24:9-10, God came down and communed with the Israelite leadership. Those verses say this: Then Moses went up, also Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, 10 and they saw the God of Israel. And there was under His feet as it were a paved work of sapphire stone, and it was like the very heavens in its clarity.” It is thought that these men were only afforded a view of the place where God stood. Now Moses ascends into the “midst of the cloud”, and stayed with God and His Holy angels for forty days and forty nights.
“Build me a Sanctuary”
Look at Exodus 25:1-9: “Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 2 "Speak to the children of Israel, that they bring Me an offering. From everyone who gives it willingly with his heart you shall take My offering. 3 And this is the offering which you shall take from them: gold, silver, and bronze; 4 blue, purple, and scarlet thread, fine linen, and goats' hair; 5 ram skins dyed red, badger skins, and acacia wood; 6 oil for the light, and spices for the anointing oil and for the sweet incense; 7 onyx stones, and stones to be set in the ephod and in the breastplate. 8 And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them. 9 According to all that I show you, that is, the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furnishings, just so you shall make it.”
We are going to be looking at God’s command in verse 8: “And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them.” I want to take a few minutes to understand the words of verse 8. The word for “sanctuary” (Miqdash) means sacred place, or holy place. It comes from the word, “Qadash”, meaning “to sanctify, to be hallowed, or to be holy”. The word for “sanctuary” is often used to refer to any place of God’s visible self-revelation or theophany, however, the two rooms of the Tabernacle, the portable dwelling of the Lord, would be called “The Holy Place” and the “Most Holy Place”, referred also to the Holy of Holies.
The word to “dwell among” (Shakan) means “to settle down, abide, dwell, tabernacle, reside.” So verse 8 could also read: And let them make Me a “sacred place, a holy place”, that I may “tabernacle or live” among them.”
In verse 9, the word, “tabernacle” (Mishkan) means “dwelling place”; it is the noun form of the word “to dwell among” (“shakan”) in verse 8, but in the Bible it is rarely used to describe human dwellings, but almost always signifies the place where God dwells among His people.
The Tabernacle was a portable dwelling place for God, being easily packed up and movable as Israelites made their way to the promised land; it was to be 45 feet long by 15 feet wide and 15 feet high (A little wider and higher than a single wide manufactured home). It was surrounded by an enclosed Outer Court which was 150 feet long and 75 feet wide and it contained one entrance. The Tabernacle was always set up on the west side of the Outer Court with the entrance facing east.
To build the Tabernacle and its furnishings took about 3 tons of gold, 5 tons of silver, and 4 tons of brass. They needed a total of 705 yards of linen 1 yard wide, 330 yards of goats’ hair cloth a yard wide, and over 2,000 rams’ skins. In today’s prices, this “tent” with its furnishings would probably cost approximately 57 million dollars.
Pattern of Worship
From this time, around 1446 BC, God was establishing a pattern of worship for His People, Israel, through the Law and the Tabernacle. They would follow this system until Jesus completed His Work on the Cross. In the meantime, God could only be approached through the Tabernacle and the approach was only through animal sacrifice and the shedding of blood. The common people of Israel were not permitted into the tabernacle tent; only priests gained access there, entering as representatives of the people. There was only one access or gate into the outer court which surrounded the Tabernacle and as we know from the New Testament, Jesus was the only way to forgiveness and life from a Holy God.
Jesus said: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6) and “I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.” (John 10:9) He also said: “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” (Matthew 7:13-14)
The Altar of Burnt Offering
We are taking a tour, as it were, of the Tabernacle grounds. A repentant Hebrew would bring an offering and be met at the East entrance to the outer Court by a priest. The first thing he saw was the Altar of Burnt Offering or the Brazen Altar. The altar was made of wood from the acacia tree and overlaid with bronze (usually symbolic of judgment on sin in the Bible), measuring 7.5 feet on all four sides and 4.5 feet deep. Four horns projected from the top four corners with a bronze grating inside to hold the animal sacrifice.
This altar demonstrated to the Israelites that the first step for sinful man to approach a holy God was to be cleansed by the blood of an innocent creature. For a sin offering, a person had to bring an animal — a male who was without blemish or defect from the flock or herd — to the priest at the tabernacle gate.
Leviticus 1:4 said that “He is to lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it will be accepted on his behalf to make atonement for him.” By laying his hand upon the head of the offering, the person was identifying with the sacrifice and that his sin and guilt was being moved from himself to the animal.
This altar is a shadow or type of the Cross on which Jesus, the Perfect Lamb of God would give His Life and blood. Although the blood of the sacrifices covered over the sins of the Israelites, they had to perform the sacrifices year after year, for they were not freed permanently of a guilty conscience. However, Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, came as the ultimate and last sacrifice for mankind when He offered up His life. As Isaiah prophesied, the Christ would be like a lamb that is led to slaughter and pierced for our transgressions. His blood was sprinkled and poured out at the cross for us.
The Bible explains this clearly: At the last Passover meal, Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper and said in Mark 14:24, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many.”
1 Peter 1:18-19 assures us that, “You were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.”
Hebrews 9:13-14 explains the temporary effects of animal sacrifices: “For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, 14 how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?”
“We have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. …By one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy. …And where these have been forgiven, there is no longer any sacrifice for sin.” (Hebrews 10:10, 14, 18)
“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21)
The Laver
Half way between the altar and the entrance to the Holy Place stood the Laver or Basin. It was a large bowl made entirely of bronze and filled with water. The priests were to wash their hands and their feet in it before entering the Holy Place. The ceremonial washings of the priests stood as a reminder that people need to be cleansed before approaching God. The priests atoned for their sins through a sacrifice at the brazen altar, but they cleansed themselves at the Laver before serving in the Holy Place, so that they would be pure and not die before a holy God.
Hebrews 10:22 reminds us of this truth: “Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled [with blood] to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.”
The Golden Lampstand
The Priest would gain entrance into the Holy Place which contained three symbolic pieces of “furniture”, all made of gold. (This room was 30 X 15 feet wide by 15 feet high.) On the left stood the menorah, also called the “golden lampstand” or “candlestick,” which had been hammered out of one piece of gold. The lampstand had a central branch from which three branches extended from each side, forming a total of seven branches. Seven lamps holding olive oil and wicks stood on top of the branches. Each branch looked like that of an almond tree, containing buds, blossoms and flowers. The priests were instructed to keep the lamps burning continuously.
In this dark room, this elaborate candlestick was the only light. Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12) He also said, “I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.” (John 12:46)
Jesus is represented by the main branch of the lampstand, and we as believers are like the six branches that extend from the branch. Having believed, we now live as “children of light” (Ephesians 5:8) always drawing our light from Jesus, the true light. We are the “light of the world” and are to our light shine before men, that they may see our good deeds and praise our Father in heaven (Matthew 5: 14, 16). The branches also serve as a picture of Jesus’ description of our relationship with him: “I am the vine, you are the branches … apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).
The Table of Showbread
On the right, opposite the Light is the Table of Showbread, a small table made of acacia wood and covered with gold. This table held 12 loaves of bread, representing the 12 tribes of Israel. The priests baked the bread with fine flour and it remained on the table before the Lord for a week; every Sabbath day the priests would remove it and eat it in the Holy Place, then put fresh bread on the table. Only priests could eat the bread, and it could only be eaten in the Holy Place, because it was holy.
“Showbread” also was called “bread of the presence” because it was to be always in the Lord’s presence. The table and the bread were a picture of God’s willingness to fellowship and communion (literally speaking, sharing something in common) with man. It was like an invitation to share a meal, an extension of friendship. Eating together often is an act of fellowship. God was willing for man to enter into His presence to fellowship with Him, and this invitation was always open.
At the Lord’s Supper in the New Testament, we fellowship with the Lord at His table, remembering that He took the place of the Passover Lamb to become the sacrifice for sins. The loaves also speak to the fact that as believers we live in the presence of God and walk in His Light.
The Golden Altar of Incense
The Golden Altar of Incense lies straight ahead, just in front of the veil separating the two rooms. God commanded the priests to burn incense on the golden altar every morning and evening, the same time that the daily burnt offerings were made. The incense was to be left burning continually throughout the day and night as a pleasing aroma to the Lord. It was made of an equal part of four precious spices (stacte, onycha, galbanum and frankincense) and was considered holy. God commanded the Israelites not to use the same formula outside the tabernacle to make perfume for their own consumption; otherwise, they were to be cut off from their people (Exodus 30:34-38).
The incense was a symbol of the prayers and intercession of the people going up to God as a sweet fragrance. God wanted His dwelling to be a place where people could approach Him and pray to Him. “…for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations.” (Isaiah 56:7) “May my prayer be set before you like incense; may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice.” (Psalm 141:2)
The golden altar, furthermore, is a representation of Christ, who is our intercessor before God the Father. During His days on earth, Jesus prayed for the believers. He was like the high priest of the tabernacle. Before He was betrayed and sentenced to death, Jesus interceded for His disciples and all believers, asking God to guard them from evil and sanctify them by His Word, and that they may see God’s glory and be a witness to the world (John 17:1-26). Today, Jesus still is our high priest at the Father’s side, interceding for God’s people; Romans 8:34 tell us that today: “Christ Jesus, who died — more than that, who was raised to life — is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.” Praise His Holy Name!
In our next study we will enter the Holy of Holies and see the Ark of the Covenant.
Outline
I. Word meanings
A. Verse 8, “sanctuary” (Miqdash) sacred place, sanctuary, holy place.
“dwell among” (Shakan) to abide, dwell, to tabernacle, reside
B. Verse 9, the word, “tabernacle” (Mishkan) means “dwelling place”; the noun form of the word “to dwell among” (“shakan”): the place where God dwells among His people.
