Tabernacle Christians: Dwelling with God
Lesson 1: Background of the Tabernacle
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Introduction
When God called Israel out of Egypt it was to take them to the land promised to Abraham their forefather. God wanted the descendants of Abraham to be His people, His desire was to form a relationship that was much closer than anything they had shared previously. Along the way to Canaan there would be extreme hardships, dangers and difficulties. God's presence in the midst of his people was a necessity if their relationship would deepen and the difficulties overcome.
God led Moses to Mt. Sinai, here the law and the plans for the tabernacle were given. The Tabernacle would be the place where the nation of Israel would meet with God while they traveled to Canaan. God's power and presence could be felt and seen as the tribes camped around the tent of meeting, the Tabernacle became the focal point of their lives in union with their God.
The tabernacle was not just a beautiful tent, however, it was also a symbol of heaven where God dwells and of a relationship every believer shares through Jesus. Each piece of furniture, each covering and tapestry pointed to the Savior who would come and give his life to redeem all of mankind.
As a symbol of heaven the Tabernacle was God’s revelation to His people of His dwelling place and what would one day be our dwelling place. As a symbol of the coming Messiah, the tabernacle would be a prophecy of the coming Anointed One. It also stood as a picture of drawing nearer to God by passing from the outer court in the Tabernacle to the Most Holy Place. It it still has much to teach New Testament believers today. Each part of the tabernacle can be applied to our walk with Jesus, each room points to a deeper, more intimate relationship with God.
Background and Overview – Exodus Overview from the Bible Project
A Model for Heaven
Hebrews 9:24-24 It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:
2 Corinthians 12:1-5 It is not expedient for me doubtless to glory. I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord. I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven. And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter. Of such an one will I glory: yet of myself I will not glory, but in mine infirmities.
Paul and the third Heaven
The Bible speaks of three heavens, the atmosphere of the earth, the heavens of the stars and planet outside of earth and the spiritual heaven where God dwells. Related to the tabernacle then the outer court is earth, the inner court is space and the most holy place is where God sits on his throne. In Hebrews Paul says the tabernacle was a pattern or things in heaven, figures of the true. The Tabernacle gave Israel and now us a glimpse of Heaven and through its symbolism of God and the coming Saviour.
The Setting of the Old Testament Tabernacle
Let’s look at where and how the physical tabernacle was built. The tabernacle took about 8 months to build while the children of Israel were camped at the base of Mt. Sinai in the Wilderness. It was completed during the second year after they had left Egyptian captivity.
Exodus 40:17 And it came to pass in the first month in the second year, on the first day of the month, that the tabernacle was reared up.
Maps
Mount Sinai
The location of this mountain is uncertain. Tradition and most of the modern scholars accept Jebel Musa as Mt Sinai. The tradition in favour of Jebel Musa is so ancient (about 1,500 years) and the granite formations so imposing that it is quite probably Mt Sinai. Furthermore, a few stations en route to the mountain point to the same conclusion. Mt Sinai is also called Mt Horeb in the OT. Traveling past March and Elm, the Israelites reached Sinai in the 3rd month after their departure from Egypt (Ex. 19:1), and camped at its foot on a plain from which the top was visible (Ex. 19:16, 18, 20). The Lord revealed himself to Moses on this mountain and gave the Ten Commandments and other laws. The covenant made here between God and the people played a major role in binding the tribes together and molding them into one nation serving one God.- BIBLIOGRAPHY. B. Rothenberg, God's Wilderness, 1961; W. Beyerlin, Origins and History of the Oldest Sinaitic Traditions, 1965; B. Zuber, Vier Studien zu den Ursprüngen Israels, 1976, pp. 16-49. F.C.F.
Scripture References
The main passages dealing with the tabernacle are found in Exodus 25-31, 35-40.
Read Exodus 25:8, 21-22. What is the purpose of the tabernacle?
It would be a place for God to dwell with his people. A meeting place.
In the New Testament, Stephen's sermon before being stoned uses the tabernacle as an illustration of God dwelling with men. The writer of Hebrews uses the tabernacle as an example of more excellent way of Christ over the OT traditions. The word tabernacle is used often by Paul to point out the temporary dwelling place we have in our earthly bodies.
The Construction of the Tabernacle
Framework. The framework of the Tabernacle (Exodus 26:15-37; 36:20-38) was made of forty-eight wooden frames, 7.5 ft. high by 27 in. wide with three vertical arms joined by three cross pieces. These were placed in wooden supports and over them were hung the large curtains. Over all were spread three covers. The framework was constructed using uprights of acacia wood, making three sides of the oblong structure. The front was closed by an embroidered screen (26:36,37). The boards, forty-eight in number, were overlaid with gold. The construction was divided into two compartments separated by a veil, hung from four pillars overlaid with gold and set in sockets of silver. The veil, like the covering of the Tabernacle, was woven with blue, purple, and scarlet, with figures of cherubim. The holy place was 30 ft by 15 ft broad; the most holy place was 15 ft. square.
Covering. The Coverings of the Tabernacle are described in Exodus 26:1-14 and 36:8,9. The wooden framework of the Tabernacle had three coverings: the total covering of Tabernacle itself, the covering of goats, and the covering of rams' and goatskins spread over the entire structure. The first covering was made of ten curtains of fine twined linen woven with blue, purple, and scarlet, with figures of cherubim. The second covering was of eleven curtains of goats' hair. The top covering was made of rams' skins dyed red and goatskins.
Court of the Tabernacle. The description of thee court is found in Exodus 27:9-18 and 38:9-20. the court of the Tabernacle was a rectangle on an E to W plan, 100 cubits (c. 150 ft.) long and 50 cubits wide. To the W was the Tabernacle proper and to the E, the altar. The court was screened off from the camp by five white curtains five cubits high. It was an enclosure of 150 ft. in length and 75 ft. in breadth, with curtains of fine twined linen supported on bronze pillars and attached by silver hooks. In the court stood the altar of burnt offering and the laver, the latter being set between the altar and the Tabernacle proper (30:17-21). The entrance to the court was from the eastern side through a "gate" or "screen" with its hangings. -Bibliography; Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible Vol. 5
The Tabernacle
Dimensions (One cubit equals approximately 1.5 feet)
Court: 100 x 50 cubits, 150 x 75 ft; Gate: 20 cubits, 30 ft; Tabernacle: 30 x 10 x 10 cubits, 45 x 15 x 15 ft; Holy Place: 20 x 10 x 10 cubits, 30 x 15 x 15 ft;
Most Holy Place: 10 x 10 x 10 , 15 x 15 x 15 ft
Conclusion
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