The Tent of God

Studies in Exodus

VIII. The Covering of God’s People

C. Pattern of the Tabernacle

5. The Tent, Text: 26:1-7,27:9-19,38:9-20

Title: The Tent of God

Introduction

Up to this time we have looked at the furnishings of the tabernacle, the ark of the covenant in the holiest of all, and the altar of incense, the table of bread and the lampstand in the holy place where the priests served. Now in this study we look at the tabernacle itself and its construction. It needs to be stressed that this was a very expensive and very beautiful structure even though it was a tent, but it was not a cathedral. It was small in square footage and could easily fit inside most sanctuaries 2 or 3 times over. It was surrounded by a court which itself was fenced in and to that court and the brazen altar in the foreground the worshippers of Israel came. In latter days the temple of Herod which was larger by far than Solomon’s which had been destroyed, and was 46 years in building, had four courts: the court of the Gentiles, the court of the women, the court for the men of Israel and the court of the priests. Still only the priests could enter into the temple proper as in the days of the tabernacle. We shall look now at four things. the signification, the structure, the sanctity, and the symbolism.

I The Signification

There were at least three terms that were used to designate this place of worship. It was called the “mishkan,” generally translated tabernacle in our Bibles, but the meaning is a dwelling or habitation. It was God’s house or God’s tent in the midst of his people. In Exodus 23:19 it is called the Lord’s house, and the Hebrew word is “beyt.” In 26:11 it is called the Lord’s tent and the Hebrew word is “ohel.” The point is that it is plainly viewed as God’s dwelling place. It is also called the “ohel moed” that is, the tent of meeting, because it is there that God communicated to the people through his servant Moses. It was therefore not only God’s dwelling but a channel of communication between heaven and earth. Lastly it is called the “mishkan haedet” meaning the dwelling place of the testimony, also the tent of witness. This refers to the presence of the tablets of the law or the covenant documents in the ark in the holiest place. God dwells in his law. The law makes known what he himself is and on what terms he will dwell with men. It was a witness to His holiness and also to the sinfulness of the people.

II The Structure

The structure of the tabernacle or tent of the Lord was a thing of beauty, of value and of ingenious practical design. It is quite complex so I will try to simplify the description. The walls were made of separate boards overlaid with gold and designed in such a way that they could be linked together. The outer court was furnished with brass but the part closest to God, the tabernacle itself, was of gold and silver and everything, not just the boards but the rings and the crossbars which held the boards together were gold. The sockets or bases were silver. There was an interior curtain, a tapestry in blue and purple and scarlet with cherubim embroidered, in front of the holiest place, and a similar embroidered curtain at the front of the holy place. We read about these hangings in Chapter 26:31-37, Make a curtain of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen, with cherubim worked into it by a skilled craftsman. Hang it with gold hooks on four posts of acacia wood overlaid with gold and standing on four silver bases. Hang the curtain from the clasps and place the ark of the Testimony behind the curtain. The curtain will separate the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place. Put the atonement cover on the ark of the Testimony in the Most Holy Place. Place the table outside the curtain on the north side of the tabernacle and put the lampstand opposite it on the south side. For the entrance to the tent make a curtain of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen-the work of an embroiderer. Make gold hooks for this curtain and five posts of acacia wood overlaid with gold. And cast five bronze bases for them. The first curtains or coverings spread over the top and sides were of similar design. Then a goatskin curtain which was longer and reached to the ground was placed on top of that. Goatskin was the common choice for tents. To further protect there was a curtain of rams’ skins died red, and then on the very top a covering of seal skin (or some think some kind of deerskin). These materials were readily available, and very practical and the entire tent could then be dismantled and carried. The court yard was surrounded by fine linen curtains 7 1/2 feet high and the entry way was done of the same material as the curtain of the holy place and the holiest of all so that a straight line was created from the front of the court through the tabernacle to the holiest place.

III The Sanctity

For the Israelites this was a sacred place, not just because God made himself known here and manifested his presence in the shekinah, but because it was the symbol of God’s kingdom on earth. Idols were worshipped in Canaan on every hill and in every grove, but God manifests himself to Israel as essentially and absolutely one. Here alone could they transact with Him. Furthermore David, in three different Psalms, 15, 24 and 27 speaks of the greatest privilege of the Israelite as dwelling in God’s house. In Psalm 27:4 and 5 we read, One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple. For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock. Since only the priests could go into the tabernacle. and even they did not dwell in it, it is very clear that the tabernacle for David and enlightened Israelites was more than simply a tent. It was a symbol of God’s kingdom. Indeed, God said as much to Moses in Leviticus 26:11,12, And I will set my tabernacle among you, and I will walk among you, and will be your God and you shall be my people. In Exodus thirty verse 22 and following we discover that the tabernacle and all its furnishings were anointed with sacred oil. This was a symbol of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament, and of the fact that whatever was anointed, person or thing, had been set aside by God to a particular holy use. It was therefore a picture of the pouring forth of the Spirit into the church in our own time; a work which cleanses and draws the worshiper into a relationship with God Himself. It is also true that the very name of our Savior is the Christ, which is Greek for anointed, as messiah is Hebrew for anointed. And as the tabernacle of God’s presence was anointed in Israel, so the Lord Jesus was anointed for his task among us which brings us to our last point,

IV The Symbolism

There are four steps in seeing the fulfillment of the tent in Christ which can be traced in the New Testament through specific Scriptures. The first step is John 1:14, The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. The words “made his dwelling among us” could be literally translated tabernacled or pitched his tent in our midst. John describes the incarnation in the language of the Old Testament tabernacle. The second step is in Jesus own words in John 2:19, Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.” Jesus made this statement after he had chased the money changers out of the temple. He was conscious of being God’s temple in our midst. John explains that the temple he spoke of was his body. The third step can be found in Jesus’ high priestly prayer where in John 17: 22 and 23 He says, I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. The Church is His body. As He tabernacled among us we beheld his glory now He gives that glory to his church. Finally we find the theme consummated in numerous references to the Church in the New Testament. It is called the house of God, God’s habitation through the spirit, a building of God, the temple of the living God or of living stones built up on Christ the living foundation stone into a spiritual house. The Church has become the tabernacle. The Church is the tabernacle of God in the lost and dying world around us.