- HOME
- MESSIAH
- THE BODY OF MESSIAH
- ONE NEW MAN
- THE OLIVE TREE
- THE BRANCHES
- LAW AND GRACE
- UNITY
- OBEDIENCE
- KINGDOM LIVING
- UNIVERSAL CHURCH
- BIBLICAL HOLIDAYS
- MESSIANIC
-
SCRIPTURE INSIGHTS
- WISDOM
- WORSHIP
- TRUTH
- PRAYER
- THE TRINITY
- THE ANNOINTED ONE
- WHAT IS SIN?
- FORGIVENESS
- ANTICHRIST
- FAITH BUILDERS
- BRIDGE OF UNDERSTANDING
- TABERNACLE
- THINGS TO PONDER
- DISTORTIONS OF CHRISTIANITY
- ISRAEL
-
RELIGIOUS HISTORY
- FAITH THROUGH THE CENTURIES
- THE END TIMES
- RAPTURE
- OUR COMMISSION
- HEAVEN
- GLOBAL VISION
- BIBLICAL WORLD VIEW
- DEVOTIONALS
- SALVATION
- ENCOURAGEMENT
- GIVING
- BIBLE TOOLS
- RESOURCES
- ABOUT THIS SITE
- MISSION STATEMENT
- DEDICATION
- ABOUT THE AUTHOR
- GUEST BOOK
- BLOG
THE TABERNACLE
THE PATTERN OF THINGS "ABOVE"
INTRODUCTION
Scripture speaks of several "Temples" in the Bible, all of which are an image of the Heavenly Temple. The first such representation was the "Tabernacle" (Mishkan) as first seen in the book of Exodus, beginning in chapter 25. The last earthly Temple is mention in the book of Ezekiel.
We are told by Ezekiel to study this Temple, as it contains great mysteries about God and His creation. The Tabernacle/Temple, and its associated priesthood, feasts, services and implements, is literally a parable, involving elements of both time and space, given to us by God Himself.
Finally, we have the Lord Himself represented as the "Temple" of New Jerusalem in Revelation 21:22. It is said that of the 613 commandments given from God in the Torah, all but 90 have something to do with the Temple. Hence, this is a critical area of study.
THE PATTERN OF THE TEMPLE
The Bible gives indication that Moses was caught up in the Shekinah of God in verses such as Exodus 24:15-18. While in the presence of God (in Heaven?) Moses was shown heavenly items to which he was to use as the pattern for their earthly counterparts:
Exodus 25:8-9 - "And let them make Me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them. According to the pattern of the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furnishings, just so you shall make it."
The book of Hebrews attests to the same thing:
Hebrews 8:5 - "... who serve the copy and shadow of the heavenly things, as Moses was divinely instructed when he was about to make the Tabernacle. For He said 'See that you make all things according to the pattern shown you on the mountain'."
Extra-Biblical Jewish writings state that the Tabernacle and its furnishings/implements are indeed an image of what is in heaven:
Soncino Zohar, Shemoth, Section 2, Page 149a - "... the structure of the Tabernacle corresponds to the structure of heaven and earth."
Soncino Zohar, Shemoth, Section 2, Page 231a - "Now, the Tabernacle below was likewise made after the pattern of the supernal Tabernacle in all its details. For the Tabernacle in all its works embraced all the works and achievements of the upper world and the lower, whereby the Shekinah was made to abide in the world, both in the higher spheres and the lower. Similarly, the Lower Paradise is made after the pattern of the Upper Paradise, and the latter contains all the varieties of forms and images to be found in the former. Hence the work of the Tabernacle, and that of heaven and earth, come under one and the same mystery."
Soncino Zohar, Shemoth, Section 2, Page 235b - "Now, the lower and earthly Tabernacle was the counterpart of the upper Tabernacle, whilst the latter in its turn is the counterpart of a higher Tabernacle, the most high of all. All of them, however, are implied within each other and form one complete whole, as it says: "that the tabernacle may be one whole" (Ex. XXVI, 6). The Tabernacle was erected by Moses, he alone being allowed to raise it up, as only a husband may raise up his wife. With the erection of the lower Tabernacle there was erected another Tabernacle on high. This is indicated in the words "the tabernacle was reared up (hukam)" (Ex. XL, 17), reared up, that is, by the hand of no man, but as out of the supernal undisclosed mystery in response to the mystical force indwelling in Moses that it might be perfected with him."
Menacoth 29a - "It was taught: R. Jose b. Judah says, An ark of fire and a table of fire and a candlestick of fire came down from heaven; and these Moses saw and reproduced, as it is written, And see that thou make them after their pattern, which is being shown thee in the mount. Will you then say the same [of the tabernacle], for it is written, And thou shalt rear up the tabernacle according to the fashion thereof which hath been shown thee in the mount! — Here it is written ‘according to the fashion thereof’, whilst there ‘after their pattern’."
b.Hag. 12b - ZEBUL is that in which [the heavenly] Jerusalem and the [heavenly] Temple and the Alter are built, and Michael, the great Prince, stands and offers up thereon an offering, for it is said: I have surely built you a house of habitation [ZEBUL] a place for you to dwell in forever (1Kn. 8:13) And where do we derive that it is called heaven? For it is written: Look down from heaven, and see, even from your holy and glorious habitation. (Is. 63:15)
The same concept is found when speaking of the first Temple. Here David receives the heavenly design idea and passes it along to his son Solomon, whom God had chosen to do the building:
Soncino Zohar, Shemoth, Section 2, Page 164a - Then he began to expound to them this verse: A song of degrees for Solomon (li-shelomoh). Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it; except the Lord guard the city, the watchman waketh but in vain (Ps. CXXVII, 1-2). Said he: ‘Was it Solomon who composed this Psalm when he built the Temple? (for li-shelomoh could be understood to mean "of Solomon"). Not so. It was King David who composed it, about his son Solomon, when Nathan came to him (David) and told him that Solomon would build the Temple. Then King David showed unto his son Solomon, as a model, the celestial prototype of the Temple, and David himself, when he saw it and all the activities connected with it, as set forth in the celestial idea of it, sang this psalm concerning his son Solomon.
On a related note, Jewish tradition forbids the construction of a building designed to look like the Temple, as well as the seven-branched Menorah:
RoshHaShannah 24b - Abaye replied: The Torah forbade only those attendants of which it is possible to make copies, as it has been taught: A man may not make a house in the form of the Temple, or an exedra in the form of the Temple hall, or a court corresponding to the Temple court, or a table corresponding to the [sacred] table or a candlestick corresponding to the [sacred] candlestick, but he may make one with five or six or eight lamps, but with seven he should not make, even of other metals.
Jewish literature has a lot to say about the heavenly Temple, including numerous references to a mysterious figure known as "Metatron," who is given such an exalted position, that at times he is even "confused" with God Himself. This Metatron figure bears a great likeness to Yeshua.
The book of Hebrews (especially chapters 4-8) also alludes to the heavenly tabernacle and priesthood and how they correspond to the earthly ones. Our Hebrews study, scheduled for the summer of 2000 will address this in detail.
THE "24 ELDERS"
God gives the arrangement of the tribes, as they were to be grouped around the Tabernacle, in Numbers, chapters 2. In the following chapter, He goes into further detail, giving the assignments of the tribes of the three children of Levi as well as their children (a total of eight grandchildren). The tribes of Levi did not have a place with the other twelve, rather these children and grandchildren were placed in the area closest to the Tabernacle. The three children were Merari, Gershon and Kohath. The eight grandsons of Levi were; Libni, Shimei, Amram, Izehar, Hebron, Uzziel, Mahli and Mushi (see Numbers 3:17-20).
This resulted in a final total of 24 groups, represented by 24 elders, (all mentioned by name) who surrounded the Tabernacle. The breakdown is as follows:
(1) Moses' family
(12) The 12 tribes
(3) The tribes of the 3 sons of Levi
(8) The tribes of the 8 grandsons of Levi
There is an obvious parallel to the book of Revelation:
Revelation 4:4 - "Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and on the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting."
Alternatively, the twenty-four elders could be associated with either the 24 courses of the priesthood that each served twice a year for one week throughout the year. Some also consider the possibility of them being the heads of the 12 tribes plus the 12 Talmidim of Yeshua (the 12 "apostles.")
As the twelve tribes can be seen in the diagram above surrounding the tabernacle, so too in Revelation are these tribes part of the "gates" surrounding New Jerusalem as seen in Revelation:
Revelation 21:12-13 - "Also she had a great and high wall with twelve gates, and names written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south, and three gates on the west."
Note that these are the gates that only those who followed His commandments (Torah) may pass through (Revelation 22:14).
THE MYSTERY OF THE "ARK OF THE COVENANT"
God's presence would manifest itself above the ark of the covenant, first mentioned in Exodus 25. God, in his holiness could not reside in this "unclean" earth, nor in the same fashion with His chosen people after the sin of the golden calf. Therefore, He had to create a special means for Himself to be manifest among His people as their atonement.
Midrash Rabbah Exodus 50:4 - Why was the ark-cover called kapporeth?- Because it made atonement (me-kapper) for Israel.
There is an interesting concept in Judaism that the ark weighed nothing. (It is said that it actually "carried" its bearers along.) Figuring the dimensions and construction materials of the ark, and its contents, the weight of it would have been far too much for the four carriers to bear -- in fact it would have snapped the poles or broken off the golden rings they passed through!
It is also said that the ark took up no space. The reference below shows that when they placed the ark in the sanctuary and measured from the sides of the ark to each wall, the sum of those measurements equalled the distance measured directly from one wall to the other!
Megilah 10b - R. Levi further said: We have a tradition from our ancestors that the ark took up no room. It has been taught to the same effect: ‘The ark which Moses made had round it an [empty] space of ten cubits on every side’. Now it is written, And in front of the Sanctuary was twenty cubits in length [and twenty cubits in breadth], and it is also written, And the wing of the one cherub was ten cubits and the wing of the other cherub was ten cubits. Where then was the ark itself? We must therefore conclude that it stood by a miracle [without occupying any room].
All of this would indicate that although it was originally built by human hands, and it could be seen and touched, the ark was truly "not part of our world," it resided in "spiritual space”.
http://www.yashanet.com/studies/revstudy/rev2.htm
EXODUS 25 Commentary by Chuck Smith
And he said unto Moses, Come up unto the Lord, thou, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel; and worship ye afar off. And Moses alone shall come near to the Lord: but thou shalt not come near; neither shall the people go up with him. And Moses came up and told the people all the words of the Lord, and the judgments: and all of the people answered with one voice, and said, All the words which the Lord hath said we will do (Exd 24:1-3).
Words are sure cheap. Here Moses lays upon them all these judgments. They said, "Oh, everything the Lord says, we will do. Oh God, everything I have belongs to You." Words are sure cheap, aren't they? Too bad, because it isn't what I say that really counts, it's what I do.
Moses wrote all the words of the Lord, he rose up early in the morning, he built an altar under the hill with twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel. And he sent the young men of the children of Israel, which offered burnt offerings, and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen unto the Lord. Moses took half of the blood, put it in basins; and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar. And he took the book of the covenant, and read it in the audience of the people: and they said, All that the Lord hath said we will do, and be obedient. And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which the Lord hath made with you concerning all these words (Exd 24:4-8).
So this experience of sprinkling the people with the blood from these sacrifices and so forth, the blood covenant is referred to in the book of Hebrews. As we were going through the book of Hebrews we dealt with all of the things under the law, sanctified with the blood, for without the shedding of blood was nothing sanctified. How the new covenant that we have in Christ, of course, was also sanctified through the blood of Christ. The better covenant. This was the old covenant that was disannulled. This is the old covenant that didn't work. Why? Because the old covenant was predicated upon the people doing these things. It was predicated upon the people's faithfulness, the people weren't faithful.
So God has established in Christ a new covenant that is predicated now upon the faithfulness of God to do what He said He would do. Now because the new covenant is predicated upon God's faithfulness, the new covenant will stand. It cannot fail because God will not fail. So I thank God for the new covenant relationship that I have with God through Jesus Christ, a covenant that cannot fail. I'm sure that God's gonna do all that He has said He would do through Christ. Now it's not predicated upon my doing, but my believing in God, and in that work of Jesus Christ. I don't have to send twenty-five bucks.
Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel: And they saw the God of Israel: and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in clearness (Exd 24:9-10).
So they saw God, they saw the glassy sea before the throne of God. John describes it, "the sea of glass, crystal before the throne of God"(Revelation 4:6).
Now you say, "Wait a minute. What do you mean they saw God?" Because in the gospel of John, John declares, "No man hath seen God at any time, but the only begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father, He hath manifested Him"(John 1:18). What does it mean then, "They saw God"? I don't know, but I have to compare scripture with scripture, and the fact that we read "no man hath seen God at any time but the only begotten Son which is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him." The scripture also declares that you cannot see God and live.
I must assume that when it declares, "and they saw the God of Israel and this crystal sea", that they saw Him perhaps in a vision form, as Isaiah and as Ezekiel, and as others saw God, in a vision form, but did not actually see God Himself, which is impossible for man to do. "No man has seen God at any time."
They went up and they saw God,
And upon the nobles of the children of Israel he laid not his hand: and they saw God, and did eat and drink. [That is, a fellowship with God.] And the Lord said unto Moses, Come up to me in the mount, and be there; and I will give to thee the tables of stone, and a law, and commandments which I have written; that you may teach them. And so Moses rose up, and his minister [or his servant] Joshua: and Moses went up into the mount of God. And he said unto the elders, Tarry ye here for us, [or wait for us] until we come again to you: and behold, Aaron and Hur are with you: and if any man have any matters to do, let him come unto them. And Moses went up into the mount, and a cloud covered the mount. And the glory of the Lord abode upon mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days: and the seventh day he called unto Moses out of the midst of the cloud. And the sight of the glory of the Lord was like a devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel. And Moses went into the midst of the cloud, and he got him up into the mount: and Moses was up in the mount for forty days and for forty nights (Exd 24:11-18).
While he was there God gave to him the details for the building of the tabernacle where God would come to meet the people of Israel, the meeting place for God to meet the people. God gave him exact and specific dimensions and all for the tabernacle and for the things that were to be in the tabernacle.
Chapter 25
Now it is interesting as God gives to him the design, He starts not with the tabernacle itself but with the furnishings within the tabernacle. So in chapter twenty-five, we begin with the materials that were, the things that were made that were to be used in the tabernacle.
And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak to the children of Israel, that they bring me an offering: every man that giveth it willingly with his heart shall take my offering. And this is the offering which you shall take of them; gold, and silver, and brass, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, goats' [hair], And rams' skins dyed red, badger's skins, and acacia wood, Oil for the light, spices for the anointing oil, and for a sweet incense, Onyx stones, and stones to be set in the ephod, and the breastplate. And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them. According to all that I show thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it (Exd 25:1-9).
So the people were to make an offering, but what was the requirement? They were to bring it willingly. What does the New Testament say about our giving? That, "It should be every man as he has purposed in his own heart, so let him give, for the Lord loves a hilarious giver"(2 Corinthians 9:7). The giving is never to be by constraint, never to be by pressure, never to be by deceitful letters. Man, that upset me. Why? Because God never wants to hear you gripe over what you've given to Him. That's the last thing God wants is to hear you gripe over what you've given.
Now if someone's pressuring you to give, and you're giving not from your heart, but because someone's really laying the pressure on you, you're apt then to later regret what you've pledged or what you've given. When you get the little notice, "Your pledge is due. We haven't heard from you in a month or so, and your pledge, and the church is depending upon getting your pledge", and you think, "Oh, I got to write a check. Ooh." You're angry with it; man, that upsets God.
He said, "Keep it, I don't want it." He doesn't want you to grudge what you've given to Him. That's horrible to give unto God grudgingly, or to give unto God out of constraint. He'd rather you keep it. If you can't give hilariously, then don't give. Because if you're gonna gripe about it, He's just gonna erase the amount anyhow and you'll never get rewarded for it. God isn't gonna take into account the grudging money or the griping money that you've given to Him. So if you can't do it hilariously, forget it. Better not to give at all. You'd be much better off not to give at all then to give and later gripe about it.
Some guy the other day, he wrote me a letter and he said he was here and he was upset because of the fact that he went out to have a smoke. And the ushers wouldn't let him back in at the end of the sermon where he wanted to come down and sit with his girl again down on the front row. So he was really upset because they wouldn't let him back in and all.
He said, "I put two dollars in the offering and then they wouldn't let me out." So I sent him a couple bucks and I said, "Sorry about that". It's not about the fact they wouldn't let him in; I was sorry that he had such a bad attitude. I told him the story for the attitude that he had, the fact that he was so upset, didn't want the two bucks, God surely doesn't need it. If he's upset because he gave it, man, better to give it back. If you've given money here and you're upset about what you've given, maybe I said something to upset you and you're griping, that's all right. Come to me, and we'll get your money back. We don't want any griping money for God's kingdom. God doesn't want it and we don't. It's a horrible thing to give to God and then gripe about what you've given.
I hate people who say, "Well, I'll be glad to come over and help you." Then they gripe the whole time. Or they offer to give you something and then you go to take them up on it, and they start griping about it. Man, if you don't mean it, don't offer it. I can't stand to have someone give me something and then later gripe about the fact that they gave it. Whenever I find that out, I return it just as quickly as I can. I don't want it, and God doesn't want it. God loves a hilarious giver. Oh, how God rejoices when you give. "Thank you Lord for the opportunity. "Wee. Take this Lord. It's all Yours." Giving hilariously, oh God rejoices in that, God blesses that. If you can't give that way, then don't do it.
Now first of all He tells him about the ark that is to be in the Holy of holies, the center place of the tabernacle. The place where they're gonna meet God.
Now notice God says to, "make it after the pattern that I give to you according to all that I show you. Be careful that you make it after the pattern." Why? Because the tabernacle is a little model, it's a model of heaven. If you want to know what heaven looks like and get an idea of heaven, you can look at the tabernacle because it is a model of the heavenly thing. So God had them build a little model on earth of what heaven, the throne of God looks like so that the people will have an idea of what God's throne is like and the place of meeting God. So this is a little model. That's why, "be careful you make it exactly like you were told."
That's why they were to carve the cherubim, because there are cherubim there above the throne of God in heaven. There is the mercy seat before the throne of God.
Now the first thing they were to make was the ark of the covenant. It was to be made with acacia wood and overlaid with gold. It was to be forty-five inches long, and twenty-seven inches wide, and twenty-seven inches tall, sort of a box. Now the lid on the box was called the mercy seat.
First of all, though, this little box called the ark of the covenant, and within the box they were to place the two tables of stone upon which God etched the Ten Commandments. They were to place a jar of manna by which God sustained them in the wilderness, and they were to place Aaron's rod, the sign of the priesthood being through Aaron, the rod that budded. Those were the three articles that were to go inside of this little box.
The lid on the box was called the mercy seat. It also was to be made of acacia wood and overlaid with gold. Then carved on either end of the mercy seat were to be these cherubim carved of solid gold, and facing each other with outstretched wings and so forth. There the cherubims on the lid of the box, which is the ark of the covenant; and thus, you have a picture of the mercy seat in heaven and the cherubim who are about the throne of God worshiping the Lord. You can read Ezekiel chapter one, Ezekiel chapter ten, and John, or the book of Revelation actually, written by John, chapter four to see the heavenly scene of which this earthly tabernacle is just a model of the heavenly scene.
So these were the only furnishings to be in the holy of Holies, a fifteen-foot cubicle that was within this tent that they were to make. Verse twenty-three, the second furniture that they were to make, the second bit of furniture was a table for the shewbread.
Now this table was to be thirty six inches long and eighteen inches wide, and twenty seven inches tall with a little crown gold ornamentation around the top of the table. It again was to be made with acacia wood, and overlaid with gold (Exd 25:23-24).
This table was to be a part of the furniture in the outer room. Now as you came into the tent you had first of all, a room that was fifteen by thirty, which was called the holy place. It was separated with a curtain from this fifteen-foot cubicle which was the holy of Holies. No one was allowed in the holy of Holies, except the high priest, and that just one day a year.
Now this little table that they were to make, actually the little box they were to make, they were to put gold rings on each corner, and then they were to take these sticks and overlay them with gold, and run them through the rings. So that whenever they would move and have to carry this ark, that the fellows would not touch it, but they would pick up the sticks and carry the sticks. It would be carried between four men who were carrying these gold overlaid sticks that ran through these four gold rings that were on the corners of the ark of the covenant.
Now the same with this table of shewbread. They were also to put the gold rings on it, so that the fellows and the staves, the sticks that were overlaid with gold stayed through these rings. So that whenever they carried it, they'd just pick up the sticks and wouldn't actually touch the table.
Now this table was to have twelve loaves of bread upon it always, and once a week they would change the loaves of bread. These twelve loaves of bread represented actually the twelve tribes of Israel. There when you would, when the priest would enter this little outer room called the holy place, fifteen by thirty, on his right-hand side there would be this little gold overlaid table, thirty-six inches long, eighteen inches wide, twenty-seven inches high, with the twelve loaves of bread upon it. So he gives the whole thing that we've explained to you.
Then on his left-hand side as he would enter in, there was this golden candlestick made of pure gold,
and it was of beaten work, and it had the center shaft, the coming off of it six branches (Exd 25:31),
Now this is somewhat similar to this, except this thing's brass and it is no doubt not as thick as the one that is made of pure gold, but the idea. However, instead of candles in the cups, these cups, and they were carved more fancy than this, the cups themselves were to be carved like an almond, an overlaid kind of a thing in the shape of an almond. These cups were filled with oil and a wick in them. This candlestick was to be kept burning continually.
So one of the jobs of the priests was daily to fill these cups with oil, to make sure that the candlestick remained burning constantly. It was the light in this tent. It formed the light within the tent, but it really was a symbol of God's desire for the nation Israel to be the light of the world.
So as the priest would enter into the tent, on his right-hand side this table with twelve loaves of bread, golden table. On his left-hand side this candlestick, with these seven golden cups filled with oil and so forth, representing the fact that God intended Israel to be the light of the world.
Now you may ask, "As long as it's a symbol of the tabernacle and Israel to be the light of the world, why do we have it in our church? Why don't we have crosses or something here instead of the candleholder?" Well, the reason why we have a candleholder here in the church is that the candleholder in the New Testament became a symbol for the presence of Christ within His church.
In Revelation chapter one, "John turned to see the voice and spake with Him, and being turned he saw Christ walking in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks, holding the seven stars in His right hand. And the Lord spoke unto John and said, interpreting for him the vision, He said, "The seven candlesticks are the seven churches, Christ walking in the midst of the churches" (Revelation 1:20). So it is a beautiful symbol of the presence of Christ in the midst of His church, the living Christ.
Though we are grateful and thankful and glory in the cross of Jesus Christ, and thank God for it, we do not serve a dead Lord. We serve a risen Savior who is alive and walking in the midst of His church. We don't like to think of Him as dead, hanging on a cross. We like to think of Him as alive and present with us walking here in our midst in the church, ready to minister, and to meet whatever needs you might have when you came to church tonight. The risen Lord is here to minister to you and to help you through this week.
So it symbolizes the presence of the risen Christ within His church. This is why we have this particular symbol in our church, because it means so much to us. I've been asked many times, "Why a menorah in a church?" and that is the reason why. So again in verse forty, the Lord said,
Look that thou make them after the pattern, which was shewed thee (Exd 25:40)
So again the emphasis, "Make it just like you saw it because it has to be an exact thing if it's going to be a model of the heavenly." In Hebrews we are told that, "The earthly tabernacle was indeed a pattern of heavenly things." So we know a little bit what the throne of God is going to look like as we look at the earthly tabernacle and the things that were in it.
We will attempt to more or less just give you an overview now rather than thoroughly going into these things, trying to give you a word picture and an overview of these things. It gets a little tedious and a little redundant because it first of all says, "Make it like this", and then He turns around in the next few chapters, "and they made it like this", and they repeat the same thing, only saying "they made it like that", and it gets a little redundant. So rather than getting bogged down, we'll probably move a little more rapidly and just give you a word picture overview so that you can perhaps sort of picture it in your own mind, as you think of the tabernacle.
You can get a picture of this tent with the two rooms, the first one thirty by fifteen, the golden table of shewbread on the right hand side, the candlestick on the left-hand side, and then the altar in the front of the curtain. Behind the curtain the fifteen-foot cubicle with this gold overlaid box with a lid, which is called the mercy seat. With the two carved cherubim on the top where only the high priest would go on the one day in a year, Yom Kippur to make atonement for the nation for their sins once a year. So we'll move along a little more rapidly as we finish off the book of Exodus, and pausing only at those places that we feel are significant to us as Christians.
Shall we stand? Now may the Lord be with you, and may the Lord watch over you and keep you in His love, and in His grace. May the Lord cause you to abound in every good work for Jesus Christ. May the Lord grant to you new dimensions of relationship with Him that you might become more keenly aware of His presence with you, and His power to help you. May God bless you, may you have just a fruitful, blessed week walking with Jesus Christ.
OTHER ONLINE RESOURCES
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/the-first-temple-solomon-s-temple
http://the-tabernacle-place.com/articles/what_is_the_tabernacle
http://www.jesusplusnothing.com/studies/online/Tabernacle1.htm https://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionary/tabernacle/
https://ministry-to-children.com/building-of-the-tabernacle-lesson/
THE PATTERN OF THINGS "ABOVE"
INTRODUCTION
Scripture speaks of several "Temples" in the Bible, all of which are an image of the Heavenly Temple. The first such representation was the "Tabernacle" (Mishkan) as first seen in the book of Exodus, beginning in chapter 25. The last earthly Temple is mention in the book of Ezekiel.
We are told by Ezekiel to study this Temple, as it contains great mysteries about God and His creation. The Tabernacle/Temple, and its associated priesthood, feasts, services and implements, is literally a parable, involving elements of both time and space, given to us by God Himself.
Finally, we have the Lord Himself represented as the "Temple" of New Jerusalem in Revelation 21:22. It is said that of the 613 commandments given from God in the Torah, all but 90 have something to do with the Temple. Hence, this is a critical area of study.
THE PATTERN OF THE TEMPLE
The Bible gives indication that Moses was caught up in the Shekinah of God in verses such as Exodus 24:15-18. While in the presence of God (in Heaven?) Moses was shown heavenly items to which he was to use as the pattern for their earthly counterparts:
Exodus 25:8-9 - "And let them make Me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them. According to the pattern of the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furnishings, just so you shall make it."
The book of Hebrews attests to the same thing:
Hebrews 8:5 - "... who serve the copy and shadow of the heavenly things, as Moses was divinely instructed when he was about to make the Tabernacle. For He said 'See that you make all things according to the pattern shown you on the mountain'."
Extra-Biblical Jewish writings state that the Tabernacle and its furnishings/implements are indeed an image of what is in heaven:
Soncino Zohar, Shemoth, Section 2, Page 149a - "... the structure of the Tabernacle corresponds to the structure of heaven and earth."
Soncino Zohar, Shemoth, Section 2, Page 231a - "Now, the Tabernacle below was likewise made after the pattern of the supernal Tabernacle in all its details. For the Tabernacle in all its works embraced all the works and achievements of the upper world and the lower, whereby the Shekinah was made to abide in the world, both in the higher spheres and the lower. Similarly, the Lower Paradise is made after the pattern of the Upper Paradise, and the latter contains all the varieties of forms and images to be found in the former. Hence the work of the Tabernacle, and that of heaven and earth, come under one and the same mystery."
Soncino Zohar, Shemoth, Section 2, Page 235b - "Now, the lower and earthly Tabernacle was the counterpart of the upper Tabernacle, whilst the latter in its turn is the counterpart of a higher Tabernacle, the most high of all. All of them, however, are implied within each other and form one complete whole, as it says: "that the tabernacle may be one whole" (Ex. XXVI, 6). The Tabernacle was erected by Moses, he alone being allowed to raise it up, as only a husband may raise up his wife. With the erection of the lower Tabernacle there was erected another Tabernacle on high. This is indicated in the words "the tabernacle was reared up (hukam)" (Ex. XL, 17), reared up, that is, by the hand of no man, but as out of the supernal undisclosed mystery in response to the mystical force indwelling in Moses that it might be perfected with him."
Menacoth 29a - "It was taught: R. Jose b. Judah says, An ark of fire and a table of fire and a candlestick of fire came down from heaven; and these Moses saw and reproduced, as it is written, And see that thou make them after their pattern, which is being shown thee in the mount. Will you then say the same [of the tabernacle], for it is written, And thou shalt rear up the tabernacle according to the fashion thereof which hath been shown thee in the mount! — Here it is written ‘according to the fashion thereof’, whilst there ‘after their pattern’."
b.Hag. 12b - ZEBUL is that in which [the heavenly] Jerusalem and the [heavenly] Temple and the Alter are built, and Michael, the great Prince, stands and offers up thereon an offering, for it is said: I have surely built you a house of habitation [ZEBUL] a place for you to dwell in forever (1Kn. 8:13) And where do we derive that it is called heaven? For it is written: Look down from heaven, and see, even from your holy and glorious habitation. (Is. 63:15)
The same concept is found when speaking of the first Temple. Here David receives the heavenly design idea and passes it along to his son Solomon, whom God had chosen to do the building:
Soncino Zohar, Shemoth, Section 2, Page 164a - Then he began to expound to them this verse: A song of degrees for Solomon (li-shelomoh). Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it; except the Lord guard the city, the watchman waketh but in vain (Ps. CXXVII, 1-2). Said he: ‘Was it Solomon who composed this Psalm when he built the Temple? (for li-shelomoh could be understood to mean "of Solomon"). Not so. It was King David who composed it, about his son Solomon, when Nathan came to him (David) and told him that Solomon would build the Temple. Then King David showed unto his son Solomon, as a model, the celestial prototype of the Temple, and David himself, when he saw it and all the activities connected with it, as set forth in the celestial idea of it, sang this psalm concerning his son Solomon.
On a related note, Jewish tradition forbids the construction of a building designed to look like the Temple, as well as the seven-branched Menorah:
RoshHaShannah 24b - Abaye replied: The Torah forbade only those attendants of which it is possible to make copies, as it has been taught: A man may not make a house in the form of the Temple, or an exedra in the form of the Temple hall, or a court corresponding to the Temple court, or a table corresponding to the [sacred] table or a candlestick corresponding to the [sacred] candlestick, but he may make one with five or six or eight lamps, but with seven he should not make, even of other metals.
Jewish literature has a lot to say about the heavenly Temple, including numerous references to a mysterious figure known as "Metatron," who is given such an exalted position, that at times he is even "confused" with God Himself. This Metatron figure bears a great likeness to Yeshua.
The book of Hebrews (especially chapters 4-8) also alludes to the heavenly tabernacle and priesthood and how they correspond to the earthly ones. Our Hebrews study, scheduled for the summer of 2000 will address this in detail.
THE "24 ELDERS"
God gives the arrangement of the tribes, as they were to be grouped around the Tabernacle, in Numbers, chapters 2. In the following chapter, He goes into further detail, giving the assignments of the tribes of the three children of Levi as well as their children (a total of eight grandchildren). The tribes of Levi did not have a place with the other twelve, rather these children and grandchildren were placed in the area closest to the Tabernacle. The three children were Merari, Gershon and Kohath. The eight grandsons of Levi were; Libni, Shimei, Amram, Izehar, Hebron, Uzziel, Mahli and Mushi (see Numbers 3:17-20).
This resulted in a final total of 24 groups, represented by 24 elders, (all mentioned by name) who surrounded the Tabernacle. The breakdown is as follows:
(1) Moses' family
(12) The 12 tribes
(3) The tribes of the 3 sons of Levi
(8) The tribes of the 8 grandsons of Levi
There is an obvious parallel to the book of Revelation:
Revelation 4:4 - "Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and on the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting."
Alternatively, the twenty-four elders could be associated with either the 24 courses of the priesthood that each served twice a year for one week throughout the year. Some also consider the possibility of them being the heads of the 12 tribes plus the 12 Talmidim of Yeshua (the 12 "apostles.")
As the twelve tribes can be seen in the diagram above surrounding the tabernacle, so too in Revelation are these tribes part of the "gates" surrounding New Jerusalem as seen in Revelation:
Revelation 21:12-13 - "Also she had a great and high wall with twelve gates, and names written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south, and three gates on the west."
Note that these are the gates that only those who followed His commandments (Torah) may pass through (Revelation 22:14).
THE MYSTERY OF THE "ARK OF THE COVENANT"
God's presence would manifest itself above the ark of the covenant, first mentioned in Exodus 25. God, in his holiness could not reside in this "unclean" earth, nor in the same fashion with His chosen people after the sin of the golden calf. Therefore, He had to create a special means for Himself to be manifest among His people as their atonement.
Midrash Rabbah Exodus 50:4 - Why was the ark-cover called kapporeth?- Because it made atonement (me-kapper) for Israel.
There is an interesting concept in Judaism that the ark weighed nothing. (It is said that it actually "carried" its bearers along.) Figuring the dimensions and construction materials of the ark, and its contents, the weight of it would have been far too much for the four carriers to bear -- in fact it would have snapped the poles or broken off the golden rings they passed through!
It is also said that the ark took up no space. The reference below shows that when they placed the ark in the sanctuary and measured from the sides of the ark to each wall, the sum of those measurements equalled the distance measured directly from one wall to the other!
Megilah 10b - R. Levi further said: We have a tradition from our ancestors that the ark took up no room. It has been taught to the same effect: ‘The ark which Moses made had round it an [empty] space of ten cubits on every side’. Now it is written, And in front of the Sanctuary was twenty cubits in length [and twenty cubits in breadth], and it is also written, And the wing of the one cherub was ten cubits and the wing of the other cherub was ten cubits. Where then was the ark itself? We must therefore conclude that it stood by a miracle [without occupying any room].
All of this would indicate that although it was originally built by human hands, and it could be seen and touched, the ark was truly "not part of our world," it resided in "spiritual space”.
http://www.yashanet.com/studies/revstudy/rev2.htm
EXODUS 25 Commentary by Chuck Smith
And he said unto Moses, Come up unto the Lord, thou, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel; and worship ye afar off. And Moses alone shall come near to the Lord: but thou shalt not come near; neither shall the people go up with him. And Moses came up and told the people all the words of the Lord, and the judgments: and all of the people answered with one voice, and said, All the words which the Lord hath said we will do (Exd 24:1-3).
Words are sure cheap. Here Moses lays upon them all these judgments. They said, "Oh, everything the Lord says, we will do. Oh God, everything I have belongs to You." Words are sure cheap, aren't they? Too bad, because it isn't what I say that really counts, it's what I do.
Moses wrote all the words of the Lord, he rose up early in the morning, he built an altar under the hill with twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel. And he sent the young men of the children of Israel, which offered burnt offerings, and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen unto the Lord. Moses took half of the blood, put it in basins; and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar. And he took the book of the covenant, and read it in the audience of the people: and they said, All that the Lord hath said we will do, and be obedient. And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which the Lord hath made with you concerning all these words (Exd 24:4-8).
So this experience of sprinkling the people with the blood from these sacrifices and so forth, the blood covenant is referred to in the book of Hebrews. As we were going through the book of Hebrews we dealt with all of the things under the law, sanctified with the blood, for without the shedding of blood was nothing sanctified. How the new covenant that we have in Christ, of course, was also sanctified through the blood of Christ. The better covenant. This was the old covenant that was disannulled. This is the old covenant that didn't work. Why? Because the old covenant was predicated upon the people doing these things. It was predicated upon the people's faithfulness, the people weren't faithful.
So God has established in Christ a new covenant that is predicated now upon the faithfulness of God to do what He said He would do. Now because the new covenant is predicated upon God's faithfulness, the new covenant will stand. It cannot fail because God will not fail. So I thank God for the new covenant relationship that I have with God through Jesus Christ, a covenant that cannot fail. I'm sure that God's gonna do all that He has said He would do through Christ. Now it's not predicated upon my doing, but my believing in God, and in that work of Jesus Christ. I don't have to send twenty-five bucks.
Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel: And they saw the God of Israel: and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in clearness (Exd 24:9-10).
So they saw God, they saw the glassy sea before the throne of God. John describes it, "the sea of glass, crystal before the throne of God"(Revelation 4:6).
Now you say, "Wait a minute. What do you mean they saw God?" Because in the gospel of John, John declares, "No man hath seen God at any time, but the only begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father, He hath manifested Him"(John 1:18). What does it mean then, "They saw God"? I don't know, but I have to compare scripture with scripture, and the fact that we read "no man hath seen God at any time but the only begotten Son which is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him." The scripture also declares that you cannot see God and live.
I must assume that when it declares, "and they saw the God of Israel and this crystal sea", that they saw Him perhaps in a vision form, as Isaiah and as Ezekiel, and as others saw God, in a vision form, but did not actually see God Himself, which is impossible for man to do. "No man has seen God at any time."
They went up and they saw God,
And upon the nobles of the children of Israel he laid not his hand: and they saw God, and did eat and drink. [That is, a fellowship with God.] And the Lord said unto Moses, Come up to me in the mount, and be there; and I will give to thee the tables of stone, and a law, and commandments which I have written; that you may teach them. And so Moses rose up, and his minister [or his servant] Joshua: and Moses went up into the mount of God. And he said unto the elders, Tarry ye here for us, [or wait for us] until we come again to you: and behold, Aaron and Hur are with you: and if any man have any matters to do, let him come unto them. And Moses went up into the mount, and a cloud covered the mount. And the glory of the Lord abode upon mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days: and the seventh day he called unto Moses out of the midst of the cloud. And the sight of the glory of the Lord was like a devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel. And Moses went into the midst of the cloud, and he got him up into the mount: and Moses was up in the mount for forty days and for forty nights (Exd 24:11-18).
While he was there God gave to him the details for the building of the tabernacle where God would come to meet the people of Israel, the meeting place for God to meet the people. God gave him exact and specific dimensions and all for the tabernacle and for the things that were to be in the tabernacle.
Chapter 25
Now it is interesting as God gives to him the design, He starts not with the tabernacle itself but with the furnishings within the tabernacle. So in chapter twenty-five, we begin with the materials that were, the things that were made that were to be used in the tabernacle.
And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak to the children of Israel, that they bring me an offering: every man that giveth it willingly with his heart shall take my offering. And this is the offering which you shall take of them; gold, and silver, and brass, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, goats' [hair], And rams' skins dyed red, badger's skins, and acacia wood, Oil for the light, spices for the anointing oil, and for a sweet incense, Onyx stones, and stones to be set in the ephod, and the breastplate. And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them. According to all that I show thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it (Exd 25:1-9).
So the people were to make an offering, but what was the requirement? They were to bring it willingly. What does the New Testament say about our giving? That, "It should be every man as he has purposed in his own heart, so let him give, for the Lord loves a hilarious giver"(2 Corinthians 9:7). The giving is never to be by constraint, never to be by pressure, never to be by deceitful letters. Man, that upset me. Why? Because God never wants to hear you gripe over what you've given to Him. That's the last thing God wants is to hear you gripe over what you've given.
Now if someone's pressuring you to give, and you're giving not from your heart, but because someone's really laying the pressure on you, you're apt then to later regret what you've pledged or what you've given. When you get the little notice, "Your pledge is due. We haven't heard from you in a month or so, and your pledge, and the church is depending upon getting your pledge", and you think, "Oh, I got to write a check. Ooh." You're angry with it; man, that upsets God.
He said, "Keep it, I don't want it." He doesn't want you to grudge what you've given to Him. That's horrible to give unto God grudgingly, or to give unto God out of constraint. He'd rather you keep it. If you can't give hilariously, then don't give. Because if you're gonna gripe about it, He's just gonna erase the amount anyhow and you'll never get rewarded for it. God isn't gonna take into account the grudging money or the griping money that you've given to Him. So if you can't do it hilariously, forget it. Better not to give at all. You'd be much better off not to give at all then to give and later gripe about it.
Some guy the other day, he wrote me a letter and he said he was here and he was upset because of the fact that he went out to have a smoke. And the ushers wouldn't let him back in at the end of the sermon where he wanted to come down and sit with his girl again down on the front row. So he was really upset because they wouldn't let him back in and all.
He said, "I put two dollars in the offering and then they wouldn't let me out." So I sent him a couple bucks and I said, "Sorry about that". It's not about the fact they wouldn't let him in; I was sorry that he had such a bad attitude. I told him the story for the attitude that he had, the fact that he was so upset, didn't want the two bucks, God surely doesn't need it. If he's upset because he gave it, man, better to give it back. If you've given money here and you're upset about what you've given, maybe I said something to upset you and you're griping, that's all right. Come to me, and we'll get your money back. We don't want any griping money for God's kingdom. God doesn't want it and we don't. It's a horrible thing to give to God and then gripe about what you've given.
I hate people who say, "Well, I'll be glad to come over and help you." Then they gripe the whole time. Or they offer to give you something and then you go to take them up on it, and they start griping about it. Man, if you don't mean it, don't offer it. I can't stand to have someone give me something and then later gripe about the fact that they gave it. Whenever I find that out, I return it just as quickly as I can. I don't want it, and God doesn't want it. God loves a hilarious giver. Oh, how God rejoices when you give. "Thank you Lord for the opportunity. "Wee. Take this Lord. It's all Yours." Giving hilariously, oh God rejoices in that, God blesses that. If you can't give that way, then don't do it.
Now first of all He tells him about the ark that is to be in the Holy of holies, the center place of the tabernacle. The place where they're gonna meet God.
Now notice God says to, "make it after the pattern that I give to you according to all that I show you. Be careful that you make it after the pattern." Why? Because the tabernacle is a little model, it's a model of heaven. If you want to know what heaven looks like and get an idea of heaven, you can look at the tabernacle because it is a model of the heavenly thing. So God had them build a little model on earth of what heaven, the throne of God looks like so that the people will have an idea of what God's throne is like and the place of meeting God. So this is a little model. That's why, "be careful you make it exactly like you were told."
That's why they were to carve the cherubim, because there are cherubim there above the throne of God in heaven. There is the mercy seat before the throne of God.
Now the first thing they were to make was the ark of the covenant. It was to be made with acacia wood and overlaid with gold. It was to be forty-five inches long, and twenty-seven inches wide, and twenty-seven inches tall, sort of a box. Now the lid on the box was called the mercy seat.
First of all, though, this little box called the ark of the covenant, and within the box they were to place the two tables of stone upon which God etched the Ten Commandments. They were to place a jar of manna by which God sustained them in the wilderness, and they were to place Aaron's rod, the sign of the priesthood being through Aaron, the rod that budded. Those were the three articles that were to go inside of this little box.
The lid on the box was called the mercy seat. It also was to be made of acacia wood and overlaid with gold. Then carved on either end of the mercy seat were to be these cherubim carved of solid gold, and facing each other with outstretched wings and so forth. There the cherubims on the lid of the box, which is the ark of the covenant; and thus, you have a picture of the mercy seat in heaven and the cherubim who are about the throne of God worshiping the Lord. You can read Ezekiel chapter one, Ezekiel chapter ten, and John, or the book of Revelation actually, written by John, chapter four to see the heavenly scene of which this earthly tabernacle is just a model of the heavenly scene.
So these were the only furnishings to be in the holy of Holies, a fifteen-foot cubicle that was within this tent that they were to make. Verse twenty-three, the second furniture that they were to make, the second bit of furniture was a table for the shewbread.
Now this table was to be thirty six inches long and eighteen inches wide, and twenty seven inches tall with a little crown gold ornamentation around the top of the table. It again was to be made with acacia wood, and overlaid with gold (Exd 25:23-24).
This table was to be a part of the furniture in the outer room. Now as you came into the tent you had first of all, a room that was fifteen by thirty, which was called the holy place. It was separated with a curtain from this fifteen-foot cubicle which was the holy of Holies. No one was allowed in the holy of Holies, except the high priest, and that just one day a year.
Now this little table that they were to make, actually the little box they were to make, they were to put gold rings on each corner, and then they were to take these sticks and overlay them with gold, and run them through the rings. So that whenever they would move and have to carry this ark, that the fellows would not touch it, but they would pick up the sticks and carry the sticks. It would be carried between four men who were carrying these gold overlaid sticks that ran through these four gold rings that were on the corners of the ark of the covenant.
Now the same with this table of shewbread. They were also to put the gold rings on it, so that the fellows and the staves, the sticks that were overlaid with gold stayed through these rings. So that whenever they carried it, they'd just pick up the sticks and wouldn't actually touch the table.
Now this table was to have twelve loaves of bread upon it always, and once a week they would change the loaves of bread. These twelve loaves of bread represented actually the twelve tribes of Israel. There when you would, when the priest would enter this little outer room called the holy place, fifteen by thirty, on his right-hand side there would be this little gold overlaid table, thirty-six inches long, eighteen inches wide, twenty-seven inches high, with the twelve loaves of bread upon it. So he gives the whole thing that we've explained to you.
Then on his left-hand side as he would enter in, there was this golden candlestick made of pure gold,
and it was of beaten work, and it had the center shaft, the coming off of it six branches (Exd 25:31),
Now this is somewhat similar to this, except this thing's brass and it is no doubt not as thick as the one that is made of pure gold, but the idea. However, instead of candles in the cups, these cups, and they were carved more fancy than this, the cups themselves were to be carved like an almond, an overlaid kind of a thing in the shape of an almond. These cups were filled with oil and a wick in them. This candlestick was to be kept burning continually.
So one of the jobs of the priests was daily to fill these cups with oil, to make sure that the candlestick remained burning constantly. It was the light in this tent. It formed the light within the tent, but it really was a symbol of God's desire for the nation Israel to be the light of the world.
So as the priest would enter into the tent, on his right-hand side this table with twelve loaves of bread, golden table. On his left-hand side this candlestick, with these seven golden cups filled with oil and so forth, representing the fact that God intended Israel to be the light of the world.
Now you may ask, "As long as it's a symbol of the tabernacle and Israel to be the light of the world, why do we have it in our church? Why don't we have crosses or something here instead of the candleholder?" Well, the reason why we have a candleholder here in the church is that the candleholder in the New Testament became a symbol for the presence of Christ within His church.
In Revelation chapter one, "John turned to see the voice and spake with Him, and being turned he saw Christ walking in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks, holding the seven stars in His right hand. And the Lord spoke unto John and said, interpreting for him the vision, He said, "The seven candlesticks are the seven churches, Christ walking in the midst of the churches" (Revelation 1:20). So it is a beautiful symbol of the presence of Christ in the midst of His church, the living Christ.
Though we are grateful and thankful and glory in the cross of Jesus Christ, and thank God for it, we do not serve a dead Lord. We serve a risen Savior who is alive and walking in the midst of His church. We don't like to think of Him as dead, hanging on a cross. We like to think of Him as alive and present with us walking here in our midst in the church, ready to minister, and to meet whatever needs you might have when you came to church tonight. The risen Lord is here to minister to you and to help you through this week.
So it symbolizes the presence of the risen Christ within His church. This is why we have this particular symbol in our church, because it means so much to us. I've been asked many times, "Why a menorah in a church?" and that is the reason why. So again in verse forty, the Lord said,
Look that thou make them after the pattern, which was shewed thee (Exd 25:40)
So again the emphasis, "Make it just like you saw it because it has to be an exact thing if it's going to be a model of the heavenly." In Hebrews we are told that, "The earthly tabernacle was indeed a pattern of heavenly things." So we know a little bit what the throne of God is going to look like as we look at the earthly tabernacle and the things that were in it.
We will attempt to more or less just give you an overview now rather than thoroughly going into these things, trying to give you a word picture and an overview of these things. It gets a little tedious and a little redundant because it first of all says, "Make it like this", and then He turns around in the next few chapters, "and they made it like this", and they repeat the same thing, only saying "they made it like that", and it gets a little redundant. So rather than getting bogged down, we'll probably move a little more rapidly and just give you a word picture overview so that you can perhaps sort of picture it in your own mind, as you think of the tabernacle.
You can get a picture of this tent with the two rooms, the first one thirty by fifteen, the golden table of shewbread on the right hand side, the candlestick on the left-hand side, and then the altar in the front of the curtain. Behind the curtain the fifteen-foot cubicle with this gold overlaid box with a lid, which is called the mercy seat. With the two carved cherubim on the top where only the high priest would go on the one day in a year, Yom Kippur to make atonement for the nation for their sins once a year. So we'll move along a little more rapidly as we finish off the book of Exodus, and pausing only at those places that we feel are significant to us as Christians.
Shall we stand? Now may the Lord be with you, and may the Lord watch over you and keep you in His love, and in His grace. May the Lord cause you to abound in every good work for Jesus Christ. May the Lord grant to you new dimensions of relationship with Him that you might become more keenly aware of His presence with you, and His power to help you. May God bless you, may you have just a fruitful, blessed week walking with Jesus Christ.
OTHER ONLINE RESOURCES
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/the-first-temple-solomon-s-temple
http://the-tabernacle-place.com/articles/what_is_the_tabernacle
http://www.jesusplusnothing.com/studies/online/Tabernacle1.htm https://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionary/tabernacle/
https://ministry-to-children.com/building-of-the-tabernacle-lesson/