Exodus - Lesson 25/26

• The next section of study in Exodus runs until chapter 31, and it consists of the instructions for the building of the Lord’s sanctuary, called the tabernacle

  • The tabernacle was, for its size, perhaps the most expensive building every constructed

    • It was remarkably small, barely the size of a modest bedroom and an average living room

    • In fact, you will likely be surprised to learn how small most of the items in the tabernacle truly were

  • Yet despite it’s modest size, it was constructed out of the most valuable materials of the day

    • Some have estimated it cost $2 million to build in Moses’ day,

    • This would be an extraordinary amount in today’s dollars

• The tabernacle is also a remarkable picture of Christ and God’s work of redemption through His Son

  • Last week we heard the Lord tell Moses that he was to follow a precise pattern that the Lord would show Moses

Ex. 25:9 “According to all that I am going to show you, as the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furniture, just so you shall construct it.

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• Moses not only heard the instructions God gave him, Moses also saw an image of the finished building to guide him (see v.40)

  • When finished, the tabernacle itself became a pattern

Heb. 9:8 The Holy Spirit is signifying this, that the way into the holy place has not yet been disclosed while the outer tabernacle is still standing,
Heb. 9:9 which is a symbol for the present time...

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• The word for symbol in v.9 means type or picture

  • So the tabernacle was a symbol for a time, a symbol of Christ

• So as we study the construction of the tabernacle and it’s purpose, we will also study the design of the tabernacle as a type, specifically a type of Christ

  • A type is a divinely intended parallel between a lessor form and it’s greater fulfillment

    • The building is so rich in details that it is easy to get carried away with typology and imagine everything to be a type of Christ

    • While there may be many illustrations of Christ, there are only a few types identified in scripture

  • For example, we know that Isaac is a type of Christ in the way he was taken up to a mountain to be sacrificed by Abraham

    • We know this because Hebrews 11 tells us so

    • Because we know Isaac was a type of Christ, we might speculate that Abraham was a type of the Father in that story

      • Since the NT never specifically calls Abraham a type of the Father, we should not call Abraham a type

      • We can say that Abraham serves as an illustration of the way the Father sacrificed His Son

  • Similarly, we will find many illustrations of Christ in the details of the tabernacle

    • And perhaps these are divinely-intended types of Christ, even though they are not called out in the NT

    • But I will play it safe and only use the term “illustration” to describe my extended comparisons

• FInally, it’s worth noting that the pattern used to construct the tabernacle is itself based on another structure, a heavenly tabernacle

  • The writer of Hebrews tells us this

Heb. 8:1  Now the main point in what has been said is this: we have such a high priest, who has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens,
Heb. 8:2 a minister in the sanctuary and in the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, not man.
Heb. 8:3 For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices; so it is necessary that this high priest also have something to offer.
Heb. 8:4 Now if He were on earth, He would not be a priest at all, since there are those who offer the gifts according to the Law;
Heb. 8:5 who serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things, just as Moses was warned by God when he was about to erect the tabernacle; for, “SEE,” He says, “THAT YOU MAKE all things ACCORDING TO THE PATTERN WHICH WAS SHOWN YOU ON THE MOUNTAIN.”

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• The design of the earthly tabernacle is based on the Heavenly one

  • This heavenly tabernacle is a place that God - not man - erected

• So Israel is told to collect an offering from those who are moved (by the Spirit) to contribute to the building of the sanctuary

  • And from these materials, Moses is to build a very unique structure for the Lord

    • There are three primary purposes for the building of tabernacle, according to scripture

  • First, the tabernacle is to be the dwelling place of God on earth during the dispensation of Law

    • The Hebrew word for dwell in v8 is shakan, from which we also get the word shechinah

    • The Shechinah glory of God is the visible presence of God among His people

      • Since the fall of man in the Garden, God’s presence has only been manifested for moments, in accordance with God’s purposes to reveal Himself

      • But now the Lord desires a physical place in which His Schechinah glory will reside continuously

    • The tabernacle was not the only place God’s presence might be found on earth

      • God is all spirit and therefore He can’t be localized to a single place on earth

        • He is everywhere at all times

      • But the tabernacle was the one and only place where the the Lord chose to manifest His glory to men on a consistent basis

  • In the Old Testament law, the nation of Israel was warned that if a man attempted to sacrifice to the Lord outside of the tabernacle, He would be punished

Lev. 17:3 “Any man from the house of Israel who slaughters an ox or a lamb or a goat in the camp, or who slaughters it outside the camp,
Lev. 17:4 and has not brought it to the doorway of the tent of meeting to present it as an offering to the LORD before the tabernacle of the LORD, bloodguiltiness is to be reckoned to that man. He has shed blood and that man shall be cut off from among his people.

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• In this detail, we find an illustration of Christ

  • The New Testament teaches that Christ is the one and only manifestation of the Father’s glory on earth

Acts 4:12 “And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”

• The message in these requirements are clear: God sets the manner by which men may find Him

  • Any attempt by men to seek God on their own terms or outside His provision will result in judgment

  • Just as Christ is the only way to the Father, as Jesus said

John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.

• Secondly, the tabernacle  was the Lord’s sanctuary according to v.8

  • The word sanctuary means a holy or a place set apart

    • In this case, it is a place set apart from sin

      • It is holy ground, made so by the very presence of the Lord’s glory

      • As when He told Moses that the ground on which Moses stood had become holy ground

      • So the tabernacle was a place set apart from the sin of the world

  • This is also an illustration of Christ

    • Christ was the sinless sanctuary of the Father on earth

    • John says

John 1:14  And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.

• The Greek word for dwelt is the same word for tabernacle

  • Jesus was the glory of God tabernacling among His people

  • And Paul says

Col. 1:19 For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him,

• All the fullness of the Father dwelled in Christ

  • And John again

1John 3:5 You know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin.

• Jesus was the sinless sanctuary of the Father

• Finally, the tabernacle is sometimes called the tent of meeting, for that was its third purpose

  • The tabernacle became the place where God would condescend to meet with man

    • The men of Israel gathered in the tent according to God’s ordinances

    • The tabernacle allowed Israel to draw near God through the High Priest of Israel, which interceded on behalf of the people

  • Once again, this is a type of Christ, as explained by the writer of Hebrews

Heb. 7:25 Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.

• The very fact that God called for a tent rather than a permanent structure points to the temporary purpose of this structure

  • It was temporary because it was to be replaced by the work of Christ

  • Even the magnificent temple built by Herod was temporary, as Jesus alluded in speaking about the temple

Luke 21:5 And while some were talking about the temple, that it was adorned with beautiful stones and votive gifts, He said,
Luke 21:6 “As for these things which you are looking at, the days will come in which there will not be left one stone upon another which will not be torn down.”

• So now we begin to examine the details of this elaborate yet temporary structure, starting with the key pieces of furniture held within the tabernacle

  • Altogether we will find seven pieces of furniture in the tabernacle, with some described here and others described later

    • As we read the description of this item and the other furnishing to follow, let’s notice the order of the items described

    • The descriptions proceed outward from the most important part of the tabernacle, the Holy of Holies and with the most important furniture first, the ark at the center of the structure

  • The point in ordering the descriptions in this way was to emphasize that God presence was at the heart of the structure

    • And everything else is connected to that presence

    • Were God not present, the rest of the building would have no meaning or purpose

Ex. 25:10  “They shall construct an ark of acacia wood two and a half cubits long, and one and a half cubits wide, and one and a half cubits high.
Ex. 25:11 “You shall overlay it with pure gold, inside and out you shall overlay it, and you shall make a gold molding around it.
Ex. 25:12 “You shall cast four gold rings for it and fasten them on its four feet, and two rings shall be on one side of it and two rings on the other side of it.
Ex. 25:13 “You shall make poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold.
Ex. 25:14 “You shall put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark, to carry the ark with them.
Ex. 25:15 “The poles shall remain in the rings of the ark; they shall not be removed from it.
Ex. 25:16 “You shall put into the ark the testimony which I shall give you.
Ex. 25:17  “You shall make a mercy seat of pure gold, two and a half cubits long and one and a half cubits wide.
Ex. 25:18 “You shall make two cherubim of gold, make them of hammered work at the two ends of the mercy seat.
Ex. 25:19 “Make one cherub at one end and one cherub at the other end; you shall make the cherubim of one piece with the mercy seat at its two ends.
Ex. 25:20 “The cherubim shall have their wings spread upward, covering the mercy seat with their wings and facing one another; the faces of the cherubim are to be turned toward the mercy seat.
Ex. 25:21 “You shall put the mercy seat on top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the testimony which I will give to you.
Ex. 25:22 “There I will meet with you; and from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are upon the ark of the testimony, I will speak to you about all that I will give you in commandment for the sons of Israel.

• The first item described is the ark of the covenant

  • This is an item made even more famous (if that were possible) by the Indiana Jones movie

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    • Like the rest of the structure, the ark itself was not very large but it was very ornate

    • The ark was made of wood and covered in pure gold

      • It was about 3’9” long and only 2’3”  wide and high

      • And it had rings of gold on the corners

    • The rings were used in conjunction with rods of acacia wood covered in gold to carry the ark

      • The ark itself was never to be touched by human hands

      • In fact, one time a well-intentioned Israelite dared to touch it

2Sam. 6:4 So they brought it with the ark of God from the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill; and Ahio was walking ahead of the ark.
2Sam. 6:5 Meanwhile, David and all the house of Israel were celebrating before the LORD with all kinds of instruments made of fir wood, and with lyres, harps, tambourines, castanets and cymbals.
2Sam. 6:6  But when they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah reached out toward the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen nearly upset it.
2Sam. 6:7 And the anger of the LORD burned against Uzzah, and God struck him down there for his irreverence; and he died there by the ark of God.

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• Inside the ark the Israelites eventually placed three items

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  • Here God tells Moses to place the testimony in the ark

    • The testimony refers to the tablets holding the ten commandments, which represents the entire Law

    • Notice that the tablets themselves must have been fairly small to fit in a space only 3.5’ by 2’

  • Later the Lord will instruct Israel to add a jar of manna and the budding staff of Aaron

    • All three of these elements picture Christ

      • The sinless Christ who will judge all men according to the Law

      • The bread of life that comes down from Heaven

      • The rejected branch that shoots forth from the stem of Jesse, returning from death to life

• On top of the ark was a lid

  • This lid, called a mercy seat, was the most important place in the entire tabernacle

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    • It was made of pure gold (no wood for the lid)

    • It was the place of propitiation, a word which means to satisfy the wrath of God

    • Over the mercy seat, the High Priest sprinkled the blood of the goat on the Day of Atonement

    • This act satisfied the wrath of God against the sin of Israel under the covenant

  • But the Day of Atonement was not a permanent propitiation nor was it a propitiation for personal sin

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    • It served to temporarily appease the wrath of God against the nation of Israel for their national sins under the Old Covenant

    • But only the blood of Christ can fully satisfy the wrath of God against sin

    • And only by personal faith in Christ’s propitiation can a person receive the forgiveness of God made possible by Christ

  • This is why there are two days in the Jewish calendar when national sacrifices are made under the Law

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    • First, there is the sacrifice of a lamb on Passover

      • The lamb symbolizes the innocence of Christ

      • Christ died without sin so that He could serve as an atoning sacrifice on our behalf

    • Secondly, there was the sacrifice of a goat on the day of atonement

      • There are two goats: the scapegoat who is released from the city carrying the sins of the people and the one sacrificed on the altar

      • The goat sacrificed symbolizes the wrath of God poured out upon a substitute

      • This is why in scripture sheep and goats are the animals used to symbolize believers and unbelievers, respectively

    • And Christ is pictured by both animals in different ways

      • Christ was both the innocent lamb and the condemned goat

      • As Paul explains

2Cor. 5:21 He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

Gal. 3:13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us — for it is written, “CURSED IS EVERYONE WHO HANGS ON A TREE” —
Gal. 3:14 in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we would receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

• So the mercy seat of the ark is a type of Christ’s propitiation in the NT

  • John says:

1John 4:10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

• The Greek word for propitiation is the same word translated as “mercy seat” in Heb 9:5

  • So the mercy seat was the place where God’s wrath was appeased, and it pictures Christ taking the wrath of God in our place

Rom. 5:9 Much more then, having now been justified   by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.

• On either end of the mercy seat are two gold cherubim with their wings outspread to cover the lid

  • It would here that the Shechinah glory of God appeared to Israel and spoke to the people

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    • It appeared in this small space above the lid and under the wings of the cherubim

    • The glory of God was the only illumination in the Holy of Holies, since the room had no other lamp and no windows

      • Another illustration of Christ, Who is the Light of the world

      • And in the world to come, the glory of God will illuminate the earth according to Revelation 22:5

  • This glory of God remained on the ark until the years before the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar

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    • Ezekiel tells in chapters 8-11 of how the glory of the Lord first moved away from the Holy of Holies to the threshold of the temple illuminating the whole court yard

    • Then it moved to entrance to the east gate, and it was surrounded by real cherubim

    • Finally, it departs the temple altogether and moves briefly to the Mt of Olives

• The creatures attending to the Shechinah glory of God are called cherubim, and they are the highest form of spiritual creatures in the heavenly realm

  • The Bible mentioned angels, seraphim and cherubim

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    • These beings play different roles in the heavenly realm and have different appearances

    • The angelic realm are messengers of God ministering to His saints, as Hebrews tells us

      • And contrary to Hallmark cards and Victoria Secrets catalogs, angels don’t have wings

  • Seraphim are the next rank above angels

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    • They are only described in Isaiah 6

    • They are seen ministering to the Lord around His throne and giving Him praise

    • They have six wings

  • Finally, the highest order of spiritual creatures are cherubim

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    • They are described in detail in Ezekiel

    • They are always associated with the appearance of God’s Shechinah glory

    • These creatures are entrusted with His glory

      • The chief cherub was Lucifer, before he fell to become Satan

      • Perhaps this explains why Satan was so deceived to think he could be like God, since he was the closest to His glory

      • Just as it required someone close to Jesus, Judas, to betray Him

• Together, the ark and the mercy seat tell an integrated story about Christ

  • By His death and resurrection, Jesus is the giver of life

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    • His sacrifice appease the wrath of God, making possible eternal life

    • Jesus is the bread of life, like manna coming down from Heaven

    • He is the glory of God, making possible the glorification of sinful men

  • So the Holy of Holies represents Jesus as the Life of all men

• The next section describes furniture in the next room of the tabernacle, moving outward, that is the Holy Place

Ex. 25:23  “You shall make a table of acacia wood, two cubits long and one cubit wide and one and a half cubits high.
Ex. 25:24 “You shall overlay it with pure gold and make a gold border around it.
Ex. 25:25 “You shall make for it a rim of a handbreadth around it; and you shall make a gold border for the rim around it.
Ex. 25:26 “You shall make four gold rings for it and put rings on the four corners which are on its four feet.
Ex. 25:27 “The rings shall be close to the rim as holders for the poles to carry the table.
Ex. 25:28 “You shall make the poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold, so that with them the table may be carried.
Ex. 25:29 “You shall make its dishes and its pans and its jars and its bowls with which to pour drink offerings; you shall make them of pure gold.
Ex. 25:30 “You shall set the bread of the Presence on the table before Me at all times.

• Next in order of importance is the table of the shewbread or the Table of the bread of the Presence

  • This table was constructed like the ark, that is of acacia wood with gold overlaid on top

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    • It stood in the second chamber of the tabernacle, the Holy Place

    • It was also quite small

      • 3’ X 1’6” X 2’3”

      • An average-sized coffee table

      • All dish ware on it were made of gold

  • It held a perpetual offering of bread, which the priests replaced every week

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    • The bread was stacked in two stacks of six cakes each

    • The bread was called the bread of the presence, since it remained in the presence of God’s glory

    • At the end of each week, the old bread was consumed by the priests who served in that prior week

  • The bread itself pictures Christ, Who is called the bread of life in John 6

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    • So the Holy Place is decorated by a symbol of Christ as the Bread of Life, referring to His life-giving word

Matt. 4:3 And the tempter came and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”
Matt. 4:4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘ MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD.’”

• Notice that the only food on the table for the priests of God was this bread

  • No other food was provided

  • Illustrating that the believer’s spiritual diet should be the word of God exclusively

• Next we find the second item in the Holy Place, the lamp stand

Ex. 25:31  “Then you shall make a lampstand of pure gold. The lampstand and its base and its shaft are to be made of hammered work; its cups, its bulbs and its flowers shall be of one piece with it.
Ex. 25:32 “Six branches shall go out from its sides; three branches of the lampstand from its one side and three branches of the lampstand from its other side.
Ex. 25:33 “Three cups shall be shaped like almond blossoms in the one branch, a bulb and a flower, and three cups shaped like almond blossoms in the other branch, a bulb and a flower — so for six branches going out from the lampstand;
Ex. 25:34 and in the lampstand four cups shaped like almond blossoms, its bulbs and its flowers.
Ex. 25:35 “A bulb shall be under the first pair of branches coming out of it, and a bulb under the second pair of branches coming out of it, and a bulb under the third pair of branches coming out of it, for the six branches coming out of the lampstand.
Ex. 25:36 “Their bulbs and their branches shall be of one piece with it; all of it shall be one piece of hammered work of pure gold.
Ex. 25:37 “Then you shall make its lamps seven in number; and they shall mount its lamps so as to shed light on the space in front of it.
Ex. 25:38 “Its snuffers and their trays shall be of pure gold.
Ex. 25:39 “It shall be made from a talent of pure gold, with all these utensils.
Ex. 25:40 “See that you make them after the pattern for them, which was shown to you on the mountain.

• The lamp stand is described in this section

  • The lamp was the traditional seven branch menorah

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    • It was solid gold made of one piece and weighed about 75 pounds

    • We can see a vivid depiction of what this lamp looked like by examining the famous Roman arch built to commemorate Titus’ destruction of Herod’s temple

    • The lamp burned continuously, since it was the only source of light in the Holy Place

      • No natural light could enter this place

      • Only the light made available by the instructions of God filled the tabernacle

  • By this we find another type or picture of Christ

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    • Jesus is called the Light of the world by John 1

    • And in the Psalms we read

Psa. 119:105     Your word is a lamp to my feet
And a light to my path.

• Of course, Jesus is also called the Word by John, so Jesus is pictured by the light-given lamp as the word of God

• Together, the table of the presence and the lamp tell a common story about Christ

  • Both the table with the bread and the lamp stand represent the word of God

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    • The word of God, which is our spiritual food, sustains and grows us spiritually

    • And the word of God is the light that illuminates our walk of holiness, leading us into righteousness

    • So the Holy Place represents Jesus Christ as the Truth

  • There was one additional piece of furniture in the Holy Place, the table of incense, but it isn’t covered until chapter 30

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    • The reason the table of incense appears later in the text is because it symbolizes a different meaning and isn’t connect to the picture of Jesus as the Word of God

• The next chapter describes the structure of the tabernacle itself

Ex. 26:1  “Moreover you shall make the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine twisted linen and blue and purple and scarlet material; you shall make them with cherubim, the work of a skillful workman.
Ex. 26:2 “The length of each curtain shall be twenty-eight cubits, and the width of each curtain four cubits; all the curtains shall have the same measurements.
Ex. 26:3 “Five curtains shall be joined to one another, and the other five curtains shall be joined to one another.
Ex. 26:4 “You shall make loops of blue on the edge of the outermost curtain in the first set, and likewise you shall make them on the edge of the curtain that is outermost in the second set.
Ex. 26:5 “You shall make fifty loops in the one curtain, and you shall make fifty loops on the edge of the curtain that is in the second set; the loops shall be opposite each other.
Ex. 26:6 “You shall make fifty clasps of gold, and join the curtains to one another with the clasps so that the tabernacle will be a unit.
Ex. 26:7  “Then you shall make curtains of goats’ hair for a tent over the tabernacle; you shall make eleven curtains in all.
Ex. 26:8 “The length of each curtain shall be thirty cubits, and the width of each curtain four cubits; the eleven curtains shall have the same measurements.
Ex. 26:9 “You shall join five curtains by themselves and the other six curtains by themselves, and you shall double over the sixth curtain at the front of the tent.
Ex. 26:10 “You shall make fifty loops on the edge of the curtain that is outermost in the first set, and fifty loops on the edge of the curtain that is outermost in the second set.
Ex. 26:11  “You shall make fifty clasps of bronze, and you shall put the clasps into the loops and join the tent together so that it will be a unit.
Ex. 26:12 “The overlapping part that is left over in the curtains of the tent, the half curtain that is left over, shall lap over the back of the tabernacle.
Ex. 26:13 “The cubit on one side and the cubit on the other, of what is left over in the length of the curtains of the tent, shall lap over the sides of the tabernacle on one side and on the other, to cover it.
Ex. 26:14 “ You shall make a covering for the tent of rams’ skins dyed red and a covering of porpoise skins above.
Ex. 26:15  “Then you shall make the boards for the tabernacle of acacia wood, standing upright.
Ex. 26:16 “Ten cubits shall be the length of each board and one and a half cubits the width of each board.
Ex. 26:17 “There shall be two tenons for each board, fitted to one another; thus you shall do for all the boards of the tabernacle.
Ex. 26:18 “You shall make the boards for the tabernacle: twenty boards for the south side.
Ex. 26:19 “You shall make forty sockets of silver under the twenty boards, two sockets under one board for its two tenons and two sockets under another board for its two tenons;
Ex. 26:20 and for the second side of the tabernacle, on the north side, twenty boards,
Ex. 26:21 and their forty sockets of silver; two sockets under one board and two sockets under another board.
Ex. 26:22 “For the rear of the tabernacle, to the west, you shall make six boards.
Ex. 26:23 “You shall make two boards for the corners of the tabernacle at the rear.
Ex. 26:24 “They shall be double beneath, and together they shall be complete to its top to the first ring; thus it shall be with both of them: they shall form the two corners.
Ex. 26:25 “There shall be eight boards with their sockets of silver, sixteen sockets; two sockets under one board and two sockets under another board.
Ex. 26:26  “Then you shall make bars of acacia wood, five for the boards of one side of the tabernacle,
Ex. 26:27 and five bars for the boards of the other side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the boards of the side of the tabernacle for the rear side to the west.
Ex. 26:28 “The middle bar in the center of the boards shall pass through from end to end.
Ex. 26:29 “You shall overlay the boards with gold and make their rings of gold as holders for the bars; and you shall overlay the bars with gold.
Ex. 26:30 “Then you shall erect the tabernacle according to its plan which you have been shown in the mountain.
Ex. 26:31  “You shall make a veil of blue and purple and scarlet material and fine twisted linen; it shall be made with cherubim, the work of a skillful workman.
Ex. 26:32 “You shall hang it on four pillars of acacia overlaid with gold, their hooks also being of gold, on four sockets of silver.
Ex. 26:33 “You shall hang up the veil under the clasps, and shall bring in the ark of the testimony there within the veil; and the veil shall serve for you as a partition between the holy place and the holy
of holies.
Ex. 26:34 “You shall put the mercy seat on the ark of the testimony in the holy of holies.
Ex. 26:35 “You shall set the table outside the veil, and the lampstand opposite the table on the side of the tabernacle toward the south; and you shall put the table on the north side.
Ex. 26:36  “You shall make a screen for the doorway of the tent of blue and purple and scarlet material and fine twisted linen, the work of a weaver.
Ex. 26:37 “You shall make five pillars of acacia for the screen and overlay them with gold, their hooks also being of gold; and you shall cast five sockets of bronze for them.

• This structure is measured in cubits, and a cubit is roughly 18” in length

  • To give you an idea how small the tabernacle was, here are the dimensions

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    • It was 45 feet long

    • 15 feet wide

    • 15 feet high

    • The Holy of Holies was only 15 cubic feet, about the size of an average bedroom

    • If you walk into a modern car parking lot and mark off four parking spaces arranged face to face, you have about the space the tabernacle occupied

  • The entire structure was accessed through a single door, which is a type of Christ

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    • Jesus called Himself the door by which we find access to the Father

John 10:9 “I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.

• The entire structure rested on two sockets of silver

  • There were one hundred sockets, each weighing about 100 pounds

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    • That’s 10,000 pounds of silver or 5 tons

    • And the wall boards had pegs protruding from the bottom that fitted into these sockets

  • This silver is collected in chapter 30

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    • The amount collected per person was a very modest sum, but when all the children have contributed, the total equals five tons

    • Here is what the Lord commands of Israel

Ex. 30:12 “When you take a census of the sons of Israel to number them, then each one of them shall give a ransom for himself to the LORD, when you number them, so that there will be no plague among them when you number them.
Ex. 30:13 “This is what everyone who is numbered shall give: half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel is twenty gerahs), half a shekel as a contribution to the LORD.
Ex. 30:14 “Everyone who is numbered, from twenty years old and over, shall give the contribution to the LORD.
Ex. 30:15 “The rich shall not pay more and the poor shall not pay less than the half shekel, when you give the contribution to the LORD to make atonement for yourselves.
Ex. 30:16 “You shall take the atonement money from the sons of Israel and shall give it for the service of the tent of meeting, that it may be a memorial for the sons of Israel before the LORD, to make atonement for yourselves.”

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• God says that anytime you number God’s people, that census must be conducted in conjunction with the taking of atonement money

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  • Before anyone can be numbered as among God’s people, atonement must be made and a price must be paid for that person

    • Each person must pay the atonement price

    • No one can pay the price for someone else

  • And the silver is called the atonement in Exodus 30

  • So the tabernacle rests on silver, which pictures the atoning work of Christ’s blood, by which we may be called God’s people

1Pet. 1:18 knowing that you were not   redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers,
1Pet. 1:19 but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.

• And Paul completes the picture when he taught

1Cor. 3:11 For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

• The walls were boards held together with five wooden rods covered with gold running horizontally through loops to hold the boards together

  • The boards were made of acacia wood, known for being a type of wood that resists decay in the harsh desert heat

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    • On top of the wood was laid pure gold

    • The whole inside of the tabernacle would have gleamed in yellow gold reflecting the light of the yellow flames of the lamp

  • This construction of wood overlaid with gold is also an illustration of Christ

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    • The wood represented Jesus’ fleshly body

    • It was born of the earth, out of the ground

      • Isaiah 53 again

Is. 53:2 For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot,
And like a root out of parched ground;
He has no stately form or majesty
That we should look upon Him,
Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him.

• And when Jesus died, his earthly body did not decay, like the acacia wood

Psa. 16:10  For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol;
    Nor will You allow Your Holy One to undergo decay.

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• But the boards were also covered in pure gold, symbolizes divinity in scripture, hence the covering of gold throughout the design of the tabernacle

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  • But that gold covered wood

  • Illustrating how Jesus was a man of flesh, but He was also a holy God

• Surrounding the outside walls were ten curtains of woven linen that were connected together to form a single unit that surrounded the walls

  • The linen curtains were woven with colors of blue, purple and scarlet

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    • There were also images of cherubim in the fabric

    • The colors are said to stand for the heavenly origin of Christ, the royal authority of Christ and the blood of His atonement

  • There were ten curtains connected together into a single unit

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    • These curtains covered the gold boards and also formed the ceiling of the tabernacle

    • They were draped across the top of the boards and down the outside walls

• Across the tops of these boards were draped three additional layers of materials to create a tent roof

  • The second layer was woven goat hair

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    • Goat hair symbolize the sin offering of Christ on the cross

  • The next layer was a ram’s skin died red

    •  

    • This skin was a reminder of the goat that died on the day of atonement for the sins of Israel

    • And of course, it illustrates the sacrificial death of Christ and His red blood shed for the sins of men

  • The outermost layer was an animal skin

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    • My translation says porpoise but others say badger skin

    • The point was it was a waterproof layer

    • It was relatively unattractive

      • This is an illustration of Christ as well, since scripture tells He was a man of plain and unadorned looks

Is. 53:2 For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot,
And like a root out of parched ground;
He has no stately form or majesty
That we should look upon Him,
Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him.

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• Because of the curtains draped down the outside of the boards, only the priests saw the inner fabric covering of the tabernacle

  •  

  • By this another illustration of Christ is formed

  • Unless you become a priest of God, you cannot see and understand the finer things of God

  • All believers are priests, according to the NT

  • Therefore, all believers have been granted access to the holy place and to know the things freely given of God

1Cor. 2:12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God,

• But to the unbeliever, who has not entered through the door and come to Christ, they can only see the plain outside appearance

  • And they cannot appreciate the beauty and majesty of God in the face of Christ

• Finally, there was a veil constructed to separate the Holy of Holies from the Holy Place

  • This veil was made of the same three colors as the curtains

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    • It was also decorated with cherubim

    • The veil hung on a center wall constructed of four pillars of acacia wood

    • This design would have made it impossible to remove the ark from the holy of holies without first dismantling the entire structure

  • This veil is another picture of Christ from the NT

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    • The Hebrews writer teaches that the veil was a partition between God and man signifying that the way to God had not yet been revealed to men

Heb. 9:8 The Holy Spirit is signifying this, that the way into the holy place has not yet been disclosed while the outer tabernacle is still standing,

• But once Christ came and died, His atonement made a way available to everyone

Heb. 10:19 Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus,
Heb. 10:20 by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh,

• And therefore, upon His death we’re told in the Gospels that the veil was rent from top to bottom

  • From the top, signifying God’s work, and to the bottom, meaning that it completely removed the division for men

  • The way into the holy place has now been revealed

  • So entry past the outer wall of the tabernacle symbolizes the entrance or way to find God

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    • That way is obscured from the outside and can only be seen and appreciated by those who have been enlightened by the Spirit through faith

    • The way is based on Christ’s work to remove the separation between God and men created by our sin

• So standing back and looking at the construction of the tabernacle, we find a three part quality to Christ

John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.

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• The way to God is through Christ, the door leading into the holy place

  • The holy place is the truth, represented by the bread and lamp

  • And the holy of holies is the life, made possible by the atoning work of Christ

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.lockman.org