God is with Us!

 Read Exodus 25-31. 

These seven chapters provided the nation of Israel with detailed instructions concerning the Tabernacle.  It was really a portable tent.  The word itself means dwelling.  Sometimes it is referred to as the “tent of meeting”.  God's stated purpose in 25:8 was "let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst."  God is omnipresent and His presence never limited to any one area.  But it was and is His desire to establish a visible presence among them.  He loves making Himself known.  

Why all these details?  We learn throughout scripture from the creation to the culmination of all things that the God of Heaven is a God of order, of preciseness, of arrangement, and of symmetry. 

The layout and the functions of the Tabernacle were designed to give humans access to forgiveness and fellowship with the Living God.  These functions are timeless and picture for us what we now enjoy through faith in Jesus.  When the angel announced the coming of the Messiah, he said, "...they shall call his name Immanuel" (which means God with us)".  John 1:14 declares concerning Jesus, "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us..." 

I am indebted to many resourceful writers who have published on the subject of Christ in the Tabernacle.  This is a very simple overview:

1. The Altar.  The place where sacrifices for sin were offered.  Hebrews chapter 10 makes it clear that the blood of animals never took away sin.  But when Jesus came, John, the Baptist, said, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29)  Therefore, "...we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all." (Hebrews 10:10)

2. The Laver.  This was used for washing and cleansing.  1 John 1:9 "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

3. The Bread.  A symbol of daily need.  Jesus said, "I am the bread of life." (John 6:48)

4. The Lampstand.  When the light is on one can see what is around them and where they are going.  Jesus said, "I am the light of the world.  Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."  (John 8:12)

5. The Incense.  The smoke was a picture of prayers ascending to God.  Because Jesus is our High Priest and is the only intercessor between God and humans, Hebrews 4:16 encourages us.  "Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need."

6. The Holy of Holies.  The place of earthly direct access to God.  The visible separation between sinful mankind and the Holy God was a very thick curtain.  Only the High Priest was allowed to enter and he only once a year.  But when Jesus died on the cross, Matthew 27:51 describes that "the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom."  God ripped the veil of separation so that we could have direct access to Him because of the sacrifice of Christ for us. 

"Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water."  (Hebrews 10:19-22)