What Was The Tabernacle?
150 Bible Basics
The mobile house of God while Israel traveled in the wilderness and up until the completion of the temple.
It contained a courtyard with an altar and basin; a “holy place” with a lampstand, a table of showbread, and altar of incense; and a “most holy place” in which the Ark of the Covenant rested.
The tabernacle was a large tent of costly materials with numerous ornate flourishes. Its construction was led by Bezalel, a man appointed by God and strengthened by the Holy Spirit (Exodus 31:1-5).
It also appears to be a replica of sorts of God’s heavenly temple, as we see similar elements in Revelation and Hebrews 8:4-5 speaks of the priestly labor as in service of “the copy and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was divinely instructed.”
While the tabernacle served as a place for God to dwell in the midst of His people, it was also a physical representation of spiritual realities we would come to understand in Christ. Interestingly, the elements are laid out in the shape of a cross.
They also progress from sacrificial altar to washing basin to bread and incense set in the light of a lampstand before ending at the throne of God in the form of the Ark of the Covenant. The Christian life begins with the blood of Christ and our baptismal washing, and we feed on the Bread of Life and offer the incense of priestly living in the light of the Son, all done before the presence of God.
Similarly, John 1:14 says Jesus “tabernacled” among us, and John’s Gospel goes on to lay out how Jesus embodies all of the elements of the tabernacle.
This is entry #45 of 150 from my book, Sunday School Catch-Up. You can buy the book on Amazon, or…
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