Faith and Sight join. Exodus 25:1-2 For forty days, Moses was out of sight of the Israelites, and God provided him with the design, plan, materials list, and purpose for the Tabernacle. It was clearly not something to be handled carelessly or altered, whether added to or taken from. God was giving a visible representation of Himself that would connect the faith of God's people to their daily life with and for Him. The glory displayed on Mount Sinai would fill the place of worship located in the center of Israel's camp.
This was not a carved image made in any form for people to see God looking in a way that resembles themselves. That would be like people trying to meet their own needs without God. The pattern, model, and representation of God were unusual structures similar to buildings, but they were distinctly different. The Tabernacle was meant to represent God’s greatness and His glory visibly. God’s moral perfection was symbolized by the unseen tablets of stone and the pot of manna that the people knew was inside the ark in the Holy of Holies. God’s presence was evident in the cloud and fire above the Tabernacle, and God’s atonement through the perfection of our Lord Jesus Christ was symbolized in all the various parts that made up the entire structure.
Inside this unique portable building was a gold-covered box about four feet long and two and a quarter feet wide and high. The lid of the box was made to fit the box, which was called the mercy seat, and on top of the mercy seat were two cherubim facing down with wings hovering over the box. This entire piece of furniture in God’s house on earth was called “the ark.” Inside the box were two tablets of stone engraved with the commandments. This was God’s way of showing people what He is like morally and spiritually.
The majesty, glory, and goodness of God, the redemption offered through the sacrifice of Christ, and all that is necessary to illustrate a residence are reflected in the local assembly today, similar to the Tabernacle of the past. God’s dwelling is characterized by holiness in the place where He resides now—the church, which is His body. Everyone in the body is a new creation in Christ Jesus. The Tabernacle was the initial place where God dwelt among His people on earth. Today, God lives with and within His people. The building where we gather is simply that—a meeting house.
The presence of God became clear to all of Israel once they fully followed His instructions. This was seen through the cloud and the awareness of the shekinah glory inside the veil, showing God's majesty and the importance of meeting Him at His chosen place. He instructed the Jews to build a portable dwelling because He would be with them on their journey to the promised land. The Tabernacle symbolized God’s glory among His people.
Being in the church of God today is a significant matter. It is where God dwells with His people, but in a more intimate sense. We have been made members of His body. Buildings do not represent God; they are places where God’s people gather as members of the body of Christ, identified by coming together in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ alone. The specifics of the tabernacle were such that there was no room for human ideas to alter even the smallest part of the plans. This remains true in the house of God where we meet locally to do what He has commanded, as a testimony to His name and character.
The tabernacle was meant to show and demonstrate in ways people could see what the God in whom they had placed their faith was like. God wasn't receiving any input at all from Moses. God provided the size, shape, and materials, from the pins that held the fence in place to unseen elements like a rod running through the walls, the priests' undergarments, and Moses, and everything was to be made exactly as He instructed.
Divine instructions are not something to be tampered with. If the type is to be so carefully made, how much more that which is the reality? We dare not haphazardly make images of God. We dare not adopt the ideas of men about the Lord Jesus Christ into some frame of human design so He is more acceptable to the wishes of sinful men. We dare not make the teaching and practice of the Church, the Body of Christ, or the local church composed of obedient believers into something of our own design.
The Gospel is "the Gospel of God." The assembly I belong to is "the house of God." The work I participate in is "the work of God." None of these are subject to change based on my opinions or anyone else's. It took forty days of constant communication with God for Moses to clarify everything in his mind and turn those instructions into a visible reality, serving as a type of God among His people.
About 50 chapters of the Bible are dedicated in various ways to teaching about the Tabernacle. It clearly was important to God, and it should be to us. God provided instructions about the Tabernacle and the priesthood, who would serve as His personal representatives to the people and their representatives to God. The visible tabernacle, symbolizing God’s side of the covenant, and the priesthood, representing Israel’s side, would always be present wherever the people of God traveled on their way to Canaan.
The writings about this are for our learning, especially teaching about the Person of our Lord Jesus Christ. Before God led Israel out of Egypt, He personally interacted with people like Adam, Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. This nation of former slaves was a genuine nation, not with a king as their ruler, but with God Himself as their Leader, living among His people — right in the middle of them, not in front or above, but among them, arranged in an orderly way around Him. God was moving in with them. Over time, people would sing, "How amiable are Thy tabernacles, O Lord of hosts!" God was with them.
The same is true for us today. He dwells among His people now. We don't need to go to a building a few times a week to connect with God. We gather unto Him 24/7. He has left us a pattern to follow. Those who ultimately crafted the physical Tabernacle with great skill were given that ability by the Holy Spirit, who guided them to create what God intended the way He wanted it. He does the same with us today. The Holy Spirit leads, guides, and empowers God's people, and the Spirit dwells within us constantly because we are the "body of Christ and members in particular."
That large group of people, the children of Israel, was going to see clear evidence of God's unifying presence. They would be united around the Sanctuary. Equal groups on the four sides of the Tabernacle were arranged in orderly rows by their tribes, and they all would witness God's presence during the day through the cloud over the Tabernacle and at night through the pillar of fire. A sense of awe would fill those who loved the Lord.
The sense of awe would eventually fade for those who only saw the Tabernacle and lacked faith in God. This holy, set-apart place where nothing defiled could enter was not truly understood or believed by everyone. This was the "Tabernacle of the Lord," and it was also the "Tabernacle of the congregation" as well as the "Tabernacle of Testimony." Sadly, the holiness linked to God's presence is not appreciated or accepted by all who claim to be believers today.
The detailed and careful descriptions of the Tabernacle's construction and form teach us about God's greatness and how much higher and holier He is than we are. Yet, He has made a way for us to come to Him through the altar where offerings are made, the laver where cleansing for service occurs, and the holy place where testimony is given. Inside the "Holiest of all," which was veiled so that only the high priest could enter, and only once a year with blood, God dwelt between the cherubim on the mercy seat.
Now, because of the sacrificial work of Christ, an offering has been made once and for all, and we can approach God ourselves with "reverence and godly fear." The moral perfection of God kept Him separated from the intimacy that is hindered by what is common or unclean. The Tabernacle was made to move when God led His people toward the promised land. God does not remain distant from His own but desires to be with them even today as we journey toward our heavenly home.
The typology of the Tabernacle provides visible evidence of the meaning and character of our Lord Jesus Christ. The furnishings of the Tabernacle and the materials used in its construction all carry special significance, offering a verbal understanding of concepts that are often beyond our grasp. While we can visualize the materials used, their application and uses are very different from how we typically perceive them. God does not want to reveal Himself to people without faith in Him. What the people saw would have been a faint glimpse of what they could not see. "Without faith, it is impossible to please Him." The actual sight of God's people would verify the reality of the unseen. How important it is that we put our faith in Him, not just in the visible evidence of Him all around us! That is the key difference between a believer and an unbeliever.
EXODUS 25:2. “Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring me an offering: of every man that giveth it willingly with his heart ye shall take my offering.”