The Tabernacle

The glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle

Exodus 40:34

The Tabernacle As Worship

So much for the terminology; what was the purpose of the Tabernacle? At the heart of the arrangement, as we have seen, was the presence of God among his people. In grace, mercy and love, God provided access, covering for sin and atonement. The response to his redeeming work was that his people would enjoy fellowship with him in adoration and worship.

The principle which stands out clearly in the Book of Exodus is that redemption leads to worship. The thread that runs throughout the book is that of the covenant; in 2:24 God heard the groaning of his people, and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Through a covenant redemption he secured the release of his covenant people. He led them out of Egypt and brought them to Sinai, where he gave them his law, the 'book of the covenant'. Now he dwells among them, and they can draw near to him in worship and in assurance.

Vern Poythress, in an interesting article on "Ezra 3, Union with Christ and Exclusive Psalmody", notes that "In each climactic deliverance, in the course of the history of redemption, one finds the pattern: (a) a deliverance from the bondage of the oppressor, (b) a house-building, and (c) an ordering of worship by the word of God" (Westminster Theological Journal, 37.1, Fall 1974, p77). In the time of Moses, we find (a) deliverance from Egypt, (b) the construction of the tabernacle, and (c) the Levitical laws regarding sacrifice. In the time of David, we find (a) rest from his enemies -- 2 Samuel 7:1, (b) the construction of the Temple, and (c) the worship of Solomon's day. At the close of the OT, we have (a) deliverance from Babylon, (b) construction of second Temple, (c) development of synagogue worship. This reaches its climax in Jesus Christ, where we have (a) defeat of Satan through his death on the cross, (b) the building of the church, (c) the worship of God. In Heaven, (a) deliverance from death and the grave is followed by (b) the building of the new Jerusalem, and (c) eternal worship of God.

Professor Poythress explores the implications of this for the worship of the New Testament church. We may or may not agree with his conclusions, but it is important to grasp the significance of the pattern: God delivers, God builds and God is worshipped. We are redeemed in order to draw near to him. This is our privilege and our duty. There is a new and living way for us to enter within the veil (that kind of language is meaningless without reference to the Tabernacle), to enjoy the presence and the blessing of God through the finished work of Jesus Christ.

In other words, the placing of the Tabernacle theme at the close of the Book of Exodus is a reminder to us of what the purpose of redemption was: to give access to God and to secure a people who would worship God. This is brought before us clearly in 1 Peter 2:9: "But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people [language used of the nation of Israel], that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light". Here is the pattern: a nation set apart through redemption in order to discover and to display the glories of the One who saves.

The Tabernacle As Re-creation

It is interesting to note that the story of the Tabernacle is told in two parts. Exodus 25-31 relates what God commanded Moses to do, and Exodus 36-40 tells of how the work was actually carried out. There is much overlap between these two accounts, and any study of the different elements of the Tabernacle will have to pay close attention to both. But the order in which the different parts are highlighted and spoken of is different. One striking feature of the first narrative (what God told Moses) is that God begins with the ark of the covenant through to the courtyard, from the inside out. This shows us the 'theocentric' character of the Tabernacle, and highlights the divine initiative taken in its construction.

But the narrative is also reminiscent of the Genesis account of creation, which is also told us in a two-fold narrative. Genesis 1 shows us God's plan being executed: "Let there be ... and there was...". Genesis 2 describes the emergent creation which came from God's hand. In Genesis 1, we find the phrase "And God said..." used seven times (1:3,6,9,14, 20,24,26); in the construction of the Tabernacle we find the phrase "And the LORD said..." seven times (25:1; 30:11,17,22,34; 31:1,12).

There is a clear parallel between the Genesis account of creation and the Exodus account of the Tabernacle. We must approach the teaching of Exodus from the perspective of the New Testament, specifically the Epistle to the Hebrews, which reminds us that the Tabernacle was a copy and a replica of God's dwelling-place in Heaven: thus Hebrews 8:5 describes the Tabernacle and its service as a "shadow of heavenly things"; and Hebrews 9:24 describes the Most Holy Place as "a figure of the true" dwelling-place of God.

Psalm 90:1-2 relates these realities to the created order: "Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God." At the very beginning, the "Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters" (Genesis 1:2), with the presence of God over the whole of the as yet unformed world. And when God did bring forth the mountains and formed the world, the Heavens declared, and continue to declare, his glory (Psalm 19:1). Eden had the character of a tabernacle: God was present as the Sovereign, Glorious Lord: Heaven was his throne and earth his footstool. The King was everywhere present: God was Adam's habitation in the earthly realm.

Just as the Spirit over the waters is connected with the creation of the world, the Spirit given to Bezaleel (Exodus 35:30) enabled him to carry out the work of construction. Just as Genesis strikingly tells us that the work was finished and that on the seventh day God rested (Genesis 2:1-2), so we read in Exodus 44:33 that "Moses finished the work", and in 31:12-17 we have an emphasis on the Sabbath as a day of rest to be kept without work as the sign of a perpetual covenant. Just as the creation narrative climaxes with man being invested with the image of God, so the tabernacle narrative climaxes with Aaron being invested with the image of the true heavenly sanctuary: in Exodus 39 the priestly garments are made, and in 39:43 we read "Moses did look upon all the work, and behold they had done it as the Lord had commanded ... and Moses blessed them" (language clearly reminiscent of the creation account, where God looks on the work he has made); the investiture and anointing of Aaron become the climax of the tabernacle story, then Moses finishes the work and the glory cloud appears (40:34).

These themes inform much of the New Testament teaching regarding the redemption that is ours in Jesus Christ. If a man is in Christ he is a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17), in which he is renewed in the image of God in Christ, looks at the glory of God and is transformed from glory to glory by God's spirit (2 Corinthians 3:18). This is also linked to priestly service ("you are a royal priesthood" -- 1 Peter 2:9), in which we enjoy access to God (Romans 5:1-2), offer sacrifices to him (Romans 12:1ff, Hebrews 13:15) and live our lives in service to him. Eventually, in Heaven, God's name will be in our foreheads (Revelation 22:4) and we will serve him there. Creation will be restored and Paradise will be regained. Here we have an earthly tabernacle, which will be dissolved; our hope is that we have a house of God, eternal in the heavens, and while we are here we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with that heavenly house (2 Corinthians 5:1-4). We might well ask: what does it mean to be clothed with a house? The tabernacle offers a twofold answer: first, it was a house covered with skins (25:5), which is what God clothed Adam and Eve with; and secondly, Aaron's garments, as we shall see, represented the tabernacle as a seamless covering. The symbolism is rich: God will clothe us with the realities of covenant redemption and blessing. There will be a new Heaven and a new Earth, because of the saving, redeeming work of his grace. These are the themes to which the Tabernacle points, and of which it speaks so eloquently.