The Tabernacle

Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring me an offering ... and let them make me a sanctuary

Exodus 25:1,8

The Construction

The Lord's opening statement regarding the construction of the Tabernacle demonstrates the theme of worship which pervades the whole section. The material for the Tabernacle was, first, to be brought as an offering to the Lord (25:2). The place where the Lord will dwell among the people is built from the resources which the people have. The question arises as to where the people, wanderers in the wilderness since their release from Egypt, received sufficient resources for the Tabernacle's construction. The answer is that they received them from the Egyptians themselves! In 12:30-36, Pharaoh responded to the plague of the death of the firstborn by hurrying Moses and the Israelites out of the country; as they left they took their dough for bread, "jewels of silver and jewels of gold and raiment, And the Lord gave the people favour in the sight of the Egyptians so that they lent unto them such things as they required. And they spoiled the Egyptians" (35-6). What had formerly belonged to Pharaoh was now offered to the Lord.

Secondly, it was to be offered willingly and from the heart (25:2). 35:20-29 shows us how successful the appeal was: "they came, every one whose heart was stirred up, and every one whom his spirit made willing, and they brought the Lord's offering to the work of the tabernacle of the congregation, and for all its service and for the holy garments" (35:21). In fact, in 36:5-7 Moses had to ask them to stop contributing: there was more than enough for the needs of the divine service. What a blessing if that same spirit were to be evident among God's people still!

Thirdly, the construction of the Tabernacle was, in a special way, the work of the Spirit of the Lord. Following the return from exile, Zechariah declared that the cause of the Lord would progress "not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit" (Zechariah 4:6). In this New Testament age, it is through the Spirit that the church becomes a habitation of God: "...you are also built together for a habitation of God through the spirit" (Ephesians 2:22). When the Tabernacle came to be built, Moses told the people that the Lord had filled the principal builder, Bezaleel the son of Uri, with the spirit of God (Exodus 36:30). The work was all of grace. God was the alpha and omega of the construction. He filled the heart of the builder, and then he filled the heart of the building.

Fourthly, the Lord called gifted men to attend to the construction, though all the people contributed. Two men were singled out as being specially gifted and equipped for the project. They were Bezaleel, of the tribe of Judah, and Aholiab of the tribe of Dan. They were called personally (31:2) and equipped especially for this task. Their ability to work with precious metals and to cut stones was not despised, but was harnessed by God for this specific purpose. God equips those whom he calls, and calls those whom he equips. What a sin it would have been (and a loss to the people of God) had these men not responded in faith and obedience. What a service they rendered on behalf of God's people, and what a debt God's people owed to them.

Fifthly, the construction was according to the Lord's own pattern and design. That note is struck at the outset: "according to all that I show thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it" (25:9). The God who dwelt among them was the King whom they must obey. God's purpose was to reproduce heavenly realities in an earthly manner, and the plan had to be followed to the letter. Hebrews 8:5 emphasises this for us when it reminds us that the Tabernacle service was after "the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern showed to thee in the mount". Moses was not left to draw the plan himself, and nor was Bezaleel. Their skill was employed in obedience. There was a regulative principle which governed the worship and approach of the people, and there still is.

The Elements of the Tabernacle: Introduction

As we have noted, the description of the Tabernacle and its construction moves from the centre out, from the pivotal role and significance of the Ark of the Covenant to the outer courtyard, where preparation was made for entering into the presence of the Lord. It is not going too far to suggest that the significance of the whole construction depends to a large measure on the significance of the Ark, which was so central and fundamental to the whole.

The tabernacle, as the New Testament makes clear, was rich in symbolism and in typology. But three general points are worth making regarding the items which made up the whole.

Not every detail is given. Descriptions of items like the Ark are detailed, but are not exhaustive.
Not every detail may be significant. There is some level of contention among interpreters of the OT here. Is there spiritual significance in every single detail recorded? For example, when 25:12 tells us that there were four rings of gold in the Ark, one in each corner, what is the spiritual significance of that? Is there a spiritual lesson to be learned from each ring? Or from the significance and function of the rings? Or simply from the fact that they were part of this all-important Ark? Patrick Fairbain warns against the view that the only purpose for every element of the Tabernacle was to demonstrate the reality of Christ and his salvation: this view, he says, "is too exclusively typical"; and many writers, he says, swim "in a kind of uncertainty, because no care was taken to investigate the meaning of the symbols before they were interpreted as types" (Typology of Scripture, Vol 2, pp252-3). Just as the garments of the High Priest were "for glory (or ornament) and beauty" (28:2), so many details were either aesthetic or functional. They symbolised nothing, and typified less. On the other hand, the effect of the whole is to demonstrate the glory and beauty of the salvation that there is in Christ.
The units of measurement varied. A 'cubit' is the measurement between elbow and fingertips, but there seems to have been a difference between the Egyptian 'royal' cubit, and the cubit whose length was later employed in the construction of the Temple (see 2 Chronicles 3:3 which refers to a cubit 'of the first measure', or 'according to the former standard'). It is difficult, therefore, to convert these measurements into modern lengths.