This may have made for some dull reading, but you've got to know that something so detailed and specific, had meaning to God. He went to great lengths to outline the exact template and materials for the Tabernacle, and not surprisingly, there is a great deal of symbolism to be found in the plan. Parallels to Christ can be found in many of the elements including the lampstand (Jesus is the light of the world) and the showbread (Jesus is the bread of life), and in details as small as the colors chosen for the embroidery and the numbers used for the measurements. The most striking relationship of the Tabernacle to Jesus, is not in the materials or elements, but in the layout itself. The Tabernacle contained an outer courtyard, which anyone could enter who was ceremonially clean. The Holy Place could be accessed only by the Levitical priests and the Holy of Holies, God's dwelling place, could be accessed just once a year by one man...the High Priest, for the purpose of making atonement for the sins of the Israelites. A thick veil walled off the Holy of Holies, reminding all of Israel that there was something separating them from God. We know that "something" to be sin, as God in His Holiness cannot be in the presence of it.
When Jesus was crucified and uttered his last words, "It is finished", the temple veil separating the Holy of Holies was torn in two. His death had made a way for man to be cleansed of his sin and approach a Holy God. The sacrificial system was instantly obsolete, as man had no further need to offer continual sacrifices for sin. Jesus death paid the price once and for all...for all sins past, present and future of anyone who would claim it. The Jews spent a few thousand years offering sacrifices and still not being able to approach God. Jesus accomplished in one act what they had not been able to. And that was the point of the sacrificial system, of the Tabernacle, of all Old Testament history...to show mankind that he could not be good enough to enter the presence of God on his own. Jesus now serves as our High Priest...One who is able to enter the Holy of Holies and tear down the curtain that separated us.
If you would like to see a visual representation of the Tabernacle, I am attaching a link. It really helps to get a visual of what all those details translated into. You will probably have to copy and paste, but it's worth doing! A Dutch man built a life-size model and it's incredible. http://www.bibleplaces.com/tabernacle.htm
Tomorrow's reading: Exodus 29-31
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Melissa,
ReplyDeleteThank you for making this reading of Exodus interesting. The detail of God's rules to Moses and Aaron are tiresome but as you mentioned, important to Him or else they wouldn't be documented as they are. I love to read the blog to keep the dry parts interesting!
And....when are you sleeping? I've seen multiple posts at 1:00 a.m. (-;
Mel, you are doing a great job with this!!!!
ReplyDeleteA wonderful Bible study that beautifully draws together God's desire to dwell with us - from the Garden of Eden to the Tabernacle to Jesus Christ to the gift of the Holy Spirit - is Beth Moore's "A Woman's Heart: God's Dwelling Place." It's a deep dive into Exodus, the building of the Tabernacle and to the fulfillment of God's desire to dwell among us in the form of Christ. She makes the Tabernacle absolutely come alive for you and leads you to see that "only through the death of One to come would there be true bread on which to live, a Great High Priest to intercede, and glorious liberty through the fulfillment of the law." It had a profound impact on my relationship with Christ and I can't recommend it enough.