There are three manifestations of the tabernacle.
1) a physical dwelling place constructed by the Hebrew people. It is a representation of the heavenly tabernacle. Have them make a sanctuary for me
2) Today’s tabernacle, the body of Christ, made of living stones 1Pe. 2:5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house (tabernacle) to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
3) The heavenly tabernacle. Heb 9:11 When Christ came as high priest of the good things that are already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not man-made, that is to say, not a part of this creation.From the human perspective, a past, present, and future manifestation of His Presence.
The Tabernacle of Moses
After God delivered Israel from Pharaoh, He began leading them with the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night as they wandered the desert.
God commanded Moses to build Him a tabernacle (The Hebrew word translated “tabernacle” isohel, means “a tent, a dwelling place, a home.”). This Tabernacle would be where the Glory of God dwells. Ex. 25:8-9 “…Have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them. Make this tabernacle and all its furnishings exactly like the pattern I will show you.”
It was a tent that was set up outside of the camp, (Exodus 33:7) which Moses called the tent of meeting, where he would go to inquire of God. He and God would speak face to face! Whenever Moses went there, the pillar of cloud would descend in front of the door, and the people would worship. The purpose of the tabernacle of Moses was to provide a place where the people could go to worship God.
The tent was divided into two rooms: the Holy Place, where the table of showbread, the golden lampstand, and the altar of incense sat; and the Most Holy Place (Holy of Holies), where the Ark of the Covenant (Testimony) was placed. The ark contained the gold jar of manna, Aaron’s staff that had budded, and the stone tablets of the covenant.
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| Moses' Tabernacle |
The Most Holy Place is where God would meet with Moses. Ex. 25:22 “There, above the cover between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the Testimony, I will meet with you and give you all my commands for the Israelites.”
Priests sacrificed animals on the altar in the outer court. Apart from the bronze altar there was no approach to God.
Responsive statement: You have made a way for me - to come into your presence.
The priests only were allowed in the holy place, where they would perform rituals, like keeping the lampstand burning, and burn incense morning and evening.
Ps. 141:2 May my prayer be set before you like incense; may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice.
Rev 5:8 the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.
The priest prayed and ministered in the Tabernacle. How’s your prayer life?
Responsive statement: God really hears my prayers – so I will pray.
But once a year, the high priest would enter the Most Holy Place on the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) At no other time was anyone to enter the Most Holy Place. This must have been a scary thing.
Leviticus 16:1–3 The Lord spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they drew near before the Lord and died, and the Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron your brother not to come at any time into the Holy Place inside the veil, before the mercy seat that is on the ark, so that he may not die. For I will appear in the cloud over the mercy seat. But in this way Aaron shall come into the Holy Place: with a bull from the herd for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering.”
The Most Holy Place was indeed just that. They dare not take it lightly. There was no other place on earth that was more important. And only the high priest was allowed in.
The ark captured
Fast forward many years, we’re making a quick stop in 1 Samuel. You might remember Eli the bumbling high priest. He was the unremarkable father of two wicked sons, Hophni and Phinehas.
Eli is most notable because he met Hannah, who was barren, but who finally conceived and gave birth to Samuel. But most notable, it was under his watch that the ark was captured.
During Eli’s time as high priest the Philistines won a great battle against Israel, and Eli’s two sons were killed. The Philistines captured the ark and carried it off. Eli falls off his rock at the news and dies.
1Sa. 4:19-21 “His [Eli’s] daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant and near the time of delivery. When she heard the news that the ark of God had been captured and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she went into labor and gave birth, but was overcome by her labor pains. As she was dying, the women attending her said, “Don’t despair; you have given birth to a son.” But she did not respond or pay any attention. She named the boy Ichabod, [Ichabod means no glory.] saying, “The glory has departed from has departed from Israel” — because of the capture of the ark of God…
Responsive statement: We cannot live – without Your glory.
“The glory has departed from Israel.” Notice that the presence of the Ark was the Glory of the Lord, and it (and He) were gone. So what good is it to have a Most Holy Place that isn’t holy? What purpose does an empty tabernacle serve?
The Philistines had the ark for 7 months, moving it several times because of the disasters that would continually fall upon them. They decided they were cursed, so finally they sent it away on a cart drawn by two cows and no driver and sent it back to Israel. There it stayed at the home of Abinadab in the Jewish town of Kiriath Jearim for 20 years.
The Tabernacle of David:
It was when Samuel was very old when he anointed David above his brothers to be king. (1 Sam. 16:13) David purposed to bring the ark back to Jerusalem. There David built a tent tabernacle; 1Ch. 15:1 “After David had constructed buildings for himself in the City of David, he prepared a place for the ark of God and pitched a tent for it.”
As the Ark was brought into the city, David danced with wild abandon, and the ark was placed in the tent.
This was an important tabernacle because David is an important figure. He was a man after God’s own heart. It was his throne that was a type for the everlasting throne of the King of Kings. David offers us a glimpse into what it means to be a worshiper.
So it only makes sense that during these times that David instituted the 24/7 worship. Prayers, songs, shouts of joy, weeping, dancing and repentance was heard and seen all day and all night. That lasted 40 years.
It was so important that David chose only the best and the brightest musicians in the kingdom to minister in the tabernacle. Careful consideration was given. It was a high honor to serve.
Responsive statement: I am honored – to worship my king.
David desired to build a temple, but it would be his son that would build it. 1Ch. 17:4 “Go and tell my servant David, `This is what the LORD says: You are not the one to build me a house to dwell in.”
Solomon
1Ch. 17:11-14 “When your days are over and you go to be with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, one of your own sons, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for me, and I will establish his throne forever. I will be his father, and he will be my son. I will never take my love away from him, as I took it away from your predecessor. I will set him over my house and my kingdom for ever; his throne will be established for ever.’“
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| Solomon's Temple |
The temple eventually would be rebuilt by Ezra, and that temple stood between 516 BCE and 70 AD. King Herod did a remodel in 20 AD, and the Romans under Titus destroyed it.
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| Herod's Temple |
So every man-made tabernacle has been destroyed. I guess it might seem a little strange that God would come and dwell in a tent or a temple building, doesn’t it? After all, this is the God whose glory fills the universe. So it is interesting that he asks:
Is. 66:1-2 This is what the LORD says: “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. Where is the house you will build for me? Where will my resting place be? Has not my hand made all these things, and so they came into being?” declares the LORD. “This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word.”
Responsive statement: Here, O God – Dwell in me
We are now have arrived at the time of the early church, and they are wrestling with the great issues of faith. In Acts 15, Paul and Barnabas got into a dispute with some Judaizers, who wanted the gentile believers to be circumcised. So Paul and Barnabas were appointed to go to Jerusalem to consult the apostles and elders. Peter warned of placing a burdensome yoke on the gentile believers, and then Paul and Barnabas told of the great wonders God was performing among the gentiles.
James then stood up and said, Ac. 15:14-17 “Brothers, listen to me. Peter has described to us how God at first showed his concern by taking from the Gentiles a people for himself. The words of the prophets are in agreement with this, as it is written: “`After this I will return and rebuild David’s fallen tent. Its ruins I will rebuild, and I will restore it, that the remnant of men may seek the Lord, and all the Gentiles who bear my name, says the Lord, who does these things.’ James was quoting Amos 9:11.
James believed that God’s promise through the prophet Amos—that He would “build again the tabernacle of David”—was connected to the amazing works God was doing among the gentiles. The tent, that is, the “tabernacle,” is the house of God open to all, both Jew and Gentile, who seek Him in order to worship in truth.
Responsive statement: God wants me in His house – I’m going in.
Access to the Most Holy Place
Ps. 100:4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.
Mt. 27:50-51 And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split. The curtain is torn. We both have access to the Most Holy Place, we can also see in. Our vision need not be obscured any more.
Jesus entered the Most Holy Place to offer himself. He. 9:24 For Christ did not enter a man-made sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God’s presence. Notice that He entered the heavenly tabernacle, of which the earthly ones are only a copy. This is the access we are granted.
If was on our behalf Jesus did this. He made a way for us. He. 6:19-20 We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf.
If we have been granted access to the King of kings, why would we not go in? He. 10:19-22 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, We are counseled to come into God’s presence with full confidence, because the blood of Jesus has opened access to the very presence of God.
The door is open to you. Your name is being called to draw near. You are part of the temple, one of the living stones. You are a priest now. 1Pe. 2:9-10 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
Responsive statement: Where I really belong – is in the presence of God.
When Solomon built the temple, and set the ark in the Most Holy Place, the glory came. 2Ch. 7:1-3 When Solomon finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the LORD filled the temple. The priests could not enter the temple of the LORD because the glory of the LORD filled it. When all the Israelites saw the fire coming down and the glory of the LORD above the temple, they knelt on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshipped and gave thanks to the LORD, saying, “He is good; his love endures for ever.”
Do you remember another time when the Glory came down in fire? Ac. 2:1-4 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit
Face to Face, the heavenly tabernacle
1 Cor 13:12 Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
There be a time when we see "face to face." There will come a time when we finally know fully. Mt. 5:8 "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God." At the culmination of all things, God Himself will be in our midst and walk among us, His people.
Responsive statement: Change is coming - Let me be first.
Re. 21:1-4 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling (Tabernacle) of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
Finally, the fulfillment of an ancient promise from Lev. 26:12: I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people.
There will come a time when the Glory will be in plain sight, and we as His people will live with him. All our troubles, our pain, our disappointments, our failures, will all become former things.
What about today?
That’s for then, and that will be amazing. But what about now? We are on the brink of moving to a new… tabernacle. Is this going to be a dwelling place of God? Do we want that?
How much more will His Spirit dwell there? As much as we ask, I would say.
Responsive statement: Even more – make us your dwelling place.
Filled with the Spirit
What do you envision for this new tabernacle? I want a move of God. A tabernacle for Him. A home. A place where the Kingdom of God advances. A Place where the lost are saved, where the dead are raised, where the blind will see, and the lame will walk.
As living stones, we the temple of God need to be filled with His Spirit.
And He tells us to ask!
Lk. 11:9-13 “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
Ep. 5:18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.
Be filled with the Spirit. Do you want to obey that command?
Ps. 100:4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.
Mt. 27:50-51 And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split. The curtain is torn. We both have access to the Most Holy Place, we can also see in. Our vision need not be obscured any more.
Jesus entered the Most Holy Place to offer himself. He. 9:24 For Christ did not enter a man-made sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God’s presence. Notice that He entered the heavenly tabernacle, of which the earthly ones are only a copy. This is the access we are granted.
If was on our behalf Jesus did this. He made a way for us. He. 6:19-20 We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf.
If we have been granted access to the King of kings, why would we not go in? He. 10:19-22 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, We are counseled to come into God’s presence with full confidence, because the blood of Jesus has opened access to the very presence of God.
The door is open to you. Your name is being called to draw near. You are part of the temple, one of the living stones. You are a priest now. 1Pe. 2:9-10 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
Responsive statement: Where I really belong – is in the presence of God.
When Solomon built the temple, and set the ark in the Most Holy Place, the glory came. 2Ch. 7:1-3 When Solomon finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the LORD filled the temple. The priests could not enter the temple of the LORD because the glory of the LORD filled it. When all the Israelites saw the fire coming down and the glory of the LORD above the temple, they knelt on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshipped and gave thanks to the LORD, saying, “He is good; his love endures for ever.”
Do you remember another time when the Glory came down in fire? Ac. 2:1-4 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit
Face to Face, the heavenly tabernacle
1 Cor 13:12 Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
There be a time when we see "face to face." There will come a time when we finally know fully. Mt. 5:8 "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God." At the culmination of all things, God Himself will be in our midst and walk among us, His people.
Responsive statement: Change is coming - Let me be first.
Re. 21:1-4 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling (Tabernacle) of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
Finally, the fulfillment of an ancient promise from Lev. 26:12: I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people.
There will come a time when the Glory will be in plain sight, and we as His people will live with him. All our troubles, our pain, our disappointments, our failures, will all become former things.
What about today?
That’s for then, and that will be amazing. But what about now? We are on the brink of moving to a new… tabernacle. Is this going to be a dwelling place of God? Do we want that?
How much more will His Spirit dwell there? As much as we ask, I would say.
Responsive statement: Even more – make us your dwelling place.
Filled with the Spirit
What do you envision for this new tabernacle? I want a move of God. A tabernacle for Him. A home. A place where the Kingdom of God advances. A Place where the lost are saved, where the dead are raised, where the blind will see, and the lame will walk.
As living stones, we the temple of God need to be filled with His Spirit.
And He tells us to ask!
Lk. 11:9-13 “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
Ep. 5:18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.
Be filled with the Spirit. Do you want to obey that command?
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