Introduction to the Tabernacle

• 2 Chapters on Creation• Approximately 50

Chapters concerning the Tabernacle

• God was with man in the garden.

• Sin caused separation.• God wants to restore His

relationship with man and dwell among us.

Word Study: TabernacleOld Testament (Hebrew)mishkan- implies to “dwell”, “rest”, or to “live in” referring to the in-dwelling presence of God. (139 times used in the Old Testament)

New Testament (Greek)skēnoō- to dwell, in a tent (Verb)skéné- tent, dwelling (Noun)

“Tabernacle” used in Bible

Used with conjunction to the tabernacle in the wilderness. (Exodus 25:9, 26:1, 26:6, etc.)

Leviticus 26:11-13, King James Version 11 And I set my tabernacle among you: and my soul shall not abhor you.12 And I will walk among you, and will be your God, and ye shall be my people.13 I am the Lord your God, which brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, that ye should not be their bondmen; and I have broken the bands of your yoke, and made you go upright.

New Testament Examples

John 1:14, King James Version“And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us…”

Literally means “pitched a tent” or “tabernacled”*Born during Feast of Tabernacles

New Testament Examples

Revelation 21:3And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.

God’s Desire to be with His People1) God was with man in the Garden2) He came to dwell in the Tabernacle3) He came as flesh, to tabernacle among us

through Jesus Christ4) He will come again to set up his tabernacle and

dwell forever among his people in the Garden of New Jerusalem.

• STARTED WITH A GARDEN, WILL END WITH A GARDEN (PROCESS OF RESTORATION, MAKING ALL THINGS NEW)

Coming Back to God

Why Study the Tabernacle?• To better understand God’s plan of dwelling with men. • To understand how to best approach God and move

closer to Him.• To get a clearer picture of Christ.• God uses imagery and symbolism (requires digging

and searching to comprehend).• It’s a representation of what’s in Heaven.• Applications to our own life / Connections to other

parts of the Bible/ Strengthening of our Faith

Israel’s Exodus• Freed from Egyptian Bondage (400 years)– Passover

• Approximately 2.5 million people• Moses leads a return to Mt. Sinai, where he originally saw

the “burning bush”. (Goes Up)• Golden Calf Brings About Sin• Israel makes covenant with God through the 10

commandments.– Pentecost

• Instructed to Keep Feasts of God (Passover, Pentecost, Tabernacles)

• Given orders to construct the Tabernacle, carefully observing all details.– Tabernacle

Israelite Encampment (drawn to scale)

Cherubim & God’s People

Israelites Traveling in the Wilderness

The Outer Walls & Gate

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrLYeG-aUSA

Ancient Hebrew Tents• Made from Goats’ Hair or Sheep Hair• Often Black, in a Dusty / Sparse Environment

• STARK CONTRAST TO WHITE LINEN ON THE TABERNACLE

Courtyard Walls & Gate

Pillars for Court Walls (Represents Believers)• Silver represents redemption

through the blood of Jesus Christ.• Wood (acacia) Corruptible material,

not plated in gold like elsewhere• Bronze represents the judgment of

sins.

He refines us (bronze), covers us with His blood (silver), and wraps us with His righteousness (white linen).God looks down on us and only sees Christ’s blood (silver).

Revelation 3:12, King James Version (KJV)Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.

Pillars Held Together by Silver Rods(Held the curtain tight and providing support to the pillars.)

Ephesians 4:16, New King James Version (NKJV)16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.

Pins (stakes or pegs) & Cord (rope)Isaiah 33:20, King James Version (KJV)20 Look upon Zion, the city of our solemnities: thine eyes shall see Jerusalem a quiet habitation, a tabernacle that shall not be taken down; not one of the stakes thereof shall ever be removed, neither shall any of the cords thereof be broken.

Pins of Security

“ I will place on his shoulder the key to the house of David; what he opens no onecan shut, and what he shuts no one can open. I will drive him like a peg into a firmplace” (Isaiah 22:22-23).

Cords of LoveHosea 11:4, English Standard Version (ESV)4 I led them with cords of kindness, with the bands of love, and I became to them as one who eases the yoke on their jaws, and I bent down to them and fed them.

White Linen• Represents purity and righteousness.• Shows separation from its dark surroundings. (7.5 ft. high)• A barrier to God, with only one way in.Isaiah 59:2Your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear you.

Bright White contrast during the day,and by night it would have been litup by the moon and light from within.

White LinenLeviticus 19:19, King James Version (KJV)Ye shall keep my statutes. Thou shalt not let thy cattle gender with a diverse kind: thou shalt not sow thy field with mingled seed: neither shall a garment mingled of linen and woollen come upon thee.

• Pure & Separate, Not Mingled Together• Those set apart wear white linen.• (Levite priests, bridesmaid, saints)• Christ was wrapped in white linen.

White Linen & Robes of White

Revelation 19:8And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.

Revelation 7:9-10 9 After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;10 And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.

The One Gate of the Court (Jesus)Ex 27:16 "For the gate of the court there shall be a screen twenty cubits long, woven of blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine woven linen, made by a weaver. It shall have four pillars and four sockets.

EASY TO SPOT AMONG THE WALLS OF WHITE LINEN

Colors of the Gate

The Gate (One Way In)• On the East Side of the Tabernacle– Had to be facing West to Enter– Many faced East to Worship the Sun– Signified a Change in Direction of Worship

• Had to Bow Down to Lift It Up to Enter• Connected to Four Pillars– North, South, East, West (ANY WHERE)– Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter (ANY SEASON)– Hebrew 4 parts of a Day (ANY TIME)

“ Enter through the narrow gate. … But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it” (Matthew 7:13-14) and again “Jesus answered,“I am the way and the truth and the life.

No one comes to the Father except through me”” (John 14:6).

“ I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. … I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved” (John 10:7, 9).

Christ is the only way to God.

Entering the Gate

For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness. (Psalm 84:10)

Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. (Psalm 100:4)

Tabernacle Representation of Time