Lessons from the Tabernacle of the Wilderness Pt. 1 by Chris White

 “And let them construct a sanctuary for Me, that I may dwell among them.  According to all that I am going to show you, as the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furniture, just so you shall construct it.”

                                                                  Ex. 25:8-9

I would like to begin this series on the Tabernacle of Israel with a question: why would learning about the tabernacle make me a better Christian?  In a general way, the tabernacle illustrates the fullness of our relationship with Jesus.  The tabernacle teaches us how God has approached man and how man is to approach God.  In the coming weeks this divine portrait of Christ will become more vivid as we take a closer look at its many furnishings.  We read in Exodus 25 that the tabernacle was a temporary sanctuary that was the center of Israel’s worship until Solomon built a permanent temple in Jerusalem 647 years later.   The tabernacle in the wilderness was most importantly not something Moses or the people initiated, but something God initiated.  Moses received the work order, the specific design, even the names of the building supervisors (Ex. 31) directly from God.  Moreover, the resources to fulfill this work had been provided by Him through the Egyptians as gifts to the Jews as they left following the final plague.  This tabernacle when finished was to be in the center of Israel’s massive encampment and would travel with them.  As this pertains to Jesus Christ let me point out three important things: first, Mt.1:23 tells us that Jesus will be called Immanuel or “God with us”.  God came to where is people were living and dwelt in the middle of them.  Second, the Israelites were tent dwellers and so God lived among them in the same fashion.  This points to Jesus’ incarnation, that He would dwell among us and live as we live, that He would redeem our existence.  Third, like the Tabernacle, Jesus is God’s provision and exclusive means of reconciling man to Himself (see 1 Tim. 2:5).  Our salvation begins and ends with God.  We cooperate with Him to be sure, but ultimately it is through His instrumentality that anyone is saved.  Next time: The Ark of the Covenant.