God’s Provision for Worship

GOLDEN TEXT: “Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name bring an offering, and come into his courts.” —Psalm 96:8

EXODUS 35:20-26; 40:34-38

THE Tabernacle which God instructed Moses to build in the wilderness was not intended to be a place of worship in the sense that church buildings and great cathedrals are used today. No “meetings” were held in the tabernacle, nor in the “court” area which surrounded it. The Israelites understood that God’s presence was represented in the tabernacle, and that through Moses and the priesthood divine instructions emanated therefrom.

Because of this significance of the tabernacle to Israel, God uses it symbolically to represent the period when, through the agencies of the messianic kingdom, his presence and blessing will be with and upon all mankind. We read, “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. And God, shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.”—Rev. 21:3,4

Death entered into the world through the disobedience of Adam, but life for the dying world has been provided through the redemptive work of Christ. This is God’s plan of salvation stated in its simplest form. All the various details of this plan are revealed through the Scriptures, and many of them are symbolized, or typified, by the tabernacle and its services.

One of the features of the divine plan of salvation is that certain members of the fallen and dying race are invited, upon conditions of obedience to God’s will, to participate with Jesus in extending the opportunity of salvation to the world. In a general way, this is foreshadowed by the fact that the Israelites were invited to contribute material for the building of the tabernacle: and they contributed liberally and with enthusiasm.. Evidently much of what they contributed was brought with them from Egypt, for the tabernacle was built very shortly after they had been delivered from Egyptian bondage.

The tabernacle proper was forty-five feet long, fifteen feet wide and fifteen feet high. It was divided into two compartments known as the “holy” and the “most holy” or “holiest of all.” The partition was a heavy curtain stretched across the interior, thirty feet from the entrance, making the “holiest of all” at the rear of the tent a fifteen foot cube, while the “holy” was fifteen by thirty feet.

In the holy there were three articles of furniture. To the right, upon entering, there was the table of showbread; to the left, the candlestick, and in the center close up to the curtain that separated the holy from the most holy was a small golden altar, known as the incense altar. Within the most holy there was but one article, known as the “ark of the testimony,” or covenant. Its cover was called the “mercy seat.” Rising out of the cover were “two cherubim’s,” facing each other, and between these a bright light shone, indicating the presence of the Lord.

This manifestation of the Lord’s presence, however, was seen only by the high priest, who went into the most holy once a year to sprinkle the blood of atonement on the mercy seat.

Surrounding the tabernacle was a large area known as the “court.” This was one hundred and fifty feet long, and seventy-five feet wide; the enclosure being formed by white linen curtains. In the court were the brazen altar and the laver, or basin, which contained water.

On Israel’s day of atonement a bullock and a goat were sacrificed in the court of the tabernacle. The blood of these animals was taken into the most holy and sprinkled on the mercy seat. The fat and life-producing organs were burned on the brazen altar, while the hide, hoofs, and other refuse of the animals were burned “without the camp.” This work of sacrifice pointed forward to the sacrifice of Jesus and of his church during the Gospel age.—Heb. 13:11-13

The “holy” symbolized the Christian’s spiritual life and development as a “new creature.” The most holy “within the veil” of the tabernacle, represented heaven into which Jesus entered after his resurrection, where his footstep followers will have the privilege of joining him; and, together, as the antitypical priesthood, they will share in the great work of dispensing the blessings of reconciliation and life to the whole world of mankind who will then believe and obey the laws of the kingdom. It is a privilege indeed to enter into the Lord’s antitypical tabernacle!

QUESTIONS

Was the tabernacle in the wilderness designed as a place in which to hold meetings?

What is the general symbolic meaning of the tabernacle?

Give a brief description of the tabernacle and of the Day of Atonement sacrifices.

What is represented by the holy and the most holy of the tabernacle?

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