Introduction

The tangible, material tabernacle and the service in it are “the copies of the things in the heavens” (Heb 9:23). The tabernacle is not the true dwelling place of God, but represents it. God does not dwell in “a holy place made with hands, a [mere] copy of the true one” (Heb 9:24; 2Chr 6:18).

In Scripture there are three real dwellings of God:
1. heaven (1Kgs 8:39a Psa 115:3; 16),
2. the Lord Jesus (Jn 1:14a, where “dwelt” is literally “tabernacled”; Col 1:19; Col 2:9) and
3. the church (Eph 2:22; 1Tim 3:15; Heb 3:1-6).

The tabernacle is a tent in the wilderness. This can be applied to the church on earth, in which God the Holy Spirit dwells.

The tabernacle is:
1. a picture of the dwelling place of God among His people,
2. a picture of His glory as He revealed it completely in the Lord Jesus and
3. a description of the way of the sinner to God.

The description of the tabernacle is given to Moses by the LORD in one long speech in the Exodus 25-31. This speech – interspersed seven times with “the LORD said” or “the LORD spoke” – can be divided into four parts:
1. In Exodus 25-27 the furniture is described which in picture give the revelation of God in Christ to man.
2. In Exodus 28-29 we see the priesthood as the means by which man can approach God.
3. Exodus 30 contains the elements which show in picture how and with what man can approach God.
4. In Exodus 31 we hear who God designates to build the tabernacle.

Materials to Be Collected

For the construction of the tabernacle the LORD wants to use the means that His people make available for it. Those means must be offered to Him as a heave offering. It is not set as an obligation, but is asked “from every man whose heart moves him” (cf. 2Cor 9:7).

If we bear in mind that the tabernacle is the revelation of God to man, we see that this revelation is linked to the mindset of the heart. Only those who ‘heave’ what they have beyond daily use and offer it to God as a “heave offering” share in God’s thoughts about His dwelling place.

In all of the materials something of God and the Lord Jesus becomes visible. In the seven kinds of materials needed, we see a number of features:
1. metals – speak of what characterizes God’s Being and nature;
2. fabrics – speak of the glory of the Lord Jesus as Man on earth;
3. skins – are derived from animals, and speak, like the fabrics, of the Lord Jesus as Man on earth, but more specifically in connection with His work on the cross;
4. wood – speaks of the perfect Manhood of the Lord Jesus;
5. oil – represents the Holy Spirit;
6. spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense – represent the inner, personal glories of the Lord Jesus;
7. precious stones – speak of the glories of God, as they are reflected in the individual believers.

All these materials must be used to make a “sanctuary” in which the LORD can dwell among His people. If it is our desire that the Lord Jesus can dwell with His people, the church, we will give Him our total life and everything we possess. The church is His house, but the picture of the construction of the tabernacle shows us how we can experience this in practice. Total surrender to Him is needed to work out the truth of being God’s house to God’s glory in practice in the gathering and living together of the church.

What the tabernacle should look like is not left to the imagination of Moses. The LORD shows him the model and he must make it like that. Thus Ezekiel sees in a vision the form and stature of the new temple which he is to present to Israel: “So that they may observe its whole design and all its statutes and do them” (Eze 43:11; cf. 1Chr 28:19).

The Ark

God begins with a description of the center of the tabernacle: the ark. It is most hidden from man, but most precious to God. There He dwells. The ark with the mercy seat on it represent:
1. the truth concerning the Person of the Lord Jesus: He is God (pure gold) and Man (wood) in one Person;
2. the truth of the work of the Lord Jesus, of which the mercy seat speaks (Exo 25:17).

The testimony, the law, must be placed in the ark. This represents the Lord Jesus saying: “Your Law is within my heart” (Psa 40:8). His desire is to do God’s will. In everything His obedience to God is expressed.

The ark must be carried by the Levites. The care for the ark is entrusted to people who have been appointed by God. In our time it means all believers. A special class doesn’t exist in the New Testament church.

The Mercy Seat

The mercy seat covers the ark in which the law is. The law condemns man. On the mercy seat are two cherubs who form a whole with the mercy seat. Cherubs watch over the holiness of God and are the executioners of His judgment (Gen 3:24). Therefore blood is sprinkled on the mercy seat. The blood says, as it were, that God’s holy and just demands have been met. Judgment has been exercised, but it has been exercised over an innocent sacrifice, so that the guilty may receive forgiveness and go unpunished.

God’s Place of Meeting

God is enthroned above the cherubs (Psa 80:1c; Psa 99:1b; Isa 37:16). It should not surprise us that this is the place where God will and can come together with the people. God has found His full pleasure in His Son and in the work He has accomplished. The Man Christ Jesus is the “mediator … between God and men” (1Tim 2:5). “God displayed” Him “as a propitiation” (Rom 3:25), that is the mercy seat.

God wants to meet with His children, the church, where the Lord Jesus is the center point and where His work is considered. There He also wants to make known His will for the way He wants His people to go. Although the church no longer acts as a whole, God does indicate in His Word how He wants His church to conduct when they assemble (1Cor 14:26). Thus Paul also writes rules of conduct to Timothy, so that we as members of His church know how to conduct ourselves daily in practice “in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth” (1Tim 3:15).

The Table With the Bread of the Presence

The ark stands in the holy of holies, the table stands in the holy place. The priestly service takes place in the holy place. The table is also a picture of the Lord Jesus. The twelve loaves of bread on it represent the people of God – the twelve tribes. The table with the bread of the Presence on it gives the picture that the people of God are presented to God by the Lord Jesus as food for Him. God rejoices when He sees His people in this way connected to His Son.

The table is smaller in size than the ark. The fellowship of God’s children is a smaller circle than the circle the ark extends to. The ark as a symbol of the Lord Jesus extends to all people. Everyone is invited to come. The table represents those who have come, with whom God can have fellowship.

The height of the table is the same as that of the ark. Both the sinner and the believer can only come to God through and in the Lord Jesus.

Just like the ark, the table also has poles. That means that we have to carry two things with us on our journey through the world:
1. The truth concerning Christ and His work, presented in the ark; and
2. the truth related to fellowship with God in the world.

The Lampstand

The lampstand stands, like the table, in the holy place. No sizes are mentioned for the lampstand, but the weight is. We cannot measure the glory of the Lord Jesus, but it can be weighed in our hearts.

The lampstand is carrying seven lamps. In this we can see a picture of the Lord Jesus who carries the seven churches: “As for the mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches” (Rev 1:20). It can be compared to the table that carries the loaves of bread. A lampstand gives light, that is also the task of the local churches. The churches can only give light in connection with the One Who carries.

This light is spread in the holy place, in the presence of God. The light of the lampstand falls first on the lampstand itself. In the sanctuary we are allowed to gain more and more insight in Who the Lord Jesus is. The light also falls on the table representing the fellowship of the saints.

The arms of the lampstand come out of the shaft and form a whole with it. Thus the church was created by the work of the Lord Jesus and forms one whole with Him. The decoration of the arms of the lampstand speaks of the fruits of the work of the Lord Jesus.

The utensils (Exo 25:38) serve to make the light shine brightly. The Lord Jesus uses all manner of means to let His own spread a bright light. Above all He gave the Holy Spirit to teach His church about His glory (Jn 16:13-14). The Holy Spirit directs the full light on Christ and wants to focus the full attention of the church on Him. If the church is impressed by Who Christ is, this will be reflected in the lives of the members of the church individually and in the meetings of the church in particular. To this end, the believers are exhorted: “Do not quench the Spirit” (1Thes 5:19).