Tabernacle

Source: Christian Widell, Unsplash, @christianwidell

If someone asked you, “Where does God live?”, what would you say?

It might sound like an unanswerable question, but it’s a question that the Bible actually answers. From the very beginning, God made it clear that he wanted to dwell with his people. He’s not sitting back in some celestial armchair in the Milky Way watching Netflix while history plays out. He’s not hidden away out of reach. He wants to be with his people. To be among them. To walk with them. Even live in them.

This longing for closeness with His people is seen in the Tabernacle of the Old Testament, fulfilled in Jesus, and made personal through the Holy Spirit. Let's unpack it.

1. Tabernacle and Exodus

In Exodus, God dwelt with his people in the Tabernacle.

Until now, in the Bible, God dwells with his people in various ways. In Eden, God walks with Adam and Eve (Genesis 3:8). This intimacy is lost after the fall, as sin results in exile and separation from God's presence (Genesis 3:23–24). Yet God continues to engage with his people. He speaks with Cain (Genesis 4), walks with Enoch and Noah (Genesis 5:24; 6:9). God appears and speaks to Abraham (Genesis 12:7; 15:1), even in temporary human form (Genesis 18:1–15). Jacob experiences God in a dream at Bethel (Genesis 28:10–17), and God’s unseen but sustaining presence is with Joseph throughout his life (Genesis 39:2, 21). In Exodus, God appears to Moses in the burning bush (Exodus 3:2–5), and later leads Israel by a pillar of cloud and fire (Exodus 13:21–22). At Sinai, God descends in fire and smoke (Exodus 19–20).

But when we get to Exodus 25, God chooses to dwell among his people in a new way: through a structure, in a building, called the Tabernacle.

After commanding the Israelites to bring voluntary offerings, such as gold, silver, fabrics, and precious materials (Exodus 25:1-7), God says:

8 Then have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them. 9 Make this Tabernacle and all its furnishings exactly like the pattern I will show you. 

God then goes on to outline the various features of the Tabernacle. Here’s a rough diagram of what it would have looked like.

Now let’s break it down a bit. As you can see in the diagram above, the Tabernacle consisted of three main sections: the Most Holy Place (Exodus 26:33–34), the Holy Place (Exodus 26:33–35), and the Outer Courtyard (Exodus 27:9–19).

Source: ESVSB

The Ark of the Covenant, described in Exodus 25:10–22, was a gold-covered acacia wood chest that housed the tablets of the covenant law. It also contained the gold jar of manna from Exodus 16:32-33 and Aaron’s staff (Hebrews 9:4). It featured a gold lid called the “atonement cover”, with two cherubim (that is, angel-looking things) overshadowing it.

The Ark is like God’s throne on earth, and is the place where he meets with his people. In Exodus 25:22, God declared that he would meet there with Moses to reveal his commands (Exodus 25:22). Later in the Bible, it’s described as God’s throne (2 Samuel 4:4, Psalm 80:1). It was placed in the Most Holy Place, behind the inner curtain (Exodus 26:33–34).

Source: ESVSB

The Bread of the Presence, placed on the gold table in the Holy Place (Exodus 25:23–30), consisted of twelve loaves representing the twelve tribes of Israel. The table was always set before the LORD (Exodus 25:30) and the bread was replaced every Sabbath by the priests, who then ate the old bread in a holy place (Leviticus 24:5–9). Just as God provided bread for Israel in the desert, he would continue to provide for Israel now. The table and bread were found in the Holy Place of the Tabernacle (the second section).

Source: ESVSB

The Golden Lampstand (Exodus 25:31–40) was made of pure gold with a central shaft and six branches, forming seven lamps in total. It was decorated with almond blossom designs (in Jeremiah 1:11-12, almond blossoms represent God’s watchfulness and faithfulness). Placed in the Holy Place, it provided the only light inside the Tabernacle, especially for the table and the altar.

Source: Gospel Doctrine

The Tabernacle curtains were made of finely twisted linen with blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, embroidered with cherubim (Exodus 26:1). They formed the inner walls of the Tabernacle, separating the sacred space from the world outside. A special curtain (veil) separated the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place, blocking access to God’s direct presence except for the high priest once a year (Exodus 26:33). Another curtain was used to separate the Holy Place from the courtyard (Exodus 26:36).

Source: ESVSB

The Bronze Altar (a.k.a. the Altar of Burnt Offering)was the largest thing in the courtyard. It was made of acacia wood overlaid with bronze (Exodus 27:1–8). It was used for offering animal sacrifices—burnt offerings, sin offerings, and fellowship offerings—on behalf of the people. The blood of the sacrifices was sprinkled on its horns (Leviticus 4:30), and the priest would then make atonement for the people (Leviticus 4:31). This altar was the first thing encountered upon entering the Tabernacle complex (Exodus 40:6), hinting that atonement was necessary before approaching God.

Source: ESVSB

The Altar of Incense (a.k.a. the Golden Altar) stood inside the Holy Place, just in front of the veil separating it from the Most Holy Place (Exodus 30:1–10). Made of gold-covered acacia wood, it was smaller than the bronze altar and used to burn fragrant, nostril-satisfying incense every morning and evening. The incense later came to symbolise the prayers of God’s people rising before him (Psalm 141:2; Revelation 8:3–4). Once a year, the high priest would place blood from the sin offering on its horns, connecting it to the work of atonement (Exodus 30:10).

Source: If I Walked With Jesus

The bronze basin, also called the laver, was placed between the altar of burnt offering and the entrance to the Tabernacle (Exodus 30:17–21). It was made from the polished bronze mirrors of the women who served at the entrance to the tent of meeting (Exodus 38:8). Priests were required to wash their hands and feet with water from the basin before offering sacrifices or entering the Holy Place “so that they will not die” (Exodus 30:21).

Now this is all very elaborate. We’re given thirteen chapters outlining the various features of the Tabernacle (Exodus 25-31, 35-40). Why so much detail? Because God meeting with his people is a big deal. It’s not something to take lightly. You don’t approach God casually in your lunch break. He’s a holy God. We’ve erected barriers between us and him through our sin, much like curtains. If we’re to be in his presence, it has to be on his terms. Thankfully, he wants his people to be in his presence.

Later, the Tabernacle would be replaced by a Temple during the reign of King Solomon (1 Kings 6). Whereas the Tabernacle was designed to be temporary and portable, the Temple would be permanent and fixed. However, it wasn’t as permanent and fixed as Solomon had hoped. The Babylonians eventually destroyed this Temple in 586 BC (2 Kings 25:8–10). It was later rebuilt during the days of Zerubbabel and Joshua the High Priest (Ezra 5:1–2), but the replacement Temple was pretty unimpressive (Haggai 2:3). King Herod later expanded Zerubbabel and Joshua’s unimpressive Temple, but the Romans later destroyed it in AD 70.

2. Tabernacle and Jesus

So the Tabernacle and temples weren’t overly successful at remaining forever. But they weren’t supposed to. At the end of the day, they pointed us to Jesus.

Jesus “tabernacled” among us.

In John 1:14, we read, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.” The Greek word for “made his dwelling” is skēnoō, which literally means “pitched his tent” or “tabernacled”. Jesus is God’s new, embodied Tabernacle.

In John 2:19, Jesus tells the Pharisees, “Destroy this Temple, and I will raise it again in three days.” In verse 21, we’re told that “the Temple he had spoken of was his body.” Jesus identifies his own body as the true Temple, replacing the physical structure.

In Colossians 1:19, we are told that “God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him.” Jesus is the fullness of God’s presence, echoing the glory that once filled the Tabernacle and Temple (cf. Exodus 40:34; 1 Kings 8:10–11).

Hebrews 8:1–2 tells us of a “true Tabernacle set up by the Lord, not by a mere human being.” Jesus is the heavenly high priest who ministers in this true Tabernacle, of which the earthly one was only a “shadow” (Hebrews 8:5).

In Revelation 21:22, we’re told that John “did not see a Temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its Temple.” In the new creation, Jesus is this true Tabernacle or eternal Temple to which the former structures pointed. Again, the physical structure is no longer needed.

3. Tabernacle and Us

And why does this matter for us?

God now dwells in us by his Spirit.

Jesus, the true Tabernacle and Temple, promises to dwell with us forever (Matthew 28:20). How does he do this? By the power of the Holy Spirit. In Ephesians 4:16-17, we’re told that Christ dwells in our hearts through the Holy Spirit. The true Tabernacle now dwells in us by his Spirit, meaning that we are now, in a sense, the Tabernacle.

In 1 Corinthians 3:16, Paul makes this point with the Corinthians: “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s Temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?” We are now the Temple (or Tabernacle) because God now dwells in us.

He makes the same point in 1 Corinthians 6:18-20:

18 Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body. 19 Do you not know that your bodies are Temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore, honour God with your bodies.

Because our physical bodies are now Temples for the Holy Spirit, what we do with them truly matters. It doesn’t make sense for us to sin against our own bodies, because God dwells in us. It cost him the life of his Son. Therefore, we honour God with our bodies.

How do we do this? A key way—flee sexual immorality. Sexual immorality comes from the Greek word porneia and refers to any sexual activity between one or more persons outside of the context of marriage. It includes adultery, sex before marriage, homosexuality, pornography (which is derived from the Greek word porneia), and other things like sexting.

Since we are now Temples of the Holy Spirit, it simply does not compute that we might engage in any sinful activities against our bodies. God now dwells in us! So let’s honour him in the way we use our bodies.