Exodus 25-26, 40
We are now starting to skip over some sections of material. When we skip a section of the Bible it is noted by an “*” in the reading chart. As we read through Exodus and beyond, we will try to achieve a summary of the material that is found there, but in many books, we will have to present a “condensed reading.” Our goal is to achieve an overall vision of the grand picture of redemptive history. In order to see the whole forest in its proper perspective we will need to skip past a few of the trees. For our reading today, we combined chapters that describe the role of the tabernacle, including chapter 40 – the last chapter in the book.
For the purposes of Biblical continuity, the tabernacle is essentially a “portable temple.” It is pictured the same way as the temple, except that it is made of tent material. (The temple will be built later in the history of Israel, under King Solomon and a rebuilt form would continue to be used into the time of Christ.) The tabernacle also functions the same way as the temple in that it provides a meeting place for God with his people. God introduced the tabernacle construction project with the words, “Let them make for me a sanctuary that I may dwell in their midst” (Ex. 25:8). The whole structure and all of the items placed within it were meant to be a visible symbol of how we relate to God. The sacrifices, the separate spaces, and the elaborate rituals of cleansing all combined to show that God is holy and humans are not. In the back room of the tabernacle was the Most Holy Place, where the Spirit of God was tangibly present above the Ark of the Covenant. As the book of Exodus ends, the Spirit of God descends on the tabernacle and God is really living with his people (Exodus 40:34-38). This answers a question that has been lurking ever since the Passover. That is, If God is so exceedingly holy, but his people are prone to grumbling, disobedience and even rebellion – how can he live among them? The immediate answer is: “very carefully.” The long term answer is: “Jesus.”
Reflect: Humans are prone to create religious ideas out of their own imagination. When we do this, our version of the divine is always more approachable and human-like than the living God. The structure and practices associated with the temple highlight God’s separateness and our need for mercy. How do your human concepts of God need to be recalibrated by the tabernacle?
Connect: God was made known to his people through the tabernacle, but it a limited access and a limited revelation. When God chose to reveal himself to us definitively, he made himself known through Jesus, whom John said, “tabernacled” among us. This is what the Greek text literally says, but since that is not an English word, the ESV translates John 1:14 as “dwelt among us.”
John 1:14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.