Tabernacle - Holy of Holies

Exodus 25:1-22 is the text this morning

We have skipped Exodus 21-24 knowing that for forty days God was giving Moses instructions on the Tabernacle and the law that the children of Israel would follow.

3 Types of Laws

Moral Law Exodus 20 We know this as the 10 commandments

Civil Law Exodus 21-23 social regulations for the nation of Israel

Ceremonial Law - Entire book of Leviticus, religious instructions for Israel

In Exodus 25 we begin to read about the tabernacle and religious furniture in the tabernacle and in it we find a picture of Jesus Christ.

The Tabernacle is a picture of Jesus

Romans 15:4 “For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.”

There are only a few chapters in the Bible about creation but dozens about the tabernacle.

The tabernacle is to Israel a glimpse of Jesus heavenly redemption.

Hebrews 9:21–24 “Then likewise he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry. And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission. Therefore it was necessary that the copies of the things in the heavens should be purified with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us;”

The New Testament is in the Old Testament concealed. The Old Testament is in the New Testament revealed.

The word tabernacle means temporary dwelling place. (tent)

2 Corinthians 5:1–4 “For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven, if indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be found naked. For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life.”

Jesus tabernacled with us.

John 1:14 “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.”

The tabernacle is a picture of Jesus, the safe way to see and experience God!

Revelation 21:3 “And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God.”

The tabernacle was a place for God to dwell with men with 7 pieces of furniture.

Exodus 25:22 “And there I will meet with you, and I will speak with you from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are on the ark of the Testimony, about everything which I will give you in commandment to the children of Israel.”

The tabernacle contained 1.25 tons of gold. 4.25 tons of silver, and 4 tones of brass! A small tent for a few million people. That would be worth 40 million dollars for a building 45 long by 15 feet wide with a courtyard 75 feet by 150 feet. Just to compare my average sized living room is 14 feet wide by 25 feet long. Not big by any means but it could almost completely have fit the holy of holies inside it which is 15 feet by 15 feet by 15 feet. The tabernacle had 7 pieces of furniture, their are 7 churches, Jesus has 7 miracles in the book of John and there were 7 I am statements. I don’t think those are coincidences.

God asked the people to bring offerings to build the tabernacle.

Exodus 25:1–2 “Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: “Speak to the children of Israel, that they bring Me an offering. From everyone who gives it willingly with his heart you shall take My offering.”

There were 3 types of offerings that God has in the Bible 1 Cereal (gift or tribute) offerings 2 peace (fellowship) offerings 3 sin (atonement) offerings.

God was looking for specific offerings.

Exodus 25:3–9 “And this is the offering which you shall take from them: gold, silver, and bronze; blue, purple, and scarlet thread, fine linen, and goats’ hair; ram skins dyed red, badger skins, and acacia wood; oil for the light, and spices for the anointing oil and for the sweet incense; onyx stones, and stones to be set in the ephod and in the breastplate. And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them. According to all that I show you, that is, the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furnishings, just so you shall make it.”

Gold - Divine Glory

Acacia Wood - Humanity

Silver - Blood of Redemption

Brass - Judgement, wrath (tried by fire)

Blue - heaven

Purple - Royalty

Scarlet - Earthly Glory

Fine Linen - Holiness

Goat’s Hair - Atonement (The Scapegoat)

Ram’s Skin - Propitiation (Substitute for Isaac)

Badger’s Skin - Provision and Protection

Oil - Light of the Spirit

Spices - Fragrance of our prayers

Precious Stones - Connects the priests to heaven God

The Tabernacle is described from the inside out. It begins in the Holy of Holies and works it’s way outward to the courtyard. Some things we are going to talk about will seem obvious others may seem like a stretch. Don’t take my word for it. I want to salivate your interest in the tabernacle. You need to let the Spirit teach you, but I hope that you will agree with me on one thing the tabernacle teaches us about Jesus.

The Holy of Holies

Hebrews 9:7 “But into the second part the high priest went alone once a year, not without blood, which he offered for himself and for the people’s sins committed in ignorance;”

The holy of Holies is 15 feet wide by 15 feet long by 15 feet high it was separated by the veil which we will talk about later and you could only enter once in the fall on the day of atonement Yon Kippur and there was only one source of light and that was the Shekinah Glory of God.

Holy of Holies - The supreme sacrifice.

Leviticus 16:2 “and the Lord said to Moses: “Tell Aaron your brother not to come at just any time into the Holy Place inside the veil, before the mercy seat which is on the ark, lest he die; for I will appear in the cloud above the mercy seat.”

There was one piece of furniture in the Holy of Holies.

The Ark of the Covenant

Exodus 25:10–11 ““And they shall make an ark of acacia wood; two and a half cubits shall be its length, a cubit and a half its width, and a cubit and a half its height. And you shall overlay it with pure gold, inside and out you shall overlay it, and shall make on it a molding of gold all around.”

A cubit is 18 inches from your elbow to the tip of the middle finger. 18 inches so the Ark is 45 inches by 27 inches wide by 27 inches high.

The Ark is made of wood, humanity covered by gold representing the dual nature of Christ he is 100% God and 100% man the hypostatic union.

No one was to touch the ark.

2 Samuel 6:6–7 “And when they came to Nachon’s threshing floor, Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled. Then the anger of the Lord was aroused against Uzzah, and God struck him there for his error; and he died there by the ark of God.”

The ark contained Manna, Aaron’s Rod, and the 10 commandments.

Hebrews 9:4 “which had the golden censer and the ark of the covenant overlaid on all sides with gold, in which were the golden pot that had the manna, Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tablets of the covenant;”

The Mercy Seat

Exodus 25:17–18 ““You shall make a mercy seat of pure gold; two and a half cubits shall be its length and a cubit and a half its width. And you shall make two cherubim of gold; of hammered work you shall make them at the two ends of the mercy seat.”

The Mercy seat sat above the ark. It was made of only gold it was created with cherubs. Cherubs are the secret service of God’s holiness. They represent the four gospels of of Jesus. That will be a good study some day.

Another word for mercy seat is propitiation.

Romans 3:24–25 “being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed,”

Jesus is our mercy seat.

Titus 3:5–6 “not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior,”

The blood was placed on the mercy seat once a year.

Hebrews 9:7 “But into the second part the high priest went alone once a year, not without blood, which he offered for himself and for the people’s sins committed in ignorance;”

Jesus paid for our sins on the cross, the ultimate mercy seat.

Hebrews 9:28 “so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.”

Today we can go into the holy of holies because of the cross of Jesus.

Hebrews 10:19–20 “Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh,”

Because of Jesus we have access to the throne.

Hebrews 4:14–16 “Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”