The Tabernacle - God dwells with men.

Remember the tabernacle is an elaborate tent of worship.

The Tent of Meeting was made out of linen curtains.

Exodus 26:1 ““Moreover you shall make the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine woven linen, and blue, purple, and scarlet thread; with artistic designs of cherubim you shall weave them.”

The first curtain was 28 cubits. (42 feet)

Exodus 26:2 “The length of each curtain shall be twenty-eight cubits, and the width of each curtain four cubits. And every one of the curtains shall have the same measurements.”

The linen was beautiful. (blue, purple, and scarlet with artistic cherubim)

The inside curtain told us of the character of Christ.

Purple - Royalty

Blue - Heavenly

Scarlet - Priestly

Cherub - the protector of God’s holiness.

Ezekiel 10:14 “Each one had four faces: the first face was the face of a cherub, the second face the face of a man, the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle.”

Cherubim guarded the chariot of God that left the temple in Ezekiel 10 they guard Eden Genesis 3. They worship at God’s throne in Isaiah 6, they very well may be the living creatures of Revelation.

Lucifer was a cherub.

Ezekiel 28:13–15 “You were in Eden, the garden of God; Every precious stone was your covering: The sardius, topaz, and diamond, Beryl, onyx, and jasper, Sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold. The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes Was prepared for you on the day you were created. “You were the anointed cherub who covers; I established you; You were on the holy mountain of God; You walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones. You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, Till iniquity was found in you.”

I give you a story of creation event from my mind’s eye. I believe that as God created Adam in the garden when he bent down to form man in the dust of the ground. And did two unique things to Adam. Created Him in the image of God and breathed into him the breath of lives. Lucifer became prideful and jealous, thus initiated the rebellion, the temptation, and the fall.

Cherubim guarded the Holy Place.

Psalm 61:4 “I will abide in Your tabernacle forever; I will trust in the shelter of Your wings. Selah”

The linen was held in place with gold rings.

Exodus 26:6 “And you shall make fifty clasps of gold, and couple the curtains together with the clasps, so that it may be one tabernacle.”

The linen curtain was covered with a curtain of goats’ hair.

Exodus 26:7 ““You shall also make curtains of goats’ hair, to be a tent over the tabernacle. You shall make eleven curtains.”

The goat’s hair curtain was 6 feet longer than the first. It was meant to cover the linen.

Exodus 26:8 “The length of each curtain shall be thirty cubits, and the width of each curtain four cubits; and the eleven curtains shall all have the same measurements.”

This second curtain was held in place by bronze rings.

Exodus 26:11 “And you shall make fifty bronze clasps, put the clasps into the loops, and couple the tent together, that it may be one.”

Bronze represents judgment.

Numbers 21:9 “So Moses made a bronze serpent, and put it on a pole; and so it was, if a serpent had bitten anyone, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.”

I looked this up a lot bronze takes fire, a lot of people like bronze to judgment. More on this when we get outside the temple, but every author I looked at pointed to the bronze serpent in the wilderness. The outside the tabernacle used a lot of bronze. But not so much inside. they are tied to the goat skin which represents the goat sin offering. HOW interesting! The tabernacle points to Jesus.

Christ took the punishment for our sins.

The goat’s hair represents the atonement that was paid for our sins.

Leviticus 16:8–10 “Then Aaron shall cast lots for the two goats: one lot for the Lord and the other lot for the scapegoat. And Aaron shall bring the goat on which the Lord’s lot fell, and offer it as a sin offering. But the goat on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the Lord, to make atonement upon it, and to let it go as the scapegoat into the wilderness.”

There were 11 different types of goat sin offerings in the Bible!

The goat’s hair curtain was covered by ram’s skin than badger’s skin.

Exodus 26:14 ““You shall also make a covering of ram skins dyed red for the tent, and a covering of badger skins above that.”

The ram’s skin represents that Christ is our propitiation.

Genesis 22:13–14 “Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son. And Abraham called the name of the place, The-Lord-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, “In the Mount of the Lord it shall be provided.””

The badger’s skin reminded Israel of the provisional power of Christ.

Ezekiel 16:10“I clothed you in embroidered cloth and gave you sandals of badger skin; I clothed you with fine linen and covered you with silk.”

God provided shoes that wouldn’t wear out for 40 years. The gospel of Christ will never wear our. Tell me the old old story. His grace can never be extinguished.

The tabernacle was unattractive on the outside.

Isaiah 53:2 “For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, And as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; And when we see Him, There is no beauty that we should desire Him.”

The inside of the tabernacle was beautiful and represented the Divine nature of God. But no one saw it. The outside which every one saw was comparatively unattractive. Women will agree with me but men may not. This represents Jesus and him coming to us meek and lowly, to die for our sins.

The tabernacle support structure was 15 foot high acacia wood.

Exodus 26:15–16 ““And for the tabernacle you shall make the boards of acacia wood, standing upright. Ten cubits shall be the length of a board, and a cubit and a half shall be the width of each board.”

Remember the acacia wood represents Christ’s humanity.

The foundation of the Tabernacle was silver base blocks.

Exodus 26:19 “You shall make forty sockets of silver under the twenty boards: two sockets under each of the boards for its two tenons.”

Each silver block may have weighed 100 pounds each. They held up ever vertical spar to 15 feet high. There are 96 foundation blocks described in Exodus. Seems a bit excessive. Imagine the bill if you asked for an estimate from Tim Bourne. I want you to build me a foundation for my patio and I want it built with silver blocks.

Silver was the ransom price of redemption.

Leviticus 27:3 “if your valuation is of a male from twenty years old up to sixty years old, then your valuation shall be fifty shekels of silver, according to the shekel of the sanctuary.”

Joseph was sold for thirty pieces of silver. Judas sold Jesus for thirty pieces of silver. Gomer was bought for 6 ounces of silver.

Silver represents the price of innocent blood that paid for redemption.

Matthew 27:3–4 “Then Judas, His betrayer, seeing that He had been condemned, was remorseful and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” And they said, “What is that to us? You see to it!””

You were bought, redeemed, with the blood of Jesus Christ.

1 Peter 1:18–19 “knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.”

The blood of Jesus Christ is the foundation of our faith.

1 Corinthians 3:11 “For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.”

The acacia wood was to be covered by gold.

Exodus 26:29 “You shall overlay the boards with gold, make their rings of gold as holders for the bars, and overlay the bars with gold.”

Gold represents the Deity of Jesus Christ

The specific set-up instructions came from the mountain of God.

Exodus 26:30 “And you shall raise up the tabernacle according to its pattern which you were shown on the mountain.”

The veil divided the people from the holy of holies!

Exodus 26:31–33 ““You shall make a veil woven of blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine woven linen. It shall be woven with an artistic design of cherubim. You shall hang it upon the four pillars of acacia wood overlaid with gold. Their hooks shall be gold, upon four sockets of silver. And you shall hang the veil from the clasps. Then you shall bring the ark of the Testimony in there, behind the veil. The veil shall be a divider for you between the holy place and the Most Holy.”

The veil kept the people away from the mercy seat.

Exodus 26:34 “You shall put the mercy seat upon the ark of the Testimony in the Most Holy.”

The veil was necessary because of sin.

Isaiah 59:1–2 “Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, That it cannot save; Nor His ear heavy, That it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear.”

Jesus tore the veil in two.

Matthew 27:50–51 “And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split,”

Jesus grants us access to the holy.

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,”

The tabernacle points to heaven.

Hebrews 8:5 “who serve the copy and shadow of the heavenly things, as Moses was divinely instructed when he was about to make the tabernacle. For He said, “See that you make all things according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.””

The tabernacle gives us the hope of heaven.

Hebrews 6:19 “This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil,”

Did you see that, it is an anchor for the soul. SOLID! Remember the foundation is the silver BLOOD of Jesus Christ. The hope of heaven is JESUS BLOOD! Anchor of your soul!

There was only one door to the Tabernacle.

Exodus 26:36 ““You shall make a screen for the door of the tabernacle, woven of blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine woven linen, made by a weaver.”

Jesus is the only way!

John 10:9 “I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.”

Heaven is the home of the father, it is eternal, safe and secure, beautiful and peaceful. JESUS IS THERE the light. There is only one way John 14 tells us the way.

The name of Jesus is the only way to salvation.

Acts 4:12 “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.””

The name of Jesus is the only way that you can have access to heaven like getting access to the tabernacle. His blood provided the way, it is a new way and a living way.

Jesus’ blood is the price of your redemption.

Ephesians 1:7 “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace”

Jesus’ blood gave you access to the Father.

Ephesians 2:18 “For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.”

The world wants you to think that when you die you meet Peter at the gate of heaven and you discuss if you deserve to go to heaven. Baloney! It is the blood of Jesus that paid the price. Jesus is the door the only way he tore the veil in two if you have access to God it is through him. MY HOPE IS FOUND IN NOTHING LESS THAN JESUS BLOOD AND RIGHTEOUS!