What Does the Tabernacle Teach Us About Jesus? (Exodus 35-40)
Ever wonder why God asked for a tent? The tabernacle reveals his plan to dwell with us, and today, we are his temple, set apart for his glory.
Exodus 35-40
Today's Scripture Passage
A Few Thoughts to Consider
What does the erecting of a tabernacle teach us about God and ourselves?
After the Israelites renewed their commitment to God, they were commanded to build a tabernacle. As you read these chapters, you can’t help but notice the meticulous nature of this construction. It’s also evident these passages point to the creation narrative. Just as God finished his work in Genesis 2:2, “Moses finished the work” in Exodus 40:33. Peter Enns notes,
As we saw in 12:2, the Exodus inaugurated a new calendar in Israelite life: The month in which the Exodus took place would be the first month of the year. The deliverance of Israel from Egypt marked a new beginning for God’s people, a “new creation.” It is no surprise, therefore, that the tabernacle, itself a microcosm of creation, is also set up one year later on the first day of the first month. It, too, is a new creation.[1]
The tabernacle, and eventually the temple, were constructed for clear reasons. They weren’t just God’s means of working with an ancient, uncivilized population. “These institutions were, rather, symbols of a higher—and ultimately mysterious—reality. They were truly the means by which God and his people ‘connected.’”[2] “The tabernacle was an earthly representation of heavenly reality. It was a microcosm of the created order—hence, a microcosm of the only spotless point in creation, Eden.”[3]
Enns writes,
The tabernacle, despite being built as a perfect rectangle, was never intended to be a “box” in which God, like the pagan gods around them, could be safely stored away and called upon to serve the people’s purpose. If anything, the many allusions to creation in the tabernacle’s construction reminded Israel of the exact opposite: The God worshiped within is Creator of heaven and earth.[4]
The tabernacle teaches us something remarkable about God, but it also teaches us something about ourselves.
A Meditation to PRAY
Praise | I praise you for being a God of new beginnings and a God who comes to where I am. Thank you for dwelling in me.
Release | I release my desire to give in to earthly cravings. I want to use my body for your glory.
