The Tabernacle or Tent of Meeting

After God had saved His people from the tyranny of Pharaoh in Egypt, He instructed Moses to build a sanctuary so that He could dwell amongst His people (Exodus 25:8). This sanctuary was to be known as the Tabernacle or Tent of meeting and was the place appointed for the priests to offer sacrifices for the sins of the people. The priests were allowed access to the Holy Place and only the High priest had access, once a year, to the Holy of Holies.

The foreshadowing or "type" of Christ is best illustrated when a close up look is taken at this Tabernacle.

The Tabernacle court was enclosed in fine, white linen fastened on brass pillars and set up in the sand in brass sockets. The white linen speaks of Christ (Mark 15:46) as well as the righteousness of the saints (Revelations 19:8).

1.   A gate was the only entrance to the court, only one way of access to God. This speaks so eloquently of Jesus (John 14:6), who said, "I am the way.."

2.   The first piece of furniture was the brazen altar of sacrifice at the entrance to the tent. This was directly in front of the gate and is another picture of Christ, the sacrificial Lamb.

3.   To the left, or west of, the altar was the bronze laver where the priests were required to wash their hands and feet before entering the holy place and ministering to God. The laver speaks of Christ, our cleanser from sin.

4.   The tabernacle consisted of two rooms, the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies, separated by a veil. In the Holy Place, there were three pieces of furniture:-

4.1 The golden altar of incense

4.2 The golden candlestick

4.3 The golden table of shewbread

The priests stood in front of the golden altar offering incense as they prayed for the people. The golden candlestick was kept burning and was the only light in the Holy Place. There were twelve loaves on the table of shewbread, one for each tribe and arranged in two rows of six each. These items of furniture tell us, respectively, of Christ, our priestly intercessor (Hebrews 7:25); Christ, the light of the world (Luke 1:78, 79); and Christ, the bread of life (John 6:35)

5.     Within the Holy of Holies stood the ark of the covenant over which was the mercy seat, between two cherubim. The blood of the sacrifice was sprinkled on this seat by the High priest. Jesus, our High priest, presented His perfect blood to the Father. Once and for all time making a permanent atonement for the sin of the whole human race - those committed and those still to be committed! (Leviticus 16:15-24) Look at this incredible parallel between what Jesus suffered, taking on the whole world's sin, then being "sent out" into the wilderness, and the Old testament sacrifice.

6.     Finally, the veil that separated the two rooms also has fulfillment in Christ . It was torn in two when He died on the cross, opening the way for all redeemed people of God to have free access to the very throne room of God, the Holy of Holies. In Hebrews (Hebrews 4:16), it says "Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need."

In the next lesson, we will examine the gate to the court in depth.