by Rebekah Harvey
If you are reading through your Bible with us these last few days we have had some repetitious portions of Scripture that we have been going through. But I think there are some great things we can learn here. This is a people group that had been in slavery for 430 years, they were enslaved by a nation that did not serve the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Their God had shown up with power and worked many miraculous signs among them and the Egyptians, showing His power for their release. He parted the waters of the Red Sea so that they were able to cross through it and then washed over the army racing after them to bring them back to captivity. He had traveled with them in the wilderness as a pillar of cloud by day and fire by night, He provided water from a rock, He provided bread from heaven even though they complained bitterly about their circumstances. These “stiff necked” people had a God that loved them and desired to have a relationship with them.

He declared His steadfast love for them in Exodus 34:6-7 “The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, 7 keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.”

Because of this amazing love God had for His people, He gave Moses instructions for their worship and provided a way for them to have relationship with Him. Through this description of the Tabernacle and all its furniture we are provided a foreshadow of Christ our Savior. The portable tabernacle was surrounded by a moveable courtyard (Exodus 38:18-20) that was built from twined linen cloths, these courtyard walls would have been too tall to climb over ensuring that the only way in was through the wide gate entrance. This foreshadows that Jesus is the only way to enter God’s presence, Jesus declared in 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.”

Once through the gate of the courtyard would be the bronze altar, (Exodus 38:1-7) on this altar innocent, unblemished animals would be sacrificed to cover the sins of the people. This reminds us of the sacrifice of Jesus, which is far greater than animal sacrifice. Hebrews 9:13-14 “For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, 14 how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

Next is the bronze basin or lavar which the priests used to cleanse their hands and feet before entering the Holy of holies, they were the only ones to use this water, which set them apart from the rest of the people. (Exodus 30:17-21) As believers in Jesus we are to be set apart and cleansed through the Word of God. 1 Corinthians 6:11 “And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.”

The Holy Place could only be entered into by the priests that had been cleansed through the prescribed rituals, there was only one way in again reminding us that Jesus is the only way to salvation. In the Holy Place was the golden lampstand that provided light inside the tent (Exodus 25:31-40) John 8:12 “Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” Also in this area was the Table of the Bread of the Presence (Exodus 25:23-30) John 6:35 “And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.”

In front of the Most Holy Place was the altar of incense (Exodus 30:1-5) we read in Revelation 5:8 “Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.”

A thick veil separated the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place that was entered into only once a year by the High Priest on the day of atonement. 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;” In the Most Holy Place was the Ark of the Covenant, this box overlain with gold contained the Ten Commandments that Moses received from the Lord on Mount Sinaii. It also held a gold jar with manna and Aaron’s staff that budded. (Hebrews 9:4)

The Mercy Seat covered the Ark of the Covenant. It was adorned with golden cherubim, their wings outstretched with heads bowed in reverence. (Exodus 25:10-22) The Mercy seat was where God would meet with the priests and speak to them. This can be a reminder to us as believers of God’s throne and that He should rule in our hearts as the tablets of the covenant were inside the ark, God’s commands should rule inside us.