The Tabernacle - God's Plan
First published on Sunday, 17 April 2011 07:09 | Written by Administrator | | |
The Tabernacle -- God's Plan
The following is a study of the Tabernacle that God instructed the Hebrews to build after He miraculously delivered them from the captivity and slavery imposed upon them by the Egyptians. This Tabernacle has been referred to as; The Tabernacle of Moses. The Tabernacle in the Wilderness and The Tabernacle. I have chosen to refer to it, in most instances as simply The Tabernacle. All Three are, however, appropriate and all refer to the same structure.
You will see the terms Hebrew, Israelite, Jew, Semitic and Semite used in this text. For further clarification of these terms see; Hebrews, Israelites and Jews, Appendix 6.
In addition you will see references to KJV and NIV used to identify text quoted from the King James Version and New International Version of the Bible. For clarity I have chosen to use the NIV predominately.
The Command to Build
The Command:
The Lord said to Moses, "Tell the Israelites to bring me an offering. You are to receive the offering for me from each man whose heart prompts him to give. These are the offerings you are to receive from them; gold, silver, and bronze; blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen; goat hair; ram skins dyed red and hides of sea cows; acacia wood; olive oil for the light; spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense; and onyx stones and other gems to be mounted on the ephod and breastpiece. Then have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them. Make this tabernacle and all its furnishings exactly like the pattern I will show you." Exodus 25:1-8 NIV (emphasis mine).
Why the Hebrews?
Scripture does not tell us exactly why God selected the Hebrew people to receive the message of God, His covenant, and the commission to be His messengers to the nations of the world. Nevertheless, God's choice appears to rest upon several key issues and principles in God's plan and upon methods of dealing with mankind that are well documented in scripture.
First, we find that God made a covenant with Abraham when calling him into service.
The Lord had said to Abraham,"Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you." Genesis 12:1-3 NIV (emphasis mine).
Later in response to Abraham's display of faith in God shown by his willingness to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, God confirmed the covenant with him (Genesis 22). This covenant was an unconditional promise to multiply Abraham's offspring into a great nation that would be a blessing to the entire world.
Second, God often seems to delight in doing the unlikely. He could have chosen any nation in existance at that time, or He could have created an entirely new nation for the purpose. Instead He selected a wandering, Semitic family, of nomadic sheep herders who developed into a society of slaves -- about as unlikely as any group could be.
By miraculously setting these captives free from slavery imposed by the Egyptians, (Exodus 7:1-13:22) leading them through crises after crises, finally bringing them into Cannan (the Promised Land) with a miraculous river crossing and a stunning victory against Jerico, even the heathen cultures feared and respected the God of the Hebrews.
This is shown clearly in the story of the conversion of Rahaab (Joshua 2:1-2). It is very interesting that, God in His wisdom, made Jesus a direct descendant of Rahaab, a prostitute. (Matthew 1:1-5). Clearly, God does not view things as men do!
Third, the Hebrews (Israelites) proved to be a rebellious, faithless, often ungrateful group of reprobates inclined toward every conceivable sin. They not only committed the ordinary sins; lust, greed, untruthfulness, gossip, etc., they indulged in idol worship, committed gross sacrilege, and even sacrificed and ate their own children. It is not unfair to say that the Hebrews, at some time, have practiced almost every sin or sacrilege that can be attributed to any other society (Exodus 32; Numbers 11; 12; 14; 16 and 17; 2 Kings 6:24-33). This is not to say that they are any worse than other societies in history, only that they are as subject to human weakness and sin as any other human group.
It was because of their stubborn rebelliousness and disobedience that it took them forty years to make a journey that could have easily been made in a few days.
Perhaps it was this very fact, of their human weakness, that prompted God to choose them to show forth His message of hope and grace to the lost and hopeless world. By this, He proved irrefutably, that salvation is a gift of God--not the fruit of man's effort.
Every nation and people of the earth owes a debt of gratitude to the Jews (Hebrews). It has been primarily through the nation of Israel that God has chosen to communicate His plan of salvation to a fallen world. Because God chose them as the vessel through which He made known His holy law as well as His grace, they have suffered greatly through the centuries. They have been God's example of both grace and discipline.
The promise of a Savior to bring redemption was given through Abraham. The Law was given through Moses. God's mercy and grace were delivered through Jesus atoning death on the cross. God's holy-scriptures were given primarily through Hebrew (Jewish) prophets and apostles, recorded and preserved by Jewish scribes.
The Tabernacle is God's gospel written in precious metal, jewels, wood, cloth, and hides. The nation of Israel is God's gospel written upon a people with their failures and successes, despair and hope, fear and faith, suffering and blessings, spoken to the world through images of their blood, sweat, tears, joy, laughter and stubborn resilience. But it is a gospel few have bothered to read or hear and fewer have understood.
n. Old English godspel "gospel, glad tidings announced by Jesus; one of the fourgospels," from god "good" (see good) + spel "story, message" (see spell (n.)); translation of Latin bona adnuntiatio, itself a translation of Greek euangelion "reward for bringing good news."
Gospel | Define Gospel at Dictionary.com
www.dictionary.com/browse/gospel
The Jews are a key object of God's love and favor for He will redeem the Jews as a nation, just as He redeems individuals (Isaiah 54). He will make them a jewel of priceless value to be displayed before the world. They will be a picture of His measureless patience, mercy, love and grace, created through His matchless skills of disciplining, comforting, encouraging, teaching and testing His children as the good and masterful father that He is.
The Tabernacle's Purpose:
A casual reading of the scriptures in relation to the Tabernacle will only reveal that God directed the Hebrews to build a portable place of worship to be transported with them accross the desert wilderness. While this is accurate as far as it goes, it is incomplete. It leaves much important information undisclosed and unappreciated.
The Tabernacle was much more. It was a message to the Jew first, and then to the entire world, concerning the holiness and wisdom of God, His plan of redemption, Jesus Christ the Messiah, and His future church. As with many of God's revelations it was little understood at the time. Even now is understood by a relative few and probably not in full even by them. Even those of us blessed with some understanding of its message do not comprehend the full meaning. No matter how much we learn about God, His message and His plan of salvation, there is always more to learn.
The Tabernacle's Plan:
What Was It?
On the surface, the Tabernacle was not an impressive structure. To the casual reader the Tabernacle is probably not much more impressive that it must have been to the passerby or the peoples and armies of the nations who saw it.
Basically it was a tent - hides and linen covering wooden posts set in silver bases surrounded by a linen fence on wooden posts set in bronze bases.
Not too impressive to those accustomed to richly ornate halls with large gold or bronze idols richly decorated with gold, silver and precious stones. However, as with so many facets of God, it is not what is immediately seen of the Tabernacle that is important and impressive, but rather what is not immediately seen.
The Jews knew it as a place to worship and communicate with God, but is was much more than that. It was a message from God to those who would, with honest hearts, take the time; to examine themselves, open their ears and hear, open their eyes and see, open their hearts and receive truth.
Why So Much Detail?
As one reads the description of the Tabernacle and its contents initially, the immediate reaction is not unlike reading Genesis with the seemingly endless "and ___ begat ____" in Genesis chapters 10 and 11. If you are like most, you cannot help wondering why so much detail and whether it is really important. The emphatic answer is YES - it is very important!
Every detail is rich with meaning and very important to understanding God's message, not only to the Jews of that time, but also to you and I today. I trust you will come to understand this while you read about each detail of the tabernacle.
The Source of Materials and Labor
The Command:
Exodus 25:1-8 The Lord said to Moses,"Tell the Israelites to bring me an offering. You are to recieve the offering for me from each man whose heart prompts him to give. These are the offerings you are to receive from them: gold, silver, and bronze; blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen; goat hair; ram skins dyed red and hides of sea cows (badger skins in some translations); acacia wood; olive oil for the light; spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense; and onyx stones and other gems to be mounted on the ephod and breastpiece." NIV (emphasis mine).
Where Did Former Slaves Get Such Wealth?
These Hebrews, freed by God through Moses, were people descended from a family of Semitic nomads. They, along with their ancestors, had been in Egypt four hundred years-- most of that time as slaves. Where did they get the wealth to provide the vast quantities of gold and silver God was asking for? The answer is found in Exodus 11:1-3.
Tell the people that men and women alike are to ask their neighbors for articles of silver and gold." (The Lord made the Egyptians favorably disposed toward the people, and Moses himself was highly regarded in Egypt by Pharaoh's officials and by the people.) NIV (emphasis mine).
And in Exodus 12:35-36 we read:
The Israelites did as Moses instructed and asked the Egyptians for articles of silver and gold and for clothing. The Lord made the Egyptians favorably disposed toward the people and they gave them what they asked for; so they plundered the Egyptians.NIV (emphasis mine).
Why Did God Ask For It (gold, silver, wood, cloth.etc.)?
The obvious reason is that materials were needed for the construction of the Tabernacle and for its furnishings. However, God could have miraculously provided what was needed. In fact, He could have simply constructed the Tabernacle.
God instead chose to ask His people to sacricifially provide the needed materials and labor as a gift from their hearts. God first provided the wealth, then asked them to give part of it back, and credited them for the gift. He hasn't changed-- He still does it today.
He has always chosen to work through those He has elected. Its not that God cannot do it without us. It is, rather, that He loves us and, therefore, chooses to give us the opportunity to work with Him in carrying out His will and plan, so that we may reap the blessings.
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