THE HOLY AND THE WHOLLY OTHER
When one considers all the space used up in the Pentateuch regarding the details of the tabernacle, one wonders what is the point. It seems like there could be a much better use for that space in our already full Bible. Why did God first tell us how they are to make the Tabernacle in Ex. 25-31, then tell us how they made the tabernacle in chapters 35-39, and then again how they set it up in chapter 40?
This is a long passage with a lot of repetition and a lot of detail.
Most people do not consider this one of their favorite passages.
In fact it is very easy to skim thru it to see if there is something of value hidden among all of those details.
Hebrews tells us this is an exact replica of a heavenly reality, but for what purpose.
Why not simply tell us the comparison instead of repeating it in such detail?
The usual approach is to resort to Typology:
- The biblical science of authoritatively seeing the physical and historical and comparing it to the heavenly and eternal (which we have not seen) and do not necessarily understand.
Many people try to seek meaning in detail for the sake of detail.
I would love to compare the Trabant P63 (Trabbi) {a rebuilt one costs 6,000, goes from 0-60 mph. in 21 days, sorry, sec. and has a top speed of 70 mph.}
to the Bugatti Veyron Fbg {costs 1.5 mil., goes
from 0-60 in 2.5sec. and has a top speed of 253mph. It will go thru a set of tires in 15 min. at top speed, but no worries, it will empty it’s 100 ltr. gas tank in 12 min. }
Most of us have no true understanding of either of these vehicles, and so our comparison between them is mostly speculation and abstract facts.
The same is true of comparing the shadow Tabernacle in the OT to the heavenly reality.
An example of extreme figurative can be found
at unlimitedglory.org, however this type of
approach is found in a multitude of places.
“As you stand before the entrance notice that the entire area is enclosed by a curtain and a fabric gate which is held in place by 60 wooden pillars which are themselves standing on bases made of bronze (Ex.27:9-18).
The main curtain, which is made of linen, is a total of 280 cubits long and 5 cubits high (Ex.27:18).
The entrance gate is 20 cubits long and is also made of linen,
but this time it has blue, purple and scarlet yarn interwoven throughout the linen (Ex.27:16).
The whole distance around the Tabernacle is therefore discovered to be 300 cubits.
we must remember that we are dealing with God's pattern for total salvation or redemption of man: spirit, soul & body.
Therefore, we should look beyond what the surface answer to that question provides.
the outer court of the tabernacle, or that portion surrounded by this curtain, symbolized the sacrifice of Jesus as the Passover Lamb.
it is in this area of the Tabernacle that we should find numerous symbols for judgment, sin, Jesus and His suffering on the cross.
Needless to say, the Outer Court is full of just such symbolism.
the curtain itself
- the law which was given to Moses in order to lead us to Christ was given approximately 1,500 years before Jesus died on Calvary.
- The curtain and entrance together totaled 300 cubits long by 5 cubits high (Ex.38:9-15&18). When these two dimensions are multiplied by each other we see that the Outer Court, which symbolizes the age of the law which lasted about 1500 years, was enclosed by 1,500 square cubits of linen!
made of linen - as opposed to some other material.
- The Old Covenant priests wore linen garments,
- our Great High Priest Jesus
- on the mount of transfiguration His linen clothes shown whiter
- Jesus was buried in fine linen cloth.
the Tabernacle curtain itself was 280 cubits in length.
- Jesus was made perfect through suffering.
- 40 symbolizes trails and sufferings
- 7 stands for completeness or perfection
- multiply 40 by 7 (suffering & perfection) we get 280,
the entrance itself. – 20 cubits wide
- Jesus alone is our gate into the Father's presence
- linen was interwoven with purple yarn - a symbol for royalty
- scarlet yarn - a symbol for sacrificial blood
- blue yarn - a symbol for a Godly walk
clearly point to Jesus - His royalty (Rev.19:16; Mk.15:17 & John 19:2),
His blood (Matt.26:28 & John 19:34)
His walk (I John 2:6 & Lk.22:42).
- a rather wide gate,
- Jesus' sacrifice is open to all men (I Tim.2:4 & John 3:16).
the 4 posts which held the entrance curtain in place
4 is used many times in Scripture to signify the whole earth (Rev.4:1 & Isaiah 11:12).
Every element of the physical abode signified a description of Jesus. I do believe that there is a heavenly correspondent to the physical reality, but to allegorize in this way completely hides the truth that God intended for Israel, and in turn, for us.
Philo’ understanding:
the Tabernacle displays the two realms of existence.
The holy of holies signifies the realm of the Divine,
the realm of unchanging and perfect truth,
the intelligible world as he calls it.
The exact makeup signifies various aspects of God.
The other two areas, the holy place and the courtyard,
together represent the corporeal world,
the world of human experience.
First, the holy place, with its lamp, table and altar of incense
represents the heaven of this corporeal world,
and second, the courtyard, with the basin and altar of sacrifices,
represent its earth.
Rabbinic Interpretation
it is a gateway to the heavens,
a mirror image of the human body,
an explanation for the holidays,
An illustration of the creation week.
and a link to the generations of the Bible.
Samaritan Interpretation
the Tent of Meeting is more than a mythic object of reverence; it is a record of the past and a promise for the future.
Hebrews in the New Testament.
the Tabernacle becomes a vehicle for understanding the ministry of Christ.
Jesus is the true high priest, and heaven his true Tabernacle:
The Tabernacle is not spiritualized, or allegorized, but considered a lesser and earthly version of the heavenly reality. Jesus did exactly what the High priest did, however he did it better, and once and for all.
a definition of holiness
there is no room for impurity
God would dwell there
a separation between the holy and the mundane
the holiness of God will consume evil as light consumes darkness, therefore God, in his mercy did not let sinful people enter his presence to be consumed by his holiness.
The purpose of the detail has traditionally been understood to be allegorical.
I believe that the much greater reason for the detail is to portray the perfection and holiness of God.
Close is not good enough.
“Close enough for the girls I go out with” in the presence of the holy would bring total destruction.
The Tab. was God’s definition of pure and beautiful, and he prepared the right people to construct his glorious “dwelling place”. The attention to detail is because God is perfect. The repetition in important because perfection is important.
Take a walk with me thru the Tab. Use your imagination to see the sights, hear the sounds and inhale the smells. The Tabernacle is a visual image of the Glory of God, therefore we must read the description visually.
Imagine walking thru the wilderness, seeing sparse growth and lots of red rocks. Dryness everywhere, nothing, emptiness (Like North Dakota).
As you are walking, you hear in the distance a large crowd of people. Walking into camp
, you hear the noise of children yelling and laughing. Women and men are laughing, talking and making all kinds of noises.Walking further, you come to the center of camp, and there is a big open space with a reddish-brown tent in the center. Things are much quieter there, and you see a few people coming and going.
As you enter the apparently boring tent, you are suddenly struck with incredible light and beauty. Everywhere you look, you see vibrant color and incredible wealth. The walls are made of linen so beautiful that one could easily confuse them with silk. Scarlet, sky-blue and purple threads are woven into
the material, along with gold strands forming cherubim and pomegranates. The priests are wearing blue tunics, and the high priest is wearing an ephod made of gold and precious stones. 
Everything is so incredibly bright and beautiful.The musicians are playing incredible music in the background, and the implements used for worship are exquisitely fashioned from bronze, gold and silver.
As you walk into the Holy place, you are immediately struck with the smell of fresh bread from the table of shewbread. The incense coming from the gorgeous table ahead of you is beyond belief, and an aroma that you have never smelled before. The glow from the menorah lightens up the whole room, and you can also smell the fresh olive oil used in the candles. The light reflects off of the gold and sliver of the tables, vessels, and even the walls and curtains. Beauty and symmetry as you have never seen before.
If you were to walk into the Holy of Holies, you would
see the glory
magnified, as you would feel the presenceof the Lord. In that room, there was only one article there - the ark of the covenant. Beautiful, shining, reflecting and simple.
In all of these sights, smells and sounds, you would be in awe of the glory of the Lord.
But, in the courtyard, there was one thing that did not fit.
- The sacrificing of sheep, and goats, and oxen, and doves.
- The smell of fresh blood, and stale blood.
- The big bloody stain of the ground that was saturated at the side of the altar.
- The sound of animals knowing their fate, and protesting loudly.
- The butchering of animals, and the cutting out of the internal organs and fat
- the acrid smell of burned flesh and burning hair.
A smell that takes weeks for the memory to wash away
- the ashes and blood splattered on the priest’s robe as he handles the horrible mess.
Why is it there?
Why is this incredible tabernacle defiled with the horror of death and destruction?
The contrast is incredible. As you look at the sacrifice, you are horrified and look away. In looking away, you see the beauty of the Lord, which appears much more beautiful. Yet, you are drawn to the ugliness that sits in the center.
One begins to understand the contrast between the beautiful holiness of God, and the ugliness of our sins. The more I focus on the beauty of God, the uglier my sin becomes. In our world we get so used to living in a garbage dump that we forget beauty. Things that we call “not bad” become simply atrocious when we are exposed to the beauty of our Lord and His holiness.
We can focus on the wages of sin, which is death, but that is not the desire of God’s heart.
(What part of “the wages of sin is death” do you not understand?)
God’s desire is that we continually focus on his beauty, and in so doing we will allow His beauty and holiness to drive the ugliness of sin away from us. Moses’s glory faded, but we can be changed from glory into glory (2 Cor. 3)
As we approach Easter we remember the sacrificial lamb that takes away the sin of the world. While we should never forget that the wages of sin is death, we also know what God is willing to do to give us eternal life.
