God Dwells Amongst Us (The Tabernacle)
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Exodus 25: Will Rubie
The catalogue of offerings for the Tabernacle
How do we experience the presence of God ?
How can we experience the presence of God ?
The Israelites are about to move away from the mountain...
'God dwells amongst us in the dwelling place of God himself' (v.8)
Materials gathered by the people & brought to Moses for God's sanctuary (later, the tabernacle)
God will leave the mountain with them - as they go, He will go with them
& will do that by dwelling in a tent ...
How so? ... "Heaven itself cannot hold Him" (para. 1 K. 8:27)
Tabernacle is known in Hebrew as the Mishkan ("Residence" or "Dwelling Place") - a portable dwelling place for the divine presence from the time of the Hebrew Exodus from Egypt through the conquering of the land of Canaan. Mishkan is related to the Hebrew word to "dwell", "rest", or "to live in",referring to the "[in-dwelling] Presence of God".
... The tent: enables the covenant relationship to take place
- not just up the mountain
If the Israelites want to meet with the LORD & experience Him,
they will have a sacred, special place to do so in the tent.
God takes the initiative for the building of the tent;
He's the one who designs it, plans, instructs & equips it
... we can only meet with God & experience God on His terms;
God will dwell amongst His people as He chooses.
- If God is everywhere, why is it so important that they have a specific meeting-place?
Understanding the tent & its symbolism:
A tent in the desert is a picture of the Garden of Eden, acts as a taste of Paradise.
Gold: the arc/atonement cover/lampstand - pure gold
... sensory experience as they enter in
'Is it to talk about the holiness of God? Yes, I think so. Is it to talk about the splendour & the majesty of God? Yes I think so but I think it's more than that as well... the gold is a picture of somewhere else'
.... Gen. 2, Eden ... Similarly, as with onyx.
Lampstand: branches, blossoms - not so much to act as a light- giver
but a golden tree, to represent the knowledge & the presence of God.
Cherubim: angels over the Ark (v.17)
pictured with grandeur, awe & splendour; guarding the Tabernacle
... last mention, cherubim placing boundaries around Eden after the Fall.
Exodus begins with And : ... a continuation from Genesis & the Creation, the author wants us to see that the two books are connected, the narrative continues - God's plan for creation is still intact, His promises being kept - this moment, one of cosmic creational significance
Not just a site of worship ... by carrying the tent around the wilderness, the tabernacle acts as a visual tangible reminder of God's plan for his creation; in looking back to Genesis, the Israelites are also forced to look forward in hope, to a new home yet to come.
How the Tabernacle Is Structured:
v.16: at the heart of the tabernacle, the Most Holy Place
the tablets of the Covenant of the Law : the words of God
(will eventually house & carry the Ten Commandments)
v.17: atonement cover (the 'mercy seat')
where God's anger has been turned away
.... v.22 "I will meet with you"; a dwelling-place
Further out, ("zone 2") the Table - set for dinner with plates for bread
... God & Man will meet together & eat together;
the covenant meal in an act of fellowship
Outside the Most Holy Place, ("zone 3"): the Courtyard (Ch.26; 27:1)…
the Altar - as the Israelites enter the tent, the first thing seen is that of sacrifice … blood from the oxen
This is how the covenant people were to experience God:
Sacrifice
Fellowship
Word
: Replicating Mount Sinai (the Mountain goes with them,)
God's presence journeys with them
Tension: The tent harbours mixed messages:
the tent says come near! welcome! but don't come near; God is too holy
The tent becomes a temple - The temple is destroyed
- God's glory leaves the Temple -
Jn 1: 14: the Word became flesh & made his dwelling amongst us.
" In Jesus, a taste of Paradise & the story of the covenant: He himself becomes the sacrifice (we're not told to go off & have different meals,) we have a meal with Him; He is the One speaks the very words of God; He is the very display of the glory of God.
How do we experience the presence of the Living God? We don't go to a holy place, we don't go to a sacred shrine, we don't go to a special building ... it's not through music, we don't need to go on a pilgrimage "
"Draw near to Him with faith"
… we come with confidence to God through Jesus
- not to a place but to a person, Jesus.
...............................................................................
H. 10:19 Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.
Exodus 25: Will Rubie
The catalogue of offerings for the Tabernacle
How do we experience the presence of God ?
How can we experience the presence of God ?
The Israelites are about to move away from the mountain...
'God dwells amongst us in the dwelling place of God himself' (v.8)
Materials gathered by the people & brought to Moses for God's sanctuary (later, the tabernacle)
God will leave the mountain with them - as they go, He will go with them
& will do that by dwelling in a tent ...
How so? ... "Heaven itself cannot hold Him" (para. 1 K. 8:27)
Tabernacle is known in Hebrew as the Mishkan ("Residence" or "Dwelling Place") - a portable dwelling place for the divine presence from the time of the Hebrew Exodus from Egypt through the conquering of the land of Canaan. Mishkan is related to the Hebrew word to "dwell", "rest", or "to live in",referring to the "[in-dwelling] Presence of God".
... The tent: enables the covenant relationship to take place
- not just up the mountain
If the Israelites want to meet with the LORD & experience Him,
they will have a sacred, special place to do so in the tent.
God takes the initiative for the building of the tent;
He's the one who designs it, plans, instructs & equips it
... we can only meet with God & experience God on His terms;
God will dwell amongst His people as He chooses.
- If God is everywhere, why is it so important that they have a specific meeting-place?
Understanding the tent & its symbolism:
A tent in the desert is a picture of the Garden of Eden, acts as a taste of Paradise.
Gold: the arc/atonement cover/lampstand - pure gold
... sensory experience as they enter in
'Is it to talk about the holiness of God? Yes, I think so. Is it to talk about the splendour & the majesty of God? Yes I think so but I think it's more than that as well... the gold is a picture of somewhere else'
.... Gen. 2, Eden ... Similarly, as with onyx.
Lampstand: branches, blossoms - not so much to act as a light- giver
but a golden tree, to represent the knowledge & the presence of God.
Cherubim: angels over the Ark (v.17)
pictured with grandeur, awe & splendour; guarding the Tabernacle
... last mention, cherubim placing boundaries around Eden after the Fall.
Exodus begins with And : ... a continuation from Genesis & the Creation, the author wants us to see that the two books are connected, the narrative continues - God's plan for creation is still intact, His promises being kept - this moment, one of cosmic creational significance
Not just a site of worship ... by carrying the tent around the wilderness, the tabernacle acts as a visual tangible reminder of God's plan for his creation; in looking back to Genesis, the Israelites are also forced to look forward in hope, to a new home yet to come.
How the Tabernacle Is Structured:
v.16: at the heart of the tabernacle, the Most Holy Place
the tablets of the Covenant of the Law : the words of God
(will eventually house & carry the Ten Commandments)
v.17: atonement cover (the 'mercy seat')
where God's anger has been turned away
.... v.22 "I will meet with you"; a dwelling-place
Further out, ("zone 2") the Table - set for dinner with plates for bread
... God & Man will meet together & eat together;
the covenant meal in an act of fellowship
Outside the Most Holy Place, ("zone 3"): the Courtyard (Ch.26; 27:1)…
the Altar - as the Israelites enter the tent, the first thing seen is that of sacrifice … blood from the oxen
This is how the covenant people were to experience God:
Sacrifice
Fellowship
Word
: Replicating Mount Sinai (the Mountain goes with them,)
God's presence journeys with them
Tension: The tent harbours mixed messages:
the tent says come near! welcome! but don't come near; God is too holy
The tent becomes a temple - The temple is destroyed
- God's glory leaves the Temple -
Jn 1: 14: the Word became flesh & made his dwelling amongst us.
" In Jesus, a taste of Paradise & the story of the covenant: He himself becomes the sacrifice (we're not told to go off & have different meals,) we have a meal with Him; He is the One speaks the very words of God; He is the very display of the glory of God.
How do we experience the presence of the Living God? We don't go to a holy place, we don't go to a sacred shrine, we don't go to a special building ... it's not through music, we don't need to go on a pilgrimage "
"Draw near to Him with faith"
… we come with confidence to God through Jesus
- not to a place but to a person, Jesus.
...............................................................................
H. 10:19 Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.