Tabernacles, the Ark, and David’s desire to build the Temple

When the people of Israel were wandering in the desert after they left slavery in Egypt in order to enter the Promised Land, God gave Moses detailed instructions to build a sanctuary that would accompany them.

After being freed from slavery in Egypt, the people of Israel wandered in the desert for 40 years. During this period, these nomadic people had rules, an organised structure—both when they were travelling as well as when they were stationary.

Moses, the spiritual leader of his people, would put up a special tent outside the main camp to worship God, and everyone would follow him to seek the Lord. In that small linen tent, God would descend in the form of a pillar of cloud to speak to Moses. When Moses climbed Mount Sinai to receive the tablets with the Ten Commandments, he also received instructions from God to build the Tabernacle, with express orders not only on how it should be built but also in regards to its shape, the surrounding structure and how it should be transported by these nomadic people. It was a sort of itinerant temple made of different fabrics, carpets, fine wood and precious artefacts, situated at the centre of the camp.

The Tabernacle was the centre of worship, a place where people could focus on the Lord’s presence. In this way, the small tent outside the camp was replaced with a holy structure in the middle of the makeshift dwellings in the desert.

God described the details of the construction to Moses, including the amount, types, and even colours of the materials, which were offered by the people. They brought rare fabrics of great beauty, precious stones and metals, and in most cases, materials that were easily found in the desert, such as native wood of great strength and skins of local animals—wild or domesticated. Even the garments of the priests and other workers were determined by the Lord, as well as were the artefacts and furniture.

“Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the children of Israel, that they bring Me an offering. From everyone who gives it willingly with his heart you shall take My offering. And this is the offering which you shall take from them: gold, silver, and bronze; blue, purple, and scarlet thread, fine linen, and goats’ hair; ram skins dyed red, badger skins, acacia wood; oil for the light, and spices for the anointing oil and for the sweet incense; onyx stones, and stones to be set in the ephod and in the breastplate. And let them make Me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them. According to all that I show you, that is, the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furnishings, just so you shall make it.” (Exodus 24:1-9)

Although most readers of the Bible have a tendency to associate Jesus Christ to the New Testament only, the Messiah has been anticipated since the beginning of the Old Testament. The tabernacle itself has become a clear allusion to Him and to the way people should connect with God. If you take a look at the tent’s blueprint, we can see that the artefacts are arranged in the shape of a cross, having God’s presence at the top (in the Ark of the Covenant).

The Tabernacle was always to be built with its entrance facing east. It was a big tent, like a large shelter, called the Holy Place. Inside tent, the Holy of Holies was a small room reserved only for the high priest, where he would speak personally to God, protected by a veil, whose entrance faced west. In this place was the Ark of the Covenant, which contained the tablets of the Ten Commandments which were given to Moses (a copy written by himself), a bit of manna (food God sent from heaven to the people in the desert) and Aaron’s rod that blossomed (Numbers 17:6-9).

As Exodus 25:10-22 says, God instructed Moses about the construction of the Ark of the Covenant. The Mercy Seat, which rested on top of the Ark, had two golden cherubim facing each other, from between which God would speak to Moses about everything He wanted His people to do. As with the Ark, the Lord also gave Moses instructions regarding the furniture of the Tabernacle and important pieces such as the Menorah, the great golden lampstand with seven oil lamps that would illuminate the Holy of Holies, which had no windows or any other opening through which light could penetrate, where only the high priest could enter.

Degrees of intimacy
According to professor, theologian and archaeologist Rodrigo Silva, from the Paulo Bork Museum of Biblical Archaeology in Sao Paulo, the physical layout of the Tabernacle shows the “degrees of intimacy with God”. Rodrigo also believes that Jesus Christ Himself was present in all representations of the itinerant temple.

Outer Court—An interesting aspect is that the Tabernacle had only one door through which people could go in and out—the main gate, which always faced east gave access to the outer court. As shown in the Bible, Jesus Himself says:

“I am the door. If anyone enter by Me, he will be saved, and I will go in and out and find pasture.” (John 10:9)

Anyone could enter the outer court, which was an open area. The first structure was the altar of sacrifice. When the animals offered were burned, it meant that the sins had been atoned for. Sin and merely human desires would be washed away, and a new and pure person would be born. The smoke produced by the burnt offering would ascend to heaven:

“And you shall burn the whole ram on the altar. It is a burnt offering to the LORD; it is a sweet aroma, an offering made by fire to the LORD.” (Exodus 29:18)

Immediately behind the altar was the basin, where the priests washed after offering sacrifices and before entering the Holy Place; it was a symbol of purification, where sin was washed away publicly.

Based on what Rodrigo Silva said about the degrees of intimacy with God, the court is the first step, a fundamental experience, without which man cannot have a true relationship with the Lord.

Holy Place—Past the wash basin was the opening to the tent itself: the entrance of the Holy Place. Only the priests could go inside. There, the three artefacts of furniture stood, of pure gold or hardwood adorned with gold. In Jewish culture, gold symbolises not only wealth but also God’s character and eternity, given the durability of the rare metal.

To the right as you enter, stood the Table of Bread. In it, twelve discs of unleavened bread (without yeast, for it symbolised sin to the Jews) were placed in two stacks of six. Not only did it symbolise that God would not fail to provide food for the twelve tribes of Israel, but also the Word of God itself, with which He feeds our spirit. Later on, Jesus would refer to Himself as the “Bread of Life”.

Opposite the table stood the Menorah, a large candelabra with seven oil lamps, which is still used by Jews today in both large and small sizes, with candles. Its role was to represent God’s presence, the light of life in Him, and to illuminate the Holy Place, which had no windows or any other opening through which light could enter. The priests were the ones who filled the lamps with oil, keeping the Menorah continually lit.

Beyond the Menorah and the Table of Bread was the Altar of Incense standing in the middle, facing the door to the Holy Place. There the priests prayed to God and lit incense, symbolising the supplications and prayers that went up to heaven, to God. This was one more step in the ladder of intimacy with God, where the priests led the prayers of the faithful to the Father.

Holy of Holies—The heart of the entire Tabernacle was the place where only the high priest could enter and have direct contact with God. With the entrance protected by the veil, the leader of the priests talked to the Lord; then he would pass the subject of the conversation on to his subordinates.

In the cloister of the Holy of Holies was the Ark of the Covenant, a sacred object touched only by the priests. Inside, the tablets of the Ten Commandments that Moses carved guided by God (the Holy Word), a bit of manna that was given as food to the people for the first time in the desert (a provision that never lacked) and Aaron’s rod that blossomed (God’s recognition of a person’s authority).

Around the Ark, the Mercy Seat, a wide plank positioned as the lid of the trunk, with two images of cherubim facing each other with wings outstretched, between which God spoke to the priest.

“The veil was not meant to separate man from God,” says Rodrigo Silva. It was a way to protect humans from having closer contact, which they were still unable to understand. “God was not hiding, as if playing hide-and-seek. It was a way to reveal Himself to man without destroying him with His glory, which human eyes do not have the ability to see. It was more of a filter than a barrier. But this obstacle disappeared with the coming of Christ and His sacrifice for us. That’s why we say that “the veil was torn”, “and now we do not depend on priests to have direct contact with God,” the archaeologist explains.

The doctrine of the sanctuary
The word Tabernacle means dwelling place, habitation. God dwelling among men.

Before, the nomadic people of Israel would build altars for sacrifice and prayer everywhere they went. The Tabernacle is the first reference to a sanctuary after Eden, when man had direct contact with the Lord—which he lost because of his disobedience.

The Tabernacle was already a sign of reconciliation between the Lord and man, which was confirmed by Christ later on.Rodrigo Silva sums up what has been explained so far about the Tabernacle in a very clear way, saying. “The Word says that Jesus came to dwell among men; He was God dwelling among us. The whole pattern of the itinerant tent-shaped sanctuary anticipated the coming of Christ in every way, besides the obvious cross formed by the pieces of furniture and artefacts when seen from above. If a person understands the doctrine of the sanctuary, how it was made and how it functioned, he is able to understand the meaning of the whole Bible, from Genesis to Revelation. It seems complicated at first, but this simple relationship reveals what God wants of man and what He has in store for him.”

David’s desire
From Egypt to the Promised Land, the people of Israel wandered in the wilderness camping around this mobile sanctuary. The Tabernacle was set up and the tribes camped around it.

When Israel had already settled in one place, in Jerusalem, the then monarch anointed by God, David, nurtured in his heart the desire to build a large temple, a magnificent building for what he believed was God’s dwelling place among his people.

Because David was a warrior by nature, having already killed thousands in battle to protect his people, God did not allow him to build the temple he desired so much. But given the perseverance of the king’s heart, the Lord told him that he would not build it, but his son and successor to the throne would. However, He allowed David to stock up material for the future construction, reassuring the monarch. In fact Solomon, David’s son, was the director of the work, which is still revered by the Jewish people, even long after it has been destroyed.

The Tabernacle was born of God’s will, as told to Moses. “Many people believe that Moses broke new ground, when he was called by God to build the Tabernacle and the elaborate trappings for worship,” Rodrigo Silva says, “but the truth is that God used the leader who guided the people of Israel through the desert to recover a tradition that was being lost; He wanted the sanctuary to be built to show that He was present all the time,” said the expert. But the temple, according to the professor, was David’s will; a desire of the king’s heart, which God approved of—even though it was going to be built by his successor.

“Now Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon, because he heard that they had anointed him king in place of his father, for Hiram had always loved David. Then Solomon sent to Hiram, saying: You know how my father David could not build a house for the name of the LORD his God because of the wars which were fought against him on every side, until the LORD put his foes under the soles of his feet. But now the LORD my God has given me rest on every side; there is neither adversary nor evil occurrence. And behold, I propose to build a house for the name of the LORD my God, as the LORD spoke to my father David, saying, ‘Your son, whom I will set on your throne in your place, he shall build the house for My name.’” (1 Kings 5:1-5)