Lesson #13

The Tabernacle
(Exodus 25: 1 27: 21)
Up to now in our study of ExodusLessons 1-12our text
has offered a riveting, dramatic narrative:

The Israelites, numbering two million people, are enslaved in Egypt, subject to
Pharaohs order that all the male Israelite babies be drowned in the Nile River, thinning
the threatening Israelite population;
God raises up Moses, a prince of Egypt (now a wanted felon on the run), to liberate
the Israelites;
Moses confronts Pharaoh (while God confronts the Egyptian gods) in a devastating
series of escalating plagues that destroy Egypt and bring Pharaoh to his knees;
The Israelites escape Egypt through the parted Red Sea, with the Egyptian army in hot
pursuit;
Once at Mt. Sinai, in a spectacular scene of thunder, flashing fire and celestial
pyrotechnics, God reaffirms with the Israelites the covenant he made with Abraham,
Isaac and Jacob;
From the top of Mt. Sinai God delivers the Ten Commandments in a voice of thunder;
and finally, Moses disappears into the fire and smoke atop Mt. Sinai, where he
receives a dazzling vision of God enthroned.

















Pretty good stuff!


















As we arrive at Lesson #13 the narrative action stops dead in its tracks, put
on hold as we turn our attention to the Tabernacle, examining the intricate,
minute details of the Tabernacles structure, measurements, building
materials and construction, a sequence of material that spans the final 15
chapters of Exodus, save for the golden calf episode of chapters 32-34.

What was a gripping, dramatic narrative becomes something more akin to
pageantry, the display of multi-colored tapestries hung on golden loops,
wrought precious metals and inlaid gems. The rough and tumble narrative,
with its complex characters, multi-layered motivations, seething emotions
and calculated deceit, gives way to a quiet, perfectly orchestrated harmony,
enacted through the meticulous craftsmanship of architecture, weaving,
dying, woodcarving and metalworkhuman artisans following divine
directives, crafting a beautifully ordered vision of sacred space.

Whats up with that?







The Tabernacle


















When God reaffirms his covenant with Israel in Exodus
19 he gives his covenant people two great gifts:


The Law
Gods comprehensive teaching on all aspects of human life.

The Tabernacle
A physical structure by which a sinful people
gains access to an infinitely holy God.

















The Tabernacle is far more than a simple structure built in the
desert, however. Listen to our author of Hebrews, who has
been discussing the priest Melchizedek (Genesis 14: 18-20) as
the archetype of Christ, our great high priest:

The point of what has been said is this: we have such a high priest, who has
taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, a
minister of the sanctuary and of the true [Greek = alethinos, genuine]
tabernacle that the Lord, not man, set up . . .. They [the priests who minister
at the earthly tabernacle] worship in a copy and shadow of the heavenly
sanctuary, as Moses was warned when he was about to erect the tabernacle.
For he says, See to it that you make everything according to the pattern
shown you on the mountain.
(Hebrews 8: 1-2; 5)








































According to Scripture, the
Tabernacle built in Exodus is a copy
and shadow of the genuine
Tabernacle which is in heaven.

Indeed, our author of Hebrews goes
on to say that as the priests minister
at the earthly Tabernacle by offering
the blood of bulls and goats as
sacrifices, so does Christ minister at
the genuine Tabernacle in heaven
by offering his own blood as a
sacrifice, once and for all (Hebrews
9: 11-28).


Platos Allegory of the Cave



















In his Republic (514a-520a)
Plato has Socrates describe a
gathering of people who have
lived their entire lives chained
to the wall of a cave, facing a
blank wall. The people watch
shadows projected on the wall
by things passing in front of a
fire behind them. Over time,
the people assign names to the
shadows they see. The
shadows are the closest the
prisoners get to viewing reality.
Platos Cave, Flemish School (oil on panel), 16
th

century. Muse de Chartruese, Douai, France.



















Just so with Scripture. As St.
Paul observes in his 1
st
epistle
to the Corinthians:

If there are prophesies, they will be
brought to nothing; if tongues, they will
cease; if knowledge, it will be brought to
nothing. For we know partially and we
prophesy partially, but when the perfect
comes, the partial will pass away . . .. At
present I know partially; then I shall know
fully, as I am fully known.
(1 Corinthians 13: 8-10; 12)





















As we learned in Lesson #12,
this allegorical approach to
Scripture is rooted deeply in
St. Augustines Confessions
and De doctrina christiana; it
is foundational to biblical
exegesis throughout the
Middle Ages, and it is part of
the rich tradition of biblical
interpretation affirmed
today by the Roman Catholic
Church.























Thus, as we study the Tabernacle in Exodus 25-40
we will keep in mind that the Tabernacle being
described in such detail in our text is a copy and
shadow of the heavenly sanctuary, and that the
priests who minister at the Tabernacle on earth are
but a copy and shadow of Christ, who ministers at
the genuine Tabernacle which is in heaven.
Life-sized model of the Tabernacle at Timna National Park, Eliat, Israel.
Let them receive contributions for me. From each you shall receive
the contribution that their hearts prompt them to give . . .



















.
There you go,
Moses!
The Tabernacle


















We start inside the
Holy of Holies
and work outward
in concentric circles.
You shall make an ark of acacia wood . . .



















.
Acacia trees in the Sinai wilderness, Egypt.
Dr. Creasy
You shall make an ark of acacia wood . . .



















.
Acacia trees are hardwood with VERY sharp
thorns!
Units of Measurement


















Cubit = 18
(tip of the middle finger to elbow)

Handbreadth = 4
(palm of the hand)

Span = 9
(Tip of little finger to tip of thumb)

Talent = 75 lbs.
(The Israelites divided a talent into
60 mina (1.25 lbs. or 20 oz.), each
of which was divided into 60
shekels (1/3 oz.)






The Ark of the Covenant, Interior



















.
Golden jar of manna
Aarons staff
that blossomed
Ten Commandments
The Ark, acacia wood
overlaid with pure gold.
The Ark of the Covenant, Lid



















.
The Ark of the Covenant, Assembled



















.
The Altar of Incense (30: 1-10)



















.
The Table of Showbread



















.
The Menorah



















.
The Menorah



















.
Arch of Titus, Via Sacra, Rome. Commemorates Tituss victory in Jerusalem, A.D. 70.
This is the only contemporary image of the menorah from the 2
nd
Temple.
The Tent Cloth



















.



















The Tabernacle itself you shall make out of ten sheets
woven of fine linen twined and of violet, purple, and scarlet
yarn . . .

Fine twined linen made of flax dates back to ancient Mesopotamia.
Very expensive, Pharaoh Ramses IIs mummy was wrapped in twined
linen, which is still perfectly preserved after 3,000 years!

Violet and purple dye were extracted from the Tyrian murex which has
a small bladder containing juice that when extracted is purified and
made into varying shades of purple dye. In the New Testament, St. Pauls
friend, Lydia, imported such expensive purple cloth into Philippi.
Crimson dye was derived from the eggs of scale insects found on oak
trees.

Violet, purple and crimson dye production was immensely laborious
and very costly; consequently, such cloth was used exclusively by royalty
and the very wealthy.





The Tent Cloth, 4 layers



















.
Linen embroidered with
violet, purple & scarlet yarn
Goat hair
Ram skins dyed red
Tahash skins (dolphin?)
The Frames



















.
The Veils



















.
The Bronze Altar



















.
The Bronze Altar, Utensils



















.
The Basin (30: 17-21)



















.
The Courtyard



















.
The Courtyard, Gate



















.
The Tabernacle,
fully assembled and operating



















1. After God reaffirms the covenant with the Israelites, he
gives them two great gifts. What are they?
2. Why does God go to such great lengths to prescribe
exactly how the Israelites are to build the Tabernacle?
3. Viewing the Tabernacle through an allegorical lens, of
what is it a copy and shadow?
4. Looking through the same allegorical lens, what do the
four tent cloths that cover the Tabernacle represent?
5. As we move outward from the Holy of Holies the metals
used in the Tabernacle move from gold to silver to
bronze. Why?




Copyright 2014 by William C. Creasy
All rights reserved. No part of this courseaudio, video,
photography, maps, timelines or other mediamay be
reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic
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[All Tabernacle illustrations in these lectures are taken from:
Paul F. Kiene. The Tabernacle of God in the Wilderness of Sinai,
trans. by John S, Crandall. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan
Publishing House, 1977. Used by permission.]