THE TABERNACLE- A PORTRAIT OF CHRIST

EXODUS 25

Pastor Rick Jackson

Sumner Wemp wrote, “Imagine a 15 by 45 foot house, constructed of 3 tons of gold, 5 tons of silver, 4 tons of brass, and an assortment of jewels, fine wood, and fancy tapestries. This was the tabernacle, the portable house of worship built by a horde of escaped slave. In the providence of God, the amazing project was financed by the farewell gifts to the children of Israel by their erstwhile captors, the Egyptians. Considering labor and materials prescribed by God Himself, such a building couldn’t be erected today for less than $10 million.

The unique structure and value of the tabernacle command our attention. Never before nor since has there been such a costly prefab structure, the epitome of simplicity to dismantle and to reassemble. According to the design of the Master Efficiency Expert, it could be moved quickly by 8,500 carriers when the cloud of His presence moved forward.”

I. THE PLAN OF THE TABERNACLE [v. 1-7]

1. The Planner [v. 1]

2. The Procedure [v. 2]

2 Corinthians 9:7 Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.

3. The Provision [v. 3-7]

Exodus 12:36 And the LORD gave the people favour in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they lent unto them such things as they required. And they spoiled the Egyptians.

II. THE PURPOSE OF THE TABERNACLE [v. 8]

1. For the Presence [v. 8]

2. For the Pattern [v. 9]

Revelation 21:3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God


3. For the Portrait [v. 9] “the tabernacle”

John 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

It takes infinite patience and love on God’s part to overcome man’s fear and doubt, so that we will trust Him to give us what we need. That is why God gave us this book. He starts us out in spiritual kindergarten. He starts with pictures and shadows, with visual aids, in order to show us what he is going to do someday. All the ceremonies and offerings of the Old Testament are shadows and pictures of Jesus Christ. Christ is as present in the books of Exodus and Leviticus as He is in the Gospels, but because He is present in symbols and signs, you must look carefully to see His image. Jesus is the focus of the Bible and Exodus is no exception. -Ray C. Stedman (paraphrased)

III. THE PATTERN OF THE TABERNACLE [v. 9-26]

Hebrews 8:5 Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount.

Since God gave the pattern we should understand that everything has meaning. Throughout the Word of God we begin to note patterns given us.

Materials

Gold=Deity Wood=Humanity Together=Incarnation

Silver=Redemption Brass=Judgment Skins=sacrifice

Fine Linen-the righteousness of Christ imparted to His people

Colors

Blue=Heavenly Red=earthly/death/sacrifice

Purple=royalty (as a blend of red & blue) White=perfect purity

Substances

Oil=Holy Spirit Water=cleansing Incense=prayer

1. The Ark [v. 9-22]

The way God presented the Tabernacle to Moses was from His viewpoint! We would have started outside and worked our way in… which is indeed how we must come but God is reaching out to us so He begins in the Holy of Holies!

The ark was 45” long, 27” wide and 27” high (not counting the mercy seat)

It would eventually hold the tablets of the law (representing the Word of God and Christ’s holiness & righteousness), the jar of manna (Christ as the Bread of Life), an Aaron’s rod that budded (Christ’s resurrection)

It spoke of God’s presence. Where God would meet man. But how? By the blood applied to the mercy seat.

Psalm 85:10 Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.

2. The Table of Shewbread [v. 23-30]

Christ the Bread of Life, the border (railing) speaks of security, 12 large loaves=12 tribes, 12 apostles, the Word of God for every individual

3. The Menorah [v. 31-40]

The only light in the Tabernacle! Christ the Light of the World [Jn. 1:4-9, 8:12]

The almond blossoms a reminder of our need to be the light of the world by the resurrection power of Christ (Aaron’s rod, also John 15 the lesson of the vine & the branches)