That I May Dwell in Their Midst | Exodus 25-31
Dream World
We often use the word dream to describe our ideal vision of the future. We speak of dream jobs, dream vacations, and dream homes. If you closed your eyes and imagined your dream world—a place of perfect peace and pleasure, a state of unending happiness, what would you envision?
I once saw a poster that said something to this effect: “Heaven: Streets of Gold, Perfect Weather, No Pollution, No Sickness. Won’t it be great?”
Can you think of anything missing from that description of heaven? It’s not that anything on that list is wrong, per se. But the thing that makes the entire poster as a whole dreadfully wrong is that it failed to mention the distinctive feature that makes heaven heaven.
Did you catch what—or rather who—was missing from that list? On a poster listing the blessings of heaven, there was no mention of God.
When you take inventory of your hopes and dreams for the future, is God there?
The best possible future is the one in which God himself dwells with man. And the good news of Exodus 25–31 is that God intends to dwell with us forever. Even better, the holy God of heaven has made a way for sinful humans to enjoy him forever.
“The LORD said to Moses, ‘Speak to the people of Israel, that they take for me a contribution. From every man whose heart moves him you shall receive the contribution for me. And this is the contribution that you shall receive from them: gold, silver, and bronze, blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen, goats’ hair, tanned rams’ skins, goatskins, acacia wood, oil for the lamps, spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense, onyx stones, and stones for setting, for the ephod and for the breastpiece. And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst. Exactly as I show you concerning the pattern of the tabernacle, and of all its furniture, so you shall make it.’”
—Exodus 25:1–9
“It shall be a regular burnt offering throughout your generations at the entrance of the tent of meeting before the LORD, where I will meet with you, to speak to you there. There I will meet with the people of Israel, and it shall be sanctified by my glory. I will consecrate the tent of meeting and the altar. Aaron also and his sons I will consecrate to serve me as priests. I will dwell among the people of Israel and will be their God. And they shall know that I am the LORD their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt that I might dwell among them. I am the LORD their God.”
—Exodus 29:38–46
Entering the Text
If you sit down to read Exodus 25–31, you may quickly get bogged down in the details, trying to remember all of the specifics. Okay, the ark was two and a half cubits long by a cubit and a half wide by a cubit and a half high. And there were twenty frames on the south side; and forty bases of silver under the twenty frames, with two bases under each frame for its two tenons.
Are you getting all this?
We’re going to follow the route of the author of Hebrews. After briefly cataloging the items in the tabernacle, he said, “Of these things we cannot now speak in detail” (Hebrews 9:5). Not that the details aren’t important or edifying. But we’re going to try to see the forest without getting lost in the trees. And the place to start is with God’s purpose.
God’s Purpose
In all the details of the tabernacle, never lose sight of God’s overarching purpose. Holding God’s purpose firmly in mind is what makes sense of all the details. This purpose is the reason the details matter.
In Exodus 25:8, God gives a single command, which will be unpacked in the subsequent seven chapters. And along with that command, God states his purpose: “And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst” (Exodus 25:8). The command is to construct a sanctuary—a set apart, holy place for God. The purpose is that God may dwell in the very midst of his people.
This sanctuary is called by two different names. In Exodus 25–27, it’s called (in English) the tabernacle, which comes from the Latin word tabernaculum and simply means tent. But the Hebrew word (miškān) more accurately means “dwelling place.” The point is not the type of structure (tent versus house), but its purpose. It is called a dwelling place because the tabernacle is God’s dwelling place on earth.
God says again in Exodus 29:45–46, “I will dwell among the people of Israel and will be their God. And they shall know that I am the LORD their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt that I might dwell among them. I am the LORD their God.”
This passage is the heart of the entire text. First, God rescued and redeemed his people from slavery in Egypt. Then he established his covenant with them. But dwelling with his people was the entire reason God brought them out of Egypt. We know from Numbers 2 that the tabernacle occupied the very center of the Israelite camp, with the twelve tribes evenly arranged around it. Numbers 2:2 says, “They shall camp facing the tent of meeting on every side.”
Over a dozen times this passage uses the phrase “before the Lord.” Everything that happens in the tabernacle happens before the Lord. All the detailed instructions are the necessary preparations for this.
Then at the end of Exodus 27 through Exodus 31 there is a shift. The tent is no longer referred to as the tabernacle, but rather the tent of meeting. The focus shifts from the mere fact of God’s presence, to God’s relational purpose. Residents in an apartment complex dwell in proximity, but that is no guarantee of community or fellowship or unity. In a marriage that’s gone cold, a husband and wife may live under the same roof—share the same bed even—and yet be completely out of fellowship. But God dwells with his people in order to meet with them.
“There I will meet with you, and from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim that are on the ark of the testimony, I will speak with you about all that I will give you in commandment for the people of Israel.”
—Exodus 25:22
God’s purpose was to dwell with his people in order to meet with them.
God’s Pattern
We know from the text that the tabernacle was constructed based on plans and patterns God showed to Moses on the mountain. “Exactly as I show you concerning the pattern of the tabernacle, and of all its furniture, so you shall make it” (Exodus 25:9; cf. Exodus 25:40, 26:30, 27:8). There are repeated warnings to follow the pattern precisely. And while the details may not make the most exciting reading, they are vitally important. And they indicate that God himself makes a way for his presence to dwell with his people.
At Mount Sinai, God revealed his awesome presence. Think of Mount Sinai like a roaring bonfire. Chapter 24 ended like this: “The glory of the LORD dwelt on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days. … Now the appearance of the glory of the LORD was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the sight of the people of Israel” (Exodus 24:16–17; cf. Ex 19:18).
Burning a fire outside under the open sky involves some risk, but it is relatively safe compared to the challenge of safely moving that fire inside your living room. Outside, you just need decent clearance overhead and around the fire. But to safely bring the heat and warmth of fire inside requires the special construction of a fireplace, a chimney, and a hearth.
That’s what the tabernacle was. The tabernacle required great care and attention to detail because this was the place where the glory of the Lord would dwell in the midst of his people.
Since God saw fit to reveal exact details and preserve them for us, it’s worth taking a moment to give a brief description of its physical layout as described in Exodus.
The tabernacle consisted of three areas. There was an outer courtyard, and inside that court was a tent. The tent was divided into two sections: the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place
The court was surrounded by a fence of linen curtains approximately 7.5 feet high. The entire complex would have fit on one quarter of an American football field. To the east was a gate, 10 yards wide, covered with a screen made from linen and blue, purple, and scarlet yarns. The first item inside the courtyard was a large bronze altar for animal sacrifices. Next was a bronze basin, where the priests would wash before entering the tabernacle.
The tabernacle itself was a tent 15 feet wide, 45 feet long, and 15 feet tall. The tent was covered by four layers of linen and skins. Inside, the tent was divided by a curtain into two parts. The Holy Place was twice as big as the Most Holy Place. In the first section—the Holy Place—along the south wall (or to your left) was the golden lampstand (hammered out of a solid piece of gold weighing 75 pounds). On the north (to your right) wall was a table overlaid with gold for the bread of the presence—12 loaves for the 12 tribes—and gold containers for drink offerings. The priests ate the bread every Sabbath and replaced it. The bread and wine on the table indicate this is a place of fellowship. At the west end, in front of a blue and purple and scarlet curtain with skillfully worked cherubim on it, was a golden altar where Aaron burned incense in the morning and evening.
And beyond that veil was the Holy of Holies, or the Most Holy Place. The Holy of Holies was a perfect cube: about 15 feet long, wide, and high. The only object inside the Holy of Holies was the ark of the covenant—a wooden box completely covered in pure gold. It was called the Ark of the Covenant because it contained the tablets of the covenant (Ex 25:16, 40:20; Heb 9:4). The only person permitted to enter this section was the high priest, and he was only allowed to enter once each year, on the Day of Atonement.
So what do the details of the pattern mean? One clue comes from the numerous ways the tabernacle resembles the Garden of Eden. This indicates that God had not given up on his purpose to dwell with man on earth.
For one thing, the tabernacle instructions were delivered in seven “speeches” from God. There are seven distinct times where the text says, “The Lord said to Moses.” And the seventh deals with Sabbath rest, corresponding to the seventh day of creation. So the construction of the tabernacle reflects the creation of the world. The tabernacle offers the hope of a new creation. God is recovering his purpose to dwell with his people.
Both the Garden of Eden and the tabernacle were entered from the east (27:13). After the fall, Genesis 3:24 says, “He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.”
Like the east-facing entrance to Eden, the tabernacle was also guarded by cherubim. Cherubim were winged creatures, often depicted with a lion’s body and a man’s face. There cherubim “skillfully worked” into the linen curtain that covered the tabernacle and the veil that separated the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place. The lid over the Ark of the Covenant also had two cherubim facing each other with their wings spread out above, overshadowing the mercy seat (Ex 25:17–22). Just like in Eden, the cherubim guard the way to the place where God dwells.
Exodus specifies twelve gemstones for the high priest’s breastpiece, and the prophet Ezekiel locates most of those gems as being present in the Garden of God (Ezekiel 28:13).
Then there was the golden lampstand. It was fashioned to look like a blossoming almond tree, reminiscent of the tree of life in the Garden. And its purpose was “to give light” in the Holy Place (Ex 25:37). That’s the same word used in Genesis 1 on the fourth day of creation when God filled the heavens with lights “to give light” upon the earth (Gen 1:15).
In so many ways, the tabernacle was a reminder of Eden, where God dwelt with man. Commenting on the pattern for the tabernacle shown to Moses, the New Testament author of Hebrews says, “They [i.e., the earthly priests] serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things” (Hebrews 8:5). And in Hebrews 9, the earthly tabernacle and its furnishings and vessels are called “copies of the heavenly things” (Heb 9:23) and “copies of the true things” (Heb 9:24).
That’s what the earthly tabernacle was: a shadow and a copy of God’s heavenly dwelling place. The tabernacle was a symbol pointing to something greater and better. An architect might build a scale model out of balsa wood and styrofoam to point to the final project, which will be built out of steel and stone. So God showed Moses a pattern for a scale model of God’s plan to fill the entire earth with his presence again.
God’s Provision
Not only did God purpose to dwell with his people. Not only did he reveal the pattern to construct the tent of meeting. God also graciously provided everything necessary for his purpose to be fulfilled.
The entire tabernacle section of Exodus begins with a call for a contribution. Exodus 25:1–2 says, “The LORD said to Moses, ‘Speak to the people of Israel, that they take for me a contribution. From every man whose heart moves him you shall receive the contribution for me.’” But where was this desert-dwelling nation of former slaves supposed to come up with the extravagant materials necessary to build a sanctuary for the Living God?
Exodus 12:35–36 describes the night of the Exodus: “The people of Israel had also done as Moses told them, for they had asked the Egyptians for silver and gold jewelry and for clothing. And the LORD had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they let them have what they asked. Thus they plundered the Egyptians.”
How kind of God to provide everything that would be needed long before it was needed and to give his people the opportunity to experience the joy of giving!
But the construction of the tabernacle presented another glaring need. Any DIYer with a credit card can walk out of Home Depot with the right supplies. Turning raw materials into a finished tabernacle required expert skill, which God also provided:
“The LORD said to Moses, ‘See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship, to devise artistic designs, to work in gold, silver, and bronze, in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, to work in every craft. And behold, I have appointed with him Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. And I have given to all able men ability, that they may make all that I have commanded you.’”
—Exodus 31:1–6
God always provides what is needed to fulfill what he has commanded.
But as you know, there’s a difference between a house and a home. A house is an empty structure. A home is that structure when it’s filled with life and love.
In order for God to dwell with his people, more was needed than fine twined linen and gold. The finest finishes can’t guarantee that the occupants of a home are in fellowship. Just visit any Hollywood mansion.
Consider the scene described in Exodus 33:7, after the Golden Calf debacle: “Now Moses used to take the tent and pitch it outside the camp, far off from the camp, and he called it the tent of meeting. And everyone who sought the LORD would go out to the tent of meeting, which was outside the camp.” This differs dramatically from the description of the tabernacle in Exodus 25:8 as the place where God would dwell in the midst of his people
More than raw material and skilled workers, the greatest need was a provision for sin, which God graciously provided by giving priests and a sacrificial system in Exodus 28 and 29. God provided priests to serve as mediators, representing God to the people and representing the people before God. God also provided sacrifices to atone for the guilt of the priests and the people so that God’s holy presence could dwell in their midst. According to Exodus 29:33, these sacrifices were necessary to make atonement.
J. I. Packer offers this helpful definition of atonement: “Atonement means making amends, blotting out the offense, and giving satisfaction for wrong done; thus reconciling to oneself the alienated other and restoring the disrupted relationship.”
Atonement is necessary because of sin. It is sin that must be atoned for. In Exodus 32:30, after the people sinned against God by building the golden calf, Moses said, “You have sinned a great sin. And now I will go up to the LORD; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.” Adam and Eve were exiled from the Garden because of their sin. Human sin—the violation of God’s holy law—puts man out of fellowship with God. Therefore, atonement must be before God can dwell with man.
If God’s instructions for the tabernacle had only included blueprints and a materials list, but no provision for sin, one of two things would have resulted. Either the tent of meeting would have sat vacant, or God’s holy presence in the camp would have consumed the people. Only after atonement was made could God dwell in the midst of his people.
God provided everything! The purpose, the pattern, the materials, the workers, the sacrifices. Everything about the tabernacle declares that God is devoted to making a way for sinful humans to enjoy him forever.
The Perfect
And we know this is true because God has given us something better than the tabernacle.
“Now the point in what we are saying is this: we have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, a minister in the holy places, in the true tent that the Lord set up, not man.”
—Hebrews 8:1–2
The earthly tabernacle was made by human hands, but there is a true tent set up by God himself. And because that tent is superior to this one, the high priest who ministers in that holy place is superior to those who minister in this one. Jesus is that high priest.
After describing the layout of the tabernacle and its furnishings, the author of Hebrews writes: “But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. … For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself” (Hebrews 9:11–12, 24–26).
Christ Jesus has entered a better tabernacle to offer a better sacrifice to secure for you a better salvation. At Sinai, God stooped down and caused his glory to dwell in a tent. But in Jesus, the fullness of God dwelt among us (John 1:14).
I mentioned that the Holy of Holies was a perfect cube. Do you know what else is described with the dimensions of a cube? The New Jerusalem in Revelation 21:16. The new creation is one giant Holy of Holies, where the dwelling place of God will be with man and heaven and earth will be one. That is the future of this world. The tabernacle pointed to it and Jesus accomplished it.
Is that your future? Will you dwell with God forever in the new earth? Is your dream world the one in which the glory of God dwells with man?