The Tabernacle – Where God Dwelt Among His People
In the wilderness of Sinai, far from any city or civilization, God commanded Moses to build a dwelling place. Not a simple tent but an elaborate structure of gold, silver, bronze, fine linen, and precious stones—a portable palace where the Creator of the universe would meet with His people. “And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them” (Exodus 25:8). This was the tabernacle: God’s earthly address among the redeemed.
The Blueprint from Heaven
God gave Moses detailed instructions for every aspect of the tabernacle’s construction. The design was not left to human imagination or architectural innovation. “According to all that I shew thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it” (Exodus 25:9). Moses was to follow the heavenly pattern precisely.
Why such specificity? Because every detail was symbolic. Every color, measurement, material, and arrangement carried meaning. The tabernacle was a visual theology—teaching truths about God, sin, sacrifice, and salvation through physical structures. To change any detail would corrupt the message.
The writer of Hebrews confirms this purpose: the priests “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” (Hebrews 8:5). The earthly tabernacle was a copy of heavenly realities—and those realities center in Christ.
The Single Entrance
The tabernacle complex was surrounded by a fence of white linen, about seven and a half feet high, forming a court approximately 150 by 75 feet. In this fence there was only one entrance—a gate on the eastern side, made of blue, purple, and scarlet linen, about thirty feet wide.
One gate. Not multiple entrances for different classes of people. Not various paths depending on preference. Everyone who approached God came through the same entrance—high priest and common Israelite, man and woman, old and young. There was no other way in.
Jesus declared, “I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved” (John 10:9). And again, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6). The single gate of the tabernacle proclaimed what Christ would later state explicitly: there is only one way to God.
The Brazen Altar
Immediately inside the gate stood the brazen altar—the first object encountered by anyone entering the tabernacle court. This large bronze structure, about seven and a half feet square and four and a half feet high, was where animals were sacrificed. Blood flowed here continuously as priests offered the required sacrifices for sin.
No one could proceed toward God without passing the altar. The message was clear: sin must be dealt with before fellowship is possible. Without blood, there is no access. “Without shedding of blood is no remission” (Hebrews 9:22). The first step toward God required acknowledging sin and accepting the substitutionary death of an innocent victim.
Christ is our altar—the place where sin was dealt with once for all. “We have an altar, whereof they have no right to eat which serve the tabernacle” (Hebrews 13:10). His cross was the true altar where the ultimate sacrifice was offered. We cannot approach God apart from that cross.
The Laver
Between the altar and the tabernacle stood the bronze laver—a large basin filled with water where priests washed before entering the holy place. Having passed the altar of sacrifice, they needed the laver of cleansing. Blood dealt with sin’s guilt; water dealt with sin’s defilement.
Priests washed at the laver daily. Though their sin was atoned, they accumulated defilement through contact with a fallen world. The laver provided ongoing cleansing for ongoing need. Access to God required both initial atonement and continual purification.
Christ sanctifies His church “with the washing of water by the word” (Ephesians 5:26). The Word of God cleanses believers daily, dealing with the defilement we accumulate in this world. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). The laver speaks of this ongoing sanctification.
The Holy Place
The tabernacle itself was a tent-like structure about forty-five feet long, fifteen feet wide, and fifteen feet high. It was divided into two rooms: the Holy Place, entered daily by priests, and the Most Holy Place, entered only once a year by the high priest alone.
The Holy Place contained three items of furniture. On the right stood the table of showbread, holding twelve loaves representing the twelve tribes. On the left stood the golden lampstand with seven branches, providing the only light in this windowless room. Directly ahead, before the veil, stood the altar of incense, where fragrant smoke ascended continually before God.
Each item pictures Christ. He is the Bread of Life, providing spiritual nourishment for His people. He is the Light of the World, illuminating darkness with divine truth. His prayers ascend as fragrant incense before the Father. The furniture of the Holy Place declared His person and work centuries before His incarnation.
The Most Holy Place
A thick veil separated the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place—the inner sanctuary where God’s presence dwelt in visible glory. This veil was embroidered with cherubim, reminding Israel of the cherubim who guarded Eden after the Fall. The way to God’s immediate presence remained blocked.
Behind this veil stood only the Ark of the Covenant—a gold-covered chest containing the tablets of the Law, a pot of manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded. Above the ark was the mercy seat, a solid gold lid where the cherubim’s wings overshadowed the place where blood was sprinkled on the Day of Atonement.
Here was the heart of the tabernacle: the meeting place between God and man. The shekinah glory—the visible manifestation of God’s presence—dwelt between the cherubim. Here atonement was made. Here God spoke to Moses. Here heaven touched earth.
God Among His People
The tabernacle’s purpose was communion—God dwelling with His people. The Creator of galaxies chose to live in a tent in the desert, surrounded by the tribes of Israel. His presence went with them by day in a pillar of cloud, by night in a pillar of fire. The distant God of Sinai’s thunder became the near God of the tabernacle’s mercy seat.
Yet access remained limited. Only priests could enter the Holy Place. Only the high priest could enter the Most Holy Place, and only once a year. The elaborate structure that brought God near simultaneously kept Him at a distance. Something more was needed to open the way fully.
“The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). The Greek word for “dwelt” literally means “tabernacled.” God moved from the tent in the wilderness to a human body. Emmanuel—God with us—walked among His people, accessible to all. The tabernacle of old was a shadow; Christ’s incarnation was the reality.
The Veil Torn
When Christ died on the cross, “the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom” (Matthew 27:51). God Himself tore the barrier that separated sinners from His presence. The way into the Most Holy Place, closed since Eden, was opened by the death of Christ.
“Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh” (Hebrews 10:19-20). Christ’s body was the final veil—torn, broken, opened so that we might enter God’s presence freely.
We no longer approach God through priests, temples, or rituals. We come directly through Christ. “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16). What the tabernacle promised, Christ provides—immediate, continuous, unrestricted access to God.
The Greater Tabernacle
The tabernacle was always meant to be temporary. It pointed forward to something greater. “Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building” (Hebrews 9:11).
Christ ministers in the true tabernacle—heaven itself. He entered with His own blood, not the blood of animals. He sat down at God’s right hand, indicating His priestly work of sacrifice is complete. He ever lives to make intercession for those who come to God through Him. The wilderness tabernacle was the sketch; Christ’s heavenly ministry is the masterpiece.
And one day, the tabernacle imagery will reach its final fulfillment: “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” (Revelation 21:3). What the tabernacle anticipated, what Christ inaugurated, eternity will perfect—God dwelling with His people forever.
The Invitation
The tabernacle declares both the problem and the solution. The problem: sinful humans cannot approach a holy God. The barriers, the sacrifices, the limited access—all testified to the gulf between Creator and creature. The solution: God Himself has made a way. Through sacrifice, through cleansing, through the torn veil of Christ’s flesh, access is open.
Have you entered through the gate? Have you passed the altar where sin is dealt with? Have you been washed at the laver of God’s Word? The way is open—not to a tent in the wilderness but to the throne of the universe. The tabernacle’s message echoes through the ages: God wants to dwell with you. Will you come to Him through Christ, the only way into the Father’s presence?